Chapter 23 - The Voice - Aela

Sitting up in the bed, Aela made sure to keep an eye on the door. She had locked it and firmly lowered the bar in place. Even though she assumed Markus had enchanted the door and bar to resist attack, Aela still felt nervous. Her mother’s absence had caused Aela to forget just how pragmatically cruel Svala could be when given sufficient cause or motivation.

Aela had been shocked in the moment by her mother’s willingness to harm Markus to treat Skadi. However, now that she had time to think about it, Aela was surprised her mother had backed off at all. To Svala, Markus was an outsider, little more than a convenient tool. Of course, she would have no qualms in inflicting pain on him to serve the family's interests.

Svala probably figured that she could just throw gold at Markus to do whatever she wanted. But she hadn’t seen the fear in his eyes as Markus recollected what had happened after bringing her back from the brink of death, the pain it had caused him. Aela knew Markus well enough that she felt confident he would not do it again unless he was literally forced to do so.

Besides, Markus had barely managed it in the first place, seemingly draining everything he had and taking multiple days for him to recover afterwards. There was also the foul black tar Markus had vomited and how weak it had left him. Something about it just seemed inherently dangerous to his health.

Markus stirred in his sleep, knocking the cloth from his forehead and revealing the viciously bruised left side of his face.

Looking at what her brother had done to him made Aela’s blood boil. Markus’s neck was badly bruised and swollen. The cuts and punctures on his neck from Beowulf's claws had become infected, so Aela had to keep cleaning the weeping sores with disinfectant and swap out a fresh clean cloth to cover them. Markus was also running a high fever and occasionally had trouble breathing. Beowulf had nearly crushed his windpipe and only time would tell if Markus would recover.

Rewetting the cloth in the bowl on the nightstand, Aela wrung it out so it was only damp and then replaced it on Markus’s forehead.

Markus sighed appreciatively, his pained expression relaxing somewhat, but he still didn’t wake up.

Aela idly ran her fingers through Markus’s hair, she found it oddly soothing for her frayed nerves.

She felt responsible for what had happened to Markus. If Aela had kept her mouth shut, Beowulf would have had no reason to try and force him to heal Skadi. To make things worse, she had just stood there while Beowulf was choking the life out of him.

With only herself for company, time passed by very slowly. Besides the light creeping through the window shutters, Aela had no way of telling how long Markus had been asleep. She assumed by the level of her hunger that it was past midday, but that was still just a rough estimate.

Markus had stirred a number of times in the past hour. The sedative in the medicine she had given him would soon wear off entirely, so Aela got out of bed and began preparing another dose of medicine.

Taking particular care with the ratio of each distillate, Aela nearly knocked the medley of tiny bottles to the floor in surprise when she looked up and found Markus was staring at her.

He pointed to his discarded trousers on the floor and looked expectantly at Aela. Markus repeated the motion a couple more times before she realized what he wanted.

Aela quickly retrieved and handed Markus his pants. Most of the clothes he had been wearing were strewn about the floor where she had left them earlier. Stripping Markus down to his underwear had seemed like prudent medical practice at the time, particularly with his high fever. However, after having had time to think it over, Aela had to admit that perhaps she had ulterior motives.

Slowly pulling his pants on, Markus didn’t seem to mind his prior disrobing. Now half-dressed, he shakily sat up on the edge of the bed.

“You are still injured,” Aela moved to block Markus from standing up and gently but firmly pressed down on his shoulders, “Please stay in bed Markus.”

Markus shook his head and insistently pointed to his desk.

Deciding that Markus probably just wanted something from his desk, Aela reluctantly released him and stepped aside. If he pushed himself too hard, she could always administer the medicine again.

He staggered and would have fallen if Aela hadn’t quickly reached out to keep him upright. Markus smiled appreciatively and slumped into his desk chair. His fingers danced across the glass in a flurry of movement before growing still again. Markus pointed to the door, then to her, and back to the door again.

“You want me to open the door?” Aela asked, a little confused.

Markus nodded.

Aela frowned, “You need to rest. Your body needs time to recover.”

Markus shook his head, pointed to the door again insistently and tried to speak but couldn’t.

A quiet but insistent knocking came from the door.

Frowning and keeping an eye on Markus, Aela walked across the room towards the door. She lifted the bar and gingerly opened the door just wide enough to peek into the hallway. At first, Aela saw no one, but a scrambling near her feet directed her attention towards the small golem trying to squeeze through the gap.

The golem was dragging a leather bag behind it and doggedly trying to push its way into the room. “Insistent: Move, please!”

More out of shock than obedience, Aela allowed the door to be opened wide enough for the golem to pass through before she closed it again and replaced the bar.

“Obedient: Dolly has retrieved requested items and will now begin the manufacturing process.” The golem retrieved a number of small tools from the bag and carefully laid them out on the floor. After checking the tools, it withdrew one of the glass bead amulets from the bag and began scratching at its surface with an etching tool.

It did not take long for the golem to finish its work and offer the bead to Markus, “Obedient: It is completed Creator. Do you have further need of me?”

Markus’s eyes briefly flashed black and silver before returning to normal. “No, you-may-return-to-Arlee-until-I-have-need-of-you-again.”

Worried that he was straining his throat and causing himself more harm, Aela was not sure she understood what she was seeing. Markus had indeed spoken, his voice pained and raw, but his mouth hadn’t moved at all.

The small golem leapt to its feet and scuttled back towards the door.

“Could-you-please?” Markus pointed to the door while looking at Aela expectantly.

Still unsure of what was going on, she walked back over to the door, briefly removed the bar and opened it so the golem could leave. After relocking and setting the bar back in place, Aela wanted to ask Markus a few questions, but he apparently had a few of his own and beat her to it.

