Oswin Tunnelway's Arc

Chapter 9 of 10

Foxface turned and ran toward Grendel's bedroll. Oswin stood, testing his weight on the infected leg. The fever made the ground feel soft, but he could still move. He needed to find Caius and make sure he read the note before anything else happened. But Caius wasn't in his bedroll. Oswin turned in a slow circle, searching the clearing. More mushrooms pushed through the skin along his forearms, their red caps glowing faintly in the pre-dawn light. His vision blurred at the edges. He heard footsteps behind him and spun too quickly, nearly losing his balance. Caius stood there holding his pack, the front pocket hanging open and empty. "The note," Oswin said, forcing the words through the fog in his head. "You need to read it. It tells you—" His thoughts scattered. He couldn't remember what the note said, only that it mattered. That Caius needed to know something important. The fever spiked. Pain shot through Oswin's skull and he staggered forward, reaching for Caius without thinking. His friend dropped the pack and stepped back, hands raised. Oswin saw fear in those eyes and couldn't understand why. Then the pain crested and thought disappeared entirely. He lunged. Grendel's blade punched through his ribs from behind. Oswin gasped and the world came back into sharp focus for three heartbeats. He saw Caius standing frozen, saw the badger's distressed face over his shoulder, saw Foxface holding the folded paper she'd found. The note. Caius would read it now and know he'd done the right thing. But as Oswin's vision darkened, he understood the truth—the note was supposed to spare Caius this exact moment, and he'd failed even in that final kindness.