Requiem for the Dead

Chapter Twenty-three

Bad news always seems to ride the coattails of good news.

The good news came when Wyatt returned to the infirmary with a tray of sandwiches and bottled water for the small group of us holding vigil in Milo's room.

"Eulan called," he said as he deposited the tray on the rolling side table. "They removed Eleri from stasis and dosed her with the gnome cure. He says she's showing signs of improvement."

Relief burned in my chest, and it bubbled up in a burst of laughter. "Really? It's going to work?"

"So far so good. If Eleri continues to improve, they'll slowly reawaken the other vampires and give them the cure, too."

I was too tired to jump up and down so I did a few mental gymnastics to wear out my excitement over the news. More than saving the lives of vampires I considered friends, this meant that Walter Thackery didn't get the last laugh. He didn't win.

"We owe Horzt a huge debt," Kismet said. She'd brought a bunch of chairs into Milo's room for all of us: me, Wyatt, Marcus, herself. Even Astrid had joined the group, her midsection bandaged tight from the bullet she'd taken. Milo had been given a big dose of painkillers after his adventure into the exam area, and he dozed in and out of the conversations.

Astrid and Marcus had been treated a little while ago by a Therian doctor named Hunt who'd been brought in to assist while Dr. Vansis was otherwise occupied saving Tybalt's life. The only news we'd had on Tybalt in the last few hours was a terse "He's hanging on" from Hunt when he joined Dr. Vansis in the operating room.

Tybalt wasn't going out without a fight.

We ate while we digested the news that the vampires had a chance to come through this. I had no idea if the infection would cause lasting damage or side effects. No one would know right away. All we could do was hope for a positive outcome.

Others wandered in and out, seeking news we didn't have, and offering their respects to Marcus for kicking Vale's ass so solidly. Kyle and Lynn, Leah and Jackson, Shelby, Sandburg, Rufus, Nevada, Morgan, Carly, even Paul with his bandaged shoulder—all familiar faces.

Astrid watched everyone with a new glint in her eyes that worried me: distrust. Autumn had broken our trust, wormed her way into our organization, and then tried to kill our own. Human or Therian, we were part of the Watchtower. We were a family. Autumn had placed a fracture at the base of that family, forever altering the solidity of its foundation. And I didn't know how to start repairing it.

Finding that sense of trust again was only one item on a long list of things that needed my attention. The Frosts were still in the compound, under guard, hopefully coming to grips with everything I'd told them earlier. Aurora, Ava, and Joseph were still missing. Nessa and her goblins had slowed their attacks on humans, but once word got out that my latest death had been faked, I knew she'd be at it again.

The one thing we were waiting for word on, the thing I had no hand in affecting one way or another, was the naming of Elder Dane's successor. The Assembly was in session. We'd know as soon as a decision was made.

For now, the only thing getting my full and undivided attention was Tybalt. And the people around me. The people who cared about him the most.

Dr. Vansis appeared in the doorway like a ghost, standing where no one had been an instant before. He wore stained scrubs, and I tried to ignore the splotches of red in favor of studying his face. His expression was completely neutral, even his eyes empty of any actual emotion.

My insides churned, and I reached for Wyatt's hand.

"There was a complication," Dr. Vansis said. The tension level in the room skyrocketed with those four words. "Tybalt's injuries from the knife were serious, but not catastrophic. However, as I repaired the damage his heart rate and breathing became dangerously erratic. Keeping him stable was difficult. His internal systems were shutting down."

"Why?" Kismet asked, her voice sharp, cold, begging him to not say what he was taking care to explain.

"Dr. Hunt found an injection site behind Tybalt's ear. I won't know for certain without further testing, but I believe he was poisoned."

"Vale." Marcus's voice cut like a blade, fury blazing in his eyes. "The coward."

Vale had played his final wild card, a trick none of us had expected.

"Do you have an antidote?" Milo asked, startling me. I hadn't realized he was awake and listening. "Something that will help him?"

Dr. Vansis shook his head. My throat tightened, certain without having heard the words yet. Wyatt held my hand tighter. I couldn't breathe.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Vansis said. "But Tybalt passed away a few minutes ago."

"That's not funny," Milo said.

"I assure you, it was not a jest. Perhaps if I had known about the poison earlier, the outcome would be different."

"It can't be true." Milo's helpless gaze swung from Marcus to Kismet, to everyone in the room. I wanted to comfort him, to tell him it was a joke, that Tybalt was fine, but I couldn't. I was too stunned to move, much less offer support to Milo. Or Kismet, who looked like she'd been punched in the stomach.

"I'm very sorry," Dr. Vansis said, and I suspected he meant it. He left an extremely stunned group behind.

A heartbeat later, Kismet bolted after him.

My vision blurred. I blinked hard and didn't bother to wipe away the tears that trickled down my cheeks to my neck. Tybalt had fought so hard, overcome so much to take his place in the Watchtower's elite. He would have survived the knife wound. He deserved better than his body shutting down from the effects of an unknown poison.

He deserved a warrior's death, goddammit.

Rage and grief bubbled up, and I started to cry in earnest. I didn't care who saw. The distant sounds of choked sobs told me I wasn't the only one breaking down. Wyatt surrounded me, pulled me to the floor, into his arms. I clung to him and cried, hating the unfairness of it all. Hating the idea of facing this constant war without a capable colleague by my side.

Most of all, I huddled there and mourned my friend.