Chapters (66)
- PREFACE
- Full Page Image
- ONE
- TWO
- One week ago
- THREE
- Present day
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
As the sparks from the fire flare to life, the cave is inundated with light and warmth. That's when I notice some strange illustrations on the wall of the cave.
"Is that..."
"Language," Ze states. "The language of those who make P'davi their home."
"But you said it's an intermediary realm." I frown.
His lips twitch.
"Precisely. If you are not welcome in your world and if you cannot go to another one, what do you do?"
"You're stuck in limbo."
"Indeed." He coughs.
I hurry to his side, offering him a little more water. Seeing his wan complexion, I place my hand to his forehead, checking his temperature.
My eyes flare open in shock. He's...burning.
"Ze..." I whisper, my voice cracking with pain.
He did this for me—to save me.
He grabs onto my hand, slowly looking up at me, his eyes now a light purple.
"I will be fine," he assures me.
"You better," I sniffle. "You can't die, you hear me?"
A sad smile plays at his lips.
"You know... You are the first person to tell me not to die."
Before I can ask him to clarify what he means by that, his eyes flutter shut, his body slumping against the wall.
"Ze!" I cry out, shaking him.
He doesn't answer.
THIRTY-TWO
Panic courses through me as I lie frozen by his side, uncertain of what to do next. I'm just staring at his unmoving body, my heart thumping mercilessly inside my chest. It takes me a few seconds to get myself under control enough to go closer to him and feel for his pulse.
He's still covered in blood and bodily fluids, but feeling my way around his neck, I manage to find a heartbeat.
I sigh in relief.
He's not dead.
Yet.
No, no. I won't let him die. No one else is dying under my watch ever again.
Nibbling at my lip, I stand up, cataloging my surroundings to gauge what I can and cannot do. Well, first, I need to get him into a comfortable position. I should also clean the rest of the naga grime off his body since who knows if that's venomous too, and it might only make him sicker.
Nodding to myself, I grab some of the abandoned containers off the ground and hurry to the pond in the back. I clean them the best I can, but I'm aware that they are still not sanitary enough to be used for consumption. But they might work to clean him and make some lye for starters.
Filling the containers with water, I go back to the fire, using a bone shard to pull some ashes from the bottom of the fire. I add them to the water and place it over the fire. While that's boiling, I grab the other container with water and bring it closer to Ze's body.