"I'm not at all sure that the procedure you suggested is safe," Galen complained. He watched uneasily as Hamez selected two vials from his seemingly undending supply of vials in his wooden box.

"You can put them to sleep with no problem," he added, when his assistant didn't answer right away. "It's the waking up that worries me; you have to wait until they come out of it by themselves, and then you can only assist the process by keeping them warm..."

He remembered how long he and Zana had labored in the basement of the institute to get Alan and Peet out of their drug-induced stupor; Zana had been fretting throughout the whole ordeal that they had arrived too late, and that the humans had already slipped into a coma from which they wouldn't wake up anymore. He doubted that Heron's doting audience would have the patience to watch them rubbing Incan's limbs for an ahtset or more.

"This narcotic comes with an antidote," Hamez said absently, his gaze still fixed at the vial in his hand. "A recent breakthrough in medical research, very recent, and not very, ah, very widely known yet." He put the vials to one side, apparently satisfied with his inspection, and pushed up his glasses in a familiar nervous gesture.

"Is is already out of research?" Galen asked, his wariness intensifying.

"It has, uhm, it has already been tested on a wide selection of animals," Hamez said, and Galen suppressed a sigh. An experimental drug. Zana would be livid if she ever learned of that little detail.

"Has it been tested on humans, too?" What worked for a rabbit wouldn't necessarily work for a human.

"Oh, yes."

Now Galen was even more glad that Zana was currently at the shelter, trying to coax Boy into aiding them in their little charade. Since Doctor Kova was forbidden from entering the circus grounds, they had decided that he would wait until everyone's attention was focused on the drama in the main tent. And since Boy didn't have an owner, nobody would be able to accuse Galen of having trained him to run to him for help — ideally, they'd put it down to those famous animal instincts that humans were said to possess.

Using Boy as a runner had been Zana's idea; and although Galen doubted that she'd be able to get the human to understand what was expected of him, he hadn't objected to it, because it meant that she'd be busy up at the shelter, while he and Hamez prepared Zaylissa's human for the actual showdown. The last thing he needed now was her saying aloud what his guilty conscience was already whispering in his ear.

Whether or not Boy would turn up later was irrelevant anyway; if he didn't, they would use one of Zaylissa's human servants to fetch the doctor. As much as Galen wished to pretend that the success of their scheme hinged on Boy's participation, so he could delay the 'doctors' duel' until Zana had taught him this trick, they didn't have the luxury to wait for her. It had to be today.

It had to be now.

They had already prepared everything else in advance: they had chosen the main show in the evening, on one of the two holy days of the week where the majority of apes didn't have to work, and so would be present for the show; they had sneaked into Zaylissa's house from the servants' entrance at the back so that nobody would know they had been in recent contact with Incan. They had even thought of using a breast pump so that her cub wouldn't drink drug-spiced milk, and Galen had instructed Laisa that they would probably need a wet nurse afterwards, until the last of the drug had left Incan's body.

Everything was in place. Hamez had selected his poisons. It really had been a fitting choice of words, Galen thought. He caught the expectant look from his assistant, inhaled deeply, and nodded at him to go ahead.

Incan was waiting in her room, still in bed; the cub had been brought elsewhere. Galen had no idea what, if anything, Zaylissa had told the girl, so he smiled at the human, and sat down at the edge of her bed.

"Hello, Incan," he said gently, "how are you today? Have you eaten something yet?"

Incan shook her head, and Galen felt his shoulders relax a bit. He had instructed Zaylissa to let Incan fast, so that she wouldn't choke on her own vomit if the drug did induce nausea — most narcotics did, to some degree. It was reassuring that Zaylissa had followed his orders diligently so far.

"Well, don't worry, you'll get a nice treat later," he promised the girl. "Now, though, we need to give you a medicine that will make you a bit sleepy for a while. It won't harm you, and you'll wake up again soon."

Mothers, he hoped that was the truth.

Unlike the drug Zana had given Alan and Peet back in the institute, Hamez' concoction could also be administered orally, and they had decided that this would be preferable to an injection — once Heron caught on that he was being tricked, Galen thought it all too possible that he'd inspect Incan from head to toe for traitorous punction wounds. If he found one, he'd pounce on it, and Galen was determined to win this battle in the first round: he wouldn't endanger this human's life for nothing.

Incan obediently drank the thick liquid, gagged a bit at the taste of it, and lay back again at Galen's command. It didn't take long before her breath slowed down, and her eyelids fluttered shut. Galen grabbed his stethoscope to listen for her heartbeat. It was slow... too slow for his taste, but steady. He checked her breathing and the color of her gums with only slightly shaking hands.

