The Nightscape

In Harm's Way

"I don't know- they punched a hole in the roof and got out. I tried to follow but they pushed me down. I don't know where they would have gone." Lyra sobbed, the panic and pain in her voice entirely genuine even as she changed the truth to lessen his wrath towards her. Anya was on her feet now, shaking but ready to defend her friend. Zidros stared coldly at Lyra. She felt a familiar pressure in her mind as he tried to get in, but it was so much weaker than she remembered. One little push back and he couldn't seem to get in. Zidros looked at her with shock that was mirrored on her own face, and then Anya was talking and whatever it was was brushed to the side. 

"Zidros, it's not her fault they escaped! They have powers and we don't anymore, what was she supposed to do about it?" Anya asked, gently taking hold of his shoulders and pulling him back until he was no longer immediately threatening her. She stood between the powerful child and her friend as Lyra lay there, trying to recover and fight back the darkness lapping at the edges of her mind, fed by the pain. 

"Fine. I'll deal with this myself. The two of you... just leave and join with the rest of them. Don't you dare try and leave." He warned them, turning and striding to the door. It opened for him with no resistance at all and then he was gone, striding out into the desert. Immediately, Anya followed him, looking around at the gathered crowd. 

"We need a doctor, or a nurse, or anyone who knows anything about medicine! Someone is hurt!" She wasn't doing too well either, that was clear at a glance. She was swaying on her feet and blood was dripping at a steady pace from her nose. Lyra was suffering from the same side effects as well, but she had bigger things to worry about. Someone pushed through the crowd, coming to the front, a shorter man with a beard and a bald head. m

"I was a medical student before everything went to hell. Unless there's someone more qualified, you're gonna have to stick with me." He said, with a strong Australian accent. Anya glanced over the crowd and didn't see anyone else coming forward, and so she nodded. 

"Alright, in you come. Everyone else... just back to business, okay?" She said, waving her hands to try and shoe them away. But it didn't look like they were going to clear out and leave them alone so easily. 

"What the hell is going on?"

"Where was Zidros going?"

"Where did the other council members go?" They yelled, the crowd pressing closer. Anya hesitated, unsure. She had no way of controlling them now, and they had plenty to resent her for. Zidros was a harsh task master, and so they had all been worked very hard with very little reward. And things were only going to get worse for them. But they didn't need to know that just yet. Or maybe... maybe they did? For a long moment, she considered pulling the pin on this grenade. But then she heard Lyra whimper behind her and she realised that they wouldn't be able to get out of the blast radius in time. 

"It's alright, Zidros was trying to teach us a new magic trick and it got a little out of hand, and we may have a bit of trouble on the border. The two of us are staying here to hold down the fort, and because Lyra got hurt. Everything is fine, we're sorry about the commotion, now off you go. Zidros will be back soon." She added the last part of a warning, getting them to disperse with grumbles and hesitation. Then, she turned and re-entered the library, closing the doors behind her and hurrying over to Lyra's side. 

The medical student had removed his jacket and placed it under her head, and given her something to bite down on as he inspected her leg. He had cut away her pant's leg with a knife he wasn't supposed to have, and the knee didn't look good. It was already swollen and bright red, with dark splotches of bruising and a lump. It was clear that the joint had cracked, the bone bulging out. Lyra wasn't looking at it, staring up at the ceiling with wide, panicked eyes. Nauseated though it made Anya to see it, she came and knelt down next to her friend.