"Help me take him into the bedroom. It'd be better to take care of him in
there," Evie said.
Rick and Marok helped Ardeth to his feet and into the bedroom. He was gasping in pain as Evie softly touched the wound.
"This is bad. He's losing blood fast," she said. "Oh Ardeth, why'd you do this?"
"They...were after...Catlanda. Couldn't...let them...attack..." he quietly replied before wincing from the pain.
Catlanda angrily sighed as she stared at Rick.
"Do you have any needles and thread I can stitch this up with?" she asked him, gently pulling away the clothing from his shoulder.
Rick now appeared wide-eyed. His shocked expression gave her the indication of disbelief.
"I used to do this on myself whenever I got injured badly enough. In my case, that was often. We've got to stop the bleeding now or he'll die!" she yelled at him as she laid down the Spire beside the now unconscious Ardeth.
"Why don't you use that thing to help him?" he demanded as Evie ran out of the room.
Catlanda paused before looking at him with tearful eyes.
"I would if I could Rick," was all she said as Evie ran back into the room with the needle and thread.
"Please leave now. We can do this on our own," Marok told them.
Evie and Rick reluctantly left the room to let them do their work.
***
In the morning, after Alex had gone to school, Evie poked her head in through the door. She saw that both of the young Medjai had fallen asleep. Marok was in the nearby chair with his head thrown back over the headrest. Catlanda was by the bed, her upper body on the bedside. Both sets of hands were covered in blood and so were the sheets. Ardeth was in the bed, motionless.
Evie quietly walked over to the bed to see Ardeth was still breathing. She sighed as she looked at the exposed and ugly wounds in his shoulder. She covered them and pulled the sheet up to his chin.
"Good morning Evelyn," came a quiet voice.
She looked up to see Marok was awake.
"Thankfully, he lived through the night. All we can do now is let him rest," he said with a yawn.
He rubbed his eyes and stood up.
"Would it be possible to get one of your doctors check him over? He's probably fine but it never hurts to make sure," he wondered, walking over to her.
"Yes, I can do that," she replied with a nod of the head.
She started out the door, only to look back before turning the corner.
"If it reassures you, Alex and Jonathan still know nothing about this. Rick and I managed to clean up the mess in time that they didn't see it when they got up," Evie told him.
***
Pyram turned to Ms. Langrid in the car as it sat in the school parking lot.
"Caroline, I need you to do something for me. I have to get access to the girl that was here yesterday. She has something I want and I need to get it from her. Invite her back or something. Just do it as soon as possible," he told her.
She nodded before climbing out of the car and into the school.
Pyram watched her go inside and he snickered.
"I will finally have you, Medjai. You won't have that thing in your possession much longer," he whispered to himself as he backed the car out.
***
Back at the O'Connell house, Ardeth was still not awake as the doctor looked over his wounds.
He walked out of the room and closed the door to greet an ever patient Evie and an ever impatient Catlanda.
"I think he'll be fine, he's exhausted. All I can prescribe him now is rest and make sure he doesn't overexert himself with those leg and shoulder injuries," the doctor told them. "It's a miracle that he survived the night with these injuries he's sustained."
"Thank you for coming over on such short notice. I really appreciate it," Evie replied with a smile.
The doctor started out the front door only to turn back and poke his head back in.
"And another thing, whoever did those stitches should really try a career in medicine. They are very well done," he said.
Catlanda turned away from Evie and stopped in the doorway of Ardeth's room.
"If only I had heard them come in, he wouldn't be like this. I was so tired last night. I'm always so scared that I'll never see him again when he goes off to face the battles. Like what he did with the Creature four years ago and ten years before that. Now he's gotten himself hurt because of me," she said, tears falling down her face.
"He'll be fine Catlanda. He's strong. Now go get some rest. You stayed up half the night trying to save Ardeth's life," Evie told her.
"But only if you wake me if something happens," Catlanda replied.
"Of course," laughed Evie.
The Medjai headed into her own bedroom and collapsed onto the bed.
***
Isis purred as Rick walked in through the door. He stared at her with a disgusted look.
"What do you want? Here I'm beginning to trust your master from the last time and the next thing I know, somebody's after that thing she carries. And in London of all places," he snarled at her.
Isis whimpered and backed away. She walked past Evie, who was coming to greet him.
"Rick, what did you to Isis now?" she asked him curiously.
He did not answer her but the look on his face answered it all for her: his distrust towards the female Medjai and her animals came back with a vengence. She sighed as she watched him..
