Chapter Seven

Iwaved down the medic.

"There is something in my tea," I cried. I began to feel light-headed. "Call

Valek." Maybe he had an antidote.

She stared at me with her large brown eyes. Her face was long and thin.

Longer hair would soften her features, her short style merely made her resemble

a ferret.

"It's sleeping pills. Valek's orders," she said.

I let out a breath, feeling better. The medic gave me an amused look before

she left. My appetite ruined, I shoved the food aside. I didn't need sleeping pills

to help me give in to the exhaustion that lapped up my remaining strength.

When I woke the next morning, there was a blurry white blob standing at

the end of my bed. It moved. I blinked and squinted until the image sharpened

into the short-haired medic.

"Did you have a good night?"

"Yes," I said. The first night in a long time free of nightmares, although my

head felt as if wool had been shoved into it, and a rank taste in my mouth didn't

promise for a good morning.

The medic checked my bandages, made a noncommittal sound and told me

breakfast would be a while.

As I waited, I scanned the infirmary. The rectangular room held twelve

beds, six on each side, and spaced so that they formed a mirror image. The

sheets on the empty beds were pulled tight as bowstrings. Orderly and precise,

the room annoyed me. I felt like rumpled bedding, no longer in control of my

soul, my body, or my world. Being surrounded by neatness offended me, and I

had a sudden desire to jump on the empty beds, knocking them out of line.

I was farthest from the door. Two empty beds lay between the three other

patients and me on my side of the room. They were sleeping. I had no one to talk

to. The stone walls were bare. Hell, my prison cell had more interesting

decorations. At least it smelled better in here. I took a deep breath. The clean,

sharp smell of alcohol mixed with disinfectant filled my nose, so different from

the dungeon's fetid air. Much better. Or was it? There was another scent

intermixed with the medical aroma. Another whiff and I realized that the sour

odor of old fear emanated from me.

I shouldn't have survived yesterday. Brazell's guards had me cornered.

There was no escape. Yet I had been saved by a strange buzzing noise that had erupted from my throat like an unruly, uncontrollable offspring. A primal

survival instinct that had echoed in my nightmares.

I avoided thoughts about that buzz because it was an old acquaintance of

mine, but the memories kept invading my mind.

Examining the past three years, I forced myself to concentrate on when and

where the buzzing had erupted, and to ignore the emotions.

The first couple of months of Brazell's experiments had merely tested my

reflexes. How fast I could dodge a ball or duck a swinging stick, harmless

enough until the ball had turned into a knife and the stick into a sword.

My heart began to pound. With sweaty palms I fingered a scar on my neck.

No emotion, I told myself sternly, flicking my hands as if I could push away the

fear. Pretend you're the medic, I thought, asking questions to gain information. I

imagined myself dressed in white, calmly sitting next to a fevered patient while

she babbled.

What came next? I asked the patient. Strength and endurance tests, she

answered. Simple tasks of lifting weights had turned into holding heavy stones

above her head for minutes, then hours. If she dropped the stone before the time

was up, she was whipped. She was ordered to clutch chains dangling from the

ceiling, holding her weight inches above the floor, until Brazell or Reyad gave

permission to let go.

When was the first time you heard the buzzing? I prompted the patient. She

had released the chains too early too many times and Reyad became furious. So

he forced her outside a window six floors above the ground, and let her hold on

to the ledge with her hands.

"Let's try it again," Reyad said. "Now that we've raised the stakes, maybe

you'll last for the whole hour."

The patient stopped speaking. Go on, tell me what happened, I prodded.

Her arms had been weak from spending most of the day hanging from the

chains. Her fingers were slick with sweat; her muscles trembled with fatigue.

She panicked. When her hands slipped off the ledge, she howled like a newborn.

The howl mutated and transformed into a substance. It expanded out, enveloped

and caressed her skin on all sides. She felt as if she was nestled in a warm pool

of water.

Next thing she remembered she was sitting on the ground. She glanced up

at the window. Reyad watched her with his face flushed. His perfect blond hair

an unusual mess. Delighted, he blew her a kiss.

The only way she could have survived the fall was by magic. No.

Absolutely not, she insisted. It had to have been some strange wind currents or

landing the right way. Not magic.

Magic, a forbidden word in Ixia since Commander Ambrose came to

power. Magicians had been treated like disease-riddled mosquitoes. They were

hunted, trapped and exterminated. Any hint or suggestion that someone had

magic was a death sentence. The only chance to live was to escape to Sitia.

The patient was growing agitated, and the other occupants of the room were

staring at her…Me. Small doses, I told myself. I could handle the memories in

modest quantities. After all, I hadn't been hurt by the fall, and Reyad was sweet

to me for a while. But his kindness only lasted until I started failing his tests

again.

