The Judgement Of Divinity (TMOE #2)

Chapter 36: To ashes

Contrary to what Lucius had expected, he did not wake up on the cold ground outside the BBT building. Neither had he managed to somehow crawl his way back to Anthony's mansion with the help of a recovered Ethan.

In fact, as his stinging, swollen eyes slowly got used to the warm light of an otherwise dark room, he had no idea where he was. He had no idea whose comfy bed he'd been placed in, or who had seemingly washed and patched him up with the various tools and washcloths on the dark wooden nightstand. Not to mention who had wrapped a cloth around his forearm and neck to support his shoulder.

Despite the brief panicking over his missing shirt, it was a comfort he had not expected to find right after the events he had just endured, and had he been someone else, he would have entertained the thought that he'd died and entered The Unity.

Considering the wrinkly horror in the back of his mind however, it seemed unlikely.

As his usual luck would have it he was not allowed to feel the comfort for too long as his entire body reminded him of his unfortunate state, and he drew a hissing breath before throwing a weak glance at his shoulder.

"Careful," a voice Lucius could only recognize by the accent said. "Don't strain your arm too much."

It was so far-fetched, Lucius had to turn his head before acknowledging the owner of the voice was actually there, and his blood-shot eyes blinked in confusion.

"Lieutenant vier— Vieru? ... Vieryshk—" he tried, but wouldn't blame himself for not remembering given the numerous strikes his head had taken. "... Ivan?"

Ivan Vieryshkin pinched his lips together, but seemed to accept the new, casual terms.

"Lucius," he returned. "It's good to see you're awake."

"This is your hou—" Lucius coughed, swallowing to soothe his dry throat, and Ivan handed him a glass from the bedside table.

"Yes, this is my house," Ivan confirmed as Lucius' shaking, disoriented hand grabbed the glass. "You never saw the guest room last time, understandably."

"How..." Lucius shook his head after taking a sip, bitter that it didn't help his throat as much as he'd wished. "... How did I end up here?"

"It seems that after..." Ivan made a gesture at Lucius' state. "... This happened, you somehow ended up on that bridge near here. I found you earlier this morning."

Vague glimpses of Lucius' excruciating journey out of the basement returned to him in a haze. The cellar door, the fresh yet stinging, cold air, and then trees. Lots of them. He'd tried making his way back to Anthony's mansion, but with his head spinning so much he must have gone the wrong way. As Ivan had said, the bridge with fish statues had also appeared before him.

He glanced down at his wrapped up arm with a lump in his throat. How bad was it? There had been too much going on, he hadn't had the time to wonder just how damaged his shoulder was.

"Fortunately, I've treated injuries before," Ivan continued. "I took the opportunity of putting it back into place before you woke up. It should heal, as long as you let it rest and keep your arm still like that. You should still seek help from a doctor, of course."

Lucius closed his eyes and Ivan's voice disappeared as the snapping sound of his shoulder returned to echo through his head, over and over. Why had he been so stubborn? He'd ended up humiliated anyway, so why couldn't he have saved his arm?

"Dare I ask why the BBT would do this to you?" Ivan asked, piercing through Lucius' mind barrier. "I thought you and the younger Lord Hargreaves were... Close."

Lucius' heart sank, much like his gaze.

"... Yeah, that's... That's the problem. Turns out we're too close." He wrinkled his eyebrows. "... How did you know it was them?"