Redeemed

Ch. 33

Nourse's statement sent a shock through me, and I lifted my head, tears streaming down, to look at his blurry shape. What did he mean? Was he running behind? Had something delayed him? Or was he defying Marduk?

The last thought seemed too good to be true. After what Nourse had told me on the mountain when we were searching for that flower and how he had come to be on the Dragon's side, I doubted he would turn against Marduk.

It would take something miraculously powerful to change Nourse.

"Here," Nourse said, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and handing it to me. He swallowed, glancing at the ground as if gathering the nerve to speak. "I know that you probably hate me, and you have every right to. But I also want you to know that I am not the same person as I once was. If you are willing to listen, I would like to explain myself."

I narrowed my eyes, not quite believing his words. He had tricked and lied to me before in order to keep the dark truth about Marduk hidden, but his actions today contradicted everything I had thought about him. If he truly wanted to bring me to Marduk, I'd be tied up and probably halfway back to the Keep by now.

Either way, I was in his debt, so I might as well listen to his story. I wiped the tears from my face, blew my nose, and looked at Nourse, nodding, still unable to speak past the lump in my throat.

Nourse took a deep breath and began.

"The actions of one person can greatly impact another, as you have no doubt learned this past year," Nourse stated, taking in my bruised and battered appearance. That was the understatement of the century. It seemed to me that most of those impacts ended up hurting others. "You are one such person who has made a difference in my life and made me realize how far I had fallen, particularly after you refused to leave me to those wolves when we were on the Dayspring mission." I blinked, surprised by his confession, before narrowing my eyes at his honeyed words. This was not the first time someone had said nice things about me to gain something, but I was not going to take the bait this time.

Seeing my countenance stiffen, Nourse sighed, looking away. "Forgive me for a poor choice of words. Speaking has never been my strong suit." The memory of Marcus saying something very similar appeared in my mind. I nodded for Nourse to continue, showing I was ready to listen.

"You probably want to know what happened at the Keep after you left, but in order to fully explain myself, I need to explain what it was like before you came, when I had first entered into its walls.

"Like you, I came with an abundance of sword fighting knowledge and skill, and like you, Marduk singled me out. He would train me, and when he was away on missions, he would have Zavis, his second-in-command, work with me.

"Zavis hated me, or more accurately, he was envious of the special treatment Marduk gave me. When he would train me, he held nothing back, not caring if he injured me. It was this training that helped me to become so skilled at fighting, though I would never desire to go through that again or wish it upon anyone else.

"The time of the Dayspring flower came, and Marduk tasked Zavis and me to collect it. Just as had happened when we collected the flower," Nourse motioned to me, "wild animals attacked and chased us, except that time, it was Zavis who was mortally wounded. When he told me to leave him and bring the flower back to the Keep, I followed his order, leaving him to die. I was so weak, so afraid of what would happen if the Dayspring was not delivered, and if I am honest, I also believed that Zavis's demise was justice coming for him from how he had treated me. The wicked deserved to suffer and die. Marduk praised my commitment to the mission and my diligence at returning with the flower, and he promoted me to Zavis's spot.