Phoenix13: Redemption (Phoenix13 Book 2)

Part #10: Red Dawn: Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Mount Valéqrose glowed with the light of early morning as Jason banked the Moonshadow and began a downward spiral toward the enormous concrete landing pad at Camp Paradise. The aircraft shuddered and jerked as it neared the ground. It tilted dangerously from side to side as Jason struggled to level it out. By the time the young pilot finally managed to make a safe landing, he was covered in cold sweat and shaking with adrenaline.

Outside, the temperature was well below freezing. Snow fell in small, scant flakes from a pearl-gray sky, sticking in Jason's untidy golden hair. His breath caught in his throat. Fingers of ice stroked his cheeks and slipped beneath his clothes. He shivered involuntarily, clenching his jaw to avoid chattering his teeth.

Beyond the landing pad, the roof of Paradise Lodge was barely visible above the snowdrifts. It looked like the sleek spine of a great dragon lying in frozen sleep. The acrid trails of smoke rising from its chimney were wisps of its breath carried away by the howling winds, rising in thick spirals of dark gray and black. Jason approached it cautiously, gun held tightly in one hand. As he cleared the ridge and saw up onto the slopes above the lodge, he noticed a collection of fifteen small tents huddled in the crooks and dips of the mountain's side. They were white and blended in so well he almost didn't notice them. It was only the sharp flapping of their tarps in the wind that drew his attention to their presence.

"Hello!" A man emerged from the nearest tent as Jason approached. He stood bundled and bent against the wind, waving one heavily wrapped hand at the young prince. "Hello!" he called again. "Are you from the great city?"

Jason considered the stranger for a long moment before completing the climb up onto the snowfield. "Yeah," he called back, "I'm Jason McKinley." He reached the stranger and placed one hand on his chest over his heart. He thumped it twice. "Are you one of the Healers of Paradise?"

The man dipped his head. "I am. Please tell me you've brought supplies."

"Wait, what? Supplies? When've you guys ever needed supplies from Nathandra?"

The stranger grimaced behind his thick scarf. "Since the attack a week ago. Those of us left haven't eaten anything but a few bites of rabbit in the past three days."

"Wait, hold the fuck up," Jason said. "What attack? Who the hell attacks a bunch of wilderness doctors?"

"I don't know," the man replied, "but whoever they were, they came at night and left few alive. The sound they made... like creatures from hell itself. Like they weren't even human."

Jason's heart sank. Probably because they weren't, he thought, but he didn't say it. The last thing he needed was to scare these people away. Instead, he said, "Maybe they were Varadrínite spies or wilderness rogues. Did they take anything?"

"Other than the bodies of their victims? No."

"How many dead?"

"Seventeen."

"And your leader?" Jason asked, dreading the answer. "Parrion Faye," he prompted when the other man didn't reply. "Is he alive?"

"Yes," said the man. The single word held a world of resentment. Jason realized that the healer wasn't sure if he was supposed to reveal this information or not. "He's in my tent," the healer went on. "He took a nasty hit to the chest, but he'll live."

Jason let out his breath in relief. "I need to talk to him. Right now."

"Is that why you're here, then?" The stranger's face fell. "To ask for his help in some medical matter?"

"There's a plague in the city," Jason admitted. "I'm guessing it's a cursed virus. Nothing's stopping it, so I came to find Faye. Guess I have the world's worst timing, huh?"