Forbidden Devotion Ch. 03

Somewhere along the way, Jayden was approached by the "Keeper of the Realms", a being known as Artemis Sawyers. He claimed to have been watching him and saw the goodness in his tormented heart and was perfect to become his apprentice.

Jayden was skeptical and saw him to be another scammer or a conman but his sales pitch included both a way to help others and have fun while doing it, so he cautiously followed him to a place known as the Centras. It wasn't somewhere that could be tangibly pointed to on a map but rather, it existed somewhere between worlds and realms. It was filled with floor mirrors that reflected what was happening in various worlds. Any area of any realm could be viewed from the Centras. Artemis' sole purpose was to protect the realms from any threat and maintain the universe's visions of what existence was supposed to be. As his apprentice, Jayden would be doing the same.

One could only imagine the excitement that had Becca jumping out of her shoes when she found out about Jayden's "side gig." No matter how many times he said, "no" to visiting unknown worlds, the more she had to visit an unknown world.

One day, Becca followed Jayden back to Centras, jumped through a mirror, and here in Nevin she wound up.

Some time had passed before they realized she'd snuck in and went on her little field trip.

By the time Jayden followed in her tracks, the second dark elf war had already devastated the land and Becca was tucked away deep inside Drakkus. At least that's what he believed given the trail of her teardrop ruby earrings and the golden locket with a tiny picture depicting brother and sister with smiles plastered on their lips.

Jayden's world was Becca. When he found her, he didn't know whether he was going to scold her or give her a warm, tight hug that lasted for hours. Maybe a little of both.

That is if she was still among the breathing.

With his sister weighing on his mind, Jayden released sigh after sigh and he could have spent more time feeling sorry for himself. There was an increasing amount of temptation to do so and toss himself into a monster's jaws while he was at it.

He was slugging his way past Remi's clinic with his focus on the yellow pollen coating the ground. For a brief moment, if the plague took him, he almost felt it would have been best for everyone.

He may have been swimming in manure but Becca needed him as did the forest and that created a flicker of strength that kept him moving forward.

He was in the deepest reaches of his soul when Remi burst in front of him.

She was waving her hands above her in a panic. "Jayden! Jayden! I need your help!"

He didn't immediately acknowledge her presence but did so when she barricaded his path.

"What is it?" he spoke like he was ready to end it all.

Remi was darting her eyes around. "Where's my sis?"

"Still with Nadine."

"Why didn't you stay with her? Nadine's pretty cool, don't you think?"

"Oh, definitely, but Ilana and I aren't really on good terms right now."

Remi tilted her head. "That was fast. She was all gushy about you not an hour ago then you had that little squabble. What happened?"

Jayden shook his head side to side. "I'd rather not dwell on it anymore. How can I help you?"

"Okay, come with me!" Remi said snatching his hand and leading him into her shack.

Jayden was smacked in the nose by the stench of death upon crossing the threshold.

The pile of deceased elves stacked near the entrance was the culprit. Jayden noticed more of the cots were empty than before. The ones that were occupied had patients upon them whose clocks were rapidly counting down to zero.

He could only look on somberly and vow to do what he could to bring closure to the terror. Whether Ilana was lost to him or not, he made her a promise and he was going to fulfill it. With his attention on that and rescuing Becca, it made things marginally easier.

Remi followed his dread-filled eyes and said, "I'm doing my best but without the cure, their time is limited and my supplies are running out. I'm so exhausted that I couldn't heal a bug bite right now. Sigh..."

She was on the verge of falling asleep cow style.

Jayden's hand landed on her shoulder for soothing purposes and to catch her if she found herself heading for the floor.

Jayden said, "You should rest. You'll do more good after you've had some sleep."

"Doctoring the doctor, huh?"

"No, just telling it like it is."

"If I sleep, they die."

"If you don't sleep, they die," Jayden said looking at the corpse pile. "Do you need me to bury them?"

"No, I mean yes, but not now. Nadine whispered to me that some of our people are in trouble nearby. Go southwest of here and..."

Remi's words trailed away when she spotted Jayden hacking with the sound of street construction. He was holding his chest and bent at the waist.

Jayden felt like a monster was trying to tear itself out of his torso. The coughs or the pollen settling on his lungs were sapping his strength and he was one second from doubling over to hitting the wood.

