Aftermath_The Armorian Chronicles

by Courtney Beals

  “Please, don’t do this, Thomas.” She pulled her hands away and continued walking. He followed her and turned her around.

  “Please, stop,” he said. He wasn’t angry or frustrated, but gentle and almost pleading.

  “Why are you telling me this now?” Lyla asked.

  “I thought you liked me, but I didn’t know for sure. I noticed how you would look at me when I was looking away, and how you would look away when I looked at you. Today, was different though. I could feel you pulling away from me, and I hated it. My mistake was not letting you know how I feel about you sooner, but I didn’t want to be too forward.”

  Lyla was now interested in what he had to say. She turned and looked at him, but hurt was in her eyes. Lyla caught herself biting her lip. She wasn’t sure if he was about to tell her that he only wanted to be her friend or that he liked her as much as she liked him. “And how do you feel about me?”

  “You’re beautiful. Um, you make me feel unstable, and for some reason I can’t stop thinking about you. Something about you draws me in and I can’t pull away no matter how hard I try. You are a ray of sunlight in this dark world and I just can’t get enough. Tonight, I saw you walk in with William, and I couldn’t stop staring at you. I had to have a few drinks just so I could dance with you. At least then if I made a fool of myself you would have thought it was from the booze and not me personally.”

  “A few days ago I would have been happy to hear you say that, but now I’m not so sure. The reason I missed my target today was because I saw you. You’re a distraction, Thomas.”

  “Then I know you feel the same way. Look, I know I’m not good at this whole pouring-my-heart-out thing because I’ve never really done it before, but I’m being sincere.”

  “What about Morgan?” Lyla asked.

  “Morgan has been attached to my side like a pest since we turned fifteen. I never felt right with her, but there was no one else around that I liked either. I let her pull me around and I shouldn’t have. I love you, Lyla Langston, and I hope it is not too late.”

  “You love me?”

  “With all my heart.”

  Lyla couldn’t believe what he had just said. She had imagined him saying that to her when she was consumed in every part of him. His eyes, his smile. What was she supposed to think now? This was what she wanted, but then she decided she didn’t want him, and now here he was confessing his love for her.

  “I-I love you too, Thomas Tucker.” He took her hand in his and kissed the back of her hand, when he saw movement in the corner of his eye. Lyla followed his gaze and saw the movement as well. Whatever it was, it was moving toward them, and fast. When Thomas realized what it was, he told her to run. She grabbed for a weapon, but she didn’t bring anything with her to the celebration thinking she wouldn’t need it. Turned out she was wrong.

  Lyla and Thomas ran as fast as they could along the buildings, but the creature jumped over them and blocked their path. Lyla thought it looked like a mix between a lion and a wolf. It was a very large animal with a large body and a long slender tail. Its paws and head were both massive. It had long hair, but dry blood was clumping up its fur. Lyla noticed it had very sharp teeth as saliva fell from its mouth to the ground. On top of the creature was a rider and Lyla knew exactly what it was. A Demorite. Why was a Demorite so close to the town square?

  The Demorite slid down from the large animal. Thomas pulled out a knife and told Lyla to run. Lyla ran back from the direction they’d come. The Demorite ordered his monster to go after her and it obeyed.

  “No!” Thomas yelled. He tried to run after the creature, but the Demorite pulled him back. Thomas instantly turned on the Demorite and tried to stab him in the heart, but the Demorite caught his arm and hit him hard in the stomach. Lyla’s screams sounded in the distance and he tried to go after her, but the Demorite held him back and laughed in his face. He threw himself at the Demorite, which knocked him down, and he shoved his knife into the Demorite’s head. When Thomas returned to his feet, he ran after Lyla.

  Lyla ran in the opposite direction when Thomas told her to run. She had no weapon, so she would be of no help anyway. She reached the lawn of the courtyard before the creature caught up to her. She faced the creature as it leaped toward her, and she rolled out of the way before it reached her. She started to run again. Her best bet was to get to the town hall for help, but it was on the other side of the courtyard. She wouldn’t be able to evade the creature for that long.

