Bastial Frenzy (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 4) (28 page)

“I need to tell him the potion is working so that woman doesn’t need to babysit us.”

Effie gasped. “Is that what she’s doing here?”

Her heart jumped when the woman spoke. “I know you both probably think you’re being quiet, but I can hear every word you’re saying.”

“She knows!” Steffen whispered. “Resort to the alternate plan!”

“What is it? What’s the alternate plan?”

“Run!” Steffen barreled to the door.

“Stop!” the woman screamed as she ran after him.

Effie followed, unsure what to do.

The woman caught up to Steffen quickly and grabbed his shoulders. “Put your pants on! Effie, tell him he needs to come back and put his pants on first.”

“Come on, Steffen. Let’s listen to the nice lady.”

“Call me Jan,” she said.

“Why don’t I know you, Jan?” Steffen twisted to get out of her grasp. “I don’t trust you.”

“I work on the farm. Jack Rose knows me very well. Do you trust him?”

“I do.”

“Then you should trust me.”

“Alright.”

“That’s all I needed to say?”

“Yes. What did you want me to do?”

“Go back to your student home and put your pants on. People are already staring.”

Effie noticed them then, a few students walking with an instructor, each with confused expressions.

“Can we go to the dining hall after?” Steffen asked.

The idea of food caused Effie to salivate. “Yes! Please, Jan!”

She looked at the clock atop the Redfield tower. “I suppose.”

“Then I would like to visit Gabby,” Steffen said. “She lives in Oakshen, and I haven’t seen her in a long time.”

Effie let her tongue fall out of her mouth as she made a discouraging grunt. “I don’t want to see my sister right now. I wish Reela and Alex were here, though. Can we go meet them? They went to Tenred, but they’re expected to be back by tomorrow. They should be in the Fjallejon Pathway by now.”

“If they’re still alive,” Steffen said. “I hope they are.”

“Me too.” Effie knew she should be worried about them, but she was bored with worrying.

“Students aren’t allowed to leave the Academy,” Jan said. “Steffen, you really need to come with me and put on your pants.”

“Oh, I forgot about that.”

Effie had as well. But it looked like Jan didn’t need her help, for Steffen finally started back toward the house.

After an adventurous day with Steffen and Jan, Effie was exhausted. It was already dark when she came out of the dining hall. Her legs felt stiff.

“How long were we in there?” she asked Jan.

“A long time, maybe two hours. Are either of you feeling more like yourselves yet?”

“I’m so tired, I can’t tell,” Effie said. Steffen was nearly asleep on his feet.

“I think you’ve both had too much to eat as well,” Jan said.

“Here you are!” Jack surprised them. “Thank you very much for your help, Jan. I’ll come by tomorrow with some seeds.”

“Please, that’s not necessary. I’m glad to help. They needed it.” Her last words were hardly an exaggeration. Effie couldn’t imagine what she and Steffen would’ve done without supervision.

“I’ll take them from here.” Jack and Jan shook hands, and she left. “I’m sure you both are ready for sleep. I certainly was after the caregelow wore off.”

Steffen mumbled something that sounded like “yes.”

But it was such a far walk to their house, and Steffen shuffled his feet so slowly a crawl would’ve been faster. Effie felt just as exhausted as he looked, but at least she could keep up with Jack, who soon stopped and put his hand on Steffen’s back.

“Come on, it’s already dark.”

Steffen’s pace increased…slightly.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you both needed to sleep until lunch tomorrow. I’ve already given your instructors permission for you to be late. We’re expecting those who went to Tenred to return tomorrow, anyway. I doubt there will be much battle training.”

“Reela,” Effie murmured. But she was too tired to say anything else.

“I’ll come by tomorrow to make sure the potion worked, Effie,” Jack said. “Your illness should be gone by now, though I’m sure you’re too tired to tell.”

Effie did notice her nose was clearer. She had a headache, though it could’ve been from the potion.

Chapter 21:

EFFIE

Shortly after waking the next morning, Effie peered out her window at the Redfield clock. It was already noon. Her head still ached, and her stomach did as well. She was shocked when she put her hand on it, for it bulged out as if she were pregnant.

Bastial hell, how much did I eat?
She still felt full.

She stumbled out of her room to check on Steffen. His door was open, but he was asleep. He had a sheet sort of wrapped around him, with his head half on a pillow. It looked like he’d attempted to take off his shirt and pants but failed with both. One arm was out of its sleeve and his pants were stuck around his knees. He was mostly on his stomach. It didn’t look comfortable.

Effie rubbed her face and fluffed her hair, still groggy herself. “Steffen.”

He snorted.

“Steffen!”

His rhythmic breathing halted with a grunt. He slowly pushed himself up. With one eye squinted and the other closed, he asked what time it was.

“It’s noon. I just got up. I’m never taking anything like that again.”

He grumbled. “Do you have a headache too?”

“Yes, and a stomachache.” She showed him her bulging belly.

His head whipped back. Then he looked down at his own. It looked the same as Effie’s. When he noticed his pants were off, his shoulders sank and he gave a sigh. “I don’t want to take any other caregelow potions either.”

Finally, he shows some common sense
. Effie was relieved. “They’re coming back from Tenred today.”

“I’m going to shower.”

Effie did as well. She couldn’t stop worrying.
What if no one comes back because everyone was killed?
Not only would she lose her dearest friends, the war would be over. Nearly the entire army had been sent.

Don’t think like that.
There’s no way they could’ve lost.
But she knew Reela or Alex could’ve died, as could any of them.

When Effie and Steffen were fully awake and contemplating whether they should go to the dining hall or skip lunch, there was a knock at the door.

