The Mark of the Dragonfly (24 page)

“Hey!” Trimble leaned in between the two of them, a hand on each of their shoulders. “Both of you calm down. Take your time,” he told Anna, “just, like she said, not years. Anna, we’ll leave you alone so you can concentrate.” He shot Piper a will-you-please-shut-up-and-keep-quiet look. Piper threw up her hands and lapsed into sullen silence.

After a whole five minutes of sitting still, Piper checked her watch, slipped it back under her shirt, then dug it out and checked it again. Her heart beat so loudly in her ears she was surprised Anna didn’t complain about that noise too.

Another minute and Piper realized that if she didn’t do something, she was definitely going to go insane and would most likely take Anna and Trimble over the edge with her. “Tell us what you’re looking for,” she said to Anna. “We’ll start on the other books.” She might not have been a great reader, but Piper knew any help was better than none.

Anna looked up from the page she was reading and shoved a couple of books in Piper and Trimble’s direction. “Bats,” she said distractedly.

“Bats?” Trimble looked doubtful. “I don’t think Gee’s—”

“Not a bat,
I know
, but he’s a flying mammal!” Anna said impatiently. It was the first time Piper had ever
heard her express irritation at anything. “That’s the closest equivalent, so look for bats. And please be quiet!”

Piper opened the book and began to read.

For the next several hours, Piper tried to concentrate on what she was reading, but most of it was beyond her understanding. It didn’t help that the room was completely silent except for the sound of Gee’s breathing, which became increasingly labored and intermittent as the hours passed.

When Piper got to the end of her book, she’d found nothing of substance on bats or any other mammals remotely similar to Gee. She tossed the book aside in disgust and stood to check on him. Lifting the blanket, she found his hand again and clutched it tightly.

Another stupid idea, Piper thought. Why had she even dared to hope she could change anything? Gee wasn’t a machine. She couldn’t fix this, no matter how much she wanted to.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to Gee. “I’m sorry I can’t save you.” Piper wondered if Jeyne had said something similar to him. Or had she said she was sorry she’d ever brought the two troublemakers on board, that if not for them everything would have been all right? Would she change her mind now and order them off the train, give them over to Doloman and King Aron?

Maybe I can convince her to spare Anna
, Piper thought.
It’s not her fault that she’s with a stubborn, hardheaded, idiot scrapper who never should have left Scrap Town Sixteen in the first place
.

“Aha!” Anna’s chirruping cry broke through Piper’s misery. “The simplest, simplest explanation—Braetoc’s Theory all over again. I should have known!”

Trimble looked up, bleary-eyed, from his book on nocturnal species. “What is she talking about?” he asked.

“Did you find something?” Piper tamped down the hope that clawed at her insides. “Come on, tell us!” The one time Piper wanted the girl to spill her guts, and all Anna could do was wave her book around like a banner.

“I was studying the animal,” Anna said, calming a bit. “I should have been looking at the dust.”

“The slavers’ dust?” Trimble suddenly looked much more alert. “What did you find?”

“An essay detailing the history of the dust’s use and how the slavers came to make it,” Anna said. “According to this, they tested it on a variety of small animals.”

“Darn gruesome stuff,” Trimble muttered. “Darn all goddess-cursed slavers too.”

“Look,” Anna said, holding out the opened book and pointing to a page. “There’s a detailed breakdown of the chemicals used to make the dust. Apparently,” she went on, “the slavers use a small amount of tiferi in their recipe, which caused their animal subjects to develop an infection in the lungs when they breathed in the dust, but for some reason it had no effect on humans.”

“Because humans have the strongest immune systems,” Trimble said. He seized the book from Anna and turned it so he could read. “It says that sarnuns were susceptible too because their immune systems are so weak. One dose kills them almost instantly.”

“So you think the slavers used tiferi in the dust that Gee breathed?” Piper said. “You think he’s susceptible to it too?”

“It makes sense,” Trimble said grimly.

“This is fantastic,” Piper said, squeezing Anna’s shoulder excitedly, “but now we need to find a way to get rid of the infection. Can you do that?”

Lost in thought, Anna didn’t reply. She tugged at one of her braids as she read back over the essay. “The problem is the bacteria in the tiferi,” she said at last. “Gee’s body can’t get rid of it. If we could somehow help him fight it off, I think the infection would clear up, and he’ll be able to breathe again.”

