“I must go help.” I crawled over to my pack, gathering my knives.

“That’s what Sergeant Odd said you’d do. Avry, you’re the only one who can cure the plague. If you die...”

“But if they get inside, I might die anyway. At least, I can—”

“You’re weak and not thinking clearly.”

I bristled. “And you’re thirteen years old.”

“And I’m acting smarter than you. You can’t just rush off into a situation when you have no idea what’s going on. I did that once and it caused Kerrick a lot of trouble. You’re needed here. We should prepare for casualties.”

Damn. He was right. I staggered to my feet, but still tucked a few knives in my belt just in case. “All right. Food first, or else I’ll be useless.”

Danny smiled. “That was easy. I thought I’d have to sit on you.”

“Then I’d just zap you.”

“Zap? What’s that?” he asked.

“Something you should know and this is the perfect time.” I explained to him how to use his healing powers to defend himself as I grabbed a handful of bread and cheese. “When you heal, your power flows out to the injured, but when you want to hurt someone, you push out the power and zap him. Think of sparks from a fire or lightning striking—a burst of energy. Try it.” I held out my arm.

Danny grabbed it and zapped.

“Ow!”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You’ll learn how much force to use with practice. But it’ll do for now. And if you zap at this spot...” I touched the back of his neck between two vertebra. “You’ll knock a person unconscious. But it has to be right on that spot or it won’t work. It’ll still hurt the person, but everyone has different pain tolerances.” I swept my hair to the side so he could find the location. “That’s it. I’d let you practice, but...”

We both glanced at the cave’s entrance. Two soldiers stood at the mouth. They held their swords ready, but the clangs of metal and shouts didn’t draw them from their position.

Worried for my friends, I asked, “Did the monkeys go out, too?”

“Yeah, everyone except the caregivers. Sergeant Gylon wanted to join them, but I threatened to tie him to his cot.”

“You’ve got good instincts, Danny. If we are invaded, don’t let anyone know you’re a healer. Okay?”

“Okay. What about you?”

I laughed. “It’s far too late for that. I’m infamous.”

He scrunched up his nose. “Shouldn’t that be famous?”

“Depends on who you’re talking to.”

I finished eating and we helped Ginger and Christina lay out extra bandages and thread for sutures. Every loud clash sent my heart into my mouth. When we’d run out of tasks, I checked on the plague patients.