Truth of the Whisper

Chapter Nineteen.

Smoke.

It filled my lungs, it burned in my eyes, even though I had them squeezed shut. A body was lying on top of me, and I tried to move, but it was too heavy. "You okay?", Caaln's voice murmured in my ear and I made a strangled noise, felt his hand at my cheek, felt Nyshard's familiar aura rising up. I'd believed it would grow fainter, but right now, it felt as steady as it had those last days. But maybe, that was just my imagination.

"Listen, Adri, you have to get up and go back to the castle, I'll fight your way free and...", Caaln whispered, rushed.

"Fight?", I murmured, alarmed, opening my eyes, coughing slightly – but was silenced immediately by Caaln's big hand on my mouth. "Sht."

I stared at him, wide eyed, but didn't dare to make another move. Everything was dark, whatever lights had lit the plaza of Krisb's monolith had gone out from the sheer force that had sent us flying, or rolling several meters away. My whole body hurt, felt, as if I'd fallen several meters, but I knew that Caaln had taken most of the damage. I was barely able to make out his huge silhouette, it was more as if I just felt his presence, as he pulled his hand away from my mouth. "I informed Nysh. But you have to get out of...-", he stilled, had one of his swords drawn within the blink of an eye and I only heard a groan, then a thud.

"Shit.", Caaln cursed, helped me up and pulled me in whatever direction.

"Do you have your medallion? And your knives?", he inquired, pushed me to the side and parried the blow of another attacker, sending him flying against something solid. Quickly, I reached for the medallion around my neck and the knives at my belt. "I lost the medallion", I whispered, horrified. "But I can use the knives.", I remembered. I'd done that before – and damnit. Why didn't Nysh take the medallion back if I already had the shard in the knives to come back?

It got loud on the plaza, I heard the sound of iron crashing against iron, groans, shouts. Some lights got turned back on, but for me, it was pure chaos. A nearby noise to my left drew my attention, and before I was able to think about it, I merely reacted. My knife drawn, I stabbed, blindly, a groan was heard, but then, a pained, shill voice, as Caaln took charge and killed whomever that had been. "Adri, the Ilryn, now.", he hissed, and I tried to see the tall, dark monolith, but that damn smoke was too thick, the light available, too less. "I can't see it", I breathed, just when Caaln shoved me behind himself, now both of his swords drawn, disarming two attackers that had sneaked up on us.

The grand Lyrarn then looked around, narrowed his dark eyes, and it seemed as if he was gauging the distance, but then he snorted "Too many in the way to get you there safely."
"Where's Nysh?", I asked.

"On his way, he wasn't at the castle anymore when I called him. It might take him some minutes."

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. If Nyshard hadn't been at the castle anymore, then it only meant that he hadn't done what I had asked him for. He hadn't refrained from going after the Circle members.

There were more shouts, the sound of fighting men, and for a short moment it almost felt as if I was in one of my dreams.

But this wasn't a dream – this was the bitter reality.

Subconsciously, I rubbed over my left wrist, over the mark. His mark.

'Nysh, please.', I begged in my head, but at the same time, I could have just slapped myself for hoping he could hear me without my medallion.

"Listen, you need to stay close to me, chances are that they want...-", Caaln let out a pained groan, as he barely dodged a sword that was heading towards his throat.