Valadel

Chapter XIV

Danticus eyes fluttered open. He sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. He walked to his basin and washed his face with the cool water, dried himself off, and crossed over to his dresser. He pulled out the outfit Cristomir had brought him the night of the feast. The grey and blue were intertwined on the sleeves, and a blue neckerchief wrapped around the color. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

Cristomir popped his head through the crack and smiled. "Hey Danny!"

Danticus smiled. "What're you doing?"

"We want to introduce you to the newest resident of Jorden." He opened the door and there stood Jenna with a small little baby in her arms.

"This is Ulric," said Cristomir, smiling.

Danticus smiled. "He has his father's eyes."

"Would you like to hold him?" Jenna asked, her golden locks bouncing off her shoulder

"Would I?" Danticus took Ulric from her arms. He cradled the boy in his, rocking him slowly. Ulric looked up at him, his eyes sleepy and gleaming in the sunlight coming through the window. They were like warm little hazlenuts, like a sea of amber. Danticus looked back up to smile at his sister in law, only to be greeted with a dead Cristomir, standing with blood flowing down his neck. A weeping Jenna stood beside him.

"No," he whispered

"Danticus," said Cristomir. "Danticus...Danticus."

"No," he said louder

"Danticus, wake up!" Cristomir yelled. "Wake up!"

"No!" Danticus looked down, and Ulric was gone. "No! I promised you!" The room spun around, and he grabbed his head, pain traveling from temple to temple. He looked back, and Cristomir was gone.

"Cristomir! Come back! Please!"

"Come back!"

*****

Danticus' eyes shot open, seeing Gallador and Tytus above him.

"Lad...thank the gods. Come on get up. We need to hurry," said Gallador.

"Gallador...what's...what happened?" He sat up, and the back of his ached with waves of pain.

"We found a safe room. We blocked the door with some old bookshelves and furniture. It won't hold for long."

Danticus eyes ached, and he rubbed them between his fingers. His dream came back to him, his awful dream. He still saw him standing there, blood streaking his neck, like a phantom of pain. "Where's Cristomir?"

Sadness crossed Gallador's face, a deep and sorrowful sadness. The kind that only came with losing a brother in arms. "I'm so sorry, Danticus."

Danticus closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He felt rage run through him, sadness, despair flowing in his veins. Red shrouded his vision, and everything he could see was blood. He bolted up to his feet and pounded his fists against the wall, tears squeezing through his tightly shut green eyes.

"Lad, that won't bring him back!" said Gallador.

Danticus rested his arms against the wall, and buried his head into them. He wished he could was a child again, a young boy without a care in the world, running through the hills of Jorden with his cousin by his side. "I could've saved him, if I just, if-"