Phantom Game (GhostWalkers 18)

Camellia laughed. “Jonas isn’t that bad.”

Kyle took a plate from the stack and handed it to her. “He’s exactly that bad. Worse. And Kaden is right up there with him. The rest of us look normal compared to them. Jonas fights his demons all the time. All of us know it and we respect that about him. He’s loyal to us and our families, and he’d protect us with his life. Suddenly, you’re in the mix. He’s made it clear that you’re to be taken in and accepted by all of us and that you’re under his protection as well. That’s not something he does or that we take lightly.”

Camellia looked over the range of food, most of which she hadn’t ever eaten. She took salad and a small bit of what looked like cheesy potatoes.

Kyle lifted one eyebrow at her. “That’s it? That’s the extent of what you’re eating?”

“I don’t even know what half of this is.” She whispered her confession. “I haven’t been around this much food ever, Kyle. Don’t embarrass me.”

“I won’t. But you’re missing out.”

“I’ll try the desserts,” she offered.

He laughed. “You’re probably saving your appetite for desserts.”

She thought she’d overdone the amount of food as it was, but she didn’t want to look like she wasn’t going to eat what they provided for everyone. She sat down again across from Tansy, noticing that Tansy was eating salad as well.

“Kaden tells me someone has sent troops to wipe us out,” Tansy said.

She sounded so matter-of-fact that Camellia nearly choked on the water she was drinking. She nodded when she could manage to speak. “That’s what Kyle overheard Crawley speaking to someone else about. I thought maybe the teams would send the women and children away.”

“There were two minds about that,” Kaden said. “First off, some of us worry that whoever is plotting against us is expecting that move and is ready for it. And secondly, it isn’t safe to move Marigold right now. She’s been in a health crisis ever since she got pregnant, and it’s only worsened since she gave birth.”

Camellia’s heart clenched to the point of pain. She pressed her hand to her chest. Marigold might not have told her about having a twin. She might have committed any number of sins, but they’d been sisters for many years, always having one another’s backs. “Exactly what kind of health crisis?”

Kaden’s blue eyes darkened almost to black. “She bleeds internally, I think. Lily would have to explain it. I don’t think she clots properly. Something called von Willebrand disease. In any case, jarring her right now by taking her over the road when it’s a pitted mess could cause her to hemorrhage. I’m probably not explaining this right. I’m not a doc, but she’s not in very good condition and hasn’t been for a long time, from what I understand.”

Camellia swung her head almost accusingly to look at Kyle. “Is he right about Mari?”

Kyle nodded. “Yeah. Her twin, Briony, doesn’t have the same disease, so no one even considered it. It doesn’t run in their family and isn’t genetic. Our best doctors here have come up with a theory, but that’s all it is. Marigold was given the original Zenith that Whitney developed when she went out on a mission.”

Camellia knew all about that mission. Marigold had been given Zenith when she went with her former unit to try to talk to Violet and Senator Ed Freeman to see if they would help the women escape Whitney’s breeding program.

“No one on Team Two knew she’d been given Zenith until it had been in her system for far too long and she was bleeding out. She crashed completely. Lily and Ken saved her life, but it took a toll on her body. She has struggled ever since, and her pregnancy made things worse. She has had numerous transfusions since then. When the doctors discussed her case, we did consider long-term side effects of Zenith, but no one thought about her acquiring von Willebrand disease.”

“What exactly is it?”

“It’s basically the lack of a protein needed for clotting. That’s simplifying things, but you get the gist,” Kyle answered. “Sometimes someone with cancer or lupus or autoimmune disease can acquire von Willebrand’s, but as a rule, it’s inherited. That’s why we didn’t catch it even though the signs were there.”

“What can be done for her?” Camellia asked.

Kyle looked across the table at Kaden, who leaned toward them and nodded. Kyle shrugged. “The other teams have a couple of good healers and doctors. We’re holding out hope that they might come through with a way to help her. Ken and Jack have asked for someone to come as soon as possible. This particular disease isn’t curable, but there are ways to help live with it. Her problem is severe and very complicated. We believe the way it developed and is presenting is the result of her body’s interaction with Zenith.”