Atonement - Book Four (Man x Man)

Chapter 38

There is strength in the unspeakable. When life dwindles on the edge, all you have left is your true self and liking who that is seems to be more and more important. We are no longer on an excursion to find a single man and stop him from poisoning a race, we seem to be in a slow man's crawl after a madwoman who is the poison. 

When true stress settled in, when the reality of our situation finally laid on our unpracticed shoulders it was a wonder any of us survived at all. One man does not an army make, taking a bunch of novices to fight someone who had practiced a lifetime of evil had almost seemed unfair. As much as we had put our eggs in the basket of 'Alpha' leading us to victory, it would take so much more than the guidance of one being to overcome what was coming for us.

 Beyond that enchantress laid the army that would decimate my home country and leave us in ruins, belonging to a whole new set of masters. 

I sit on the edge of his bed, flipping through notes in my father's spellbook to see if he left me any more clues. A victory is going to require more from me and I feel motivated to do more, without the distractions of my pompous best friend I can focus on the task at hand. Kymil, after speaking with Verando, had gone home to deposit Haryek and bring back with him the elven army.

 We would commandeer this small town that was already in support of our cause and turn it into a headquarters, if nothing else, to keep the supply chain moving and not raise suspicion. Mr.Balan was under careful watch and his shipments tracked, with our insider Acer relaying back information it was easy enough to keep an eye on him. 

I had taken the liberty to make small changes, Costel had taken Reid to Cluj Napoca to rally the rebels and send back correspondence of his numbers, I could trust the two of them to begin the difficult task of preparing the towns they visited for what was coming and gather as many as they could on their return. 

Once again, we've turned an innocent city into a bustling headquarters. I flip through the stiff pages but the words are scribbled and hard to read. It would seem that the book really only tells me what it wants to and I find that I'm irritated that we were so afraid of it. There was a time when we were so desperate to destroy it and yet here I am, stronger than ever and not insane. Well, not any more insane than I deserve to be. 

I notice him stirring and I close the book, leaving it on the bed. Casually, I slide over and grab the glass of juice off the nightstand. It always amuses me how he sleeps, stiff and unyielding or in today's case, sprawled out and taking up as much space as possible. He sits up, blinking away the haze.

"Sedations a bitch and you're a lightweight." I offer him the glass which he gratefully takes and downs. "It's been a few days, I imagined you'd be thirsty. We had you hooked up to a bag for a bit but you were tossing and turning." 

He watches me for a moment. "Thanks."

 I graze my eyes over his body and take in the state of his slowly vanishing welts, at least he's healing."How are you?"

Verando sighs and I prepare myself for anything. "Embarrassed." He admits finally, scooting back to sit upright. I hand him a piece of toast and I'm glad he doesn't decline. I encourage him by taking a bite of an apple to show him I'm eating as well. "That was-"

"You don't have to explain it to me," I tell him. "I get it. All the signs were there, Adriam had just died, we were fighting... I was not in a good place either. I just need to know if you're okay."

After a long moment, Verando nods. "Yeah. I am. I think I partook a bit too much in the forbidden games." He examines his battered shoulders. "It can really get into your head." Hmm. That is interesting. Red had told me she didn't want him to be a part of this war. I tilt my head slowly to the side, it makes sense, as some who had been tortured I can attest that being beaten is very demoralizing.