“Why-is-Skadi’s-pregnancy-endangering-her-life?” He looked confused and anxious.

A little surprised by Markus’s priorities, particularly after what Beowulf had done to him, Aela initially wasn’t sure what to say.

“Why-did-Beowulf-think-I-could-save-her?” Pain flickered across his features at the mention of her brother’s name and Markus subconsciously lifted one hand towards his neck.

Ashamed by her role in Markus’s injury, Aela hoped that by answering the first question, he would forget about the second. “Chimaeras pregnancies are not entirely different from human pregnancy. But the exceptions are what make it dangerous. Like a human, an unborn chimaera baby will feed off its mother. Unlike a human, chimaera babies feed off their mother’s energy, their mana as you call it.”

Markus nodded and motioned for her to continue.

“Chimaera babies grow quickly and have voracious appetites. When in danger of starvation, a human mother’s body will reject the offspring and terminate the pregnancy. Chimaera’s don’t. When a mother is in danger, they will do one or more of the following to increase their chances of survival. Develop a voracious appetite and eat until they risk bursting their stomach open. Become sedentary to preserve energy. Or, in the most extreme cases, slip into a coma.” Aela winced as she spoke the last. The survival rate of would-be mothers who slipped into a coma was non-existent. She was as good as dead already. Unable to feed or take care of herself, it would only be a matter of time before her unborn children drained her reserves dry, killing both her and themselves.

“So-twins-are-fatal-for...weak-” Markus did not look comfortable using that word, clearly finding it disrespectful or distasteful, “-mother’s-because-they-lack-mana?”

Seeing that Markus had more or less understood, Aela nodded.

Markus shivered and glanced at the palm of his right hand. A lengthy silence passed between them and it was obvious that he was locked deep in thought.

Fearful that Markus was pushing himself too hard, Aela was about to suggest he go back to bed to rest.

“How-long-does-Skadi-have?” Markus asked suddenly, his eyes staring intently into hers.

Remembering the pain it had caused Markus last time, Aela shook her head, “You can’t do that again. It won’t be enough,” she hoped he would give up and accept the inevitable without torturing himself. Even if Markus intervened as he had done for her, it would not be enough to do more than delay the inevitable.

“I-might-be-able-to-save-them,” he said as he glanced up towards the ceiling, before returning his intense gaze to her again. “How-long-does-she-have?” Markus repeated stubbornly.

Seeing that there was no dissuading him Aela tried to remember the few cases her mother had spoken of in sufficient detail to form a rough estimate, “Not long, a couple of weeks at most.” While Markus was slipping into his own thoughts again, Aela moved over to the nightstand to retrieve the sedative. If he continued insisting on intervening, she would force the draught down his throat as she had done earlier. He would almost certainly hate her for it, but Aela didn’t see what choice she had left.

“It-will-be-complicated-perhaps-impossible,” Markus muttered, “But-I-need-to-try.”

With the cup of prepared medicine in hand, Aela turned around and was surprised that Markus was not attempting to make for the door, but was instead rifling through his desk drawer.

“Conversion-too-inefficient,” Markus gingerly pulled out a small stack of rough paper and his charcoal drawing sticks. “Transfer-would-need-to-be-direct, unconverted,” he waved at the large glass screen and still images of the dungeon heart shimmered into being across its surface.

Looking at the heart, Aela now saw what Markus had while they were in the dungeon. She could see the coursing veins of mana webbing its surface circulating throughout. Aela didn’t understand what precisely Markus intended, but she now doubted that it would be as simple or straightforward as what he had attempted with her.

Emptying the contents of the cup into Markus’s chamber pot, Aela prepared a fresh dose of medicine without the sedative. So long as he didn’t push himself too hard, she supposed it would be alright to let him tire himself out.

Markus eyed the proffered cup with suspicion, “No-time-to-rest. Need-to-work.”

Aela shook her head, “It is just for the swelling and fever,” she insisted.

Taking the cup and sniffing at the bitter liquid inside, Markus flinched, sighed, pinched his nose and drank it down. Despite sputtering and coughing, his voice was still clear, “Foul,” Markus all but shoved the empty cup back at her and wiped at his mouth with his forearm.

Aela watched Markus work at his desk for hours. With each passing minute, he was growing more irate and frustrated. Things clearly were not going as he had expected.

“Complicated,” Markus ground his teeth irritably, “Understatement.” Running his hands through his hair, Markus stared fixedly at the screen, waving or gesturing every so often and causing the image to change or move. He had already covered most of his original papers with writing and sketches, and soon he wouldn't have any unmarked paper left.

Aela expected Markus would have tired himself out by now, or at the very least taken a break to bathe or eat. But nothing else seemed to matter, he was transfixed on the problem at hand.

More time passed and Aela began to doubt her choice in withholding the sedative.

Markus was tired and in pain, but he was still working and showed no intention of stopping. Every so often, he would mutter something to himself, scribble something down or cross something out.

Just looking at Markus was stressing Aela out. She wanted to help but had no idea how to do it. Aela felt beyond useless and was growing frustrated.

Coughing violently and pushing himself away from the desk, Markus gulped down the last of the clean water from the pitcher. He looked as frustrated as Aela felt. Markus tried pushing himself to his feet but seemed to lack the strength to stand upright and immediately toppled to the floor.

Aela managed to catch him before he hit the floor, but she was now quite alarmed by the intensity of his fever. It had grown much worse since he had woken up earlier. Pressing the back of her hand against his forehead, Aela cursed herself for letting it get so bad.

Markus was delirious, his lips moving and forming words she couldn’t hear while his eyes wild with fever darted around without focus.

