There's a sonic revelation bringing me to my knees
And there's a man down below that needs my sympathy
I got a ringing in my ears
Getting ready to burst
Screaming, "Hallelujah motherfucker
Take me to church."
I Like It Heavy—Halestorm
Julianne and Dustin are almost asleep when Prince's bear wakes them with a mournful howl. She's never heard it make that sound before and the stone in her belly grows larger. "Why's he doin' that," Jehan asks. He's barely awake, snuggled against Jaime's side the same way he's been since his forced stay in Ombra's dungeon.
"I'll go find out," Julianne murmurs. She rises with some difficulty, lugging Dustin up with her. One of his hands grasps the edge of her dress, his head a heavy, sweaty weight on her shoulder. She makes her way through the crowd as Roxane hurries past, finding Prince curled up in his bedroll, sweat standing out on his forehead. His lips have been bitten bloody in an attempt to muffle his cries. "What the hell?"
"He's sick," Gecko says. He looks at a loss, none of his usual malice to be found tonight. "Stomach cramps." Resa and Meggie join the group crowding around the Prince, Resa kneeling in front of him and cupping his face in her hands.
"Look at me," she orders in a stern voice. "Come on, Prince. Look at me." Roxane rejoins them with some roots in her hand. Resa glances away from the Prince to the magpie settled on Gecko's shoulder, eyes going hard. She knows something's not right with that bird, a reason why the bear and Jink keep trying to chase it out of the cave. "Strong Man, catch that bird." The Strong Man stands, tears streaming down his cheeks, and advances on Gecko. The magpie flutters its wings and flies out of reach, alighting on a ledge near the roof of the cave. While this chase is happening, Prince lets out a pained groan and then goes limp in Minerva's arms.
"He's lost consciousness," Minerva says nervously. "And look how shallow his breathing is. He won't last the night at this rate."
"Then I guess we'd better help him," Resa says. "I've seen this before. The berries that cause it are smaller than a pinhead and dark red, they grow not far from here. Mortola liked to use them on her son's enemies." Resa and Julianne look to the magpie again, the bird that's far too intelligent for its own good. "We need a specific root to cure this."
"I've got these," Roxane says.
"Retchwort will only make it worse. What we need is a flower with tiny white blooms that smell of carrion. That's the only antidote." Fenoglio and Elinor elbow their way to the front, the color draining out of Elinor's cheeks when she sees her hero laid out as if dead.
"What you're describing is deathbud and that's rare even if the cold didn't kill it. Is there anything else?" The Prince awakens enough to try and sit up, but then his eyes flutter shut and he falls back against Minerva. Roxane presses her ear against his chest and lets out a troubled sound. "He's barely alive."
"This, er, flower, Roxane," Fenoglio starts, glancing nervously at Elinor. She's got her elbow angled at his ribs as though she plans to break a couple of them if things don't go her way. "Where does it grow?"
"It likes moist, shady places. What's the point in asking? The frost killed it a month ago." Fenoglio nods hurriedly and hauls Meggie over to his pallet near the entrance. The Prince cries out again and Dustin starts to sniffle, a few other kids beginning to cry. This is the Black Prince, he's supposed to live forever like all heroes. Except this is the real world and happy endings are so rare these days.
"Firefox," Julianne calls. "Why don't you take the children outside for a bit? I'm sure they'd love to hear a story about the stars." He nods and tries to take Dustin, but the baby holds tighter and Julianne gives a tense shake of her head. He shrugs, plucking up Jehan and leading the children out into the darkening evening.
"Now you listen to me, Loredan," Fenoglio is shouting, voice echoing. Julianne tunes him out as well as she can, bouncing Dustin gently in her arms. After the shouting dies down, in the relative quiet, Julianne can hear a quill scribbling against coarse paper.
"He's really doing it, Resa."
"Pray that the words don't escape him," Resa whispers back. After the scribbling comes whispered words, rising and lowering like an opera. Julianne can feel the power of Fenoglio's writing even if she can't make out individual words, the faint crackle in the air like fireworks bursting overhead. Goosebumps ripple across her arms and then Elfbane is coming forward with his eyes glazed and words that don't belong to him on his tongue.
"I think I've seen those flowers before," he says, tripping over the words like they're too big for his mouth. "By a brownie burrow down the way." He points with a shaking finger, his brows drawn down low over his eyes. "I set my traps there and it's mighty humid."
"Show me," Roxane demands. They leave the cave at a fast walk and come back with two of the flowers ten minutes later, the smell of the blooms like a rotting carcass.
"Well, they're aptly named," Julianne grumbles. Dustin pinches his nose shut, lips curled into a sneer. "Wanna go outside and see Firefox?"
"Stay," Dustin says, pointing to Prince with all five of his fingers. "Gotta stay wif Prince."
"Alright, baby." Roxane and Resa work together to get the broth going, adding the root of deathbud and then slowly spooning the warm mixture past Prince's lips.
It doesn't work right away and Roxane ends up stirring herbs to fend off the White Women. The majority of the Women croon the Prince's name, reaching for him with aching hands. Julianne watches with sudden understanding of how Mo must have felt in a cave like this, the desperate longing to go with these specters and let herself be free of all the stress of this world. How would it feel to have no worries?
"Wonderful," she breathes, and doesn't realize she's moving forward until Elinor latches onto her arm.
