by Quil Carter
It was as if… he had the same abilities King Silas himself wielded.
Impossible.
Elish shook his head and walked up to Lyle, and promptly smacked him upside the head. “Wake up, you imbecile. Big Shot, why the hell aren’t there thiens…” Elish turned around to where a row of beds were and saw two pairs of boots beginning to move. He walked over to them and his own questions were answered. Two thiens were laying in a heap, their arms just starting to shift and writhe as whatever had taken them off of their feet wore off.
“Master Elish?” Lyle mumbled. Elish turned around and saw his sengil sitting with a hand on his head. “What the hell…?”
“Do you remember anything?” Elish already knew the answer to this but he wanted to make sure. He kicked the thiens in their boots before walking over and lightly kicking the half-raver in the side.
“N-no…” Lyle said. Then his eyes widened. “Jade? Is… he?”
“He’s fine… better than fine,” Elish muttered. He walked back to the boy and gently put a hand on the side of his head. “I want him moved to my apartment.”
“Master Elish… he’s too ill. He…” Suddenly Lyle swore and there was a scraping of a chair as he jumped to his feet. “His breathing tube! He needs his…” Elish raised a hand and Lyle skidded to a stop. His eyes swept the room to make sure the three other sets of ears were too lethargic to listen, and dropped his voice. “He’s breathing on his own and he knows who I am.” Then he hesitated but decided to tell Lyle what he had seen.
When Elish was done, Lyle looked nothing less than flabbergasted. He went to the EEG, a machine that measures brain activity, and his mouth dropped open. Elish hid the hope this brought and watched the doctor press several buttons on the touch screen.
“He’s not at normal, nowhere near normal brain activity…” Lyle said with a shake of his head. “But where there was nothing there is now something. He’s breathing on his own, obviously.” The doctor leaned over Jade and tapped the edge of his eye.
Jade’s eye shut and squinted.
“I asked if he knew who I was, he squeezed my hand,” Elish said. “His mind must be back… it’s just his body.”
A look of doubt crossed Lyle’s face. Elish’s lips pursed at this, he almost wanted to punish the doctor for disagreeing with him, but he knew enough to keep his mouth shut. Elish had studied medicine, but over the last several years Lyle had made it his mission to become an expert on Jade, inside and out.
“Jade,” Lyle said loudly. He grabbed a pen and wrote out a math problem: 6 x 8.
“He wouldn’t even know that if he was well. Make it easier,” Elish said irritably. He snatched the piece of paper from Lyle and quickly wrote out another one.
2 + 2.
“Squeeze the answer,” Elish said, his voice one again dropping to calm. “Take as much time as you want.”
Jade stared at him.
“Look at the paper.” Elish held the paper in front of his face. “What is it?”
Jade kept staring.
Elish sighed and lowered the paper from his face. “I suppose you always had to disappoint me, hm?” he said with a sad smile. Then he glanced up at Lyle. “I want him moved to my apartment like I said. You’ll have free access, you and Nels, and you can come and go as you please. I don’t want him far from me and I will be running Skyfall from my apartment.”
“Not… Silas?”
“Silas is resurrecting at the moment,” Elish said with a bitter edge to his voice. “And when he wakes up I doubt he’ll be capable of doing anything but screaming and crying.”
Elish could tell that Lyle wanted to enquire, but he knew his place enough to only nod. There were no more questions after that, or comments.
Soon Big Shot was awake, and when the two thiens woke they were dismissed with a firm warning not to mention to anyone what had happened to them. Then Elish picked up Jade and returned to his apartment.
For a moment he found himself hesitating when he opened the doors to what had been his home for decades. He didn’t know why and stood in the archway to contemplate his hesitation.
With an angry hiss between locked teeth, he realized it was once again his own paranoia. The feeling went hand in hand with the same PTSD-type flash back that had struck him when the elevator doors opened to Lyle’s infirmary floor.
