The Unknown Alchemist

Chapter 15 - The Journal

The late summer sun seemed impossibly bright as it streamed into the room. Avery lay still with her eyes open, unmoving. She was in an enormous bed with lush covers and the softest fabric she had ever felt. The room was simple but airy and beautiful. Huge windows were open letting in a breeze, causing the light fabric that hung from the four posts of her bed to flutter.

She took a deep breath and tried to sit up but a deep tickle caught in her throat and her body lurched into a fit of chest-wrenching coughs. Curled up on her side, holding her lungs in, she barely registered a set of slender arms slipping under her shoulders and sitting her up.

"Easy there. Take it easy, try to breathe," said a smooth voice. "Here, have some water."

A cup was brought to her lips but Avery turned her head away, her hands clutching her throat and chest.

"Just a sip. One at a time," the voice insisted.

Avery gave in and drank to ease her burning throat.

"There you go."

The cup was lowered and Avery panted to catch her breath. The hands eased her back on the pillows then pulled up the blanket. The coughing eased and Avery blinked up at a set of brown eyes framed by dark brown hair. Though lined with worry, the eyes sparkled in the sun, set off by a full smile.

"Hello, Avery. I'm Sari."

Avery stared, still breathing hard. It was a female sapien, her face designed to perfection by the ancient sorcerers. Her pupils narrowed into slits, like animals that could see great distances, and underneath her dark hair the small point of her ears poked out.

Avery shrank back into the pillows clutching the blankets on her chest while her eyes searched for an escape route. "Where am I?"

She tried piece together the images that flashed through her mind. She remembered pain, and fire, and him. Here, in this room. Her breathing accelerated and the sapien picked up on it immediately.

"It's alright. You're in my home. Roedin brought you here. Or should I say, you brought him here. You saved his life." Sari tilted her head to the side as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Roedin. Is he alright?"

Sari nodded and blinked away the tears. "Yes, he is. He's out on a walk just now. He needed to stretch his legs and he was driving us mad with his pacing and fretting. I told him I'd stay in case you woke up. You've been sleeping for a long a time. Looks like you needed it."

Sari got up and walked over to a small table by an unlit fireplace. She poured some tea into a cup and brought it back to the bed, along with a plate crackers and fruit. She held out the cup of tea. Avery hesitated, her eyes darting from the cup to the sapien's kind eyes.

"Sari," Avery recited. "The dreamwalker. You're Roedin's sister."

"Yes, that's right. In a way."

Avery accepted the cup. Sari didn't let go until she was confident Avery had a firm grip, then took a cracker for herself and sat on the edge of the bed.

"You're very lucky to be alive. Our chief surgeon wasn't sure humans could survive the Mnoptera sting."

Avery looked down at the bed covers and took a sip of tea. Did she survive when she wasn't supposed to, again?

"How are you feeling now?" Sari asked, sensing Avery's discomfort.

Avery thought for moment. "I feel...really weak and...sore. I don't really remember...just moments..." She fidgeted with a loose thread on the blanket, unsure how to discuss her health with a stranger. Her eyes drifted to a stack of books on the bedside table. Curiosity peaked, she twisted her body to look at the titles. Sari followed her gaze and grinned.