Song of Shadow and Light (BxB)

Chapter 12

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When Kaelan came to again, he was laying on something soft. He glanced around him to see that he was lying on a bed surrounded by pillows. He was no longer dressed in his robes, but he wore a simple white shirt and trousers. He could feel the bandage wrapped around his leg where the demon had bitten him. Thaddeus must have taken care of him while he was passed out.

Kaelan also noticed that he was alone in a large tent. He remembered Azai giving them some magical items before they left their kingdom. This tent must have been one of them in case they needed to sleep outdoors.

While he didn't look outside, Kaelan could tell they were back in the mortal realm. He could feel it in the air that they were no longer in a demonic realm. He was glad they were able to close the portal, but something else was bothering Kaelan now that he was awake again.

He was still burning up.

Even after returning to the mortal realm and resting, he still wasn't feeling any better. His divine powers weren't healing him, and Kaelan still felt weak. He tried casting a healing spell, but he couldn't. His magic wouldn't work, nor did he sense any of his divine powers. He didn't understand where his powers could have gone. Did the poison from the demon really make his magic go away? Perhaps he needed more rest, but he didn't think that he would get any with how he was feeling. He could hardly concentrate due to this burning sensation.

Kaelan nervously glanced down. Not only was he burning up, but something else was bothering him.

He was struggling to ignore the other thing that he was feeling. He could understand the poison making him heat up, but why was it making him horny? Kaelan laid back down, trying to ignore both things that he was feeling as he hugged one of the pillows. It quickly became too overwhelming for him, though. His body temperature kept rising, and the feeling down below wouldn't go away. He didn't know that demon poison could make him feel this way. Attempting to heal himself only made the feelings become worse.

He could hardly take it anymore. Kaelan needed to do something to cool down. Maybe that would make these feelings go away. He sat back up, ready to remove his shirt, but stopped playing with the buttons when Thaddeus entered the tent. Kaelan quickly glanced away, unwilling to look at the other man while he felt this way. He didn't want Thaddeus to see him in this state.

Thaddeus worriedly looked down at him. "Are you feeling alright, Kaelan? You've been knocked out for a while."

How could the cleric tell him what he was going through right now? The thought of being honest made Kaelan nervous. He didn't want Thaddeus to know what he was experiencing, but perhaps the warrior could help. He had that small book about demons, after all. Perhaps it would have some remedy to fix whatever Kaelan was going through.

Shyly, Kaelan answered, "I-I feel really hot right now . . . like my whole body is burning up. It started while we were in the plague realm, and it's only gotten worse since being bitten."

He didn't want to tell Thaddeus about the other thing. Perhaps that wasn't due to the poison, but Thaddeus seemed to know otherwise as he asked, "Is that all?"

Kaelan didn't want to answer this. He clenched his fists and instead asked a question of his own. "What is happening to me, Thaddeus?"

"It's the effects of the poison, specifically the poison from that demon in particular. A bite or scratch from the demon makes your body basically melt on the inside. You'll overheat so much to the point that it will kill you. I thought that you would naturally heal once returning to this realm, but I guess even your magic can't help you," Thaddeus explained.