I stirred slightly, then groaned when the subtle shift sent a pang of misery down my body. A glance showed my chest and left arm bandaged up in tight, white wrappings. A face snapped over mine when I was observing myself. Neepa.
“Oh, an angel,” I said. “Guess I’m in heaven.”
Neepa bit her lip and smiled, her honey-brown eyes shimmering, heavy tears rolling down her cheeks.
“No. You’re still in the realm of the living.”
I looked away from Neepa’s beautiful face and saw Koko sitting next to her. She, Neepa, and a third woman were all holding my right hand. The woman further down, near my legs, donned familiar robes that said she was a mage of some kind. She had short black hair with one of her bangs in a loose braid that hung over a very black eye. She observed me keenly for a few moments, then released my hand and heaved a sigh.
“The levels should be within a safe margin. I’ll inform Sigemond,” she said, rising to her feet. She shot Neepa a venomous glare, which Neepa didn’t notice while she clutched my hand tenderly to her chest. The woman then excused herself through the tent flap, beyond which the bustling of activity and voices could be heard.
“Who’s the lady with the shiner,” I asked.
“One of the head healers,” a voice to my side croaked.
Laying next to me on the bedroll was Eva, all the clay, muck, and blood from the experience wiped away from her face and body, allowing her hair to radiate its golden glow and eyes to resume their crisp gleam. Her entire chest and abdominal section was wrapped in heavy white bandages, her left arm resting across her stomach in a sling.
Eva looked rough, but she was breathing.
We stared at each other for a spell. A laugh climbed from my tight throat the same time as tears fell. Eva watched on, the corner of her mouth curled into a relieved smile.
Neepa leaned over me and brushed a hand over my forehead. “Oh, Al,” she fussed, her voice tinged with worry.
I sniffed and took a few breaths. “I’m happy,” I said though a sob, “I’m just so happy to see you girls.”
Neepa swooped down and developed me in a hug, and she was sure to reach over to hold Eva’s unbandaged hand. I hugged her back with my good arm and breathed in her sweet, floral scent. We basked in each other’s closeness and were thankful to be alive for several, long, truly joyful moments. Neepa pulled away and gently brushed away any stray tears from my face.
“I was so scared,” Neepa said, her voice breaking. “When we found you.” She closed her eyes and shook the image away. “Thank goodness Kokoliniasta flew me.”
“Indeed,” Koko agreed, her wings flexing behind her. “Had Neepa not determined the proximity of the corrupted-beastkin, you would’ve surely perished.”
“How’d you do that?” I asked Neepa.
“Pricker seeds on the hides of the dead beastkin in Lucinia. The species of bush only grows in this denser region of the forest; with little wind passing through trees, they developed unique barbs to attach to anything so they can pollinate.”
“Damn it, Neepa, you’re so fucking brilliant.” I chuckled, then my laughter ended with groans. Even breathing hurt. “Not that I’m ungrateful, but I still feel like I’m dying. Didn’t that healer heal me? Also, why did she have a black eye?”
Eva chuckled then. Koko went on to fill me in.
“We administered emergency aid with the help of the other scouts, but your injuries were only superficial in comparison to your essence, or lack thereof. When healer Shu arrived with the convoy, she said you were too far drained of your reserves to be healed properly. She needed to siphon magical energy into you to help stabilize your life; naturally, Neepa and I volunteered, however…”
“Shu said, ‘The last thing he needs is your cursed essence flowing in him!’ and then wham, Neepa walloped her good and screamed, ‘I’ll wring your skinny neck if you keep me from him!’” someone answered from the tent flap through fits of giggles.
Standing with a big grin plastered on her face was Laramie, and off behind her was Sigemond, who looked unamused by the cat-girl’s attitude as he dipped his massive frame into the tent.
The short cat-beastkin was decked out in tight leather armor, her straw hat still perched atop her head; Sigemond wore a chest plate, dull and nicked from several battles.
Neepa burned cherry-red under my gaze of disbelief. She was the absolute last person I expected to punch someone in a fit of passion. Honestly, I was flattered.
