Pure

Maigred’s muscles strained, her wings pulling at the air, but she couldn’t rise fast enough. She could feel Hadeaon’s hot breath on the back of her neck.

Maigred woke up with a gasp, her hands clutched to her chest, but they were empty. The child she had been dreaming about was no longer an infant. She was nearly a young woman now and she was sleeping the room next door.

Maigred ripped her blankets off, went next door and checked on Sinead. She was sleeping peacefully, as she always did. Even as a baby she had slept well at night. Maigred went back to her room, washed and dressed. There was no point in laying awake in bed for another couple of hours trying to sleep.

She felt like going to the sacred grove. She wanted to ask for guidance about this strange and horrible dream she’d had two nights in a row. She was not going to treat it like it had any meaning though. It was just a dream.

She went downstairs and got started on the baking for the day, taking her frustrations out on the dough as she kneaded it.

All too soon Cathal and Aoibh came down to join her, then the children were knocking at the back door excitedly. Aoibah let them in.

They streamed in chattering excitedly about the man they had seen laying in the dirt nearby.

Maigred let out a sigh as Cathal went out to see what the children were talking about. If someone was wandering around town drunk enough to pass out in the street, they were probably in trouble. She wondered if the man was the father of one of the families who’s debt Finten had been paying on.

She was soon distracted with filing the children’s bowls and keeping an eye on the baking. She startled when there was a a heavy thud against the back door. “Maigred, open the door!” Cathal’s voice sounded muffled through the thick wood. She ran to the door and quickly opened it.

Cathal was supporting a half conscious Finten, who was shivering uncontrollable.

Maigred quickly stepped back and pulled the door all the way open. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. He’s not making any sense.” Cantal dragged Finten over the threshold and Maigred shut the door behind them.

“Help me with him.”

Maigred slipped under Finten’s other arm and took some of his weight on her shoulders. He was a surprisingly heavy man considering his gaunt appearance.

“Where do you want to put him?” Cathal asked.

“My room,” Maigred said, then wondered why she hadn’t said one of the empty guest rooms.

They went through the dining room. Aoibh quickly came over to them. “What happened? Is he okay? Can I help?”

“I don’t know, put water on the stove and tend to the children. If I need anything else, I’ll send Cathal.” Maigred said briskly.

Aoibh nodded, hearding curious children back to the table.

It took all of Maigred’s strength to help Cathal get Finten up stairs. Finten wasn’t any help at all. He kept mumbling something, but Maigred couldn’t understand what he was saying.

When they finally made it up to her room Cathal hesitated. “Do you want to put him in my room?”

Maigred shook her head. “No, I need him up on a bed. My room will do fine.”

Cathal nodded and they dragged Finten into her room and got him on her bed.

Maigred let out a breath. “He’s much heavier than he looks.”

Cathal was already loosening Finten’s boots and pulling them off.

Maigred leaned over and felt Finten’s forehead he was burning up. It wasn’t like she didn’t know, she could feel the heat radiating off him as soon as she had pulled his arm over her shoulders downstairs. The problem was she didn’t know how hot was too hot for a tarasque. He was much too hot for a normal human man. But why was he feverish at all? Tarasque weren’t supposed to get sick.

She noticed he was still wearing the bandages she had put on him days ago. She frowned. They should have been changed a long time ago. She unwrapped them and was shocked to find the scratches red and infected. However, even though they were infected, they couldn’t account for Finten’s current state.

Maigred smoothed Finten’s hair back from his sweaty forehead. “What happened, Finten?”

His eyelids fluttered open. “Please..cold,” he mumbled.

“I’ll take care of you.”

He nodded and his eyes slid shut.

“I need you to help me undress him Cathal, I need to examine him properly.”

Cathal gave a sharp nod.

“We’re going to take your clothes off so I can try to figure out what’s wrong,” Maigred said as she helped sit Finten up.

Finten turned his head towards her. “Maig, share your fire with me, please. I’m so cold.”

Maigred cupped Finten’s cheek, steadying his swaying head. “I’ll get you warmed up, Finten. Can you tell me what happened?”

He shook his head.

“Okay, we’re going to undress you.”

He mumbled something she couldn’t understand, but it didn’t sound like a refusal.

Maigred pried the large feather that Finten was clutching in his hand out of his fingers. He protested weakly, but he couldn’t resist her. She set it on top of the chest at the end of her bed.

Cathal helped her unlace FInten’s shirt and lift it over his head. Getting the shirt off proved to be rather difficult, it seemed to cause Finten pain to raise his arms. Cathal sat beside him on the edge of the bed, steadying him and manipulating Finten’s arms while Maigred stood between Finten’s legs and lifted the shirt over his head.

As soon as the shirt was off Cathal turned white. He cursed softly.

Maigred could see red streaks running over the top of Finten’s right shoulder which was swollen and purplish. She frowned. She hadn’t checked under his shirt for scratches the other day, she had assumed that his scales would protect him. She moved to see where the source of the infection was and then stopped dead. She covered her mouth. “Oh my gods.”