Ryder, Lord Of Astaroth

Healer

He was rocked from his slumber.

But not the kind of rocking that puts you to sleep or gently woke you up, it was the kind of rocking that shook you awake, uneven and loud.

His eyes slowly opened and the first thing he saw was the roof of a carriage, a carriage he was in. He groaned and sat up, his head ached and his body trembled from the inside. He opened his palms upward and noticed his trembling fingers, slowly he clenched them into fists and took a deep breath in. The sun was up and very bright, shining in hot through the windows but it came with a chill in the wind, promising of an early winter season. He sat awhile in the carriage, trying to gather whatever strength he could conjure from within him before he pounded his fist on the side of the carriage twice.

It came to a halt almost immediately and Xanth ran to the carriage door, just as Ryder flung it open. His body was weak, he could tell and Xanth could sense that too, he placed a hand on Ryder's shoulder to stop him when he tried to get out of the carriage.

"Don't. You don't look too good."

Ryder patted his hand on his shoulder and pulled it off him, then stepped down from the carriage. The heat from the sun hit him more than the chills in the breeze and he felt his head spin, so he held on to the side of the carriage until he felt he was stable enough to stand on his own.

"Where did you get the carriage?"

"From the outskirts of the village." Xanth replied, supporting Ryder by holding his other arm.

Ryder nodded and walked painfully forward. "So we moved. How close are we to Eldham?"

"We are back in Kilead." Xanth replied, helping him to the horse. Ryder grabbed on to the reins and turned back to Xanth, a frown on his face. "When we found you, you were passed out deeper into the forest, with blood on your hair but no injury. You must have healed."

There was a sudden eagle call and Ryder looked up to the skies to see two eagles circling high above their heads. "They came?"

Xanth nodded. "They found you."

He turned away from Xanth and quickly got on the horse, Xanth took hold of the reins to keep the horse from moving forward, then he looked at Ryder with a tight frown. "What are you doing?"

"I will ride the rest of the way."

"But you're not in the best health to do so."

Ryder looked down at Xanth and repeated. "I will ride the rest of the way to Kilead."

* * * * * * *

The moon was already shining above their heads by the time they galloped into the castle grounds, Ryder was on his last strength, and not only Xanth could see that but the rest of the men also could. They watched from behind as his horse slowed down to a walk when they passed the castle's gates. Xanth rode beside Ryder, his eyes were on him the whole time.

"Ryder?" Xanth called, watching as his Lord slowly slumped onto the horse's back, his breathing was strained and he could only manage to hold on for so long.

"Ryder." Xanth called again, only a little louder.

Ryder panted, like he had just run the whole journey from the outskirts to the castle, his chest constricted tightly and he struggled to breathe. His horse still moved, he could feel that, but he could not tell in what direction it moved, and neither could he control it. He heard Xanth call out to him as he slowly slumped on the horse's back and the night became darker, so dark he could barely see, and then he felt his body move. He felt light, so light like he was floating, and then he felt his body hit the hard ground.