"When will you learn to trust them fully and not worry about every little thing that happens to come their way? It's not her fault the Spire's in popular demand and there's only one available," Evie angrily told him.
Rick didn't answer her but instead walked right by her in an obviously bad mood.
***
Ms. Langrid sat at her desk, marking some papers while the children were busily working in groups. She kept her eye on Alex the entire time.
"Hey Alex, your cousin looks like an interesting person. Do you think we'll be able to see her again?" asked one student.
"Yeah. She's cool. I want to come visit her at your house sometime before she has to leave for her home," said another with a sigh.
The teacher heard these remarks and snickered to herself.
'Perfect. Their curiousity is how I can get the wretched brat here,' she thought to herself.
She climbed out of her chair and walked over to the students huddled in the small group.
"Kids, I happened to overhear you talking about the young woman who was here yesterday. How'd you like to meet her again and have her talk about her homeland?" she asked them.
The students started to cheer at the idea, wide smiles on their faces. Their hands went into the air. The others looked over at them.
"Alex, do you think she'll be able to come in a couple of days?" Ms. Langris asked Alex.
"I'll ask her once I get home today and let you know tomorrow Ms. Langrid," he replied with a small smile. "I don't think she'll have a problem with it."
There was a class full of happy smiles and cheers as they heard the news.
***
Evie was in the living room reading a book when a knock came to the front door. She opened it up to see a couple of her friends.
"Good afternoon Evelyn. We thought we'd drop in for a visit," one of the women said.
"Why hello. I never expected company. Come on in," Evie replied, opening the door further, allowing them inside the house.
"We brought our daughters with. They wanted to join us this time," the other said.
"That's fine with me," Evie replied as they headed back to the living room and sat down.
"Where's your son? Still at school?" wondered one woman.
"Yes, he is Rebecca. I expect him home in about an hour," Evie said as she headed into the kitchen.
The four women waited as the tea was brought back.
"Evelyn, I believe you've already met my daughter Erin," Rebecca said.
"And my Kari as well," Anne, the other woman, put in.
"Yes, I have," Evelyn replied, lifting up the teacup.
***
Upstairs, Isis perked up her ears as she slept beside her master in Ardeth's room. Marok was there with Catlanda. They were talking to each other as she started to growl and lifted her head up. The two glanced between each other as Isis stared at the door.
"Isis, what's wrong?" asked Catlanda, stroking the cat's head.
The lynx ignored her for the second time as she continued to growl. She suddenly bolted out of the room and down the stairs.
"Does she do this a lot?" asked an obviously annoyed Marok.
"Not usually. This behaviour is very unlike her. Perhaps it is because we are here," Catlanda replied as they hurried after her.
***
Downstairs, Erin and Kari were looking at the sword rack as their mothers talked with Evie.
"Amazing, aren't they?" asked Erin.
"Totally. I'd love to see one in action," agreed Kari as they stared at them in awe.
They turned around at the moment to see Isis behind them. They screeched and started to back away from the growling animal.
Evie, Rebecca and Anna ran into the room to see the situation. The two mothers were shocked.
"Where did this beast come from?" demanded Anne.
Catlanda ran into the room and up to the cat, laying the Spire on the floor.
"Be careful, that thing's dangerous," warned Erin.
All Catlanda did was gently scold the cat.
"Isis, I don't want to see that again, do you hear me?" she said in Arabic as Marok came down the stairs.
The cat whimpered. Catlanda picked her up and headed for the stairs.
"Marok, could you get the Spire?" she asked him.
"But..." he started.
"Didn't we have this discussion already?" she reprimanded. "Pick it up."
"Wait Catlanda!" called Evie, hurrying up to them.
The two stopped and Evie stood before them, facing the shocked guests.
"I neglected to tell you we had company already. Everybody, this is Catlanda and Marok. The cat's hers and her name's Isis. These two are staying with us, along with Catlanda's father for a visit here in London. Catlanda, Marok, these are friends of mine. This is Anne, Rebecca and their daughters Erin and Kari," Evelyn quickly explained.
"Such control over such a wild animal, it's unbelievable," gasped Erin.
"Come on, let's go talk and get to know more about each other," Anne said before they walked over to the couch.
Catlanda stayed where she was until Evie walked up to her.
"Let me take Isis outside for now and check up on Ardeth first. I need to make sure he's alright," Catlanda told her.
"Understandable. We'll be in there and you come when you're ready," she replied.
