Read Online Savage City by Sophia McDougall - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sophia McDougall
Tags: Fantasy
Ads: Link
Sulien stared at her blankly, but when comprehension did come, and too quickly, it was strangely neutral and businesslike, even when, the next moment, Una staggered forward to sit crumpled on the bed, and cried, ‘But I can’t do it, Sulien, I’m sorry, I can’t—
Marcus
— I can’t—’
‘All right,’ said Sulien harshly, crossing to her again and this time crouching in front of her, ‘you sit there, and you don’t move, you hear me? You don’t touch anything. I’m going to call the clinic, see if someone can bring round some bandages, suture needles . . . You just sit there.’
Una went on crying, almost but not quite oblivious to him, a little quieter now. More gently he said, ‘You can do it, but not by yourself, all right? We’ll do it together. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do, I promise.’
She met his eyes briefly, as close to assent as he was likely to get, and so he retreated, hesitantly, dreading the moment of actually turning his back on her. Once outside the room he vaulted down the stairs into the living room, ran to the longdictor and punched in the clinic’s code with shaking fingers.
It had occurred to him that she had shown no sign of knowinganything he was thinking for a while. Surely she could not, not in this state.
The conversation took longer than he liked because they wanted him to come in and help with the influx of wounded from the Colosseum. Sulien was quickly reduced to panicked begging under his breath for what he wanted as he dragged the longdictor across the room, fearfully listening for any sound from upstairs.
But she was still sitting on the bed when he came back into the room, with her arms resting passively on her knees, eyeing the blades of glass and the slashed flesh with a more settled despair. She was shuddering even more noticeably now.
Sulien lowered himself cautiously to the floor in front of her again, murmuring, ‘Should be a few minutes.’ In the meantime, all he could think to do was try and fold himself up as small as possible on the floor, to be somehow less conspicuous and provocative.
Una stayed where she was for now, but the lull felt temporary. The cuts were plainly hurting more now the first shock had faded; he could see her muscles tensing as she shifted on the bed, and her breath was growing louder and less steady.
Oh hurry
, Sulien silently begged the assistant from the clinic. Una was looking at him now from time to time, a furtive, kidnapped look: half wretchedness at being trapped and half stealthy assessment of the prospects of escape.
And then he had to leave her again to answer the door at last and gabble hasty thanks to the tired girl who’d brought the supplies: only a minute or two, hardly enough for what needed doing, but plenty of time for some further terrible thing to happen.
Una was on the floor when he came back this time, clenched in an agonised knot. She jolted up warily as he drew near. Sulien knelt beside her and started laying things out – tweezers, dressings, a bowl of boiled water. He brought a lamp over from beside the bed. He began, unable to help a slightly too jaunty, slightly exaggerated professional manner: ‘Let’s start with your hands, then. At least you didn’t break any bones.’ He pushed the wet, tattered sleeve further up her arm to get it out of the way and put a wad of wet gauze into her left hand. ‘You clean it up so we can see what we’re doing.’
Una’s taut shoulders relaxed slightly and she said, ‘Thank you.’
Sulien sighed, and stabbed the syringe he’d hidden from her into her arm, pushed her over onto her side and held her down without too much difficulty as he finished pressing the fluid in.
She scrambled up as soon as he let go, gasping, outraged.
Sulien slumped back against the foot of the bed and just watched her, waiting.
‘What—? What have you done?’ she demanded, incredulous.
Sulien didn’t even bother to answer immediately; he felt boundlessly
Marcus
— I can’t—’
‘All right,’ said Sulien harshly, crossing to her again and this time crouching in front of her, ‘you sit there, and you don’t move, you hear me? You don’t touch anything. I’m going to call the clinic, see if someone can bring round some bandages, suture needles . . . You just sit there.’
Una went on crying, almost but not quite oblivious to him, a little quieter now. More gently he said, ‘You can do it, but not by yourself, all right? We’ll do it together. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do, I promise.’
She met his eyes briefly, as close to assent as he was likely to get, and so he retreated, hesitantly, dreading the moment of actually turning his back on her. Once outside the room he vaulted down the stairs into the living room, ran to the longdictor and punched in the clinic’s code with shaking fingers.
It had occurred to him that she had shown no sign of knowinganything he was thinking for a while. Surely she could not, not in this state.
The conversation took longer than he liked because they wanted him to come in and help with the influx of wounded from the Colosseum. Sulien was quickly reduced to panicked begging under his breath for what he wanted as he dragged the longdictor across the room, fearfully listening for any sound from upstairs.
But she was still sitting on the bed when he came back into the room, with her arms resting passively on her knees, eyeing the blades of glass and the slashed flesh with a more settled despair. She was shuddering even more noticeably now.
Sulien lowered himself cautiously to the floor in front of her again, murmuring, ‘Should be a few minutes.’ In the meantime, all he could think to do was try and fold himself up as small as possible on the floor, to be somehow less conspicuous and provocative.
Una stayed where she was for now, but the lull felt temporary. The cuts were plainly hurting more now the first shock had faded; he could see her muscles tensing as she shifted on the bed, and her breath was growing louder and less steady.
Oh hurry
, Sulien silently begged the assistant from the clinic. Una was looking at him now from time to time, a furtive, kidnapped look: half wretchedness at being trapped and half stealthy assessment of the prospects of escape.
And then he had to leave her again to answer the door at last and gabble hasty thanks to the tired girl who’d brought the supplies: only a minute or two, hardly enough for what needed doing, but plenty of time for some further terrible thing to happen.
Una was on the floor when he came back this time, clenched in an agonised knot. She jolted up warily as he drew near. Sulien knelt beside her and started laying things out – tweezers, dressings, a bowl of boiled water. He brought a lamp over from beside the bed. He began, unable to help a slightly too jaunty, slightly exaggerated professional manner: ‘Let’s start with your hands, then. At least you didn’t break any bones.’ He pushed the wet, tattered sleeve further up her arm to get it out of the way and put a wad of wet gauze into her left hand. ‘You clean it up so we can see what we’re doing.’
Una’s taut shoulders relaxed slightly and she said, ‘Thank you.’
Sulien sighed, and stabbed the syringe he’d hidden from her into her arm, pushed her over onto her side and held her down without too much difficulty as he finished pressing the fluid in.
She scrambled up as soon as he let go, gasping, outraged.
Sulien slumped back against the foot of the bed and just watched her, waiting.
‘What—? What have you done?’ she demanded, incredulous.
Sulien didn’t even bother to answer immediately; he felt boundlessly
Similar Books
