Kyara's Beginning (Kyara Book 1)

Chapter 26

Jonathan woke slowly, aware of intense pounding in his head. He groaned a little, and stirred, only to hiss with pain and go still again.

“Keep still.”

He was startled at the voice, and tried to sit up to see who it was. All that he achieved was more pain, and he moaned, shutting his eyes. A hand pressed down on his shoulder blades firmly, forcing him to lie flat again.

“I said keep still. You want to open the wounds again?”

Something hot was laid on his back, and he could feel himself starting to relax. He opened his eyes, and looked straight into the steely violet eyes of his slave. He jumped, and winced in pain as the movement sent lines of fiery pain through him, concentrated mainly in his right hip. She didn’t move, other than to press him down again. This time he complied, and just lay there.

“What happened?” he finally ventured. She was busy elsewhere in the room, for he couldn’t see her.

“The herd took exception to your presence,” she replied absently. “You’re lucky you’re not hurt worse.”

“Herd?” He frowned. “What herd?”

“The one that calls the kelp their home.” She returned to his side, placing another piece of cloth on his back. “The worst is on your back, apart from your hip. You only have bruises and a couple of small cuts on your arms and front. It looks like they targeted your back.”

He frowned, trying to make sense of it. “Why?”

She shrugged. “No idea.” She placed a cup beside him, and swam out of his line of sight. “Drink it. It will help with the pain.”

He hesitated, and then obeyed, unable to bear the pain any longer. He drained the cup, and put it back, just as she came back to him.

“Good.” He watched her as she tended his back, but his eyes were growing heavy, and he surrendered to sleep.

When he woke, it was full dark. He stirred a little, but it sent flares of pain through him, so he quickly stopped. He tried to see if the girl was still there, but he couldn’t see anything. It was too dark. He sighed, and closed his eyes again. His whole body was throbbing, and he hoped that she would come back soon, if only so she could give him something to stop the pain. He fell asleep again before anything else happened.

Movement around him woke him the next time, and he tensed. However, the movement woke the pain in his wounds, and he couldn’t keep back the soft cry of pain. The movement stopped, and then he saw her kneel beside him.

“Awake, are we?”                                                                                                                  

He turned his head away from her, and heard her bitter snort. Water washed over him as she left the side of the bed, and he found that she had moved into his line of sight. He watched her as – her back to him – she prepared something at a small table. He frowned, and raised his head slightly, not enough to pain him.

He was on a low bed made of kelp and driftwood, seemingly put together hastily. What he had taken at first for walls, were actually waving fronds of kelp – he wasn’t inside at all.  The table she was using was also made of bits of driftwood, collected and cleverly worked together.

“Who are you?”

She glanced at him, amused, and came over. As she tended his back, she answered. “You really want to know, don’t you? Too bad you wouldn’t believe me.”

“What?” He turned his head, and managed to catch her gaze. “What are you talking about?”

She didn’t answer, concentrating on what she was doing. Whatever it was stung, and he flinched.

“Keep still.”

He glared at her, but she met his gaze mildly.

“If you don’t, I’ll tie you down,” she told him. “Your choice.”

He didn’t know what to say, and dropped his gaze. “How long has it been?”

She paused, thinking. “Well, it’s past midnight now, so…this is the second night.”

“What?”

She nodded, resuming what she was doing. “Yep. You slept for most of it. The horses knocked you out for a couple of hours, and then you slept last night and yesterday right through.”

“Where am I?”

This time she hesitated. “Where you would have found me if you had looked,” she finally said cryptically.

He shook his head slightly, not understanding. “What?”

“Don’t worry yourself. How’s the pain?”

He sighed. “Bad,” he muttered. “It hasn’t ceased.”

“Hmm.” She sounded thoughtful, and left him to filter through the bits and pieces on the table. She came back with another cup. “Here. Try this.”

He eyed her warily. “What’s in it?”

She snorted. “You’ll be fine. I gave it to Ace.”

His eyes widened. “Ace? You were in the stables?”

She snorted again. “You think you know what goes on, don’t you?” She turned away, leaving the cup beside him. “Again, your choice.”

He narrowed his eyes at her back, but drank what was in the cup. For some reason, he felt a little trust towards her. The pain receded quickly, and he relaxed slightly.

“So you trust me.”

He tensed again. It was almost like she had eyes in the back of her head. Then he heard a soft nicker. The golden colt walked past where he was lying, and over to the girl. He nudged her in the back affectionately, and he caught his breath, finally seeing it.

Kyara turned with a smile as Helios nudged her in the back. She caught his nose, and rubbed it, scolding him playfully. “You silly thing,” she said affectionately, knowing – and not caring – that her owner could hear her.

He rubbed his head on her arm. How long is he going to be here?

She smiled again. He wasn’t happy with the arrangement, she knew. “I don’t know,” she said. “It depends.”

He snorted, and swung his head around to look at the man. Are you scared of him?

She shook her head. “No. He’s just heartless.” She sighed, thinking back to the day she’d arrived. “I’m here for a reason.”

He bumped her curiously. Why?

She shook her head again, and swam back to her owner. His eyes were closed, but she knew he’d been listening. I can’t tell you, she whispered. Not yet.

The colt nodded good-naturedly, and began nibbling the man’s tail. She smiled, but didn’t rebuke him. He deserved it.

Her owner stirred, and flicked his tail, catching Helios in the nose. The colt squealed in surprise, and his ears went flat.

“Hey,” Kyara said warningly. He looked at her pleadingly.

Please?

“No,” she said firmly. “Leave him alone.”

He sighed, and moved away, disappearing into the kelp.

Jonathan lay still, hoping that she would go away and leave him in peace. He wanted to think about what he’d heard. Then, he stiffened with surprise as a gentle hand touched his hair, hesitantly trailing down his back. It stopped midway down, and then he felt the wake of her movement as she swam off, leaving him to pass the rest of the night away alone.

~*~