The Quest for Normania #1: The Door of Andrios

15. Norin's Communicator

Norin lay awake that night, thinking of the girl recurring in his dreams.

She was easily three feet shorter than him, with a round face and hair tied up in a ponytail, though some of it slid off her rubber band and fell loose. Her face had a sorrowful expression and her mouth had opened to say something, but no words came out. He had never been good at lip-reading; that was Mithra's speciality. He sighed.

'Who knows, maybe Mithra's been having my dreams, as well,' he thought. 'With this telepathy bond that I have with her.' Suddenly, his eyes widened upon a realisation. 'It can't be... that girl, Ayesha... she's not... she's not my kham now... is she?!'

He sat up suddenly, ignoring, for once, the pain that trebled with the movement. He looked around the room and spotted Mithra's eyes staring right at him where her bed a few feet away to his right, rendering him surprised.

"How is it that you're awake?" he whispered.

"Watching over my Sanguine," she muttered simply.

"I get that... but you really should get some sleep or you won't be able to protect me well."

"Quiet. You need your sleep."

It was then that it occurred to him. "Oh... my thoughts have been keeping you awake." He smiled sheepishly, though in the dark, he doubted she could see. "I... I'm sorry, I just... I can't stop thinking about her... And now, I wonder if somehow I've formed some form of kham bond with her."

The lamp that sat between them on a table switched on, revealing his Sanguine's expression. She sat up and cleared her throat. "Yes, Yela Rumin and I suspected as much, though I wanted to believe that it was just your zeal to protect her, after what happened to your –" She stopped, for she knew that going on would mean hurting him.

Norin gritted his teeth. "Go on, finish that sentence."

Mithra's bland expression didn't change. "After what happened to your father and sister."

A strange noise erupted from his throat and he tried not to cry once again that day; once, and in front of other people, had been embarrassing enough. He recalled that one rainy day, when his father was shot and when the rifle turned to shoot at him, his older sister had ducked in front of him, hence taking the bullet for him. It had scared the shit out of him... so much that, he had collapsed. The men shot them thought he was dead and rushed away. But it was only a few minutes later when his mother and a few other neighbours arrived that he realised what happened...

"No," he rasped fiercely. It wasn't his voice anymore – he didn't remember his own voice sounded like that: torn, possessed. "I'll not allow another family to be torn the way ours did! I won't let it happen!"

He got off the bed and began to walk past his partner's bed towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" her calm voice penetrated his mind.

"To finish that spell." His voice was not quite back, but it was at least recognisable.

"Not with your head in that condition." And before he knew it, Mithra was in front of him. "You'll heed me and go back to your bed right now. Daylight will be here in five hours and you need your sleep."

"No, I need to finish that spell. Otherwise –"

Norin didn't get to finish his sentence, for Mithra punched him so hard in the stomach, that he groaned. He clutched it, rattling off all the swear words he knew.