“No, no, don’t worry, I will be fine,” I insisted, although part of me wanted to take him up on the offer. I went for bravery as my dominant feeling.
“If you change your mind, we are one call away.”
I nodded and thanked him, then took a big tupperware and emptied the pasta I had cooked into it, added the marinara sauce and poured a ton of parmesan on top, passing it to Erik.
“As promised,” I said. He threw me a grateful smile.
After a few minutes, the men disappeared into darkness, not before checking one last time that I was fine to be on my own. I locked the door and strategically placed kitchen knives around the house, ready to be used in case of an attack. Grim, I was aware, but it would help me sleep through the night. I dimmed all the lights and went into the bedroom, taking the laptop with me. I closed the door and moved a small chest of drawers in front of it to block the entry, then ensured that each window was sealed shut. Finally, I went into the bathroom and ran a bath, lounging in the enormous tub and trying to rub off the mystery of the day.
Chapter Six
I struggled to carry the woman back into the cave after getting stabbed in the leg. Fear Gorta, or Rhylan, whatever name the fireling chose for itself, had kept her submerged in pain until I arrived. Her screams turned out to be a better guide than my intuition, since they sank so boundlessly, all the faeries must have heard them and known her location instantly.
As soon as I arrived, Rhylan released her and kept himself amused with torturing me instead. But after fighting and stabbing each other, he surrendered and disappeared, much to my surprise. I expected the bastard to wreak havoc, as he’d done many times throughout history, but he seemed satisfied with letting me save the woman and making his presence known. A threat to be lived another day.
Focusing on the urgent task at hand, save the human, I ripped one of my shirt sleeves to use as a tourniquet, applying pressure on the wound and tying it up so tightly that I lost most sensibility in my upper leg. With it, the pain gave a halt, allowing me to limp long enough to reach the cave. I took the girl by the waist and placed her on my shoulder. We travelled together in silence, the human moaning in pain from time to time in her unconscious state while I cursed myself for not visiting the Cloutie trees earlier; I did not have any energy to appear, so I had to walk and drag the hurt human along.
As soon as we reached the cave, I set her onto the bed and looked at her properly for the first time. She was young and quite beautiful, a fine example of a female. My sight lingered longer than I wanted to admit on her legs and the visible part of her breasts. Her dark brown hair was pulled in a bun, many wide strands had escaped the knot and lingered loosely on the pillow. Her face was turned, displaying only her profile and part of her neck, which I took a second to admire. She bared a strange mark, a dark drawing, its location protected by the shell of her ear and hairline. It looked intentional, possibly meaningful.
The woman grumbled in pain, shifting her arm to hang loosely on the bed frame, and opened her eyes just enough to let me see their hazel shimmer before closing them again. She swallowed deep, puckering her lips and barely opened her mouth, though no sound escaped.
I took in her features, her forehead, her slightly crooked nose and rosy lips, the lower one just a bit larger and plumper than its sister. I listened to her breathing, slow and drained, chest barely moving. She had been in a lot of pain. It was normal for her muscles to strain and not function at full capacity. My eyes passed to the arm she had unknowingly extended towards me, still hanging from the side of the bed frame. The other rested tucked under her, so I had to slide her form onto the side, fully facing me.
I continued scanning her neck and torso, my attention once again dropping onto those breasts, pulled tightly inside a very short garment, her abdomen bare. Thankfully, everything looked unharmed. Lowering my gaze from the upper legs, I passed her calves and reached the ankles that throbbed purple and swollen from the torture she had suffered. I pulled her shoes off, along with the socks, leaving her feet bare. On her left ankle, creeping from the purple mess of intertwined veins, another mark appeared. Ancient Germanic runes. This human suddenly became fascinating.
“Why do you mark yourself with such things?” I asked, knowing perfectly well she could not answer, nor she ever will.
Once I finished with her front, I turned her onto the bed to analyse her backside. A few minor scratches on the lower back and her right upper leg, no signs of deep cuts or pouring blood from any unsuspected wounds or cavities. I allowed myself a breath, relief flushing over me as I collapsed on the floor next to her and rested my back against the bed frame. Rhylan failed. No human sacrifice or blood spilling claimed this day.
Placing the human back onto the sheets, I adjusted the pillows to make her neck rest more comfortably and once she was set in place, occupying the side of the bed I usually slept on, I stepped into the kitchen.
I returned with two vials, clean cloth and a glass of water. I had knowledge that humans die quickly from lack of hydration, so I had to keep her alive to be able to heal her. I brought a chair and positioned it next to the bed, close enough to reach her from my seat, and gently touched her arm.
“Human,” I urged. “Awake and drink.”
There was no response.
“Human female,” I insisted once more, “I have water.”
Nothing. I sighed in frustration. “One would think you would want to put some effort in saving your own life,” I huffed at her.
“I urge you to wake,” I tried again, tone harsher, shaking her shoulder. Her head bobbed to the rhythm of my force, yet her eyes remained closed and breathing torn. It was basic anatomy, muscles needed to regenerate with sustenance, yet this human remained unwilling to wake up and help.
I still hadn't explored the district grounds, or summoned the faeries of the forest into a huddle to assign their roles because I found myself stuck with this headstrong woman, unwilling to help her own healing.
“Very well, if you are not going to help yourself, then help will come to you,” and with this, I sat next to her on the bed, supporting my back against the headboard for balance and grabbed the woman to drag her across my chest, splaying her on top of me, head leaning on my clavicle. Her arms dangled still. No sign of waking up.
With one hand, I balanced her head to rest on my left shoulder and pulled her up to position her. Then I opened her mouth and with a spoon, I took a few drops of water from the cup I brought from the kitchen and pushed past her lips, emptying the contents into her mouth. I repeated the action three times until her tongue had enough water to wake up the senses and made her throat react and swallow.
“Good,” I urged and continued to feed her liquid until the cup was half empty.
After swallowing the last of the water drops, the woman tilted her head, brow settling on my neck. I felt her breathing. Her chest raised slowly, at a steadier pace. Keeping her in place, we remained connected for a long minute, breathing each other’s air until both our inhales became steady, following the same rhythm like an unspoken dance.
My energy awakened, burning through me, and I jolted at the feeling. My heart pounded, as though it wanted to escape and reach the woman’s breath. Something felt different, out of place, and my instinct forced me to remove the threat.
I dragged her down and slid her across the sheets, placing her head carefully onto the pillow before rising from bed. I couldn't be in her presence, everything in me struggled for contact, parts of my body begged to touch her again. I needed to leave, so I stepped away and packed the knife and daggers, the sword laying abandoned at the entrance, full of Rhylan’s blood.
Pain forced me to remember my injury, and I headed into the bathroom to apply a healing ointment and use proper dressing before changing my clothes. I could not introduce myself covered in bloodstains.
