Juryokine

Chapter Eight

Toke's head throbbed with pain as sunlight attacked his eyelids. The hot air was sticky with humidity, and the rough bed of corn cobs and stalks didn't allow him the illusion that he was lying in his dorm at school. With a groan, he forced his eyes open, squinting in the morning light, and sat up.

The world swam around him, and he reached up to rub a sore bump on the side of his head, just above his right ear. He winced, but was relieved when his hand came away free of blood.

"What happened last night?" he asked himself, and then shook his head. He knew what had happened, even if he couldn't quite believe it. He'd come to the cornfield determined to politely decline the Sorakine girl and then run for his life if needed. Instead, he'd agreed to commit high treason and then swallowed a feather from one of her wings.

"What were you thinking?" he demanded, and found this to be a much more suitable question. Trying to ignore the pain in his skull, he managed to get to his feet and looked around. Zashiel was nowhere to be seen.

"Stupid," he muttered. Hopefully, she'd just decided to leave after he had been knocked out. If he was lucky, this would all prove to be a Sorakine's idea of a practical joke. Feed a dimwitted human one of your feathers, watch him go for a ride, and then fly away, never to be seen again. The power to control gravity— Ha! He hoped she was laughing so hard she fell out of the sky.

Well, he decided with a resigned sigh, the only thing he could do now was go home and get ready for class.

Toke had never learned to tell the time by the position of the sun, but as he stumbled his way back to the road he estimated it to be somewhere around eight o'clock. If he hurried, he'd have just enough time to get to the school for class. Hopefully Professor Navras wouldn't find out about any of this. If he did, Toke felt like he would die of humiliation.

With his tired, shambling gait, the trip back took much longer than it had the night before, and he was glad when he finally pulled open the big front doors and felt an artificially cold breeze wash over him. He immediately went to the nearest water spigot for a drink.

"Toke," somebody called from behind him. He turned to look, careful not to spill his drink, and saw Wayli fighting her way through the crowd. "There you are. I tried to talk to you last night, but I couldn't find you." She paused when she finally reached him, and took in his dirt-streaked clothes. "Are you all right?"

"Um," he stammered, and took a drink to buy him some time. The only thing he could think to say was, "Wild night."

"Well," she went on hesitantly, "Boam told me what happened. Or, as much as you told him, at least. He said you were really upset."

Toke grimaced, remembering the way he had spoken to his friend the previous day. "Yeah, I need to apologize to him."

Wayli nodded. "He's already forgiven you. You know he can't stay mad at a friend. But yeah, you should say you're sorry anyway."

Toke nodded, and winced when his head flared with pain again.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Wayli asked. Before he could protest, she grabbed his shoulder and spun him to the side, and gasped. "Toke, your head! What happened?"

"I had an accident," he lied, gently brushing her hand from his shoulder. "I'll be fine."

"An accident?" she repeated, incredulously. "It looks somebody hit you on the head with a boulder!"

That's not too far from the truth, actually, Toke thought ruefully, but didn't say anything.

"You'll be lucky if you don't have a concussion," she insisted, and tried to drag him away from the water spigot. "Come on, you need to go to the nurse right now."