"She's ready," he said. "We must hurry now; I don't want to leave her in this state for too long."

He and Hamez lifted her on a stretcher, and called for Zaylissa. She appeared at once, with two strong human males in tow.

"Incan is asleep," Galen informed her. "It's a sleep that Heron won't be able to wake her from, but it's also a sleep that can easily become too deep for me to wake her from! You need to keep a close eye on her at all times! If she stops breathing, or if her lips turn blue, you have to call me to her side immediately, no matter what Heron says!"

Zaylissa nodded jerkily; her hands were balled into fists, and Galen wondered if she was regretting her promise to assist in this mad scheme. But it was too late for scruples now, and the matron didn't give any indication that she wanted to call it off. She ordered her servants to pick up the stretcher with the unconscious Incan, and sent them out the door in a hurry.

"I will be close by," Galen called after her. "I'll be there in an instant as soon as you send the word!"

The matron just raised an arm in response without looking back as she climbed into her palanquin to hurry after her precious breeding human. Galen was sure she'd remind everyone at the show just how precious Incan was, and how big a financial loss it would be if she didn't wake up. She'd demand an equivalent sum of restitution, of course, and also restitution for future losses from the sale of the cubs that Incan wouldn't be able to carry to term now...

He hoped that Zana was still busy with Boy at the faraway shelter.

On any other day, Zana would've been giddy with euphoria over her success — not only had she managed to reestablish her bond with Boy after that unlucky barbecue had spooked the poor thing, she had persuaded him to leave the shelter grounds, something that he had reportedly never done ever since he had turned up at its gates years ago.

When she let her attention drift from her surroundings for a moment to contemplate these latest developments, she still could hardly believe that the shy youngster was by her side, among all those apes squeezed into a hot, stuffy tent. The noise and the heat were enough to make her jittery; it was a miracle that Boy hadn't bolted yet, and Zana suspected that the only reason for it was that he was currently too disoriented to know where the shelter was, and too terrified of the apes around him to leave her side.

She felt bad.

But most of the time, that sick feeling of guilt stayed blessedly in the background, pushed aside by the acute worry for the other young human currently at display on stage: Incan, who had fallen ill this morning and wouldn't wake up from her unnatural sleep no matter what her distraught owner, the venerable Orangutan matron Zaylissa, had tried.

Zaylissa was hovering at the stretcher that had been used to transport Incan to Heron, who, according to Zaylissa's tearful address to the crowd, had ensured the birth of an exceptionally beautiful and healthy cub with his Wonder Elixir, and who would now heal the brood mother of this exquisite and quite valuable cub just as efficiently.

Heron hadn't lost his cool so far, Zana thought, watching the Chimp. Of course; he was a professional, adept at playing the crowd no matter what unexpected incidents forced him to improvise. He had already questioned Zaylissa thoroughly about her care for the human, the kind and amount of exercise, baths, food, and sunlight, casting more or less explicit accusations of inadequacy at her. Zaylissa, to her credit, stood her ground admirably, and had so far managed to stay beyond all blame.

"Well, it seems you've provided a spotless regimen of care for your human," Heron admitted, a bit sourly. "And since you've given her the Elixir — you haven't skipped her daily dose, have you? — she should be dancing on this stretcher instead of sleeping on it. I can detect no natural causes for her condition, assuming, of course, that you recounted every single measure taken, and every substance she's eaten over the last days."

"Of course I have," Zaylissa said indignantly. "Do you have any idea how rare humans with an excellent pedigree are? She's the apple of my eye!" She possessively stroked the unconscious girl's hair, and Zana fought not to ball her hands into fists; Boy would react instantly to any tension he sensed in her, and she didn't know what would set him off... or what his reaction would be like. And now would be the most inconvenient time to find out.

But she couldn't suppress the shudder of revulsion that shook her at Zaylissa's behavior towards her human. A brood mother — that was all she saw in her! Like poor Alan—

She shook off the thought. She had to be present in this moment, however distasteful it was, so that she wouldn't miss her cue.

"In that case," Heron's voice interrupted her frantic thoughts, "the logical conclusion is that her sickness isn't of a physical, but of a spiritual nature." He apologetically spread his arms. "And that's nothing I can cure. I'm sorry, but it seems you need to take her home and hope for the best." He turned away and nodded, not too subtly, at his security guards, two Gorillas who at other times patrolled the circus grounds.