“I think I can take care of that,” Trimble said thoughtfully. “Now that I know tiferi is the problem, I think I can make a treatment to get rid of the bacteria.”

“How long will it take to make?” Piper asked, worried they might not have enough time. Gee was looking worse than he had before.

“Not long,” Trimble said. “I just need to get some ingredients.” He jumped to his feet and ran out of the car.

When he was gone, Anna stood up and made her
way over to stand next to Piper. “I think this will work,” she said reassuringly.

Piper nodded. She stared down at Gee, willing him to keep breathing. “Just a little longer,” she said, speaking to herself as much to him. The waiting and worrying were driving her crazy. “Goddess, please. Just a little longer.”

The next thirty minutes were the longest of Piper’s life. Every few seconds, she checked her watch. More than once, she thought the stupid machine must be broken again. There was no way time could move so slowly.

Anna sat quietly on the floor next to her, her hand resting on Piper’s boot. Piper almost wished the girl would talk—chatter on about nothing, just to fill the silence.

Finally, Piper couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m going to see what’s keeping him,” she said. She stood and headed for the door. She was just reaching for the handle when Trimble slid the door open from the other side.

“I’ve got it!” the fireman said excitedly, holding up a vial of milky liquid and a syringe.

Piper was so relieved she could have kissed him. Trimble crossed the room and knelt down at Gee’s side. Carefully, he filled the syringe, then lifted Gee’s arm. He inserted the needle and pressed the plunger. Gee’s faced creased briefly in pain, but otherwise he didn’t stir.

“When will he wake up?” Piper asked. She wanted the medicine to work instantly.

“I don’t know,” Trimble said, looking at her, “but when you stop hearing the wheezing sound in his breathing, you’ll know the treatment’s doing some good.” He glanced out the window, and Piper followed his gaze. Darkness had fallen while they’d worked to find a cure. When Piper looked down at her watch, she saw that it was well past dinnertime.

Anna’s stomach growled. “You should go to the dining car and get something to eat,” Piper told her. “I’ll stay here and keep an eye on him.”

“I can stay with him,” Trimble offered, but Piper didn’t move.

Anna gathered up her books to leave, and paused beside Piper’s chair. “I’ll bring you something to eat,” she said.

“That’d be great,” Piper said, though eating was the furthest thing from her mind at that moment. She laid a hand on Anna’s arm, stopping the girl before she walked away. Anna turned and Piper wrapped her other arm around Anna’s waist, hugging her tightly. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“Oh, well, I just read the books,” Anna said, sounding embarrassed. “I’m starting to think I may have read a lot of books. When I read them now, it’s as if I’m getting reacquainted with old friends. Does that sound strange?”

For the first time in what felt like days, a smile spread across Piper’s face. “Not for you. Not at all.”

“We’re lucky to have you,” Trimble murmured.

“Thank you—I mean, you’re welcome.” Anna blushed, looking at her feet. “I should go now.” Juggling her books, she hurried from the car before anyone could say anything else.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with her?” Trimble asked Piper. “You need to rest. We can take shifts watching him.”

“It’s all right,” Piper said. She didn’t want to be anywhere else. “I’m not tired. You go.”

But Trimble stayed, and an hour later, Anna returned with plates of chicken and boiled potatoes and carrots. Piper’s stomach growled when she smelled the pungent rosemary speckling the chicken. The three of them crowded around Gee’s small table to eat.

The night wore on, and Piper and Anna took turns reading aloud to each other from the books Anna had brought back with her from the library. At least they intended to take turns, until it became clear that Anna was a far better reader than Piper was, so she had the book most of the time.

Piper passed the hours pacing the room and watching Gee. Once, she caught Trimble smiling at her from his seat next to Gee’s bed.

“What?” she asked. “What’s the grin for?” And how could he be grinning at a time like this? she thought with a flash of irritation.

“Nothing,” Trimble said. “I can see why he likes you, though.”

Piper stopped pacing. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Gee. He likes you.”

Piper blinked in surprise. Trimble must be sleep deprived, she thought, to come up with that one. She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“I’m telling you—”

“And I’m saying you’ve been breathing too much coal dust,” Piper interrupted. Her irritation increased. “Gee and I don’t exactly get along. Every time we’re in a room together, there’s shouting. Lots of shouting.”

