Dragons Tear Chapter 2

Next chapter should be done in a week. In the meantime would appreciate some feedback and I am willing to do return reviews.



Chapter 2



At one time I had dreamed of a life of adventure. Funny how things change when your dreams become reality.



Darkness. There was nothing but darkness, he saw nothing, heard nothing, felt nothing. He was helpless floating in the void. In the distance a light appeared... a growing speck coming closer and closer.



As he got closer to the light he was enveloped by a gentle warmth that melted away the cold he had felt in the darkness. He began to hear soft music with a tune oddly familiar to him. It was like a long forgotten melody that had been lost within the hidden corners of his mind.



He wanted to move closer towards the light but was immobilized. He had to wait for what seemed an eternity before the darkness melted away. Voices echoed, distorted and unclear. In the light he saw a woman's face, blurred and distorted. He could make out her lips moving, speaking to him.



If only the echoing would stop he could understand. It felt like there were a thousand voices bouncing around in his skull.



Somehow Kodar found the strength to call out, "Who are you?"



The woman's voice enveloped him, "The seal is breaking."



"The seal is breaking? What does that mean!" Kodar yelled into the light.



The light began to fade away and Kodar found himself afraid. He struggled trying to break free of the invisible chains that bound him. He was left in darkness listening to the echoes of his own screams.



When he woke the first think he noticed was the searing pain pulsing through his body, and his inability to feel anything else. He tired to cry out but the most he managed was a whimper. He had the vague sensation that he was bouncing… someone was carrying him, running. He opened his eyes, but everything was blurry.



"Hang in there Kodar, you're going to be alright."



He knew that voice. He had heard it speak so many times, telling him stories, and laughing together with him - It was Riven. If Riven was there then surely everything would be ok. He sighed in relief and allowed the darkness to take him over once more.



"Damn! He's out again!" Riven muttered to himself. He looked down at the boy in his arms and then looked to the girl that Kodar had put his life on the line to save. She was running alongside him keeping pace as they tore through the streets.



"Will he be ok?" She asked between breaths.



He looked at Kodar once more and could feel the fever burning him up even through his clothes, "I don't know… he won't be if we can't get out of here quickly!" He said, "The gate is just ahead."



People leapt out of their way as soon as they saw the two weren't planning to slow down. Curious looks followed them out the town gate and eyes were on them until they disappeared into the surrounding forest. It was only then that they slowed their pace, and only to keep from falling. Riven allowed them to stop once they were about a mile into the woods, and far enough away that it would be safe to take a few moments to try and treat Kodar. He gently set Kodar down, leaning him against a tree.



The girl was instantly at his side, placing a hand on his brow. She didn't even seem to care about the blood that soiled her hands as it dripped down Kodar's face. She looked at Riven desperately, "He's burning up! We have to bring down the fever!"



"Give him some water." He handed her his waterskin, "I'll see what I can do about that wound." Riven ripped a small piece off the end of his cloak and began to mop the blood off the boy's face. The cut was shallow, but it bled hard as many head wounds did. It would probably leave a scar, if he managed to pull through.



The boy's eyes fluttered under the lids and he began mumbling incoherently. He took the opportunity to tilt his head back and allow the girl to get some water down his throat. He coughed wildly and his eyes flew open wide, except they weren't his eyes. They were no longer a deep dreamy blue, but a bright burnished gold. He looked straight at Riven and opened his mouth, "The seal is breaking…"



Slowly his eyes shut once more and he was quiet. Riven looked to the girl and noticed that one of her arms was hanging limp at her side in an awkward angle, "Your arm is dislocated?"



She nodded and looked at the arm grimacing, "He saved me… They were going to kill me and he stopped them."



Riven sighed, the boy was kind, brave, and a complete fool, "Let me fix that shoulder for you. It'll hurt at first but it will be better then leaving it as it is."



She nodded and turned her back to him allowing him access to the shoulder. He took a firm grip on her and pulled hard feeling the bone snap back into place with a crack. She cried out and fell to her knees, instinctively rubbing her shoulder with her good arm.



"Thank you…" she whispered quietly.



"You should be fine now. It will be sore for a few days but you can use it." He looked at Kodar sleeping against the tree, he seemed to be less pale and his forehead had stopped bleeding, "We need to keep moving, no doubt they will be after us by now."



The girl looked at him with her deep violet eyes and nodded. She shakily got to her feet and waited patiently for him to scoop Kodar up into his arms.



"What's your name girl?" he asked as he began walking.



"Shindia La'blance Manah de Alcarna." She answered quietly. He stopped and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She giggled, "You can call me Shin."



He chuckled and started walking again, "My name is Seable." He grimaced as Kodar groaned his arms, "He should be dead by now… I only hope he'll live long enough for us to get him help."



Inexplicably Kodar didn't die that day, the next day, or the day after that. In fact it seemed that by some sort of miracle the poison had been purged from his system. His fever was seemingly gone and he no longer cried out in his sleep from pain. There was no reason that he shouldn't be awake by now, but nothing they did could rouse him.



