Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Battle scars...

Cameron ran. He ran harder, faster than he ever had before. He tore through the corridors, Kailah in his arms. He slid around corners, shouting for people to get out of his way. He ran out into the early dawn light, heading for the main hall. Adrenaline pumping his muscles, he took the stairs two or three at a time. The guards on the doors quickly opened them at his frantic shouting.
He slid to a stop in the main hall, "MALTORIS!"
His voice echoed to the rafters. Life inside the hall came to a startled halt, all eyes on Cameron. He ignored them all, his body finally giving out as he fell to his knees, Kailah still in his arms. He took one final deep breath.
"MALTORIS!"

Cameron awoke with a start. For one panic stricken minute he couldn't feel the connection. He took a shuddering breath when he realized it was still there, weak, but there. He sighed and ran his hand over his brow, pulling the hair out of his eyes.
It took him a second to realize his arm was no longer wrapped in a dead man's shirt, but neatly bandaged in gauze. Another second for him neither being in his apartment, bed, nor clothes.
He looked around the stark room and recognized it for the hospital Kailah had put him in all those months ago after the Body Caster incident. Glancing down at his bare chest, most of the scars were still visible, six and a half months would only fade so much. Cameron sighed, it felt like a lifetime ago.
While his mind reminisced in the perilous past the sun beat a warm path across the room from the one window over his head. The dust danced through the beams, swirling with each breath Cameron took. He watched it in silence, his thoughts drifting to the present, to Kailah and the city. On if the Beast attack and Chaos Pairs had been defeated.
Sighing heavily Cameron pushed himself up to sit on the edge of the bed. Answers wouldn’t be found waiting in this room. The weakness of the connection was worrying him. It meant one of two things. A.) Kailah was very far away, which in itself was very disconcerting considering her state last he saw her. Or B.) Kailah was extremely weak, possibly close to death which was also possible considering her state last he saw her.
Cameron shifted himself to the very edge of the bed wrapping the covers around himself. He took a steadying breath and attempted to stand. His legs didn’t seem inclined to support his weight. He caught the edge of the bed with his elbow, the covers slipping down to his waist and his knees hitting the floor.
He cursed as he pulled himself to his feet, forcing his legs to hold him. Still clutching the sheets at his waist and sweating with the effort, Cameron made his way along the bed. Resting at the foot of the bed he glanced toward the door.
The knob turned slowly, the door opening with the barest hush of a whisper. A relieved smile touched his lips upon recognition of the beauty that walked into the room.
“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” Cameron swallowed, his mouth dry from the exertion.
Kailah laughed, “Probably as much as I. Though, I at least got dressed before coming to visit.”
Cameron smirked as he tied the sheet around his waist, “Just goes to show which of us cares more.”
“About common decency, yes,” Kailah retorted.
The silence began to stretch between them. The worries Cameron had had, fled at the sight of his Caster. Now, he could think of nothing to say. His eyes roved over her, reassuring himself that she was alright. He noticed her eyes follow suit. Suddenly she bit her lip and closed the distance between them, throwing her arms around him. He held her close stroking her back, breathing in the scent of her. She was shaking slightly, small tremors as if she was touched by a cold breeze.
Cameron held her tighter and whispered into her black hair, “It’s ok, I’m here. It’s alright.”
“I thought I'd lost you!” Kailah whispered fiercely, hugging him harder, “When I first awoke I couldn't feel the connection. And when I finally did, it was so weak.”
Her voice caught in her throat and she squeezed tighter. Cameron continued to hold her, stroking her back and whispering reassurances in her ear. They stayed in each other’s arms for how long Cameron didn’t know. Kailah calmed and pulled away from him, running her thumb across her eyes.
“Sorry,” she whispered, “let’s get you back in bed, you must be cold.”
Cameron let her help him back into the bed. She turned her back while he untied the sheet from his waist and threw it over himself. All things covered again he told her she could turn back around.
