Chapter 46

Talia's eyes peeled open slowly at first, painfully even, as the world swam in and out of focus. She winced at the blending of mana and solid sight, everything trying to mix together gave her a splitting headache. Or was it the fact that she was hung over? She could taste the bitterness of alcohol on the back of her dry mouth, how much had she drank?

Looking around she could see faintly the outlines of her room and the things in it including an unconscious Midnight draped across her floor, her body glowing a soft purple. She looked awfully peaceful when she was asleep, why was it that awake she was more a demon than anything? Grunting she closed her left eye bringing a more-clear focus and alleviating her headache slightly.

'You should go back to sleep, the sun is far off yet.' Reezara's sleepy voice filled her mind affectionately. Talia looked around, spotting the glittering blackish-red scales piled up in the corner next to the bed. Reezara seemed completely content, her eyes remained closed as she attempted to drift back to sleep. Talia sighed as she crawled over to her bed. The world was spinning violently, her stomach churned and pitched like a ship on rough seas.

'I don't anticipate I'll find sleep again tonight. I've got things to do.' Her heart was racing in anticipation of everything she wanted to get done. Drinking was all well and fun, but she wasn't going to let it get in her way. Once she reached her bed she reached underneath it and pulled free a chest-full of her old clothes. Inside she had her work outfit, tight fitting leather as black as the night. Perfect for her kind of gallivanting.

'Is it murdering?' Reezara's voice was quiet, almost as if she were drifting in and out of sleep. Talia smiled softly as she worked to wriggle into her clothes. She was pleased to find she hadn't gained any weight while being held prisoner, although her legs might have gotten a little less toned. She fit nonetheless, and it was a sweet sensation to finally be in her old skin.

'If things go well, perhaps.' She was eager to go bloodletting. While her stomach was still upset and her head was pounding she was energetic. Reezara's eyes opened slightly, her lips peeled up into a thin smile. Her tail slapped the floor eagerly and she stood.

'Maybe sleep is overrated, I'm suddenly hungry.' Talia reached back into her chest and pulled free a wickedly curved dagger. It was still as sharp as ever, she could almost imagine what it would feel like if she slid her finger across the blade. But she didn't need to, the memory was sufficient enough. She eyed Midnight again before rolling her eyes and dragging her over to the bed, throwing her onto it haphazardly. The woman didn't even stir, though she did snore slightly.

'Lets go find the last of the healers, I want to wrap up what we started. The sooner the better, before the King notices what I'm up to.' She knew at least three more of the lead healer's minions remained. Grabbing the vial of her potion she slid it down her cleavage after dousing the blade of her dagger.

Before she was able to slip past the door she heard the distinct angry cries of a particularly grumpy raven. She turned to see Nico sitting on the bed, his beady eyes glowing red in the dark. While they couldn't communicate mind to mind as they normally would, she could plainly tell he was upset at not being invited to the party.

"Fine, get your feathery ass over here you drama queen." She hissed at him darkly. She eyed Lotus and Midnight, neither moved an inch.

The halls were dark as expected, for whatever reason no one kept the torches lit in her corner of the castle. No guards stood post either, while it made her job easier it also came with some disappointment. Or perhaps it was Reezara's disappointment, she was oddly eager to dig her teeth into a human. To devour a guard.

Sliding down the halls she couldn't help but smile as Nico's dark form glided in and out of her vision. He seemed content to ride the drafting wind that fluttered past them, she was content just to feel her hair tease under the wind. For a moment she was alone, the castle walls were gone and the moons hung heavy in the night skies. Stars were hidden away under the darkness and the scent of blood was simply a promise of the evening. She was eager to taste it, but she was also afraid of what her life would become once the walls around her were truly gone.

'Freedom to kill, freedom to live.' Reezara offered but Talia simply waved off her attempt at helpfulness.

'Freedom is overrated. I liked having jobs, having order. I wasn't boxed in when Nazir was in control but chains are still chains.' What could she do if she were truly free of them? Reezara sighed as she closed the distance between them,

'Just because you can't see or feel the chains doesn't mean they aren't there. Dragon riders serve the people, protect the weak. We will always be fighting.' Talia could feel her cheeks flush in frustration.

'But how do I pick who to kill and who to save? What battles to fight... And which ones to ignore? I am one woman, you are one dragon. The world is so vast, and I am not used to feeling like a raindrop in a sea.' She was drawn back to reality as Nico called out in warning. She was surprised to find a small girl standing before her.

