Chapter 12 - Truth
James woke up aching and bruised and surprised to be alive. The infirmary room was bare and quiet, as still as death, and it scared him at first, as if the walls would change at any moment into the bowels of Oblivion. He didn’t even want to breathe until he confirmed his location. But then he looked to his left, and saw Catherine sleeping by the side of his bed. She was lying with her head on her arms, her curly wisps nearly tickling his arm.
Right away, he knew he was fine.
Catherine would no way be in whatever place he ended up. She was an angel through and through. And immediately, her presence comforted him. James patted her hair lightly, waking her up instantly. She coughed a little and straightened up, drool dripping from her lips on the way up. She wiped it quickly onto her white blouse.
“Charming,” he mused as she chuckled at herself.
“Yeah, it’s about as charming as your snoring. You sound like a dragon with a cicada in his throat.”
“Have you ever even seen a dragon?”
“No, but I heard one last night,” she winked at him. James laughed and was about to move forward when he saw the stained bandages around his midsection. He decided against it.
“So I didn’t die.”
“You perception didn’t either, I see.”
“But I pulled out my manumit, I’m supposed to die.”
“Don’t sound so disappointed, James. Actually, it’s one of the few times I was glad you were such a failure. You did reach for it, but you missed. Instead, you bore down, and actually released your own eidolon, just long enough to take Kyran down.”
“No way!” James exclaimed, sitting up.
Then he screamed, feeling his wound reopen.
“Lay down!” Catherine yelled as she pushed him down. “Yes, you took him down with one blow, but it’s not going to do you any good if you kill yourself now!”
“Sorry. Sorry…” James heaved, trying to slow his breathing. “So…I guess I couldn’t even sacrifice myself right…”
“Don’t beat yourself up. It was the thought that counted. And you gave Arimus and I quite the priceless image. Seeing Kyran get struck like that.”
“That’s me all right,” James coughed. “Bag of tricks…”
“So what made you do it, James? Release your eidolon, I mean?”
“It was seeing you about to die,” James said. “I realized my life was meaningless compared to yours, and I needed you to live. You would make more of a difference than I ever could.”
“Well, just so you know,” Catherine mused, “I don’t want you to start making a habit out of this. Your life matters too, okay? At least to me it does.”
Catherine closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss his forehead, but James cut her off at the pass, kissing her square on the lips.
Catherine let the kiss go on at first, certain it was his forehead. But when she realized the surface didn’t feel right, she opened her eyes and widened them in horror. She backed away and slapped James hard across the cheek. He nearly fell out of his bed.
She must have been working out.
“What was that?!”
“Was that your first kiss?”
“YEAH! And it will be your last!” Catherine shrieked as she raised her right hand high over him. James threw up his hands in surrender but she was not in a merciful mood.
The fist connected, and James fell asleep once more…
The Last of the Sages (Sage Saga, Book 1) Page 22
