Chapter 37

When Talia opened her eyes again to the world she was beset by golden light all around her. She raised a hand to shield her eyes as she cast about for the source of such a thing. Once her eyes adjusted she could see an intricately carved bronze orb hanging from the center of the ceiling of her room. It emanated a soft golden light continuously without fail. She squinted at it.

'What is this?' She thought sluggishly. Magic? It had to be. She had never seen anything like it. As she looked around the room she noticed how plain it was, dull gray stone walls sat on each side. One had a door while the rest remained bare. There was two small end tables behind her which held semi-dead flowers, their colors were darkening as they slowly turned into crumbling relics of what they had once been.

Beside her stone slab-like bed was a table covered in what she could only assume was medical tools. There was a whole slew of metallic twisted looking tools. She cringed as she continued to stare,

'Did they use these on me? None of them are bloody and yet...' She looked down at her body to see that her skin was bare except for a brazier and a blanket covering her lower half. Though her real surprise came when she saw Reezara's little form coiled on her lower legs. She tried to move them to wake her but neither leg responded to her. Her panic started to rise as she continued to struggle.

'I walked here. I remember walking here. Why can't I walk? Why can't I walk?' She was practically screaming in her own head and still Rezara remained still. She was about to throw herself from the stone slab of a bed when the door creaked open slowly. She froze and turned to see three hooded healers pushing their way through. She remembered them too, though that memory was fuzzy. She tried to recall if they had ever told her their names, or if they had done any sort of introduction. But all she could really remember was the unease they made her feel. And then suddenly feeling nothing.

"Good-morn Rider." The head healer bowed deeply as their wispy and raspy voice. She shuddered. Was it a man or a woman? She couldn't tell.

"How is she... How did you?" How could she say it? How did they get Reezara and how did they knock her out? The little dragon remained comatose but she could see her scales move as she breathed so she knew she wasn't dead.

"You are famous across the land rider. When you arrived without your beast we knew she had to be close, we found her clinging to the robs of that vile necromancer. We had to encourage her to return to you however. You should be more careful, you shouldn't leave such a valuable creatures with such lowly plebeians." The healer's wrinkled face twisted into a sickening smile, yellowish-brown teeth flashing under the golden light of the room.

"Nico is my friend. My ally, and my brother. He will always be a part of my team. You better have healed him!" She shouted as she tried to pull herself up again. Her rage was fueling her but it still wasn't enough to move her legs. The healer sneered as it raised its hands,

"Peace rider, we provided all your friends with healing. He may be a roach, but he is yours and we were instructed to do anything and everything to see to the safety of your party." Her heart slowed with relief. At least that meant he was safe and probably had unbroken arms now.

"I want to see them. Now." She demanded sharply as she pulled her elbows up underneath her again. The lead healer placed a chillingly cold hand on her chest before pushing her back into the slab.

"You need to heal Rider." The healers all said it at the same time. She shuddered, how odd was that? They were closing in, pale skin and twisted grins. Their hands started to glow as they placed them on her. She shuddered at the freezing feeling that seeped into her flesh and bones.

'Is this what healing feels like? I still can't feel my legs...' She shuddered before allowing her body to slump. Somehow their ministrations were drawing her last tendrils of strength from her. The world was growing fuzzier as her breathing became heavier and slower. She tried to fight her way out of it but with no strength left it wasn't long before she was unconscious again.

The next time Talia managed to open her eyes she found herself alone once more. Reezara was still sleeping soundly on her legs, not even twitching in her sleep. Her concern piqued but she could barely sit up let alone shake her awake. She ran a hand through her hair before tracing the thick scars over her left eye. She was still keeping the eye closed out of habit. But now she had a feeling the sight could prove useful.

Opening her left eye left her breathless and dizzy, the world lit up brilliantly all around her as she traced glittering paths of mana. She ignored the paths linked to the lamp-like structures and attempted to find anything human. Yet as far as she could focus her vision the only lights she could see were the tendrils connecting everything, and none of those tendrils were attached to people. She winced as stabbing pain pierced her head. She closed her eye again with a scowl, if there was no one nearby where were her friends?

She lay back down gently as she tried to think about just what she could do. Without the ability to walk she was limited in her ability to escape. Without Reezara she was limited in her ability to spy. She was left at the mercy of the healers. That was, until she spotted a bundle of large staffs leaning by the door. Coincidence? Probably not, but she was desperate.