She smiled at him as she pulled the only chair to the side of his bed and sat down. She was in her normal outfit of black pants and corset over a white blouse. Her hair was tied back in a pleated braid, smaller strands still playing at her eyes. Cameron reached out and tucked one such strand behind her right ear.
“Are you sure you’re ok?” Cameron softly stroked her cheek, “You were almost drained completely.”
She caught his hand and intertwined her fingers into his, resting her chin on them, “I’m fine.”
At his look of doubt she insisted, “No, really. I’m perfectly healthy. You on the other hand.”
“What do you mean?” Cameron narrowed his eyes, “What happened?”
“According to Maltoris,” Kailah took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, “I started to drain you.”
Cameron blinked in surprise, “How? That shouldn’t be possible.”
“It is and it isn’t,” she shrugged, “Maltoris said it isn’t possible for monogamous Pairings, which is what we are. But it is possible for the Councilmember Swords.”
“Wait,” Cameron held up his other hand, “are you saying I am councilmember level?”
Kailah smirked, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. He said you were in a psuedo state due to various circumstances and events, that allowed you to pull unattached Caster power.”
He narrowed his eyes, “Unattached? But there-oh, wait, Merol.”
“Yes,” Kailah nodded, “you killed his Sword, then at some point you pulled from him and after he died you pulled too much from me which started a chain reaction of my body trying to stay alive by pulling from you and yours trying to pull from his and his just being dead.”
“That,” Cameron blinked, “makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, because the other guy, Fanten I think his name was, used shadow casting, not Air.”
Kailah pursed her lips in thought, “Could it have been that he wasn’t Merol’s Sword after all? Maybe Merol didn’t have one to begin with.”
“Maybe, but,” Cameron shrugged, “he didn’t seem powerful enough to not be Joined. Especially for an Air Caster, you know?”
“No, I don’t,” Kailah smirked, “I was unconscious remember. But I get what you’re trying to say, he was too in control for his level to not have had a Sword, even if it wasn’t Fanten.”
He sighed, “Yeah, that about sums it up.”
“Have you thought that maybe Fanten was multi-joined?” Kailah shrugged, “For lack of a better word.”
“With the Chaos,” Cameron pushed himself higher up on the bed, “anything could be horrendously possible.”
She snorted, “Ain’t that the truth.”
Shrugging, he accepted the fact it happened and decided to move on to more pressing issues, “How’s the city?”
Kailah took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The Compound made it in one piece more or less, a couple shattered windows is all the damage it took. The market is demolished, that’s where most of the Beasts had dropped.”
“Casualties?”
She didn’t respond right away, her eyes going distant. The sounds of life could be heard outside the window above Cameron’s head. Birds, conversation and laughter, distant but near enough to encroach on the sudden silence. Footsteps approached and dwindled outside the door, unhurried but in a steady gait. Cameron waited for her to answer, expecting the worst.
“There were forty Beasts total,” Kailah focused on him, “twelve Chaos Pairs of varying degree. All have been dealt with or have left the city.”
She bit her lip, “The numbers are still coming in but so far there have been seventy-five casualties.”
Cameron’s stomach sank slightly as he closed his eyes, “How many Pairs?”
“None,” Kailah reassured him quickly, “none of ours. Everyone’s alive.”
He started to ask specifics when a knock came on the door. Kailah and Cameron glanced at each other. At her shrug he called whomever it was to enter. A nurse poked her amber crowned head around the door with a soft smile in their direction.
“Good morn’ to you,” her voice was soft, “just checking in to see how our patient is doing?”
Kailah smiled pleasantly at the young woman as she approached, “He seem’s to be doing fair enough.”
“Really?” she replied almost, not quite, patronizingly, “I’ll just give a quick examination for the doctor’s notes and let you get back to resting.”
Kailah stood and moved the chair out of the nurse’s way. Cameron shifted himself to sit on the edge of the bed preparing himself to be poked and prodded. The nurse stuck a thermometer under his tongue and took his pulse.
“Any headaches,” the nurse absentmindedly asked, “nausea, blurry vision, numbness?”
Cameron shook his head mumbling around the thermometer, “No, I’m fine.”
