The Unknown Alchemist

Chapter 12 - The human girl

The late summer sun shone in through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the room where they had placed the human girl. Adelyn brought in a basin of fresh water and set it down on the table. Next to the bed Sari slouched in her chair, exhausted from her all-night vigil. She stood and straightened her back with a groan as Adelyn opened the window to let in some fresh air.

"I don't know how they do it" Sari said to the ceiling.

"They?" asked Adelyn.

"Humans." Sari clarified. "They're so fragile, I don't know how their species has avoided extinction. I mean, is she even fighting? I think she's getting worse."

Adelyn pursed her lips and reached down to feel the girl's brow. Her skin was burning but her heart was strong and she could feel the life flowing through her.

"I don't know. I think if she has lived through what these scars tell us, she might be just resting now," Adelyn offered. "We should lift her and change that dressing on her shoulder."

Sari sighed and came around the bed while Adelyn pulled back the covers. They placed their hands on her the girl's torso and gently rolled her to her side, exposing her back and shoulders. The girl groaned slightly and her eyes fluttered, but Sari and Adelyn were fixated on the scars that criss-crossed back and forth with a fresh red slash across the top.

The girl moaned again and tried to lift her head.

"Hey there. It's okay, we've got you now," Adelyn reassured her.

The girl blinked and tried to focus on the room, confused and in pain. Sari worked quickly at cleaning the Mnopetera sting while Adelyn murmured in hushed tones and tried to get the girl to drink some water. There was a soft knock on the door and Dellane entered the room.

"I found the herb Petra wanted. It took some doing but a merchant down by the wharf had some in a jar." He set the packet down on the table. "Here, let me help you."

Dellane came up to the bed and reached over to hold the girl's shoulder so Adelyn could lift her head and put the cup to her lips.

At his touch the girl jerked violently and let out a scream, pushing their hands away. Twisting out of their reach she rolled into Sari and let out another scream of terror. Both females reached out to hold the girl still and calm her down.

"Hush now! Lie still. You'll make it worse!" Adelyn urged.

"No! No, please. Don't! Get away, get away! Don't!"

The girl sobbed and tried to break free but she was so weak it wasn't hard for the sapiens to hold her to the bed. Adelyn looked pleadingly between Dellane and Sari, but none of them had any idea what was upsetting the girl.

Hayden rushed into the room. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea," said Dellane. "I just walked in and put the package down and she looked at me and started screaming."

Hayden looked from the vet to the struggling girl.

From the bed, Adelyn called over her shoulder to her brother and Dellane, "Maybe you should go," and shot them a look that had the males quickly backing out.

The human gradually quieted down as sleep overtook her. The tears had stained the pillow, along with fresh blood where her wounds had opened again.

Adelyn looked at Sari and shook her head slightly, "What is her story?"

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Sari collapsed on her bed, not bothering to undress. Roedin's miraculous return had sent the pack into upheaval though nothing could really be done until he regained consciousness. Hayden and Adelyn were immediately pulled into meetings with the primes to discuss any potential threat in the territory. Arctos had doubled the city guard and was demanding hourly reports. Niamh was trying to activate Roedin's spy network to dig up information on who had attacked him.