The King grimaced. “Yes, I see. Still, they disobeyed my orders.”
Another knight tried to speak to him, “Sire, we—”
“Dismissed!” King Falken cut him off.
The knights bowed and left.
The King stepped closer to me. “Is the rot contained?”
“Yes, but the barrier is flimsy and temporary. I suggest you brick up the doorway as soon as possible. Until then, the fabric sealing in the airborne rot will have to be wet every hour.”
“Bricked in? My armory is down there.”
“Yes, I know, Your Majesty. But what use are weapons when they're infected with rot or, even worse, your soldiers are dead?”
“Dead?” He narrowed his eyes. “It can kill?”
“I don't know what it can do. But it made Vanre's eyes bleed. That's not a good sign.”
“Vanre,” he growled. “That incompetent fool nearly infected the entire palace.” He spun around and stormed off.
I hurried after him. “At least now we know burning it isn't a good idea.”
The King grunted. “That was not the way to conduct an experiment. He assured me he had the cure when he obviously hadn't tested it.” Then he shouted, “Torli!”
“Sire, the barrier?”
“What do you think I'm doing?” He shouted again, “Torli!”
A Shanba man with an impressive set of antlers came running down the corridor toward us. He stopped a few feet away and bent over, panting. “Your Majesty bellowed for me?”
I snickered.
The King slid a smirk my way before saying, “Torli, have the passage to the armory bricked in.”
The Shanba straightened, revealing a pair of large brown eyes. His flat nose twitched. “Bricked in, Sire?”
“That fool Vanre failed, and the rot is spreading. We need the room sealed before it seeps out.”
I added, “He burned the Silver Rot and released it into the air. The passage must be sealed so that no particles can get through. And they must be careful when they brick it in. Tell them to keep the current barrier in place and brick it over . Also, they should wear masks to protect their noses and mouths, and glasses over their eyes.”
Torli's eyes went wide. “It's in the air?”
“Yes, but it's contained.” The King looked from Torli to me. “Won't it spread through the bricks?”
“Not unless you enchant them. Although I can't say for certain how much Vanre has altered the rot. We'll know soon enough, I suppose.”
The King grimaced. “Where is that idiot?”
“He ran off while we were sealing the passage.” I shrugged. “After I had cleaned his eyes and stopped the bleeding.”
“Bleeding?” Torli's eyes went wide.
“So, he's a foolanda coward,” the King snarled.
“Shall I find him for you, Your Majesty?” Torli offered.
“Yes, find him and put him in a cell.”