Aela moved Markus back onto his bed and retrieved a clean cloth from the water bucket. She did her best to cool him down by dabbing at his body with the wet cloth, but it wasn’t enough.

Markus had begun thrashing.

Aela had to bodily pin him down to stop him from hurting himself and wedged the edge of her palm in Markus’s mouth to stop him from biting his tongue. Aela had already given Markus as much of the medicine as she dared, any more could prove fatal. So she had little choice but to hold him down, wait for the seizures to end and hope they did little permanent damage.

Markus’s eyes flickered black and silver in time with his rapid heartbeat. He didn’t seem to be aware he was doing it and was completely devoid of the focus that Markus usually maintained when channelling his magic.

Aela wasn’t sure how much time passed, but Markus’s seizure had stopped and he was now sleeping. She wasn’t sure if the fever had broken or if it was because Markus now lacked the strength to continue.

The stink of ammonia and the dark stain on his trousers made it evident that Markus had pissed himself. She had heard it was a common occurrence accompanying seizures so didn’t think much of it.

Stripping Markus’s trousers and under britches off, Aela wished the circumstances were different so she could appreciate it. Instead, Aela cleaned Markus with a damp towel and then wrapped a clean towel around his waist. She figured it would be better to just use the towel rather than dressing him up again. If Markus had another seizure, she would just need to remove the towel.

Holding Markus down had soiled Aela’s clothes with his sweat and urine, so she had to strip down to her own underclothes. Bereft of the brooch Markus had gifted her, Aela rapidly began cooling in the cold night air. Aware that Markus was still running a fever, she laid down in the bed beside him, her scales greedily leeching the excessive heat radiating from his skin and making her feel sleepy.

Resting her head on Markus’s chest, Aela felt reassured by his strong and steady heartbeat. It was odd and a little surprising that she could so easily reign in her urges. How often had Aela pined to share Markus’s bed, to feel his skin pressed against her own? Even though it wasn’t exactly as she had fantasized, It was still more than she had expected. Hugging Markus tightly, Aela selfishly wished they could stay like this forever.

Waking up hours later, Aela had expected to find Markus gone or to wake up in her own bed, having imagined or dreamed the whole thing. So she was pleasantly surprised and reassured to find he was still apparently asleep laying next to her in his bed. Worried that perhaps he had another seizure while they were sleeping, Aela’s hand drifted towards his crotch. It wasn’t until she was inches from her goal that reconsidered her motivations and flushed with embarrassment.

Pushing herself up into a lounging sitting position, Aela was glad to see the swelling in Markus’s neck had gone down. However, the discoloured bruises hurt Aela just by looking at them. Gently applying salve with her fingers. Aela hoped that the fresh application would help expedite Markus’s recovery and lessen his pain.

Markus seemed to be breathing more easily today, so Aela tried to focus on the positive rather than dwell on the negative.

Reluctantly getting out of bed, Aela picked up the stray articles of clothing discarded on the floor and draped them over the furniture around the room to help air and dry them out. She regretted not having done it the night before, but it wouldn't take long before her clothes would be ready to be worn again.

Markus was going to be hungry when he woke up and she was not ready to leave him unattended just yet. While thinking about what to do, Aela remembered how Markus had communicated with the golems using his tablet. The golems would probably do as she asked if she made it clear that it was for Markus right?

After scrounging through Markus’s belongings, Aela found the tablet under the desk. Trying to remember the golem's names, she grew frustrated and decided it didn’t matter. They would either do as she asked, or they wouldn't. “Golems, I need you to stand guard over Markus while I gather supplies.”

The tablet chimed twice in rapid succession and two messages appeared.

Hector Obedient: “Understood.”

Dolly Anxious: “Unable to comply with the command. Prevented from leaving my current position.”

Aela briefly wondered why the smaller golem refused and then remembered that the golem was babysitting the girl. Her mother, Abigail, was almost certainly locking the doors every night since Aela’s family had arrived. Given what had happened to Markus, Aela couldn’t blame her for it in the slightest.

Pulling on her tunic and gathering up her pants, Aela unbarred and opened the door.

The larger golem quickly arrived from the second story and stood guard by the door.

As Aela slipped out and walked towards her own room, the golem closed the door to Markus’s room and blocked access with its body. Comforted by the golem's implacable presence, Aela opened the door to her own room and was surprised to find Svala sitting on the corner of her bed.

“We need to talk,” Svala said bluntly as she got to her feet.

Aela scowled, the memory of their last conversation still fresh in her mind. Throwing her pants on the bed, she pulled out a clean pair from her pack and hurriedly pulled them on.

“Don’t ignore me, daughter!” Svala growled, baring her teeth.

“You think I don’t know what you are already going to say?” Aela scoffed, shaking her head and heading towards the door.

“Wait!” Svala now sounded more desperate than angry, “Just...listen.”

Against her better judgement, Aela half-turned back towards her mother to hear what she had to say.

“I want to apologize for how I acted, for what I said,” Svala’s hands clenched and unclenched at her sides in frustration, no doubt wishing they were wrapped around Aela’s throat, “I allowed emotion to cloud my judgement, I shouldn’t have said those things.”

Aela shook her head and curled her lips in disgust, “You think that is what was wrong with what you did?”

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Svala was taken aback and looked surprised.

“It wasn’t just what you said!” Aela hissed angrily, “It was that you meant every word of it!”

Svala flinched but didn’t look away, “I do not deny it. I would do anything to protect my children. The suffering of others is not my responsibility or concern,“ she said coolly.

Aela bared her teeth, “Then you apologize for nothing!” She spat angrily.

Svala flinched again, “Why are you making this so difficult?!”

