The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, #1)(99)

Nusis cleared her throat. “Well…here. I only know all this from a distance, mind, as I was a very junior officer at the time. But we Apoths sought to make a cure for the spread of dappleglass, to treat the contagion like it was a disease, neutralizing its ability to bloom within flesh or soil. We had to formulate this cure within weeks.”

“It must have been a preposterous task.”

“It was. The very idea was ridiculous, frankly. But then—rather miraculously—we appeared to be successful.”

Ana’s mouth fell open in shock. “Wait. You were? You mean you actually made a cure for dappleglass?”

“Possibly,” said Nusis, somewhat reluctantly. “That is a question of some controversy. The senior Apoths created a graft that held promising capabilities of neutralizing the contagion. Twenty little vials, all ready for testing and review. We simply had to get approval to scale it up and begin deploying it within Oypat.”

“Then why didn’t you?” asked Ana.

“Because, as I said, we needed approval. Namely, by all the Preservation Boards. The first rule of the Engineers and the Apoths—outside of Talagray, of course—is to do no harm. If you wish to intervene in the Empire, you must first prove that what you do will not damage anything else in the Empire. This is where the Preservation Boards step in, ensuring that the status quo will never be threatened.”

“And…what did the Preservation Boards do regarding Oypat?”

“They moved quickly. Or…they tried to. But the cantons that would have to grow the reagents for the cure…Well, they brought many concerns. They protested how creating these new reagents could lead to environmental issues with all their other reagents and agriculture. They demanded tests and studies, wanting to ensure that there was no commingling or mutagenic possibilities.”

“I see…” said Ana softly. “Then what happened?”

“The process simply took too long. The dappleglass reached a critical point. It had devoured too much land. Too long a border for it to ever be properly neutralized. Like a tumor infecting the bone, or the tissue of the heart, it was too late. So we evacuated the canton, and then…then we applied a phalm oil burn.”

“Usually reserved for disposing of titans, yes?”

“For destroying their carcasses, correct,” said Nusis. “It burns hot enough to destroy anything organic. We burned everything within a half mile of the walls of the canton of Oypat. All the trees, fields, homes…everything. And…then we sealed it up. Like a tomb. And let it lie.” She swallowed. “And that was that. The Empire was saved. And the fertile fields and little towns of Oypat are no more.”

There was an awkward silence.

“It might have happened anyway,” admitted Nusis. “Years after Oypat, I personally led a team to retest the twenty little vials of cure we’d produced—just in case dappleglass ever infected another part of the Empire. Three of the vials had degraded until they were little more than water. So perhaps the cure might have been ultimately ineffective. We shall never know, unfortunately.”

Ana cocked her head. “Strange…Was Commander Blas ever involved in Oypat? Did he ever assist with containing the contagion there, or perhaps in his work with the Preservation Boards?”

“Blas?” said Nusis. She seemed surprised. “No. No, not that I was aware of. Why?”

“Just a question,” said Ana. She smiled wearily. “Yet there is one more thing I’m curious about…You mentioned that several cantons had curiously prepared protests about the dappleglass cure.”

“Yes?” said Nusis.

“Might you recall which ones those were?”

“Oh! Hm. Off the top of my head…” Nusis thought about it. “The Juldiz, Bekinis, Qabirga, and Mitral cantons, I believe.”

There was a long silence.

“You’re sure,” said Ana. “You’re sure it was those four?”

“I believe so, yes.”

“I see,” said Ana softly. “Then you may go, Immunis Nusis. Do keep me updated on that reagents key.”



* * *



—

I WAITED FOR the door to shut.

“Those cantons,” I said. “Those same four cantons again.”

“Yes,” said Ana quietly.

“The ones Blas’s secretary was traveling to, with the money. And the ones Kaygi Haza sent his scribe-hawks to.”

“Yes.”

“But…what’s it all mean, ma’am?”

“I am not yet entirely certain, Din,” said Ana. She smiled dreamily. “But it’s very interesting, isn’t it? Very interesting indeed.”





CHAPTER 32


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AS AFTERNOON TURNED TO evening, Ana, Captain Miljin, and I lounged in the courtyard of the Iudex tower, sipping clar-tea and listening to the troops filing in and out of the city. Miljin had brought Ana her list of Legionnaires altered for strength, and while she read I related the interviews to him, one after another.

He shook his head when I finished. “Poor old Uhad…They should have transferred him out of here years ago. Can’t take too many wet seasons, the engravers. They don’t age well. But I can’t find nary a thing in what you’ve told me that helps me make sense of what’s going on.”