Disclaimer: All characters belong to Tamora Pierce!
Weary with exhaustion, Daine sat heavily against the trunk of a solid tree. Numair had headed back hours ago, too exhausted to even walk, and now as the sun set over the high tops of the trees Daine felt miserable. Despite the many people out searching for any sign of the disease, they had found only four more people with symptoms, but no sign of the source. Feeling a twinge on the edge of her senses Daine sat up. The group of cats she had been using to search had returned and were on their way to her.
We have found the house of who is believed to be the first taken with the unseen illness. Tabby, the female known to be the wisest in the small group curled up in front of her and Daine stroked her ears absently.
I don't suppose you found anything that looked strange, or smelt funny? Daine asked frowning in concern.
Nothing. The cat replied purring in response to Daine's gentle touch.
I must go then. Can you show me where this place is? I will be able to tell the others.
Tabby unfurled herself and headed in the direction of a small set of houses east of the palace.
Daine, following quickly, bumped into Evin who was commanding a rider group to search through the houses of the four taken sick.
"Daine" he said grabbing her arm gently. "You should have gone home hours ago, what are you still doing here?"
"I know the house of the first who died." She said quietly. "It has taken some time for the cats to get back to me, but I know now. I'm going to have a look."
"Well, wait, and I'll send someone with you. A mage would be best. Most are out though, I'll see who I can find. Wait here." He walked off, without letting Daine reply.
He is quite forceful. Tabby said from her position at Daine's feet.
Yes, well, I imagine he knows that if I were to get in a word edgewise we wouldn't be standing here right now. She felt the cat smile and grinned herself before sitting down.
It was only minutes before Evin came back, trailing behind him was Raoul and non other than the King himself.
"Majesty" Daine said standing. "What are you doing here? Surely it is to dangerous?"
Jonathan smiled grimly. "Another six bodies were just found. This thing is spreading quicker than we breathe. I am the only mage left who has any strength. It has to be me. Don't worry" he added seeing her incredulous expression. "Precautions have been taken to ensure my safety. Nobody is going to attempt anything, rumours have spread, this illness has turned into something so massive that everybody is trying to rush out of the city. We cannot allow it of course, we need to study the outset closely."
Raoul came to stand beside Daine, noting how exhausted she was before putting his hand on her shoulder gently. "Evin said you know where the first lived."
Daine nodded. "Tabby here was just showing me the way." She gestured to the cat who immediately began to lead once more.
The group followed, unaware that their strange procession was being watched by an entire city. Eventually, the crowds backed off as they came to a small tavern.
Is this it? Daine asked the cat who had stopped on the stoop and begun to wash itself.
This is it.
"We begin here" Daine said to the three behind her. "The source must be here somewhere."
Jonathan touched her arm briefly. "I want you to go home" he said gently. "We can take it from here. You should not have been out for so long, particularly in your…condition." He grinned at her cheerfully.
"What's this?" Evin asked looking from one to the other. "What condition?"
Daine was thankful for the dusk that hid most of her furious blush.
"You may as well tell him" Raoul said. "It's going to come out sooner or later."
Daine sighed. "I am pregnant" she said quietly.
"You're pregnant?" Evin asked "Then what are you doing here you crazy girl? We don't know what form this illness takes, we have managed to save no one from it yet and you're standing on the doorstep of where it all started? Get out of here! Go home!" he gestured at her to move.
Daine grinned. "So you'll let our great monarch risk his life, but not me? I am but a servant to Tortall's crown."
"Daine" it was Jonathan who spoke, and once again she found herself trapped in those bright blue eyes. "I am safe. I promise you that. This is necessary, it hurts me to see my people dying. I must help them. My own magic is safety enough against this."
"You mean, it does not affect those with the gift?" Daine asked.
"It would seem that way."
"Well, surely that suggests that it was created by someone with the gift?"
"That is why this is so important. Now please, go. Numair will have our heads if something was to happen to you, and even I can't compete with the greatest mage in Tortall." He tapped the side of his head with a closed fist as sighing Daine did the same. "I will come back tomorrow" she said as she began to transform into small sparrow.
