“I was afraid of that,” I said. I had a feeling the serpent-creature in the tower of bones might be to blame. After all, I'd killed four of his men and ruined his assassination attempt. That had to bother him. What better way to retaliate than with a lightning storm?
“Or it might not have been,” Aber said, sighing. “How will we ever know?”
“Quiet, my lord,” the doctor said briskly to me before I could answer.
Like all army doctors, he had the bedside manner of a half-wild goat. “Let me look you over.”
I lay unflinching as he poked and prodded me from skull to shinbones. Nothing seemed to be broken, though my skin felt raw. He commented on the number of heat blisters on my hands and face.
“I was lucky,” I said.
“Damned bad sort of luck, if you ask me,” he said. The words sounded clear and close by. My sense of hearing had almost returned to normal. “A lucky man would not have been hit. You do have your father's constitution, though. Any lesser man would be dead now.”
I raised my hands and studied them. Tiny white blisters covered the palms and backs. Not good, but it could have been a lot worse. From the pain I'd felt, I had half expected my hands to be burnt to ash and bone.
“See?” the doctor went on, standing and dusting himself off. “You're barely hurt. A little salve, a few days' rest, and you'll be all right.”
“Thanks.”
“Can you get up by yourself?”
“I think so.”
A little unsteadily, I climbed to my feet. Neole helped steady my arm. I twisted left and right, testing my muscles. My whole body tingled with pins and needles as though circulation had been cut off and was only now returning.
“Good,” he said. He took my right hand and began applying a soothing yellow salve to it. Almost instantly the stinging, burning sensation went away. “This will do wonders for those blisters.”
Aber grinned feebly up at me. “And with your pretty face messed up for a few days, I'll have a better chance with the ladies,” he said.
“It's nice to see you haven't lost your sense of humor,” I said.
He gave me a puzzled look. “Oh?”
I concentrated for a moment, willing my face and hands to change, and from the gasps of the doctor and the soldiers, I knew it had worked. My own meager shape-shifting ability had successfully hidden the blisters. I still felt them, though.
“Damned fast healers,” the doctor muttered to himself. “Don't know why they bother to call me if—”
“I'll keep that salve, if you don't mind,” I said. I plucked the little jar from his hand. “I'll put more on later, when I'm in my room.”
“Don't bother,” he said. “The blisters are gone now.”
“Just in case,” I insisted. “I'm sure they'll be back.”
“As you wish, my lord.” He shrugged, then peered intently at Aber as if expecting my brother to heal instantly, too. When Aber didn't, he just shook his head.
Taking a deep breath, Aber sat up.
“I'll be fine,” he told the doctor.
“As you say, Lord Aber.” Motioning to his assistant, they headed down the hallway.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped over to the open door and stood gazing out into the darkness. Occasional flickers of lightning crossed the sky, then thunder rolled noisily. Gods, I hated this place.
And something else bothered me. I had a feeling we were being watched… that whoever had directed the lightning blast at me was now spying on us through magical means. It might have been the serpent-creature, or it could have been someone else entirely. It might even have been the king's guards. The only sure thing I knew was that I wasn't happy about it.
Well, let them all look. I wanted them to see me. I wanted them to know we had survived unscathed. Let them do their worse! They were powerless against a son of Dworkin.
With a mocking grin, I gave a casual wave into the darkness, then closed the door and bolted it. Aber's spells would have to keep us safe indoors.
“Do you need anything else?” Neole asked.
I shook my head. “Don't go back outside until the lightning has stopped for an hour,” I told him.
“Yes, sir.” He saluted, then led his men down the hall.
I offered Aber my hand, and pulled him to his feet.
“Check those tripwires,” I told him. “Is the house still clear? Are we being watched?”
“Do you hear any screaming?” he asked.
I listened intently, but heard nothing.
“No.”
“You'd hear a scream if someone got in who's not of our blood. A loud, piercing scream that doesn't stop.”
“Good.” I chuckled. “That should discourage visitors.”
Keeping up my shape-shifted appearance began to wear on me, so I let my body slide back to its injured form.
“You said the lightning struck me,” I said. “How did you get hurt?”
“I tried to grab you and pull you free. When I got close, it knocked me flying. It felt like a horse kicked me.”
“You were lucky,” I said.
“We both were. Despite the doctor's opinion.”
He went to the door and opened it a crack, peeking out. Over his shoulder, I saw that still more clouds, pierced by the blue lightning, filled the heavens with a crackling, roaring light show like nothing I had ever seen. Bolts continued to strike the ground, and not just inside the wall but outside it as well. The attack appeared to be continuing. If anything, the storm seemed to be gaining strength.
“Is there any way to tell who caused the storm?” I asked. “Or who's controlling it?”
“Dad might be able to… or someone as powerful. If someone did cause it. We still don't know for sure.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded. “Of course someone caused it!”