[Crimson City 08] - Crimson & Steam by Liz Maverick

Author:Liz Maverick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing

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Chapter Nineteen

The greatest factor in Marius's having himself tested again was the sudden disconnect of Jillian's emotions from his own. For her to be in danger—struck, even!—and for him to be oblivious was unacceptable. She had attributed the change to his marriage with Tatiana, but for some reason he doubted that was the case. Also, though he didn't want Jillian to know it, he felt like hell.

He sat in the waiting room at the mech lab, allowing himself to slump against the wall. He didn't waste the energy to right himself; the ride over had practically done him in. A fine sheen of sweat covered his face, and he felt his body temperature spiking.

The door opened, and without fanfare Leyton walked over and sat down. "Just curious—did you find a needle?" he asked.

Marius shook his head, confused.

"Well, you would have if you looked early enough. Too late now."

Marius swallowed hard. "A needle? Is this part of your diagnosis?"

The mech paused. "Well, it needs longer study, but…"

Marius felt as though all the blood were draining from his body. "You're saying I have been infected. By someone who stuck a needle in me."

The mech nodded. Then he seemed to process Marius's response. "Oh. Yes. Sorry. I suppose I could have broken that to you differently." He frowned. "Sorry. But… yeah, you're infected with the same thing that killed Gregory Bell."

"You're saying I'm dying?" Marius clarified.

The mech opened his mouth, clearly trying to calculate an appropriate response. What he finally settled on was "Yes."

Marius cleared his throat. "How long do I have?"

"I can't give you an accurate picture. Every system is different, and every iteration of the virus. Months, weeks, days? I wouldn't say more than two months, tops. Do you feel ill? The way this virus eats cells, I should think you're in a hell of a lot of pain."

Marius laughed to himself, bested by the dark humor of it all. God love these bastards' inability to process emotion. I'm dying. I could be dead in days, maybe hours. And right after my wedding, which was intended to unify the species. Glancing down at his ring, he couldn't help but wonder, Who's going to watch over Jillian?

"Yes, it hurts," he admitted. Then, looking up at the mech, he shrugged off his fear. "Is it contagious yet? Can it go airborne?"

"No," Leyton said. "It's not like a cold. It still needs to find its way into the bloodstream—which is why I assumed you'd found a needle. Of course, the virus could still mutate…" He blinked a couple of times. "That would be a whole different ball game."

Marius pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to focus. "Where do things stand with your lab team? Have you started any work on this? Is this something you can cure? I'd like to think that whoever created the virus, created an antidote, but I can't count on getting it. What are the chances that you can reverse-engineer this bug? Everything I said before still goes, double.

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