Niall stifled a yawn. This weariness troubled him; it seemed absurd to feel so sleepy when he had been awake for less than half an hour. In an attempt to shake it off, he gripped his nostrils between thumb and forefinger, and plunged his head below the surface of the water. There was a roaring sensation as the water entered his ears. Yet this was accompanied by an instantaneous feeling of relief, as if something inside his brain was expanding. When he came up gasping for air, the sense of relief continued, although he noticed that the weariness began to return as he leaned his head back against the wall of the tub and closed his eyes. He gripped his nostrils again and plunged his head under water. Once again, he experienced the sensation of relief, as if a window had opened inside his head and a cool breeze was blowing in. He allowed his body to slip down inside the bath until he was lying on the bottom; the depth of water above his head produced an oddly comforting sensation. This time he held his breath until his lungs were bursting.
When his head broke the surface, he was startled to realize that someone was standing beside the bath; he had to rub the water out of his eyes before he recognized Jarita.
“I’m sorry, my lord. I knocked twice.”
“What is it?” He was beginning to feel resentful about these interruptions.
“The doctor is here. He wants to know if he can look at the ax.”
“The ax? What does he want it for? Oh, never mind. Give it to him. And ask him to stay and have some breakfast.”
It was only after she had gone that Niall realized that the feeling of weariness had vanished completely.
When he entered the room, five minutes later, Simeon was seated at the table, with the ax lying in front of him. Its head was resting on a white cloth, and Simeon was carefully scraping the edge of the blade with a knife. He was so absorbed that he failed to hear Niall entering the room, and only glanced up at the sound of the closing door.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking scrapings from the blade.” He indicated a few traces of a brownish-black substance on the white cloth. “I’m going to try to find out if it’s been poisoned.”
“Is my brother no better?”
“Worse. He has a fever.”
Niall’s heart contracted with anxiety. “Is it serious?”
“I don’t think so. That’s what puzzles me. If the ax had been poisoned, I’d expect him to be dead by now.”
Jarita came in from the kitchen, carrying a plate containing a pile of pancakes. As they seated themselves at the table, Niall asked: “How will you test it?” He was aware that Simeon’s laboratory in the hospital was primitive.
“To begin with, dissolve these scrapings in a salt solution, then examine them on a microscope slide.”
“Microscope? You have a microscope?”
Simeon chuckled as he poured honey on a pancake. “I’ve more than that. Those packing cases contained some marvelous stuff. Hypodermics, scalpels, even a spectroscopic analyzer. You ought to come and see.”
Niall said: “The brown stain on the blade is Skorbo’s blood. Could that explain Veig’s fever?”
“I doubt it. Why should it? Spider blood’s not poisonous.”
“What if there was spider venom on the ax blade?”
Simeon nodded. “I thought of that too. A very small quantity of spider venom might explain the symptoms. If so, he’ll be all right in a day or so, as he builds up resistance.”
They were interrupted by a timid knock on the door. Jarita opened it. Niall recognized the slight, blonde girl who stood there as Crestia, Veig’s maidservant.
“My master is coming to see his brother.”
Simeon snorted. “That’s stupid. He’s not well enough.”
The girl was obviously unhappy. “That is what I told him. . .”
“Well, go back at once and tell him I forbid it.”
“Too late.” Veig stood in the doorway. “I thought I’d come and join you for breakfast.”
If it had been later in the day, Niall would have assumed he was drunk. Veig was swaying slightly, and he spoke slowly and hesitantly, choosing his words with care. Niall signaled to Jarita.
“Set another place for my brother.” He crossed the room and took Veig’s arm. “Come and sit down.”
“Thank you.” Veig disengaged his arm. “There’s nothing wrong with me — just a slight fever.” He sank down on the cushions and leaned his back against the wall. “I won’t have anything to eat. Just some fruit juice or milk.”
Niall could see why Simeon looked concerned. Veig’s forehead was covered in perspiration, and his face was pale. There were dark rings under his eyes — so dark that they looked like bruises — and the bandage around his right hand was soaked in blood.
Jarita placed a large goblet of papaya juice on the table. Veig picked it up in both hands, drank thirstily until he had almost drained it, then began to cough. Finally, he leaned his head back against the wall, his eyes closed; a drop of juice ran down into his beard. Niall watched him with concealed anxiety. When Veig’s breathing became heavy and regular, Niall gently probed his mind — assuming, correctly, that in his present state of affliction, his brother would be unaware of the intrusion. What he observed troubled him. Although he seemed to be awake, Veig was actually half-asleep; his consciousness was being invaded by confused images from the world of dreams. The worst of these was a black, shapeless being, more like an octopus than a man, that was trying to engulf him. Now Niall understood why Veig had come to join them; he was afraid to be alone.
He also realized that the best way to allay his brother’s fear was to behave normally. He therefore called to Jarita, asking her to bring the herb tea and the hard-boiled quails’ eggs. Then he continued his conversation with Simeon.
“Do you know what happened to the little boy we brought back?”
“He regained consciousness last night. But he is still too weak to move.”
“How did they wake him?”
Jarita, who was bending over the table, said: “They gave him a warm bath and massaged his body with oil of roses.”
Niall asked Simeon: “Do you think that might work for the others?”
“It’s possible. But I doubt it. Children are more resilient than adults.”
Veig opened his eyes. “I hear you brought a girl back with you.” His voice was still heavy and slurred, yet he seemed more alert.
Niall nodded. “She’s in the next room.”
“Who is she?”
Niall waited until he was sure Jarita was out of hearing before he replied. “We think she is an accomplice of the men who killed Skorbo.”
Simeon said: “Although I can’t imagine why they wanted to bring a girl with them.”
Veig said: “Perhaps she was some kind of housekeeper. They must have had a hideout somewhere.”
Niall asked: “Would you like to see her?”
Veig grinned. “Is she pretty?”
Niall also grinned, glad to hear his brother sounding more like his normal self. “Very.”
“In that case, yes.”
Niall pushed his plate away. Veig said: “Finish your breakfast — there’s no hurry.”
“I’d finished anyway.”
Simeon asked Veig: “Are you feeling better?”
“I think so. This thing comes and goes.” But as he rose, he swayed, and had to clutch at the wall for support.
The maidservant Crestia was waiting outside the door. She looked anxiously at Veig but, to Niall’s relief, made no move toward him. Niall knew his brother well enough to know that he would resent any attempt at help.
He unlocked the door and let them in. As he stepped inside, Niall was again reminded of the dream. The memory was so clear that he hung back, waiting to see what Simeon would do next.
In fact, Simeon pulled back the blanket and lifted the girl’s wrist. “Nothing wrong with her pulse.” Simeon raised the girl’s eyelids with his thumb, then opened her mouth. “My God!”
“What is it?” Niall looked into her mouth and saw what had startled Simeon. The tip of the girl’s tongue was split, so that it resembled the tongue of a snake.
Simeon touched it gently with his fingertip. “Poor girl. That looks to me as if it’s been deliberately cut.”
Niall could see why he thought so; a V-shaped segment of the tongue was missing.
“Why should anyone do that?”
Simeon said grimly: “Perhaps she talked too much.”
“Would that prevent her from talking?”
“It would make it difficult. When you speak, notice how often you press your tongue against your teeth.” Simeon drew the blanket down to her feet, then tugged at the spider web that still encased the lower half of her body. “Let’s have this off.” He reached into the side pocket of his tunic and took out a pair of scissors.