"Relax" Jonathan said to her smiling. "You are to important to us to risk losing you."
Daine pecked his arm in concession and flew off.
When Daine entered her rooms through the window, she immediately changed to her human form and collapsed. Numair heard her hit the ground and went to her immediately. Placing her gently on their bed, he tucked the blankets around her and brushed a lock of hair off her pale face. She opened her eyes slowly and groaned as the room span.
"You overreached yourself, my love" Numair said softly, kissing her gently. "You shouldn't be doing that; it will wear out our little one."
"It was necessary" Daine said, taking the word of their King. "I wanted to be home as fast as possible. Did you find anything in your books?"
"Nothing" Numair said, "which is just what I thought I would find. Alanna told me that Jon is out there."
"Yes, he sent me home". She closed her eyes wearily.
"I am glad for that, sweetling. Much more of this and they would have brought you home on a stretcher. You sleep. I'm going to go down to the infirmary and get you something for when you wake.
Numair found Alanna talking quietly to girl Knight Keladry of Mindelan. Their conversation was intense but both looked up when Numair stood in the doorway.
"How is she" Alanna asked immediately.
"She's sleeping. She barely made it to our rooms before she passed out. Do you know if they made any progress?"
"Jon just let me know that Daine found the first house, which turned out to be a small Tavern. They are searching it now."
Numair sat down heavily and put his head in his hands. "It's so frustrating. I should be down there, but I'm dry. I've been looking in the library, but I have found nothing that even sounds vaguely like this."
"Well, Kel just told me of a disease that swamped the Yamani Islands over a century ago. It bears similarities to this."
"I don't suppose you'd mind filling me in?" Numair asked.
Kel smiled at the worn mage. "It was never thought to be real, but rather a Bairds tale or a story told to children to frighten them."
"Things like this, are very rarely believed the longer it is between the event." Alanna said quietly.
Kel frowned "after you've heard this, I don't think that you will want it to be real."
"Please, just tell us."
"It is said that a strange plague that caused death and destruction hit the Yamani shores, thousands of people died. First they got a cough, then a rash, then, they faded away to nothing. Only problem was, the mages were never able to find illness in their bodies; they could only see darkness overtaking each person before they died. They couldn't sense magic, but it was magic. Wild magic. They found a wildmage who was somehow able to create this illness. Not a wildmage like Daine, but a mage who was able to use the elements to create something no one had ever seen before. It was not until he was executed that the deaths stopped. But they never found out how he did it."
"Wild magic did this?" Alanna said quietly. "How is that possible?"
"If there's one thing that teaching Daine taught me, it was that anything is possible, especially when it comes to wild magic."
"How can we stop this?" Keladry asked weakly.
"We have to find the mage" Alanna said with determination. "And we have to do it now. This will destroy Tortall otherwise."
"Will Daine be immune to it?" Keladry asked "I mean, I know that regular mages haven't been affected, but what about Daine, does it make it worse or better for her?"
"Who knows" Numair said quietly. "But we need to get anyone without the gift back inside the palace walls. This thing is spreading fast. The mages are going to have to do this themselves. You need to call back Raoul and Evin, get them to bring anyone without a magical gift back with them. We need to set up a quarantine tent; they'll have to be checked. No-one who has been out there can come back in without going through myself or another mage first. That is imperative".
"I'll get it started." Keladry stood up and rushed out of the room.
"Have you got any power left?" Numair asked Alanna.
"I'm out, but I'll tap into my last if you stay here and watch. I'll probably be hit pretty hard after that."
"Okay. I'll make sure nothing happens. He watched as she bent over the fire her forehead creased in frustration as she slowly pored her life-force into the fire, turning it bright purple with her gift.
Author Note: How am I doing? Thankyou so much for all your reviews, and thanks for the advice on the chapters! I was worried they were a little long. If you think it starts to get boring at any point let me know! Eme.