“Rekall.”

Chapter 8 – I’m here

The series of pain kept coming at me leaving me breathless. I struggled to contain my sanity over the pain. I hit the floor with my eyes shut, curling up like an infant. It was so much worse than the first time I tried to use magic. I gasped for breath. Every turn and every breath comes with a trail of blood. I held up my arms on the side of my head. Every sense in my body screamed in agony. My head was being squeezed to the point where I could feel it exploding. It hurts so much. I wanted to shout, to scream or to just punch anything if it helps relieving the pain I was going through. But, I couldn’t. My cry left me helpless. I didn’t think I could take it any much longer. It was like my limbs were cut down one by one. The last thing I heard was someone’s cry for my name before I kissed the ground.

I realized I was laying on the floor.

“Life is just a dream, Alan.” A hazy figure stood in front of me said.

Blinking, I squinted my eyes to look at him. It was a little child of five or six years old. He had a panda scarf over his neck wearing a stripped sweater. My heart leaped when he stared at me with those eyes. It wasn’t the haze around me but the wicked look the little boy had that had me shuddering. His black hair covered half of his face with a few strips of white hair hanging around his ear. The silence grew uncomfortable as we exchanged stares. After a brief moment, I opened my mouth to inquire his identity, but no voice came out. As if, my throat had something stuck on it. Warping his hand around my neck, he lifted his hands up to my face. I kept coughing. I trembled at his touch. His hands were cold, like a dead body. I was locked in my place, unable to move. The little boy continued to stare at me in silence. He removed his hands from my face and place one finger on me.

Pointing at my chest. “I’m here.”

I woke up to the sound of people muttering. Immediately, I regained my senses and opened my eyes wide. I regretted sitting up when I felt the sting in my head. My vision blurred as the dizziness took over me. I shook my head and blinked several times before I could see around me.

Lifting my head, the first thing I noticed was the strange beast I was riding on. There was a dozen of them running in the same direction. The beasts had pointed nose and short brown fur wearing a brown coat over their body. They had long legs that goes beyond 1.5m and what’s more perplexing was their two heads that were aligned vertically. One head hovering above another. Their long legs carried them over a distance with their riders on them.

I squinted my eyes as I tried to recall where I have seen them before. There were badges and uniforms on the riders that were similar to the elite troop knights. My eyes landed at the far opposite of where I am at. Eloiya and the others were riding on the strange beasts. I shook my head and tried to remember. It was safe to say I was escorted to Roh from the looks of it. And, since they weren’t keeping an eye on me while I was moving about, they are likely to be Eloiya’s allies.

Before I tried to get up, I stretched my arms and check my body for any injuries. Except for my grumbling stomach, there was none I had to be worried of. In front of me, Sainde and the other knight was chattering away. I strained to listen what they were talking about.

“The king wants to know what else you have discovered.” The other knight said.

“No one knows about the heart anymore. That sick woman may be our only lead.” Sainde caught on.

Later, I heard about the troop was sent by the king himself to retrieve us. Apparently, the news about the replenished mana crystal has spread across the world. They were talking about how there will be guards around Ghamp Village’s border so they can have a throughout investigation about the mana crystal.

Lord Sainde was discussing the matter about the Black Cult with the captain of the first class’s elite troop. As I was fidgeting on my hungry stomach, a knight came close to me and threw me a bag of food. Inside were a red bread and rice ball. Other than that, no one has paid me attention throughout the ride. I made myself comfortable in my seat and thought about the dream I had almost forgotten about. My head tilted around as I tried hard to remember the figure. There was so much haze in the dream and empty loophole I couldn’t figure out. I frowned. It didn’t seem like much I could make out of. I wondered how bad my injury had been after all my effort to prevent my fall. Shuddering, I realized the body could have died. What if no one had found me?

“Open the gate!” I raised my head and looked around me as I heard shouts coming from afar. From ahead, I could see a gate that has a large symbol I had seen on Eloiya’s bow painted on it. We had arrived in the city of Roh. On the gate, there was a painting with the shape of two wings and a horn-like symbol facing downward.

“Alan!” As the knights stopped in front of Roh, they rode down from the beasts and Eloiya approached to me. “Welcome to Roh, our city. Did you sleep well?” Eloiya had changed her armor after the battle. She was wearing a blue knee-length pant and a plain shirt that was baring half of her figure. I blinked back to the present when I saw Eloiya’s uncomfortable fidget. Slapping internally, I was embarrassing at myself for checking her out.

