Praetorian Rising, стр. 24

"Hold this," he barked, handing her a small glass bottle of clear liquid as well as a bag full of blood. "I need you to slowly pour the liquid into this bag." He held out the device with a drawstring closure at the top requesting she pour the blood inside. It reminded Camille of the icing tubes Jyllel used on her decorative cakes. This contraption, in contrast, had a nasty looking fang jutting out the end.

"Get the next one ready," Peter said as he yanked the wax stopper off the fang end and jammed it into the crook of Lunci's arm. He gently squeezed the bag of blood forcing it through the hollowness of the fang into Lunci's body at an alarming speed.

When the first bag was almost empty, Lunci sat straight up with a piercing scream, his yellowed eyes wild and completely bloodshot.

"Quick! Camille, hold him down!"

She dashed over to Lunci and grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to pin the nine-year-old to the table. He thrashed against her, bellowing a garbled stream of cries and slamming his head repeatedly on the table's wooden planks.

"Keep his arm steady!" Peter screamed, replacing the empty bag with the second sack filled with blood.

"How will this help?!" Camille yelled over Lunci. "He's so strong right now!"

"I'm replacing his blood and injecting an antidote!"

The second bag of blood seemed to help, as Lunci ceased his thrashing and howls to instead dissolve into a whimpering, twitching mess.

Camille's arms ached from the strain of holding Lunci down. "Will he be all right?"

Peter prepared the third bag for use, filling it with the clear antidote before sliding the fang tip into Lunci's arm and squeezing the liquid into his body. "We'll have to wait and see. If the fever sets in, it's over." Despite Peter's calm tone, Camille could see how his fingers shook.

A soft, persistent scratching against the front door pulled her attention away from the dying boy on the table. Before either of them could peek out the peephole, the door burst open in a whirl of frigid wind and sleet.

"Is he all right?!" A voice growled gruffly from underneath a heaping coat of bear fur. A massive black hood kept the man's face obscured in shadow as he moved into the small quarters of the house and slammed the door behind him. His hands brushed over Lunci's tiny face and narrow neck, moving as gently as if Lunci were a trampled baby bird.

"I believe I got most of the poison out, but I just don't know. I don't know if I made it in time. The boy is so little," Peter said, voice hitching at the end.

"How long's it been?"

"Twenty minutes, maybe less."

The stranger removed some of his heavy furs and pulled back the hood to reveal a man not much older than twenty. His face, though tanned and lightly bearded, held a boyish youthful quality. Long black hair tumbled in a mess of tangles hitting just above the shoulders, but it was his grey irises that caught Camille's attention the most. She knew those eyes.

"Where did it happen?" the man asked, seemingly unaware of Camille's presence near the fireplace. She’d backed away from the table when the stranger burst into the room.

"The town square, just outside the main hall. Vesyon—the entire village could have been slaughtered. Thank Mother Ma'Nada that didn't happen," Peter ground out, wiping at the wetness in the corners of his eyes.

"The pack moved south from Charlie Town. I was in Whiskey Wharf when I received word from Langhorn," Vesyon said as he handed Peter a strip of crumpled paper. "I came as quick as I could, but they moved south toward Dun L'er faster than I imagined was possible."

"How'd you know about the attack?" Peter asked, squeezing the blood bag to hasten its absorption.

Peter shook his head but kept his focus on Lunci.

Vesyon paused, watching the old man as he worked. "On my way here, Neeko found me," he continued. "I'd warned him to locate me as soon as he saw the Chimera closing in. He found me this morning enroute to you."

"Neeko? But he was out yesterday afternoon with..." Peter blanched, his brow furrowing with sudden understanding. He aimed a questioning glare at Camille, and she promptly looked down at her feet in shame. "It's starting, then. The Chimera is on the move, and they found what the high court’s been looking for. It won't be long before the King Regent hears about this."

"Someone must've aided the beasts in their search. I believe more than one is behind it," Vesyon said to Peter, before turning to regard Camille with indifference. "Have you followed my orders, Peter?"

"I have. She's been training."

Vesyon nodded and ambled toward her. "Do you know who I am?" He leaned toward her, his dominating stature causing her instincts to prickle in defense. Her fists unwillingly clenched at her sides as a tingle of acute awareness flooded her system.

"No," Camille said, standing to her full height and remaining a good half-foot shorter than the man. "Should I?"

Another echoing call pierced through the air, this one much closer than before. Neeko's fur stood on end, and he growled deep in his chest; Camille had never seen him so unnerved.

"There isn't time to explain what's happening. We need to leave. Now." The man moved deftly away from her, collecting his fur cloak and wrapping it about his shoulders before marching toward the front door.

"Absolutely not! I'm not leaving Lunci like this," Camille refused, crossing her arms and backing away from the hulking man. "Peter needs me."

Camille looked to the old man and her heart fissured—there was a shift swirling behind those blue eyes— a tremor of mistrust. It was then that she knew she was mistaken. He no longer wanted her to stay. She should've told him about the Chimera, should've known that the beast would come back and destroy everything she held dear.

"Where are