Fan Fiction ❯ Possession ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

A/N: Yes, yes, I know. I'm terribly, horribly behind in my writing. It's been a while since my last chapter, and I sincerely apologize for my tardiness. But here it is! Chapter 4! I want to thank Ember (just for being her), Star, and Dezz (ahem, sorry, Vannah.)

Chapter 4

A sudden jostling yanked Kylise back into consciousness. Her vision was blurred at first but when it cleared, she realized she was staring up at a cloudless blue sky. She was lying on a hard surface, but someone was…holding her. Cradling her body close.

A face appeared in her limited field of vision: a half handsome, half scarred face.

"Dradin?" Kylise whispered, confused.

"You're awake. How do you feel?" He asked evenly, supporting her back as she slowly sat up.

Looking around, she saw that she was in the back of the wagon; Luic was on the driver's seat, and Briar was tied to the back, walking along sleepily.

"I feel…tired. What happened?"

"That's what we'd like to know," Luic said, turning around. "Do you remember anything at all?"

Kylise rubbed her temples as she tried to recall exactly what had happened.

"I…ran from the mullogs and fell down a cliff. They ran after me, so I ran down the pier, jumped off, and swam to the castle. I heard a singer, and tried to find her, but no one was in the castle. I found a crown in the keep and for some reason I put it on. That's all I can remember."

Dradin nodded. "We followed your trail and found you in the keep. The crown was lying next to you."

"Why did I pass out?"

"That's a good question," Luic replied.

Kylise shifted positions and cried out when pain shot up her leg. Dradin pushed her back down.

"Easy. You're knee has been wounded pretty badly. We'll take you to the healer in Trillien first thing," he said, handing her one of the water skins and a small yellow leaf. "Here, take this. It'll dull the pain temporarily, at least until we get to town."

Kylise did as she was told, and a few minutes later, the throbbing stopped. She still felt unbelievably weary, though.

After eating a bit, she asked where Aurora was.

"She ran away. We searched for her, but we couldn't find her," Dradin replied.

"Oh. That's terrible to hear; she was a wonderful animal," Kylise thought for a moment before asking, "How did you get away from the mullogs?"

"They simply ran away not long after you disappeared," he answered. "It was very…strange to say the least."

"Like they were only after you," Luic added, casting a suspicious glare at Dradin.

Kylise was oblivious to the tension between the two, and she couldn't have cared less. She lay back down and used her bedroll as a pillow. She drifted into a half-conscious state and stayed that way until the company arrived in Trillien.

She sat up and found Dradin on horseback, riding alongside the wagon. Turning her head to look around, she saw that Trillien was not a very big town. The shops that lined the streets were few and far between, and the houses were only one-story. People bustled along the dirt streets, giving the travelers curious and distrustful looks. The children saw Dradin, darkly clothed and on a massive horse, and ran away in fright.

There was only one inn in the entire village, a shabby two-story building with rotting clapboard siding and a cracked window. The sign that hung above the open door read "Willow Inn" with a scratchy painting of a weeping willow.

"We'll stay here for the remainder of the day," Dradin told Kylise and Luic, dismounting Briar. "We can rest, eat a good meal, bathe, and tend to Kylise's injuries. You two wait here while I get the rooms."

Luic swiveled on his seat to whisper to Kylise as Dradin disappeared inside, "I don't like this demeanor he's been getting since we got attacked. All mysterious like. Me gut is telling me this isn't safe; maybe we should get you fixed up and head back to Yilcizat."

Kylise stiffened at that. "Are you mad? I will never go back to Yilcizat, not for all the gold in Regonda's Mines!"

Luic sighed and turned back when Dradin returned.

"We have rooms, and I've also sent for a healer," Dradin said. He climbed up into the wagon and started to pick Kylise up.

She batted him away. "Don't touch me, Dradin. I can walk fine on my own." She grabbed the side of the wagon and got halfway to her feet before stifling a scream at the pang in her knee.

Dradin rolled his eyes as he slid one arm under her legs and one under her back to lift her up.

Kylise grudgingly allowed him to carry her through the near-empty common room and up the stairs to her room.

The room was small, with only a narrow trundle bed in the corner and a short ceramic bathtub surrounded by a dull gray curtain.

Dradin dropped Kylise on the bed in a less than gentle way just as Luic was walking in the door with their packs on his back.

"See now, careful with her, you hoodlum! She's injured!" Luic said angrily.

Dradin raised an eyebrow at him. "I didn't hurt her, halfling, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, you shabby, mangy cur! I'm sick of your-"

"Luic!" Kylise exclaimed. "Control yourself! He didn't hurt me. In fact, he's helping both of us, so show a bit of respect."

Luic stared at her for a moment before averting his eyes and shuffling out of the room, muttering to himself.

"I apologize for that, Dradin," Kylise said. "He's just trying to protect me, like he promised my grandfather he would do."

