Separate Souls | #1 Tainted Series

Chapter Thirteen

"I can't fin' a cure for you. "

Ryder Tate

Ryder's dazed brain barely comprehended the morning's occurrences. He rarely passed out because of the pill, usually the symptoms simply faded away. The poison weakened him, though that appeared entirely new to him. He'd always known it was there, but for some reason, he'd never considered the possibility of it harming him.

He'd woken up to Florence sitting by him. She immediately explained that he hadn't passed out for long, and he was about to speak when a wave of exhaustion rushed over, drifting him away from consciousness. The second time he awoke was because of the door swinging open as David came into the room.

"Where's Makaria?" Ryder groaned, not understanding why she was the first thought that came to mind.

"I sent 'er with Florence to get some food," David said. He rubbed his forehead, his eyes darting from side to side, though slower than usual. It was odd to see David's ticks to such a minimum. He opened his mouth to speak before closing it again, perhaps thinking better of it. "I—um—Ma..." he cleared his throat.

What was he trying to say? Figuring nothing of it, Ryder decided to lessen the tension himself. "I hadn't seen Florence in a while."

"Yes, yes! You 'aven't come 'ere in a while," David muttered with a smile. "She's my apprentice now, wants to be a 'erbalist."

"That's great, I'm glad."

"Ryder, Florence doesn't belon' 'ere. She's gettin' weaker by the minute. She's far too delicate for this world, no matter 'ow much I try to 'elp 'er. None of my 'erbs work on her... almost as if she's detereoratin'..." David said, his fingers tapped against the wall.

Ryder paid no mind to his movements. "I don't understand, David. What are you implying?"

"Ryder," he breathed, "she doesn't 'ave a spirit animal."

"That's impossible!" Ryder grunted as he sat up, black spots infected his field of vision and his body trembled. "She has a Risen accent, and she couldn't have passed through the regions so easily. They would've stopped her."

"I don' know, I don'. We 'ave to take care of 'er," David said.

How could he take care of so many people when he could barely handle his own problems? David's claims held no evidence whatsoever, so Ryder put it off, for now. His mind shifted to Makaria, knowing someone wanted her, but who? Who would suspect her of being a Sight-Seeker? Who had she told? "Makaria defeated both sides of it when I turned. She's powerful."

The room's floor tilted a bit, but the spots began clearing. Had he sat up too quickly? "'Ow?" David asked.

"I still don't know how, but... when she saw Kale, he'd already passed. The wolf's Tainted mark glowed, and I saw something in its eyes. It just seemed unnatural, everything about it. It acted as if it remembered her."

"No spirit remembers its mortal life after passin'," David whispered.

"Exactly, would a grown wolf let a stranger throw her arms over it?" Ryder asked, deliberately refraining information about her visions. He couldn't afford anyone knowing this information, it could spread like wildfire, and whoever was manipulating her would feel forced to act quickly.

David paced around the room, the floorboards creaked along his footsteps. His hands ticked on his side, pausing every few moments before continuing along the twitching desperate pattern.

"Someone's trying to manipulate her, and if she defeated me, then­–"

"And if she's the next Sight-Seeker," David added.

"You know?" Ryder swung his legs off the blanket, his back ached, complaining against the sleeping conditions he'd been forced into. Among the many things he missed, his bed quickly rose to the top three.

"She told me, an' my brother warned me 'bout it. He said Leonel Wallfire sent 'im a letter, sayin' that the next Sight-Seeker was a Fallen girl, but I­–I would've never thought it was Makaria."

"What? Leonel Wallfire, the previous Sight-Seeker? The one that was murdered?" Ryder asked, stumbling as he tried to stand up. "You know what a Sight-Seeker is?"

David nodded. "My brother was a very educated man, he'd chatter on beside me 'bout information I'd never thought I'd use." He placed his scrawny hands under Ryder's shoulders, sustaining him as best he could. "I'm a simple man, Ryder. I only care 'bout 'erbs." Ryder took a few small steps forward, waiting for the light-headedness to go away. "Makaria's really special, if someone was tryin' to mess with 'er. She's in more danger now than ever."

But Ryder wasn't listening, he kept thinking of the other letters Makaria had. I have to read them and find out more. He didn't even notice when David showed him back to the blanket, giving him a few herbs and muttering something about headaches, until the nervous man was about to walk out of the room.

"Wait! What were you going to tell me? When you first came in the room?"

David furrowed his eyebrows, puckering his upper lip as his hand fidgeted with the door. "I can't fin' a cure for you. You need to fin' somethin' else, sorry kid." Before the door shut, he mumbled, "Try a wizard."

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