TBC...
Rick and Marok helped Ardeth to his feet and into the bedroom. He was gasping in pain as Evie softly touched the wound.
"This is bad. He's losing blood fast," she said. "Oh Ardeth, why'd you do this?"
"They...were after...Catlanda. Couldn't...let them...attack..." he quietly replied before wincing from the pain.
Catlanda angrily sighed as she stared at Rick.
"Do you have any needles and thread I can stitch this up with?" she asked him, gently pulling away the clothing from his shoulder.
Rick now appeared wide-eyed. His shocked expression gave her the indication of disbelief.
"I used to do this on myself whenever I got injured badly enough. In my case, that was often. We've got to stop the bleeding now or he'll die!" she yelled at him as she laid down the Spire beside the now unconscious Ardeth.
"Why don't you use that thing to help him?" he demanded as Evie ran out of the room.
Catlanda paused before looking at him with tearful eyes.
"I would if I could Rick," was all she said as Evie ran back into the room with the needle and thread.
"Please leave now. We can do this on our own," Marok told them.
Evie and Rick reluctantly left the room to let them do their work.
***
In the morning, after Alex had gone to school, Evie poked her head in through the door. She saw that both of the young Medjai had fallen asleep. Marok was in the nearby chair with his head thrown back over the headrest. Catlanda was by the bed, her upper body on the bedside. Both sets of hands were covered in blood and so were the sheets. Ardeth was in the bed, motionless.
Evie quietly walked over to the bed to see Ardeth was still breathing. She sighed as she looked at the exposed and ugly wounds in his shoulder. She covered them and pulled the sheet up to his chin.
"Good morning Evelyn," came a quiet voice.
She looked up to see Marok was awake.
"Thankfully, he lived through the night. All we can do now is let him rest," he said with a yawn.
He rubbed his eyes and stood up.
"Would it be possible to get one of your doctors check him over? He's probably fine but it never hurts to make sure," he wondered, walking over to her.
"Yes, I can do that," she replied with a nod of the head.
She started out the door, only to look back before turning the corner.
"If it reassures you, Alex and Jonathan still know nothing about this. Rick and I managed to clean up the mess in time that they didn't see it when they got up," Evie told him.
***
Pyram turned to Ms. Langrid in the car as it sat in the school parking lot.
"Caroline, I need you to do something for me. I have to get access to the girl that was here yesterday. She has something I want and I need to get it from her. Invite her back or something. Just do it as soon as possible," he told her.
She nodded before climbing out of the car and into the school.
Pyram watched her go inside and he snickered.
"I will finally have you, Medjai. You won't have that thing in your possession much longer," he whispered to himself as he backed the car out.
***
Back at the O'Connell house, Ardeth was still not awake as the doctor looked over his wounds.
He walked out of the room and closed the door to greet an ever patient Evie and an ever impatient Catlanda.
"I think he'll be fine, he's exhausted. All I can prescribe him now is rest and make sure he doesn't overexert himself with those leg and shoulder injuries," the doctor told them. "It's a miracle that he survived the night with these injuries he's sustained."
"Thank you for coming over on such short notice. I really appreciate it," Evie replied with a smile.
The doctor started out the front door only to turn back and poke his head back in.
"And another thing, whoever did those stitches should really try a career in medicine. They are very well done," he said.
Catlanda turned away from Evie and stopped in the doorway of Ardeth's room.
"If only I had heard them come in, he wouldn't be like this. I was so tired last night. I'm always so scared that I'll never see him again when he goes off to face the battles. Like what he did with the Creature four years ago and ten years before that. Now he's gotten himself hurt because of me," she said, tears falling down her face.
"He'll be fine Catlanda. He's strong. Now go get some rest. You stayed up half the night trying to save Ardeth's life," Evie told her.
"But only if you wake me if something happens," Catlanda replied.
"Of course," laughed Evie.
The Medjai headed into her own bedroom and collapsed onto the bed.
***
Isis purred as Rick walked in through the door. He stared at her with a disgusted look.
"What do you want? Here I'm beginning to trust your master from the last time and the next thing I know, somebody's after that thing she carries. And in London of all places," he snarled at her.
Isis whimpered and backed away. She walked past Evie, who was coming to greet him.
"Rick, what did you to Isis now?" she asked him curiously.
He did not answer her but the look on his face answered it all for her: his distrust towards the female Medjai and her animals came back with a vengence. She sighed as she watched him..
