Allies and Enemies

Chapter Twenty-Three: Burden

The shot hit Saqqara, me, in the back. I collapsed in agony. I knew that I had been shot in the spine, and I knew exactly what that meant. I was paralyzed. If Saqqara hadn't been perched on my shoulder, that bolt would have missed me. Instead, it had hit my dæmon, and now I was paying the consequences, along with her.

"Kianna!" Ginny exclaimed in shock.

"We've gotta get out of here," Zoya said. "We're out in the open." Della carefully picked up Kaelith and Ginny gingerly hoisted me into her arms. They started running, and I could tell that if they didn't get back soon, I would probably be paralyzed for the rest of my life. I couldn't fight if I was paralyzed. Soon, the pain was too much, and I blacked out.

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I awoke with a start to an obsidian ceiling. I tried to sit up, but someone pushed me back down.

"Take it easy, Kianna," a voice said. "You're still healing."

"Rowan?" I mumbled.

"You took quite the hit," Rowan said. "We had to put you in a bacta tank for a while. The others were worried you wouldn't survive, but I knew you had the will."

"How long's it been?" I asked.

"Since we got Kaelith back, six hours," Rowan replied. I tried to sit up again, then yelped in pain and quickly lay down again. "Told you. Rest for the next day, and you'll be up and fighting in no time. You were paralyzed for the first couple of hours. The bacta tank helped require your nerves a bit, but I had to do the rest. Don't worry, you'll be okay." She got up from my bedside chair and walked out. She stopped in the doorway briefly and turned around.

"Oh, and if you're worried about it, don't be. I've got all your duties covered." She left the room and the door whooshed closed.

"So, I suppose I won't be alone here," a voice said. I looked to my left and Kaelith was laying on a bed exactly like mine. Her burns looked a lot worse in this lighting.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yup, I'll be fine," Kaelith replied. "You?"

"I think so," I said. We spoke quietly for the next hour or two until Kaelith fell asleep. I lay, staring at the ceiling in utter silence.

"Please don't hide me away again," my dæmon broke the silence. "That shadow over me makes that part of you awful."

"Saqqara, if you hadn't been on my shoulder, that sniper shot would have missed me," I said. "It's just too risky."

"Don't you... need me, though?" Saqqara asked quietly.

"'Qara, I'm too vulnerable. You know that if something happens to either of us, the other is affected. I don't want this happening to either of us again," I replied. "I'm sorry." Saqqara was quiet. 

"So I'm a burden, then," she said. "A burden to you."

"Saqqara, it's not like that," I said. 

"Then let me stay," Saqqara pleaded. "I don't want to leave your side again."

"And I don't want you to leave either, but we can't always have what we want," I said gently, but firmly. "I don't want to jeopardize our safety. It's also for the good of the worlds. It'd be hard to fight for them if we're stuck in a hospital bed all the time." Saqqara hung her head in sadness.

"So is this goodbye, then?" she asked.

"Not for forever," I comforted, then I closed my eyes. I searched for the part of my soul that kept Saqqara in the physical world, then covered it with a shadow. I opened my eyes, and Saqqara was gone. I wasn't too surprised to find tears pricking my eyes. I knew hiding Saqqara was for the best, but I knew I would miss her deeply anyway. She was a part of me. She had been to so many places, seen so much, knew so much. It almost felt wrong to keep her away.

"It's for the best," I whispered to myself. "It's for the best."