Reaching a hand out she tried to use mana to draw the staffs to her. Her hand shook as she concentrated, she bit her lip and closed her eyes in an attempt to focus more but it was little use. She had nothing left mana wise, or at least not enough to cast spells with. She grunted lowly before throwing her hand forward and forcing what little she had left out in a burst. With an eruption of noise the staves flew towards her, one landing squarely in her palm and the rest scattered on the floor. She winced as she opened her right eye to observe the damage, there was no denying she had made a mess now.

She grabbed her legs as she sat up and pulled them off the side of the bed so that they hung. It was unsettling not being able to move them consciously, though it was more unsettling that the bed was so high her toes barely brushed the floor. Shaking it all aside she braced the staff and shoved herself off the bed causing Reezara and herself to crash to the floor. With a sharp breath she looked up to see the dragon shaking herself off vigorously.

"What the fuck...?" Her voice was groggy and sluggish as she struggled to right herself. Talia reached out and pulled her tail, dragging her towards her until she wrapped her arms securely around her.

"Something ain't right here, we need to get out." Talia didn't want to waste any time mincing words as she grabbed two staves to pull herself up with. Reezara wrapped herself around Talia's shoulders, her own limbs shaky and unsure.

"Your legs..." Reezara's voice was soft and comforting but it only served to infuriate Talia more.

"I know. But we can't worry about that right now. I don't trust these healers and I can't sense anyone nearby, not Nico, not Bromyr, not even fucking Lotus." She seethed as she struggled to maneuver out the door. Now that she was moving she could move her right leg, but only just. She could barely hold any weight down or walk for that matter. She was glad she had good arm and upper body strength or she'd be truly stuck.

Outside the door she recognized the larger more communal healing room which lie dark and empty. The sun wasn't up so she had to conclude that it was night out. The halls were dead quiet, she hoped she could keep them that way but the staves made a 'clack' sound every time she moved one forward. And every time they made a noise she blinked with growing levels of rage.

"I can't see or smell anyone." Reeara whispered as she swiveled her head around to take in everything. Talia sighed as she moved to another door in the walls. She could almost remember Bromyr being escorted into it, but the memories were still fuzzy. She pushed it open regardless.

Inside the room was bare and the light was dormant leaving it dark and empty. It was obvious no one had occupied the bed in quite some time, there was still a thin layer of dust. She sniffed the air carefully in an effort to weed out any scent that might hint at where her friends were taken. Unfortunately there wasn't a single shred of Bromyr's dirty sweaty smell lingering. She frowned, all of them had been quite filthy by the time they had arrived. They should have reeked, their scents should have remained for days.

"Either he was only in that room for a few moments while they removed me, or we've been here a lot longer than I'm aware of." She spoke to Reezara through their mental link as she turned to check the other doors. If Bromyr wasn't in his room she had low expectations on finding the others in their respective rooms. Bromyr was crown-prince, his rank was higher than any of the rest of them. He should have been receiving the same treatment she was.

"I can't smell anything either, just those moldy old hags that call themselves healers. They don't smell right." Reezara wrinkled her nose to make a point of her statement. Talia shrugged,

"That's a given. They aren't human I'd bet money on that. Or they aren't anymore. But I can't put my finger on just what they are." She opened her left eye briefly again to see if any living creatures were nearby, namely dwarves or humans. But all she could see were the thin little glittering threads that criss-crossed all over the castle. After a few hundred yards the threads faded to black, she was fairly certain that was the end of her range of sight. Closing her eye again she tried to decide what the best next step could be.

"What are we supposed to do now? They'll be returning for you soon I'm sure of it." Reezara's tail swung loosely across Talia's back. She shivered with the tickled feeling.

"I suppose we have to wait and see what their game is. I can't patrol these castle halls just yet, not in this state. Until I can walk we'll have to do things a bit more of the old fashioned way." She didn't want to go back doing things the old way but there was no choice. She had to start reaching out to old connections. While she contemplated how to go about doing such a thing she made her way back to the room slowly.