You slick baboon. Amidst her fury, Zana couldn't help but admire the conape's elegant dismissal of his case by simply declaring it to be outside his responsibility. A spiritual sickness was just vague enough that nobody would be at fault for it, least of all the seller of the Wonder Cure.

"Oh, then I'm so happy that I've come to you," Zaylissa cried, ignoring the Gorillas edging towards her. "Who would be better equipped to lift that curse from my Incan than your partner, the holy ape! Quick, will you get the venerable Zolon? Please, vetes, he's my only hope now!"

There was a palpable silence, both from Heron and the audience. The only exception was Zana, who bit into her fist to choke down a giggle. Never try to outwit an Orangutan — their tongues are neither slick nor quick, but their minds are sharp as knives. For some reason, Chimpanzees tended to forget that simple truth, and had to learn it over and over again.

Heron recovered quickly from his surprise, and waved the Gorillas away. They returned a short while later with the albino in tow, who was squinting heavily in the brightly-lit tent. The Chimp murmured frantically in his ear, but Zana couldn't shake the impression that Zolon either didn't listen, or didn't understand what was expected of him. Heron had to repeat his speech, and finally dragged him towards the stretcher.

Then he turned to the muttering audience. "The Venerable Zolon will now discern the nature of the curse, and provide a blessing to fight it. I ask every one of you to aid him in his spiritual battle by adding your prayer to the Mothers, or whoever else you pray to. Let us begin." He spread his arms, palms turned upward, and bowed his head in the traditional prayer stance.

To Zana's horror, the apes around her followed suit — not all of them, as the more conservative ones probably thought it blasphemy to harrass the Mothers for the sake of an animal, but enough to make Zana understand Galen's despair a bit better.

Unsurprisingly, Incan didn't move a hair. Zolon crouched beside her, watching her intently, but otherwise did nothing that Zana could see, while Heron ratched up both volume and intensity of his prayer, to no avail; and Zana felt her unease and restlessness increase to an almost unbearable level. How long had this been going on now? It was time to change the tune, before the human girl slipped too far into her artificial sleep.

She squeezed Boy's shoulder reassuringly to make him stay where he was, and stood. "This doesn't seem to be working," she shouted over the murmurs of the crowd. "Maybe you should anoint her with the Elixir!"

Heron stopped abruptly with his prayer and glared at her, but it was Zaylissa's gaze Zana sought to catch. Stop this charade and make me send for Galen!

But Zaylissa didn't look up. Her gaze was riveted at Incan's face, and suddenly, the Orangutan leaned forward to stare at it intently.

"She's not breathing anymore!"

Now her head jerked up and she met Zana's eyes, dark and frightened. "Her lips are blue! Oh, help, help! Someone help her!"

The murmured prayers exploded into excited chatter. Beside her, Boy was shaking. Zana grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around to face her. "Run and get Doctor Kova! You know where he is, he's not far away!"

Boy just stared at her, his eyes as dark and wide and frigthened as Zaylissa's had been. Zana shook him gently. "We have to save Incan, right? Now run, my sweet boy, and find the doctor. Go!"

She watched him dash outside; and now she did pray herself — prayed to the Mothers that he would indeed run to Galen, and not all the way back to the shelter, to safety.

"Drink your cider, Hamez," Galen said, keeping his gaze fixed on the street behind his assistant's seat, "or the innkeeper will think that we're not here for his hospitality, but because we needed a convenient lookout."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Hamez put the mug to his lips, but it was anyone's guess if he did actually take a sip. But it was all about keeping up appearances, and they'd need their wits in a few moments...

... how many more moments, though, until one of Zaylissa's servants would finally turn up here? Galen had been thoroughly surprised when Zana had met him halfway to this tiny tavern with Boy in tow, but he still didn't count on the wild human to actually do his part in their little side show. So he kept an eye out for that human with the red hair (Zaylissa had a taste for unusual colors), one of the two who had carried Incan on the stretcher to Heron.

He could see the main gate to the circus grounds from where he was sitting; it was mostly deserted now, with everyone gathering in the main tent for the big evening presentation. Even the Gorilla thugs who had dragged him through the dirt were nowhere to be seen — maybe they were patrolling the main tent now, to make sure none of the ardent fans got too close to their idol.

According to Prila, they had some new spectacle going on in there every evening, even if the spiel about the Elixir remained mostly the same. Hopefully, and if everything went according to plan, tonight would be the most spectacular show of all.

