Tales of a Dead God

Chapter Twenty-Two: I Like Our Little Family

At some point in the late morning, Theo begrudgingly pulled himself out of bed. His body still ached with fatigue and protested with every movement. He sat on the edge of the bed fighting the urge to lay back under the warm covers. The blood still staining his hands told him he needed a bath.

Theo went to find a maid to help with finding some hot water for the tub and waited for them. It was a strange occurrence for Theo. He was so used to bathing in the river back home or freezing water wherever they could find while on the journey here. Having someone to help him and fetch what he needed was not a comfortable thing for him. The maid had everything prepared in about an hour. Theo made his way to the bath to try and clean up and hopefully feel a little better.

Theo allowed the water to get ice cold before he exited the bath and dressed in clean garments. He jumped when he heard the door to the bedroom open and slam shut. He poked his head out of the bathroom and saw Gabriel heading to the bed. Theo didn't dare say a word but quietly finished getting ready. Soft snores began to fill the room and as much as Theo wanted to jump Gabriel with about a thousand questions, he knew those could wait. So, he grabbed a new pair of boots that were left for him and quietly made his way out of the room.

As he struggled to pull the boots on, Theo also struggled to remember his way back to the infirmary. The castle was massive and with a few random turns, Theo found himself lost. To be proud to ask directions, Theo continued taking random turns here and there until he found the walls around him to seem familiar.

These were large darkly stained strongly built wooden doors. Two women faced each other, hands intertwined with each other. One woman was carved on each door. Theo was in awe of the beautiful structure and artisan. He looked forward to finding a small golden handle and with a click and a shove, Theo had the door open. He walked in hesitantly not knowing what lay behind the door. It was a large room with beds lined on each side of the room. The walls were made of a soft white stone with magnificent large arches reaching to the ceiling. Large stained glass windows with depictions of healers through ages on each side. It was a gorgeous room and Theo soon figured out that this was the infirmary. He walked in quietly and looked around. Most of the beds were empty and perfectly made but towards the back of the room, two figures sat and laid. One seemed to be laying almost dead and Theo thought they were until they shuffled around just a bit. This caused the other that was sitting hunched forward to perk up. Theo thought better than to venture in more and began to leave until he heard his name.

"Theo? What are you doing here?" It was Ciro. He looked tired and worn but it wasn't as bad as what Gabriel looked like.

Theo froze in his place. He hadn't seen Noah since the quick glimpse last night of a bloody and battered body being carried down the hall. Ciro was quickly closing the space between them and Theo wasn't ready to speak with Ciro.

"Theo?" Ciro asked again. He looked concerned as he looked at the frozen boy.

His brother's body was all Theo could look at. Maybe this wasn't a good idea.

Ciro stepped in front of Theo's view. Kind eyes met Theo's. "It's okay to be scared."

Theo shook his head. "I'm just going to leave." This was too much for him to see right now. He began to step away as tears stung his eyes.

"Wait a minute Theo." He reached out to grab Theo's arm. "Come here." Theo turned back as Ciro pulled him in. He wrapped an arm around Theo's shoulder keeping him in a tight embrace as they walked over to Noah. "Talk to him."

Theo peered toward Ciro. "What?"

"It can ease the anxiety of seeing him like this."

"I don't even know what to say." Theo shook his head.