The Awakening

Chapter 19 ~ A Summoning

"Your friends will believe in your potential; your enemies will make you live up to it."

- Tim Fargo

~*~

A Summoning

Chapter 19

Lillith crouched low and brushed a palm across Chad's face, his eyes shut so tight from the pain lacing his body. Water trailed along her hands before she lay it flat against his head, watching intensely as they dragged along the cuts and bruises on his body. Nina crouched beside her, "What in damnation happened to the two of them?"

Zephyr raised a small thick barrier made out of sand to protect them from the harsh, sandy torrents and Caspian hung back, keeping a careful eye on their surroundings as the two women worked quickly to help the two injured in any way they could.

"I cannot say for sure," Lillith mused thoughtfully. Her features were tense, a groove between her brows.

"...But who could have defeated them both? A guardian and--and her...how is this possible?" Nina demanded, tension threatening the peaceful silence they had been in before witnessing the shocking scene.

A pained, hacking cough alerted them to Saskia who rolled over suddenly, a gush of blood escaping her mouth. Her breaths were heavy, her eyes matted with sweat and fever as she slumped against the ground ungracefully. She could finally feel their presence but it did nothing to her resolve, her body felt like lead and pain was consuming her entire body.

Are you alright, child?

Yes, don't worry about me.

Adena sighed, how can I not?

Lillith swapped with Nina before approaching Saskia. She placed a cool hand on her head and let the cold trickles of water once again make their way across her body. The water located the deep wounds and healed them slightly. It would do nothing but ease the pain slightly. They needed to be taken to the infirmary as soon as possible because her skills were not sufficient enough.

"She feels feverish whereas he feels ice cold," murmured Lilith, thoughtfully. She glanced down as a hot hand politely moved her hand away. Her gaze was that of a stern mother's concern, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," was Saskia's curt reply. She inclined her head towards the man laying beside her, her movements sluggish compared to her usual nature. "He fares worse, leave me," she said, throat unexplainably dry.

The other woman nodded and moved towards Chad, her hands emitting a slight blue tinge. "Who did this to you? Or what? With the risk of sounding arrogant, there is no one in this class that holds a candle to Chad's powers and skills, so what did this to you?"

Saskia's hands trembled violently as she tried to heave herself up, dragging herself across the sandy plains to his heavily breathing figure. "No one," she croaked.

She paused as Chad's lethargic eyes opened, a slight smile growing on his lips. "An angel?" he breathed. He chuckled at her sour look and then followed a hacking fit, a pained groaned conveying his obvious pain. "Where in the hell did you take us?" he asked, eyes focused on Saskia.

"Another dimension," she raised a hand to stop anyone from interrupting, feeling the unsaid questions hanging in the air. "We were trapped between two walls that was enclosing in around us. We tried to stop it but failed and so I opened a portal to Amaranthe's resting place. That dimension is not habitable for Xanthians and has catastrophic repercussions but I knew his body would be able to survive considering he is a Guardian."