“I’m happy to see some of Eva’s positive traits rubbed off on you,” I said to her.
“We owe a great deal to her,” Sigemond said. He crossed over to the foot of the bedroll Eva and I shared, then dropped to his knee. “Our forces were able to come as quickly as they did thanks to her insight. Though, that fire and display of yours helped us pinpoint you.”
“What display?” I asked.
Sigemond’s eyebrows shot up to his graying hairline. He gave Eva a perplexed look, then he looked back to me. “Truly, you don’t remember?”
Things were really fuzzy, my memories playing back like a distorted VHS tape, moments of clarity between sections of static. The null, monsters, evil people who were bat-shit crazy, werewolves… wolf-people!
“Where is she?” I went to sit up, but fell back when pain lanced my gut.
“Who?” Sigemond inquired.
“The wolf-lady, she was with us until…” I trailed off when I drew a blank. “Did she make it?”
“Yes,” Koko answered. “She’s outside.”
Hearing her say that was another weight off my mind. Still, I’d like to see her. She may have helped Eva and I inadvertently, but she helped regardless. I tried to prop myself up, but my bandaged left arm couldn’t handle any weight. Neepa went to rebuke me for moving, but Koko put up her hand.
“Al, how do you feel?” she asked.
“Like shit.”
“But you feel? No numbness, tingling, hallucinations, or lack of self?”
The last part made me pause. “I know my name is Al. Not sure how to test that. I just feel pain and all its ugly siblings.”
Koko reached into the pocket of her pleated skirt and fished out a tiny, ornate glass vile. “You should be stable enough to take this.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Dragon’s blood.” Koko saw my hesitation and explained herself. “Not pure, of course. Dragon blood is loaded with magical essence; pure blood would kill other non-dragon species. But, when diluted and refined, it is a potent healing aid for other living organisms.” She pulled out the plug and held it near my mouth.
The contents of the two-inch vile didn’t look like blood at all, just a clear liquid. It felt like my entire body was sunburned and caught in a perpetual cramp, so I’d drink unicorn piss if it promised any sort of relief.
Koko tipped the vile to my lips and I drew it in. The taste was somewhere between sucking a lemon and touching a nine-volt battery to my tongue.
I cringed, coughed, then shuddered. “Fuck, that’s got a kick.”
At the cost of having my mouth taste like metal, the tension in my body receded, the pain dulling. A tingling wave washed over my body, seemingly eradicating the worst of my pain. I lay and waited, seeing if discomfort would come crashing back. But it didn't. Slowly, I propped myself up. Sitting up was still difficult, but I managed; left hand still hurt like I stuck down a garbage disposal, though.
Dead set on getting to my feet, Neepa didn’t try to scold me, but instead drew her arm around my back and aided in my rise.
Eva groaned loudly as she slowly rose, too.
“Your clavicle has yet to fully heal,” Koko told her. “You should rest.”
Sigemond had already pulled the blonde to her feet.
Eva adjusted her sling till her arm hung comfortably. “I’m fine. I want to see it again anyways.”
I was tempted to ask “See what?”, but I’ve been asking too many questions when the answers are beyond the tent.
With Neep
a burdening some of my weight, I stepped out in the near-blinding light of the day.
We were still in the clearing around the pond, but several tents have been erected and wagons and carts were parked all over, people of all species roaming about with hustle. To my left was the pond, people wadding about in the water, and to the right was a sight to behold.
My mouth hung open, my eyes unblinking as I stepped into the center of the clearing, trying to fathom what I was looking at.
Four football-field’s worth of trees were completely bisected, leaving nothing left but a new forest of stumps. Massive timbers riddled either side, some lying across the canopy of still standing trees, others completely upturned. The ground of the clearing leading up to the tree line was disturbed in a distinct pattern that tapered down to a single point near the shore of the pond. Planted in the ground at the peak of the destruction path was my bokken. The smooth oak finish gone, replaced with a matte-black texture that made the sword look impossibly dark in the sun.