The girl was frail looking, her doe-like eyes filled with fear. She was shaking like a leaf, her drab servant clothing doing nothing for her with the creeping chill of the dark. Talia wasn't sure just what a creature like the girl was doing in her neck of the woods at that hour, but before she could ask the girl yelled,

"You are the red-haired giant!" At first Talia was taken aback, but then she was overwhelmed with curiosity.

"Yes, and you are?" It came out almost before she could think about it.

"The envoy, the messenger? He wanted me to bring you to him, he ordered it. Said he'd kill me! I'm to bring you to him." She was shaking again, her hair damp with the sweat of fear and anxiety. Talia raised a brow as Nico circled around and brushed the top of her head with his wing feathers.

'She smells of the dwarf, the biggest one.' Reezara nearly shouted into Talia's head. She pushed back the dragon's excitement for a moment to sniff. To her delight Reezara was right, she stank like Bromyr did. She never knew how much she missed his smell.

"Take me to him." She snarled in the girls face. She squeaked and turned launching into a run. Talia followed, her jaw set and her heart racing. Fate had played his hand, now things were finally in full motion.

"Nico, follow her closely. If she tries to flee you know what to do." Talia called after the wings of the black raven. He followed her order instantly and closed the gap between himself and the strange girl.

It took several minutes to traverse the vast halls of the castle, but once they reached the lighted section they had to travel far more slowly. Guards weren't thick but they were present. Talia contemplated leaving a trail of dead bodies but she didn't want anything to lead a search party to her location. If Bromyr was truly where the girl was taking her she wanted to sequester him out without having to fight off an entire contingent of guards.

Several more minutes passed in relative silence as they all pressed on. Surprisingly the girl was adept at sneaking past wandering eyes, she clung to the shadows like a desperate rat, her eyes were moving constantly in fear. Talia wondered if all the peasants of the Kingdom were like her.

Finally they arrived at a rather inconspicuous looking wooden door, no more special than the thousands of others they had passed on their way there. Talia didn't have to ask if he was in there, she could smell him clear as day. He was rank, but his scent was unmistakable. She took several deep breaths as she reached for the handle but the girl grabbed her arm away desperately.

"He is... He is not what you think he is. He has changed!" She sounded desperate, her entire body quivered. Talia paused momentarily wondering what had prompted the girl to take such a risk as grabbing her.

"What do you mean?" She asked dangerously. Reezara slithered forward, her eyes slit in barely contained rage. Talia warned her to stay back as the girl flinched in anticipation of pain. She kept her eyes closed but finally answered,

"The King has been giving him something, I know it is a drug but I don't know what kind. He gets upset, he shakes, his eyes are always glazed and he is always desperate for more. He may get... Violent." She sounded unsure as she peeked one eye open. Talia felt her rage twist at the implications. Her grip hardened until there was a sharp 'snap', the girl didn't even manage to scream. Instead she bit down on her lips and whimpered slightly. For a moment she felt guilty, but it faded quickly as she reached for the door and shoved it open.

The door hit the wall with a deafening slam, in the center of the room she could see a single bed which was occupied. Bromyr was lying on it unconscious and seemingly comatose. Her entrance had to have awoken half the castle, distantly she wondered if she could hear the guards running or if it was her imagination. Without pause she strode in, Nico flapped just above her head and took roost on the ledge of a barred window. He cawed several times loudly, though Talia wasn't sure if it was a warning or in anger.

"Bromyr!" Talia shouted as she grabbed his shoulders. He was half dressed, his skin pale and clammy. His lips were painfully white, but she could see his chest rise and fall as he drew breath. Suddenly her rage evaporated to fear. What had the King given him? She shook him desperately as she screamed out his name several times. He didn't reply, his eyes remained closed and his body limp.

"What did you do to him?" She snarled at the girl who was standing just behind her. The girl shook her head fearfully and stepped back. She turned to run which only caused Talia's rage to spike. It took all of one step before she was on top of her, she grabbed the back of the girl's neck and threw her out the still open door. She hit the wall with a sickening broken sound, her body flattening into a pancake of blood and bone. The girl never even screamed, she died in a painfully pitiful silence. Talia scoffed in derision, she despised the weak unwilling to preserve their own lives. She did the girl a favor, her only regret was that she now had no answers.

