What Doesn't Kill You

Chapter Nine

ONE MONTH LATER

"Physically she's fine. Her body has completely healed from the trauma it sustained in the river. It's quite odd that it took her wolf this long to heal her body but the healing rate has shown improvement in the past week or so. But she still refuses to wake up even though her brain is showing activity. For all intents and purposes she's sleeping and just won't wake up."

Emily looked up from the peaceful girl to the doctor, "So, she's in a coma?"

"Essentially, yes. But we have full faith that she will wake up. She shows too much brain activity to not regain full consciousness. We must just give her time."

Darren set his hand upon his mate's shoulder to calm her as she clutched at Taryn's hand. Darren looked at the nightstand where pictures of Taryn and her family sat. She was happy and carefree in the pictures and from what he could see very well loved. The pictures were how Emily and he was able to figure out her name was Taryn. Darren wish her last name had been on the back of the pictures also so he could contact her family and tell them that she was okay.

It would be easy enough to call the alpha of Red Moon, the pack near that cliff, and ask about the family that includes two girls named Taryn and Kirsten and a brother named Jason. Emily wouldn't allow him to call though. She was afraid that if they asked questions her mate could find out and would come looking for her. According to Emily, Taryn was running away for a reason and it was not their place to reveal her whereabouts. When Taryn wakes up she can decide what they do.

TWO MONTHS LATER

"Her condition has not changed except for a few minor lacerations that heal before we can even fully identity them. Also one of our nurses noticed something that we thought should be brought to your attention. She has runes along her chest and on her arms."

"We know. She had them when we brought her in," Emily said, confused at why the doctor would be telling them this.

"Yes but she seems to have developed more. We asked a royal translator to come in and decipher all of them. She should be here soon if you'd like to stay and see what she says."

"Yes we'll stay," Darren said firmly.

"Great. I'll bring her in as soon as she gets here," the doctor replied.

Emily slumped into the chair next to Taryn's bed.

"Why hasn't she woken, Darren?" Emily whispered softly.

"The rejection takes a lot out of a person. She needs her time to recuperate," Darren tried to reassure her.

"That's not it Darren. I've done my research. It's all said the rejection may cause a coma like this but it lasts only a week, two tops," Emily huffed out, frustrated that she couldn't do more to help.

Darren sighed, he knew seeing someone suffer at the hands of rejection was hard far her and brought up painful memories. He crouched down in front of her, placing his hands on her knees and tried to reassure her, "Taryn seems like a strong girl. She'll make it out of this. Hopefully they send Jade and she can make sense of this."

Emily nodded, staring at the girl she and her mate had saved.

They sat in contemplative silence, waiting for the doctor to return with the translator.

"Emily, Darren, what are you two doing here?" A brown eyed, petite girl with a black bob asked as she strolled into the room.

"Jade," Emily smiled softly at the girl she shared the same eyes and a smile with, "We're the ones who saved her. We would have told you but you've been traveling for the last couple months and we didn't know how to explain something like this over the phone."

Jade smiled at her big sister and said, "I understand. Well let me see what I can figure out."

Emily smiled already feeling better with a familiar face there to help her make sense of this situation.

The doctor led Jade to the side of the bed where he pulled Taryn's gown down to show the runes that covered her chest while still keeping her decent.

It took Jade only a moment before she gasped and leaned forward to get a closer look. She hesitantly reached out to slowly trace one of the runes.

"This one is the eye it isn't fully formed but it means clairvoyance and this one it's the lunar rune meaning divine. Together when fully formed are the marks of an oracle. But the rest of these runes are random. I don't understand why she'd have them. We need to call an oracle. There's one visiting the royal family now. She could be here soon," Jade declared, her face screwed up in confusion.

"I'll call and ask her to come here," the doctor uttered on his way out of the room.

As the doctor closed the door Jade looked up at her sister and Darren, who both looked so worried and crestfallen, "Don't worry Keiara will have answers."

The couple nodded and continued to sit in silence. Jade sighed and took out her notebook to start recording and translating the rest of the marks on Taryn's body.

It took an hour for the oracle and when she arrived, she was not what Emily was expecting. Keiara was petite about five foot nothing, dark hair curled out away from her head adding at least three inches to her height, and mocha skin wrinkled slightly around her eyes and mouth from years of smiles and laughter.

"So this is the one that may be an oracle?" She walked in her head held high and right towards Taryn.

She traced over the runes on Taryn's arms and whispered, "It can't be."

"What can't be?" Emily asked urgently standing up from her seat.

"I haven't seen this in years," Keiara looked stunned, "and in an untrained oracle. No one was expecting this."

"What? What is it?" Emily questioned earnestly.

"These markings represent the trials she's overcome. The ones the moon has put her through. She's not just becoming an oracle. She's been chosen by the moon to become the Lunar oracle. If she finishes the trials and completes her training she'll be the oracle that all oracles will seek and answer to. We haven't had a Lunar Oracle in fifteen years. Plenty of oracles have finished their training and been chosen to start the trials but none have finished. If these markings are correct she's already gone farther than any oracle has since our last Lunar Oracle. She's an inspiration," Keiara said in awe.

They all sat in silence staring at Taryn, possibly the next most powerful oracle in the world.

"Then why is she in a coma?" Emily asked still worried for her health.

"Her consciousness is on the Lunar plane. She's with the goddess until she can finish her trials of the mind."

"So she's stuck like this? For how long?" Emily asked.

"Until she can finish her trials from the looks of it she has three more to finish this part of the oracle mark."

"And if she doesn't finish?" Darren asked what everyone was thinking.

Keiara looked up from the young girl hating that she had to voice what everyone dreaded to hear, "Then she won't ever wake up."