In Pursuit of Light

by Sarah B Meadows

  Lifting my head, I look over and find Kia watching me with sad eyes, a frown across her forehead. She must be so uncomfortable, even with Rolland taking her pain.

  “Rolland, we need to heal Kia,” I prompt through his mind. Silence follows my words, but Kia’s frown deepens. “Rolland, I know you're awake. She’s uncomfortable, even without the pain,” I push, knowing this is going to be hard. For the both of them. Kia narrows her eyes at me and I begin to wonder if she can hear me. “Kia?” I attempt, seeing if she can hear me telepathically. She turns her head into Rolland's chest, closing her eyes.

  Dragging myself out of bed, I walk around it until I can see Rolland’s face, which he still has turned in the direction of the door. I find his eyes shut, but I can't imagine he’s sleeping with such a pained look running across his face. The dark circles have returned underneath his eyes and he’s still got a fine sheen of sweat across his forehead.

  They’re both probably hungry but neither of them are going to be able to eat till after the bandages are off, so I forget the thought and move closer to Rolland, placing a hand on his head.

  “Get. Off!!” he spits but continues to keep his eyes shut.

  I release some energy into his head, to help ease the headache he’s carrying from dehydration. Despite his grumbling I hear him let out a sigh of relief, as Kia turns her head in my direction to look up at me. Her eyes have softened, along with some of the tension that marred her face.

  “I’m going to find Matt and some more bandages. Then we’re going to take those off and see if I can heal the wounds.” I turn and head out of the room, not waiting for a reply.

  I head straight for Matt’s room, but noise from the kitchen slows me as I pass the front door. I think it’s Matt’s voice I hear, so I poke my head into the kitchen to find Brad and Gerry both digging into porridge, with Matt over at the sink. Matt looks up at me, looking slightly better than he did last night. Today he’s wearing a black Henley that’s rolled up to his elbows and a pair of cream cargo pants.

  I head to the cupboard that stores the bandages then start piling them into my arms as I say, “if you’re up for it, I think we could use some help when you’re ready.”

  He dries his hands then takes some of the gauze pads and gel from my arms. When I look at his face, his anxiety is clearly written all over it. Words aren’t needed anymore to portray how we both feel; his face reflects my own gut feeling on how bad this could go. I just hope I’m wrong. I glance over at Brad and Gerry, finding they’re both looking at us with the same concern. Brad more so, though Gerry’s face is full of guilt.

  Feeling bad for him, I try to find words to ease his conscience. “She’s just clipped, Gerry, just wait and see, she’ll be running rings around you within hours.” My words don't seem to have any effect, so I turn and head back to my room with Matt trailing behind me. Neither of us talks, both too caught up in our thoughts, both of us wondering how Kia will react and if Rolland will pass out.

  Rounding the corner that brings us to my room, I hear Rolland’s voice which sounds amused and pained at the same time. “This isn’t going to work, Kia, not if you are pushing that on me. I can barely focus as it is.”

  Stepping into the room, Rolland is sitting up facing us, Kia’s legs wrapped around his waist. She’s holding his face in her hands, which leans against her left shoulder. I stand beside them and find Rolland’s eyes shut as though deep in thought.

  “Matt, if you would sit behind Rolland to support him, I’ll get started on removing the bandages,” I instruct, keeping as much emotion out of my voice as possible. Matt steps around the bed as I set the clean bandages down on the cabinet.

  “Rolland, are you ready?” I ask him but look at Kia. She’s got her eyes closed, though her face also looks deep in thought too.

  “Just give us a second. I don’t trust her just yet,” he says with a slight tremble in his voice. Kia’s eyes fly open as she leans back from him.

  Rolland sucks in a breath, pulling back from her too. “Kia, just let me do this,” he urges firmly. They stare each other down with glares and I can feel the tension growing between them.

  “Fine, we do it together,” he grumbles in what seems to be defeat. They both relax their bodies and move in unison, with a fluidity that makes it appear as if they’ve been practicing for months.

  Rolland pulls her head toward his chest, stroking her hair, then eases both hands behind her lower back to support her. Kia turns her head, so she’s tucked deep within his chest by his heart and clutches her hands under his legs.

