The Chronicles Of The Council #1: The Sun's Tears

Chapter 60: Laelia - Waking

“Trying to remember you
is like carrying water
in my hands a long distance
across sand. Somewhere people are waiting.
They have drunk nothing for days.” -
Stephen Dobyns

The grey wasteland stretches into the orange setting sun. I would have thought that the heat would have been unbearable, but it feels like a comfortable second skin. As I continue to make my way across it, the landscape morphs to offer me glimpses of places that seem to be familiar, but the scenes do not last long enough for me to be able to recognise them.

Footsteps echo behind me. When I quicken my pace, their sound continue to follow me at a constant distance. Glancing over my shoulder, my pursuer is too far away for me to discern their face.

A pool grows on the horison. From its side grows a sinewy tree of dead bark, limbs stretching into the pool. When I finally arrive, I pause and go down on my heels. Cupping my hands, I stare at my reflection in the water. My face seems foreign to me. I see the same wild curls I face daily, and the brown eyes staring at me with my frown, but I  feel removed from it - detached as if somehow there is a divide between me and myself.

Shaking the thought off, I realise that the footsteps have gained on me. As I turn around, I stagger backwards into the pool when I recognise my pursuer. When the water folds around me, my pursuer jumps in, colliding with me. As I stare at myself yet again, the other me grabs my head, forcing my forehead against hers. She continues to exert pressure until she melts into me.

I wake with a gasp and immediately feel on edge when I fail to recognise my surroundings.

“Sunshine, you are awake,” Aedan's familiar voice calms me instantaneously. I turn towards him, only to first have my eyes meet those of another.

Khairrim Cadeyrn gives a short sigh before his whole body stiffens. Clenching his jaw, he pulls his lips into a thin line and averts his eyes.

I turn my attention towards Aedan who is already giving me a hug that is threatening to leave my ribs broken and bruised.

Luckily he lets go just before that happens. “I will be back as soon as possible.” He kisses my forehead. “I will kill you if you die.”

“I won’t die this easily,” I give him a lopsided smile.

Aedan leaves me with the Second One who takes out glass vials from somewhere in the cape he is wearing.

I watch him, suspicion growing as he makes his way toward me. He lifts his eyebrows when he sees the look of distrust on my face. “Laelia, I won't kill you. This is for the pain that you will soon start to feel.” He opens one of the vials and let a few drops fall on my arm. He gently massages it into my arm. “Laelia, you will be fine. I won’t let you die.”

I must be more delirious than I thought. I close my eyes. It really sounded like he was concerned.

“What did you put on my arm?” I do not recognise the smell, and I know the smell and names of all medicinal herbs and plants found in ArBrae.

“I haven’t named it yet.”

That probably means that is a mixture of herbs, maybe even some herbs from Ardamland that I have seen in my books, but not in reality. “My arm feels cold, like I’ve placed it in ice and forgot it there.”

“That is good. It means it is working. It freezes your arm to stop the infection from spreading.”

I must have fallen asleep, because when I wake up the pain in my arm is completely gone and my arm does not feel like a piece of frozen meat. I move my arm just to be sure. I smile. I sit up slowly.