He absently reached for his own mug to keep up appearances — the innkeeper had been in the process of closing up for the night, since the circus was luring potential customers away, and had vacillated between surprised relief that he'd have at least two paying patrons tonight, and grumpy exasperation because two people weren't actually worth the effort of staying open; it was only fair, Galen thought, that they enjoyed the drinks they had paid for. He took a deep draw.

Something dashed through the circus gates and raced up the streets to where he and Hamez were sitting. Not an ape — apes couldn't run that fast. A human.

Galen almost dropped his mug in his haste to put it down on the table, and jumped up from his seat. Hamez jumped up at once, too, and whirled around to follow his stare.

Galen pointed at the running human, who showed no signs of slowing down as he came closer. He could see now that it wasn't the one with the red hair. Boy? Panicked like a horse, then. He'd race straight back to the shelter if he wasn't stopped.

"Get him!"

Hamez wasted no time with questions; he raced out into the street and tackled the human as he shot by. They crashed onto the cobblestones, and after a moment of frantic struggling, the Chimp had pinned the human neatly to the ground, which of course didn't exactly calm the human down.

Galen hurried over to where Boy was frantically hitting his head on the ground in a futile attempt to break free from Hamez' grasp. Time was of the essence now; he had to calm down Boy sufficiently so he'd lead them back to the circus... but it didn't look as if the human was even able to hear him. On the contrary, he was working himself into a full-blown panic.

"Let him get up," Galen instructed Hamez. "He's useless to us if he has a nervous breakdown now."

His assistant obeyed, pulling Boy to his feet as he got up, but didn't release his wrists; a prudent decision, as Boy tried to break loose once again.

Galen, now thoroughly exasperated, though more with Zana and her harebrained decision to use a fey human for this essential task, grabbed his jaw and forced him to look at him. "Boy! Mila told you to go and find me! Right? Find Doctor Kova! Do you remember?"

Boy was rolling his eyes until only the whites were showing, avoiding his gaze. Galen suppressed the urge to shake him. "Boy! Look at me! I am Doctor Kova! Doctor Kova!"

To his eternal relief, the human stopped for a moment to look at him. "You remember Mila? Mila! The nice lady who visits you every day?"

Boy held his breath, staring at him. Hoping that this meant the human did remember, Galen continued. "Mila. She told you to find me. You found me. Good boy!" He slowly released his grip on the human's jaw. Boy kept looking at him — maybe they'd manage to get him to play his part to the end, after all.

"Now," Galen said firmly, "take my hand." He grabbed the human's limp hand when Boy didn't react. "And now take me to Mila. Where is Mila? Find her! Go!"

The human stood motionless, blinking at him. Galen felt the rest of his patience evaporate. He had no idea what was going on in that tent, but if they had sent for him, Incan could very well be in danger. There was no time for indulging Zana's fantasies now!

He tried a last time. "Go to Mila, Boy. Mila. In the big tent down there."

The human turned his head to stare at the tent. His breath quickened: he was clearly afraid to go back. With a sigh, Galen let go of his hand. They'd have to do without the dramatic display of the loyal human alerting the doctor for help.

Boy snatched his hand and began to drag him down the street, towards the circus. After a few steps, he accelerated his pace, and after a few more, he began to run, almost too fast for a surprised Galen to keep up with him.

They stumbled into the main tent — Boy still dragging Galen behind him, Hamez with his doctor's bag a distant third — and into a restless, muttering crowd. Nobody paid them any heed; everyone's eyes were turned towards the center stage, where a wailing Zaylissa tried to pull Heron off her human.

Heron shook her off and planted a mighty slap on Incan's cheek. Galen saw her head flop to the side from the impact, her face a yellowish pale that made his heart drop into his boots. He brutally shoved the apes crowding in front of the stage aside.

"Get out of the way! Out of the way, I say, I'm a doctor!"

Heron tried to shoulder him aside, but Zaylissa, invigorated by Galen's appearance on stage, managed to finally drag him away a few steps, enough that Galen could kneel down at the unconscious human's side.

Incan wasn't breathing; a blueish tint around her lips told Galen at a glance that she probably hadn't been breathing ever since Boy had raced out of the tent. He yanked his doctor's bag from Hamez' hands and dug out his stethoscope.

He couldn't find a heartbeat, either. She was dead.

What have I done?

A memory flashed up through his horror, of Alan demonstrating to him on a pillow the humans' way of retrieving someone from across the Deep Woods... if they weren't too far gone, they could be revived.

I'm a doctor, not a priest!

