Across Acheron

Session 30

I awoke to the smell of roast beef and stir-fry noodles.

My vision kept fading in and out as I tried to take a closer look at my surroundings. I was sitting at some kind of long table which was filled with different kinds of foods from every country. Fruits and vegetables provided colour to the rather dark and gloomy setting of what looked to be a dining hall. The candelabras were the only source of light, the flickering flames serving as a distraction for my distraught eyes.

A sharp sound guided my attention back to the table, sounding like silverware against glass. My eyes snapped towards the sound—I nearly puked from the motion—as I watched a figure form on the seat in front of me from a group of shadows.

Part of me was stupidly hoping for it to be Keenan. I was hoping that this was some kind of dream and I’d wake up in another motel room at the coast of goddamn nowhere. For a while, I did believe it was actually a dream. My head felt burnt out enough to be disconnected from reality, and I sort of felt like I was floating again.

But then I saw Irial’s eyes gaze at me, and the smile he held told me that this was far from a dream and I was nearer to death than I had hoped. Baked chicken and garden salad were the only things between me and insanity. I tried glancing around as much as I could to see what I could use as a weapon, but it was hard to do with just my eyes.

My body, for some reason, was out of my control.

“I was wondering how long you’d be asleep for,” Irial spoke in a low slur, his voice more prominent in my mind than the room. “Just a small loss of blood can send you in a state of comatose?”

“What did you do to me?” I managed to ask, but my voice didn’t sound like my own. It was dim, rusty, and practically incomprehensible. It scared me half to death, believe me.

Irial acted like there was nothing wrong with me, like we were just gathering for afternoon tea or something. He brought a wine glass to his lips, taking a light sip before saying, “Oh, I didn’t do anything, Jack. You should know that. You’re body’s breaking down, is all. Like a car without fuel.” He shifted. “Do you want some salad? I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I decided to get everything.”

I honestly felt like I was about to pass out soon. I think Irial knew it as well, but he made no show of it. He took a wooden fork and began to pile food on a black plate, setting it in front of me even though I couldn’t move.

Most would go mad if they were held hostage in some court, but I didn’t. I stared at the faerie prince squarely, pretending that he didn’t scare me as much as he did. I think I would’ve run the hell out of there if my legs had listened to me, but I couldn’t feel anything below my neck. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if my goddamn limbs were still attached.

Off in the distance, I heard the clash of metal against metal.

“What was that?” I asked.

“That should be my brother and our dear father. Just like you said, he came right after us. He was right on our tail during the whole journey here.” Irial laughed. “I’ve never seen him so infuriated; it was a sight worth seeing. He probably didn’t plan to meet our father so soon. We’ll tell who will win in a few moments. To be honest, I’ve got my money on Keenan. He’s a different kind of warrior when he’s angry, don’t you think? Soup?”

“He’s fighting with his dad?”

“Did you think he would let Keenan off the hook like that?”

“But it wasn’t his fault!” Jesus, it hurt like hell to raise my voice like that. “Weren’t you the one that took—”

Irial rolled his eyes and sighed, grabbing a bread roll. “Just how green can you be? Do you think he would care about who did it or not? Even if I did it, Keenan should’ve been there to stop me.” He paused, chewing. “You should really try this bread.”