"It's nothing…I'm somewhat used to name-calling," Dradin replied. He glanced around the room. "I'm going to see why the healer is taking so long."

He started out the door, but stopped short when he all but ran into an old man in the hallway.

The man was short and withered with a puckered face and dark brown eyes. His snowy hair was pulled back in a long braid, studded with yellow and green beads. His robes were pale yellow and belted with green. A filled buckskin bag was slung over one slumped shoulder.

Dradin surveyed the man's clothing and smiled slightly. "Are you the healer?"

"Aye, good master, I am," the old man answered in a coarse voice. "Nelmin Rahar, at your service."

"Well, Master Rahar, your patient is in here," Dradin led the way into Kylise's room and motioned to the girl on the bed.

Kylise looked up and eyed the old man skeptically. "The healer?"

Nodding, Nelmin dropped his bag on the floor and approached the bedside. "It's your knee, isn't it?"

"Yes…how did you know?"

"We healers can feel the kind of pain our patients suffer from. The muscle in your knee has been pulled out of place," Nelmin opened his satchel and extracted smaller pouches of sour smelling herbs and long strips of white cloth.

"Take off your boot and roll up your pants leg," he ordered Kylise, then turned to Dradin. "Get me hot water, and be swift about it."

Dradin hurried from the room, and Nelmin began crushing herbs. Kylise watched him curiously as he blended the leaves and flowers. Soon, Dradin returned, Luic trailing behind with a large bowl of steaming water.

Without a word, Nelmin took the bowl and dipped the cloth strips in it. He spread the herbs over the soaked bandages and wrapped them around Kylise's knee.

Deep warmth radiated into the joint and soothed the ache. The acidic smell made Kylise's nose wrinkle, but it loosened the cramping. She leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's absolutely wonderful, sir! Thank you."

He shrugged. "Stay in bed for one day and keep the poultice on the entire time. No activity for three days." With that, he began re-packing his satchel.

"How much do we owe you, Master Rahar?" Dradin asked, untying his money pouch.

"5 coppers will do," Nelmin replied, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Dradin nodded and fished out the coins. He placed them Nelmin's hand and the healer left without another word.

"No activity for three days?!" Kylise said. "How can I finish my quest if I can't do anything but sit in this room and rot for three days?"

"The jarah boars will still be there in three days, Kylise," Luic answered soothingly. "You need to heal."

Kylise sat back and crossed her arms over her chest in a huff.

Dradin started for the door. "I'm going to get you something hot to eat. Maybe that will subdue your infernal mood-swings for a while."

"My what?!" Kylise protested hotly. Her anger faded away when her grumbling stomach told how hungry she really was. She lay back on the bed and, to Luic's surprise, fell asleep almost immediately.

***

When the darkness lifted from Kylise's mind, she found herself facing a vast, barren field. The air was hot and oppressive, and the sky was black with rolling clouds.

She looked down in confusion and saw that she was wearing black chain mail, black gauntlets and black boots. A black helm with a tall green plume was set upon her head and a green cloak hung around her shoulders. A curved sword in a gilded gold sheath was strapped to her waist. She sat on a mighty bronze horse with dragon wings.

She then became aware of the army of dreadful creatures waiting restlessly behind her. There were thousands of the monsters: huge, pale skinned ogres; short but stout goblins; great brown trolls; massive, red-eyed wolves; and man-like dryads with dark green hair and earth colored skin.

Kylise knew she should have been terrified, but she felt only contempt for the brainless beasts. They were but puppies that followed in their master's powerful wake.

Looking back across the field, Kylise saw another army marching grimly toward her. An army of mounted men with a banner of blue, white and silver. She could barely hear them singing battle hymns and blowing on a ram's horn.

Then something seized her mind and she knew what her duty as general was: to lead her troops into battle and defeat the life-worshipping scum in her family's name.

Drawing her sword, she raised it high into the air. She could feel her minions tense behind her. She cried aloud in a language that she shouldn't have been able to speak.

"Ganath le'Vird! Nemi Daityan le'Vird!"

Kylise's army roared in response, and they surged forward.

The enemy did the same, and the two forces clashed in a rage of glinting metal, primal screams and splattering blood. And she took delight in every crimson drop that was shed.
Kylise jerked awake with a cry. Her own ears couldn't make sense of what she was saying.

"Barin! Barin de skila vixti Daityan!"

Strong hands grabbed her thrashing arms and pinned her against the bed. Voices were speaking to her, trying to calm her, but she couldn't understand them, nor could she see the speakers. Her vision was clouded with the memory of the battle.

"Barin! BARIN!" She screamed one last time before her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed against the sheets.

***

Okay, it was short. Sue me. Tell me what you think, please! I welcome all sorts of feedback…and flamers? Remember that my alter-ego is the Princess of Fire and Death, so flaming is really pointless. ;-)