“Of course, my dear. Of course. Rachel, won’t you join us in the examination room?”
* * *
“Goodness, child.” Dr. Milligan unclicks the pen light. “Your tonsils are so swollen.”
“Is that good?” Rayna asks.
“I’m afraid not. Your vocal cords could be damaged. Has this sort of thing ever happened before?”
Rayna genuinely thinks for a moment. “I’m not sure what you mean by vocal cords, but I lost my voice once when I yelled at Toraf. But it wasn’t this bad and it didn’t last this long,” she croaks. “Can you fix me?”
Dr. Milligan cocks his head. “I’m not sure. Have you been screaming at Toraf recently? You know you’re quite hard on him at times.”
“Did Galen tell you that? It’s just his opinion, you know.”
“Galen has mentioned it a time or two.” He taps her chin, coaxing her to open her mouth again. Good thing Rachel told her to pop some mints before we came. “Hmmmm,” he says. “There seems to be a tear at the top of your mouth. No, not a tear really. It’s too … neat to be a tear. It’s more like a hole. A perfect hole has opened up in your mouth. I’m quite certain it wasn’t there before.” He clicks off the pen light, thoughtful. “Do you know what it reminds me of?”
Rayna shakes her head, eyes wide.
“It reminds me of the hole whales use to make sound. Tell me something, Rayna dear. Does it hurt?”
“What do you mean?”
“Does it hurt to try to talk, for instance? Does it hurt when you don’t try to talk? Do you remember what you were doing when you lost your voice?”
Rayna crosses her arms. “No, it doesn’t hurt. I just can’t talk, I can only whisper. I mean, I think I’m talking normal, but only a whisper comes out instead. And, yes, I do remember what I was doing when I lost it. Oh yes I do. I had been screaming, just not at Toraf. But screaming doesn’t hurt. It usually makes me feel better, actually. Except—” Then she all but accuses me with her eyes.
Oh, lovely. But I guess if anyone should be explaining it, it should be me. “My mom … My mom used chloroform on her. To knock her out.” I could have put it delicately and fancied it up for Dr. Milligan’s sake, but secretly I wanted to see the horror on his face. Not.
“I … I see. And how … how did she ‘use’ the chloroform on her?” There are a million other questions on his face, too, but Dr. Milligan is a patient, sequential-order type of person.
“Same way she used it on me, I guess,” I tell him. “She put a rag over our faces until we fell asleep.” I pause, wait for the shock to subside on his face. “Do you think the chloroform burned a hole in her mouth maybe?”
“Hmm. No, I don’t think so. The tissues around it aren’t damaged. It appears to be a natural development.”
“Does Galen have a hole like this?” Rayna says.
Dr. Milligan purses his lips. “I’ve recently examined Galen, and he does not have a hole there. Why do you ask? Did he lose his voice as well?”
Rayna does not like this answer. “I wish. But I was thinking that maybe he would have one, too, since we’re twins and all.”
Dr. Milligan chuckles. “This is one thing you don’t share, dear. You get to be the special twin.”
“Special means different,” she says.
Welcome to the Freak Club, I want to tell her. But because it looks like she’s genuinely distressed, not to mention hungover still, I give her a break. There will be plenty of time later to use this against her in an argument. After all, she’s lightning quick to call me a dirty Half-Breed.
“Will my voice come back?” Rayna says.
“I think so,” Dr. Milligan says. “In fact, I can’t really see why this hole would be affecting your ability to vocalize as it is. Just to be safe though, I think you should refrain from talking as much as possible. Just until the swelling goes down. I can give you some anitbiotics for that, too, in case you have an underlying infection I’m not seeing.”
“Will anti-buttocks close up the hole?”
Dr. Milligan gives her a smile brimming with pity. “I’m afraid not.”
Awkwardness creeps into the room and spreads like a vapor. We’re all thinking our own thoughts, and we’re all staring at Rayna while we do it.
Apparently Dr. Milligan’s thoughts get the better of him. “Emma, why on earth would your mother chloroform yourself and Rayna?”
Rachel fluffs her hair and pulls it to one side in a very Italian, very flirty way. “Oh, Dr. Milligan. Have we got some juicy gossip for you.”
12
THE POSEIDON Trackers bow to Galen as he passes them at the entrance of the cave. He nods an acknowledgment and continues on his way. When he reaches Nalia’s chamber, the two Triton Trackers keeping guard move to block him from entering. Everyone has gone mad. Six months ago, a Tracker wouldn’t dare stall him from going anywhere.
Besides all that, he wonders what Emma would say if she found out he allowed her mother to be imprisoned in her own territory. But Grom and Antonis both agree that this is best, to show cooperation and to show respect for the traditions of the Law. That being inconvenienced now is for the greater good later.
Galen is not entirely convinced that any greater good looms in their future.
Galen holds up the string of dead fish in his hand. “I’ve come to give Her Majesty food.”