I shook my head. She’s something else. I stood in the shower for several more minutes before deciding it was time to head to bed and sleep this incident off.
Chapter 25
My breath was short and my blood cold. Bodies were strewn around me, and my hands were stained with their life force. The lifeless faces of these people scared me. They were my friends. I watched them die over and over again, and my heart pulled with pain with each death.
I sensed it then. Death was about tear out my heart once more. Ryoko ran toward me in fear. She looked behind her as if she was looking for whatever was chasing her in the blackness of nothing that surrounded us. My heart clenched when she screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Nothing had attacked her. Nothing came out of the darkness, but she bled out and died nonetheless.
Rylan was next. He made it farther than Ryoko, but not by much. I looked down at him as he crashed to the ground in front of my feet. His body lay unnaturally and his face was hidden under him like every time before. I looked up in anticipation of Zane, Argus and Blaze. They were always next. The sequence of their deaths never changed.
The boys ran past me, but as they did, they, too, were killed by an unknown assailant. Blood splattered over my chest and the taste of blood seeped over my tongue. New blood dripped off my hands. It was as if I was the one who was killing them. It was as if I was to blame, yet I hadn’t moved. I hadn’t ever thought of killing them.
Then they started to run past me. Hundreds of people ran in terror. I recognized some people and others I did not. But they all met the same fate in the end. It didn’t matter if they made it past me or not, they all died, and each time they did, the blood weighed me down.
Then, something changed. In the crowd of people, a new face appeared. I blinked and figured when I opened my eyes he’d be gone, but when they opened again, he was still there. He looked around frantically as if he were looking for something, or someone.
“Eira! Eira! Eira, where are you?”
“Raikidan…” I whispered. I wasn’t sure if I should call out to him any louder. I didn’t want him to end up like the others.
“Eira, where are you?” he called again. “Please, say something!”
I stepped forward slightly, unable to move very far due to the bodies scattered everywhere. “Raikidan!”
He looked at me. He was too far away from me to read his expression but he didn’t waste any time running over to me. As he came closer, I noticed the blood on him. It was everywhere. What was going on? I blinked slowly as he crashed into me and held me in his arms. His breath came slow and deep from his running.
“Eira…” he mumbled as he rested his face in my hair. “I thought I’d never find you.”
I was too confused to respond. I didn’t understand what was going on. Over and over these events played. Over and over the same people died. But Raikidan never showed up at any point until this time. He started to pull away, and I wanted to fight to keep him close. I didn’t want to lose him like I had the others.
“Raikidan—” The pain that shot through my abdomen stopped me. I choked as blood rushed up my throat. “Rai…kidan… why?”
He chuckled, but his voice was different now. I pulled away and was faced with the man I hated so much.
“Who is this Raikidan, my dear?” the dark haired man asked.
“Z–Zarda…” I managed.
He smirked at me, his topaz eye glinting with malicious amusement. “Did you really think you could escape me? Did you think you wouldn’t screw up again?”
I tried to pull away from him but the pain in my abdomen worsened. I cringed and looked down. I couldn’t believe the sight before me. Zarda’s hand was speared into me as if it were a sharp blade.
Zarda snickered. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Your heart will betray you.”
He pulled his arm free and walked away. I fell to the ground and bled out. His words replayed in my mind over and over.
“Your heart will betray you.”
I had been warned with these words before. It couldn’t be true. I was alone. A lone heart can’t be betrayed.
Strong hands pressed on my back and Raikidan’s worried voice echoed through my ears. “Eira? Eira!”
He shook me each time he spoke my name but I was far too gone to respond.
“Eira!”
I smelled blood. The scent was heavy and it smelled sickeningly close. I could hear muffled voices all around me but I couldn’t make them out. I moaned in pain. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what. A strong pair of arms touched me. Who do they belong to? The voices then became clearer.
“Who are you?” a feminine voice that sounded like Ryoko’s demand.
“I told you, right now that doesn’t matter,” another female voice that sounded oddly familiar replied. “Right now, you have to move her away from all this blood and to a spot where I can help her.”
Blood? There’s blood around me. Is it my blood?
“How do we know we can trust you?” a male voice that sounded like Rylan’s asked. “You come out of a mysterious portal, don’t address yourself, and tell us what to do with her, and you really expect us to believe you’re going to help her?”
The strong arms that had ceased to touch me lifted me up, and I was held close to a muscular bare chest. The movement shot excruciating pain through my body and I screamed in pain.
“Raikidan!” Ryoko screech.
“We need to move her,” he insisted. “I’ll put her on the couch.”
I managed to open my eyes into slits. He looked really upset.
“You’re hurting her more!” Ryoko protested. “You need to put her down right now.”
“Eira is dying, and if we don’t put her somewhere where she can be healed, then we’re going to lose to her!”
I’m dying? I cringed and whimpered as more pain flooded through my body as Raikidan carried me out of my room. I felt like I was dying, that was for sure. How did I get hurt? All I could remember was that awful dream. With Raikidan in the room, no one would have been able to sneak in.
