Awaken His Eyes | The Awakened Book One

Chapter 3

The rectangular peephole slid open momentarily, revealing the eyes of an elderly woman. A few seconds later, the large door opened inward and the nurse of the temple of Adussk, the Orudan god of healing, bowed in reverence before the governor of Bastul.

Adair Lorus walked through the door and motioned for the woman to rise. Although it still made him uncomfortable, he had come to expect this reverent behavior from his subjects. Each of the royal guards at his flanks carried spears in their right hands and torches in their left, casting a flickering orange glow around the trio, barely fighting back the darkness of the night.

"I was told you have a man in your custody. A sick man."

"Yes, my lord," the old woman responded. "He has been here since yesterday morning, unconscious and silent until a few hours ago. But then he started moaning your name, so I sent for you. I hope I have not disturbed you," she added quickly.

"Not at all. Thank you for notifying me. May I see him?" he asked unnecessarily.

"At once, my lord." The woman turned and began walking down a long hall. The dark green fabric of her veil and floor-length tunic billowed as she hurried through the dark passage, restricted only by the leather apron tied at her waist. The sound of their footsteps echoed off the stone floor as they passed numerous doorways and candles burning in sconces along the walls. The hall turned to the left and continued for another hundred feet before it ended at a door. The woman pulled a set of keys from her apron. With a nod of confirmation, she unlocked the door and pushed it open.

Adair walked slowly into the room. The guards followed closely, their torches adding to the light from a small lamp hanging on the wall. The soft illumination showed a man lying on top of the sheets, covered in bandages and throwing his head back and forth. If he had been moaning before, he made no sound now.

"Where did you find this man?" Adair whispered.

"A soldier brought him to me. He said they found him on the western shore."

Adair wrinkled his eyebrows as he walked over to the bed. "Is he awake?"

"No, my lord. It only appears that way because he moves so much."

Adair stood over the bed with his hands clasped behind his back. It was plain to see that the man was badly injured. He had a large bandage around his left thigh and the skin on his face and arms was burned and peeling. His hair was gray, flecked with brown, and matted on his head. Adair looked at his face but didn't recognize him.

"No ..." the man mumbled and then flinched as if dodging something.

Suddenly, a memory sprang into Adair's mind. He had dealt with this man before on the matter of neglecting to pay a shipping tax. Any crime against the Empire, no matter how small, was punishable by death under Orudan law. Adair had shown mercy on the man and let him live. After that, the man tried to repay Adair's kindness by sending word of any criminal happenings around the city as he became aware of them. Adair had to admit that this man had proven to be a useful informant on several occasions, but he hadn't heard anything from him in almost a year.

As the man's name came back to his memory, Adair said it aloud. "Bahari."

"Do you know him, my lord?" the old woman asked.

"Yes," Adair answered, wondering why Bahari would be moaning his name. "You said he was found on the western shore?"

"Yes, my lord. That's what the soldier told me. I've ..." she started before trailing off.

Adair turned to her. "What is it, woman? If you know something, tell me at once!"

"I've seen this type of thing before," she answered, her body language more timid than before. "A man gets in a drunken fight and finds himself washed up on the beach. I thought this was another such occurrence," she said, her voice lowering to a whisper. "But when I cleaned the wound on his leg I pulled this out."