“Yeah, wes good.” I mumbled softly. Roh was located at the north-east on the map, the second largest continent in Arcturus. The place was buzzling with people. And, unlike Ghamp Village, the residences were much bigger and further decorated with golden inscriptions. I nodded at Eloiya and frowned, “What happened while I was out?”

“I will explain to you,” Eloiya unpacked the baggage that was scrapped at the end of the beast and hung it over her shoulder. She handed me a small bag of coin that was light on my hand, “Use these to buy some new clothes for yourself.” She frowned at me, “You have been wearing the same shirt since we first met.”

I took note to wash my shirt to get of the bloodstain back at the inn, but I supposed I hadn’t thought about changing them into a newer one. The odor has gotten worse from the sweat through the ride. The shirt was covered by bloodstains again after the battle. I helped Eloiya to patch up the luggage and lay them on the ground.

“For now, you are all healed up. Let’s just say we thought you were dead when we found you.” Eloiya said. She looked up at me. Her face saying that wasn’t all.

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Eloiya’s POV during the battle with Black Cult

“We have to save Alan!” I panicked, his safety was our priority especially since we have invited him to come with us. If he got injured in any way, it would be our failure as the elite knight. Beside me, Eten sucked in a breath. He was as worried as I am. We were engaged in a battle with the dragons who were known to be the greatest fighter in the sky. Alan was caught from us. The dragon was coming at me. If it wasn’t for Alan, I would have gotten caught by them. Eten and I exchanged glance, and nodded at each other. If we had to save him, it would be either one of us to go.

I looked over at Sainde for approval. He gave a tiny nod of his head and closed his eyes, “Go. Don’t get hurt.” On his signal, I jumped down from the leaf while the knights distracted a couple of dragons away from me. They continued firing a few arrows at the Black Cult. I darted my head, crouching while I approached the forest. Keeping my head low, the knights covered my track as some fireballs were headed my way. I slipped under the cover of the bushes and crawled down on the grass. A cry pierced the air. My breath hitched, I recognized the voice. It was Alan’s.

Please let him be okay. I prayed.

My face paled in white, and I quickened my pace to his direction. I cut across the tree roots, flickering through the trees. A few scratches caught on my arms as I sprinted toward Alan’s direction. The scream continued, it was a nerve-wrecking cry. I curled my hands into a fist. Cursing, I wished I could be there and help him. He sounded like he was in a lot of pain. Gritting my teeth, I continued running to the direction. Hang in there, I’m coming.

A roar had me paused on my feet. My eyes darted quickly around the forest. Rounding the corner, I hide myself behind the cover of a big tree. A dragon flew past me. Its wings flapped through the trees, shaking them from the force of the wind. I grabbed on a huge leaf and laid it above my head. When the dragon was gone from my sight, I glanced around me and leaped away from the roots and ran.

As I was approaching close to the scream, I shouted his name, “Alan!” For a minute, there was a bright, white light blinding my vision. I held up my hands to cover the light. Squinting, I laid low on the ground. The light glared through the forest leaving them a speck of shadows. All was still for a moment.

What is happening? Did they take Alan away? When the light had dimmed down, I looked up at the sky and the Black Cult leader looking at the ground. Surprised, shock, disbelieved looks plastered on her face. I took this chance to crawl pass the bushes. My eyes shifted across the ground. There was a plain field laid in front of me. The trees and grasses were all gone. My eyes widen in disbelief.

When I came to my sense, I spotted Alan laying on a pool of blood. It was like the first time I found him. Scars and scratches wounded his skin. He was so paled as if he had bled to death. There was another sound on the other side. An attack landing on the dragon that Saireah was riding on. His eyes were closed, but his screams didn’t stop after that. His pain continued to chase him even in his unconsciousness. I crawled beside him, holding him in my arms.

“Alan, we got to move.” I said to Alan, not expecting a reply. Alan’s head rolled about as I picked him up dangling his arm over my shoulder. His body was so cold, blood dripped from his stained clothes. He groaned in pain as I lifted him up. Still, we had to move. We were in danger.

“What have they done to you?” I mumbled under my breath.

