In Search of High Society

by Katie Holmburg

  Laughing almost hysterically, she grabbed the basket of salt and repositioned herself in front of Meara. Snatching a quick glance at her, Aletta saw that she had her face buried in her knees and was rocking, but seemed otherwise unharmed.

  The chimas were pacing right outside of range of the salt, snarling as they watched her, their insane eyes gleaming. Aletta bared her teeth at them, snarling a challenge for them to approach if they dared. However, none of them approached, seemingly unwilling to get hit with another barrage of salt.

  Sucking in deep breaths, she took advantage of their hesitation to glance around. She almost cried when she saw that the guard had finally arrived and were working in coordinated teams to drive the creatures together and get them away from the vulnerable fae. She only had to hold on for a little while longer. Her eyes widened a little when she realized that Lirim was helping the guard. She tried reaching to him, but his mind was filled with white hot anger and it blocked her out.

  Suddenly, as if they had heard a signal, the chimas turned as one and started streaming back the way that they’d come. Several of the guard pursued them while others started tending to the civilians scattered around the nearly empty square that had been a bustling market just minutes before. Aletta collapsed to her knees, a rasping laugh escaping from her before she could stop it. Dropping to all fours, she started retching, both from revulsion of the chimas and overexertion. In between heaves, she had just enough presence of mind to remember Meara.

  Letting the shield fade, she forced out, “You…. Okay… Meara?”

  Meara crawled over to where Aletta was, tears streaking her face. She rubbed Aletta’s back, trying to ease her although she was trembling worse than Aletta was. Her voice was shaky but Aletta could hear the underlying courage it had taken to leave her hiding place, “I’m not hurt. You… you saved me. Are you ok? Y-y-you’re not hurt, are you? Did they bite you?” Every word she spoke was a little stronger than the last.

  Whooping in a breath, Aletta finally managed to stop retching and push herself into a kneeling position. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Aletta then reached over and pushed a strand of Meara’s hair from her face with a shaky hand. “I’m ok, they didn’t bite me.” She allowed her hand to fall down into her lap.

  She had just started getting her breathing to relax when there was a shout and someone was suddenly there. She scrambled backwards until she realized that it was just Lirim. Sitting up, she was about to berate him when she actually looked at him. He was wide eyed and his hair was sticking up wildly. He was frantically examining Meara, almost babbling, “Are you ok? Did you get bitten. What are you even doing here? Talk to me, Mear’. Say something, anything!”

  Gathering herself and willing her trembling muscles to obey her, Aletta reached forward and grabbed his shoulder. “Lir, she’s ok. Just give her a second to answer you. They didn’t touch her but she’s had a bit of a fright.”

  He whirled when she touched him, shoving Meara behind him. His eyes widened impossibly more when he saw who it was. He scanned her swiftly, taking in her disheveled state. “Aletta?! Oh my god! What are you doing here?” He quickly began running his hands over her, checking for injuries.

  Aletta gently cupped his cheek, making him focus back on her face. She smiled gently. “I’m ok. Meara is too. Your mother asked her to grab a couple of things and she invited me to tag along. We were able to hunker down, neither of us were bitten. We’re really ok.”

  Looking back and forth between them, her words finally seemed to sink in and he started shaking. Aletta watched him worriedly, noting the sweat that had appeared on his forehead and a little concerned by how the color had drained from his face. “Lirim, are you…”

  Before she could finish her question, a bloodcurdling scream cut her off. Scrambling to her feet, she took off towards the sound with Lirim hot on her heels. They found a guard on the ground writing in pain, three of his companions trying to hold him down. Shoving a gawker aside, Aletta dropped to her knees beside him and demanded, “What happened?”

  The fae struggling to keep the male from hitting his head on the road yelled, “He was bit. One of the males.”

  Yanking the tattered trouser leg aside so she could see clearly, Aletta said, “What’s the difference?”