“Because you don’t actually care!” Aela snarled, “You just don’t want to lose Markus as an asset! You think that some half baked wooden apology is all it will take for him to forgive you?!” Tears had begun stinging at the corners of her eyes, “Well you are probably right!” Aela’s voice began to crack, “After what Beowulf did to him, Markus should be resting so he can recover, but instead, he worked himself into a pitched fever and had a seizure that could have killed him! All because he wanted to help. To save Skadi and Beowulf...to help the rest of you that just watched as the life was being strangled out of him!”

Seemingly unable to form a response, Svala just stared incredulously at Aela in silence for a moment before collecting her thoughts again, “Save Skadi and Beowulf? How?!” She demanded, stalking forward and grabbing hold of Aela’s arms before she had the chance to back away.

“I don’t know!” Aela spat, disgusted at how quickly her mother had abandoned her facade of contrition. “It has something to do with the dungeon heart, something he was already going to work on for us BEFORE Beowulf nearly killed him!” Aela felt Svala’s grip loosen, so she shoved and pulled herself free before her mother had time to react.

Svala appeared to be lost in deep thought and was slowly backing away from her.

Still needing to fetch clean water and food, Aela quickly made her way downstairs and was not surprised to find Bjorn and Ulf in the kitchen tending to a large pot of stew. Preparing and feeding the nutrient-rich meal to Skadi was the only means they had to slow her deterioration. The twins and the others had likely been taking shifts in cooking the stew and feeding Skadi.

They both eyed Aela warily as she descended the stairs and returned with a small sack of food slung over her shoulder. Her lack of contribution to Skadi’s care would have been noticed by now and they clearly did not appreciate her priorities. Even so, they said nothing as Aela took a full bucket of clean boiled water and left the kitchen.

Aela was conflicted. She knew that her siblings had spared little love for her before and that her safeguarding Markus from them was seen as a deep betrayal. But Aela also knew that Markus was the only chance Skadi and her unborn children had at survival. So even putting her own feelings for him aside, caring for Markus and expediting his recovery was in the families best interests.

They just didn’t seem to understand that the outcome they wanted could not be achieved the way they wanted. That forcing Markus to repeat what he had done for her would not be enough and that it would almost certainly kill him in the attempt, dooming them all.

With that thought in mind, Aela hurried back to Markus’s room only to find her mother waiting for her.

“Is what you said true?” Svala asked quietly.

Aela wanted to give her mother another piece of her mind, but bit her tongue and nodded.

Svala stared intently for a moment before making up her mind, “Alright, I believe you. Whatever he needs, I will make sure he gets it.” Without waiting for Aela’s reply, Svala moved down the hall and somberly climbed the stairs to the attic.

Aela was conflicted over her mother’s apparent sudden change of heart. However, she was unwilling to take Svala at her word. So after depositing her supplies inside, Aela barred the door again.

“So, the scaly one returns,” Markus observed haughtily.

Markus’s voice caught Aela unawares and she very nearly leapt out of her skin in fright. “Markus, you need to rest...” Aela moved over by the bed and was surprised to find that Markus still appeared to be asleep. Confused, Aela wondered if she had only imagined that he had spoken. Even though it had sounded like Markus, his fluency and tone were off.

“It is rude to ignore someone when they are speaking to you,” the voice commented irritably.

The voice had come from somewhere behind her near Markus’s desk.

“Ah, there we go,” the voice droned, “Not nearly so stupid as she looks after all.”

Aela’s cheeks flushed in anger and embarrassment. Even knowing it wasn’t Markus who was saying it, the words still barbed at her esteem. Scanning the floor, Aela saw the glass bead and now had a rather good guess at what was happening. Snatching up the bead and holding it firmly between her thumb and forefinger, she considered squeezing and shattering the bauble so the voice would speak no more hurtful words in Markus’s voice.

“The primitive mind always seeks to destroy that which it doesn’t understand,” the tone of voice gave Aela the impression that its owner was looking down their nose at her. “What he sees in you, is beyond even my understanding.”

Aela snarled and applied pressure to the bead, “Quiet golem!”

The respite lasted only a moment. “Golem?” The voice sneered, “How dare you compare my magnificence to those simpering dogs! Could those, golems-” It said the word as if it were an insult, “-manage to decrypt the secrets of a dungeons core? Could they replicate the ever-shifting matrixes necessary to fabricate a simulacrum? I THINK NOT!” It snorted contemptuously.

“You can..what?!” Aela’s mind was reeling.

As if realizing it had said too much, or perhaps just to torment her further, the voice remained determinedly silent.

This latest golem was so unlike the other two that Aela was almost tempted to believe it. Almost, but not quite. “Prove it,” Aela challenged, baiting the golem into conversation again, “I bet you can’t really. You are just boasting to seem important.”

“Your attempts at goading me are laughably juvenile,” the voice snickered, but there was the unmistakable pitching of uncertainty to it as well.

“Prove it then,” Aela repeated, equally excited and worried by the prospect of what the golem was capable of. Markus had said it might be possible to learn from observing the dungeon heart, is this what he meant? Did he make this arrogant golem specifically for this task?

“Fine, you are right!” The voice hissed irritably, “I can’t prove it, not just yet anyway. Even one as brilliant as myself needs time for such a Herculean endeavour!”

A little disappointed, Aela put the bead down on the desk.

“Oh, I see how it is,” The voice growled, “The moment I am not useful, you just throw me away,” despite all of his snarky comments, the golem seemed genuinely upset.

Aela didn’t know what to say. The golem had been nothing but condescending and horrid to her, but now it expected her sympathy? It reminded Aela of her siblings when they were growing up. It was like the golem had no idea that its actions had consequences.