Elish forced down this unease and mentally berated himself for letting these emotions crop up inside of him. No, he had to be strong now, stronger than ever. He had to fix this and that meant purging his emotions and feelings over the events that had transpired. If Reaver saw him feeling unease at elevator doors opening and entering apartments, the boy would laugh at him until tears formed in his eyes.
And with that, Elish tightened his hold on Jade and walked confidently into his apartment. He was greeted by a content Biff who weaved in and out of his legs, his tabby tail high in the air and with a slight curl at the end.
Elish set Jade down on the couch and propped his head up with a pillow. He’d requested a recliner for the boy so he could sit up, but that wouldn’t get delivered until later.
“I’ll be taking a shower now, as you may have noticed I was delayed in the greywastes,” Elish said to Jade. He took the remote and turned on the television and found Jade’s own personal channel, but when he saw that Jeopardy was on, a favourite for the two to watch and match wits (Elish always won), he decided against it and found a cartoon for him to watch. He didn’t want Jade to feel badly for not knowing any of the answers.
“I’ll be right back.” Elish patted Jade’s head and walked towards their shared bedroom.
But when he was unbuttoning his blood and dirt-stained shirt he paused, then walked over to the doors to the outside hallway and locked them. Lyle had a key now anyway, if he wanted in before Elish came back, he could use that.
Then Elish stripped down and took a much needed shower. When he emerged he shaved and evened out his eyebrows, and slowly but surely, felt himself become Elish again. To solidify his transformation back to the leader and king he now was, he dressed in his silver robes with the blue trim, and wore underneath, a new white button-down and black trousers.
He looked into the mirror as he straightened out his robes. “You’re a chimera,” he said to himself in a low voice. “Act like it.” He nodded at himself and adjusted his collar, then walked out into the living room.
Lyle was there with young Nels, the two of them were plugging Jade’s machines into a power bar. Jade himself was now moved to a beige recliner thanks to Elliot, Nero’s burly sengil, and seemed to be watching Fairly Odd Parents on the television.
“I’d like for him to be kept on the heart monitor, Elish,” Lyle said as he attached the wires to the pads on Jade’s bare chest. “If his heartbeat drops it’ll send an alarm so you’ll know. I wheeled in a defibrillator as well just because I know you’d want me to. He can’t eat on his own… do you want me to walk through how to feed him through the tube?”
Elish shook his head. “No. I’ve had to do tube feeding before, just make sure there is enough milk and powder for the next week. Luca can get more once he returns.”
Lyle nodded. “I can send Nels down a few times a day to check on him and change the bags. And I’ve been sponge bathing…”
“I plan on doing everything,” Elish replied. “Nels will not be needed, only you for whatever medical needs he’ll have.”
A look of pure shock came to Lyle’s face. “Everything…? Medication, cleaning? He… he can’t do anything on his own, Master Elish.”
Elish gave Lyle a cold look and the doctor visibly shrunk down. Though now in his forties and physically older than Elish, he looked like the young sengil he’d once been when living with Elish.
“Are you implying I am incapable of taking care of my cicaro’s needs?” Elish asked, not hiding the razor’s edge in voice.
Lyle shook his head rapidly and raised his hands. “You know me and you know I’m not. My apologies, Master. Can I write o
ut his instructions at least?”
Elish gave him a stiff nod. “You may and write them neatly. Your handwriting has gotten dismal since you’ve become a doctor.” When Elish turned around and walked to Jade, Lyle could be seen letting out a tense breath through wide, rather surprised, eyes. But Lyle quickly hid it before Elish could see, and followed behind him.
“Nels?” Lyle called, but his apprentice was already there with a pen and paper. Lyle sat down on the couch and started writing out everything that Jade would need.
“Where is Luca?” Lyle looked around with a furrowed brow. “I told him you’d come back when you were ready, but I swear he birthed fifteen kittens in the time you were gone to your return.”
Elish ignored Lyle’s light pry for information and made himself a cup of tea. “Luca will return tonight,” he said simply. “Your job is finding a way for my cicaro to get the rest of his mind back, not sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“I was merely curious,” Lyle said with a sigh. “You bring me half-ravers, mute greywaster boys, and Jade in critical condition, and then you wring my neck when I ask a question.”
