The King's Messenger

Chapter 24

Eden floated toward consciousness slowly. The room was bright behind his eyelids; he lifted them slowly, squinting against white light that brought tears to his eyes.

Or eye.

The right side of his face saw nothing at all.

Panic clutched his heart. What had happened? Where was he- the infirmary? Trying to find specific thoughts and memories was like searching for a ghost in a misty night.

"Where is my eye?" he croaked out loud, letting his remaining eye shut in a concession against the light. He lifted a hand to his face, feeling cloth cut across his face diagonally.

Something shifted next to him, followed by a familiar voice.

"Eden? You're awake?"

He knew the voice... "Ire?" he asked, creaking his eye open once more. This time, he was more prepared for the light, and he saw his friend frozen, his eyes shifting to another individual by his bedside. Kaeda.

"Ire?" she repeated. "As in, Saint Irelian?"

"No... it's Ry," he said. "He's in shock, don't mind what he says."

Kaeda fixed him with a flat gaze. "I know about shock."

"What happened to my eye?" Eden interrupted.

Messenger's brow creased. "You don't remember?"

"...Remind me," Eden said.

"You were attacked last night," Messenger said. "The assassin... I was too late." He looked away.

"Does any of that sound familiar?" Kaeda asked.

"Just pieces... as though I saw it in a dream," Eden said. He put a hand to his temple, barely agitating the cut where his eye had been. "It's difficult to think."

Kaeda frowned. "Did you hit your head?"

"I... no, I don't think so," Eden said. "I think... Did I mention this to you yesterday?"

"You did," she said.

"What did you mention?" Messenger asked. "Is there something wrong? Other than..." he trailed off.

"He said his thoughts were fogged," Kaeda explained, "and that it wasn't caused by exhaustion. It sounded as though it could have been caused by sleep deprivation or something similar, but this..." Cold realization dawned on her face.

"What?" Messenger asked.

"It- it sounds like anmori," Kaeda said hesitantly. "First, a general slowness of thinking, followed by memory loss? Those are the first stages."

"What's anmori?" Eden asked as Messenger paled.

"Surely it can't be," Messenger said. "How could he possibly have anmori?"

"I don't know! He was certain it wasn't exhaustion, and I don't know what else would cause this... spontaneous degradation of mental capacity!" Kaeda exclaimed.

"What's anmori?" Eden repeated, strengthening his voice.

"Nothing," Messenger said. Kaeda cut him a look

"It's an affliction that targets the mind," she said. "It... degrades it until it's no longer... functional."

"Meaning...?" Eden asked.

"It's... fatal," Kaeda said quietly. It took a moment for the meaning to register in Eden's mind.

"Well, how do we stop it?" he asked.