Këj woke, feeling unusually cold, to find the sun already up and shining through his small window. He muttered something under his breath and hurriedly sat up, almost falling over as a sudden wave of dizziness swept over him. He shook his head and got up. His fingertips were numb but he assumed it was just dehydration and he ran down to the mess, grabbed something to eat, downed several cups of water, and ran into the sunshine.
Fal was waiting by the northern gate. He raised his eyebrows as Këj came running, and pointed at the sun.
"Sorry, I overslept."
"Mm-hm." Fal sighed. "Well, I guess I can let you off the hook: you're generally on time."
It wasn't until the middle of the day the Këj realized his dizziness and the numbness in his fingertips were more than mild dehydration. As he drank some water, a sharp, stabbing pain slashed through his stomach so suddenly and sharply that he was forced to spit the water out. A second stab lanced through him driving him to his knees. Këj pressed his arm to his stomach and gasped for breath.
"Këj, are you alright?" The voice seemed to be distant but Këj felt Fal grab his arm and help him up. He felt off-balance and couldn't speak, but only shook his head. He vaguely felt Fal hurrying him along and he barely registered the presence of Doctor Hanten, who helped him to lie down. Afterwards, Këj realized he must have passed out because when he was next able to notice things clearly, he realized that his father and Doctor Hanten were talking in low voices. Këj tried to sit up but found that he lacked the energy and fell back, a momentary blackout overwhelming him. He woke to find his father next to him, scanning his face anxiously. Doctor Hanten bent over, a worried frown creasing his visage. "What happened?"
Këj shook his head slowly. "I don't know."
Doctor Hanten growled as he felt the boy's face: it was ice-cold and pale but Këj was sweating profusely. "How do you feel?"
"Hot, kind of sore, and sleepy."
Këj's father sat bolt upright. "Hot?"
The doctor motioned for him to stop. "Where do you feel sore?"
"Everywhere." Këj seemed to be having trouble focusing. Këj's expression was only mildly concerned, however, and as they watched, he lost consciousness again. He woke much later to find that he was now able to register his temperature and that it was steadily climbing. He was still sweating and he felt exhausted. Këj turned his head to where Doctor Hanten and his father were sitting, surprised at the amount of effort it took.
Doctor Hanten frowned as he took Këj's temperature and dampened a cloth which he used to bathe the boy's face with cool water. Këj coughed painfully and closed his eyes. He felt his father's rough hand holding his, and shivered as the water trickled onto his neck. "The trouble is, I don't know what caused it." The doctor's voice brought Këj back from the warm drowsiness that had begun to steal over him.
"Some doctor." Këj's father growled.
Doctor Hanten glared at him. "There are at least a dozen poisons that cause these symptoms. I don't know when Këj was poisoned, or when it started affecting him, or how."
"Spidergrass." Këj coughed again and sat back with a faint moan.
"Spidergrass?" Doctor Hanten turned to Ëran with a quizzical expression. T his surprise, Ëran had become nearly as pale as his son.
"It grows wild here." Ëran gestured helplessly. "It's a tough, gray grass that grows in clumps and has spider-shaped black-and-red flowers."
Doctor Hanten's eyes widened as he realized what Ëran was saying. "Karonë." He sat down and buried his face in his hands. "I don't have the antidote..." He subsided into seemingly wordless muttering.
Ëran held Këj's limp hand and covered his face with his other hand. For once, he seemed content to express his anguish with silence. And silence grew, unbroken except by Këj's ragged breathing.
"Ha!"
Ëran turned to look at the doctor, who looked as though he had discovered the cure for all maladies, but a frown crossed his face and he slumped down again, muttering to himself. "What?"
Doctor Hanten's head jerked up. "There might be an antidote that I have."
"There's more than one?"
Doctor Hanten nodded. "In a way." He grimaced. "The problem is that I don't know if Këj is strong enough at this point."
"Strong enough for what?"
"It would drive the poison out, but..." The doctor hesitated.
"'But' what?"
"It will hurt at least twice as much as the poison itself. Këj won't be able to pass out, and it's going to cause his temperature to drop dramatically."
Ëran swallowed. "There's no other way?"
Doctor Hanten looked grim. "No. It would take over a week for me to have the normal antidote shipped. Këj doesn't have that much time."
Këj's father sat back and looked at his son. Këj was sleeping restlessly, moaning faintly and speaking incoherently. His cheeks were flushed but the rest of his face remained the color of salt, and his dark hair was sweat-soaked, standing out horribly against his white face. Ëran gently shook him.
Këj woke with a start but lacked the energy to sit up. He relaxed slightly and forced a smile. "Hey."
Ëran didn't waste any time: "Këj, Doctor Hanten says he has an antidote." He hurriedly repeated Doctor Hanten's explanation and concerns, and watched his son worriedly.
Këj bit his lip thoughtfully. "Nothing else, eh?" He glanced up at the doctor, who shook his head. "Alright, I'll take it."
"Këj!"
Ëran's son turned to look at his father. "What?" A ghost of his usual smile turned the corners of his lips up. "At least this way I'll have a chance." He coughed, his smile fading and tightened his hold on Ëran's hand. "Please, Father."
Këj's father struggled with himself. He couldn't bear to see his son like this: pale as a ghost and barely able to speak audibly, but he was sure he could bear even less his son in unspeakable pain, unable to get any relief by blacking out, his temperature dropping until either the poison was forced out of his system, the pain killed him, or he died of hypothermia. Finally Ëran made up his mind: "Yes." He stood up and looked at his son, who nodded his thanks. "I can't stay right here. I'm not sure what I'd do." He hurriedly crossed the room.
Doctor Hanten took a deep breath. "You ready?"
Këj nodded. He turned his head to look at his father. "Love you, Father."
Ëran couldn't answer. He nodded then watched as Doctor Hanten helped Këj sit up and swallow a dark liquid. Këj lay back slowly and closed his eyes, steeling himself for what would follow. His father watched helplessly as Këj gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, biting down hard on the mouth guard Doctor Hanten had given him. The Doctor himself was moving faster than Ëran had ever seen him move as he swiftly grabbed a stack of blankets and tucked them in around Këj. He heated the cloths he normally used to cool fevers and tucked them around the boy, who was struggling to breathe slowly, but whose breath seemed determined to come in ragged gasps. Ëran was never sure when he left the corner where he had been standing and grabbed Këj's hands trying to soothe him with quiet words that probably had little in the way of coherency or continuation. At long last, Këj's gasping sobs and stifled cries subsided and his temperature climbed back to normal. He began retching and coughed up the contents of his stomach which vanished promptly (Doctor Hanten was prepared and an absolute stickler for cleanliness).
Ëran looked at his son who grinned tiredly at him, and noticed that Këj's normal coloring had started to come back. Ëran heard Doctor Hanten's footsteps and looked up to see the gray-haired man standing next to him. Këj thirstily drank the water he was given, and then fell asleep almost immediately while the doctor and his father quietly left the room and the blazing stars of the spring night burned bright in the sea-dark sky.
