Empire of Night

Chapter Twelve

A Wound and A Curse

Rhydian’s formal address the following morning was brief, concise and an utter lie. It did the dead no justice and brought him no peace, for the narrative he had been forced to perpetuate laid heavy upon him; an ugly, dirty thing that settled along his soul like old grease. It left him hollow and raw, disgusted with himself as much as the situation. In protecting his flight from the truth, he felt, in a way, he’d betrayed them. However, there was little to be done about it and the following hours had proved no better.

Under the guise of their routine patrol, Rhydian ne’Tanuzet and Ayduin ne’Vaelor returned to the site of the initial attack. Were it not for the specialized holding stones Rhydian had brought with them, the operation would have been far more involved than the retrieval of their riders. Wyverns were no small thing and Rhydian could not stuff them away in his private annex nor any other ordinary pocket space. A creature of their size was not only large, but heavy. Regardless of space, they were exceedingly difficult to move and position without the aid of specialized machinery, such as Mistwatch’s infirmary lift.

Dark as the necessity of their invention had been, the stones were an effective means of wyvern corpse retrieval and preservation. Rather than opening a door to a dimensional space the way a sigil did, the stones drew matter within one. Rhydian had never used one himself, though the concept was simple enough: whatever the sigil script touched could be willed into the stone. Once Ayduin had sealed the wyverns’ open wounds with a freeform ice technique, the last step of the retrieval was to press the stones to their scales.

White light had engulfed the bodies and within moments, they had been drawn inside in a torrent of near-translucent flame. The glowing script etched into the stones shifted from pale blue, to a deep maroon before finally settling to black as it fell dormant once more. Much like a common annex, anything housed within entered a state of suspended animation once the dimension was sealed. Food did not rot, flesh did not decay and from a logistical standpoint, afforded the level of anonymity required to keep this ruse of theirs alive. The palm-sized stones could be easily concealed where a whole corpse could not. Out of respect for their bonds, Rhydian had placed the stones over the hearts of their riders, the dyads reunited within the safety of his annex, where they would remain until he sorted out this mess.

They had worked quickly in order to maintain the approximate duration of a typical patrol and had cut their usual route short in order to make up what time they’d lost. Much as Rhydian wanted to thoroughly survey the surrounding mountains for any additional strays, he didn’t want to raise any alarm or undue suspicion among the flight. He had little reason to believe there were others beyond the keep, but he wanted to be certain. Regardless, he’d have to rely on his routine patrols and simply hope for the best.

Shortly before midday, they descended upon Mistwatch. Tanuzet announced their arrival with a shrill roar, the sound echoing across the mountainside. Through the mist, Rhydian caught the silhouettes of the next patrol pair take wing, one of the wyverns’ calling their departure before being lost to the gloom. Rhydian sat back in his saddle and allowed some of the tension to ease from his thighs as Tanuzet settled into a wide arc around the stronghold. The dark stone of the fort itself matched the surrounding mountainside to such a degree, it could easily be missed from both land and sky, especially in the mist.

Arching her wings, she dropped into a gradual dive toward the lairs, only to stiffen when a lilting whistle flitted up through the air. Ephaxus. Tanuzet’s sudden bray bordered on laughter. Her wings beat the current with a leathery snap as she veered around and dropped, forcing Rhydian to grab the saddle with a chuckle of his own. He peered over shoulder as best he could as she rounded, spying the pale wyvern laid out along the overhang with Sorisanna at his side.

She offered a smile and a small wave as they landed, faint hints of purple shadowing the bronze skin beneath her eyes.

“Welcome back,” she said, patting Ephaxus’ wing.

It’s good to see you back among the living, Tanuzet said, nuzzling his snout. How are you feeling?

Whole, but . . .empty, he replied.

Rhydian hadn’t failed to notice the droop to his crest, the defeated slump of his shoulders despite the brave face.

“I didn’t expect to see you up and about so soon,” he admitted, sparing Vaelor a momentary glance as he drifted by overhead and disappeared into the lairs.

“He insisted,” Sorisanna said, “I’m only glad he humored me long enough to clear him for a walk. I’d only just finished reattaching all the nerves this morning.”

“And his prognosis?” He wondered, hopping down from Tanuzet’s shoulder.

She smoothed back a few stray locks of golden hair as she surveyed him.

“Far better than I initially expected. He’s pulled through the widowing hours, but we’ll have to keep him under watch for the next few weeks just in case,” she said, “I’ve mended the bone and tissue, but there was only so much I could do to restore his physical channels. Most of them will have to be regrown.”