Putting the golem out of mind for the time being. Aela filled a cup with water from the bucket and carefully placed both it and some cheese on the nightstand. Moving around to the other side of the bed, Aela lay down and patiently began waiting for Markus to wake up.

She had expected the golem to have a tantrum of some kind, but it remained silent.

After a while, Aela started to worry whether Markus was going to wake up on his own, or if she would need to feed him herself. It was only then that she noticed the image of the dungeon heart rotating and shifting around across the surface of the large tablet on Markus’s desk. A myriad of other images flashed in the corners of the screen as well but was displayed too briefly for her to differentiate them.

As if detecting her interest and attention, all of the secondary images suddenly disappeared, “Can I help you?” The golem snapped rudely.

Trying to keep her anger in check, Aela took a breath to calm down. “What was that? Why did it disappear?”

The golem took its own time before eventually answering, “Archiving,” it stated bluntly.

Aela’s eyebrow twitched, she was unfamiliar with the word but decided not to pursue the matter further for the time being.

As if realizing she was no longer interested, the golems sniffed huffily and images began flickering across the screen again.

After a few hours, the sequence of images had slowed significantly and Aela could hear the golem muttering quietly to itself.

Unwilling to take the bait, Aela ignored it and instead focused on Markus. His breathing was stable but still prone to sudden fits of agitated coughing. So Aela would gently and carefully wet his throat with a mild dose of medicine and cool water. Drawing back Markus’s eyelids to check for remnants of his fever, Aela was shocked to find his eyes were still pitch black and the silver iris’s were thinner than a strand of hair.

Markus shivered and his expression became pained.

Quickly releasing his eyelids, Aela was afraid that she had hurt him.

“Save...her...” Although Markus’s lips had moved, the rasped gurgling voice came from the bead on the desk.

Confused and unsure why Markus’s voice had changed, Aela quickly moved to prepare more medicine. A series of ragged wheezing gasps sounded from behind her and it took all of Aela’s concentration to push it from her mind while she measured the medicine.

“You...must...save...her!...” the voice insisted, growing both weaker and wetter with each breath. With a final wet rattle, the voice grew silent.

Fearful that the death rattle had come from Markus, Aela hurriedly finished the final preparations and set it aside to check his vitals. Holding her fingers to Markus’s neck, Aela felt a pulse and she could also hear the faint rasp of his otherwise even breathing. Drawing back his eyelids again, Aela was both relieved and confused by the return of his regular eye colour.

Markus’s skin was pleasantly warm to the touch but was almost certainly uncomfortably high for Markus himself. Stripping off her tunic again, Aela carefully and patiently gave Markus a full cup of water and a fresh dose of medicine afterwards.

Laying down beside him and wrapping her arms around him, Aela leeched most of Markus’s excess body heat. Laying her head on his chest also allowed her to listen to his breathing and heartbeat. What she had heard moments earlier had been deeply unsettling and Aela was not in the mood to take any chances.

It was now obvious that Aela would need to keep Markus sedated for at least another couple of days. He was pushing himself too hard and making things worse, exacerbating his injury and infection. Aela admired his willingness to put his health at risk to try and save Skadi, but that didn’t mean she would just stand by and watch Markus kill himself.

In the end, Aela kept Markus heavily sedated for four days and had been feeding him broth to recover his strength. It was a laborious process given that she had to be exceedingly gentle with his throat and wait for him to swallow each spoonful on his own. At first, Markus’s survival instincts had been dismally unresponsive and the broth would sit in his mouth for minutes at a time between habitual swallowing reflexes emptying it into his stomach. Thankfully, that changed after the first few spoonfuls during each feeding session and Markus would begin actively gulping down broth faster than Aela could spoon it into his mouth.

She had been slowly weaning Markus off the sedative since the previous evening. The last of his fever had dissipated that same morning and his bruises were showing definite signs of improvement. However, what worried Aela was the damage Beowulf had done to Markus’s throat and that she had no means of assessing the damage and recovery without risking causing additional harm.

Besides quietly muttering to itself, the golem inhabiting Markus’s desk hadn’t spoken a word. For the past four days, the image of the dungeon heart had been accompanied by scrolling lines of words Aela did not understand. She only recognized one word in every few dozen or so.

Aela would be the first to admit she had little talent for languages and truthfully had only managed a decent competency for the southern tongue so she could speak more freely with Markus. But even she could see a pattern in the text. Certain words would be repeated quite frequently and in the vicinity of one of the words she knew, namely, mana.

Markus began to stir, his empty hand cupping and roughly squeezing her behind.

Aela tried to suppress her squeal of surprise. Blushing profusely, she vaguely remembered positioning his hand there earlier, pretending that he was groping her. The thrill Aela had felt then was nothing compared to what she felt now. Tongue lolling out of her mouth, Aela clung to Markus all the tighter.

Groaning as his eyes fluttered open, Markus squeezed her buttock again. Seemingly confused, he drowsily glanced down briefly before seeming to come to his senses all at once. Eyes wide, Markus tried to scramble backwards but Aela had him firmly pinned. He tried to cry out in surprise but only managed a hoarse grunt.

Panicking a little herself, Aela clutched at Markus tightly, resolved to not let him go until she was certain he would listen to her explanation.

It didn’t take Markus long to outwardly calm himself, although it seemed to take a great deal of effort. In stark contrast to outward appearances, his heart was hammering in his chest and his skin was hot to the touch. Taking a steadying breath, Markus glanced down the bed again and immediately panicked.

To be fair, it was probably the correct response to the situation. In order to combat the effects of his incontinence, Aela had completely stripped Markus to his skin and layered towels beneath his waist. It had seemed both prudent and practical at the time given a lack of alternatives. Similarly, Aela was stripped down to her underclothes so she could soak up Markus’s excess body heat without having to worry about bodily fluids dirtying her clothes.