  Once they are settled, he nods, “let’s do this.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Rolland

  Focusing on something that will help me keep my sanity through this, I think of Kia’s face when she pounced on me yesterday. Her smile was full of pride and pleasure, and her eyes sparkled with those stars that make you want to give your heart to her. Happiness comes from her as she hears my thoughts, but it’s quickly drowned out by apprehension and fear. So, I pluck up another image into my mind - of her face when I made her laugh for the first time – and I feel another emotion come from her, one that’s strangely like what I have for my farm.

  Kia shows me the image of me wet in the pool when she pushed me in. I smile at her thoughts and she soaks up my pleasure. Pain suddenly pulls at her back, followed by a quick flash of a man’s face. Fear starts to overwhelm her again. Needing to pull her out of it, I push to her another image of us kissing in the pool. She grabs onto it and I feel us being drawn into the memory as though we’re back there.

  I’m tracing her lips with my tongue; with heat pooling around my hardness, the will to hold back from her finally seems to snap. Drawing her up against me by her thighs, I dive deeper into her mouth, tugging her energy into me. Her legs tighten around my waist in response, causing her to grind up against my hardness, bringing a sweet moan from her mouth.

  Needing to hear it again, I trail my hand up her legs to find her softness, but something strikes at my back, tearing a breath from me. Pain continues to lace up my back, making it hard to breathe.

  Kia lifts my head to get me to look at her. I focus on those beautiful eyes that pulse from deep blue to silver, and then there’s a flash of black.

  Come on, Rolland, keep her focus on you.

  Pain is still coursing down my back, but I ignore it as I take her mouth with mine again, tasting the sweetness that only belongs to her. I drink it in desperately, craving it like the madman I feel I have become around her. Small hands run up my chest, and it’s as though she’s touching my soul.

  Another strike of pain hits my back making me falter in my movements. Kia looks away from me to what is causing my distraction.

  No, Rolland, keep her looking at you.

  I stand up in the pool and turn her around, so her butt is on the tiled edge of the pool before I begin nipping my way down her neck, bringing another deep moan from her lips, which makes my hardness jerk once again. Her hands find their way into my hair and she tugs, hard, asking for more.

  Acid trickles down my back, but I focus on her body. Sucking at her flesh, drawing it into my mouth, rewarding me with another moan, followed by her nails digging into my shoulders.

  Fire creeps down my back and I can’t take anymore, so I ease back, needing to take a breath. I find her eyes shining silver, so I focus on them, watching as they swirl steadily.

  Something tears at my back and my body gives out.

  A hard floor under my feet sends shivers along my skin, but the pain in my back has gone. Then movement to my right catches my eye and I see Kia being dragged by chains through a dark stone passageway. She’s fighting her captor and manages to get a hard swipe to his neck, but the man is fast to respond, grabbing her by the throat, slamming her against the wall - a loud thud comes from the impact.

  I stagger over to haul the man off of her, but I get sucked into her body instead. Kia now stands behind the man and is forced to watch as I get punched
in the face. Pain strikes me, followed by pounding but it’s nothing in comparison to what I was feeling earlier.

  My shackles are yanked vigorously, and my head feels fuzzy, so I shake it from side to side, trying to clear it. A door opens to our right and I’m hauled through it into a large, dimly lit, grey-stone hall full of unusual beings, most of which have black eyes and a humanoid shape, though some look insect-like in appearance. I’ve just enough time to notice that they all sit at long steel tables before my focus is drawn like a magnet to a ten-foot tall reptilian humanoid that towers above everyone as it stands at the front of the hall, its yellow slitted eyes focused solely on me as I’m being forcibly dragged toward it.

  As I get closer, I see that covering its colossal form are armoured green scales with hints of purples and yellows. Its three-fingered hands are covered in webbing and the long, sharp talons of its right-hand are grasping what looks to be a challis. Leathery bat-like wings are spread out and float high above its shoulders, casting deep shadows over the pointed features on its snake-like head as it tracks my movement.

