Chapter 9A Chapter by RedMistressIt was quiet like on most nights in the city of
Renhara. It had been so since the Great War had ended and now its citizens felt
like they no longer had a purpose in this life. With the days when they trained
hard polishing their combat skills long gone all that remained now was the
bitter disappointment of living with the memories of what once was. During
those days of glory the city had flourished and the general mood of its
inhabitants had been far more welcoming. But that was then, a time when
mastering the discipline of warfare was not frowned upon and knowing how to
stand your ground was admirable. Still, even with all the threat of conflict
gone the habit of placing guards at each of the gates at all times had not been
relinquished. A pair of them, brother and sister, a set of twins that despite
their best efforts had failed to raise to the family standards - unlike their
older siblings - felt edgy tonight. It wasn't like anything had changed or that
there was some event to warn of an upcoming disaster. It was just the hair at the
back of their necks, the knot in the pit of their stomach and even the need to
be overly alert. -
Hey Jay, her whisper cut through the darkness sounding louder than
it was in the eerie silence around them. -
What? Came the abrupt and tense voice of her brother. -
I have a bad feeling about tonight. -
You're not the only one sis. He jumped when he heard rustling coming from a
low bush nearby that turned out to be nothing more than a small animal but it
was enough to emphasis the tension he was feeling. -
Definitely not the only one, he mumbled again before everything
was quiet once more. The silence between them had never been
uncomfortable. Even not saying anything was a form of communication between the
two and the connection they shared had displeased their mother on more than one
occasion especially since they seemed to have developed the personality meant
for the other one. Rhea had definitely always been the boyish, tough
personality of the duo that was "very unladylike" whereas her
brother's sensitive personality was not fit for a man, in their mother's wise
opinion. The woman had blamed Jayrin's personality on Rhea, because she always
tried to shield him from everything. As a result their mother had tried
everything she could to sever the bond between the twins. It turned out to be
far beyond a simple failure which ended in them leaving their home as soon as
the opportunity arose. The said chance came in the form of the City
Guards that turned out to be quite a good fit for the duo. Their mother
insisted that neither would last more than a week in the training program which
did in fact prove to be extreme, but the siblings weren't ready to give up that
easily. In the end they passed and were paired together because of their
ability to work in perfect sync. This is how they ended up here and now, in the
middle of the night guarding a gate that was supposedly not in danger. The alternative would have been staying behind
to help clean up the headquarters of the City Guards and between this and
mopping up floors, polishing centuries old weapons and rearranging their
captains office (he did it every time the general cleanup was in progress)
being on guard sounded like the better option at the time. Suddenly Rhea let out a heated curse and pulled
her crossbow out as the shadows seemed to come to life. -
Jay, sound the alarm, she whispered without turning to look at him. -
What? Why? It's just a small animal or two. -
Does that look like two small animals to you? She asked pointing
towards the nearby line of trees. He didn't see anything
at first, but giving the darkness a much closer look the outline of a tall
figure took form right outside the range of visibility cast by the torches at
the gates. He couldn't tell what it was or if it was hostile or not until he
heard the low growl the creature released. In a flash he was lunging for one of
the torches to ignite the beacon when a sharp swish cut the tense silence and
an arrow lodged itself into Jay's shoulder. He grunted his pain as he stumbled
forward but didn't stop until he lit the fuse to the beacon. A second arrow barely
missed his head and stopped into the wooden frame of the gate nearly cutting
the fuse right above the flame. Jay turned around grabbing the arrow and placed
it in his own bow sending it back from where it had come. He couldn’t hear the low
thud that followed but he did feel like he had just poked a sleeping dragon
given the uproar that started. Rhea was already fighting three weird looking
creatures with her usual effortless grace as more were rushing out of the
darkness. His arrows started flying through the air joining those that were
coming their way and hit random targets but it hardly seemed fruitful since the
number of their enemies kept growing no matter how many they took down. Soon enough they were
overwhelmed and he was forced to take out his sword although he would have
rather stuck to his bow. By his third hit he felt like he was fighting hundreds
of what he could only describe as demons and he heard his sister cry out in
pain. His head snapped to where she was standing trying to get the tip of an
arrow out of her side. He pushed a demon off himself and tried to make his way
to her but never managed to get close enough. He got a glimpse of a sharp blade
cutting through the muscle of her thigh and as she fell to one knee his despair
took over. Jay vaguely registered a cut applied on his own body but it was so
distant compared to what he sensed from Rhea that he ignored it completely.