Now actually thinking about it, Aela was becoming worried about what exactly Markus was thinking at that moment. She had grown so used to his scent over the past few days of caring for him, that she almost missed it. Glancing downward, Aela immediately felt her cheeks flush. Caring for Markus while he was bare-skinned as a newborn had tempered Aela’s arousal somewhat, but it was a different matter entirely when those feelings were reciprocated and on prominent display.

Deeply conflicted, Aela eventually ceded to reason, loosened her grip on Markus and slowly released him. The mental effort was taxing in a way Aela was becoming uncomfortably familiar with lately. However, she knew that pushing Markus too quickly or outright taking advantage of him, would only drive him away. Furthermore, he needed time to recover. Aela wouldn't be able to live with herself if their coupling were to prove too strenuous for Markus’s poor health and killed him.

It was, of course, the second argument that brought her primal libido into line, although not without alternative reasons for desiring a robust recovery of his constitution.

Blushing profusely Markus pulled one of the towels free from under his waist and covered his groin. Flustered, he tied the towel off at the hip and sat himself up. Unused to being upright after being bedridden for so long, Markus fell back onto the bed again.

Aela crawled over the bed and sat down beside him, “You need to take it easy,” she reminded Markus insistently.

Markus glanced at her and quickly looked away again, nodding his head. He made as if to speak, but stopped himself, raising one hand to his throat. It was clear that despite his condition showing improvement, Markus still had a long way to go until he would fully recover.

“Thank-you-for-taking-care-of-me,” Markus said, his lips syncing to the voice emanating from the bead. He glanced furtively at her again, blushed and swallowed hard, “Why-was-I-naked?” Markus asked awkwardly, his cheeks and ears flushing with embarrassment.

“Ah,” Aela had known it was only a matter of time before he would ask, “Well, erm...” as prepared as she had thought she was, Aela now found it difficult to explain herself out loud. “You pissed yourself,” she said bluntly without thinking.

Markus’s eyes widened in surprise.

But before he could say anything, Aela quickly pressed on, “And because of your fever, I had to keep you from getting too hot. It was easier to just use towels...”

“So-we-didn’t?... You-didn’t?... Erm...” Markus coughed and scratched at the back of his neck nervously, perhaps also seeming a little disappointed.

Aela’s cheeks flushed in equal parts embarrassment and anger. Embarrassed, because Markus had suspected she had taken advantage of him. Angry, because apparently he was disappointed that she hadn’t and Aela had missed her chance thanks to her timorousness! It wasn’t too late, right? She just had to throw him back onto the bed, tear off the towel and... No, it was too late. As timid as she had been, Markus was more so. Just because he considered Aela had taken advantage of him, did not mean he would be okay with it or that it wouldn't have negative consequences for their relationship. The more she thought about it, the more reassured Aela felt that she had made the right choice in restraining herself.

Aela shook her head.

Markus looked incredibly relieved and then worried, “Sorry, I-didn’t-mean-to-offend,” He said quickly, raising his hands placatingly, “I-just-don’t-think-I-am-ready.” Markus blushed.

Smiling, Aela leaned in and kissed Markus on the cheek, her tongue lightly trailing his neck before she withdrew again.

Markus blushed but showed none of the subconscious ticks that usually demonstrated his awkwardness or discomfort when they shared an intimate moment.

Aela was happy for the progress in their relationship. So long as they continued making progress, she would be patient.

Rubbing at his throat, Markus coughed a little and made as if to speak. “Ah,” his voice was strained and incredibly faint. Sighing, Markus shrugged his shoulders and swallowed again, “How-long-have-I-been-asleep?” He mouthed as the bead echoed with his voice.

“About five days, almost six,” Aela answered quietly.

Markus nodded slightly, “And-Skadi? What-is-her-condition?” He asked.

Aela hadn’t left Markus's side in the past four days, so she couldn’t be certain, but it wouldn't be good. “I am not sure,” Aela admitted apprehensively.

Markus looked confused for a moment and was about to ask why then looked at the bar on his door. Sighing a little, he looked thoroughly worn out, but only for a moment. Drawing on some hidden reserve of strength, Markus’s back straightened and his eyes focused with determination, “I-need-you-to-check-on-her.” Markus reached over and pulled one of his tablets from the desk. “I need-to-know-the-variables.” He handed the tablet to Aela.

“Variables?” Aela asked, a little confused because she didn’t know that word

Markus had to stop and think for a moment to explain, “The-situation. Need-to-know-changes,” he explained, “Skadi’s-condition-worsened-but-how-much? Unborns-drain-on-mana. Is-it-constant? Or-fluctuating? Peaked-increasing-or-decreasing?” Markus coughed and had to take a drink of water to calm his throat again, “Variables,” he said as a matter of explanation.

Aela nodded to show that she had a reasonable grasp on what he wanted to know. “And what is the tablet for?” She asked, aware that with Markus things were not always what they seemed.

Nodding and smiling a little, Markus pointed to the tablet and it began shimmering with soft blue light. “It-will-show-the-mana-of-Skadi-and-her-children,” he turned and pointed to the screen on the desk, “And-show-me-what-it-sees."

Now active, the tablet revealed the currents of mana in the palm of Aela’s hand holding the tablet, likewise, a mirrored image was displayed on the large crystal pane on Markus’s desk. “I just need to hold it over for the crystal to see?” She asked, just to make sure.

Markus nodded, “Don’t-have-mana-to-spare. Won’t-last-long,” he took another drink of water and began reaching for his throat only to stop and lower his hand again. Markus was obviously not fully recovered yet and in no small amount of pain. Aware of her concern, he smiled a little “Will-rest,” Markus promised, “Just-need-variables-first."