To distract myself from the memories, I counted the cracks in the ceiling. I

was up to fifty-six when Valek arrived.

He carried a tray of food in one hand and a file folder in the other. I eyed

the steaming omelet with suspicion. "What's in it?" I demanded. "More sleeping

pills? Or another new poison?" Every muscle in my body had stiffened. I tried

unsuccessfully to sit up. "How about giving me something to make me feel good

for a change?"

"How about something to keep you alive?" Valek asked. He pulled me to a

sitting position and offered a pipette filled with my antidote. Then he placed the

tray of food on my lap.

"No need for sleeping pills. The medic told me you picked up on that taste

last night." Valek's voice held a note of approval. "Taste your breakfast and tell

me if you would allow the Commander to eat it."

Valek hadn't been exaggerating when he said I'd have no days off. Sighing,

I smelled the omelet. No unusual odors. I cut the omelet into quarters, examining

each for any foreign material. Taking a small piece from each section, I put them

into my mouth one at a time and chewed slowly. Swallowing, I waited to discern

any aftertaste. I sniffed the tea and stirred it with a spoon before sipping. Rolling

the liquid over my tongue, I detected a sweet taste before I swallowed.

"Unless the Commander doesn't like honey in his tea, I wouldn't reject this

breakfast."

"Then eat it."

I hesitated. Was Valek trying to trick me? Unless he had used a poison I

hadn't learned, the breakfast was clean. I ate every morsel, and then drained the

tea while Valek watched.

"Not bad," he said. "No poisons…today."

One of the medics brought another tray to Valek. This tray held four white

cups of an olive-colored liquid that smelled like mint. Replacing my breakfast

tray with the new one, Valek said, "I want to go over some tasting techniques.

Each of these cups contains mint tea. Taste one."

Clasping the closest mug, I took a sip. An overwhelming flavor of mint

pervaded my mouth. I choked.

Valek grinned. "Taste anything else?"

I attempted another mouthful. The mint dominated. "No."

"All right. Now pinch your nose tight and try again."

After some fumbling with my bandaged arm, I managed to gulp the tea

while holding my nose. My ears popped. I marveled at the taste. "Sweet. No

mint." My voice sounded silly so I released my grip. Immediately, the mint

eclipsed the sweetness.

"Correct. Now try the others."

The next cup of mint tea hid a sour taste, the third had a bitter flavor, and

the fourth was salty.

"This technique works for any drink or food. Blocking your sense of smell

eliminates all flavors except sweet, sour, bitter and salt. Some poisons are

recognizable by one of those four flavors." Valek paged through his folder.

"Here is a complete list of human poisons and their distinct tastes for you to

memorize. There are fifty-two known poisons."

I looked through the inventory of poisons. Some of them I had already

smelled. My Love was at the top. The list would have saved me from the

dizziness, nausea, headaches and occasional delusional effects of the poison. I

brandished the paper in the air. "Why didn't you just give me this list instead of

making me sample My Love?"

Valek stopped paging through his folder. "What would you learn from a

list? Kattsgut tastes sweet. What does that taste like? Honey sweet? Apple

sweet? There are different levels of sweetness and the only way to learn them is

to taste them yourself. Theonlyreason I'm giving you this list is because the

Commander wants you working as soon as possible." Valek snapped his folder

shut. "Just because you aren't going to taste those poisons now doesn't mean

you won't in the future. Memorize that list. Once the medic releases you from

the infirmary, I will test your knowledge. If you pass, then you can start work."

"And if I fail?"

"Then I'll be training a new taster."

His voice was flat, monotone, but the force behind it caused my heart to

lock.

Valek continued. "Brazell will be in the castle for another two weeks. He

has more business to attend to. I can't have you guarded all day, so Margg is

preparing a room for you in my suite. I'll come back later to see when you'll be

discharged."

I watched Valek walk to the door. He glided across the room, balanced and athletic. I shook my head. Thinking about Valek was the absolute worst thing I

could be doing. Instead, I focused on the list of poisons clutched in my hand. I

smoothed the paper out and hoped my sweat hadn't smeared the ink. Relieved

that the writing was legible, I began to study.

I barely noticed when the medic came to check on my arm. She must have

taken the tray of teacups, because it disappeared from my lap. I had blocked out

all the noise and commotion of the infirmary so that I jumped when a plate

containing a round pastry was thrust under my nose.

The arm that held the plate led to Rand. His grin was gleeful.

"Look what I smuggled past Medic Mommy! Go ahead. Eat it before she

comes back."

The warm dessert smelled like cinnamon. Melted white icing dripped down

the sides, causing the cake to stick to my fingers when I picked it up. I examined

the pastry closely, inhaling the aroma in search of a foreign smell. One small bite

revealed multiple layers of dough and cinnamon.

