He nodded, starting back in his room. Vi watched as he went and gathered his own heavy clothes, gloves, and mask, which he settled on the top of his head. Darrus crossed back over and Vi straightened from her crouch, taking a few steps down the stairs so he could crawl through the window. She suspected this was not the first time he’d snuck out in the night; she wondered if Ellene had ever been involved.
Giving him a nod, Vi started down the stairs. But she paused when she didn’t hear him following her. Darrus stared down at her, unmoving, and for a brief moment she was worried he’d reconsider.
“Princess,” he whispered. “The clinic… it’s a hard place to be. Once you go there, well, you’ll see things that you can never unsee.”
Vi fought a bitter smile. She knew he meant well, just as she knew there was no way he knew of all the things she’d already borne witness to that she couldn’t unsee. Her dreams were becoming more torturous as the weeks and months progressed, the remnants of seeing the end of the world impossible to escape.
How much worse could it get?
Chapter Six
She followedDarrus through the back alleyways and suspended bridges of the city, crossing into the still-lit parts of town. No one paid them any mind. No one expected to see the crown princess walking in their midst, and certainly not toward the clinic.
Moreover, the plague mask, even propped on her forehead, covered and shadowed the majority of her face.
Finally, they ended up on a single road stretching away from the city. Vi could see the mark of Groundbreaker’s work, practically feel the magic still lingering in the air. There were no more houses here; even the trees seemed shrunken without all the additions of living quarters, walkways, and balconies. She’d thought the city had been quiet, but it was nothing compared to the heavy stillness of the first few steps into the vacant space between the city’s edge and the clinic.
Then, she heard the first shouts of the diseased.
It was a soft rumbling, a litany of moans and groans, punctuated by shrill screams and cries. Vi drew her cloak more tightly around her, staring up at the dark shadow of the stone building before her. The trees around it had been stripped back and the moon stared down, as if watching. She looked up at the celestial body.
Perhaps the dark god himself was watching.
“Here.” Darrus tapped the mask on her head. “Put it on now.”
“What about you?” Vi grabbed for it, her hand lingering.
“I’ll say I lost mine and get another when we get inside. But we can’t have them noticing you before then.” He gave a nod toward the entrance and it was then that Vi noticed two people positioned on either side. “And you should have the protection from here out.”
Two more warriors were at the front corners of the building, and she’d bet two more were at the back. They were bulky, tall, and wielded bows, spears, and swords. Vi had no doubt they were Sehra’s best. Just as she had no doubt that their guard was not to keep people away from the clinic—no one in their right mind would enter here willingly, Vi excluded.
No… These warriors were to keep peoplein. To ensure that the only way someone left the clinic, other than the clerics, was as ashes.
“Are you sure?” Vi asked softly, still holding the mask. What she wanted to ask was if he was certain he wanted to take the risk of going in unprotected. Luckily, it seems he heard the unspoken question.
“They still don’t know how it spreads. The masks may not help at all.” He shrugged. Vi knew the bravery was a front. “I’ll get one in short order, so don’t worry about me.”
“I do, because Ellene will slay me if anything happens to you because of me.”
“Not that she’d know,” he muttered. “Come dawn, we weren’t here at all.”
He stepped into the moonlight, and Vi wondered when he’d become so brave. Staring down your own mortality daily could do that—change a person fundamentally. Hadn’t it done the same to her? If she had never seen the visions she’d witnessed, would she have the ability to be here now, risking his life and hers?
Pushing the thoughts from her mind, Vi stepped into the moonlight and followed closely behind toward the boxy stone building.
“Halt,” one of the guards said, stepping forward. “No one without a mask is permitted within.” He paused, his head turned to Darrus, moonlight flashing on the glassy orbs of the mask that covered the warrior’s eyes. “You shouldn’t even risk being this close without a mask.”
“Mine broke,” Darrus lied. “I need to get another.”
“I see,” the guard said, somewhat skeptical.
“Come on, I’m doing a double tomorrow starting at dawn and Romou will kill me if I’m late for it.” Darrus put his hand on his hip.
“What happened?”
“I was putting my mask away and it fell, shattered the eyes. I didn’t want to deal with this in the morning so I came now.” Darrus motioned to her. “I brought a friend so I don’t even have to go in without a mask. She can go in and grab me one and bring it back. Does that work?”
The warrior turned to Vi. She stared at him through the haze of the glass that covered her eyes. Her breath was hot on her face, nerves turning the inside of her mask into a sauna. Thankfully, her cloak hid her swiftly rising and falling chest just as the mask hid her face.