Pursing her lips, Aela understood that Markus was too anxious to sleep and that she would need to relieve his stress a little or sedate him again. Sedating Markus again was not really an option, his body was already under immense strain and taxing it further would soon prove exceedingly dangerous. If gathering this information for him would help put Markus at ease, then it was really her only option.

“Alright,” Aela agreed. Getting out of bed, she could feel Markus’s eyes on her. Grinning to herself, Aela made a point of bending over and wiggling her hips as she wriggled into her breeches. Although she wore a cloth binding over her chest, the tightness and elasticity of the fabric left very little to the imagination.

After years of incessant teasing from other young chimaeras in the clan, Aela was painfully aware of her nearly non-existent breasts. If it wasn’t for the cold and the shame of revealing how truly barren her chest was, Aela would have forgone the chest wrap entirely. Still, glancing at Markus, she was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn’t seem to mind. Despite no doubt being aware of her situation after having felt her pressed against him earlier, Markus seemed no less disinterested in watching her pull on her tunic.

Painfully aware that he was only wearing a towel, Markus shifted awkwardly and coughed to clear his throat.

“Oh stop thinking with your nethers!” The golem rudely interjected.

Markus nearly sprung out of his skin in surprise. Wide-eyed, he held one hand to his throat and the other to his forehead. “What?” Markus whispered, obviously confused.

“Hrmph. That’s right, let the blood return to your brain and think it through,” the golem goaded snarkily.

Still surprised, but now very worried, Markus’s eyes turned black as he looked towards the desk, “A golem?!”

“Such a towering intellect, truly a giant among men,” The golem commented with venomous sarcasm and derision.

Aela was a little worried now. Judging by Markus’s reactions, he had not intended to create this golem and was not in complete control of it. Furrowing his brow and with his lip curled in anger, Markus snarled and looked pointedly at the small gemstone embedded in the desk.

“WAIT!” The golem suddenly pleaded pitiably, “I CaN HeLp! JuSt DoN’t ErAsE Me!” Its voice was breaking and becoming discordant as it alternated languages.

Markus frowned, “Help? How?” He demanded coolly.

“ThE AnImAl UpStAiRs,” the golem screeched “YoU WaNt To SaVe It RiGhT? I CaN HeLp!”

“How?” Markus asked, his eyes narrowing distrustfully.

“A-a-A-e-E!!!” the golem screeched again, somehow in pain despite lacking a body. “TrAnSfErAnCe ArTiFiCe!!! PlEaSe!! I CaN’t DiE YeT!”

Markus took a deep breath and sighed, his eyes returning to normal. “Show me,” he said warily.

The image on the crystal pane suddenly changed, now dominated by a pair of black silhouettes bearing a passing resemblance to lupine chimaera. Crimson veins of mana appeared in each of the silhouettes and began circulating through their bodies. The right silhouette’s mana began growing fainter and the veins constricted, while the left remained unaffected. Next, a small bead appeared in each of their right hands. Now, the mana of the silhouette on the left began to fade and the mana of the right silhouette began to slowly recover.

“Show-me-the-enchantments,” Markus pointed at the beads and took a small drink of water.

A third larger image of the bead appeared, etched symbols on its surface contrasted by silver-blue light in their recessed surfaces against the crimson swirling vortex of mana within. A near-perfect duplicate appeared alongside it. The only difference between them was a single variance in one symbol. It wasn't long before the second difference became obvious. The mana within the first bead was swirling towards the centre of the bead, while the second was driven outwards.

Markus frowned, “That-is-the-mana-conversion enchantment.” he said bluntly.

“Parts of it,” the golem quickly admitted, “The refinement component has been removed from the secondary artifice and the paired enchantment inverted to receive the mana from the primary artifice. Theoretically, this artifice, although crude, is sufficient for your needs? It is the best I can devise on short notice without additional data.”

Markus waved to Aela and motioned for her to help him up. Leaning heavily on her, he took a closer look at the images, his eyes darting to and fro with manic intensity. After a few minutes, Markus pointed back to the bed and with Aela’s assistance, gratefully sat back down. “This-could-work,” he said, “But-it-is-dangerous,” Markus winced and looked pointedly at Aela, “The-protective enchantment-would-interfere. Have-to-be-removed-first.” He looked worriedly at the crystal screen again and repeated, “Very-dangerous.”

Aela wasn't sure what to think. It was all somewhat difficult to understand, but It seemed like a solution to their problem, a convenient and simple means of saving Skadi and the unborn twins in her belly. “So you will make this?” Aela asked excitedly.

Markus did not share her enthusiasm, but he nodded, “Soon,” Markus pointed to the tablet in her hand, “Slowly-wave-over-Skadi. Need-record-for-comparison-before-test,” he coughed and laid back in bed and tried to pull the covers up but couldn't quite seem to manage, “Need-to-sleep,"

Aela drew Markus’s blanket up for him, then filled a cup of water and set it on the nightstand next to the bed in case Markus grew thirsty. Aela gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled before moving to leave the room. She was both relieved and a little worried to see that Markus had fallen asleep before she had a chance to remove the bar from the door.

Quietly closing the door behind her, Aela briskly made her way down the hall and up the stairs.

The depressing ambience in the attic was like a suffocating malaise. Despite all of her family except Thyra being in attendance, no one was making a sound. Svala had knelt down by Skadi’s side and was slowly pouring a thick yet liquid stew into Skadi’s mouth while massaging her throat to encourage her to swallow.