"My God, Yelena, you don't think I'd poison it?" Rand's face was pinched

tight, as if he was in pain.

Exactly what I'd been thinking, but admitting it to Rand would offend him.

His motives for being here were unclear. Seeming nice and friendly, he could be

holding a grudge over his friend Oscove, the previous food taster. But then

again, he was a potential ally. Who better to have on my side? Rand, the cook,

whose food I'd be eating on a daily basis, or Valek, the assassin, who had a

nasty tendency of poisoning my meals?

"Occupational hazard," I tried.

He grunted, still put out. I took a big bite of the pastry.

"Wonderful," I said, appealing to his ego to give me another chance.

Rand's face softened. "Good, isn't it? My latest recipe. I take a long strip of

pastry dough, cover it with cinnamon, roll it up into a ball, bake it, and then

spread the icing on while it's hot. I'm having some trouble with the name

though. Cinnamon cake? Ball? Swirl?" Rand stopped his rambling to find a

chair. After quite a bit of twisting to compensate for his unbendable left leg, he

finally settled into a comfortable position.

While I finished the pastry, Rand continued. "Don't tell Medic Mommy I

gave you that. She doesn't like her patients eating anything but a thin gruel. She

says the gruel promotes healing. Well, of course it has an effect!" He threw his

arms up, exposing several burn scars around his wrists. "It tastes so terrible that

anyone would get better just to get a decent meal!"

The wild gesture caused the other patients to glance our way. Rand leaned

in closer to me and asked in a quiet voice, "So, Yelena, how are you feeling?"

He looked at me as though he was appraising a selection of meat, determining

which one would make the best roast.

I was wary. Why would he care? "Gambling again?" I asked.

He leaned back. "We're always gambling. Gambling and gossiping is all

we servants do. What else is there? You should've seen the commotion and

betting that went on when you were spotted being chased by Brazell's goons."

Appalled, I said, "Nobody came to help me. The hallways were deserted."

"That would be involvement in a situation that doesn't affect us directly.

Servants don't ever do that. We're like cockroaches scurrying around in the

dark." Rand's slender fingers waggled. "Shine a light…poof!" He flicked his

long fingers for emphasis. "We disappear."

I felt like the unlucky cockroach that got caught by the light. Always

scrambling to stay one step ahead while the shadow of a boot crept closer.

"Anyway, the odds were against you. Most lost big, while only a few—"

Rand paused dramatically "—won big."

"Since you're here, I suppose you won big."

He smiled. "Yelena, I'm always going to bet on you. You're like one of the

Commander's terriers. A tiny, yappy dog you wouldn't look at twice, but once it

grabs your pant leg, it won't let go."

"Poison the dog's meat and it won't bother you anymore."

My sour tone deflated Rand's grin. "Trouble?"

Surprised that the castle's gossip network hadn't already started laying odds

about Valek's test, I hesitated. Rand liked to talk, and he could get me in trouble.

"No. It's just being the food taster and all…" I hoped that would satisfy him.

Rand nodded. He spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between

reminiscing about Oscove and digressing about potential new recipes. When

Valek appeared, Rand stopped talking, his face paled and he mumbled

something about having to check on dinner. Lurching from his chair, he almost

toppled in his haste to flee the room. Valek watched as Rand staggered out of the

infirmary.

"What was he doing here?"

Valek's expression remained neutral, but the stillness of his body made me

wonder if he was angry. Carefully choosing my words, I explained to him that

Rand had come to visit.

"When did you meet him?"

A casual question, but again there was an undercurrent to his words. "After

I recovered from My Love, I went in search of food and met Rand in the

kitchen."

"Watch what you say around him. He's not to be trusted. I would have reassigned him, but the Commander insisted he stay. Heisa genius in the kitchen.

Some kind of protégé. He started cooking for the King at a very young age."

Valek stared at me with his cold blue eyes, warning me away from Rand.

Maybe that's why Valek hadn't liked Oscove. Being allied with someone who

had been loyal to the King could cast more suspicion on me. But letting Valek

scare me off rankled. I stared back at him with, I hoped, an indifferent look.

Valek looked away. I was jubilant. In my mind, I had finally won a round.

"You leave the infirmary tomorrow morning." Valek was curt. "Get

yourself cleaned up and report to my office to take the test. I won't think you're

ready even if you pass, but the Commander ordered me to have you available by

lunch." He shook his head in annoyance. "It's a shortcut. I hate shortcuts."

"Why? You won't have to risk yourself anymore." I regretted the words as

soon as they had left my mouth.

Valek's gaze was lethal. "In my experience, shortcuts usually lead to

death."

"Is that what happened to my predecessor?" I asked, unable to stifle my

curiosity. Would Valek confirm or deny Rand's theories?

"Oscove?" Valek paused. "He didn't have the stomach for it."