“It’s down in the village!” Dad said pointing, and sure enough, there was the village of Hearon on fire, and we could hear the distant screams and panic of the people. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I looked over at my mother and saw anger. She slammed her fist down on the railing of the balcony and turned to walk in.
“Hun, where are you going?” Dad asked as he began to follow her.
“I am getting my armor on and going down to help.” She stopped and turned, “We all should go and help.”
“You are right; we will all do just that.” He bent and kissed the top of my mom’s head, and we took off to get changed, as we were just about to go down the stairs, Kieran came running in. Dad told her what we are doing and suggest she does the same.
“I have no armor?” She said concerned. “The Village of Hearon, you say?”
“Yeah,” Dad said.
“Cedrick and his parents live there.”
“Kieran, come with me.” My mother said.
We all met in the sitting room, and I noticed Kieran was wearing armor when she and my mom came back in. “Mom had it made for me, and I am ready to go. If I know my Cedrick, he is already helping as many people as he can.”
“Then I say we get going.” My dad said as we all went to get our tayrens.
15 poisoned
Once in the air, we could see the fire blazing and people running around all in a panic, and many were dumping water on the flames from buckets. There were several buildings ablaze, and I noticed a woman and recognized her right away. She was crying and screaming. I headed down, and Galen shouted my name. I landed Selest and jumped off and ran to the woman.
“Kailene!” I cried running up to her.
“Your Majesty, my son is still in there!” She was frantic and pointing to a small two-story home engulfed in flames. Without thinking, I ran into the burning building. “Dante?” I cried as I began to cough from the smoke. I heard a slight noise upstairs and ran up hugging the wall. Just as I got to the top, the stairs completely collapsed. “Dante!” I cried again and thought I heard a small whimper in the far room.
I went in that direction dodging flames as I went. I ran through the door and heard the whimper louder, and I followed the sound and in the closet hunched in a corner was Dante. “Hey Dante, Remember me?” He nodded and began to cry and cough. I turned and looked for a possible way out, for the room was becoming more engulfed with flames and blocked the door, and the smoke was so thick I could barely see. I will just have to go for it out the window and pray for the best. I picked up a blanket and wrapped the five-year-old and just went for it crashing through the window. I turned my body to land on my back to protect the boy, but instead of the ground, we were levitating. I looked over and saw my mom as she maneuvered the shield around Dante and me.
She got us gently to the ground, and Kailene came running and took Dante in her arms. “Thank you, thank you.” She kept crying and hugging her boy.
“I promised you we would protect you both.” I smiled as I stood.
I looked around looking for Galen, and my mother answered. “He went inside looking for you. I couldn’t stop him.”
Just as she spoke the building collapsed and I screamed, “Galen!!!” I tried to run towards the building, but my dad stopped me and held me back. Tears began to fall down my cheeks. “Galen!!” I screamed again. “Noooo!!” I then thought to try telepathy ‘Galen, please hear me?’ Nothing. I tried again. ‘Galen don’t leave me. Please answer me?’
Was that a soft moan I heard? ‘Pain.’
I did hear him. “He's alive! We got to get him out. He is in pain.” My mother was already on top of it. She began to surround the house and flames and began to suffocate it like she did when she discovered she had this new gift. Once the flames were out, we began to dig through the hot debris and search for Galen. ‘Galen where are you?’
‘Basement I think. I fell through the floor.’
“He is in the basement.” I began, “He fell through the floor.”
“We need Kieran and her strength,” Dad said.
I looked around. “Where is she?”
“She went off to help Cedrick.” My mother answered.
“I will be back… keep digging.” I said as I teleported to Kieran.
“Kieran, we need you. Galen is trapped.” I cried grabbing her arm.
“Let me come, I can help,” Cedrick said before I teleported and grabbed his arm too.
Back at the house, we all began lifting away the debris and Kieran were lifting the heavy stuff like it was nothing. Suddenly there was a gap, and I went down first and saw him with more charred debris over him. I ran to his head and tears were still falling as I set his head on my lap. “Galen, I thought I lost you.” His handsome face had a few burns on it and black with ash.
“I thought I lost you when I saw you run in.” He said struggling to breathe. The others were clearing the debris off of him as I sat there cradling his head.
“I saw Kailene; I knew I had to help. Dante was still inside, and I kept remembering the promise we made to her to keep her and her boy safe.”
He did a slight laugh. “You and your big heart. I guess I would have done the same thing.” I smiled at him and bent to kiss him. “As I entered the stairs were gone where were you?”
“Upstairs in his room. He was hiding in the closet. I couldn’t wait, and I didn’t stop to think I just acted. I grabbed the little guy and broke through the window.”
“The window?” He said frowning.
“Yeah, I was bracing for impact, but my mother caught us with her shield.”
He smiled. “Thank you, Shannon.” He said as my mother was helping to clear debris.
“You bet. You know I would never let anything happen to our girl.” She answered.
“Oow” He moaned. “It hurts.”
“What hurts?” I asked caressing his hair.
“My leg and my back.”
