Lux pressed a hand to her slightly distended belly, trying to make heads and tails of the whole situation. Crystal passed her fingers over the distinctive wound on the back of her other hand, eying the raised lumps. The seraph ludrakoni leaned on her desk, one hand still on her abdomen. “How bad is it?” she whispered. “Where did it come from?”

The Vahazayi in gryphoness form shook her head, taking her attentions back to her sister. “We don’t know. I’ve talked to all the Healers in the mountain and then some.”

“How many taken ill?”

“I have the reports for you, Lux.”

Lux nodded and Rai strolled forward, a sheaf of paper clutched in her right hand. The Noxie Admin perched on the edge of Lux’s desk and began to roll off the numbers, her wings rustling and her tail tapping a quiet tune on the wood. “So far, it seems we have twelve in serious condition, forty-two in critical, ten in stable.” Rai laid the sheaf on her knees and shook her head slowly, sadly. “And two deaths.”

“WHAT!?” Crystal and Lux exploded, crest and ears up respectively.

Rai nodded, wiping her eyes with her armguard; she tried to retain a professional mien, but the set of her ears and eyes betrayed her. “This afternoon. Nothing the Healers could do could save them.”

“My God . . .”

“Lux Aeterna, no!” Lux’s claws gouged the heavy oak of her desk, scoring several deep fissures into it. “W-who?”

Rai pushed a small piece of cloth with words scribbled on it in haste. “I—I can’t say them aloud,” she quietly sobbed.

Crystal didn’t even read the parchment. She ambled over to Lux’s window and threw her arms on the sill, wounded hand foremost. “Rai . . .?”

“Hm?” The Noxie dashed her hands across her entire face and muzzle, smearing her wrists with mucus; she wiped those off on her loincloth.

“What do they look like? I couldn’t see for myself because I was called down here. We need to know what the symptoms are, who got it and who didn’t, analyze that and see if we can find a cure for this, plain and simple.”

The Noxie cleared her throat. “Well, for symptoms, they report—those who can still talk—they say that they woke up feeling a bit sore. Then, a few minutes later, report feeling nauseated, cold-hot and then dizzy. Most of them throw up a while later.” She shivered. “Not pretty, people puking all over the place at the same time. Anyway,” she continued, “they all seem to be favoring some part of their body. Healers found two bumps on hands, feet, sides, cheeks…etc.”

Crystal thrust her hand into Rai’s face. “Like this?”

She took the gryphoness’ hand and passed her sensitive fingertips over the bumps. “Y-yes! Just like these!” Rai looked up at Lux and they looked at Crystal. “Sis! Why aren’t you sick?”

The golden female took her hand back. “It’s impossible and improbable for me to get sick. My blood prevents that.”

Lux tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Damn, hon. You just have all the perks, don’t you?”

“More or less so, I suppose.”

Rai reached for Crystal’s hand again, mulling over the marks. “These look like bite marks; now that I can be assured you won’t infect … me …?” She stopped, edging away from Crystal. “You—can’t, can you?”

The Vahazayi Ambassador pulled back her head in startlement. “Of course not! We can’t carry and we can’t spread!”

Lux snorted nervously. “You’re sure, aren’t you, Crys?”

Smoke puffed from their sister’s nares. “I’m quite sure,” she replied crisply, turning and resting her back against the desk. She tapped the scarred top with a silver claw. “So, what are we going to do?”

Lux shrugged. “What can we do? I’m issuing an order for quarantine. The Guild is off-limits.”

Kaal’tarn raised herself up onto her hindlegs and accepted the plaque from Aurora. With a muscular forepaw, she wielded the hammer and set all four nails deep into the time-weathered oaken doors. “Do we have to do all the entrances?” the raven-gryphoness asked, taking back the hammer and placing it in the sling about her neck.

Kaal nodded and sat back on her flaming haunches, eying the blazing announcement done in huge bold letters:

“That should do it,” the firekat appraised. “C’mon, Aura. As much as I want to stay out here, we got work to do.”

“Aye,” her companion replied, spreading her wings and following the bounding lioness up to the very top of the mountain.

Copyright 2002, Crystal Shekeira. All Guilders are © themselves. The Gryphon's Guild is trademarked to Tserisa Supalla. All other names, places and events are © MH. Do not alter, copy or distribute.