I forced myself to keep calm and analyze the situation. My priority is to get him under cover from the Black Cult. I can’t perform healing magic in this situation. I shifted my head, there were sounds coming from the other direction. I pulled on Alan’s arm to where the trees would blind us from the dragons. Alan was whimpering in pain. His eyes frowned and his teeth clenched. There was a terrifying possibility that someone could hear us through the bushes.

As soon as I laid Alan down on the ground, I chanted the healing spell with urgency. I took a quick examine on his injury. His scars weren’t as deep as I thought. Just like last time when he fought with Blogge, his injuries did not cut into his flesh. Then, what exactly is hurting him? I questioned. According to what I have heard from the spectators, Alan got injured like this after he used his power.

I shook my head, this isn’t the right time to think about this. We need to get away from here quickly. All I needed was a way to get us back to the knights where we will be guarded against attacks. There were a few shadows beside me, I shrank away kneeling over Alan as they approached. As my heart beat accelerated, I readied my bows and aim at the shaking bushes. I half expected them to jump at us when they saw us, but the man raised his both arms as a sign of surrender. He had Roh’s badge warped on his uniform.

“We are the reinforcements sent by the king. We will bring you back home, Eloiya of the second division’s elite troop,” he gave a hand in carrying Alan back to where we came from. I breathed out a relief. Closing my eyes, we are safe.

I scrunched my eyebrows, worried, “Why is he still screaming?” He looked terrified. His wounds have been fully recovered. The reinforcements sent their healers to cure Alan at the same time. He should be fine by now. But instead, he laid on beast, whimpering and shrieking like moments earlier when I found him. Something was hurting him, and I didn’t know how to help him. His eyes were still closed, eyebrows scrunching about as if he was having a nightmare.

“Have you taken a liking to him?” Sainde chuckled, amused at my reaction when he saw me worried. “This is unlike you.”

“No,” I shook my head. I couldn’t possibly like him after knowing him a few days, “He’s like…a little brother I have,” I pursed my lips, embarrassed at such question. Have I been acting that way? I didn’t think so. I found his hair unique when I first met him. Black hair was a rare color around this region after all. Not to mention, his features didn’t look that bad. He had a mysterious aura that foreigner carries. I shook my head. As I straightened myself, Alan let out a whisper that caught my attention.

“Mom.” He frowned in his sleep.

Was he missing home? He was unwilling to tell us where he came from when we asked. There was a strange tuck in my stomach. When he saw Saireah Altair, the black cult leader, he looked shocked. It didn’t seem like it, but he was muttering under his breath. His eyebrows were scrunched. I smiled at this despite finding his expression strange. At a closer look, he was just a normal boy. It’s a strange feeling that struck me when we first talked. He would brush things off when we approached a main concern. Or the look that he gave when he’s looking at another person. I can’t put my finger into it. It was like he thought he didn’t belong here.

“You would get wrinkles if you keep frowning like this,” I smiled despite finding him a strange guy. His skin was so smooth. There was no sign of rough edges, like he had taken a good care of it. If I have to say by touching the skin, I’d easily mistaken it for a girl’s. Surely it was better than most woman around this area. As I stepped away from him, he was put into at the back of Mjerus for the injured. Mjerus is one of the fastest beast in the kingdom. It has long legs that could run over a field within few seconds.

I watched Sainde out of the corner of my eye. He was explaining the mana crystal we had encounter. The field was surrounded by ‘mana specks’, as we call it. The other knight shook his head, “Wait till the king heard about it. It will remain a great news for all kingdom until we get to the bottom of it.”

Men and their politics. I shrugged. My father had always wanted to involve me with a baron. It could serve the family household well. Our house had large land that was passed on by our ancestors. During my father’s time, economics flaunted into my father’s pocket after they found another way to manipulate mana. Men started to involve more onto industrial revolution. The greatest finding of all, was the Sphere of truth. As its name goes, it has the ability to see unwanted secrets people desperately keep hidden. It was also Roh’s greatest artifact. With the sphere, Roh has flourished over the years. Roh expanded its control throughout the land, making alliance with neighbor kingdom as it climbed up to be the second most powerful city in Arcturus with over 300 first-class magicians. Sometimes I wondered when this day will come where our long-lasting peace will come to an end. Hopefully, that day will never come.

I watched Alan at the corner of my eye. Only to find him turning in his sleep with a disturbed expression.

“The king awaits.”

Chapter 9 - Eloiya