  The creature jumped and caught her foot from behind. She fell to the ground and rolled over on her back before the creature made its way on top of her. It was standing over her and she kicked her feet trying to push it away, but the creature bit her arm and she screamed. She tried to fight it off, but she felt heat beginning to rise in her body and she began to feel nauseous. She moved her hand along the ground around her to see if she could use anything against it and found a large stick. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. She took it and held it in both hands holding it between the creature’s teeth, keeping it from biting her again.

  She saw Thomas come up behind the creature and drive his blade into its back. The creature let out a yelp and ran off into the forest. Her vision began to blur as she saw the creature run away.

  Thomas leaned down to Lyla. Her shirt sleeve was soaking with blood, and her pants were now covered with dirt and grass stains. He saw sweat begin to drip down her face, and realized she had been bitten.

  “Thomas, it hurts,” Lyla said weakly. All the strength she had left was quickly draining from her body.

  “I know someone who can help.”

  He picked her up, and reached his horse at the other end of the courtyard as quickly as he could. No one was around and he had no time to look for anyone.

  He had to get her to Arthur.

  He put them both on his horse, and he held onto her as his horse raced to Arthur’s house. She whispered his name a few times on the way going in and out of consciousness.

  When he arrived at Arthur’s house, a single light was showing through the window. Without knocking, Thomas opened the door and let himself in, yelling for Arthur.

  “What is all this yelling about?” Arthur asked. He came strolling out of his bedroom with a patterned robe and night pants on. Arthur saw Thomas carrying Lyla in his arms. She was barely breathing and looked lifeless.

  Without question, Arthur guided Thomas into the spare bedroom, where he placed Lyla on the bed. Thomas quickly explained what had happened as Arthur flipped though pages of his books. Arthur had never dealt with a case like this before, but he knew he could find something in his books. The Demorites never came to the area of Armoria where they resided, so he’d never had this issue.

  Arthur found the page he was looking for and started to make a potion for Lyla. He ordered Thomas to find William and bring him to his house.

  William was sitting at the table alone while Giselle and Lilly were dancing with Joseph and Charles. He had a few more drinks before he decided to call it a night. After this last dance, they would look for Lyla and go home. He wasn’t sure where she had gone, but he saw her sneak out with Thomas.

  William saw Thomas come flying in the open doorway and run toward him. As he closed in on him, William noticed he had blood on his shirt. He instantly became worried.

  “William, it’s Lyla, she’s hurt.”

  “Where is she?” he answered walking toward the door. With one sentence, he sobered up and went into all-out dad mode.

  “Arthur’s house,” he panted trying to catch his breath.

  “Find Lilly and Giselle and take our carriage to Arthur’s house. I’m taking your horse.”

  William was already out the door before Thomas could answer. He walked through the crowd and found Giselle first. He told her to get the carriage ready while he looked for Lilly and that he would explain everything on the way. It took him several minutes before he found her dancing with Charles. By this time, he was frustrated that this was takin
g up so much time. He wanted to be there with Lyla right now.

  “Lilly, come with me,” Thomas said grabbing her wrist and pulling her away from Charles.

  “Leave me alone,” Lilly yelled. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”

  “Your sister is hurt,” he yelled. “We have to go right away.”

  Charles was understanding and told her to go. She left him without saying a proper goodbye. It seemed to be a recurring thing between them, but he didn’t mind.

  By the time they walked down the steps of the town hall, Giselle had the carriage ready for them like he’d asked. He had explained everything to them as he said he would. They were both horrified by what he had told them.

  They arrived at the house, and when they walked in, William was helping Arthur with whatever he could. The potion was almost complete. Unfortunately, it was a potion that took some time to prepare. They had everything set up in the bedroom where Lyla lay unconscious on the bed.