Once back to her room she was faced with an entirely different problem. She had left it a mess and she didn't have any mana to clean it up the fast and easy way. She tested her right leg carefully to ensure it would hold her weight before bending over to gather up the bundle of staves she had left carelessly tossed on the ground. Even when bent over she couldn't feel a single ounce of pain, her back moved freely and fluidly like it always had before the beast had shattered it. It was odd, she couldn't understand why she was still struggling to walk when everything else felt fine. Better than fine, even.

"We'll figure out what happened rider... But first I sense them coming." Talia winced as she hurried herself to set the staves back into the corner before clumsily climbing back onto the slab-like bed. She set the thin blanket over her lap again as Reezara curled back up on her legs. She laid down and closed her eyes just a few more moments before the healers slid through the door once more. They creaked nearly as much as the door did, she had to force herself not to sneer at the sounds.

"Awaken Rider, the King commands your presence." The lead healer's raspy voice jarred her as she opened her eyes. How could a human sound so... Unnatural? She shuddered as she blinked in an attempt to seem tired. She turned to see the three gray clad healers gathering closer.

"King? What does he want?" She snarled. Commanded? No one commanded her, especially no man. The healers pulled away to reveal a chair with wheels sandwiched between them. The lead healer motioned towards it,

"He requested we build you this to allow you freer access to the castle. It is called a wheeling chair and it will allow you to move freely with only your arms. Now you may sit upon it and we shall take you to his chambers." Talia froze at the word 'chambers'. That meant he expected to formally greet her in his private room and not in the Throne Room as a proper King might greet a guest.

"I would prefer to greet his Highness in the Throne Room as a proper guest." She voiced her opinion harshly but the healers showed no sort of reaction. The lead healer bowed slightly, it's mouth twisted into a feral grin as it replied,

"His royal Highness requests you in his chambers. You will greet him there gratefully for his aid delivered to you. Your dragon shall come too." There was clearly no room for argument and she was certain she'd be met with a solid wall of silence should she attempt to argue it. She could try to convince them she was feeling far too unwell to meet the King but as healers they'd likely see through that lie in an instant.

"Can I at least wear some clothes?" She mumbled dryly. If she was going to be the unwilling guest of a King she would at least appreciate doing it fully clothed. One of the other healers pulled a glamorous red robe from somewhere unseen, stepping forward to help her into it. She slid her arms through before allowing the healer to tie to around her midriff. She shuddered with disdain but she knew there was little choice.

"Now let us go." The lead healer stepped out the door leaving the other two to aid her into the chair. She grunted as they grabbed her under her arms and pulled. Reezara leapt off of her legs and shook herself indignantly.

"They would have let me fall." She growled with a swish of her tail. Talia ignored her as she tried to also ignore the discomfort of being lifted like a toddler. An invalid. She would have spit in her rage if she weren't so intent on not making a scene. She could act childishly later, after she discovered what it was the King was after.

Once they had her seated in the chair they went to grab Reezara who promptly began to hiss at them.

"Do not deign to touch my dragon." Talia growled lowly. The healers bowed slightly as Reezara made her way over to jump into Talia's lap. One stepped behind her and pushed her forward while the other lead the way. The lead healer was nowhere to be seen, Talia wondered if they had gone ahead to prepare the King for her arrival. Was that usual for a Rider? She didn't know what politics were involved. She also wasn't sure how she was supposed to treat a King she wasn't intent on killing. Well, she was sure she'd want to kill him at some point. A King she couldn't kill.

"Well, I think I could kill him if he's too insulting. I am a dragon after all. I'm sure I'd get a free pass being a queen of the skies or whatnot. So if he insults you, just give me the word. I'll make a show of it just for you." Reezara purred as she laid on Talia's lap. Talia reached down and brushed a hand over her wings and back, tickling at her chin and armpits.

"What a wonderful little murderess you are." Talia hummed back with a smile. Reezara had a habit of making her smile even when stress was driving her insane. It eased her heart a bit knowing she had someone alongside her to keep her safe. There was no mistaking Reezara's determination to see to both of their safety.

"I learned it all from my rider. The mistress of murder. I'm just the apprentice." They both laughed quietly together. Talia wished she could focus entirely on bonding with her dragon but as the halls slid by slowly her unease and discomfort continued to grow. There were too many unanswered questions and missing pieces. She needed to get everyone back together so they could move on. Stagnation was going to be the death of them. So they both sat in silence as they waited for the inevitable.