It was Jack. After Steffen waved him in, he examined Steffen’s eyes and then Effie’s.

“Are both of you feeling yourselves again?”

“Yes,” they answered.

“Open your mouths.” Jack peered inside. “Stick out your tongues.”

Effie noticed that Steffen’s had a silver tint. “Does mine look like that?” she asked Jack.

“Yes. I’m still not sure why the caregelow does that.”

Effie didn’t like that even the head chemist knew so little about the potion she’d consumed. She refrained from showing her disapproval, though. It had cured her cold.

“How are your symptoms?” Jack asked. “Your throat?”

“It’s better. Everything’s better.” Even her headache was gone.

Jack didn’t show as big of a smile as she’d expected. He simply nodded and said, “Good.”

Trumpets blared in the distance. When Effie couldn’t recall what it meant, she began to feel sick with worry. Had the Krepps come before their army returned?

But when she saw Jack and Steffen grinning with open mouths, she realized what it must be.

Their army was back from Tenred.

Still, the worry sent a wave of nausea up into her throat. She couldn’t handle finding out Reela or Alex had died. Even Zoke or Vithos—she could feel herself on the verge of tears already.

It was too long of a walk to the northern gate. Being just past the dining hall, it was more than a mile.

“We must’ve won, right?” she asked Jack.

“I can only assume that’s the case.” He opened the door to leave. “I must hurry to speak to Terren before Wilfre drags him away for a meeting.” He huffed. “He’s held some of us in his office for over an hour.”

Effie and Steffen hurried after him.

“I’m going to be walking quickly,” Jack warned them. “You don’t need to keep up with my pace if you don’t wish to.”

Steffen laughed. Effie didn’t understand why, and Jack shot him a confused look.

“Oh, I thought you were joking,” Steffen said.

Jack grumbled. “I’m not that old.” He seemed to take Steffen’s reaction as a challenge, for he began to jog.

Effie and Steffen jogged with him. She found it helped to take her mind off the worry. It had been fifteen days since the army had left the Academy. It was the longest Effie’d been away from Reela that she could remember.

Cleve had been gone fifteen days as well, and she had little idea when he would return, if ever. It seemed ridiculous that the King expected only him and one psychic to kill a Slugari guarded by thousands of Krepps.

She could feel herself becoming upset, her strength diminishing.
Damn this war.
She felt ready to collapse, to be devastated by terrible news.

Terren was one of the first through the gate. Applause broke out. Whistles came next. Cheering was close behind. Effie couldn’t join them yet. She wanted to ask Terren about Reela and the others, but he was surrounded by students and instructors, all with questions or news of their own.

Most of those coming in through the north gate were of the King’s Guard; Effie could tell by their age. They seemed more weathered than the students of the Academy as well. Then Effie saw Alex come through beside a man in a recently polished steel breastplate.

Alex had a shallow gash from the middle of his forehead to the crest of his right eyebrow. Besides that, his face was different in general. His features were harder, his cheek and chin more pronounced than she remembered, his beard shaggy.

Then he turned and met her eyes and all that disappeared with his smile.

She hugged him tightly, stopping only to kiss his lips.

“This is Effie?” the man in shiny steel inquired.

“Yes. Effie, meet my brother, Hem.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, shaking her hand, “but I must be leaving. We have to get back to the castle.” Hem struck Alex in the shoulder with his palm. “Good fighting.”

Alex groaned and grabbed his shoulder. “Thanks,” he said sarcastically. When his brother left, he muttered, “Bastard knew that was my hurt shoulder.”

Steffen reached out his hand. “Glad you’re back.”

“Thank you, Steffen. I’m glad as well.”

“What about the others?” Effie couldn’t hold in the question any longer.

“They’re all alive, Eff, don’t worry. Zoke is still hampered by his injuries, but the chemists don’t believe it’ll be anything permanent…unlike Reela.”

Effie gasped. “What happened to Reela?”

“She has a scar.”

Effie felt relieved. It was just a scar. “Why is your tone like she lost a limb? You might have a small scar yourself.” She brushed her hand over his forehead, tousling his hair.

“It’s not like mine. It’s…very hard to look at.”

His serious look said more than his words.

“She’s been quite unhappy about it, to say the least.”

Reela came in with Zoke and Vithos just then. Effie noticed no scar, though her friend was slightly turned as if hiding one side of her face. Then Reela saw her looking and straightened her neck, frowning and pointing at it.

Hard to look at was right, though Effie couldn’t take her eyes off it. Reela’s skin was green, bright green.

The two of them shared a long hug.

“Oh, Reela,” Steffen muttered when he saw it. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know…it’s bad.”

“What happened?” Effie asked.

“I didn’t even get a chance to fight in the battle. We were attacked before we could make it to Tenred’s walls—more than once, in fact. They were well-prepared.”

“But we did win, right?” Steffen asked.

Vithos and Zoke came to join their circle. “We win,” Vithos said. “But I no fight. Alex and Zoke fight good.”

Zoke was standing with an overly straight back, his whole body stiff. He didn’t seem as if he wanted to turn his neck, moving his whole body in whatever direction he wanted to look. Steffen offered his hand for the Krepp to shake, but Zoke made no motion toward it.

“No shake,” he said. “I’m in too much pain.”

Effie put her arm around Alex’s waist. “They attacked you before you got there?” she asked Reela, still curious about what could’ve caused her skin to melt and become green.

“Yes, at the edge of Corin Forest. I’m so frustrated with myself. My clumsiness led to this.” She pointed petulantly at her cheek. “If I hadn’t tripped and fell, the substance would’ve hit my legs instead.”