  Lilly ran in and started crying when she saw her sister. She had gone very pale, and the bite on her arm was turning black. Where her shirt was torn, Lilly could see the veins that surrounded it were black as well and were spreading throughout her body.

  “What’s happening to her?” Lilly asked.

  “A Demorite creature bit her,” Arthur said. “An Akrin to be exact. They have poison running through their veins, and a single bite can turn someone into one of them. If we do not get her this potion soon, I’m afraid there is nothing we can do for her.”

  Lilly started to cry even harder.

  “Lilly,” said Arthur. “I need you to stop crying and help Giselle take your sister’s shirt off. We need to bandage her arm before it gets worse.”

  Lilly wiped her tears and carefully cut up the arm of Lyla’s sleeve so it would be easier to take off. When they got it off, Lilly rinsed the wound to clear away all the blood, but the bite marks were deep and blood was rushing out.

  “She needs stitches,” Lilly said.

  “I can do it,” said Thomas. “I’ve had some practice.”

  “Great,” said Arthur, who was still working on the potion. “Clean your hands and get to work.”

  He did as Arthur said and carefully started stitching up her arm. He was glad she was unconscious for this because she would be in a lot of pain. Not just from the stitches, but from the bite as well.

  “Wait,” Lilly said sniffling her nose. “Lyla told me twice that she thought she saw a dark figure in the woods. The first time, Dad was with us. Neither of us saw anything, so we thought it must have been a side effect from the potion she had taken before. The second time Lyla mentioned it, we went off the trail to see what it was, but it disappeared. She was right this entire time, and I didn’t believe her.”

  “No, my dear, the potion has no outside side effects. It only has to do with her nightmares. She saw what she saw.”

  Lilly felt like it was all her fault. If only she had listened to her sister and believed her, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Maybe they could have stopped it. She let her head fall to the bed as she held on to her sister’s hand.

  “The Demorite must have been following her around,” William said.

  “First in her dreams and now this. Why would the Demorites target Lyla?” Giselle asked.

  “Maybe it has something to do with her grandfather,” William suggested.

  Lilly felt Lyla move and looked up at her. Her eyes were barely open, but she was awake.

  “Lilly?” she breathed lightly.

  “Yes, it’s me. I’m here.”

  “Try to keep her alert,” Arthur said. “It will be easier to give her the potion if she is awake.”

  Lilly tried talking to her sister to keep her awake, but it wasn’t easy. Lyla was weak, and was hardly conscious to begin with. Arthur rushed over with the potion and managed to get Lyla to drink it, giving her small amounts at a time.

  “All we can do now is wait,” he said. “It all depends on her and how far the darkness has taken her.”

  Hours had passed and it was in the early hours of the morning. Giselle had fallen asleep in the chair by the fireplace, and Arthur had gone to bed telling them to wake him if anything happened. Lilly told William she would watch over her sister so he could get some rest. She wanted to be there when her sister woke up.

  Thomas had been quiet since he arrived. He was staring into the fireplace, watching the crackling fire with its red embers and golden yellow flames. He felt guilty that he couldn’t protect her. He regretted many things. He should have told her how he felt sooner. Maybe then he wouldn’t have taken her to the garden, and they would not have been attacked. Then they would be enjoying their evening instead of watching Lyla, hoping she will make it through this.

  He was sitting by the fire for what seemed like hours. He couldn’t sleep or eat, and Lilly had been in the room with Lyla since she arrived. Thomas got up and rummaged through Arthurs’s cabinets until he found tea bags. He boiled water on the stove and poured it in a delicate china cup. He put the tea bag in the cup along with a scoop of sugar. He placed it on a saucer with a spoon and walked into Lyla’s room.

  Lilly was sitting in a chair next to Lyla’s bed. She was still holding on to her sister’s hand and she looked up as he entered the room. He could tell she was exhausted. Her eyes were heavy and red; dark circles had begun to form under her eyes.

  “I brought you some hot tea,” Thomas said.

  Lilly accepted the tea gratefully. She was too upset and exhausted to force herself to smile.