"When will you learn to trust them fully and not worry about every little thing that happens to come their way? It's not her fault the Spire's in popular demand and there's only one available," Evie angrily told him.
Rick didn't answer her but instead walked right by her in an obviously bad mood.
***
Ms. Langrid sat at her desk, marking some papers while the children were busily working in groups. She kept her eye on Alex the entire time.
"Hey Alex, your cousin looks like an interesting person. Do you think we'll be able to see her again?" asked one student.
"Yeah. She's cool. I want to come visit her at your house sometime before she has to leave for her home," said another with a sigh.
The teacher heard these remarks and snickered to herself.
'Perfect. Their curiousity is how I can get the wretched brat here,' she thought to herself.
She climbed out of her chair and walked over to the students huddled in the small group.
"Kids, I happened to overhear you talking about the young woman who was here yesterday. How'd you like to meet her again and have her talk about her homeland?" she asked them.
The students started to cheer at the idea, wide smiles on their faces. Their hands went into the air. The others looked over at them.
"Alex, do you think she'll be able to come in a couple of days?" Ms. Langris asked Alex.
"I'll ask her once I get home today and let you know tomorrow Ms. Langrid," he replied with a small smile. "I don't think she'll have a problem with it."
There was a class full of happy smiles and cheers as they heard the news.
***
Evie was in the living room reading a book when a knock came to the front door. She opened it up to see a couple of her friends.
"Good afternoon Evelyn. We thought we'd drop in for a visit," one of the women said.
"Why hello. I never expected company. Come on in," Evie replied, opening the door further, allowing them inside the house.
"We brought our daughters with. They wanted to join us this time," the other said.
"That's fine with me," Evie replied as they headed back to the living room and sat down.
"Where's your son? Still at school?" wondered one woman.
"Yes, he is Rebecca. I expect him home in about an hour," Evie said as she headed into the kitchen.
The four women waited as the tea was brought back.
"Evelyn, I believe you've already met my daughter Erin," Rebecca said.
"And my Kari as well," Anne, the other woman, put in.
"Yes, I have," Evelyn replied, lifting up the teacup.
***
Upstairs, Isis perked up her ears as she slept beside her master in Ardeth's room. Marok was there with Catlanda. They were talking to each other as she started to growl and lifted her head up. The two glanced between each other as Isis stared at the door.
"Isis, what's wrong?" asked Catlanda, stroking the cat's head.
The lynx ignored her for the second time as she continued to growl. She suddenly bolted out of the room and down the stairs.
"Does she do this a lot?" asked an obviously annoyed Marok.
"Not usually. This behaviour is very unlike her. Perhaps it is because we are here," Catlanda replied as they hurried after her.
***
Downstairs, Erin and Kari were looking at the sword rack as their mothers talked with Evie.
"Amazing, aren't they?" asked Erin.
"Totally. I'd love to see one in action," agreed Kari as they stared at them in awe.
They turned around at the moment to see Isis behind them. They screeched and started to back away from the growling animal.
Evie, Rebecca and Anna ran into the room to see the situation. The two mothers were shocked.
"Where did this beast come from?" demanded Anne.
Catlanda ran into the room and up to the cat, laying the Spire on the floor.
"Be careful, that thing's dangerous," warned Erin.
All Catlanda did was gently scold the cat.
"Isis, I don't want to see that again, do you hear me?" she said in Arabic as Marok came down the stairs.
The cat whimpered. Catlanda picked her up and headed for the stairs.
"Marok, could you get the Spire?" she asked him.
"But..." he started.
"Didn't we have this discussion already?" she reprimanded. "Pick it up."
"Wait Catlanda!" called Evie, hurrying up to them.
The two stopped and Evie stood before them, facing the shocked guests.
"I neglected to tell you we had company already. Everybody, this is Catlanda and Marok. The cat's hers and her name's Isis. These two are staying with us, along with Catlanda's father for a visit here in London. Catlanda, Marok, these are friends of mine. This is Anne, Rebecca and their daughters Erin and Kari," Evelyn quickly explained.
"Such control over such a wild animal, it's unbelievable," gasped Erin.
"Come on, let's go talk and get to know more about each other," Anne said before they walked over to the couch.
Catlanda stayed where she was until Evie walked up to her.
"Let me take Isis outside for now and check up on Ardeth first. I need to make sure he's alright," Catlanda told her.
"Understandable. We'll be in there and you come when you're ready," she replied.
TBC...