"Come on now, you two," she says, tugging. "We need some air." Julianne allows herself to be led away, casting one last glance at Death's daughters before the longing vanishes with a gust of cold wind. She takes a few deep breaths and drops down beside Firefox once they reach the circle of robbers. "Feeling better, Juli?"
"Much better, Auntie. Thank you." Resa comes over to them, the Strong Man's rabbit-skin cloak around her shoulders to fight the chill. She wraps it snuggly around Dustin and he finally allows his eyes to close and slumber to claim him.
"Have you seen Snapper," she asks. "Or Gecko and his magpie?"
"That pair and ten others went after the Bluejay as soon as it was clear that the Prince wasn't able to follow," Battista says. His cheeks are red after enduring the heat in the cave, making his pockmarks stand out all the more.
"That's ridiculous, Snapper hates Mo! Why would he try to help him?" The group turn to look at her, even the children pause in their game.
"He has no intention of helping your husband. He's been telling the others that the Bluejay is planning to betray us and that the White Book doesn't only grant immortality, but it also grants riches. Many of these men would sell their own mothers for a few coins, so why wouldn't the Bluejay? It's ridiculous, but…." Battista shrugs.
"That's a lie," Meggie shouts. "All the Book does is make the owner immortal!"
"Oh yeah," Elfbane asks with an ugly smile. "What do you know about it, little witch? Didn't your father keep it a secret from you that the Book was making the Adderhead's flesh rot on his bones?"
"Elfbane, would you like me to borrow a knife and show you what I picked up from watching Basta," Julianne asks. Her voice holds no threatening tone, she's too tired for that, but whatever he sees in her face is enough to have him hunching over again. "All of you keep your filthy mouths off my family or you'll find out how spiteful I am."
"Who do you suppose poisoned the Prince," Elinor asks. "Snapper?"
"Poison is typically a woman's weapon," Resa says quietly. "I only know one woman who used those berries frequently." She turns to Battista again, eyes bright with worry. "Did Gecko take his magpie with him?"
"Thankfully, yes. It scared the children."
"With good reason. What exactly does Snapper and those men intend to do to my husband? I want the truth and I want it now." Battista gives Julianne a wary look, but all the Folchart-Loredan women are giving him the same expectant stare in return.
"I don't know for certain. He might be plotting to steal the Book from the Adderhead or maybe he'll wait for those three words to be written before he takes it. Whatever his plan, the children and the Prince need us here. The Bluejay has Dustfinger watching out for him and Snapper's group will have a hard time getting past him. Excuse me, I should be getting back to the Prince."
"Ma," Dustin whines. Julianne glances down to check him, but he's still sound asleep as he shifts in her arms. "Ma, Daddy."
"Ma's right here, Dee," she whispers against the crown of his head. Dustin settles after that, his lips parted as he breathes. When he was first born, Julianne had sat up with him for hours, keeping one hand on his chest to make sure he was still breathing. The habit had faded away as he'd gotten older, but she finds herself slipping into old habits tonight. She brings her son inside again, checking that the White Women have left before settling down in her family's area. Dustin sleeps curled up in her lap that night, Julianne's hand a soft weight on his chest until Meggie settles down beside her with her head on Julianne's thigh.
"Did you do that when I was little," she asks.
"Yeah."
"I had an alarm in my crib that would go off if I stopped breathing. I've seen the pictures." Julianne shrugs, carding her fingers through Meggie's soft hair. "Resa still does that sometimes, too. When she first came home with us, she'd sneak into my room and put her hand on my chest like she was afraid I'd slip away if she didn't."
"Instincts and habits are hard things to kick, Meggs. One day, very far into the future, you'll probably do the same thing to your own baby. And, by very far into the future, I mean you're not allowed to have any kids until you're at least twenty-five or I'm turning your boyfriend into a eunuch."
"Noted."
Resa had been surprised when the Strong Man insisted on accompanying her to the Castle in the Lake, but she nearly screams her frustration to the heavens when she spots Jaime and Julianne on one of the twisting paths in the woods. She settles on stomping forward and grabbing Jaime's thin cloak.
"What are you doing out here," she hisses, words coming out as pale vapor.
"She's sleepwalking." The frustration bleeds out as she turns to look at Julianne, taking in the lax features and glazed eyes. She remembers that expression from when Julianne had still been little enough to sit on Mo's lap, the way she sometimes whispered a name as though it was the only thing that would save her. Dustfinger, she'd whispered. Dustfinger's surrounded by water. Back then, before the horrors of the Inkworld happened, Resa had just assumed her daughter was quoting some book or movie. Now, however, it hits home that her daughter's always been connected to this accursed story.
"Dustfinger, I can't see you," Julianne is saying now. "There's so much mist." She waits a moment, like she's hearing a reply. "Right, we wouldn't want to rile up any fish."
"I've tried taking her back to the cave, but she's surprisingly strong," Jaime says. "I figured the cold would wake her up." Resa shakes her head, cupping Julianne's cheeks gently in her hands. Julianne stops moving at once, awareness slowly flickering back to life in her pale eyes. She looks around her in confusion, then rolls her eyes.
"Oh, goddammit, not again." Her scowl drops away as she focuses on the people surrounding her and then the path beneath her feet like she's just solved a puzzle. Her shoulders droop and she lets her head rest against Resa's shoulder. "Are we the rescue party?"
"We are," Resa nods.
"Meggie's going to kill us for leaving her behind."