Sin: Path of Poison

Chapter 24 Part 2

His eyes opened wide, suddenly snapping to a conclusion. "The scent I initially smelled isn't right, impossible." He peered down at me, inhaling again, he stared into my eyes. His body swayed slightly, I looked away, letting him escape. "It's an illusion in my head. Your body is filled with toxins. How are you alive?" He asked in awe.

I knew this type, similar to the scientists that experimented on me; he was only interested in the research. This type of research though, he was appalled by whatever I'd gone through. Oh? He's quick to figure out the pain I'd have to suffer to get to this point.

"How long did they do this to you?" His voice quivered.

"It was a long time ago, it's a blur." I lied. "More than a year.. " I underestimated, knowing I'd been receiving doses of poison in small quantities leading up to the experiment a long time before.

"How old were you? Your eyes, was it really eurosariph?" He asked, his thoughts were in chaos as he tried to figure out my existence in this world. I rolled my eyes, unwilling to recreate the details out loud. My head tilted slightly as I stared at Ruby's younger brother.

"Mm." I nodded in agreement.

"The others.." He trailed off. "I can't smell anything through the illusion."

"Mainly feristaria and silitate, but there's a lot of other things in there to keep the balance." I replied "Blight.. or.. he can answer a few of your questions." I pointed to Ruby's brother, not remembering whatever name he went by now. He turned to look at me briefly, probably assessing my mood. While he didn't know every detail of my testing he'd asked quite a few similar questions throughout the times our paths crossed.

"You're one of them!" General Bai interrupted, severely dissatisfied upon realizing we had a previous connection.

"No, I was captured and held prisoner for a long time. Sin released me." Blight didn't mention his sister. "I was curious at the time, like Master, I asked her similar questions while trying to understand."

"She released you? Just like that?" General Bai said in disbelief. I remained uninterested. Blight finished treating Lei's wounds. I picked up the pill bottle that the elder doctor set near me and tossed it at Lei. He obligingly dumped one in his hand and ate it before tossing the bottle back to me. Grabbing it out of the air, I returned it.

"Him." I pointed to Blake, suggesting Blight take care of his wounds.

"I don't need any of you to treat me!" He fumed, as irate as General Bai. My eyes lifted as if challenged.

My recently languid body became fluid as I agilely lifted from the ground. Swaying towards Blake, I moved forward unwavering. He backed away, his body acted on its own. I'd been smelling the blood that saturated his robes since he arrived. His stamina was low from maintaining the facade. Undoubtedly his wounds were the worst of the three of them, yet he stubbornly refused help. Finally hitting a wall, he lacked the energy to turn elsewhere.

While staring up at him, I leaned closely, my chin nearly rested on his chest. My hand came up as if to cup his cheek, he moved his arm, grabbing my wrist. Lacking any strength behind it, his heart beat quickly. Blood flowed too quickly for his head to keep up, I could see his eyes go dim. Sweat beaded up on the back of his neck as his body slumped towards the ground.

I pushed against him with my body, slowing down his descent. Placing my arm behind his neck, I laid him down gently and began loosening his robes. I waved an arm towards Blight, or whatever name he used, gesturing for him to bring me the tools I needed. In response he quickly brought over the last bucket of clean water and a clean towel.

"I'll need your needles." I said nonchalantly. After bringing over the medicines, he returned to reach into his medicine box. He laid out a variety of acupoint needles and stitching needles beside me then stepped back to give me room. Lei came closer to look at Blake, his eyes widened as he saw the amount of blood his robes had taken in. The floor was red where I laid him down.

"What did you do to him?" General Bai accused me groundlessly. I remained silent, focused on cleaning his wounds.

"He passed out on his own." The elder doctor concluded, exonerating me.

General Bai walked out the door and yelled for one of the guards to send someone to bring two sets of clothing. Obviously he was unhappy his son was walking around half unclothed, but realized they were too torn and bloody to put on again. After returning, he watched distrustfully. Behind me Lei's heart raced faster, perhaps he'd forgotten he was half undressed with all the distractions. He backed away quickly, standing out of my peripheral view.

Mostly clean, I placed the acupoint needles to slow the bleeding. With the flow of blood nearly stopped, I finished cleaning the area. Choosing a needle, I deftly threaded it and began stitching the worst of his wounds. None were bad enough to keep him in bed, but the stitches would help his recovery and minimize infection. My hair fell against his body as I leaned forward and brought my mouth to his skin, I used my teeth to bite off the excess thread.

Everyone watched in silence as I spread salve over the extensive amount of shallow wounds he received. Properly treated, I placed a pill in my hand and slid my arm under his neck to lift him slightly. I couldn't easily part his lips to get the pill inside. I could feel his awareness coming back, his eyelids already flickered.

"Open your mouth." I urged. Whispering in his ear, I lifted him so our faces were close. His eyelids tightened in defiance and he moaned slightly. His breathing was shallow.

"Open your mouth." I said softly in his ear again, but slightly louder and with more command. His head shifted away from me. Irritated, I thought of passing some of my blood to him. Tapping my cheek with the pill in my left hand, I sighed out loud. Ultimately resigning to use a different method, to avoid the smell of my blood intoxicating everyone.

I leaned him up more, wedging my knee under him for additional support. Placing the pill in my mouth and holding it there, I traced his lips with my finger. His eyes fluttered briefly before I pressed my mouth to his, using my tongue to separate his lips. He moved in response, firmly kissing me back, something I hadn't expected. I pushed the medicine pill into his mouth, he swallowed involuntarily. His eyes widened suddenly as he regained awareness. He stared at me in shock, then pushed himself away from me.

"You!" He yelled, his finger pointed at me in disbelief. "You!" His eyes looked around frantically as all eyes were fixed on him with similar expressions, nobody sure how to react. Laughing at his response, I smiled coyly at him.

"Seems you're experienced.." I trailed off, teasing him for kissing me back properly. A look of satisfaction was planted firmly on my face.

"You!" He turned to the rest of them, wagging his finger. "I'll remember this! None of you stopped her?" He accused, nodding to himself. "Great help all of you are!" He continued to vent. Grabbing the empty bottles of medicine, I scanned the room briefly before landing on the Crown Prince.

"Nomi's had a taxing day, if you could call someone else in to clean up, I'd appreciate it. I left my bloody clothing in the back, they can be tossed out. I'll see you in the morning." I walked over to the window and opened the screen. I stepped onto the windowsill and jumped off.