He groaned, but not in pain. “You’re a hard lady to refuse.”

I put his arm around my shoulder and helped him stand. Fox wobbled on one foot, leaning on me.

“Put the other foot down. Your leg will hold. Trust me.”

He cringed in anticipation, but blinked with surprise. Distributing his weight, he straightened.

I beamed at him. “See? I wouldn’t lie to you.” I called another one of my workers over. “Please take the lieutenant for a walk. Once around the room.”

As she led Fox down the aisle, I checked on the next patient. “How’s the arm, Henson?”

He didn’t get a chance to reply. A bang sounded as a group of bloody soldiers pushed through the door. They carried six wounded men. I rushed to them, calling for a few helpers. The injured men were all unconscious, which, considering the severity of their wounds, was a kindness.

It was times like this that I wished for another five healers. All the men needed extreme measures. One died as I inspected the gaping hole in his stomach. Three others wouldn’t make it another hour. The remaining two had the best chance. But which one should I take first? I chose the weaker of the two. Before assuming his injuries, I instructed my helpers on how to keep the other alive. And how to assist with the walking wounded who had carried their buddies here.

My magic felt as if it jumped when I placed my hands on the first soldier. He had broken five ribs and one had pierced his lung. Breathing became difficult as pain ringed my chest; I collapsed on an empty bed. The commotion in the infirmary faded.

Darkness had fallen by the time I woke. Voices muttered, but no one in the infirmary was awake. In fact, it appeared as if everyone had been tucked in for the night. I reached over to the man lying in the bed next to me. The second man had survived the day and his pulse felt strong. Emre dozed in a chair next to him.

Before healing the soldier, I woke Emre.

“What’s the status on Gantin?” I asked.

“Better. No fever and resting quietly.”

“Good. Go to bed, Emre. I’ve got this one.” Plus the night nurses would be doing their rounds soon.

The voices outside stopped when Emre left. I would have ignored them except I heard Estrid’s name. The injured man would last a few more minutes. My ribs ached as I stood and searched for the source of the voices. They came from behind the infirmary. I crept back to my office. Glad the high window had been opened and no lanterns had been lit in here, I climbed up on my desk to peek outside.

Two men talked in low tones. My eyes needed a minute to adjust to the darkness. A weak yellow glow from the infirmary’s windows shone on them and the four dead bodies. The bodies had been covered with linen sheets and laid in the large stone basin, waiting to be prepared for a proper burial. Since I started here, we hadn’t had to use the prep area.

I recognized the one man as the captain of the injured unit. Tohon was the other.

“…sure, Captain?” Tohon asked.

“Yes, sire. No one matching that description was among the attackers. All wore Estrid’s red uniforms except for those three I described.”

I wondered if the three were Belen, Loren and Quain. That would mean Tohon had been asking about Kerrick.

“Explain to me again how their smaller force overwhelmed yours?” Tohon didn’t sound happy.

“We had no warning, sire. It was the middle of the night, in the middle of a town in Vyg that we had secured months ago. It was a small group who attacked. They came in quick, and left just as fast. We gave chase, but lost them in the woods.”

Tohon appeared to consider the information. “Doesn’t your unit have special forces?”

“No, sire. Captain Young’s unit works with them.”

“All right, Captain. Return to your men.” Tohon remained standing next to the dead as the captain walked away.

He waited until the captain rounded the corner before lifting the sheet on the nearest body. Tohon pulled a syringe from his pocket. Shoving the needle into the dead man’s arm, he pushed the plunger. Then he rested his hand on the dead man’s forehead before letting the sheet fall. He did the same thing for the other three, injecting, then touching them. Odd. Was he doing an experiment?

I pressed both my hands to my mouth, muffling a very girlie scream when the first body moved. Tohon yanked the sheet off and helped the formerly dead and na**d man stand. Soon the three others joined their comrade. Tohon pushed them and they walked in a line, heading toward the other side of the compound. A tiny macabre parade. He guided the dead men by touch. I watched until the darkness swallowed them.

Sinking down to my desk, I sat there in shock. Tohon had just reanimated the dead. What was in the syringes? Did he use magic? Probably when he touched their foreheads. I had known his special soldiers were dead—without souls—but their bodies hadn’t decayed so I hadn’t been entirely convinced the bodies had ceased to function.

Those four had been dead. No doubt about that. I mulled over the horror, but I couldn’t think of an explanation for what had transpired outside.

“Miss Avry?” The captain stood in the doorway of my office. “My sergeant doesn’t look good. He’s coughing up blood.”

Spurred into action, I slid off the desk. “Sorry, I needed a glass of water.” I followed him back to the sergeant.

The man’s body convulsed as he sputtered. His ribs had been broken as well, but his spleen had also been damaged.

“How did they get hurt?” I asked.