But he dropped the stethoscope and began to push his hands, one over the other, on Incan's breastbone, stopping every few moments to blow his breath into her nose. He only interrupted his ministrations once to mutter to Hamez to inject the antidote — none of his efforts would bear fruit as long as the sleeping drug was still poisoning the girl's blood.

He continued working on the girl, his huffs the only sound in the now silent tent. Even Heron didn't move; everyone understood that something terrible had happened, and that they were witnessing a desperate battle for the human's life. Galen's mind was empty, completely focused on what he was doing; but in the background, like a cover of storm clouds over a windswept plain, hung the awareness that Zana would never forgive him, that he would never forgive himself, if he lost Incan now.

And suddenly, there was a heartbeat. A stuttering, weak thump that sputtered out after a few beats and had to be coaxed back by a new round of heart massage, but which came back and gained strength. Galen stared at Incan's face, holding his own breath, until he saw the faintest movement of her nostrils. He continued to monitor her pulse, the movement of her sides. Behind him, Zaylissa was sobbing.

"She's breathing again," Hamez informed the crowd, and an audible sigh went through the aisles.

Galen began rubbing Incan's cold arms. They had won only half the battle — now they had to return her to waking, or this had all been in vain. "Help, me Hamez," he said without turning his gaze from the girl. "We must warm her up, or she'll stay in this unnatural state."

"You gave her something, didn't you?" Now that it didn't look as if the human would die on his stage, Heron recovered quickly. "You poisoned her to make me look like the fool! Well, see how that worked out?"

Galen stood to face him. "I did nothing of the kind! How dare you, of all people, accuse me of medical mistreatment! And by the way, even if your accusation was true, which it isn't, shouldn't your 'wonder cure' have cured her condition anyway, no matter its nature or its causes?"

"Not if you—" Heron protested, but Zaylissa pointed a finger at him.

"She almost lost her cub when I gave her your elixir! It was the doctor who saved the cub, not your foul brew!"

"I lost half of my piglets," someone roared from the crowd. Farmer Durog? Galen couldn't find him in the sea of faces, but he didn't have the time to look further. He ignored Heron, who had turned to address the now increasingly agitated crowd, and crouched down at Incan's side again to resume his efforts of rubbing life back into her body.

Zana appeared at some point with a blanket, and started massaging the girl's feet, while Heron's Gorillas began to beat the enraged apes towards the exits. Heron and Zolon had disappeared, Galen noted absently.

"Is she still not waking up?" Zaylissa's voice sounded at his shoulder.

"She's still cold, you need to have some patience—"

Incan slowly opened her eyes.

Zaylissa gasped, and Galen felt dizzy all of a sudden, and ready to lie down and sleep just then and there.

"There you are," he said gently. "Hello, Incan."

Her gaze was still unfocused, and her eyes drooped shut again, but the apes wouldn't let her slide back to sleep. Galen wasn't satisfied until she finally, with his support, sat up on her stretcher.

"You're back! Oh, my baby!" Zaylissa hugged her. "Let's go home, I can't stand it here for even one more moment!" She gestured for her humans.

"Oh no, you lay down on that stretcher again!" she told Incan when the girl tried to get up. "You go straight back to bed!" She turned to Galen, who was still sitting on the floor, dazed with relief. "You will come by later to look after her, will you, Doctor?"

"Yes of course," Galen assured her, although he wished nothing more than to go back to his own bed and sleep for a day or three.

"We should probably find another exit than the main one," he added. Angry noises sounded from the mob outside the tent. He wondered if they had found Heron, or Zolon, or both.

"And we should maybe alert the Chief," Zana said as she helped him to his feet. Hamez handed him his doctor's bag.

"I'm sure Voltis already knows," Galen muttered. "He's been waiting for this opportunity, or so I've gathered. We've done our part, and now it's his turn, and I don't know about you, but I need a break."

They found a second exit behind the stage — probably the one Heron had used, too — and ducked outside. To Galen's surprise, it was already dark; the cool evening air cleared his head a little.

Zana tucked her arm into his as they wound their way towards the river shore to avoid getting caught between the mob and Voltis' guards. "I'm not going to say 'well done', because this was horrifying to watch," she said. "But I'm also not going to say 'how could you!', because I think you really did it — chased him out of town."

"Thank you," Galen murmured.

"I'll probably say it tomorrow, though," Zana added after a moment. "Because... well, how could you."

And that was fair enough, Galen supposed. He'd probably wonder about it himself for the rest of his life.