  Lirim knelt beside her, holding the leg still so she could examine it closer. He said, “Females have venom that numbs, males venom cause excruciating pain. The venom won’t kill him but the shock and pain from the bite will.”

  Aletta held her hand over the wound, but nothing happened, no tug or anything. Growling, she forced herself to think. If her gift didn’t respond, it meant that the answer was available. She swiftly ran through everything she knew about them, but her knowledge was severely limited. The only thing that she knew about them was that they fled from… “Salt!”

  Grunting with exertion from keeping the male still, Lirim said, “What?”

  Placing her hands next to Lirim’s she said breathlessly. “I need you to go back to where you found us and get the basket of salt. I also need some water. I’m going to have to irrigate the bite, it’s the only thing that will stop the venom.”

  She was grateful that he didn’t argue but did as she asked. He was back swiftly with the items that she had requested. She dumped a generous amount of salt into the bucket and stirred it with her hand until it dissolved. Knowing that they were running out of time, she said, “Someone gag him, I don’t want him biting his tongue.”

  Someone gave him a piece of wood to bite down on and the male took it mindlessly. His thrashing was getting worse. Aletta muttered, “Sorry.” Taking the dipper, she poured it on the bite. The guard’s cry was muffled by the wood but it was still one of the most heartbreaking sounds that she had ever heard.

  Tears streaking down her face, she did it again and again until she was sure that she had managed to neutralize all of the poison. The male had thankfully passed out after three dippers, although it had taken the full bucket and most of another one until she was satisfied that she had managed to get it all.

  Straightening, her back unexpectedly cramped and she couldn’t bite back a whimper. Lirim reached down and gently helped her to her feet, allowing her to use his arms to support herself until her body steadied and her back eased.

  He nodded and stepped back just enough to give her space but close enough that he could catch her if her legs gave out again. “Is it all right to move him?”

  She rubbed her neck and sighed before allowing her hand to drop. “I’ve done what I can. A healer should look him over, but he’ll probably be okay to be carried to a healer.” Glancing around, she asked, “Where’s Meara?”

  He watched as the injured male’s friends carried him away before replying. “She’s ok, she’s sitting over there.”

  Aletta smiled as when she finally spotted Meara sitting quietly on a little bench. Although there were still signs of tears, her color had returned and there was a sparkle back in her eyes. She breathed, “I’m so relieved. That was closer than I anticipated.”

  Taking a step towards Meara, Aletta cried out as a sharp pain shot up her leg. Lirim whirled, his hand falling to the dagger at his waist. “What is it? What do you see?”

  Squeezing her eyes closed, she waited for the pain to subside. After a few moments, the pain faded to a manageable level and she sighed. Seeing how tense Lirim was, she rested her hand on his arm. “There’s nothing there. It seems like I’ve overexerted my leg is all.”

  He tensed even further before shaking her hand off. Feeling hurt, Aletta was about to protest when he swept her up off her feet. Blushing, she protested, “Lirim!”

  He growled, “Leave it.”

  Aletta bit her tongue, finally noticing how close to the edge he truly was. Sighing and shifting slightly so that she was more comfortable, she called, “C’mon Meara, we’re heading back.”

  Meara joined them, staring back and forth between them. Chewing her lip nervously, she asked, “But what about the t
hings I was supposed to get?”

  Knowing that she was still somewhat in shock, Aletta lay a comforting hand on Lirim’s chest to stop him from saying something harsh that he would regret later. Smiling, she said, “It’s ok, Meara. I know that your mother will just be glad to see that you’re ok. Let’s head home.”

  Meara fell into step with them, lingering close to Lirim for comfort. Fidgeting with a loose thread on one cuff, she said, “I thought that you said that you weren’t hurt.”

  Ignoring Lirim’s scowl, Aletta smiled brightly. “I wasn’t hurt, just overdid it a bit with my leg. I’ll be right as rain as soon as I let it rest for a bit.” Ignoring Lirim’s incredulous scoff, she winked at the girl. “If you want though, I can pretend that it’s worse than it is, maybe keep your mom from yelling at you because you scared her.”