Seable had stolen some horses from a farm close to the edge of the forest. They had now been riding for two days with Seable holding Kodar in the saddle in front of him.



Shin found herself exhausted; she had never done so much hard work in her life. It almost made her regret leaving home…almost. Hard work was much preferable to the alternative. She shuddered, thinking about what would have happened if Kodar hadn't rescued her.



She watched Seable as he rode, admiring how well composed he seemed. He took good care of Kodar, frequently checking his temperature and carefully pouring water down his throat. Only in the last day did he seem to relax, she guessed that he had come to the same conclusion that she had. Kodar wasn't going to die and he had somehow withstood the poison.



"We are here." He said without even looking over his shoulder. He pointed to a cluster of buildings, barely visible on the horizon, "This is the nearest village with a healer, hopefully they will have something that can wake Kodar up."



Shin smiled in relief, not only would there be a chance for her to rest, but that her rescuer would finally wake up and she could thank him properly. She then noticed Seable doing something odd. He had pulled out a long white bandage and had begun wrapping it around his head over his eyes, "What are you doing?"



Seable chuckled, "I'll need you to play along while we are in town… I need you to tie my horse's reigns to yours and lead me as if I am blind."



Shin furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but agreed, "Ok… I'm sure I'll understand later."



He pulled the hood of his dark cloak over his head and smiled back at her, "I'm sure you will."



She did as he asked and led him into the village and politely asked the gate guard where she might find the healer. The gate guard was kind enough to escort her there himself, he even got the stable boy from the nearby inn to take the horses.



Shin knocked gently on the door, waiting patiently for an answer. A few moments later middle aged man cracked open the door and looked at her suspiciously, "What do you need?"



"My friend was poisoned and he won't wake. Please can you help him?"



The man swung the door open the rest of the way and waved them inside. He raised a brow seeing the cloaked 'blind man' holding Kodar in his arm navigating easily through the clinic. He pointed to a table, "Get him to put the boy down there."



Shin obediently led Seable to the table and he gently laid Kodar down. The healer put a hand on the boys forehead and shook his head beginning his diagnosis, "What was he poisoned by?"



Seable spoke quietly, "A Red Cross black blade three days ago."



The healer looked at him shocked, "If what you say is true the boy should be dead now." He touched the healing wound on Kodar's forehead, "I take it this is where the poison entered his body?"



Shin nodded, "He had a fever for the first two days, and he was in terrible pain. He cried out in his sleep and he was very pale… now he simply won't wake up."



"Interesting…" the healer mumbled. He took two fingers and pried open Kodar's eyes. The glint of burnished gold made him let go in surprise, "Were his eyes always that color?"



"I only saw them opened once before he fell unconscious, but they were blue." She said truthfully, "He opened them once while in fever dreams and they were gold."



"Must be some sort of side effect of the poison…" he muttered, "Nobody has ever survived that I know of, he's very lucky."



"Do you think you can do anything for him?" Seable asked concerned.



"Well from what I can see the poison is no longer inside of him, it's as if it was never there in fact." He said shortly, "I think his body simply spent all its strength fighting, but I have medicines that should be able to return his strength quickly."



Seable smiled in relief, "I will pay for whatever you need to make him well again."



The healer chuckled, "We will discuss payment after he is awake…. Just wait here and I will prepare the medicine."



The healer left them alone with Kodar still slumbering peacefully on the table. Shin looked at him closely for the first time since he had rescued her. The cut across his face had closed and was now an angry red line of scabs; it was surely going to scar. It was really a shame, his face – though still very handsome, must have been quite beautiful before it had been marred. Still, it gave his face character and if he was lucky the scar would fade in time.



She looked to Seable as he stood over the table protectively. He held one of Kodar's hands and said quietly, "If I had been honest with him this never would have happened."



"I don't know what your relationship is with him but I think he's lucky to have someone who cares for him so much." She said encouragingly, "I for one am very grateful that you have taken me so far… I probably wouldn't have been able to escape on my own."



Seable chuckled, "I guess you're right, but he will be angry with me."



"What's he like?" Shin asked curiously.



He walked away from the table and sat in a chair next to her, "He's kind… He was always helping people without any benefit to himself. He came to visit me often asking if there was anything he could to make things easier for me… He can be a bit of a fool sometimes too, always tripping over himself." Seable chuckled, "He has this presence of goodness about him, you will understand once you have talked to him yourself."



"He must have had a lot of friends… I'm sure they are missing him now."



"Actually he didn't have any friends," Seable said regretfully, "They found his 'goodness' unsettling. They often taunted him, calling him names like pretty boy and many went so far as to call him a girl. He's actually quite sensitive about his appearance."



Shin was about to say something in reply when the healer walked back in the room. She quickly stood with Seable to stand next to where Kodar lay on the table. The healer seemed to be amused at their anxiousness, "This should wake him up almost immediately, but he will be weak and will need rest for a few days."



The healer carefully tipped the medicine, a small vial of green liquid, into Kodar's mouth, nodding in satisfaction when he swallowed the concoction, "Good he should be coming to very soon." No sooner than he had finished his sentence did Kodar begin to stir and his golden eyes were open."