Praetorian Rising, стр. 23
Marcus silently shook his head.
"Good. So, for now, we must remain silent and on our guard."
"You can't deny you feel the same as I do," Marcus said with grave intention.
"No," Peter huffed in slight defeat. "I can't."
The music picked up once more, carrying Peter's next words away with the melody. Camille was suddenly itching to vacate the hall and craved a serene sanctuary away from the claustrophobic space to dissect all that she'd just heard. She twisted out of her chair and marched toward the exit, aching to feel a cool breeze against her cheeks.
Just as she crossed the threshold, a loud and shrill scream echoed from her left, alongside the thick bramble and rose bushes. Camille blinked and spun, pushing past a few horrified villagers to locate the source of such commotion.
A young person's body was splayed upon the muddied ground, his chest and face drenched in ruby-hued blood. Camille bent down beside the source of the cries—a blond girl, and the one Lunci had been dancing with not fifteen minutes before.
Camille reeled and nearly fell backward as she identified the bloodied boy as her beloved Lunci, his form unmoving and lips an ashen blue. "Oh, dear mother Ma’Nada—"
"We were dancing in the garden because the rain felt so good—it was so fast...I only saw it for a second—dark fur, a beast of some kind with red eyes—" the blond girl blubbered, snot bubbles forming under each nostril as she coughed and wailed.
"What's going on?" Peter yelled from the great hall's entrance, stumbling over the uneven ground.
"Peter, no—"
"Lunci?!" Peter bent down and picked his grandson up without difficulty, then turned to Marcus, whose mouth was agape in horror. "Send word to Romeo Village and White Wall. The beasts have come for her. Make sure to send out a rider to Vesyon, but no written message. We can't have any lost notes getting back to the King Regent."
"Yes, a-all right," Marcus stuttered, running back to the great hall with instructions for everyone to go back to their homes and remain there.
"What can I do?" Camille asked in a haze of panic as Peter took off in the direction of his cabin. Her voice wobbled and her knees crunched against one another as she stumbled after him.
"If we drain the poison in time, we might be able to save him," Peter called out over the rain.
"Drain the what? Poison?"
"Quick—to the house! The Chimera will be back soon!"
The square was chaotic, a rolling sea of bodies desperate for sanctuary. In the far distance, Camille heard loud metallic clangs so deafening that they vibrated in her bones: it was a warning that meant another Chimera had been sighted. The clanging bells strained for attention over the wild cries of panic as the villagers clamored into the closest buildings they could reach.
Camille didn't ask any more questions; instead, she followed closely on Peter's heel as he raced down the frenzied street toward their cabin. His eyes roved down every side street, and Neeko was pacing frantically outside his front door when they arrived.
As soon as they were inside, Peter set Lunci down on the wooden table before yanking supplies from his chest drawers, scattering bowls, plates, and cups in the process. "Get a fire going, we need to keep him warm. I'm not sure we got to him in time."
"What do you mean?" Camille asked, shoving heavy logs into the fireplace and desperately trying to make a spark burst to life. Her hands were steady as a rock, but her focus kept pulling her back to Lunci's greying skin and the gruesome gashes across his chest. After seven strikes against the flint stone, she was finally able to coax a spark into a rolling flame. Heat billowed against her cold skin, but she barely felt it.
"You said there was poison," Camille said, striding to the table. "From what?"
Peter turned around, a large bowl in one hand and dagger in the other. "Lunci's been bitten by a Chimera. If we don't clean the wound and drain the poison, he'll..." Peter trailed off and lifted Lunci's arm, dragging the sharp dagger along his delicate skin until blood flowed in a steady stream onto the floor.
"What're you doing!" Camille asked as Peter moved to the other arm and did the same thing.
"I'm draining him as much as I can. Now go to the butchery—in a small ice box you'll find five containers filled with blood and a red case next to it. Grab those and set the kettle over the stove."
Camille did as he instructed, soon depositing the items beside Peter and checking the kettle for steam. Peter moved around Lunci's limp form like a trained doctor, cutting the blood-stained shirt from Lunci's body to reveal several puss-filled puncture wounds. Peter wiped each boil with a cloth and lanced them with a small silver dagger. "Water! Pour it into a cup for me!"
Camille did so, and Peter poured the steaming water on Lunci's infected chest, dousing the wounds until they ran clear.
"I'm so sorry—I should've been watching him," Camille mumbled, her throat nearly as tight as her fists.
Peter's eyes flicked up to hers for a moment. "Camille, there are a lot of things I haven't been able to tell you—to prepare you for. But I can tell you right now that this isn't your fault."
As Camille opened her mouth to respond, a medley of terrifying howls rang through the village. At the eerie call, Lunci burst to life, echoing their sound through a gargle of mucus. Peter grasped the red box and pulled out a silk, tube-shaped bag