Denerim Confidential

Chapter 27

"Hawke!"

Mei hadn't known that Detective Leto's serious voice could sound so frantic and afraid. She started to kneel to see if she could help—then found that her legs were giving out underneath her. Her knees struck the floor with a hard smack.

She was beyond exhaustion. She felt as if she'd been running for hours with no rest and no water. She had done her best to let the power flow through her rather than remain within her—but she still had to work to control it. It had felt like trying to control the flow of a river during a flood. She couldn't imagine what Hawke had experienced channeling the spell that had destroyed the abominations.

Naia Tabris turned the apostate onto her back and frantically began checking for her partner's pulse, using her fingertips to seek out a heartbeat underneath Hawke's jaw. But then Hawke coughed and her eyes fluttered open.

"Maker. Please tell me I didn't faint," she groaned.

The red-haired elf laughed in relief. "We'll call it a very efficient nap. And by the way, I am never taking crap from you about fans in vents again."

Mei found herself smiling through tears as well. She didn't know Hawke at all, but the woman had just saved them, and she was glad the price would be no higher than a brief moment of unconsciousness.

At least, not for Hawke.

A soft sob drew Mei's attention from across the room. Alistair was kneeling beside Fiona. One look at his face told Mei that her mentor would not be so lucky as Hawke—but she ran to his side anyway, climbing over debris and bodies, to see if there was anything she could do.

There was not. The abomination's throw had broken Fiona's neck.

Tears stung Mei's eyes as she sat back. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, wiping the water away with the back of her hand, smearing dirt and dust across her face.

Alistair shook his head, clearly fighting to control his emotions. "I'm sorry too," he said miserably. "You were her friend." He touched Fiona's face, and Mei could only stare between the two of them, wondering how Fiona had come to have a human son and how Uldred had known to use him to get her to Denerim.

He seemed to sense the question. "She never told you about me, I guess?"

Mei shook her head.

"It's ... a long story," he sighed.

The ceiling above them creaked ominously. "We should get out of here," Mei murmured, as gently as she could.

Alistair nodded, then lifted Fiona in his arms as if she weighed nothing. Tears flowed to Mei's eyes all over again when she realized that, at least, her mentor would not have to rest in this place for very long.

And now we can help Cullen.

Maker, please. Let us be able to help him.

********

With Juliet restored to something like consciousness, Naia and Varric began supervising their little group's evacuation.

At first, Enchanter Surana wanted to go back for another Templar the abominations had been holding captive. For some reason Naia couldn't understand, Agent Treveyan seemed to think that was a bad idea. Finally, he seemed to work up his courage and said, "I'm not sure it will help him to see you, Mei. We should send other Templars and Enchanters up to break the spell. It sounded like—I think they used you to get to him. A lot."

The Enchanter flinched visibly, but didn't argue further.

In the laboratory they found the wreckage of the machine that had been generating the shield—along with a massive, melted hole where the phylactery safe had once been. Naia could still feel heat leaking from the remains. Only a few shards of glass and drops of blood had survived the white-hot fire.