It was dark when Alder woke up. She couldn't force herself to open her
eyes. She felt weak, and drained. She was so tired. All she wanted to do
was fall back into the comfortable folds of sleep.
Something at the back of her mind nagged at her that there was something important that she had to do, that she should open her eyes. She didn't care. She shoved the feeling into the back of her mind.
How had she gotten into bed? She didn't remember the last time she had been awake. For a minute, she didn't even remember who she was. All that mattered was sleep. She rolled over onto her arm, and felt a distant throbbing in her arm, and when she tried to move it, she found that it was in a cast.
How- what? How did I break my arm? Alder opened her eyes, to have the light of a candle break through her stupor. And with the light, the memories flooded back. Someone in Healer's Greens sat in a chair next to her bed, reading. She couldn't see his face from where she sat, but knew it was a male. So she was in the Healer's building. She quietly surveyed her surroundings, not alerting the Healer to the fact that she was awake.
She remembered Aidan breaking her illusion, seeing her for who she really was. Him coming up to her, scarring her arm. His words echoed through her mind, "You little bitch. Enjoy rotting in hell," and how he had blasted her with his Mage-Gift into the wall. That was when her arm had snapped.
In her resolution, she had thought she had better die fighting, rather than laying herself down at Aidan's feet. So she had attacked him. And he had not expected it, so he had gone tumbling through the door. She had blocked them from entering the room with a Mage-barrier, and had tried to construct a magical Gate.
Just as she had finished the Gate, he had shattered her barrier. It had taken more strength than she had to keep the Gate intact, and she still had to get Avery through it with her. She had picked Avery up despite her broken arm, and had run through the Gate. She had set Avery down on the ground, and let herself droop to the earth.
The pain in her arm and the sensation of passing through the Gate overwhelmed her, and she had thrown up. She had dissipated the Gate's magic, and that's when she had allowed herself to fall into the darkness, her resolution fading.
And now she was here, in the Healer's quarters. How long had she been out cold? Where was Avery? Was she okay? Was she able to move again? All of these questions rushed her mind, each one trying to take precedence over the others, and her head ached terribly.
The Healer glanced over at Alder, and saw that her eyes were open. He put his book down, and came into Alder's sight range. "You are awake," Gary stated, for now Alder could see his face, and she recognized the Healer.
"I am," Alder responded calmly. She knew that she couldn't rush things, or else the Healers would drug her back to sleep and tell her that she couldn't see Avery.
"You have been unconscious for quite some time, Alder. How are you feeling?"
"Thinking makes my head hurt, and I am exhausted. How long have I been out cold?"
"Six days. Long enough for Keren, Damon, and Avery's family to come back to Brighton. They have all been worried sick about you. And so has the Queen. You are a vital player in this game. No one knows exactly what happened in Tonnar's holding. You made quite a scene, coming through a Gate in the Northern entrance. All we could see was a dark cell on the other side. You came through, looking terribly sick, and bloody. You set a naked and battered Avery down, and threw up, got rid of the Gate, and passed out. As you probably know, that caused a lot of commotion in the Palace."
"How is Avery?" she asked, already dreading the answer.
A look of loss passed over Gary's face, but he quickly covered it. "I hate to be the one to break the news to you. she seems to have gone into a magical coma, of sorts. The only sign of life in her is a pulse. Keren encountered a magical barrier in her mind, created by the dark Adept, Aidan. They cannot pass it, without hurting her mind. We were consulting on helping her slip into an endless sleep, but Keren said we had to consult you first, as her Lifebonded," Gary looked down at her with sympathy and compassion, but she couldn't handle the news.
"No. You can't. You can't kill her. And don't deny it, that's what it is," Alder said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Alder, think rationally for a minute. there is almost no chance of bringing her back. It would be doing her a favor. She will be living in the back of her own mind for the rest of her life if we don't help her. If we don't, she will probably go insane."