Did Raikidan do it? No, he couldn’t have. If he did I’d be dead already, and he wouldn’t be trying to carry me somewhere so I could get healed up, right? I groaned. It hurt to think about this and it hurt to be moved.
Raikidan laid me down on the couch and pulled away from me. I wanted to stop him. I didn’t want him to leave but I couldn’t find the strength to move. As he moved away I saw all the blood on him. I was bleeding really badly. No wonder they said I was dying.
A hooded figure took Raikidan’s place by my side. She had to be the source of the mysterious voice. The only part of her face I could see was her lips. They were deep shade of red, thanks to her lipstick, and they were pressed together with concern.
“I’ll have you fixed up in no time,” she promised me.
I grunted in pain as a response. I watched her as best I could as she placed her hands over my wound. A green light enveloped her hands, and then part of my body. Something about her gave off a sense of familiarity. Maybe it was the cloak. She was a shaman after all, but there was something about the cloak that made me feel like I knew her. Not to mention her voice sounded familiar as well. I cringed in pain. She wasn’t very good at this.
“Sorry…” she whispered. “I’m definitely not as good at my brother.”
I grunted. I knew who she was now. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t figured it out sooner. “You suck… at this compared… to him… Shva’sika. The color of your healing aura even says so.”
Shva’sika laughed. “Ouch. You could at least give me some credit.”
I grunted again. “I’m dying here for some unknown reason and it feels like you’re making it worse.”
“Hey, I had no one to teach me,” she defended.
“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered.
She sighed. “You’re such a pain.”
I snickered. “If I’m such a pain why don’t you go back home?
“Too late, I’m already here helping you.”
“I thought as much. You could never leave me to die.”
“You’ve got me there.”
“I didn’t know you could heal.”
“I didn’t either until I tried it one day. When you left, after the village had been attacked five years ago, I felt like I needed to replace Xye’s loss, so I gave it a shot. I didn’t want to be taught how to do it. Xye never did the first few years of his shaman life, so I was determined to do the same.”
“Well you forgot something. Xye was a natural at healing. I remembered hearing how much of a protégé he was from the other healers.”
Shva’sika laughed. “That is quite true.”
I noticed Ryoko lean over the couch and looked at me. “So you know her?”
I snorted. “Know her? I can’t get rid of her!”
Shva’sika laughed. “I don’t know why I put up with you sometimes.”
I chuckled. “When you figure it out I’d love to know.”
Shva’sika laughed and shook her head. She pulled her hands away when she finished. “There. You’re all patched up. How are you feeling right now?”
I sighed and closed my eyes. “Like shit.”
She giggled quietly. “Your strength should come back in a few hours, with a lot of rest.”
I grunted. “It’d better.”
“Hey, Laz?” Ryoko asked.
I opened my eyes and looked at her. “Yeah?”
She smiled. “Happy eighty-fifth birthday.”
I snorted. “Is it really?”
“Yeah.”
I had no idea summer had been so close. With everything going on I had completely forgotten. I grunted. “Some birthday. I’ve had weird things happen on my birthday but I don’t think almost dying has ever made the list until now.”
“Birthday?” Raikidan asked.
“Please tell me you know what a birthday is,” Ryoko begged.
“Uh, no,” Raikidan replied.
“It’s a stupid tradition to remind us of how old we are,” I explained to him. “It’s celebrated once a year on the same day you were born. Mine just so happens to land on the summer solstice.”
Raikidan grunted. “Sounds stupid. But how do you all figure when you’re born?”
“That’s easy,” Ryoko commented. “To keep things consistent, and to make sure nothing goes wrong, we’re released from our tanks on the year desired that is on the day we were created.”
“What’s the point of celebrating it?” he asked.
“There isn’t one,” I said. “It just tells you you’re another year older.”
“There is nothing wrong with getting older,” Shva’sika defended.
“Maybe for you,” I shot. “You don’t die, you old woman.”
Shva’sika laughed. “We do too. It just takes a long time. Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”
I snorted. “Hardly. Everything is supposed to have an end. That’s how the cycle works.” Sighing, I attempted to pull myself up into a sitting position.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Shva’sika placed her hands on my shoulders and tried to get me to lie back down. “You need to rest.”
I resisted. “No, I need to sit up.”
She sighed and let me do as I pleased. Once I managed to succeed at sitting up, I rested my hand where my wound had been. It had been in the same spot Zarda had attacked me in my dream. As I left my hand there the memories of the dream flooded back to me. I was remembering everything in fine detail and I didn’t like it. It was painful.
Shva’sika rested her hands on mine. “Laz, I need you to tell me what happened.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Laz, please,” she begged. “If this vision was bad enough to nearly kill you, I need to know about it.” I looked at her in confusion and she chuckled. “You didn’t honestly believe it was a nightmare did you? Dreams don’t kill, but visions can.”