'Wait outside the room, if anyone comes kill them. I'm going to see if I can't save him.' Talia didn't even look over to where Reezara was pacing, instead she returned to Bromyr's side and started to pat him down for any clues as to just what the King had been feeding him. There was nothing on his person and nothing on or in his bed. She turned to see Reezara's form slip into the dark hall. She followed, closing the door and sliding the lock closed in the hopes that if the guards did come she could buy time.

'Check the table, there's a platter there.' Nico's voice was soft and distant, but it was there. Startled Talia looked to the window hoping he would have changed back, but he was still a bird, his eyes glowing softly in the darkness. She moved to the table like he hinted and sure enough there was a covered platter. She lifted the lid to find the remnants of a meal, though only crumbs remained. She sniffed at it carefully hoping to catch the scent of anything she could recognize. There was meat, bread, cheese, and some sort of alcohol. To her it all smelled off.

'Can you connect to my mind?' She asked Nico softly.

'Barely, this place is removed from that accursed white stone, for whatever reason this part of the castle was made with regular granite. I can feel my mana returning already.' She was relieved, at least something was going right. Even she could feel the slow trickle of mana building within her. Unfortunately there wasn't time to enjoy it.

'Do you recognize this smell? The name is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't quite remember.' She took another deep whiff of the platter, picking away the normal food smells to focus on the remaining scent. It was soft, teasing, and flowery. She could feel Nico settling in the back of her mind as he tried to sift through the miasma of smells.

'It's almost like... Stardust. But it's used by humans as a sleeping aid, how could it bother him?' Talia sniffed again as she tried to recall just what Stardust smelled like. It was a little blue plant with tiny five petaled flowers that grew in clusters of eight to ten. The flowers were pretty enough, humans would dry the petals and crush them up into a fine dust to infuse into their drinks as a sleeping aid. But there was more to the plant than just it's flowers.

'Do you remember what the roots were used for?' The roots, she recalled, had an earthy bitter smell. She could almost pick up on it, the tang just a ghostly undertone on the fading scent of the food.

'Not off the top of my head, humans don't use the roots. Neither do we, Stardust is a weak sedative compared to others.' His voice was growing weaker, Talia felt a pang of guilt at pushing him so hard. She thanked him quietly before sitting back to think on it. There was no mistaking the pretty scent of the flowers, surely they were involved. However Nico was right, Stardust was painfully weak and should never have a great effect on someone like Bromyr. As a dwarf human remedies would have little to no effect.

"I'll just have to go with the age old remedies and hope it's enough." She spoke aloud as she grabbed the table and threw it into the wall. It exploded apart violently, a smattering of broken wood clattering onto the ground. She picked up a few of the smaller pieces and crushed them in her palm before igniting it in a flashfire. In an instant she was clutching a fistful of charcoal. She walked up to Bromyr and stuffed it into his mouth before holding his lips and nose closed. He lie still for several moments before swallowing harshly. He coughed as she released him, but his eyes remained closed.

"Hurry up hurry up!" She muttered as she paced around him. Time was fading, the sun would rise soon and she was certain she'd be found out once the maid's body was found. Or when she didn't return for her duties. Either way she was screwed. After about five minutes she bent over Bromyr and muttered a quiet apology before shoving her fingers down his throat. He vomited nearly instantly, his body bent forward violently as he wretched all over himself.

"Wake up you skeevy bastard!" She shrieked. His heart was racing, she could feel the cold seeping into him as his strength faded. She cursed the heavens, she hadn't traveled this far only to loose him to something as trivial as poison. Not to the King. She forced him to vomit again, then a third time before letting him fall back to the bed. What else could work? She paced agitatedly picking through any idea that seemed feasible.

'Warm him, try to force a fever?' Reezara offered. Talia flinched at the idea, something like that required a gentle touch. But there weren't any other good offers. So she bent over him again and grabbed a hold of both of his shoulders. Closing her eyes she tried her best to focus her mana. With all of her anxiety and fear mixed with her exhaustion she was struggling.

"Calm your nerves, summon your divine flame and infuse him with your strength." Talia startled at the voice, turning sharply she could see the silhouette of someone she never imagined she'd see lurking within the castle walls. Her two moon eyes glowed silver in the dark, her identity was unmistakable.

"Madora..." She whispered in awe. What had the gods foreseen?