The Lost Knight (Volume III) The Lost World

Chapter 43: Misery Loves Company

I'm under attack. Something is lifting me off the ground, shaking me, and stinging my good check. I don't want to return to reality and face whatever it is. Let it kill me. At least the pain will end.

"Agatha! Wake up!" I recognize the garbled voice of Dathid.

He sounds so far away. Can he really be here with me? I'm afraid once I open my eyes, he'll disappear. Another sting across my face makes them open against my will.

He's here, kneeling next to me, cradling my head. "Are you awake? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah. Stop slapping me," I croak. 

"Drink this," he says as he holds a pouch up to my mouth.

It tastes so terrible it might come back up. I push his hand away, and he helps me sit up. I look over at Baliss, who has not moved from the position he fell in.

"He dead?" I ask.

"Not yet," he answers. "You're dehydrated. Keep drinking. All of it, slowly." He sets me down against Ballis's belly and returns to his chores. He always needs something to do.

I obligingly sip the disgusting liquid. No one else is here. It's just the two of us, and Baliss.

"Where's your elk?" I ask. I probably should've learned its name by now.

"She collapsed a few miles back. I had to walk the rest of the way here."

"Oh, I guess I don't need to know her name," I mumble while feeling Baliss's breathing rock me back and forth. What were we talking about? "Where is everyone?"

"They're a few days behind us," he answers, not looking up from the fire he's building. He couldn't have been here long, but he's gathered wood, so he didn't just arrive.

"How long were you trying to wake me?"

"I've woken you a few times. Do you remember?"

I shake my head and regret it when lightning bolts shoot through my brain.

"You alright?" He grabs my shoulder. How'd he get here so fast?

I blink until the fireworks stop. "Yeah. I'm injured."

"Yes, you are. Take it easy." He goes back to building the fire. The air around us is dim and foggy. We're in the forest, or is this a jungle?

"A fire will be nice," I say softly, trying to make conversation. I want him to talk to me. I need to hear another voice. I need to know I'm not alone. He needs to hold my hand and tell me this is a dream. Everyone will be here. I'm not hurt. Baliss is not dead.

"I have the Orb, but I lost the plaque," I blurt out. I feel the need to cry, but I can't. "At least I think it's the Orb."

He takes a deep breath. "Good. I found the plaque. Master Sarpedon has it."

He motions for me to drink. I wonder if I broke the plaque, too. I take a sip as ordered. I'm never thinking again. I usually think the wrong thing anyway, so it's best to let someone else take charge. I'll do whatever he says. I take a few more gulps, lie back down, and let my head swim.

I'm screaming. Something under me moves. Dathid jumps to my side. I stare helplessly at him while I try to figure out what happened.

"You were dreaming," he says.

Something under me startled when I screamed. Lenox has returned! I spin to hug him, but it's Baliss. Dathid moved me while I slept.

"This is not Lenox. Lenox is dead. Everyone is dead," I say and then cry so hard that it's not really crying at all. It's screaming, or moaning. A primordial sound of grief that springs from the depths of my soul and feels as if it will never end. I wail until I fear for my sanity, then stop as suddenly as I started.