Kingsbane

Chapter 33

     Siva felt the heaviness of death in the air as he entered the bedroom. Rafferty waited in the doorway, not wanting to intrude. Avalbane looked up at him from the basin of water over which she'd been ringing out a cloth. The rag fell back into the tub and she turned to him, her gray eyes full of unspoken apologies.
    "Is he-" His throat closed, rebelling against the words.
    "His fever is very high. His body is fighting as hard as it can but it's only destroying itself." She sighed, reaching out for one of his quaking hands. "Siva, I could slow the progress. It wouldn't be long, but you'd have more time with him, at least."
    "This isn't about me. It's about Gray." He declined gently, forcing his eyes from the floor where they'd been trying hard to avoid the sight of his dying Bane since arriving. "I can't make him suffer any longer."
    "Alright. I'll be close by." Standing on her toes, she placed a kiss on his pale cheek. She hadn't realized he'd grown so tall, and it broke her heart that she could no longer ease his hurt with a kiss and a smile. "I love you."
    "You too."
    On silent feet she left, taking Rafferty with her. When the door closed behind her, Siva stood there for a few numb moments before approaching the bed.
Gray's breathing was slow and uneven, and his hair was damp with sweat. Traces of blood were caked around his nostrils and tiny red dots had spread around his eyes like bloody freckles. Bruises had formed all over him, most he was sure had not been there earlier that day.
    He didn't know what to do. What he wanted to do was to slide in beside the boy and wrap his arms around him, but with a fever as high as his, the extra warmth would do more harm than good.    
    "Are you-afraid of me or something?" He murmured, opening his eyes only long enough to glance over at him. "Come here."
    "I didn't know you were awake." Siva explained guiltily, setting on the bedside, careful not to jostle him much. "What happened? It's only been a few hours since I left you..."
    "I was faking it." The boy admitted, "Sorry."
    Siva looked down at his hands and tried to draw a deep breath around the boulder in his chest. "Does it hurt?"
    "Not much. I-" He fell suddenly silent and his hands weakly reached out to pull the sheets across his body. Siva caught his arms gently, concerned and confused.
    "You're too fevered for blankets, Grayson." He reasoned softly. "What's the matter?"
    The boy whimpered something too jumbled for him to understand and then fell quiet, his labored breathing quickening as if he were about to cry. It didn't take Siva long to understand why. A large reddish stain spread across the white linen, and as it did so, Grayson's malcontent seemed to increase.
    "Should I get my sister?" He questioned, panic in his tone.
    "No." Gray mumbled, his words sloppy and slurred. "Please, no. It's-I didn't know I was going to-I'm sorry."
    "Calm down, it's okay." Siva whispered, trying to sound reassuring as he lifted the sheet and discarded it. He understood why the boy seemed so embarrassed now, though he could be nothing but horrified. What Grayson had thought to be urine, was mostly blood. Not wanting to cause further upset, however, he did not comment on it.
    In fact, he didn't speak at all. Reaching over, he took the cloth his sister had abandoned from the basin and rung it out with a tight squeeze. Gray's eyes flicked open momentarily as the rag touched his cheek, and he made a small, feeble sound.
    "It's okay. Let me clean you up."
    Gray wanted to cry, but didn't have the strength. His mind was hazy and he was exhausted but he wanted so badly to stay awake, to be with Siva. If he let himself slip off, he may never slip back again. It was a frightening thought. Was he really going to burn in Hell as so many had told him? Was there a Hell? Would he just cease to exist? Could he ever be with Siva again? It was too much for his hazed mind to deal with.
    "Sing." He pleaded, desperate to escape his thoughts.
    "Alright." The Fae's voice was thick with unshed tears, but that did not stop him from granting his request.
    Siva cleaned the blood away from his nose and began the lilting melody that the boy so loved. It was upbeat and joyful, the opposite of how he felt, but all the while he sang it, he felt relieved. It didn't matter what the words meant, or what occasion it was for, that song would forever bring back his last days of summer spent in the human realm, the last days of summer spent with Gray.
    He could almost smell the fresh cut grass, and the lingering scent of gasoline from the mower. The more he sang, the more lost he became in the memory. He remembered the look of the human sunset, the feel of the breeze, the face Grayson made after drinking his vitamin mixture. The recollections eased the agony, but could not erase it. Still, he sung it twice more, just to be sure.
    Satisfied that Grayson was clean, he tossed the rag aside and sat down again on the bedside. Gray moved his hand feebly toward him and took a ragged breath. "Lay with me."
    "But your fever-"
    "It doesn't matter now."
    Siva didn't argue. He longed to hold him as much as he wanted to be held. This could be his last chance, and if Grayson wanted it, then the fever wasn't a factor. Gently sliding an arm beneath Gray's shoulders, he drew him close, so that his head could rest across his heartbeat.
    "Siva?"
    "Yes?"
    "I'm going to fall asleep."
    "Goodnight." Siva whispered, still warring with his anguish. "Sweet dreams."
    To keep from sobbing, he began to sing again. He sang well into the night, until at last his voice abandoned him and sleep drug him down into it's soothing embrace.
    Rafferty sat awake against the wall outside of Siva's room. Avalbane had not wanted to leave, even knowing Grayson didn't want healing. He hadn't argued with her, well, not about the staying anyway. It seemed they always had something to fight over. It didn't bother him though. He knew he was to blame for her volatile nature. All he had to do during one of her storms, was to remember the sweet summer breeze she truly was.
    He ran his fingers through her loose hair as she slept with her head comfortably on his thigh. "I love you, Butterfly." He sighed, his fatigue wearing on his discretion like a strong ale.
    "Rafferty." She gasped, sitting up suddenly, nearly scaring him out of his skin.
    "What?" He snapped, watching as she placed both her hands palm down on the stone floor.
    "Faery's here. Can't you feel it?"
    "My lower half is completely asleep." He muttered, about to place a hand down next to her's when a familiar figure came sauntering around the corner.
    The General rose but could do nothing else. Avalbane let out a cry and ran into her brother's arms. He spun her around and laughed with a joy that had not been heard from him in a long time.
    "Father Faery gave you back?"
    Sverre set her back on her feet and smiled, seeing the tears in her eyes. It touched him deeply to know that his presence was enough to bring his mighty sister near weeping.     "I'm back." He confirmed. "But, there's no time now to explain. Where's Grayson?"
    "There." She nodded toward the bedroom. "Where is Siofra?"
    "Resting." He replied, giving her an ornery smile before turning to Rafferty who stood blankly by the door. As he passed him, he patted the General's face. "Miss me?"
    Rafferty would have replied, if his wits had been about him, but unfortunately, they'd seemed to have run off. Sverre slipped into the room, leaving the others to theorize. When he'd gone, Raff looked at Avalbane, dubiously, but she could offer nothing but a shrug and a smile, the radiance of which only befuddled him further.