"Rationally? How do you expect me to think rationally?" Alder said, howling. "No, no, she won't go insane. You have no idea. You can't kill her," Alder screeched hysterically, sobbing. Her throat seized, and hurt as she tried to repress the tears. She couldn't, and the tears flooded down her cheeks.
Alder was hysterical. She couldn't express the depression, anger, and hopelessness for all the world. She was insanely angry at Gary, and all of the Healers.
Alder grabbed her pillow and threw it as hard as she could at Gary. It hit him hard across the face, and his expression displayed of shock. She grabbed a vase on her bedside table, and shattered it into pieces against the wall. The pieces fell to the ground, water dripping over the tiled floor, and flowers crushed.
Gary's words had shattered her heart into tiny pieces, and would only be brought back together when Avery was better. She couldn't live without Avery. If she died, she would take a part of Alder with her. If Avery died, it would not be long before Alder ended her own life.
"Blood for blood, Gary," she screamed. "You kill her, and I go with her. I will kill myself, I swear to every god that I will if she dies."
"Alder, you are only fifteen! You have all of your life ahead of you," Gary said, but knew it was a lost case.
"Damn it, Gary, you have a Mind-Healing Gift, you know better than I do that one half of a Lifebond can't survive!"
Alder thrashed in her bed, part of her sanity gone. And then all of her shields broke. Her Gift of Empathy went rogue, and she could not control it. She projected her suicidal depression and her irrational, uncontrollable anger at everyone in her vast range. Her projection was so strong that it overwhelmed even those with the strongest of shields. Every single person in the Healer's building was forced to live through her insanity.
Tears streamed down Gary's face, and he had his hands over his ears, as if that would block out her emotions. "Damn it, Alder! CLAMP IT DOWN! You are not a trainee!" he yelled fiercely, and tried his best to create his own rudimentary shield around Alder.
She didn't even hear his plead. She couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't even feel the pain from the shards of glass from the vase that had sliced her hand.
All of the sudden she felt a needle piercing her arm, and she whirled around to see a female Healer that she didn't recognize injecting a tranquilizer into her bloodstream. She couldn't resist the Healer's strong grip, and soon she fell back into darkness.
Something at the back of her mind nagged at her that there was something important that she had to do, that she should open her eyes. She didn't care. She shoved the feeling into the back of her mind.
How had she gotten into bed? She didn't remember the last time she had been awake. For a minute, she didn't even remember who she was. All that mattered was sleep. She rolled over onto her arm, and felt a distant throbbing in her arm, and when she tried to move it, she found that it was in a cast.
How- what? How did I break my arm? Alder opened her eyes, to have the light of a candle break through her stupor. And with the light, the memories flooded back. Someone in Healer's Greens sat in a chair next to her bed, reading. She couldn't see his face from where she sat, but knew it was a male. So she was in the Healer's building. She quietly surveyed her surroundings, not alerting the Healer to the fact that she was awake.
She remembered Aidan breaking her illusion, seeing her for who she really was. Him coming up to her, scarring her arm. His words echoed through her mind, "You little bitch. Enjoy rotting in hell," and how he had blasted her with his Mage-Gift into the wall. That was when her arm had snapped.
In her resolution, she had thought she had better die fighting, rather than laying herself down at Aidan's feet. So she had attacked him. And he had not expected it, so he had gone tumbling through the door. She had blocked them from entering the room with a Mage-barrier, and had tried to construct a magical Gate.
Just as she had finished the Gate, he had shattered her barrier. It had taken more strength than she had to keep the Gate intact, and she still had to get Avery through it with her. She had picked Avery up despite her broken arm, and had run through the Gate. She had set Avery down on the ground, and let herself droop to the earth.
The pain in her arm and the sensation of passing through the Gate overwhelmed her, and she had thrown up. She had dissipated the Gate's magic, and that's when she had allowed herself to fall into the darkness, her resolution fading.
And now she was here, in the Healer's quarters. How long had she been out cold? Where was Avery? Was she okay? Was she able to move again? All of these questions rushed her mind, each one trying to take precedence over the others, and her head ached terribly.