Rhydian nodded, relieved he had made it this far. Most, regardless of species, died within the first few hours of a bond mate. He knew they wouldn’t have enough supplemental essence on hand to aid the restoration of his channels in the long term, but he would worry about that detail later. Ephaxus was alive and recovering, he couldn’t have asked for more.

He looked up to the wyvern, pleased to see the ripple of his crest down his spine, the idle swishing of the tip of his frilled tail.

“Is there any lingering physical pain?” He asked.

His wings rustled as he brought his head down beside him.

The pain is minimal, but there is a fair amount of numbness in my wings, he said, then seemed to grapple with himself, I . . . cannot move correctly.

He rose far more stiffly than Rhydian expected, stumbling like a newborn calf. His wings trembled with the effort, his hind legs fumbling for purchase beneath him. He growled his frustration, his breath scattering the thinning mists. His tail slammed down upon the stone, granting him enough lift to plant his talons into the rock and force his hips up. He wobbled, but managed.

“It will take his body a few days to acclimate. With some physical therapy, we should be able to solve the instability,” Sorisanna said, “It may not look pretty, but it’s progress.”

It’s embarrassing, Ephaxus huffed, leaning to one side before he managed to right himself with Tanuzet’s help.

She snapped at the air beside his head. You fell from the sky, you proud fool.

He bared his teeth at her, but quickly backed down under her glare.

“You’re doing well, my friend,” Rhydian assured. “Sorisanna will have you sky worthy soon enough.”

The wyvernsage crossed her arms. “Have you lost faith in me already?”

Ephaxus mewled like a scolded hatchling and sat back on his haunches.

Rhydian chuckled, but any further reply was cut short when Vaelor roared a warning from within the lairs.

Rhydian, the girl!

Ephaxus’ head swung around in alarm, crest flaring as Tanuzet’s did.

Cursing, Rhydian started off toward the lair mouth at a run, barely registering the fact Sorisanna had followed. Inside, Vaelor waited within the lift, his tail lashing the air as he paced. He was alone, which meant Ayduin was likely in the infirmary herself.

“What’s happened?” He asked, skidding to a halt once he was inside.

Sorisanna engaged the lift as she looked between the two for an explanation.

She’s seizing, the wyvern hissed.

Rhydian’s lips thinned. Seizing? Vesryn hadn’t mentioned fits before. Though, they were likely a new development. The girl hadn’t so much as stirred since his last visit.

“For how long?” Sorisanna asked, brow knit.

She started only moments ago, he said.

“Is Vesryn with her?”

He gave a slight dip of his chin. Ayduin as well.

She nodded to herself. “He’ll know what to do. Has it happened before? I’m afraid I’ve been too caught up with Ephaxus to ask after the girl.”

“Not to my knowledge,” Rhydiand said, “she hasn’t woken since she’s arrived.”

“How badly was she wounded?”

He hesitated a moment. Sorisanna, like Vesryn, had been told the whole truth and bore the same soul pact he did.

“She was bitten and lost quite a bit of blood before I cauterized the wound,” he said.

She snatched his upper arm. “Wait, you cauterized it? Rhydian, that’s one of the worst things you could have done. What about your medical bag?”

“I didn’t have many options at the time. It was that, or let her bleed out,” he said, jaw tight.

Sorisanna raked a hand through her hair. “If it's an infection, it might be what’s causing the seizure. I’ll grab my herbs and meet you in her room.”

He nodded, leaping down from the platform before it fully descended upon the level. Vaelor slunk after him and took up position at the entrance to the Adai-sized hall while Rhydian continued on. Sorisanna’s words were concerning, to say the least. Had he made a mistake?

He found the door to the girl’s room open when he arrived, her prone figure struggling upon the bed. The nightstands had been shoved away from it with pillows and extra blankets strewn on either side in order to protect her from the unyielding stone in the event of a fall. Vesryn and Ayduin stood nearby, the wide eyes of his secondrider finding his.

“What happened?” He demanded.

Ayduin spoke first, though her attention had returned to the writhing girl.

“Vesryn was updating me when she started seizing.”

“Was she awake?”

She shook her head. “No, but Rhydian, her arms-”

Along her flush skin, bright fractals of blue light webbed her arms from fingertip to elbow. They spread even as they watched, the light within pulsing in time what he assumed was her racing heart. A dim glow emanated beneath her sheets along her legs, where he imagined they would discover a similar sight. He’d never seen anything like it, but . . .

“Is that what I think it is?” He breathed.

“Her spirit is overwhelming her other cores,” Vesryn cursed.

“She’s fracturing?” Ayduin asked.