Finally, Galen was freed but in too much pain to move. “Rayna you will have to teleport him to the Palace and then get Doctor Kenley.” My mother said. I nodded, and we were now at the Palace.
Some servants came rushing towards us along with a couple of guards. I ordered the guards to lift and carry Galen to the guest bedroom carefully where we stay in. I told the servant to sit with him while I fetch the doctor.
“Doctor Kenley?” I said knocking on his front door. “Doctor Kenley, it is Queen Rayana. There is an emergency with King Galen.”
He opened the door. “Let me get my bag.” As soon as he had it, I took his arm and teleported back to the guest room. The servant stood and stepped back to let the doctor get close to examine him.
“Galen, sweetie, the doctor is here,” I said as I went around to the other side of the bed to give the doctor room.
The doctor turned to the servants and dismissed them and shut the door. “Help me remove the armor.” He said to me as I carefully undid the armor then removed it as the doctor held Galen up. “Hold him like I am. I need to look at his back.”
“Aah!” Galen groaned.
“I’m sorry hun,” I said as I held him as gently as I could. I looked at his back and saw it was blistered and red.
“What happened to have caused this type of burn?” The doctor asked while examining it with rubber gloves on.
“I ran into a burning home and fell through the floor to the basement,” Galen said gritting his teeth. “I landed on something hard and very hot.”
“The entire home collapsed on him.” The doctor looked up at me as I said that.
“I need to know what it was he landed on.”
“As soon as we freed him I teleported us quickly here. I never saw what he landed on.” I said then I looked at my husband in pain and we laid him gently back down. “I will go and check.” I kissed Galen real quick and was gone.
No one was there now, and I looked at the spot Galen was trapped. I noticed where his back was and what he had landed on. It was a flat metal box o
f some sort. I opened the box and found coal-like substance. I reached down and picked one up and dropped it and looked at my hand. It was boiling hot and burned my hand.
I teleported back and was holding my sore hand. The doctor noticed and came to look at my hand. The redness and blisters were spreading, and it was beginning to hurt badly. “What did you touch?” The doctor asked me.
“He landed on a large flat metal box, and it was full of this black rock-like substance. As I picked one up, it burned me.”
I looked and noticed Galen asleep, or so I thought. The doctor saw and said. “The pain was getting worse I gave him something for it. But with the looks of it, it seems I have two patients.” I looked down, and whatever it was it was spreading up my arm fast.
“What is it?” I asked the doctor as my eyes began to tear up from the pain.
“I don’t know I need a sample to test it. The young King has a broken leg so I will need to set it but my concern is that burn and now yours.” He helped me to the bed next to Galen and as I laid down my mother came running in with my dad following behind.
My mother stopped short when she saw me down next to Galen then looked at the doctor. “What happened?” She asked coming over to stand next to me.
“I sent her to see what it was the Young King landed on and she came back like this.” He said, and I continued to explain.
“It was a metal box, and the lid was like a grate. I opened it to see what was in it and it was full of black rocks. I picked one up and burned my hand,”
“It is not a burn.” The doctor interrupted. “It is spreading like poison, and it is on his back and spreading much like it is on her arm. I need a sample so I can test it and create an antidote.”
My mom looked at my dad. “We need to get a sample without touching it. My shield should work.”
“I agree, come on.” My dad said.
“We will be right back with a sample.” My mother said and left following my dad.
“Doctor, it is stinging so bad.” I began crying out in such pain. He came over to me and gave me a shot of something, and I started to get very sleepy.
Shannon’s Point of View:
Bryden and I mounted our tayrens and took off as quick as we could fly. What perplexes me is what is this stuff and what it is doing in the basement of a single mom’s home? I imagine Bryden must be thinking the same thing. We got to the burned down house and carefully climbed over the debris and on down into what was left of the basement.
“Over there. Rayna left it open.” I said as we walked up to the box. “Hun I was thinking, what if our enemy planted this? I mean we need to have all basements checked. It could be what caused the fires.”
Bryden looked up at me from carefully examining the substance. “You could be right. First things first. We need to get a sample to the doctor.” He looked around for something to safely carry it once I place a shield over it to lift it out of the box. He found a small metal container with no holes and brought it back over. “Are you ready?” He asked me.
“Yes.” I moved my hands and surrounded the stone, and with the shield, I lifted it out of the box and set it down inside the metal box. Bryden shut and locked the box, and we very carefully climbed back out.
Before we mounted, Bryden turned to tell me. “They will be okay, Shannon.” He looked me deep in the eyes, “Trust the good Doctor.” He smiled and mounted Kaliber with the box, and I climbed up on Mystique, and we took off heading back to the palace.
Once there we handed the tayrens over to the stable hands, and we ran up the steps on into the palace and quickly went to the guest room, and I noticed Rayna’s arm all covered now with red blisters as it was spreading. The doctor had given her something to sleep as well as Galen and seeing them like this made me tear up. Then I got angry, I watched Bryden hand the box to the doctor, and he opened it.
“I never saw anything like this.” He said. “I will need to run some tests on it.”
“Doctor, is there something we can do to slow the spreading of the poison?” I asked him.