The Healer glanced over at Alder, and saw that her eyes were open. He put his book down, and came into Alder's sight range. "You are awake," Gary stated, for now Alder could see his face, and she recognized the Healer.
"I am," Alder responded calmly. She knew that she couldn't rush things, or else the Healers would drug her back to sleep and tell her that she couldn't see Avery.
"You have been unconscious for quite some time, Alder. How are you feeling?"
"Thinking makes my head hurt, and I am exhausted. How long have I been out cold?"
"Six days. Long enough for Keren, Damon, and Avery's family to come back to Brighton. They have all been worried sick about you. And so has the Queen. You are a vital player in this game. No one knows exactly what happened in Tonnar's holding. You made quite a scene, coming through a Gate in the Northern entrance. All we could see was a dark cell on the other side. You came through, looking terribly sick, and bloody. You set a naked and battered Avery down, and threw up, got rid of the Gate, and passed out. As you probably know, that caused a lot of commotion in the Palace."
"How is Avery?" she asked, already dreading the answer.
A look of loss passed over Gary's face, but he quickly covered it. "I hate to be the one to break the news to you. she seems to have gone into a magical coma, of sorts. The only sign of life in her is a pulse. Keren encountered a magical barrier in her mind, created by the dark Adept, Aidan. They cannot pass it, without hurting her mind. We were consulting on helping her slip into an endless sleep, but Keren said we had to consult you first, as her Lifebonded," Gary looked down at her with sympathy and compassion, but she couldn't handle the news.
"No. You can't. You can't kill her. And don't deny it, that's what it is," Alder said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Alder, think rationally for a minute. there is almost no chance of bringing her back. It would be doing her a favor. She will be living in the back of her own mind for the rest of her life if we don't help her. If we don't, she will probably go insane."
"Rationally? How do you expect me to think rationally?" Alder said, howling. "No, no, she won't go insane. You have no idea. You can't kill her," Alder screeched hysterically, sobbing. Her throat seized, and hurt as she tried to repress the tears. She couldn't, and the tears flooded down her cheeks.
Alder was hysterical. She couldn't express the depression, anger, and hopelessness for all the world. She was insanely angry at Gary, and all of the Healers.
Alder grabbed her pillow and threw it as hard as she could at Gary. It hit him hard across the face, and his expression displayed of shock. She grabbed a vase on her bedside table, and shattered it into pieces against the wall. The pieces fell to the ground, water dripping over the tiled floor, and flowers crushed.
Gary's words had shattered her heart into tiny pieces, and would only be brought back together when Avery was better. She couldn't live without Avery. If she died, she would take a part of Alder with her. If Avery died, it would not be long before Alder ended her own life.
"Blood for blood, Gary," she screamed. "You kill her, and I go with her. I will kill myself, I swear to every god that I will if she dies."
"Alder, you are only fifteen! You have all of your life ahead of you," Gary said, but knew it was a lost case.
"Damn it, Gary, you have a Mind-Healing Gift, you know better than I do that one half of a Lifebond can't survive!"
Alder thrashed in her bed, part of her sanity gone. And then all of her shields broke. Her Gift of Empathy went rogue, and she could not control it. She projected her suicidal depression and her irrational, uncontrollable anger at everyone in her vast range. Her projection was so strong that it overwhelmed even those with the strongest of shields. Every single person in the Healer's building was forced to live through her insanity.
Tears streamed down Gary's face, and he had his hands over his ears, as if that would block out her emotions. "Damn it, Alder! CLAMP IT DOWN! You are not a trainee!" he yelled fiercely, and tried his best to create his own rudimentary shield around Alder.
She didn't even hear his plead. She couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't even feel the pain from the shards of glass from the vase that had sliced her hand.
All of the sudden she felt a needle piercing her arm, and she whirled around to see a female Healer that she didn't recognize injecting a tranquilizer into her bloodstream. She couldn't resist the Healer's strong grip, and soon she fell back into darkness.