  The teenager shoved a piece of hair behind her ear and exclaimed, “Oh crap! Mum’s gonna kill me, she’ll never let me out of the house again.”

  Aletta rolled her eyes at the dramatics. “Your mom’s not gonna kill you.”

  “Well, she might not kill me, but she’ll definitely cry. That’s worse than anything.”

  Aletta laughed, “It’s not your mom that you should be worrying about. It’s your dad. Nothing’s worse than a dad when someone or something has threatened his little girl. If you’re lucky, he’ll let you leave the house again in a decade or two.”

  Meara looked like she had bit down on a lemon, but Aletta was pleased to see that the color was returning to her face. Satisfied that everything was going to be ok, Aletta relaxed in Lirim’s hold. She murmured quietly, “You really don’t have to carry me.” He just shot her a look and she subsided, allowing them to walk the rest of the way in silence.

  When they reached the manor, Meara hurried in front of them so she could open the door. Lirim curtly nodded his thanks and swept past her. He walked into the sitting room where the rest of the family were gathered. Ignoring their startled questions, he walked over and set her down gently on the settee. Then without saying a word, he turned and walked out of the room. Aletta tried to go after him but the flare of pain in her leg stopped her. She heard him make his way up the stairs and then the slam of a distant door.

  Settling reluctantly back on the settee, she grimaced. Once she found a position that was comfortable, she looked up to find the rest of his family staring pointedly at her. Closing her eyes briefly, she held onto her patience. This was not going to be an easy explanation.

  * . * . *

  The man paced angrily in his office, fear and frustration plain on his features. This is not what was supposed to happen. The chimas were supposed to eliminate the girl that had tagged along with Bosk. The one that was hiding something, that knew more than she should. Meara should’ve never been there, should’ve never been in danger. It was a miracle that she had escaped unscathed. Next time he would kill the human himself. That way, there would be no chance of mistakes.

  Chapter Eleven

  It had taken some time for the uproar that had resulted from Aletta’s explanation to die down. Thankfully Kane seemed to be the most level headed member of the family and had gotten her some of the pain numbing tea while Rose and Alan switched between questioning her and lovingly smothering Meara. She’d been hugged several times by Rose as well, but thankfully most of Rose’s attention was on Meara.

  When they had started repeating their questions, Aletta stood up. She waited a moment, but the tea had thankfully done its work. She said firmly, “If you have any more questions, you can ask Meara or wait until I return. I need to check on Lirim.”

  Kane took the cup and saucer from her. “He’s all right. He just needs some time to process things. He used to do this as a child.”

  Aletta scowled fiercely at him. “He is not all right. We’ve been partners for months and I’ve done some pretty idiotic things, but he has never walked away from me without saying a single word. Something is wrong and I intend to get to the bottom of it.”

  Kane warned, “He has a temper. If you go up there, he’ll say things that he’ll later regret. He doesn’t want to hurt you.”

  Aletta snapped, “I don’t care. I know that he’s hurting and will probably say something nasty. But just because he might do something doesn’t mean that I’m willing to leave him to suffer alone. Get out of my way!”

  He moved and Aletta stormed past him, muttering under her breath. She knew that the fae could probably hear every word that she was saying but she just did not care. Climbing the stairs as quickly as she could, she limped down the hall to Lirim’s room. Testing the door, she was surprised to find that it was unlocked. Pushing it open, the door felt like it was moving through honey instead of air. Stepping instead, she quietly closed the door behind her.

  Taking in her surroundings, she sucked in a breath. It looked like a bomb had gone off in here. The bedding was strewn violently across the room and the mirror was shattered. The room’s only chair had been smashed repeatedly against the wall until it was little more than kindling. There were also three holes in the wall that she could see from where she stood and she suspected there were more. Looking around, it took a minute for her to locate Lirim in the chaos.