"God! My chest...it's on fire!" Jayden complained with both hands against his agony.

Remi's eyes expanded and her mouth fell agape. "No! It's not what I think! It's not what I think! Okay, Remi. Don't lose it! Don't panic! Hold on!" She scampered to one of the drawers of a table against the rear wall and rummaged through it. She did the same on top of the table, sweeping bottles onto the floor. One half-empty bottle of a green substance caught her attention. She grabbed it and rushed it to Jayden. "Here! This is all I have but drink what's left!"

Remi held it to his lips but he snatched her hand and helped her dump its contents into his throat being careful to make sure not a trickle hit the floor.

Its taste was similar to green tea with a tinge of herbs like rosemary. He would have done anything to make the flames in his chest dissipate but the concoction ran dry too soon.

It provided a touch of relief but the tearing sensation still remained.

"Thank...thank you, Remi. I feel a little better..." he said straining to stand upright. "What did you want me to do?"

"No, you don't have to do it! At any time, you might, you know...'croak'..." Remi said. A streak of pain ripped through him at the reality of what she spoke and his head dipped briefly. He hardened himself but Remi caught his short display of sadness. "Oh, I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. I really don't know how this disease affects humans. You may not..."

Jayden grabbed her shoulders and squeezed with his eyes beamed into hers. "It's okay, really. Whatever happens, I'll make peace with it. You and Ilana are my concerns. Now, how can I help?"

Remi flushed. "Aww, thank you. Okay, follow the trail outside to the southwest. Some of my people are in trouble. You'll also find the flower I need where they are. The map I gave you earlier will take you there. Hold on..." She grabbed some items from the nearby closet and shuffled them over to Jayden. Over her left arm were a change of clothes: a plain green shirt and some brown pants. In her right hand was a ball and chain connected to a wooden stick. "Here, take these."

Jayden smiled and took the offerings. "Thank you. Do you want me to change here?"

Remi was mirroring his grin. She seemed to be in a trance with her head angled aside when seconds later, it finally registered that Jayden asked a question. "Wha, what? Oh, sorry. You can change here if you like. I mean in the corner. I don't have another room but I promise not to look!"

Jayden smirked to let her know she was full of it but he was going along with it. "Sure, if you say so..."

A couple of minutes later, Jayden was standing on the trail ready for his mission. He was feeling worse by the minute and visions flashed in mind of the black-cloaked, scythe-wielding death reaper closing in. Tremors rattled him from his fingers to his toes. He'd never been this close to the other side but he wanted to help the wood elves and see Ilana again. That's where he kept his focus.

Remi intertwined her fingers on both hands together and shook them in front of Jayden. "Please, please, come back! I'll be waiting for you and thanks again!"

She jumped into his arms and the heat she shared with him was soothing and relaxed his nerves. He pulled her tighter to his frame and she laid a soft kiss on his cheek. The illness hadn't affected his ability to grow a hard-on but this wasn't the time or situation for Mr. Happy to make an appearance.

Jayden tried pulling away but her hold was nearly unbreakable. "Listen, I should go." Remi was holding a wanting, lingering gaze with a glimmer in her jade irises. She shrank low like she was melting and her lashes fluttered at him. If her mind didn't want Jayden, her heart and body were trying to betray her. Giving her what she wanted wouldn't have been the best idea and he made another effort to disconnect and was successful as he pushed her arms to the side. "I really need to go."

"Okay, okay," Remi said taking a step back. "Bye."

"Bye," Jayden said with a stroke of the back of his hand sliding along his cheek and off he went.

*****

Ten minutes later, Ilana was sprinting down the slope near Remi's clinic. She was heavy with the words Nadine spoke to her but that very conversation drove her steps.

The wood elves weren't the only entities at risk from the contagion. Nadine herself was beginning to wilt and would soon become one with the dust. The lifeblood of the forest that gave it the beauty it once had would be no more in a matter of time. Tears were flying the wind and her heart was aching but persevere she must.

Nadine could spread the cure, if Remi could mix it in time, but it was dwindling to nothing.

