Chapter 171


    Chapter 171 The final stage of the disease


    CAS SANDRA


    After spotting the mysterious dark figure outside, I meticulously inspected the entireb. I searched


    high and low and examined every surface to make sure that nothing had been stolen or removed by an


    unknown intruder.


    But much to my confusion, nothing was amiss.


    My heart still raced in my chest from being startled, so I stood there for a second and forced myself to


    breathe deeply. As the cold air flooded my lungs, I found myself finally growing calmer. Perhaps this


    was merely a delusion, a residual effect from the unsettling dream. Clearly, I was still frightened and at


    least half-asleep when I nced out the window. Seeing shadows out of the corner of your eye at night


    wasn’t out of the ordinary. It happened to just about anyone.


    When I settled down, I turned on amp, and as its warm, calming light filled. the room, I pulled up my


    favorite chair and picked up Becky’s report. I sunk into the chair and allowed the soft fabric tofort


    me before diving into the report.


    Becky’s notes facilitated my understanding of the situation. She’d madements all over the paper


    and even added little sticky notes to expand on her thoughts. I scanned through her neat handwriting


    and started to take in the report.


    Becky outlined that the poison she uncovered in the water from the mountain area of Wild Crawler


    could induce several physical and psychological disorders. Initially, patients who had fallen victim to the


    poison in some manner exhibited physical deterioration. Then, the physical decay gave way to the


    poison attacking their neuro system, which led to a sort of hysteria.


    However, a question lingered in Becky’s exnation. Her words rambled on with the possibilities and


    then led to a pair of sentences that she’d circled in dark. ink.


    Does the final stage of the disease cause patients to lose their minds? Contact


    1/4


    Dic kson for confirmation.


    I frowned at the questions for a moment and clutched the papers tighter. Suddenly, I recalled


    something Emmett had once mentioned. It had been the only time he’d ever spoken to me about


    poison.


    Since I’d grown up in Anemond, I’d had no formal education when it came to medicine. None of my


    sses, in all of my years of high-born education, had anything to offer in the way of biology and


    chemistry, so when Emmett had brought me to Wild Crawler and took me under his wing as a healer,


    I’d had to start at the


    beginning.


    It was a casual conversation we’d shared in the beginning of my training. Emmett had lent me his book


    of research and notes, and as I’d scanned through the pages, I’de across the section that


    mentioned poisons-both man-made and


    venoms.


    ***


    The healer had exined to me that poison was used not only to kill but also to control. When I’d been


    confused by that statement, he’d rified and detailed instances where poisons were employed


    chronically, for instance, to render female wolves infertile or paralyze wolves’ bodies.


    The ultimate aim behind such poisons, Emmett emphasized, was control, namely, the sinister prospect


    of manipting people’s minds.


    At the time, that conversation had struck me as odd, but it hadn’t gone any further. My memory of the


    discussion had been a little hazy, as Emmett had swiftly shifted the subject after mentioning “mind


    control”:


    But now, as I read Becky’sments on Spi ke’s report, the memory resurfaced vividly. As I stared at


    the pages of the report, I recollected Emmett’s somber expression during the conversation. His blue-


    green eyes had been distant and sad, as if something deeply sorrowful had affected him.


    As I pictured him sitting there in the clinic in Wild Crawler, my mind began to race. Why had he been so


    upset? Had he known something then, something that


    2/4


    rted to our present situation?


    I hated that I truly knew so little about the man who was at one time, my


    husband. Though I owed him an enormous debt for rescuing me from the inferno and getting me out of


    Anemond, there were so many questions I had about him and his background.


    When he had disappeared all of those years from Wild Crawler, where had he been? And where did he


    travel to on those mysterious journeys away from the


    clinic?


    I set the papers down and cursed under my breath. Though we were getting closer to answers about


    the poison that was affecting a chunk of Wega’s poption, there was so much that I desperately


    needed to know.


    As the confusion and frustration of the unknown started to consume me, I closed my eyes. I wanted


    nothing more than to bring Finnick over to my bed and cuddle him close, but I knew that the moment I


    did, I would likely be gued with even more bad dreams. I didn’t want to upset my son, so I forced


    myself to sit up in my chair and regain myposure.


    I sat there until dawn, pursuing the report until I had the details memorized, and the phrase “mind


    control” haunted my every thought. I couldn’t shake the notion that this might be linked to the poison,


    though I had no strong evidence to support the theory.


    As the golden rays of the rising sun streamed through the window, I rose from my chair, and decided to


    get dressed. I resolved to eat a swift breakfast after getting ready, and then I was going to go to the


    pce to visit Spi ke.


    After I checked in with Erika, I left a note for Becky, who had requested a half day off, and then headed


    to the pce.


    But when I reached Merliscire, Lancel was nowhere to be found, and when I checked in with one of the


    other higher-level guards, he reported that Lancel was unavable. He exined that the older guard


    was upied with a task for Prince Marco and that he wouldn’t be back for a while.


    3/4


    After I thanked the guard, I walked down the corridor and weighed my options. People went about their


    business around me, and I was thrilled that no one seemed to notice me pondering in the corner.


    I could always visit Spi ke unapanied, though I knew Asher or Lancel would firmly oppose that


    idea. They had always been very insistent on one of them being. present on our visits, but as I recalled


    our past encounters, I realized they’d always been unproblematic. I knew how to evade attention and


    converse with Spi k e. Besides, Lancel merely stood by during our discussions anyway…


    Moreover, the notion of visiting the strange imposter without the older guard’s presence enticed me. I


    could potentially inquire further about my past or Emmett’s without raising Lancel’s suspicions.


    It wasn’t that I mistrusted the steadfast guard, but rather that I believed he didn’t need to be privy to


    matters concerning Emmett or the potential of him being a sorcerer. And of course, I couldn’t quite ask


    Spi ke about myself either, not when I was still keeping my old identity a secret.


    I couldn’t risk this entire thing falling apart, but I needed to know more.


    So, I decided to visit Spi ke..


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