  She finally found him curled up under the window, his arms wrapped over his head and rocking back and forth while muttering the word no over and over again. Her heart breaking, she picked her way over to where he was and gingerly lowered herself next to him.

  She spoke his name but he didn’t seem to hear her, locked up in whatever horror he was seeing. She carefully reached out and touched his knee. His head shot up and he stared at her, his eyes wild and unfocused. Knowing that he would bolt like a spooked horse if she didn’t handle this right, she let out her magic so he could feel who it was and murmured his name again.

  He calmed fractionally but was still so tense that it looked like he would snap in two. Moving so slowly that there was no way he could take it as a threat, she moved forward and wrapped him in her arms. He froze but she didn’t let go, simply kept her embrace firm but not restraining and crooned soothing nonsense to him.

  It took several minutes but just when she was about to let him go and try something else, he shuddered and collapsed into her arms. He was absolutely silent but she could feel hot tears soaking her shoulder. Stroking her hand soothingly through his hair and rubbing circles on his back, she murmured, “What’s going on with you? What demons are you fighting, huh? Let me help. I’m here for you.”

  He merely held her tighter but Aletta felt a gentle warmth bloom in her magic and the tugging of a gossamer thread. Not ceasing her motions, she opened up her senses to her magic. Most of his pain seemed to be centered around his head. She eased his headache with a thought but it seemed to be more than that.

  She gasped when she realized what was going on. He had one of the most severe cases of PTSD she’d ever seen, but instead of dealing with it he had shoved it down. The trauma had caused great neural pressure and when his guard had finally dropped, the pressure exploded causing intense pain and disruption. She felt a flare of irritation, because there was no way that he hadn’t had symptoms leading up to this, but he’d obviously ignored them.

  Her empathy kicked in and pushed the irritation aside. Sometimes being in the midst of something blinded you to what was really going on. Nothing had been normal for weeks and most of the symptoms were probably easy to disguise as being part of the upheaval. The question now was how was she going to help him with this.

  Closing her eyes, she could almost see a 3D image of his brain. It glowed golden but there were several black patches on it. To make matters worse, the black was spreading, sending out tiny black tendrils to infect the healthy gold. Mentally apologizing, she carefully probed the black spot.

  Hissing, she drew her touch back. It felt like she’d stuck her hand into an electrical outlet. Opening her eyes, she examined Lirim but he showed no signs of having felt the pain. This made her want to cry because it meant that he was in
so much pain all the time, he no longer felt it.

  Forcing the tears back, she closed her eyes again. She could cry later once she was alone, right now she had to fix it. Examining it visually this time, she tried to sort out what had happened. She paused when she realized that during the shock, she had caught a glimpse of a tiny fragment. It was people fighting somewhere that she had never seen. Thinking hard, she finally put two and two together. All of this trauma was from his time in the Outlander War. He’d never dealt with it and like with any untreated wound, it had festered. She delicately probed the black spot again and was hit with the pain again, but was able to breathe through it this time.

  The only way to fix this was to deal with it. However, Lirim was in no shape to handle it and she couldn’t leave him in pain. She would have to find a way to lance it so healing could start. Opening her eyes, she stared out the window while she allowed her mind to drift. Oddly enough, memories of her maternal grandfather’s death kept popping up. Christine and her father had been close and when he had passed away, it had wounded her mother deeply. They had ended up just boxing up all of his belongings and storing them until her mother could deal with sorting through them. It had taken some time, but her mother had finally started going through the boxes, finding both good and bad memories.

  Aletta chewed on her lip, trying to think through all of the possible ramifications. Boxing away his trauma wasn’t a permanent solution, only a temporary bandage. However, it would take away the pain and pressure, buying him some time to actually deal with it. And it wasn’t like she was taking away his memories, merely tucking them away where he wouldn’t keep tripping over them. She abhorred people who tampered with memories, either their own or others. A person was the sum of how they’d lived and that should never be taken away from them.