by flames.
“Are you sure it’s safe?” April asked.
“Define safe,” Jazmine said, dipping her toe into the water. “Let’s say, somewhere between fighting an elite and the rash that’s forming under my armpits. An acceptable risk.”
“You should keep your clothes on,” Luke said.
“What’s the matter, never seen a girl naked before?” she winked, shrugging off her jeans.
Luke turned away and I could swear he was blushing.
“Let’s give the girls some privacy,” Trevor said. “We’ll scope out the area and get a fire started. We can boil the water and refill our canteens.”
“How far do you think we are from Crollust?” I asked.
“Not far, I think,” Penelope said. “We might even arrive by morning if we push on.”
“And you think we’ll be safe there?” April asked.
Penelope frowned.
“Not for long,” she admitted. “But maybe for a night or two.”
“Enough time to grab some supplies and elixir,” I nodded. “And my neck will be grateful for a pillow, after a few nights on the ground.”
“If we show up like this, it’s going to raise some eyebrows,” Penelope said. “I left when I was seventeen, a chosen. The last time I visited was three years ago, and we were treated like royalty; a huge feast in our honor, banquets and dancing every night. Tobias dressed me up in fancy ball gowns and heavy jewelry, showing me off. I think he was trying to prove to everyone that the chosen were well treated.”
“Interesting,” I said. I vaguely remembered some of the chosen returning to visit, but that was years ago before my father died. Algrave had a long dryspell before my ceremony.
“So,” Penelope continued, “this time I’ll be arriving in rags, escorted by a bunch of traders. I’ll need some kind of cover story. And I wish I had a change of clothes.”
“At least you’ll be semi-clean,” Jazmine said, splashing into the water. She pulled out a small towel and a bar of soap from her bag and lathered up her dark skin. Camina stood on shore, her arms crossed warily, sneaking long glances at Jazmine.
Penelope and I stripped to our underwear and joined her. The water was cool but not freezing. Penelope moaned, ducking her head under the trickle of water and washing the blood out of her hair.
Jazmine smiled at me once her face was clean, and splashed me with water. I splashed back and she laughed, ducking under the water. Then her eyes widened in shock. Her scream was cut off as she disappeared under the surface in a cloud of blood.
17
Camina dove into the shallow water before I could even react, hauling Jazmine’s spasming body into the dry soil. I gasped as I saw her mangled leg. It looked like it had been caught in barbed wire.
Penelope’s arm shot into the water, grabbing something pale and transparent from beneath the murky surface and tossing it up onto the rocks.
It was some kind of translucent, mutid fish with rows of needle-sharp teeth, too large for its body.
Foul, green liquid dripped from the puncture wounds in Jazmine’s leg. Penelope stomped on the fish just as Trevor and Luke came running back into the clearing.
“Phantom fish,” Luke said, his eyes widening. “They’re toxoids. Poisonous. Help me bind her leg. Quickly, we can’t let the venom reach her heart!” He tied a cloth around her thigh, turning it with a stick until it cut off the blood flow. Then he held her leg carefully, as April felt below the knee.
“The bone isn’t broken,” she said. “But we need to clear the toxin before it spreads.”
“How?” Trevor asked.
“Suck it out,” Luke said. “Can I—?” He looked at Camina for permission. Jazmine’s dark eyes were fluttering in and out of consciousness. We held her still as Luke lowered his head, forming a vacuum around the bloodied wounds and spitting the poison to the side until the blood ran clear.
Then he crawled on his hands and knees and vomited into the bushes. “I’m alright,” he slurred, as Trevor tried to help him up.
“Undo the bandages,” April said. “So she doesn’t lose the leg. I’ll stop the bleeding.”
“She’ll be alright?” Camina asked.
“She—” Luke said. “I don’t know.”
Penelope flashed her fangs, biting into her wrist and dripping a few drops of blood into Jazmine’s mouth.
“Luke too,” I said. He frowned, but tilted his head, without taking his eyes of Penelope, so she could squeeze a drop of blood past his pale green lips. Immediately some of the color was restored to his gaunt cheeks.
But Jazmine wasn’t as lucky. It was several