Rhydian didn’t quite understand. The girl’s cores had been abysmal when she arrived, how was she advancing? He dared to scan her soul directly and nearly recoiled when he did. Both her physical and her mental core had leaped to their second ascension, though her spiritual was burning through its third. The pressure the core was exerting upon the rest of her body was beginning to tear it apart. Her rysk surged, pushing the core into its forth ascension. Channels stretched and ruptured, straining the meridians they branched from.

Golden light split the room, striking the girl’s chest. Rhydian felt the shackle snap into place, its echo rippling through his spiritual sense. She jerked violently in the bed, as if struck by a stray storm bolt, then slowly began to relax.

“Here, help me get her onto her side,” Vesryn said, springing into action and dragging Ayduin with him.

Rhydian whirled on the door where Sorisanna stood, haloed by her supplemental spheres. She panted and slumped against the frame in her exhaustion. He caught her before she slid to the floor, cursing softly.

“Easy,” he murmured.

She laid a hand upon his arm, smiling weakly. “I’m all right. That just . . .took a lot out of me. Give me a moment.”

“Take all the time you need,” he said, keeping a hand upon her shoulder to steady her where she sat.

She pressed a hand to her temple, grimacing. She appeared more dazed than in pain, though the fact did little to sway his concern. Capable as the woman was, she was still operating on little to no sleep after a full night of excretion.

He glanced up, watching Vesryn inspect the now still girl. From what he could tell, the fracturing had stopped, though it certainly hadn’t receded. The glowing webs stood stark against her skin, bright as a newborn star. Her face had adopted a deathlike pallor, her hair a few shades lighter than he remembered it.

“Is she-”

“She’s alive,” Vesryn said, his brow deeply furrowed.

“I want to have a look at her,” Sorisanna said.

“Can you stand?” Rhydian asked.

“I think so. Help me up?”

Wrapping an arm around her, he effortlessly drew her to her feet.

“I’ve never seen anyone set a shackle quite like that,” the other sage said, no doubt inspecting the one she’d just put in place.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure it would work,” she admitted.

“Seems to have worked like a charm to me,” Ayduin said, crossing her arms. “Anyone care to explain what just happened?”

“She’s advanced, that much is clear, but I’m not sure how,” Vesryn said.

Sorisanna made her way to his side with Rhydian’s help and carefully raised one of the girl’s arms.

“This fracturing is extensive. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.

“Neither have I,” Rhydian admitted.

His own advancement had been carefully monitored by the academy, even when he was a child. If one core was advanced too far above another, imbalances arose. The sort that could easily lead to spiritual fracturing, if left unchecked. Though, the affliction was entirely preventable. It only happened in rare cases, often by those ambitious or impatient enough to neglect their foundation work.

Sorisanna suddenly paused, eyes widening a fraction.

Rhydian’s heart sank. “What now?”

“Her rysk, it’s . . .eating away at the shackle.”

“What do you mean?” Ayduin asked, appearing ready to draw her blade and be done with it.

“I can feel it slowly devouring the essence. I don’t think she’s doing it consciously either.”

“How long before she eats through it?” He asked.

“At her current rate, less than a week?”

A week? What in sky’s name had he brought back?

“I take it the fracturing will spread once it does?”

She frowned. “More than likely.”

Crouching beside the bed, he wondered if she would wake up at all or if she were somehow doomed from the start. He searched her face, hopeful for any sigh she was somehow aware or on the verge of opening her eyes. Her lips quivered and for a moment, his heart leapt. Her nostrils lightly flared and her brow pinched.

Blood began to creep from the corner of her mouth.

“Skies, her tongue-” Sorisanna said, lunging.

She reached for her jaw, right as the girl began to choke. Rhydian helped keep her on her side as she coughed, blood spraying across the white linen of the bed. He heard something clatter along the floor, but hadn’t paid it any notice until he heard Ayduin’s breath hitch.

“Is that a tooth?” She asked.

He and Sorisanna shared a look and carefully, the sage worked open her mouth. The girl spat a handful of teeth onto the sheets, roots and all. Sorisanna shuddered at the sight, but gently wiped away the blood and pulled her upper lip up for a better look.

The girl’s two front teeth appeared to be untouched, though the neighboring incisors and canines were gone. Bloody holes were left in her gums, but as the sage angled her head into the light of her orbiting spheres, Rhydian’s blood turned to ice. The tips of four crisp, white fangs peeked down amid the ruin, ready to emerge.

He could scarcely breathe.

“Check her bottom canines,” he said.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Versryn stiffen.

She glanced at him in confusion, but did as asked. She touched a gloved finger to one of the teeth, testing the root. It wiggled like a ripe baby tooth ready to fall. She sucked in a breath and hesitantly pulled the tooth upward. As expected, it slipped free with little resistance, the new fang laying in wait beneath.

“Sky’s mercy,” Rhydian breathed.