“That’s a little creepy,” Ryoko remarked. “Why would you ever want to have one if it risks killing you?”
“It’s not common,” Shva’sika explained. “But under the right conditions it can happen. It’s not only Laz’s element that is enhanced on this day. Her bond with the spiritual plane is also heightened, and if the spirits choose to send her a vision, then it could potentially be fatal, like this one.”
“But if they know it could happen, then why not send it when she wouldn’t get hurt?” Rylan asked.
“Visions are sent when the time is right. There is only one time you can receive it, and you can’t get it again once you’ve seen it,” Shva’sika explained.
“That’s stupid,” Ryoko muttered.
I yawned. “It’s fine, and I’m better now. Now everyone can stop worrying and go back to bed.”
“Laz, I still need you to tell me what happened,” Shva’sika insisted.
I shook my head. “No. Maybe when I’m ready to talk about it, but I’m not right now, so stop pushing me. I don’t have to tell anyone if I don’t wish to. The vision was for me, and it’s my choice to tell or not.”
Shva’sika sighed. “Very well. We’re going to have to find you a new place to sleep for the night, though. That blood will have to be cleaned up later today and a couch will not work for your recovery.”
I closed my mouth when she told me the couch part. I was okay with sleeping on it but if the healer said no, I was to listen. I yelped when strong arms picked me up.
“C’mon, let’s get you back to bed,” Raikidan said.
“Raikidan, put me down!” I protested.
“You’re in no shape to walk.”
“Like hell I’m not.”
Ryoko giggled. “Just because you have the energy to yell doesn’t mean you have the energy to walk.”
I folded my arms and snorted unhappily. I didn’t have the energy, but I also didn’t want to be carried like I couldn’t take care of myself. I watched as Shva’sika moved from her spot and followed Raikidan as he carried me down the hall. I blinked with slight surprise when he brought me into his room.
“You know, there are plenty of guest rooms,” I told him as he placed me down gently on his bed. “I can sleep in one of those.”
“This room is closest,” he said as he sat next to me.
“There’s one right next to Ryoko’s room!” I protested.
“Shva’sika will sleep there. She’ll need a place to rest too, you know.”
I wanted to smack myself. Of course she would. What kind of person would I be if I made her go home at this hour after saving me?
“Raikidan?” Shva’sika asked quietly. “Would you mind letting me speak with Laz in private for a moment?”
He nodded and stood up. He closed the door behind him when he left, leaving us alone.
Shva’sika sat down next to me, taking Raikidan’s previous place. “How are you feeling?”
I laughed. “That’s all you wanted to ask? Did you really need to force Raikidan to leave for that question?”
Shva’sika sighed. “Answer my question please?”
Something was up. “I feel fine. My energy is low but it’s coming back slowly, and I’m alive. I have you to thank for that, though I’m surprised you’re here. It’s like you knew this would happen.”
Shva’sika nodded. “I did.”
Now I knew why Shva’sika wanted to speak to me alone. This was shaman business. “Go on.”
“I was given a vision a few days ago,” she explained. “You were dying and all your friends were
around you. I knew I was the one who was supposed to save you.”
“But you didn’t come right away,” I observed. “That’s not like you. You’ve always jumped head first without thinking about consequences when the spirits are involved.”
Shva’sika nodded slowly. “I would have been here sooner, since the spirits didn’t tell me when it would happen, but Maka’shi found out about my vision.”
I didn’t like where this was going. “Shva’sika, what are you beating around the bush about?”
She sighed. “Laz, is it all right… if I stayed here with you? Like, permanently?”
I forced myself to stay calm. “You can’t be serious? Maka’shi didn’t make you choose, did she?”
“It was either I stayed in the village and not help, or come to your aid and never be allowed to come back.”
“Shva’sika!” I shouted. “How could you choose me over everything you had? That’s your entire life you left behind. That’s everything your family ever owned. That’s the only home you’ve ever known! Why would you do it?”
She looked at me. I could tell, even though her hood shadowed her eyes, by the frown on her lips, this decision hadn’t been made lightly. She had struggled with this choice, knowing the very words I spoke were the deciding factors. “I did it because I cared about you more than any one object I owned. You’re my family now, Laz, and I’ll be damned if I ever forget that for a moment. I’d rather have you than something that belonged to a dead person, any day.”
“Shva’sika…” I didn’t know what to say. Shva’sika and I had been close, much closer than I would have let anyone outside of my select group of comrades come close to, but not even I had thought she would choose me over everything she had. “You can stay. I’m not sure what you can do here, since I’d rather not see you fighting alongside us, but you can stay as long as you wish.”
She smiled and hugged me. “Thank you. I’m not sure if I’ll be of any help, but I would like to help in some way. I’m no longer a member of the West Tribe, so I can’t put them in any danger.” I pulled away and looked at her. She cocked in confusion. “What?”
Pieces Page 28