  “How is she doing?”

  “She’s breathing, but she hasn’t moved at all. I worry for her, but she is strong and she will beat this. I know she will because she must. I can’t live without her.”

  Tears started to surface into her eyes once again. The thought of losing her sister was unbearable. It would be like losing her soul mate.

  “I can’t even imagine what it must be like for you. The two of you are very close.”

  “She loves you, I hope you know that. The first time she saw you she couldn’t keep her eyes off you. She told me she had fallen in love just by the mere sight of you, which I thought was ridiculous. I was the one to always doubt her idea of being in love. I thought all the fairytale books she read were bad for her. At the time, I didn’t think she would ever meet anyone, and I didn’t want her to get her hopes up. Once we heard of this place and she saw you, everything changed. Despite how tough she tries to be; she believes in love more than anything in this world.”

  “When I first saw her I knew there was something about her that was special. I thought about her every second of everyday and I couldn’t wait until the next time I saw her, just to see how beautiful she was.”

  “Do you mean that?” Lilly said.

  “I do.”

  “She didn’t know if you felt the same way about her or not,” said Lilly. “I suppose if I hadn’t convinced her not too, she would have told you how she felt, even though there was a possibility that you would have broken her heart.”

  “I would never do that to her.”

  “She didn’t know that. I think you are a good man and you can make her happy.” She forced a smile at him.

  Thomas gave a slight smile as he watched Lilly turn back to her sister, continuing in her state of worry. He suggested that Lilly get some sleep and let him watch her for a while. She was hesitant, but she agreed nonetheless. She knew there were other people that cared for Lyla and wanted to be with her as well, and she knew she needed to rest anyway.

  She got up, taking the tea cup with her. Thomas took her place and held Lyla’s hand. Her body was very cold, so he pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. He noticed a scar crossing her collarbone, but decided not to ask about it.

  Before Lilly closed the door behind her, she turned back to him.

  “Oh, and Thomas” she said, getting his attention. “If you ever hurt my sister, I’ll kill you.” She smiled and shut the door. He knew she meant eve
ry word, but she also meant it as a way of accepting him, and that’s all he could ask for.

  Chapter 14

  The next morning, Thomas could hear loud whispers in the other room and he was finding himself more and more exhausted as every minute passed. Lyla was still unmoving and cold to the touch. He didn’t want to leave her side, but he had to know what was going on, so he rose from his chair and quietly snuck out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  Lilly, William, Giselle, and Arthur were seated around the large wooden table.

  “I’m not going to just sit here and do nothing,” Lilly said.

  “What’s going on?” Thomas asked. By the way they reacted, he assumed no one had noticed him appear from the other room. Lilly seemed tense and William looked exhausted. Giselle was tapping her fingers on the table, looking slightly annoyed.

  “Thomas,” Lilly said keeping her voice low. If it were not for Lyla in the other room she would have been yelling at the top of her lungs. “Tell them to let me go with them!”

  “Um, where exactly is everyone going?”

  “We are going after the Akrin that bit Lyla,” William said.

  “Then I’m coming with you.”

  “No, I want you to stay here with Lyla. If she wakes up she will want to see you.” Thomas took a moment to contemplate. He wanted nothing more than to kill the creature that hurt Lyla, but he also wanted to be there for her when she woke up. “Then you should let Lilly go with you.” Lilly’s eyes brightened and she bit her lip to try and hide the smile that was wanting nothing more than to force itself onto her face.

  “It’s too dangerous,” William said banging his fist on the table. “I don’t want this creature to go after her too. One of my daughters is enough.”

  “Lilly and I are both going with you,” Giselle said. She was frustrated and cranky from lack of sleep. Sleeping in a chair didn’t exactly leave her well rested. Her neck hurt and she was not in the mood to argue. “What do you expect us to do? Sit here and do nothing? We are better off going with you. Besides, you can’t go alone, and Arthur has to be here for Lyla.”