*
A few hours later Kingston was awoken by an errant ray of sunshine. He blinked in the dawn light, trying to recover his vision. After a time his eyesight adjusted and he was able to take in his surroundings. Alza stood by the entrance to the outcrop, her back towards him. Maloch was still kneeling by the cave entrance, his eyes dim and unseeing. And Barsch-
Barsch was not there.
With a yell Kingston leapt to his feet. The yell caused Alza to turn, and Maloch to stand up in a sudden burst of activity. Both sets of eyes: one violet, one gold, looked at him questioningly. However, he ignored them and ran to the front of the outcrop.
There, sitting like a statue, was Barsch. He had fallen asleep where he sat, an impressive feat. Curiously, the boy held Lanista in his right hand, which was gripping the hilt so hard as to turn white. Kingston knelt and gently tried to pry the chainsword from Barsch’s fingers, but found that the youth refused to let go.
“Hear… my… roar…” The words were barely audible, more sigh that speech. Kingston ignored them for the moment, attributing them to whatever dream Barsch had found himself in.
“Rise and shine, m’boy!” said Kingston, as kindly as he could. It took several seconds for Barsch to wake up, and when he did it was with a look of sheepishness. Barsch stood on his second attempt and rocked gently on his feet as his black-rimmed eyes adjusted to the light. However, all traces of fatigue vanished from his expression a second later when he glanced down and saw the tightly held chainsword.
With a cry he dropped it, clutching his right hand as if it had been burnt by the cold metal. “Sorry, sorry…” he muttered when he saw Kingston’s confused expression. A moment later Barsch bent down to pick up the black blade, although the look on his face suggested that it was the last thing he wanted to do. Eventually his fingers grasped the hilt, while a flash of pain simultaneously crossed his face.
Kingston did not comment on the boy’s strange actions, putting them down to fatigue. It was understandable, after all, as Barsch had had very little real sleep lately. In fact, Kingston could not remember a time since they had left his hut that he had seen the boy sleep soundly. “Forgive me, for making you bear such a burden…” he thought as he left Barsch to gather his things.
They ate their meagre breakfast in silence. No one was in the mood for conversation. After finishing Barsch and Maloch immediately began gathering up their supplies, while Alza went ahead to scout the path. After everything was packed up, they left the overhang, only Barsch looking back as the group headed after Alza. With some effort he had managed to wedge Lanista into his backpack. “Out of sight, out of mind,” he thought, praying that it would be that simple.
Awakening Page 129