Chapter Twenty-Four
Lycurgus groaned as he opened his eyes. He had a terrible headache, almost as bad as the one time he and his brother Ryden had gotten terribly drunk after the downfall of their government, attempting to drink their senses away, but the weak feeling he had had previously was gone completely.
They had been in an underground hideout at the time, and Ryden had suggested they drink until they black out--something he only did on very happy occasions, like a wedding or a birth, or on a very sad one--and they both, along with others who had fought and gotten away relatively unscathed, had woken up feeling like hell, and looking a lot worse.
The room was dark and he heard the sound of heavy breathing, leading him to the conclusion that someone--most likely the Mai Shashi--was sleeping.
“Kiri is bored, is Mr. Sir awake yet Miss Lady?” Kiri chimed up in a whisper, but her bright, cheery voice carrying over to Lycurgus’ ears.
“Let the man sleep Kiri,” the nameless woman spoke up, stopping mid sentence to yawn. “He’s tired... remember how sleepy you felt after being marked?”
“Kiri knows, Kiri knows, but Kiri wants to play with Mr. Sir....” the girl pouted. Lycurgus could imagine her face, and felt reminded of his daughter when she was younger.
“I’m awake,” Lycurgus muttered, squinting to try and see through the darkness. “But I can’t move,” he added, after an unsuccessful attempt in trying to get up.
“You were strapped down,” the woman said. “So you wouldn’t fall off the table, but I unstrapped you after the operation, so it must be the aftereffects of the painkillers-” she trailed off.
“Mr. Sir!” Kiri squealed happily, clapping her hands. “Are you feeling all right? Do you need Kiri to give you a hug to make it better?”
There was the sound of movement, ant the patter of little bare feet running across the floor.
The sudden flash of light that came from above blinded Lycurgus. “Argh!” he exclaimed. He would have brought a hand up to shield his eyes if he could, but the best he could do was squint.
“Blink,” the nameless woman yawned.
Lycurgus took her advice and kept blinking the sleep from his eyes and was finally able to make out his surroundings. His eyes darted around the room, alert as could be, but his body stayed immobile.
“God, how long will this last?” Lycurgus asked in annoyance.
“Well, you woke up earlier than I expected, so maybe a few hours,” the woman said. “Why don’t you sleep some more? You look like you could use the rest. Your friend over there is still sleeping....” she pointed to the Mai Shashi on the couch, who was curled up under a fuzzy blue blanket and snoring softly, her injured leg stretched out at an odd angle, most likely it hurt the least in that position.
“I might,” Lycurgus sighed. “It is such a pain not being able to do anything....” he closed his eyes. “I can’t just sit around and do nothing....”
“Nothing is fun! Nothing means you can play!” Kiri smiled, her warm little hand grabbing hold of Lycurgus’. She had pulled up a chair and was standing on it, her smiling face hovering over his.
“You’re a good kid Kiri,” Lycurgus smiled. “Ah, miss, I could give you a name now.”
“Really,” the woman smiled, tears stinging her eyes again.
YOU ARE READING
Ashes
Mystery / Thriller"Once a being has been named, it has power. Be sure to take care of yours. I'd know how important it is, because I lost mine." Joshua is always fretting over the "what ifs" in life, but never trusts his gut feeling because it's always wrong... at...
