CHAPTER SIXTEEN—A FRIEND

A voice from the black called.

It was far, muffled.

Insistent.

Shiro felt annoyed. Who was trying to wake him when he felt so good? He just wanted whoever it was to go away.

“Shiro!”

“Shiro! Can you hear me?”

“SHIRO!”

Suddenly sound came to him, his skin afire with pins and needles shooting about as his eyes shot open.

He screamed. “Gah!”

“Shiro!” Ali called. “Shiro—what’s wrong?!”

“My skin!” he screamed. “It’s on fire!”

“What do I do?” Ali yelled back, his hands spread and his eyes wide.

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Shiro screamed again and kicked, his feet and arms scraping about the wet cobblestones. Despite the cold rain he felt like he was in a pot of boiling water!

And then suddenly the pain vanished.

“Oh! Oh! Ohhhh!”

“Are you…? Are you all right?” Ali asked, looking him over.

“Watashi…” he muttered, breathing heavily. “Daijobu desu.”

“What?!”

“I’m okay,” Shiro reiterated in the correct language. “I am all right.”

“Are you sure?”

“Hai.”

“Okay, okay. Here, take my arm.”

He helped Shiro off the cobble stones.

“Well,” Ali said, shrugging. “You ruined your tunic.”

Shiro looked down. His tunic was ripped all the way down to his naval. He glanced about tiredly. He could collapse now and sleep for hours.

“Where is Jessamine?” Ali asked. “What happened here?”

“She’s… gone,” Shiro said weakly.

“Shiro?” Ali asked hesitantly. Thunder rumbled overhead. “I’m freezing,” he said quietly, sounding like he was speaking to no one in particular.

Shiro said nothing.

“Agh!” he growled. “Come back to my manor. You can rest and we can talk.”

Shiro nodded weakly as Ali lead him to his carriage. He needed help getting inside. On the ride back he had lost consciousness several times. Just staying awake was a monumental challenge.

“I have a nice soft bed waiting for you, my friend,” Ali said, but Shiro could barely hear him.

He had lost Jessamine.

I let that Black Cobra take her…

Before crawling into a bed in Ali’s house, Shiro’s last thought was of Jessamine. He saw her face in his mind, how she had looked just before she disappeared into a haze of smoke.

And how her voice had called his name on the wind.

You can come back for me, Shiro.

And then he was sleeping.