Jayden was a passing memory. Well, she wanted it to be but it remained a still picture. It was disrupting her focus and she continued persistently to push it away along with Nadine's notions that Jayden was complicated and despite the tears he caused her to shed, his intentions were honorable and his feelings for her? As real as she was alive. Ilana was hooked on how he made her feel the last time they saw each other. Small picture thinking but that's all she could experience at the moment.

Ilana burst into the clinic but tried to keep her left arm behind her back. It was being overtaken by yellow lesions and the medicine Remi gave her was now nothing more than a few green drops along the bottom of a bottle. It wasn't something that would have been productive to dwell on and staying in motion kept her from falling into the pits. Nadine said there was nothing to fear in the afterlife but Ilana was in no haste to book a trip there.

Ilana panted but found no sister at first glance causing her heart to speed its beating. "Remi! Sis?" Ilana crept into the center of the room, trusting in the best case scenario, and scanned the area from the cots to the floor. That's where she discovered Remi on her back. Ilana leapt at her side with hysteria pumping through her. She held a finger under her nose hoping to feel her breathing. Her breaths were shallow but she was still among the living. She lifted her sister in her arms and gave her a shake like a ragdoll. "Remi! Tell me you're okay!"

Remi stirred and slowly lifted her eyelids again. "I was okay before you interrupted my beauty sleep. I feel like I could sleep a week."

Ilana flashed all her teeth and hugged Remi but her sister slipped a hand in the middle of their connection and leaned in the opposite direction. Ilana furrowed her brows and struggled to make sense of her rejection.

"What is it?" she asked as she watched her wobble to a standing position. She balanced herself on a cot and scorched Ilana with her glower.

She crossed her arms. "What happened between you and Jayden?"

Ilana noted the seriousness of her tone, as unusual as it was, and hopped off the wood to stand in front of her. "We don't have time for this. The forest is dying. Nadine is dying..."

"...And you can't save anyone without him! So, talk to me!"

Ilana exhaled frustrating air and the sound of his name was sparking fumes. "If you must know, he lied to me. Told me he was here to save our world from dark elves." She scoffed. "He was only here to save his sister who was captured and taken to Drakkus. He was going to let them out to save her! I don't want to talk about it..."

Ilana waved her off and stepped away but Remi threw herself into her path.

Remi leaned forward. "Maybe he didn't tell you everything but if something happened to me, wouldn't you do everything to save me? Hmm?"

She was right, of course, but she didn't want to believe the circumstances were congruent. "I would, you know that, but he lied to me. Couldn't trust me. I thought us sleeping together might get him to open up to me."

"That's not something easy to say is it? I take it you haven't known him that long. He needs more time of you sharing things together not just dancing in the sheets. Don't you know anything about men?" Ilana put her foot next to Remi to go around her but she did the same to bar her path. "No, you're not going anywhere until you hear what I have to say! You haven't told him everything either have you?"

Ilana cringed at the past Remi referred to. "I didn't want to live that again!"

Remi closed on Ilana. "Picking pockets? Breaking and entering? Sounds like a hypocrite, doesn't it? Huh?"

Ilana was stinging inside. That life was a long time ago—a long couple of years ago. She wanted to fool herself into believing it didn't happen but her sister had a fair point. Ilana told herself and the king she did those things to survive a life in the slums of Ellistas but some part of her enjoyed it. That part left her walking around with her head stuck in a hole of shame. It was a life she wanted buried. Ilana accepted her position next to the king to force that life into the darkness for as long as she lived but sometimes, your life, past and present, made you who you became today. It was a part of the person, or elf, standing this day. Sometimes, seeing that person in the mirror wasn't the easiest thing to do.

Ilana said, "Okay, okay! I owe him an apology. I wanted to think that part of my life was gone forever. That it didn't exist anymore. He must think I'm the worst elf he's ever met. No better than the king. I didn't want that. I just messed up but it doesn't change that he was wrong."

"Doesn't change that about you, either."

"I want to love him."

Remi cupped Ilana's face. "You still can."

"Where is he?"

Remi looked at the ground and sniffled. "He has it, sis! I don't know how much time he has."

Ilana was dying inside at the idea of Jayden not making it but standing there whimpering wasn't going to save him. He couldn't go—not until they spoke—but not then either. The cure was everyone's final hope.

Ilana eased her shaking arm into view. "I have it, too."