“No, not really. For now, all we can do is make them comfortable.”
“Can it spread to other’s who touches it?” Bryden asked feeling concerned for all around.
“I have touched it, and no I have not gotten it. It seems it stays on the host who touches these rocks.” He said. “I will take this back to my lab. Here, give this to them if they wake. We need to keep them asleep, or they will suffer great pain.”
“Alright Doctor, thank you,” I said taking the medicines.
Once the doctor was gone, I looked to Bryden. “We need to get the military involved. We need them to search all buildings for any more of these boxes before anyone else gets hurt.”
“I will get on that.” He said and left to contact them.
While he was gone, I asked Madison a servant girl to help me get Rayna in more comfortable night clothes and tuck her in.
For Galen, we took off his boots and socks as he was already bare on top and I could see the poison spreading along his upper torso. My poor children. After getting Galen tucked in next to Rayna the anger inside was growing. I sat in the chair next to the bed and asked Madison to bring me a drink. I needed it. Drinks on our worlds were mild compared to the alcoholic ones of Earth. Only our mild beverages were very calming.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Madison said leaving out the door.
I was then alone with my two children laying there in a deep sleep that the doctor put them in. I sighed and walked over to the window and looked out. I heard a light tap on the door. “Come in,” I said without looking away from the window.
“Your drink, your Majesty,” She said handing me the drink.
“Thank you, Madison. You can go now. I will call if I need your help.” I took a sip turning back to the window.
“Thank you.” She left me alone to my thoughts.
I heard the door open quietly and footsteps coming up behind me. Then Bryden wrapped his arms around me, and I stepped back into him. He took my glass and took a quick sip then set the glass down on the table near me.
Cradling me, he said, “The homes and other building are being searched. The people are being warned not to touch any strange objects they find and to report it immediately.”
I nodded my agreement and just stood there enjoying his arms around me. “Thank you,” I said sounding a little choked up.
He squeezed me tight and kissed the top of my head. “No need to thank me. It had to get done.” He turned me around to face him. “I know you; you don’t plan to get any sleep. At least not while they are sick.”
“You’re right; I intend to stay right here until a cure is found.”
“That could take days maybe weeks. I pray I am wrong but it could,” He said still holding me in his arms.
I sighed deeply, “I know, I am just concerned, it seems to be spreading fast on them.”
“I know hun, I know.” I laid my head against his chest and listened to his heart beating, and it was soothing. It was still very early morning as it was dark when the explosion happened. Most of the fires are out now, and Kieran and Cedrick are still out doing good and helping the people. There are so many casualties we haven’t taken a count yet, and the hospitals are becoming packed with so many injured.
I had fallen asleep on the big comfy chair in the room, and Bryden refused to leave me. I stirred awake and heard a moan from Galen. I jumped up and over to him as he opened his eyes and looked over at Rayna. “What happened?” He said as he turned to look at me. Bryden was still asleep in the second chair by the fireplace.
“You and Rayna have been poisoned.” I began and took his hand. “The doctor is working on a cure. You also have a broken leg. He set it before he left.”
“How was Rayna poisoned?” He asked concerned more for her than himself.
“She had gone back to see what you had landed on and saw a box. She opened it and picked up one of many black rocks inside, and it burned her with poison. Mu
ch like it did on your back. It is spreading fast.” He looked down at his torso and saw red and blistering skin. “I have more pain medicine to give you two. The doctor wants you sleeping; he feels it could slow the spreading.”
“I don’t care about the pain, and I don’t want to sleep. I want to know my Rayna will be alright.” He said gritting his teeth with the pain.
“Galen, I admire that about you, and believe me I wish I could make her better, but it is all in the hands of the doctor now. He is testing the rock and going to find the antidote. I believe that.” I really did.
He looked at me, and I could see the pain he was suffering. “Please take care of her first.” He whispered.
“I promise you I will.” He nodded and closed his eyes.
“Give me the medicine.” He whispered. I loaded the syringe how the doctor showed me and injected the medicine into his arm, and he settled back to sleep. I lifted the bedding and looked at the infected area. As I touched it, I noticed how hot it was to touch. It’s a no wonder they are in so much pain. I went into the bathroom and wetted a towel with cold water hoping to help ease the heat. I walked over and laid it over the infected area on his stomach. I then went and got another one for Rayna’s arm and shoulder and tucked them both back in. As I turned to go back to the chair, I saw Bryden awake and watching my every move.
“How long were you awake?” I asked him sitting back down on the chair I vacated earlier.
“Long enough to hear your conversation with Galen.”
“I had to promise him, or he would have refused the medicine,” I said looking over at my husband.
He reached his hand for mine, and I reached over and held his hand. “You are a good woman. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said exhausted but still able to smile. I put my feet up on the ottoman, and while gazing at him my eyes grew heavy with sleep.
I woke to a sound and looked around. I saw the doctor and Bryden talking. It was now light outside as the morning sun was rising in the sky. I stood and walked over to them. “Have you found out anything?” I asked the doctor.
Valaisha Defenders Page 14