Awaken His Eyes | The Awakened Book One

Chapter 23

Bright morning light was shining in Kael's face when he awoke. The soft rocking motion of his bed told him that he was back on the ocean. He opened his eyes and sat up. The other young men were all in their beds, sleeping soundly. Kael wondered if the others had experienced the same thing he had. But he doubted that was the case. The sound of footsteps startled him and he lay back on his bed, pretending to be asleep. He suddenly felt guilty, like he shouldn't be awake.

Ukiru's quiet footsteps could be heard moving around the room, stopping at each sleeping body.

Kael's heart was beating so loudly in his chest that he feared it was audible in the small room, proof that he hadn't followed Ukiru's instructions. Unexpectedly, a warm spoon was pressed against his lips and the aroma of soup filled his nostrils. He allowed the nourishment to be poured down his throat, feigning a peaceful sleep while inwardly fighting the impulse of fear that told him to get up and run.

Ukiru's presence lingered over Kael a bit longer than the rest before he finally moved on and eventually went above deck.

When he was gone, Kael sat up to see if any of the others had been awakened by the feeding, but he was still the only one. His head ached and his muscles hurt like he had been training for combat all day. He rose to his feet and stretched his weakened body, surprised by the toll that the ceremony had taken on him. After more than an hour of pacing around the room in silence, Kael returned to his bed and tried to sleep again, but couldn't get comfortable. It was like torture, waiting below deck for someone else to wake up, but there was nothing he could do. Kael passed the time by imagining what had happened in Bastul while he had been away, and he was alone with his thoughts until dusk.

The sun had dipped toward the western horizon, off the port bow of the ship, when Kael's thoughts finally resolved into a decision. All day he had been struggling with how to continue at the monastery. He wasn't sure of when they would finally be sent out into the world, but he knew that he had to leave soon. If the being that attacked his mind and body was really the All Powerful, then Kael didn't want any part of him. He still felt like he needed to bathe after the visions he saw, though he knew it wouldn't do much to clean the polluted feeling inside of him.

"So, you're awake too?"

Kael spun his head around and saw Berit sitting up on his bed. "Yeah, I just woke up," he lied.

"My head hurts," Berit grumbled, and turned to look out the porthole situated above his bed.

"Mine too," Kael lied again. His headache was actually gone, lessening and eventually disappearing over the course of the hours he had been awake.

One by one, the others began to wake up. The only one who seemed to be in the mood for conversation was Coen, who immediately began talking about his amazing experience. As the sluggish mood wore off, everyone began to chime in about this or that incredible feeling or experience. It only took a few minutes to confirm what Kael already knew—he was alone in his experience. Everyone else had done exactly what they were supposed to do, except for him. Suddenly the conversation stopped and Kael realized that someone had asked him a question.

"What?"

"I said," Arden repeated, "how long before you passed out?"

Kael tried to look mystified to share in their excitement. "I lost all sense of time, so it's hard to say."

"I know," Jorn blurted out. "That's exactly what happened to me!"

"So you are all awake now?" asked Ukiru, who was standing on the stairs, watching his group of students. "Why don't you continue your conversation up here and get some fresh air?"