“I don’t need an excuse to wring your neck, Lyle. Continue to write out my cicaro’s instructions. You’ll need silence for it.”
The corner of Lyle’s lip rose, but he said nothing after that.
Two hours later found Elish alone in his apartment with Jade on him. After cleaning him and dressing him in warm pajamas, Elish wrapped him in a blanket and laid with him on the couch. Jade was lying on top of him, his favourite position to sleep, and all was silent in the apartment save for the hum of the electronics that the chimera ear seemed to pick up when there was nothing to distract it.
“The cart was too heavy to push into the wet woods and they nooned in the middle of the road and fixed hot tea and ate the last of the canned ham with crackers and with mustard and applesauce,” Elish read. He turned the page with a smirk, holding the book over Jade’s raven-coloured hair as his cicaro’s head lay on his chest. “The world has ended and they still have tea. One of the reasons I always enjoyed this book. This man has good sense.” Elish stifled a yawn and managed to reach his bookmark to slip in between the pages. “Did you fall asleep?” He couldn’t see Jade’s face from the angle he was at, but, feeling clever for thinking of the idea, he took out his reflective metal bookmark and tried to catch Jade’s reflection.
Yes, fast asleep… good. Elish turned off the light, then reached over and tilted Jade’s heart monitor away from his face to increase the darkness around him.
Elish rested a hand on Jade’s head, and was content to hear the boy’s heartbeat thump against his chest. No one would believe this man, with a countenance carved from the clearest of ice, was at ease in this moment, but he was. After almost ten days out of Skyfall, stranded in the greywastes and having to resort to shooting little girls to steal a dirt bike, he never felt the tightened binds that had been constricting him, loosen so.
The darkness was forever a cloud above his head, and now more than ever did he know the twisted and difficult path ahead of him… but somehow having Jade with him banished those caustic thoughts… if only temporarily.
When did I come to rely on him for comfort? Elish’s brow furrowed at this, even though his eyes were closed. He disliked the thought of relying on the boy for anything, but his feelings in the greywastes couldn’t be ignored. When Jade was with him he had found himself feeling stronger, because he had to be that immovable rock for his cicaro. Jade expected it and relied on it himself. The two of them fed off of each other, each giving the other what the other one needed. Jade though, had no idea just what he gave Elish, or how much Elish had come to need it.
Which of course… would continue. There was no need for the boy to know, he was still young enough to use it against his master.
Elish relaxed his body and listened to Jade’s heart, and though his failures in the plaguelands eventually extended its tentacles and wrapped themselves around Elish’s calm state, he managed to push them away by counting the boy’s heartbeats. It was a temporary distraction, but one he would take.
Was It Worth It? Reno’s voice echoed in his head, just as strangled, just as full of pain as the day he had heard it, and like Elish had been doing with all the other dark thoughts, he pushed it down and purged it from his system.
Killian’s death, Reaver’s fate… will not be in vain.
He will fix this.
I will fix this.
“Well… looks like we have some déjà vu. I swear I’ve seen this scene before.”
Elish opened his eyes and saw the burring image of Garrett slowly start to come into focus, further on was Luca and beside him, Jack.
“It would happen less if I took your key away,” Elish muttered. He steadied Jade and shifted himself until he was sitting up. “Help me put him in the recliner. When did you get back?”
“About five hours ago,” Garrett said. He smelled like soap, and the dusting of facial hair he had been growing in the greywastes had been shaved off, save for the pencil moustache he had been sporting for the past three decades. “I went to the infirmary, I suspected you to be there. Lyle says Jade’s improved?” Garrett picked up Jade with a grunt and walked the boy over to the black recliner. He laid him down before sweeping the boy with his gaze, then snapped his fingers in front of Jade’s face.
“Stop that,” Elish said annoyed. “He knows who I am and he’s breathing on his own. Besides that… he’s still rather unresponsive.”
