Disclaimer in Chapter 1. Don't sue.

CHAPTER 24

Still tormented by the confusion in his head, Damas began to stagger away from the boulder, through the brush. The world around him was spinning. His hands covered most of his face as if he were trying to force the thoughts out of his head by physically pushing them.

He spun around and around walking in every direction, completely lost, like a toddler trying to find his way in a darkened room. All the while, a force pulled him closer and closer.

"Don't fight it," the voice in his head seemed to say. "Here, you will find the truth."

With desperation, he wanted to do just that. Part of him yearned to give in while another part of him struggled so intensely, he thought he might split in two right there. His soul was fighting a battle within him and he was beginning to feel that he wouldn't survive it.

Still he staggered forward and grasped within himself to find one ounce of strength. He pushed himself onward. Further and further.

"Fight it," the voice echoed. "You must fight what your head's been taught in order to see what your heart has always known."

Damas groaned in agony and stumbled again. He had found hell and now he was trying to climb out. His vision was clouded and he continued to get closer and closer to the edge of his sanity, which seemed to be buried in a deep abyss. A bottomless canyon in his mind.

He wanted to give up. It was too much. The pain he had experienced in the marketplace was nothing compared to this. It had to end.

But he couldn't let it. The edge was there. He could almost grasp it. He put his arms out and leaned forward. He felt all of the answers were within reach, if he could just get a little closer, he would find it.

Just a little closer........

It happened quickly. The wind was knocked out of him as hard as he was knocked back to his senses. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and that's when he felt the pain in the ribs. He focused and gathered his bearings.

He was on the ground. And he hurt, a lot.

"Don't move."

The voice was feminine and familiar. Its tone was commanding yet sympathetic at the same time. The General blinked hard and looked up into the same emeralds that continued to enchant him and vex him all at once.

The redheaded warrior lass. She had knocked him off his feet somehow. Damas stared at her for a moment, starting to wonder if he had been truly knocked down at all.

Teela kept a wary eye on the man. His eyes were bloodshot but still the same intense blue she remembered. But this time, the look behind them was different and it caught her off guard.

"He looks at me as if he knows me," she thought.

He sat up and groaned at the pain in his ribcage. He put his hand on his side and looked at her again. Teela's breath caught in her throat.

"They have the same eyes," she thought. "How could no one else have seen that?"

But he was moving again and her training caught the best of her. She unholstered her sidearm and raised it towards him.

Surprisingly, he did not react. He merely held his hand out in front of her as if to say it wasn't necessary. Still, she preferred to err on the side of caution.

"I think I've learned my lesson," he grunted as he stood.

She was much stronger than he had previously given her credit for. Smart too, she hadn't put her weapon away yet.

Teela was far from sure how to handle the situation. She knew something was different, she could feel it. But she didn't know what.

"You.....you were about to fall," she stammered. "Into the abyss. You were about to go over the side. I pushed you back."

Damas looked to the place he had been standing previously. She was right. Before him lay a wide gap. The winds howled through it with such high pitch it almost sounded like someone was screaming. He would have fallen forever.

He looked at the Lieutenant with curiosity.

"Why did you save me then?" he asked, genuinely interested in the response. To her, he was still a Hordesman, her sworn enemy.

Teela stared at him for a few moments and then slowly lowered her sidearm back to its holster. She carefully walked closer to him, keeping just enough distance in case it was a ruse.

Though in her soul, she knew it wasn't.

"You looked like you needed help," she said, still cautiously. She paused as if considering something at great depth, her concern was shown on her face. "My name is Teela. I'm a Lieutenant with the Eternian Royal Guard. My job is to help people, when they need it."

She examined his body movements, his expressions, searching for a sign of deceit. What she saw before her was confusing, but unlike the last confrontation they had in the palace, she was not alarmed. Something about his manner eased her.

The side of his mouth twitched, as if he were trying to smile but didn't know how. He tried to straighten up but grunted when a twinge of pain from his bruised ribs overtook him. He faltered, and Teela found herself jumping forward, using her arms to support him up.

Then as if he had never had a problem doing it before, Damas gazed into her eyes and smiled. Their faces only inches apart. Both of them seemed to stop breathing.

"Well, Lieutenant," he finally said. "Perhaps, you can help me again."

Teela blushed when she realized how close they were and she pulled back.

"How?" she asked apprehensively. "What is going on here?" she wondered.

Damas' smile faded and he looked around. After several moments of quiet he took a deep breath and looked at her, his eyes pleading.

"Help me find out who I really am."