Another slash to her arm had him screaming for her and reaching out to touch
her as if he could over the dozens of bodies separating them. It was then that
he noticed the blade that was raised above her head ready to finish her off and
dread filled him. As the blade came down
it shook missing its target when a deafening roar pierced the midnight air
shaking the ground in its wake. Everyone stopped and stared at the top of the
city's wall where a huge lion glared at them all in anger as if displeased at
the disturbance. Jay took the opportunity to start moving towards his sister
that was already crawling away towards the gates. The lions roar was suddenly
met by another equally fearsome coming from the heart of the woods and as if on
cue everyone was moving again. The inhabitants of the city started pouring over
the walls and through the now open gate like an overflowing dam their battle
cries filling the air alongside the clash of weapons and claws. Rhea managed to get out
of the way mostly dragging her left leg since she couldn't stand on it while
her left arm felt useless as it hung limply beside her body. She willed the
pain at the back of her mind and glued her body against a wall. She took a few
deep breaths to gain some focus and yelped when she felt a hand on her
shoulder. -
We need to get you out if here, Jay stated already pulling her arm
to place it around his shoulders.
Rhea tried to protest
but her brother was having none of it. He dragged her past the gates inside the
city trying to stay out of the way as much as possible. As soon as they arrived
she was passed on to a nurse that placed her on a stretcher and rolled her away
into one of the hospital rooms where she was quickly but thoroughly examined.
She was out the room a
heartbeat later then came back with a handful of medical supplies. Right behind
her Jayrin rushed in looking for a moment between Rhea who was now sitting
upright and the nurse in front of her.
Jay nodded without needing to be told twice that
he was being asked to let her do her job. Still, being patient had never been
on the list of traits for him and he sighed in relief when the doctor opened
the door. The nurse quickly explained the situation as she continued her task
leaving Jay to chew on his lip and hope that it was not going to take long. But
a moment later Rhea flopped back on the bed and started convulsing. Between the
doctor and the nurse that were trying to hold her down and them talking to him
trying to find out what had happened on the field he froze, the dreadful
feeling that he was going to lose his sister tonight returning with a
vengeance. Suddenly Rhea stopped moving letting out a long
exhale before she went completely still staring at the ceiling with her pupils
so dilated her eyes had almost lost their color. It was then that he felt it,
the chill that went up his spine then straight to his heart only to grab onto
it with a fierce grasp that made him fall to his knees clutching his chest. He
had always known there was a bond between his sister and him but he had never
dreamed it was so strong or that it would hurt him so much to feel it breaking. The nurse was by his side in an instant, raising
his head to check his eye, which were most likely just as dilated and his
sister’s but when she went to say something there was a loud shriek originating
from the bed that caught both their attentions. Rhea’s back had arched in the
air as the three large wounds on her body were now sizzling and letting out a
faint greenish smoke that smelled very similar to rotting flesh.
Jayrin crawled to the side of the bed, taking
his sister’s hand in his own and tried to draw out some of the pain he knew she
felt. It seemed to work given that her back started touching the mattress once
more, though it was clearly just a partial success since she was still
trembling. He bit back the moans as he felt his nerve endings going on edge
from the pain that was now coursing through him but refused to let go and
abandon Rhea no matter what he had to endure. The door burst open and a man Jay had never seen
before came through it. Although he was alone (minus one nurse) he did wear a white
and green uniform of the doctors. His name tag, which Jay managed to see very
briefly confirmed he was a doctor and that his name was Eamon Novak. He was
probably new to the hospital because Jay knew everyone that worked here, even
if only by face.
He turned around leaving the room mumbling an
‘I’ll be right back’ on his way out. If the pain he was still drawing from his
sister didn’t require him to focus so much on containing it, he would have
yelled after him. It turned out to be quite unnecessary when the doctor
returned a moment later holding a small bottle with a red liquid in it in one hand
and a lighter in the other.
***
He paced back and forth seeming angry and
impatient to those that watched him warily from the side. Inside he was more
worried and curious than anything else, but they didn’t need to know that. He
had been fretting in front of this particular door for over half an hour. He
remembered the day when Shai was born and he did the same thing only then it
felt like he had paced a lifetime waiting for his wife to give birth. Just like
back then, he wished he was inside doing something, anything that could take
away this feeling of uselessness, but also like back then being in the room
would only make him an obstacle. He grumbled nonsense to himself just to let out
a bit of tension. It wasn’t like this was a life changing event or anything
close. The doctor was only supposed to tell him how his new guest was doing,
not that anyone there considered her that. Not really. They thought of her as
his prisoner and in all honesty it was better that way. They thinking she was merely
a possession to him would keep her safe from any threat given that they all
knew how deeply he disliked when others messed with his things, and it would
also keep him without a headache since no one would try to use her against him.