  The others in the room pay no attention, continuing to talk in clicks and buzzes. Kia runs in beside me, trying to pull me out of the memory, except I’m stuck here as she shouts something at me, but no sound comes out of her mouth. Tears streak down her face and the need to calm her forces me to move.

  I heave at the shackles that grip my wrists, but feel pain strike at my back, causing a vice to clamp over my chest… I can’t breathe.

  Kia’s shouting at me again, tugging at my arms, trying to get me to let go of the memory. As I try, I hear the reptilian creature making noises, which plucks at my attention. I turn to look at the nasty beast and manage to catch a glimpse of a massive needle filled with a black liquid just before it gets rammed into my neck. My body begins to weaken, but the clicking turns to words, and I start to understand a few of them. “Gjinn help weaken,” a few more clicks, “not be tainted by your filth,” more clicks, “must be whole or no deal.” A few more clicks follow and my body weakens even more before I pass out.

  “Rolland, please. You say we do together.” Kia’s silvery voice trickles through my ears, nudging at my awareness.

  I edge myself up from the cold floor to find I’m trapped in her mind still. “Where are we?” I mumble as I open my eyes. I’m still Kia and she’s watching me hang from the wall as she kneels by my side.

  A door slams shut behind me and my stomach turns to ice from all the fear that pours through my body like hot lava. So much fear, it makes me nauseous.

  “Rolland.” Kia’s voice wobbles from her emotions, causing a part of my heart to crumble away.

  I turn my head to speak to her. “Kia, kiss me,” I plead. She moves forward, pressing her lips against mine just before acid whips at my back.

  A man starts talking in a language I can’t understand, and I feel the tears run down Kia’s face, which is now mine. My gut retches as I can’t free myself from the chains.

  “Speak to me, tell me something about yourself?” I plead with her thickly. Metal spikes rip heat through my back, and I hear someone calling my name.

  “I dream things that make heart hurt, but do not know what mean.” Her words are spoken into my ear softly from where she’s wedged herself between me and the wall, so her head is beside mine.

  More acid followed by more words. The man’s rough, gravely tone raises the hairs on my neck, causing more nausea to bubble up.

  “What do you see in the dreams?” My voice is barely a whisper over the turmoil rising through my body.

  Kia takes a sharp breath in, and more tears coat my cheeks, but the Kia that’s in front of me wipes them away. The smell of putrid decay hits my nose, making my stomach roll even more.

  “Flying. Flying above trees on something. Speaks to me, but I not hear words.” Loss and sadness coat her whispers and I frown to myself, trying to think what she means, what she could be flying on. “I dream people dance, but I not see faces.” Her voice breaks in front of me. I yank hard on the chains to comfort her, but the cuffs tighten around my wrists, sapping energy from me through my arms, draining me, causing my heart to stutter.

  “Kia, we have to wake up.” My words come out slurred. I feel her small hands move up my cheek.

  “Try to wake. But it not stop,” her voice cracks. “Then find Matt.” Her voice has changed. A tiny amount of happiness glides through her words. I open my eyes to see her attention is behind me. When I peer over my shoulder, I find Matt watching.

  “Kia, listen to me.” I try swallowing past the shards of glass that trickle down my throat. “I’m stuck and I can’t shift from your mind.” I force the words through the pain. Her eyes widen. “Wake up for me and pull me out,” I say to her as more tears stream from her eyes. “I’ll be right behind you,” I whisper.

  Her eyes search mine. “Promise?” she whispers back as more tears fall.

  “Promise.” She kisses me gently before she fades.

  My head gets pulled back tightly and I get a look at the man’s face that causes Kia’s living nightmares. Every part of him looks human, except his rusty copper eyes, which have a look about them that makes me question it. Short, dark, buzzed hair shows his rigid features, and I can see a tattoo on his neck. Thinking it might be a key to figuring out who he is, I focus on it. Two spirals interlock with a line going through the middle. I mark his face, and the tattoo, in my memory, as I stare back at him. There’s a small amount of stubble along his jaw and his skin looks rough and wind burnt.

