Keeper (First Ordinance #2)(27)

The old, straw-filled mattress came next, and I was grateful to get the smell of it shoved outside the room. This was the reason I'd offered to let Dena clean his library—the bedroom was an untidy clutter she shouldn't have to clear away.

We had cleaning supplies courtesy of the ships, and I was grateful as they helped clear away the smells. Next, I began to dismantle the bed—it was constructed of heavy, carved wood and slats.

That's when I found it.

The box was smooth on all sides and shut tightly. I might have thought it a child's coffin, except it was made of metal.

This metal shone in the dim light, letting me know it had been manufactured far from Fyris—they had not the skill to make something of this quality. It bore a strange, flat keyhole, too, but wasn't locked. What had the physician kept inside it? Cautiously I lifted the lid.

What I discovered revealed some truth about me, but I lacked sufficient knowledge to reason it out completely.

Within the box lay a strange material, with parts of it removed. The missing part was in the shape of a large doll—or a child. Upon closer examination, I found several hairs where the head would have lain.

Those hairs were the same colors as mine—gold, copper and silver. Nobody else had hair such as that—these were mine. Sometime in the past, when I was very small, I'd lain in this box.

Shutting it hastily, I shoved it away from me in horror.

*

"Quin, you seem distracted," Berel observed during lunch. I'd been forced to bathe after clearing out the bedding earlier, and after my discovery, had to force myself to keep working.

I'd also never taken anything in my life. I'd done so that day, hauling the metal box up castle steps until I reached Justis' suite. There, I hid the box beneath my bed in the tiny room next to his.

Nobody thought to stop me; perhaps they imagined the box was for Justis or another in the royal wing. Only servants saw me as it turned out, and they had their own duties. They'd never bothered with me before and that habit continued, although I now wore wings.

"Just reflecting on the old physician. He cut my wing nubs away when I lived here before," I offered to stave off Berel's curiosity. Yes, I was thinking about the physician, but I was thinking more about the box.

"Forget those times, Quin. They are in the past," Gurnil coaxed. He sat next to Dena, and they'd discussed what she'd found in the physician's library. Perhaps Gurnil would carry those old books back to Avii Castle with him, or perhaps he already had copies of those outdated medical texts.

Before, I would have been interested in any book. My mind had been taken over, however, by the mystery of a metal box found beneath the physician's bed.

I forced myself to pay attention during the rest of the meal, then made my way back to the physician's quarters to finish cleaning.

*

By the end of the day, Ordin's healing quarters were as clean as we could make them, and more supplies and equipment was ordered. Guards were assigned to Gurnil—both Black Wing and Fyrian. One of those guards was Yann, who'd pledged his loyalty first when Amlis and Omina arrived in Lironis.

He stood straighter and prouder, now, I noticed. In the past, I'd seldom seen him unless Varnell wanted something from the kitchens outside mealtimes.

"Quin, I'll ask you to spend time with me," Ordin said after dinner. I understood what he meant—he'd be asking me to heal those he deemed worthy. I nodded—we agreed on those things much of the time. I knew he'd listen, too, if I told him otherwise.

"Tomorrow morning, Master Ordin?" I asked.

"Yes, after breakfast."

I found it humorous that there was a balcony outside the third-floor kitchen in the research building—built not just for dining outside on a nice day, but as a landing space for those who could fly to get their meals.

An elevator was inside for those who had to walk and chose not to take the stairs. I also knew—whether anyone else did—that the research building could become a fortress if Daragar and Kaldill chose to make it so. It was powered by Siriaa's sun and was self-sufficient—including a machine that desalinated and purified drinking water from the sea.

Work had already begun on the lower levels of the facility and soil samples, brought in by residents of Lironis, were examined with equipment most of them had never dreamed of. They were paid, too, these contributors—with food and clean water kept in reusable metal jars.

Some of those jars bore a finish similar to that of the strange box I'd found. Storing that information away, I turned to the business of flying from the research building with Ordin after breakfast, to begin healing those we could.

*

"Prince Amlis, your father is killing many in his path. People are deserting villages far ahead of his army, now that they know he's coming," Justis stalked into Amlis' study, followed closely by Ardis.

"How do the villages know he's coming?" Amlis shook his head, confused by Justis' words.

"Two of our guests—Torevik and Kordevik—told them," Justis replied. "I see no reason to stop them; they're saving lives."

"I agree with you," Amlis rose from his seat and held up a hand. "I don't want people to die, either. Had I an army, perhaps we could convince Father to stop this madness."

"What would happen if he died? Would his army continue his quest?" Ardis asked.