Journey onto the Storm (BOOK 2)

Chapter 16

FENRER

Yuven left without another word of icy intent.

Let's see what I can do for their mother.

Her aura fluttered with a fragmented mosaic of sickly blues lost in the tangle of deeper leashes of red fear. Around her arms, the bandage sagged and failed to prevent the infection the Derelict venom caused in the subset. Which means she's been like this a couple days without antidotes. It's not the venom itself that's often lethal... but what comes after is another story. He checked the other strap to take out a phial of moondew — one of the most effective concoctions against the venom. He put it on the small stand at the head of the bed for preparation before unraveling the rest of the bandage around her arms, taking care to not press on the wound and the last stream of the infection which tore a crimson shade through her blue aura. Sweat plastered thin strands of hair to her brow while she breathed through soft groans. He set the dirty bandages into a bucket with the rest, but frowned when he peeked into the healer sack left nearby.

One last wrapped package of bandages remained. He set them on top of the bag and rubbed the bridge of his nose before uncorking the nectar. Its puff of sweet fragrance chased the feverish death hanging in the air around him, but a different aura molded in the comfort of the deep blue, and he twisted when a shadow lowered itself to the ground.

Asu crept into the light of the ceiling lamp with a glare to rival Yuven's. In fact, it reminded him too much of Yuven. Fenrer smiled at him. "Hello, Asu, was it?" He frowned when Asu stomped to his side, then glanced at the phial in his hands. "Is something wrong?"

"Is that poison?" Asu asked while Suka crawled down the ladder, stretching her legs to meet each step.

"No," Fenrer said while the two crept close together and hid by the open curtain which protected their mother from the world. "It's something we carry as Wardens in case we run into any victims of Derelict maulings." He held out the phial to them, but Asu stepped back with a grimace. "Moondew, it'll help your mother with her infection," he explained, but Asu hid Suka behind him without another word. "I'm curious what made you think we'd kill your mother if we found her in this condition."

But maybe I don't have to ask.

"Storm Wardens destroy anything Derelicts touch, don't they?" Asu insisted. "I read it in one of our history books. Before the Pact, your order sent a wave through the lands and destroyed the dark in a continent wide Cleansing March, right? Even..." Asu locked his knees when barbed fear struck his sharp-edged aura, though Suka tugged on the hem of his shirt. "Even if it meant erasing a little bit of shadow. Is it true?"

"I don't know, I wasn't alive back then," Fenrer pointed out. "I like to think that whatever the truth — we've learned from it." He opened the phial again. "I'm not here to take your mother away from you. I'm here to help her. Storm Wardens aren't just trained to fight Derelicts." New bandages in his hand, he tipped the moondew over the woven fabric. It molded into a jelly substance and he pushed it through the bandage and spread the moon-shaped suds. "It's our Oath to defend the innocent — just as much as it is to be a shield against—"

"Against the obscurity of the inferno," Suka whispered behind her older brother.

Fenrer beamed. "Yes, so..." He wrapped the sponged bandage around their mother's arms with careful hands. "This will drain the infection out, as far as it goes — down to the bone if necessary, but..." He checked her aura once more when a disturbance of relief flowed through the painful blues. "Your mother will wake up, she needs rest above all else."

"Are you saying she will be okay?" Asu asked, all pretense of a strong front breaking apart into a familiar icy flurry of humility. "No one else in the village was sure... how are you so certain?" Asu crept closer and pressed his hands against his stomach. "She's not corrupted?"