Garrett nodded and took a steaming cup of coffee. He brought the cup to his lips and followed Elish with his eyes as he walked to the bathroom.
“Silas will be waking up soon,” Garrett said when Elish returned. “His heart started beating an hour before Luca, Juni, and Saul found us. Jack is giving him a day.”
Elish was surprised at this, a surprise that quickly soured his stomach. “He had such severe burns, I was sure it would be a month.”
Jack took a cup of coffee too and swirled the contents with his finger. “That’s immunity to sestic radiation for you. Most of his burns were surface burns; he would’ve been back sooner if his arm wasn’t so charred. I do hope you have a plan as to what you’re going to do when he wakes up.”
“Keep him from ending the world,” Elish muttered and he sat down on the couch. “I’ll be doing all of my work from my apartment. I’m not leaving Jade. I’m assuming Silas will be insane with grief, and I’ll be too busy to deal with him. He can be Sanguine and Drake’s problem for the time being.”
Elish’s eyes shot to Jack when he noticed his younger brother’s mouth pulling to a frown. He stared at him until Jack noticed, and saw the uncomfortable look on his face deepen. “When I was close enough to Skyfall for my trigger watch to go off… I got quite a few notifications,” Jack said. “Drake I resolved, he resurrected on his own but… Sanguine died and the homing signal as to where I am to find his body isn’t working. Kessler’s went off as well and it’s the same issue. Those homing signals can be destroyed, of course, but… it means they both must’ve died from a lot of head trauma. Kessler’s in the northern greywastes too.”
Which means Reaver was either smart enough to dig out anything he found in his brain or he threw him into a deep enough pit it broke itself… either way, that at least is good.
But Sanguine…
Elish looked at Luca and saw his sengils posture stiff and his eyes staring forward. There was no mistaking the boy had the answer.
“Sanguine will show up,” Elish said in a casual manner, then, since he was in possession of his phone and the cellphone tracker would soon be back in Silas’s possession, he added: “I stumbled upon Kessler’s body. It seems he was met with unfortunate circumstances while in the greywastes. I found several abandoned quads, many dead legionary, and Kessler’s rotting body. I’m guessing he found Reaver and our dark brother beat him quite successfully.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “He had a legion quad whe
n Sanguine, Silas, and I found him. You’re right… I’ll tell Tiberius to re-trace Reaver’s steps, and Caligula and Theo can scan the zones with dangerous radiation levels.” He nodded at Elish and Garrett. “Excuse me. I might as well take care of this now. I’ve been dreaming of a nap out on the patio with my daybed since Kiki flipped me off.”
“Wait… has anyone checked to see if Nero and Ceph…?”
Jack turned around and Elish observed both he and Garrett adopt mutual expressions of unrest. It wasn’t a surprise, Elish himself had no plans to check on the twenty-fourth floor. No one wanted to be the one to discover what Sanguine and Kincade had most likely done.
“No,” Jack and Garrett both said in unison, then Garrett cleared his throat and spoke for the both of them. “We’re… um, Silas will be awake soon.”
“Silas is already going to be manic. It shouldn’t be him discovering what Sanguine and Kiki did,” Elish said. “Confirm the reasons Kiki abandoned his brothers in the greywastes and confirm that Sanguine is gone. I’m assuming Sanguine left with Nero.”
Luca made a funny noise in his throat, then visibly shrunk when three sets of eyes shot to him.
“He…” Luca shifted his weight. “He didn’t go with them, Master Elish.”
“Say nothing more,” Elish replied, then he motioned to the door with his jaw. “Jack, you may take your leave.”
“Gladly,” Jack muttered under his breath. “Tell Sanguine I want to see him when he comes back and if you find his body I’ll collect him immediately.” He bowed to everyone in Elish’s apartment before he glided out of the doorway and into the outside hall.
“Close the door behind him, Luca.” Elish’s eyes shot to Garrett. “I assume I still have your trust? Or did your greywaster fiancé poison your mind to me?”