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She had a leaf of her own, laden with the sa her lips and sry for her There was such plenitude to her, such coence and luxury In her, nothing was denied I wanted her again I wanted to be her, full and rich withher and sed et it for yourself" She handed ic Isn’t it delicious? Fill yourself with it Eat and grow full ofit, and suddenly it was not sweet It was foul and thick, congealed like blood, sweet in the rotten way of carrion that draws flies I jerked back froic! I want to be an officer in the king’s cavalla I want to serve , and marry Carsina, and send my journals home to my family Please Let o"
"Easy, Burvelle Easy Orderly! More water, here, right away Drink this, Burvelle Drink it down"
My teeth chattered against the rilass Cold water spilled and dripped onray and black stubble on his chin and his eyes were bloodshot I tried to ive Caulder liquor, Doctor All I did was bring him home You have to talk to Colonel Stiet Or it’s all over for me"
He stared at me distractedly, then said, "It’s the least of your worries, Cadet But men seldom lie in fevers I’ll put in a word for you with the colonel If he survives Rest now Get some rest"
"The dust!" I blurted "Did he tell you about the dust? The dung Dung fro ht at his hands "I betrayed us, Doctor I n, and by it the Specks kneas me They knew they had reached the place where cavalla officers are taught They loosed the dust and the death upon us They aiting for n I’m a traitor, Doctor Don’t let him become me He means to kill everyone here, every soldier’s son And everyone in Old Thares, even the king and queen" I struggled to push his hands away, to escape the bed
"Easy, Nevare Rest You aren’t yourself Orderly! I need some straps here"
An old man in a spattered smock hurried to my bedside As the doctor held ht," the doctor rebuked him "I just want him kept in his bed until the deliriun The strip fell away from my wrist
"Not that loose!" the doctor chided him
"I tied it, sir Swear I did" The orderly was indignant
"Just do it again"
"Loose," I said, but I was losing th rapidly I let the doctor push ain
"That’s better," he said "We may not need the restraints after all"
I tried to hold on to his words, but they were slippery I slid back into ordinary night the An orderly brought me water and I drank, relieved to find it pure water with noits clean taste Dr Aht was eed by drink, was stripping off the linens I rolled my head the other way Spink was there, but he slept on, oblivious to the day’s light or the muted bustle around us Several times I asked after Nate and Oron, but the nurses seeo too fast," one man told me He scratched his whiskery cheek "The beds aren’t even cold before we’re an Dark Evening festival is sick Whole city has it now, I’ve heard ’Cept for ood od I stayed at hoht, yes I did Let this be a lesson to you, young fellow Those that give credence to the dark gods get paid in the dark gods’ coin"
His words rattled estion The words danced around inEpiny had said Or was it so able to use theourselves vulnerable to it I wondered if I had sinned by going to Dark Evening, and if this was the good god’s punishment of me Weak as I was, I beca my place in the verses