Phoenix

Fight

They gathered inside Ash's old room in the tavern—Oroton at the headboard, shoulders sloping with exhaustion. Eli Miki, Shorty and Gunner at the foot of the bed, Ash in the rocking chair to one side.

They stared down at Gigi's body, which had been carried on a makeshift stretcher up the beach and placed beneath the sheets after being carefully removed from the salt hardened poncho, her blisters cleaned and dressed with a salve. The only item they hadn't been able to remove was the watch, which was still clasped in the old woman's hand, as though even in death, her body did not want to let it go.

But she wasn't dead. Every now and then, her chest rose and fell as though drawing breath. Each time it happened, the watching assemble drew a collective intake of their own, held breaths.

It had been nearly three minutes since her chest had risen last. Fear and worry was tight on all their faces. All except Eli's, whose jaw clenched every now and then, but otherwise was his usual mask of neutrality.

The silence stretched out.

"Is she still alive?" It was broken by Miki.

Oroton leaned in, checked her pulse, parted Gigi's eyelids for dilation, and concluded for the third time. "Alive."

"How is it possible?" Miki said.

"She's in a self-induced coma," Oroton said. "She told me about the phenomena once. Said the body can be suspended between life and death for quite some time. I told her it was dangerous, and that it should only be attempted should the situation be dire enough to require it."

"What do you think happened?" Shorty said.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out when she wakes."

Doubt hovered in the silence that followed. It was hard to believe that someone so cold and pale, who'd slowed their breathing so drastically, could still be alive.

Oroton ushered them out the door. "I will tend to her. For now, I think it's best you return to your respective houses and continue battle training. Don't mention this to your students. It will only cause unnecessary concern. I'll send word should her condition change."

They filed into the corridor. Shorty and Miki spoke in low tones before going separate ways. They must've made up since their fight the night before. Gunner descended the stairs to the tavern as slowly as a pallbearer. Then, it was just Eli and Ash.

Ash's mind was on the pocket watch. It had been over a month since she'd had the strange, foreboding dream and yet, when she'd seen the pocket watch in Gigi's hands, it had surged to the surface as though she was envisioning it once more. She remembered it all. The man with deep brown eyes hazed with cataracts, the wall of clocks behind ticking an out-of-time percussion, the exact weight and lustre of the gold, the engraving K.V written in perfect hand.

What was it that he'd said. "For you. My finest invention."

"Ash," Eli said, startling her out of her reverie. "Do you have a moment to talk?"

She scanned the hallway, making sure nobody had heard him use her name.

Eli tilted his head towards the vacant room on the other side of the hall. "It's probably best if we do it in private?"

Ash's stomach rolled. What was so important that he needed to say it behind closed doors? Her mind drew the strangest conclusions. Had he seen her with Gus the night before? Had he seen her drinking all that wine? Did he want to question her about it now?

Ridiculous, she thought. Why would he care about Gus, or the wine? He'd already made it clear that what she did in her own time was 'none of his business'. For him to care about Gus would mean he cared about her. And he didn't, of course.