  He speaks to me, but his words are lost in my ears as a tube is forced down my throat, scraping against my windpipes. Panic drops into my heart and I can hear my blood pounding in my ears. I try to focus on my heartbeat instead of the tube crammed in my mouth, making it hard to breathe.

  A voice calls my name from somewhere, but it’s so faint.

  I feel thick liquid start to slip down my throat. I pull hard at the chains to move away from the tube, but my head is held still by the man. I can feel the liquid from the tubes start to curl into my stomach, causing my insides to twist tightly.

  I hear my name and it sounds like Kia’s voice. I latch onto it, focusing every ounce of my soul on it. Warmth spreads through my chest and what feels like lips push against my cheek. I focus on the heat of her lips against my skin.

  Slowly the feeling of the tube begins to fade, and I can feel my body, MY actual body, start to cough.

  I drag air deep into my starved lungs and try to move, but lead fills every crack and crevice, so my muscles don’t respond. Oxygen rushes through me as I take one more deep breath - then darkness claims me.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Matt

  Seb tries to hold off a topless, struggling Kia as I try to wake Rolland but he’s clean out.

  “Seb, swap over, see if you can wake him, and I’ll take Kia,” I urge him as I watch Kia fight to pull herself from his arms. He nods even as he gets whacked in the chest by her elbow, so I put a shield up to stop her from getting to him. She flashes her eyes to me, pausing in her struggle to bare her teeth at me with a low growl.

  “Kia, Seb is going to look at Rolland. He’s not stuck in your head anymore, he woke up and is just unconscious,” I say to her firmly but keep my voice soft. She relaxes a little but doesn’t take her eyes from me as she continues to bare her teeth.

  Seb moves over to Rolland but keeps Kia from reaching him by turning his body away.

  “He’s okay, Kia,” I soothe, cupping her face as I move closer, trying to keep her focus on me. “He just needs rest,” I console. Her eyes look so lost, but her mouth relaxes. She flashes those blue pools back over to Rolland. “I know you want to go to him, but just let Seb take care of him and I’ll take care of you.” As she brings her focus back to me, her eyes soften, so I pull her gently to me as I drop the shield, giving Seb his arms back so he can check Rolland. Kia buries her head into my neck and breathes me in while snaking her arms around my waist, easing hersel
f further into my body.

  “He’s fine, just in need of a healing tank.” Seb sounds relieved, but he will worry till Rolland wakes. His mahogany eyes, full of turmoil, rake over Kia. “See if you can take her through to the pool, so I can get Brad to help me carry him through.”

  I run my eyes over Kia’s face. I’ve not seen this look on her before, and it worries me. She truly looks lost but with no trace of fear. “Kia, all Rolland needs is rest and he’ll be fine. Seb is going to take care of him, okay?” I try to soothe her as I run my hand up her arm. She nods her head as her body begins to shiver. “How about we sit in the pool to ease the pain in your back?” She nods again, her body shaking as she begins to cry. Pulling her legs around so there's one on either side of me, being careful not to touch her back, I get to my feet. She’s so light, her weight is easy to balance as I pull us up. I feel her look over my shoulder as we walk through the en-suite and her body shivers again. I begin to wonder if she’s cold or in shock - or both.

  Moving through the archway to the pool, I consider undressing but the notion seems irrelevant given the circumstance, so I make my way into the pool fully clothed. I feel the water hit my skin and it is pure bliss. The gel I make is a combination of aloe vera and other plant-based minerals.

  Once I’m low enough that Kia’s waist hits the water, I slow down to inch forward, but she’s still trembling and hasn’t moved her head from my shoulder.

  “You ready?” I ask her quietly, but she doesn’t acknowledge me. I turn until my lips are near her ear. “Kia, look at me.” Slowly she pulls back so I can see her eyes, but they’re becoming almost closed off. “He’s fine. Just needs sleep. I promise.”

  Moving forward an inch so the water laps at her back, I still see no emotions show across her face. I shift left toward the ledge, feeling water lap higher along her back, but she doesn’t flinch or take her eyes from me. I turn until the backs of my legs are against the ledge, then begin to lower us down slowly.