Iron angel (Book 1 of IA)

[26] Response

I opened my eyes. I tossed away my sheets and looked down.

It was not a dream...

Curses.

Reality struck me as if I took 20 shots in a row. It didn't hurt, it only made me numb.

The door slide open, a figure stepped inside, paused; and then spoke:

"Kardusenn."

It was Isa. I turned to face her. The silence dragged on—I looked down near her belly and she dropped her gaze all the way to my legs...

"Sir..." I started.

"I am..."

We both stopped, waiting for the other to continue. I spoke first.

"...Your stomach?"

"...Sorry." Her voice dropped, and her gaze wavered.

Isa? Sorry?

Dang, now that's what I call an oxymoron.

Isa continued in her causal voice:

"Blade went right through me, but I will make sure those bad meats will regret not killing me."

"But...the blade, I saw it go right through you sir..."

"Hmph! This is nothing." She said with crossed arms, "During the Cobalt Revolution, a cannon shell hit me square in the abdomen and I was left bleeding in the cold for hours. I survived." She finished by slapping her knee.

I just stared at her. Once again she had struck me speechless. Seeing I was not up for much conversation, Isa voice changed into a much deeper voice, like a flick of a switch.

"Flos Nocte."

The words came right out of the blue, and since curiosity pretty much dictated my mind, I couldn't help but ask:

"What is that sir?"

"Its what you Etolians call Night dust. A special type of drug that reacts to anger. Its immediate effects cause blackouts, the more sudden and extreme the emotion, the faster the drug takes effect."

"Sir, what are you trying to say...?" I was lopsided for a moment, but it only took a quick detour in my mind to figure out what she was talking about. It took a moment then I realized what she meant "Wait! So, I am injected with that drug the whole time?"

"Affirmative."

That sent my mind was into a tangle: I wanted to be angry, but I didn't want the blackouts to come. My anger quickly dissolved into helplessness.

Lost an arm, lost both legs, and now this?

"Fresh meat, I didn't come here to tell you this, I came here for a different reason."

"What reason?" I said, with my head faced down.

"You have two options: one, you can retire here and live a normal life."

"Normal life? Are you kidding me?" I asked, feeling ridiculed. "An iron arm, and a pair of iron legs!? Normal life?" I lifted my arm and my sheets to emphasize my point, "I am just a freak amongst them!"

"Don't interrupt your superiors while they are talking!" The ferocity in Isa's voice almost made me jump off my bed. "Two; you can return to the army and resume training."

I knew she was going to say something among the lines of that, but I didn't know what to say. I wasn't sure I knew what I wanted.

Almost as reading my mind, Isa continued:

"True, it is a hard path, and the benefits are hard to see. But before you make your choice, there is something I need to tell you."

I waited, then slowly turned to face her.
"Soul Steel, the elemental who took both of your legs is still on the run. Currently he is suspected to be residing among the rebels. We have not yet pin pointed their location, nor their next attack."

Hearing the name, I felt a bright flame of anger spread like a wild fire throughout every inch of my body, and even all the sweat in my body was unable to put out that flame.

"You have the right of vengeance, but the decision is yours. Now tell me your answer fresh meat!"

She was using this talk of vengeance to get me motivate and get me hyped up, but my response was already made the moment she spoke his name:

"I am not giving up."

Q: In what areas of life have you been consistent in?