Rabidity (Jane Loft-series #1)

Chapter 2

I regain consciousness in a nice smelling room, under a soft blanket and resting on a comfortable mattress. I try to open my eyes, but fail. My body aches, but my thoughts are clear and when I hear voices, I have no trouble in recognizing one of them.

"Why isn't she waking up?" Xavier asks. The sound of his voice has an echo and I realize we must be in a large, almost empty room.

"May I remind you this girl has killed a Mushka? And, if what you're telling me is true, she did it all on her own. That's pretty amazing and rare for people who never held a sword, let alone saw a monster before. She saved Summer's life and saw in time Trevor was hurt. Without her, you wouldn't be standing here with all of them," a soft female voice replies rather desperately. The voice is at the edge of singing, high and light, and has so much joy and wisdom in it, it gives me goosebumps. It sounds a lot like Fenna's. I don't know who this woman is, but I trust her immediately. I imagine her as an old, wise lady, with long grey hair and the wisdom together with kindness ready to be read in her eyes.

"But why is she still sleeping? We checked her for injuries and gave her an antidote just to be sure. What are we missing?"

I hear rustling of fabric, and I know someone is walking. Judging by the flowery scent that reaches my nose only a few seconds after, I'm betting it's the woman. The mattress shifts and soft fingertips caress a strand of hair of my forehead gently.

"It's pretty obvious, Xavier. She inhaled a lot of mist, just like Summer, but she also inhaled a big amount of dust. She fought the Mushka based on her instincts and courage. I understood from your rapports Jane doesn't like Summer, so she saved a girl she didn't like from a monster she didn't know with a weapon she had never held before and with an almost certain death ahead of her. The energy it took her and the dust she inhaled almost killed her."

Well said, old lady. I try to open my eyes again and this time it goes easily. "I hope for your own sake it wasn't you who checked me for injuries, Xavier." I look at him when I say this and he smiles slightly.

"Don't worry, Trevor made absolutely sure I didn't touch you," he says.

"Trevor?"

"When you fainted, he almost went mad. I wanted to carry you here, but he refused to let me touch you. Is something going on between you?" Xavier's blue eyes look mockingly in mine and I know he's overdramatizing the matter.

"No," I say, rolling my eyes, and they land on the woman. In contrary to what I expected to see, the woman is young – maybe mid-thirties –, has auburn hair, an angelic face and huge blue eyes. Her skin has the colour of porcelain and the only imperfection is the little scar above her upper lip. She's wearing a tight green dress that reaches the floor and her sleeves are made of green lace. A small, brown belt makes the outfit complete, together with the accessory she's wearing in her hair.

"Hello, love," she greets me, "how are you feeling?"

"A little sore," I answer, smiling weakly. My limbs are stiff and my vision is blurry, but it all fades away after a few moments. "Where am I?"

"You're in the infirmary," the woman explains. "Xavier brought you here after the fight at your school in Zickenbridge. You're safe now."

I look around me and see nothing but empty beds, with white and light brown covers. There is some space between each bed, dedicated to a very high cupboard with bandages, ointment, scissors, suture and mortars. When I look up, I see a high ceiling decorated with flowers carved in the stone. The windows start at the floor and reach the ceiling, offering me a wonderful view of meadows, trees and a wonderful blue sky.

"We're not in Zickenbridge, are we?" I ask carefully, a little spark of hope still burning in my chest.

The spark extinguishes when the woman shakes her head. "No, my dear, we're not. We're in Macaria. You're probably a bit confused right now, but everything will be explained."