“Uh-huh, I noticed.” Trimble’s grin made Piper want to set his hair on fire—not that it would do any good. “But you two are a lot alike,” he said. “You’re protective of the people you care about.”

“He’s right,” Anna said, looking up from her book.

“You stay out of this,” Piper said. She turned her back on the fireman so he wouldn’t see the color rising in her cheeks. No way did Gee think of her like that. True, there had been a moment after he’d told her about being a slave … All right, Piper realized, maybe they did have some things in common, but that didn’t mean there was anything more to it than that.

“Should I start another book?” Anna asked, interrupting Piper’s thoughts.

“If you’re not too tired,” Piper said, grateful for the change of subject. Reflexively, she went to the bed and listened to Gee’s breathing. Was she imagining it, or did his breathing sound wispy and deep, rather than harsh
and shallow as it had only an hour ago? She leaned in close, stopping short of resting her head against Gee’s chest. His heartbeat was strong—that was a good sign. Maybe the treatment was working.

“Don’t you two have your own room?”

Piper jumped at the voice. Gee was smiling at her, his eyes half-open.

Relief, sudden and overwhelming, washed over Piper. He was all right. All she could do was stare into those bright green eyes while she fought to hold back tears.

“You’re awake!” Anna slammed her book shut and scrambled to the bed. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been run over by a train,” Gee said. He rubbed his chest. “At least somebody put out the fire here.”

“Anna and Trimble did it,” Piper said, finding her voice. “They found a cure for the dust.”

“All I really did was mix up some chemicals,” Trimble offered. “Anna did the hard work. She saved your life, Green-Eye.”

Gee tried to sit up, but he was still weak. Piper supported him and propped up his pillows so he could sit up in bed. “I owe you one,” he said to Anna. He held out his hand.

Anna turned scarlet. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, but she took his hand. “You don’t owe me—not really. It was the least I could do after you saved me from the slavers, and you took me flying at the same time. And studying
all that science, discovering that they used tiferi and it’s what made you so sick—it was fascinating.” She looked up and her eyes were sparkling. “I’d love to try it again sometime.”

Gee smiled faintly. “Next time I’m dying, we’ll work something out.”

Trimble was on the other side of the room, holding open the door. “Okay, now that Gee’s awake, it’s time you girls got some rest. And you too,” he ordered Gee. The chamelin saluted him weakly and lay back on the bed. Almost as soon as he did, his eyes drifted closed.

Reluctantly, Piper stood, taking one last look at Gee to assure herself he was really going to be all right. The chamelin was already asleep again, his breathing deep and steady now. It was a relief to hear. Piper turned to go and a wall of exhaustion hit her. She moved stiffly, her muscles sore from the tension.

Trimble closed the door behind them, but instead of crossing the vestibule to the opposite door, he turned to face Piper and Anna. He wore a serious expression, and Piper was suddenly uneasy.

“I talked to Jeyne earlier,” Trimble said, “while I was mixing the treatment. I’ll tell her that Gee’s going to be all right, thank the goddess. But she wanted me to tell both of you that if Doloman wants you, he’ll have to come through her, me, and our whole crew first.”

Saying nothing more, the fireman turned and entered the other door, leaving Piper and Anna alone between
the cars. Piper swallowed a lump that had risen in her throat. She was overwhelmed by Jeyne and Trimble’s support, and for once, she had no idea what to say. She looked at Anna. “What do you think?”

Anna looked as if she might cry. “I wish we could stay here forever,” she said.

“I know,” Piper agreed. Her voice was husky with emotion. “Trimble’s right, that was a miracle—what you did for Gee. I wish I had half your brains.”

Anna shook her head. “It wasn’t me; it was the books. They’re a part of me. When I read them, I feel like I’m remembering a little of who I am. Having those memories makes me not so scared of the ones I’m still missing.”

“That’s good,” Piper said. “You shouldn’t be scared of who you are.”

They lapsed into silence as they made their way through the passenger cars. All the worrying and exhaustion was catching up to Piper—and she hadn’t fully recovered from their ordeal with the slavers. Her tiredness made the walk back to their suite seem to stretch on for miles.