Broken Bonds [ON HOLD]

Chapter Four | Emory Pain

THE GROUND WAS cold and wet. Emory pressed his hands into the sticky cobblestone.

What? Do people drink half a bottle of whiskey and dump it on the ground?

His sleeve was cut clean through and blood oozed out. Nelly still held tight to Emory's chest-her eyes wide open. The petrified sprite did not move as Emory stood up. He brushed off his pants. They were a bit stretched, but nothing major. He used his good hand to hold himself up against a brick wall. He breathed slowly, trying to regain control of himself. Around him, he swore everything was spinning. Blood filled his mouth and he gagged, swallowing too much of it.

Just then, two uniformed men came rushing in. They had blue tricornes and dark brown coats.

"Ay! Who are you?" one cried. His hand gripped tight to his cutlass.

Emory dug into his breast pocket. His arm shook, holding out a document with a red seal. The shaky boy dropped the paper. One officer held out his gun while the other went to retrieve it.

"A messenger for Avery May," he said in a singsong tone. "We'll bring you to a medical center and escort you to the central district."

THEY DID SO. Emory sat on a cold table with his arm resting on a platform.

"This may hurt a little," a doctor said, dabbing the bloody arm with alcohol. "We'll need to stitch this up good."

A thin needle pierced Emory's skin and the doctor laced him up. Emory felt nothing, though. He was lost in thought.

The snow.

Even Nelly sat still in his breast pocket. She didn't complain about the carriage ride over to the doctors-she hated how the carriage swayed back and forth-nor did she complain about the horse ride to the central district. She hated how Emory would bump around on the horse and in turn, she would end up being thrown around in his pocket. Instead, she too was lost in thought.

Emory hopped off his horse. In front of the messenger, a large castle stood. It was white like ocean foam and stones bristled out at the top. A massive wooden door was the only way across the moat that connected to the ocean. The door was so big, it made even the most giant of monsters of the country beyond jealous-yes, even stone monsters.

But this wasn't where Emory was going.

To his left, he saw a much smaller building made of marble and concrete. It was magnificent.

Not really. That building is about as magnificent as donkey. I would be in that palace right now, attending meetings. But no, you opened your mouth and challenged everything we believed in. Everything you believed in.

While Emory began to feel a bit more in control of his thoughts, Nelly continued to be paralyzed with what happened. All her life, she had dreams of powerful magic within her, only she couldn't get it out. It was stuck like a lion in a cage and the only way she could get it out was with a key. Was Emory the key? No, he couldn't be. That's what she determined. But this thinking needed to stop as he was approaching the front gate. She put on her best smile and the two entered.

"Heard you had a little brawl out in the gutter," Becker said. He was dressed in typical guard attire: leather armor lined his body and he dawned a silver cape. He was properly shaven and smelled of roses.

"Yeah," Emory said. He pointed to his newly sewed forearm. "Hopefully this will heal."

"Oh I agree. You need that arm to what again? Deliver pieces of paper for wizards?"