Chapter 103: The Sick Wolf (2)
She had been angry enough to use the poisoned knife. She had wanted answers, and she had wanted Lysa to feel fear for coming after Lucard because of Jeff. But hearing Lysa cry about a sick father pulled at the part of Jenny that still remembered being a daughter before she was a survivor.
Jenny stepped closer to Lucard.
"Help her."
Lucard looked at her. "You do not know if she deserves help."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"Because Jake is right. We do not know if all of Ash Wolf betrayed us."
Lucard looked at Jake.
Jake swallowed but did not look away.
Jenny continued, "And because her father is sick. If he is innocent, then he should not die because Merrick lied."
Lucard’s face did not change.
Peter watched him carefully. He knew that look. Lucard was not moved by tears in the normal way. He was calculating. He was weighing the sick father, Ash Wolf’s past help, Merrick’s greed, Jake’s secret knowledge, and whatever hidden value might be inside the sickness.
Lucard looked back at Lysa.
"What happened to him?"
Lysa wiped her face with her sleeve, but new tears still came. "I do not know. He went to inspect an underground cave near the old eastern ridge. Some men had found it while tracking beasts. Father went inside with a few people. When he returned, he looked tired. Then he started coughing blood."
Lucard’s eyes sharpened by a very small amount.
No one else noticed.
Blood.
Lysa continued, "At first, he said it was only bad air from the cave. Then he became weaker. He could not train. He could not eat much. Sometimes he wakes in the night and grips his chest like something is crawling inside him. The camp doctor tried herbs. It did nothing. A traveling healer said his blood was spoiled. After that, Merrick started handling more things in the camp because Father could not."
Lucard’s interest deepened.
Something crawling inside him.
Coughing blood after an underground cave.
A sickness that lasted almost two months.
That did not sound like a simple illness.
Jenny looked at Lucard. "You know blood better than anyone. You can look at him and help if possible."
Peter glanced at Jenny, then Lucard. He did not understand the full nature of Lucard’s power, but he had seen enough to know the young master could do things with blood no normal mage could do.
Lucard stayed silent for a moment.
He did not care about Lysa’s father. Not personally. But a blood sickness from an underground cave had value. If it was poison, it could be studied. If it was a curse, it could be absorbed or broken. If it was a blood creature, then the value could be far greater.
Also, going to the Ash Wolf camp would place him near Merrick.
Merrick wanted Jake.
That alone made him worth killing.
Lucard said, "I will look."
Lysa froze as if she had not expected the answer.
Jenny released a breath.
Jake looked relieved.
Lysa’s voice trembled. "Will you really help him?"
"I said I will look. If he can be cured and the price is useful, I will cure him."
"What price?"
Lucard looked at her. "Truth first."
Lysa nodded quickly. "Yes. I will tell you what I know."
"Not enough. Your father will tell me what he knows. About Merrick, Jeff, Ash Wolf’s contracts, and why Jake was valuable."
Lysa’s face tightened at Jake’s name, but she nodded again.
"If my father can speak, he will tell you. He is not like Merrick. He is not like that."
Lucard did not argue.
People often say such things before learning otherwise.
Lysa then looked at his face and became nervous again. "But how can I take you there? Merrick knows your face. Or he knows enough. He knows Jeff’s killer is Lucard Vardros. If I bring you openly, he will understand something is wrong."
Lucard walked to the desk and picked up one of the copper tokens from her pouch.
"He has seen me?"
Lysa hesitated. "Maybe not directly. But Jeff sent portraits of everyone and descriptions before. Black hair. young. Vardros mudblood. Weak body. He might not know every detail, but if I bring you, he will know."
"Then I will not go as Lucard."
Jenny looked at him. "Disguise?"
"Yes."
Peter frowned. "Young Master, entering a mercenary camp with only a disguise is dangerous."
Lucard looked at him. "That is why it will work."
Peter’s frown deepened. "That is not usually the reason something works."
Lucard walked to the small mirror near the wardrobe. "Merrick expects Lucard to look like a noble survivor, angry, guarded, and protected. He will not expect Lysa to return with a weak traveling doctor she found in the city."
Jenny looked uncertain. "Can you act like a doctor?"
Lucard turned toward her. "I can act weak."
Peter quietly said, "That may be the most dangerous lie I have ever heard."
Jake looked at Lucard with wide eyes. "Will you wear old man clothes?"
"No."
"A beard?"
"No."
"A doctor should have a beard."
"Then most doctors are hiding weak chins."
Jenny almost smiled despite the fear. "Jake, this is serious."
"I know," Jake said. "That is why the beard matters."
Lucard ignored him and looked at Lysa. "You will leave with me before dawn. You will tell anyone who asks that you found a traveling blood doctor after following a rumor in the city. You will say he is arrogant, poor, and expensive."
Lysa wiped her face again. "Why arrogant?"
"Because I am not good at pretending otherwise."
Peter muttered, "At least that part is honest."
Lucard continued, "You will not mention this house. You will not mention Marovain. You will not mention Jenny, Jake, or Peter. If you try to run or warn Merrick, I will know."
Lysa swallowed. "How?"
Lucard reached out and touched the red seal he had placed under her collarbone. "Because part of my blood is still inside your mana path."