Neepa let me stand on my own, and I limped to the sword. From where I stood, there was a perfect horizontal slash that spanned almost a hundred yards across, almost as far as the eye could see into the forest, all the stumps cut in a perfect, level plane.
All activity in the makeshift camp ceased, and all bodies stood still, watching me.
“I… did that?”
Eva strode up to my side. “Yep. One moment they were there, then they were gone the next. Then you turned around,bleeding from your eyes, nose, and mouth, and collapsed right on top of me.”
Koko came to my other side, observing the damage supposedly done by me. “Bleeding from the orifices is the result of overusing one’s magical reserves. From the destruction witnessed, you just about used everything, even using the force that drives your life.”
Neepa came from behind and pressed herself into my back, sniffling. “You were like a flickering candle. Eva and I were so scared.”
I looked at Eva curiously at the mention. Her cheeks glowed and she looked away. “You freaked me out, okay? You wiped away a small army with one swing then it looked like you dropped dead.”
“One swing?” I mumbled to myself in utter disbelief.
I took the bokken in my hand, the sword feeling lighter than before. Is it even still wood? The other difference aside the appearance and weight was the sensation it sent through me. A calming hum radiated from my hand and through my whole body.
Holding it felt oddly right.
Two figures swooped down from the sky, a man and a woman who had wings instead of arms and legs that bore an avian resemblance past their thighs. They landed near Sigemond and Laramie, but froze when they saw me and the sword. Sigemond snapped them from their gawking trance.
“Report,” he barked easily.
The bird-people set their backs straight and each brought up a wing in salute.
“All clear north and near the base of the mountains, sir,” the man said.
“We found traces of a camp fifteen miles east, sir,” the woman said. “I’ve dispatched half my party to investigate.”
Sigemond nodded, then turned to the man. “Meet up with the scouting party handling the west and help them. After that, give another cursory sweep.” He looked back down to the woman. “Rendezvous with your party and establish a camp. Leave no stone unturned.”
The pair saluted again, then gave me another fleeting look before they took up to the sky to join the other hovering bird-people. The groups flew into two V-formations, each heading toward their respective destinations.
“We found a lot of bodies amidst the leveled forest,” Sigemond went on, “what’s left of them. But we’re being extra thorough given the circumstances. With Eva’s account and the evidence we’ve discovered, you very well stopped a full-scale invasion on Scintillation, Al.” He turned to take in the new clearing and crossed his arms over his muscular chest, blowing out a huff of air. “The power of a Resonant is one to be reckoned with. Thank the One they didn’t corrupt you.”
My moment in limbo came back to be me. I recalled the light and the feelings associated with it. What the hell was that light?
A short series of whimpers pulled me from introspection, then I remembered why I wanted out in the first place. I used the bokken as a cane and limped my way to where I heard the faint whimpers.
Set near the edge of the undamaged clearing was a crude cage of sticks and vines with a sloppily bandaged wolf-woman resting inside. She was curled around herself, still whimpering softly.
The familiar man guarding the cage stood at attention, then gulped when we came face to face.
“Felix,” I uttered in a low, level tone, “choose your next words very carefully.”
“Al,” Laramie called. “As funny it would be to see Felix struck down by a legendary weapon, he’s not at fault. Eva told us of the beastkin’s efforts, but she’s still feral. Having her loose is dangerous.”
I ignored Laramie and moved past Felix, who made no move to stop me. The simple wood locking pin came off and I was inside the cage. The others watched wearily while I knelt down next to the injured woman, surely expecting her to lash out like a wild animal, but she did no such thing.
I set my sword onto the grass, and then slowly set my hand on top of one of her furry, clawed hand. “Thank you,” I said, hoping she would understand the gesture. In response, she leaned her head forward and licked my hand once.
“What’ll happen to her?” I asked.
Laramie shrugged. “The plan was to do the natural thing: leave her alone. But from Eva’s account, we figured that the Null sympathizers used her pack to form their little army, so there’d be none of her kind to look after her.” Laramie signed. “Still, the natural thing to do is just leave her be.”
“And let her die?”
Laramie held her hands out at her sides apologetically. “That’s nature.”
