Varna Ch. 08

- "You alright?"

- "Just ... tired." I mumbled.

Durgat helped me to the side of the pool. I lacked the strength to get out, so he lifted me and pushed me onto the tiles.

- "Yazgash had second thoughts, after you left." he said. "She thought I should keep an eye on you."

- "Glad she did - you did." I got out. "Let's go t'the barracks."

Durgat half-carried, half-dragged me back to the Lower Barracks. Word of our arrival spread through the building quickly.

- "What happened?" snarled Yazgash.

- "Killers." said Durgat. "Three of them. He took out the first two."

- "Call everybody in." said Yazgash. "Send for Enneiros. Now. Put him here, Durgat. "

Time passed. I heard voices, but couldn't make sense of the words. My body hurt all over; strangely, though, I felt the most pain in my knees. Why would that be?

I slowly became aware of a gentle hand stroking my wet hair.

- "I'm here, love." she said. "I'm with you."

I knew that voice. I'm sure that I smiled.

"He knows me. Tauma, we need you. Can you draw on the aether? Just a little bit? Trust me - this is what you have to do."

I loved that voice. But what she was saying didn't sound right. Rhigen had always warned us not to over-strain ourselves. When Glasha had blasted Merik, she'd needed to sleep for several days before she recovered. Rhigen had said that we could do permanent damage to ourselves. Why would Glasha tell me the opposite?

That's who it was. Glasha. My only love. Except for Saska Tanle, of course. And my sister.

- "Just a little, Tauma. Just a little aether - use it to help you wake up. We need you ..."

- "Can he hear you?" said a different voice. I liked that voice, too.

- "Yes." said Glasha. "See - he's smiling."

Just a little aether. That didn't sound so bad. I could always stop if it started to hurt.

It did hurt - but not so badly. I drew on the aether, and fed a little to my mind. Very quickly, I realized where I was (in the Lower Barracks), and who was talking over me (Glasha, and Yazgash). I also remembered why I was there.

The bath house. Three men had tried to kill me. But I wasn't dead. Durgat had been there, too. He'd killed the third assassin. Who had tried to have me killed?

My eyes opened.

- "There he is." said my lovely Glasha. There were tears in her eyes.

- "You're here." I said.

- "Of course I am."

- "But ..." That couldn't be right. Then it came to me. "You were going to time walk. You should be asleep."

- "I did time walk. But I found what I was looking for - almost right away." she said. Then her lip quivered a little.

"I'm sorry, Tauma. Your father is dead."

*****