Devastation destroyed Remi's face as she burst into a wave of tears and screamed into a cry that made Ilana want to crumble into a pool of sorrow.

Remi grabbed her sister and wailed into her shoulder. "Please don't leave me, sis! Don't do this to me!"

Ilana sighed and cried until her tears ran dry. "Remi...I love you."

"No!" she shouted into her body. "You're saying it like it's the last time you'll get to tell me!"

"It won't be but do we really know? I'll die twice if I didn't get to tell you."

"Shut up! You're coming back to me!"

"I will. Where is Jayden?" Ilana repeated.

"I sent him to the southwest region. Our people are in danger..." Ilana marched off with a renewed determination to do what she must. She almost forgot to bid her sis farewell. Remi ran towards a nearby closet. "Wait! I have something for you." She handed Ilana a spare longbow and quiver loaded with arrows, some of the "special" variety. "You might need these."

Ilana threw the equipment over her shoulder and touched her lips to her sis's cheek. "Thank you. I guess I'm off."

Remi followed in her steps outside and waved while Ilana raced towards her destination. She turned and ran back into the clinic as another flood covered her cheeks.

Along the way, Ilana ceased her strides and grabbed at her side with a hand leaning against a tree. The throbbing had her squinting and sending pulses of physical distress throughout. She caught a glimpse of her arm and she lifted it to get a good look. What she saw had her shaking feverously and churned her stomach to bits. The infection was spreading and the faster it did, the less time in the world she had.

Her arm began to blur with the deterioration of her vision.

"Oh, no!" Ilana cried. "I can't think about this now. I have to save my people. I have to tell Jayden I'm sorry and that I love him."

Ilana trudged on with her heart weighing heavier with every movement but she couldn't allow herself to be stopped.

She soon stumbled upon six wood elves behind her lover who was facing off against a pair of mutated beasts that resembled wolves though five times larger. Their backs arched and they had sharp teeth with drool dripping from them. Their fur was flaking off in random spots revealing patches of bloody flesh. The claws extending from their paws could make some nasty wounds.

Jayden clinched, his frame radiated reddish orange, and the discharge of energy flattened the monsters. He lunged ahead with whacks from his flail to both of their skulls but they snarled and roared louder. He whooshed the ball and chain across his body and cracked their canines. They lost a couple of teeth but shrugged it off. They leapt at him with a snap and Jayden granted them a wider berth. He shook his head as if to ask what it would take to drop the monsters.

Ilana wanted to help but waited until her distraction wouldn't put him in danger. "Jayden! I'm here to help! Hang in there, honey!"

Jayden did a quick eye shift in her direction but kept the mutants in his sights. "Your timing is impeccable. I wasn't interested in becoming dinner for them!"

"No chance, baby!" Ilana shouted.

She donned her arm guards, whipped the bow off her back, and swept an arrow from her quiver. She set it in the bow's notch, lifted the bow while pulling the arrow back, and held it. She controlled the tension with her left eye shut while she brought the beast encroaching on Jayden into focus.

She let the arrow fly and struck it in the eye. It released a fearsome roar that frightened the pair. She fired off more arrows, one behind the other, then waited to examine the effect she had, which appeared to be none.

Jayden leapt at it with a swing to its ugly mug but he shrugged it off again and continued its approach.

"I think we're only making it angry!" Jayden yelled as he placed his heel behind him and slowly started into his retreat being careful not to make any sudden moves.

Ilana was perplexed at how to injury their adversaries. "Yeah, I think I tickled it! I have another idea!"

"Please let it be better than the first one!"

Ilana took another arrow between her fingers and rested it in the bow. It had a gray tip with a small pouch attached. "Trust me!"

She raised the bow but the monster appeared to split into a double and weakness crawled into her fingers. She lost the ability to hold the arrow and it launched at a trajectory that carried it beneath the mutated wolf and it exploded blowing off fur and flesh. The attack caused damage to his partner, too. The target of her sights was staggered and Jayden glanced at Ilana but went off on the beast with a flurry of pounds to his skull until it cracked open and his lifeless carcass crashed to the forest floor.

Ilana's vision was like she had water flooding her eyes. It would clear for a bit but cloud it again. Aches were clutching her muscles and her hearing was fading in and out.