Book 2 Season's Change Spring's Revenge

Part 43 The Wrath Of Thalion

The fire was out. That was the first thing that he noticed when his eyes had been open long enough for his mind to clear. A clear mind was very hard to obtain because of the raging headache he had, but he found some clarity between the pounding of his heartbeat in his ears and the fresh air around him. He did not remember anything from the night before; not starting the fire, cooking his food, which was mostly still in the pot, and not eating it. He was a bit surprised that he was struggling to remember his name. His name. It was his name and he could not remember it correctly. He tried it. It felt foreign on his tongue but as he rolled it, he knew that it was his. He squinted into the bright ball of light that was the sun and then looked down at the ashes of the fire. He was confused, groggy, and dazed. The sun was blinding, and it made his head hurt even more. He tried to sit up, his stomach rolled and emptied itself. The world spun and his blue eyes crossed. He closed his eyes and put his head back down with a groan hoping that the world would stop turning. It did not.

Donocain did not know how long he had been asleep or why he had slept for so long. He didn't even remember closing his eyes. In fact, he didn't remember much of anything from the previous night. He looked around. What of the guards? What of Thalion. He was not so concerned with him or he would not have been too concerned at all if not for the last cruel act that Thalion had done in releasing the Dark into the streets of a city. They all know how well a Dark would be received in a city of men. A Faye would be a wonder feared yet revered. But a Dark? A Dark would just be feared and hated. Hated because their ears were pointed, and their skin was black, and they had a reputation of being cruel, sadistic and evil. The girl was different. She had plenty of chances, she and the man that was with her. He didn't even know his name. To the Hells, he didn't know her name. They never spoke each other's names in the time they spent together at the Red Rock Inn. That had to be by design. They also spoke in her language. He translated for her. That had to be by design too. He shook his head and instantly regretted it. The headache that hit made him slightly dizzy and his stomach turn. He groaned quietly, slowly sat up and put his hands on his head. It didn't take him long to get his bearings. Once he had them, he slowly looked around. Where was the healer? He turned in the direction of the healer's wagon and slowly started that way.

The healer was awake and apparently in a much better condition. Donocain felt groggy and confused. The healer looked alert and awake. "You look awful my friend." The healer smiled. "Here drink this. It will help with the headache and queasiness. Once those two things are handled, you'll feel a lot better."

"That is why you look -- okay?"

"I've been awake for a while now. Whatever made you sleep I didn't get as much of it. I think they were here."

"What makes you say that?"

"The cages are empty. Every single last one of them."

"What?! By the heavens Man! Where is Thalion?" Donocain tried to keep his voice down.

"Still asleep. No, he is still breathing."

Donocain could not hide his disappointment.

"Every guard is asleep. I don't know how it was done, but I would not eat what is in my cookpot if I were you. It seems they used a sleeping potion of some kind and that seems like a good place to put it. It is what I would do. Clever, that boy." The healer smiled. "It's very impressive." They got all of the captives out and as far as I can tell didn't take a single life. Come look. They planned this so wonderfully well and executed it perfectly."

The healer was actually excited. Donocain couldn't see why he would be. They were really in for it when Thalion woke up and discovered all of his prisoners were gone. "Maybe we should cut our losses and leave while we can."