It's not that she had any value to him, not after actually seeing her deplorable
state. He doubted anyone would ever
see the value in the legend she was supposed to have been. It was a shame
really. Back when he was fighting for the position he
currently occupied he had faced many impossible situations which is how he
learned of her existence. A foreign adviser had told him a tale of an ancient
beauty with the power of the gods at her fingertips that could help him reach
his goal. Of course they were only stories at the time and no solid proof of
her being was ever presented but still, there was that rumor. Now the adviser
was dead and he figured the legend was to follow momentarily. The door opened abruptly just as he was passing
in front of it stopping him dead in his tracks. An older woman with raven black
hair and a set of tired looking amber eyes came out, carefully closing the
wooden door behind her. Manicket looked at her expectantly and in turn she
looked more tired as if speaking to him, telling him the truth, would drain her
life. She cleared her throat before speaking obviously ready to tell him
something that he might dislike…or worse. -
First of all I want to be perfectly clear, she is my patient and
no matter what you decide to do in the end, as long as she is in my care you
will not harm her. The
two guards nearby gasped softly at her words as if waiting for him to lose it
and kill her right there. Instead he let out a warning rumble from his chest at
them, which, of course, they mistook as him addressing it to the healer
instead. She, however, knew better considering she had been with him since he
was a child and gave him a weak smile before that fell away too. -
She is in no shape to receive visitors or even stay awake for that
matter. She had some internal bleeding but I’ve managed to stop it for now and
it should stay that way on the sole condition that she not be moved any time
soon. One of her lungs is on the verge of collapsing if it hasn’t already, but
I don’t have the strength to fix it anymore. I’ll send Kara to do it, the woman
informed him on a cold distant tone. -
Anything else? He enquired and she huffed. -
I wish there wasn’t. Some of her ribs are cracked, two are broken
�" and I don’t think it’s the first time �" I believe her spleen might be
punctured and her liver if failing along with her kidneys. Some �" Hell most of
her bones have been broken repeatedly from what I can tell and they haven’t
healed properly, which is something that is to be dealt with when she has
enough strength to endure the pain of the realignment process. Her skin shows
signs of burns and rashes from who knows what, she has scars from whip lashes
and cuts to precise to be made by mere scraping. Honestly Mani, I’m not even
sure how it is that she’s still alive. Surviving this is going to be a
nightmare a hundred times over. -
Is that all? He asked sarcastically. -
There might be more, but these are the most urgent and the most
obvious problems. -
What do you need from me? -
I’ll have the healing staff moving in and out of here. I would
really appreciate if the…guards would
stay out of their way, she eyed them with a knowing look. -
Done, Manicket barked his clipped tone sending a clear message of
how bad things would be if they disobeyed.
The guards straightened up a bit more and
Manicket could have sworn one of them whimpered weakly. Pleased, he nodded to
the healer and started climbing back down the stairs. Midway through, Rainner,
his head of security came running up to meet him. -
What's wrong? -
Bad news. Our sources inform us that an attack on the city of
Renhara is imminent, the other man gasped. -
When? -
They are not sure. Their orders are to be ready any moment, but
it's suspected to be tonight or tomorrow at the latest. -
Damn it! Get the men ready to leave. -
We're sending help? Rainner asked in surprise. -
Why? You have a problem with that? Manicket raised an eyebrow in
challenge. -
No, no. I'm just surprised that's all, Rainner answered honestly. It really shouldn't bother him after all these
years especially since he wanted it that way but it did. No one though he would
ever lend a helping hand, fortunately they would definitely believe in
strategy. -
We have more to gain if we help them then if they fall. Renhara
once held the best warriors in the world and, while they don't admit it, they
still do, Manicket explained calmly as he started down the stairs again. -
That is true, his head of security nodded. -
Besides, we will need them later on. Which reminds me, any news
from our main source? -
No news. The decision has yet to be made. -
Hmmm I don't like this. It's taking too long. -
Yeap, our source said the same thing and also to be patient and
not do anything stupid. Manicket stopped turning around to face Rainner
with a deep scowl. The head of security raised his hands in surrender and gave
him an innocent look. -
Hey, remember, I'm just the messenger, not my words. The matter was closed for the time being. Both
men went on their way, neither at ease about the current situation. From the shadows they cast on the floor a faint
firm broke away merging with the darkness of the corner. It tried to avoid any
being that could sense it in its hurry to report the news. © 2015 RedMistressAuthor's Note
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