I looked back to the wolf-beastkin, she watched through her tired, golden eyes, her tail thumping occasionally on the grass.
“Felix,” Sigemond boomed.
Felix’s mouth worked silently for a few moments before he managed to sputter, “S-sir?”
Sigemond kept his gaze on the wolf-woman through the slats of the cage. “Round up Uri and Tettri. You three are in charge of her. Get her comfortable and loaded up on the on the caravan heading out.”
Felix saluted unsurely, then dismissed himself. Sigemond caught me staring at him. The corner of his eyes crinkled as he smiled.
“It doesn’t look like you’re willing to part with her so easily. She’ll come with us to the capital under supervision to receive the aid she needs. I’d like to remain on your good side, too.”
I smiled up at the bulky man, then stepped aside when Felix returned with two women. One of them was another beastkin with floppy ears, squat horns, and had feet ending in hooves. A cow-woman, or a minotauress? The other was a middle-aged woman with a muscular build. Felix laid down a stretcher he brought, and the two women carefully moved the wolf-woman onto it. She stayed calm the entire time, only starting slightly when the women touched her, but I was quick to calm her with a light pet to her wild hair. They covered her naked body with a blanket, and her bright gaze tracked me as they carried her off towards a train of wagons parked near a break in the tree line that I don’t remember being there before.
Sigemond came from behind and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “She’s surprisingly docile, caring for her shouldn’t be too much hassle. That said, Al, we should get you back to Scintillion so you can get more care, and protection.” He eyed the forest around us. “Dust has settled for now. No telling what else may be lurking on our borders. Take solace in knowing that all of us will guard you with our very lives; the least we could do for allowing you to get taken.”
Everything prior to my collapse played back before my eyes, the feeling of terror and disgust becoming fresh.
“I hope it doesn’t come to that.” I eyed the destruction, and then the bodies lin
ed up on the other side of the camp, what was left of them. “I’m tired of all the death.”
Neepa was by my side as soon as she felt me grow sullen.
“It’s been a quiet ride down here, I think the battle has passed,” Laramie assured. “Y'all be riding with me, so let's get you loaded up, ‘k?”
Standing was starting to get difficult, so I nodded my assent. Sigemond went off and started barking orders out to the camp. Laramie guided Koko, Eva, Neepa and I to her wagon that was a part of a train of seven strong. The wagon had a wide bed with a canvas covering, two horses whinnying as they waited at the front. More soldiers came to help load Eva and I via stretchers; the tough blonde objecting until Neepa scolded her.
Eva and I were loaded side by side on our backs, Neepa sat on her knees near our heads, and Koko sat near our feet by the tailgate. Laramie exchanged a few words with other soldiers, then hopped up to her seat, taking the leather reins in her hands.
More soldiers busied themselves loading up the last of the wagons, one in the rear receiving several loads of the bodies from earlier. After things were squared away, I heard Sigemond give a shout from the lead wagon. Laramie snapped her reins and the horses clopped forward. I watched the sun through the opening in the back get eclipsed by the shaded canopy of the path. A breath of relief left my nostrils as I closed my eyes, feeling satisfaction of Eva’s shoulder pressed against mine, warm and well, and enjoying Neepa’s touch as she ran her fingers through my hair.
My night of terror was over.
A bump in the path made Eva and I groan in unison.
“Koko, got any more of that dragon potion stuff? It helped a lot, but I still feel like I just finished ten rounds with the Incredible Hulk.”
“Who?” Eva, Neepa, and Koko asked.
“Forget it,” I grunted. “Hurt. A lot.”
Koko’s tail wrapped around her feet as she dipped her head down. “Forgive me, Al, but that was all I could spare. Dragon’s blood takes almost a year to distill and dilute, even then only a single dose is a result from an entire batch. The dose will ensure your life and keep infection away while your reservoir refills. More healers will be waiting for you at the academy, but we have to heal you slowly, otherwise you’ll be back to how we found you; dwindling away until your soul burns out.”
Heart of the Resonant: Book 1: Pulse (Resonant Series) Page 34
