The Night Rider

Chapter 47

I walk through the corridors with my heart in my throat, on my way to the infirmary. My bare feet glide across the carpet that covers the corridors. I have always hated this carpet, the awful colour and never being able to get it completely clean. The first one on the right, the fifth on the left and finally the third door on the right. As soon as I enter the huge room, full of beds, I look around me, looking for Noa.

To my surprise, she is nowhere to be found. A nurse looks at me questioningly as I stand in the doorway, surprised. She wants to walk towards me but before she gets the chance something comes to mind. Without giving the woman any explanation about my strange visit, I turn around. I continue my way through the corridors, this time heading for Rafiki's room. I should have known Noa would never take Rafiki to the infirmary.

The end of the corridor approaches my sight. With a last few quick steps, I stand before the wooden door. I lower the latch and let the door fall open. I was right and see Noa kneeling beside the bed, Rafiki is still lying defenceless on the bed. I quickly close the door behind me and walk over to the bed. Noa looks at me with a desperate look in his eyes. I give him a quick look before taking a seat on the bed next to Rafiki.

I take the girl's hand and feel her heartbeat beating very slowly. You might ask why we didn't take her to the infirmary. We are sure that the infirmary could not do anything about it, it is nothing medical. I try to close my eyes and take her magic from her hands. I feel such intense resistance that I give up after only a few seconds.

Desperately I look at the defenceless girl on the bed, not knowing what to do. In my head I go through all the books I have read but find no solution. Then something comes to mind that cannot be read in a book. 'Noa, get your mother and tell her to get the tub, quick' Noa doesn't know how fast he should get up and run out of the room. I get up from the bed and pull open the drawer of her desk, looking for something sharp.

I find nothing in the first drawer so I pull open the second one. I find a pair of scissors and pull them out. For a moment, I doubt whether this is too cruel, but when my gaze falls on Rafiki again, I put all my values aside. Again, I take a seat next to her on the bed. I take hold of her hand and open it to her wrist. 'Sorry', I mumble. I open the scissors and grab the part with the sharpest point. With my thumb, I search for the point where her life lines and veins cross.

I put the point in her skin and press so hard that her skin opens. Black blood drips from the wound along her skin onto the bed. I grab the blankets and push the wound closed. Fortunately, at that moment the door opens and I see Chea and Noa standing there. Chea has the small tube, with the size of a needle and the thickness of a pencil, in her hand. For a moment she looks surprised at the scene but doesn't ask any questions. I hold up the scissors to her.

She takes the thing out of my hand and runs the sharp edge over her thumb. Her black blood drips from her finger. She lets the blood slide into the opening of the tube until the whole thing is filled. She puts the cap on and almost pushes it into my hand. I take the bloody blankets off Rafiki's wrist and push the tube into her skin. At this point I'm almost glad she's unconscious, I don't want to imagine the pain.

I push the blanket onto her skin again to remove the blood. My gaze goes to Chea and Noa who are standing in the middle of the room. Noa looks at us with a perplexed expression because of what has just happened, Chea has her hand around her chin and looks expectantly. For seconds, maybe even minutes, nothing happens. We just look at Rafiki lying defenceless on the bed.

'What kind of tube is that?' Noa breaks the silence. 'That's a tube we used for your father years ago to change his appearance. My blood is like a poison to dark magic, in this case Yin, making him less powerful for a while. In your father's case, it changed his appearance so that he could not be found', Chea explains it to her son. I nod in the affirmative and hope very much that it will have some effect on Rafiki.

Then the visible black veins on her arm slowly start to fade a little. I sigh with relief. Suddenly Rafiki's eyes shoot open and she seems to gasp for breath. She wants to jump up but I stop her. She looks around in shock at the scene around her bed. She hyperventilates for a few seconds before her breathing becomes normal.

She wants to reach for the tube but I stop her. 'Leave it'. She looks slightly shocked at the bloody blankets in my hand. 'W-what...?' The words almost don't come out of her mouth. 'It poisons Yin for a period of time'. I remove the blankets from her wrist and see that the bleeding has stopped. A black cap is all that can be seen next to the blood on her arm.

I look at Rafiki and see her eyes swirling. The sight is slightly laughable as it looks like she is heavily drugged. I'm not surprised that Chea's blood has this effect, and it's only temporary. I look at Chea and see a small smile on her lips. Noa only looks worried. 'Calm down Noa, this is only for an hour. It's like you're heavily into drugs'