Danny returned with Odd on his heels. I intercepted Odd at the door.

“What’s wrong?” Odd asked.

I explained.

His face paled. “Are you sure?”

I showed him Gylon’s tattoo. The sergeant cursed after learning of his new decoration, but hadn’t put all the pieces together yet. The Skeleton King’s troops had ambushed Gylon’s squad and infected them with the new plague.

“How close?” Odd asked.

“Two days south, but that was four days ago.”

Now it was Odd’s turn to curse. He bolted from the cavern to send a messenger to Ryne. Would it reach him in time?

Sergeant Gylon wanted to go with him. “I’m feeling better,” he protested when I refused to let him leave.

“That’s because of the fever powder. Rest now, you’ll need your strength for later.” Covering him with his blanket, I tucked him in. “Is your entire squad here? All ten?”

“Yeah.” Grief filled his eyes as he realized their fates matched his own.

I squeezed his hand. His squad was still in shock over getting the bad news that they had, at most, six days to live. Once the reality sunk in, it was going to be rough. Their reactions would run the gamut from denial, anger, and grief to pleading, bargaining, and bribing me to save their lives. Some would hit all the emotions, others only a few and one or two would not say a word, keeping it all bottled inside. I suspected Sergeant Gylon would remain stoic to help his squad.

Checking on the others, I asked them to show me their backs. Everyone had a Skeleton King tattoo.

“What does it mean?” Private Tyra asked.

The other members of their squad peered at me. It meant the Skeleton King might be right outside the infirmary, and he was the one infecting our soldiers with the new plague.

Instead of upsetting the squad further, I said, “It’s a taunt from the enemy.” Then I settled them for the night, dispensing fever powder.

When I finished, I scrubbed my hands and found Odd arguing with Lieutenant Macon.

“...should confirm their position before sending Prince Ryne a message,” Odd said.

“It’s been four days, they could be at our doorstep, I’ll need the extra manpower if they attack,” Macon said.

“Then we’ll do a short sweep,” Odd said. “Avry, what do you think? Did Gylon’s squad have any more information?”

“Send a message to Ryne right away. Tell him that the Skeleton King has access to the plague virus and his troops are south of the infirmary,” I said.

“How far?” Odd asked me.

“We can’t waste the time finding out. He needs to know they’re there. Last time I talked to him he was getting reports that the Skeleton King had invaded Sectven.”

“All right.” Odd rushed off to send a message.

“Do you think he’ll attack us?” Macon asked.