The healer’s gaze narrowed. “Wait a minute.” She bustled out.
Poppy checked over their bubbling vials.
Cassanra returned, clutching a small, black device. She set it down in front of Poppy.
“What is it?” Poppy asked.
“A device we give our vision impaired.” She touched a button. Light shone from the box and hit the projection Cassanra had been reading earlier. A low, female voice came from the box, talking with a slow, steady cadence.
Poppy’s pulse leaped. “It reads the information aloud.”
“Yes.” The healer grinned. “You can use it for books, projections—”
Poppy threw her arms around the older woman. “Thank you!”
Cassanra patted her back. “You’re welcome.”
“Do you have any information on runas?”
“I do. It’s old, and the language is quite colorful. The Damari of old fancied themselves poets.”
“I don’t mind.”
Cassanra moved to a drawer and returned with an old, leather-bound book. “Here you go.”
Poppy used her new device straight away. In between monitoring the experiments, she pored over the information on runas.
Wolf whisperers with the ability to calm wolves. It seemed runas worked best one on one with a rabid wolf. Working with multiple out-of-control Damari was difficult, and few runas could do it without risking serious injury.
One of the bubbling vials on the bench turned a putrid black. The stench it gave off was horrible.
“I’ll open a window.” Poppy covered her nose and mouth with one hand. She wrenched the window open and gulped in some fresh air.
Behind her, Cassanra made a choking noise. Poppy spun. The other woman staggered and hit a workbench. Several empty vials and tools fell to the floor, smashing.
“Cassanra?” Poppy frowned.
The woman bent over, every muscle in her body straining.
“Cassanra, what’s wrong?” Poppy cried.
The woman looked up. Her eyes were pure black. Her claws slashed out, her face contorted.
She snarled.
Poppy backed up. Oh, God.
Cassanra’s gaze locked on her and she walked forward, seeming to almost grow taller.
“Cassanra, it’s Poppy.”
The healer stopped with a grimace, and her back arched. “P-Poppy. Get out.”
Poppy straightened, continuing to move backward. “No. I can help you.”
“Want… To hurt you.”
“You won’t. Fight it.” Poppy’s hip brushed the workbench, and she frantically searched through the container of medicine patches Cassanra had showed her earlier.
“Can’t fight it. Too strong.” The woman dropped to her knees.
Poppy found the patch she wanted and spun. She ran to Cassanra and slapped the tranquilizer on the back of the woman’s neck.
Cassanra growled and slashed out, catching Poppy’s arm.
Pain flashed. It was a deep cut, and blood instantly began to drip down her arm.
“Fight it, Cassanra.” She touched the woman’s back, and tried to project calm.
Cassanra froze, her chest heaving, and her head bowed.
She went still, but Poppy sensed her internal struggle.
The minutes ticked by, every one of them feeling like a year. Finally, Cassanra sagged, her claws retracting. She shuddered.
“Easy.” Poppy helped her into a chair. “Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please.” Cassanra’s voice was hoarse.
Poppy poured a glass of water from a jug on a side table. She crouched and held it out.
Cassanra sipped, and eyed Poppy over the rim. “You aren’t stupid, I’ve seen your intelligence, so you must be very brave.”
“You helped me survive my transformation. I would have died without your healing. I couldn’t leave you.”
Cassanra grabbed Poppy’s hand. “Thank you.” Then she saw Poppy’s bleeding forearm. “Gorr, let me clean that up for you. If the emperor sees it, he’ll lose his mind.”
Sensing the woman needed to take her mind off things, Poppy leaned against the workbench and let Cassanra clean the wound. She put a poultice on it and bandaged it. Her hands weren’t fully steady yet.
“What happened?” Poppy asked.
“That poison…it did something to me. I couldn’t control myself.”
“Scan yourself. Let’s find out what’s going on.”
With a nod, Cassanra did the scan and studied the results, her face set in hard lines. Poppy used her new reading device.
The healer sucked in a breath. “The poison affects the Damari brain, in the area for inhibitory control.”
Poppy gasped. “It’s causing you to bypass all your inhibitions.”
“Yes. In the Damari, it causes homicidal, murderous tendencies. It drives the wolf out of control.”
“It didn’t affect me,” Poppy mused.
“Maybe you didn’t get a large enough dose?”
“Or because I opened the window? It diluted the effect.”
“Or because you’re a runa.”
Lots of options, but no one answer.
“Candela is trying to perfect this,” Poppy said quietly. “To infect the Damari.”
Cassanra got a pinched look. “I need to run some more tests, with increased safety protocols, and then report to the emperor.” She took Poppy’s hand. “Thank you again, Poppy.”
“You’re welcome.”
There was a knock at the door and Poppy’s heart leaped. Maybe Brodin was back.
Annora entered. She nodded and her gaze moved to Poppy.
“Any word on your sister and the kids?” Poppy asked.
Annora’s jaw worked. “Not yet. Brodin kicked me out for a bit, to clear my head.” She said the last words with a growl. “Poppy, I thought you might like to train with me. To learn to utilize your new Damari abilities.”
“Oh.” Poppy really wanted that. “That would be great. As long as you don’t beat me up in the process.”
Annora’s lips twitched. “I promise you’ll still be walking.”
“Oh, that’s so reassuring.”
“Good,” the healer said. “I need a break. And the fresh air and exercise will do Poppy good.”
“Are you sure?” Poppy asked. “I can stay and help—”
“Absolutely. Your help has been invaluable, but now I have some more work to do on that one sample.”
“No testing alone.”
“Of course not.” Cassanra made a shooing motion with her hands. “Off you go.”
Chapter Nine
Brodin took the twisting path through the forest.
He walked up the hill, listening to the incanta birds sing. He reached the clearing, then sank down to sit. The birds continued to serenade him.
This was where his parents were buried.
The Damari burned their dead. He’d scattered their mingled ashes here. Willas had loved Brodin’s mother, Jena. They’d been a true mated pair.
Not all Damari couples were mated. Some were just in love and happily joined, but sometimes, for a rare few, the bond went even beyond that. They coded to each other, generating pheromones that only attracted their mate. It was impossible for one mate to hurt, leave, or betray the other. They were linked forever.