He could see out of the corner of his eye Kailah’s eyes tracing his scars, a sullen look on her face. The nurse took the thermometer out of his mouth, glanced at it briefly then tucked it away into her apron. She instructed him to look straight and began to probe his neck.
“How long was I out?” Cameron asked jolting Kailah out of her thoughts.
Kailah shrugged, “Not long, a couple of days. You were extremely lucky Maltoris was in the hall. He was able to get to us in time for me not to drain your life completely.”
“It was faster than trying to find a Healer,” Cameron retorted, “I knew he would be able to Join with one no matter where they were.”
The nurse turned his head and examined his ears causing him to miss Kailah’s eye roll, “You could have gone to the Healer station in the courtyard.”
“Maybe,” Cameron turned his head for the nurse, “but that wouldn’t have guaranteed the necessary level needed. Maltoris was my best bet, even if I was guessing at where he would have been.”
The nurse stepped back from him, “Everything seems to be in order. I’ll confer with the doctor but I do believe you are fit to go home.”
She smiled at them both and turned to leave. Kailah walked her to the door. The nurse whispered something to Kailah who smirked in Cameron’s direction. He tried to hear what they were saying but couldn’t make it out. The nurse giggled at Kailah’s response glancing one last time at Cameron then disappearing past the doorway.
Kailah shut the door and returned her seat to its former position by Cameron’s bedside. Cameron had shifted back to lie on the bed instead of perching on the side, the examination having tired him slightly.
“What was that about?” Cameron tried to ask nonchalantly.
Her red eyes laughed at him, “Nothing much. She suggested I bring you some clothes for when you are discharged. Can’t have you scaring the general populace.”
“Uh-huh,” Cameron narrowed his eyes, “Anything else?”
She smiled shaking her head, “No.”
He held her gaze, trying to pierce the red jewels, searching for a hint. She merely smiled innocently back at him. He rolled over onto his side, resting his head on his palm, still holding her gaze. She sat back, crossing her arms and legs, eyebrows arching slightly but the smile unfaltering.
A sudden knock on the door startled them both followed by the entrance of a haggard faced Skiff. Cameron was about to greet his old captain jovially, but the look on the man’s face gave him pause. The look softened slightly as Skiff approached but remained there below the surface.
“What’s wrong?” Cameron asked as the older man stopped at the side of his bed, “You look like someone sucker punched you.”
“That would be preferable,” Skiff snorted turning to Kailah, “Is he fit to be discharged?”
Kailah nodded, “Just waiting for the formalities.”
“Hang the formalities. Let’s go,” Skiff replied tersely as he glanced around the room, “where’s your clothes?”
“Emperor only knows,” Cameron replied sitting up on the bed, “What’s going on?”
Skiff didn’t answer as he turned and marched back out the door. Cameron and Kailah could hear him in the hallway calling for a nurse. They exchanged glances, Kailah just as confused as Cameron. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. She sighed, rising from the chair.
“I’ll be right back,” She smiled at him and walked out after Skiff.
Cameron sank back into the bed with a grunt. His muscles felt overworked and fatigued. He stared at the ceiling straining his ears. Birds chirped and warbled, singing their songs to the warming afternoon. Summer was fighting tooth and nail with autumn, a losing battle, especially in the northern district of Kalm.
His mind wandered to the Tournament, wondering if the Beast attack was going to postpone or even cancel the event. If it kept to schedule, Kalm City wouldn’t have too much longer to prepare for the festivities. Even now, the southern district vendors would be making preparations for their journey here, or already be on their way.
Skiff came back into the room without bothering to knock followed by Kailah. The look on her face put Cameron on alert. Skiff set the bundle of clothes he had in his arms on the edge of the bed next to Cameron.
“Get dressed we don’t have much time,” Skiff ordered as he turned and stalked toward the door. Kailah walked out to give Cameron some privacy while he got dressed.
Cameron began pulling on his clothes, “What’s going on?”
Skiff stopped with his hand on the door. The look he turned to Cameron could murder, “Our favorite psycho is back.”