Opposite their mother was Beowulf. He was a wreck. With sunken bloodshot eyes, sallow skin and greasy fur, he looked half dead and smelled worse. Mother had probably tried to get him to bathe, but clearly with no luck. Absently rubbing Skadi’s swollen abdomen with his right hand, his bloodshot eyes stared hopelessly at her unresponsive face.

Besides being unconscious, Skadi still looked more or less the same as she had when Beowulf brought her into town. With nearly two months still to go in carrying her unborn twins to term, Skadi’s belly was still only showing the early signs of her pregnancy.

“Is there a reason for your visit?” Svala asked coldly, her words tinged with anger.

Resisting the urge to turn around and leave, Aela moved closer to Skadi, “Markus thinks he has found a way to save her,” she said quietly.

Although quiet before, the attic immediately grew silent.

“Is that true?” Beowulf croaked, a flickering semblance of life returning to his previously dead eyes.

Aela nodded, “It is,” before he could get too carried away, she quickly added, “But Markus thinks it’s dangerous, he needs to know more about Skadi’s condition...I think,” Aela truthfully wasn’t sure what waving the tablet over Skadi would precisely accomplish, but Markus seemed to think it was important, so she would be sure to take it seriously.

Svala turned around to look at Aela and was about to ask a question when she saw the crystal tablet in Aela’s hand. Almost as if she had a better idea of what was going to happen than Aela did, Svala stood up and then moved to the opposite side by Beowulf before kneeling down again.

Taking the position her mother had just left, Aela awkwardly shifted her grip so her fingers were now only obscuring the edges of the glass. Not precisely sure what Markus needed and aware that he had said the tablet would quickly exhaust its mana, Aela waved the tablet over Skadi somewhat hastily, lingering only briefly over her abdomen.

Feeling somewhat sheepish for her haste, Aela decided to repeat the exercise but moved the tablet more slowly this time. Partway through the more thorough examination, the light and mana imagery of the tablet suddenly winked out. Perhaps it was a good thing that she had been so hasty? Aela wondered nervously while hoping she had managed to do everything Markus had wanted.

“Is that all?” Svala asked, her tone was not in the least judgemental, just curious.

“I think so,” Aela was pretty sure it was all Markus had asked her to do but she decided to take a minute to think and make sure. “Mmm,” Aela agreed lamely, unable to think of anything else.

Aela’s lack of confidence in her answer was not missed by her mother, “When will Markus be able to come take a look at Skadi himself?” She asked pointedly.

Aela gnawed at her lip, “I don't know. Markus is in bad shape. He wasn’t able to stay awake for long before tiring out. I... I think Markus is dangerously low on mana again.”

Svala raised an eyebrow at this, “Why do you think that?"

Fidgeting uncomfortably, Aela decided it might be best to keep the details to herself, particularly since her mother had proven less than trustworthy when it came to Markus’s best interests. “Just a feeling,” she lied glibly.

A nearly imperceptible contraction of Svala’s pupils made it clear that she was aware of the deliberate deception “Then perhaps it would be best if you made sure to serve Markus generous helpings from the stew pot,” Svala pointedly insisted while feeding another mouthful to Skadi.

Aela had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea so long as Markus was physically capable of the effort. But the problem was of course whether or not he was able to swallow it. Judging by how painful drinking was for him at the moment, Aela was not optimistic that he would be able to. “He is still hurt pretty badly,” she commented in an attempt to curb her mother's expectations.

Svala narrowed her eyes at her, “Then, assuming you will not let me take a look at him. I suggest you render it down further so he only needs to drink it,” she said coolly.

Aela frowned. Again, her mother's suggestion was not a bad idea, however, it was her intent and insinuation that Aela was uncomfortable with. Judging by her tone and pointed look, Svala had made it clear that she expected Aela to force-feed Markus if she had to in order to get him in a fit condition to save Skadi.

Gnawing at her lip to stop herself from saying something spiteful, hurtful and undoubtedly well deserved, Aela gingerly got to her feet and prepared to leave. She lingered a moment, expecting someone to stop her for further questions at the very least, but they didn't. After walking downstairs, Aela heard muted conversations beginning to take place.

Sighing and shaking her head, Aela returned to Markus’s room and was about to close the door when she saw Thyra clear the landing from the second-floor staircase with a large steaming pot held in both hands. Unwilling to get into another confrontation, Aela quietly closed the door.

Markus’s room was just as she had left it, although Markus had pulled the blanket down to his waist and was sleeping on his right side. Seeing Markus’s exposed back made Aela feel sad.

Human Priests could close just about any injury and heal almost any wound short of a lost digit or limb. Although humans didn't seem to notice or even be aware of it, injuries healed with magic remained somewhat visible to chimaeras.

So looking at Markus’s back, Aela could see the thick tangled overlapping web of scars sprawled across his skin. In stark contrast to the precise and calculated lines on the rest of his body, the overwhelming majority of these scars on his back were vicious and cruel. Knowing that Markus had admitted to being tortured, Aela still couldn't process the length of time it would take to accumulate so many scars and she quailed at the prospect of attempting it.

Sitting on the bed behind Markus, Aela prepared a fresh salve for his bruises and cuts. While grinding the herbs and oils, she couldn't help but feel depressed by Markus’s tolerance for abuse. While his forgiveness was definitely to her families advantage, it made Aela worry because of how easily Markus was willing to accept injury without seeking reprisal.

Gently applying the salve to Markus’s bruises, Aela wanted to hope that this would be the last time she would see him in such a state. However, some form of primal intuition told her that it was not just unlikely but almost certainly impossible. For someone with Markus’s principles, moral character and ability, it would be inevitable for him to be on the receiving end of another beating or life-threatening injury.

Depressed and left with no one to talk to, Aela slipped into the bed beside Markus. She hugged him tight and cried quietly into his chest until she fell asleep.