Chapter 55

"Kedo?" Emeric's voice was choked up as he neared the still form of the young juvenile. He was met with silence...The silence haunted his soul...He feared the worst...That he had lost his younger brother.  The silence seemed to open a door to a dark void in his heart, shattered into a thousand pieces at the moment.

"Kedo answer me!" Emeric cried...Tears springing to his eyes.

He rushed forward, however, before he reached Kedo, Aire stepped into his path and grabbed his arms.  Emeric tried jerking out of her grip, but she held fast.

"He's alright Emeric." Aire reassured.  "He's unconscious, but for now he'll live." 

"For now? What the hell's that supposed to mean?" The words were met with a build up of tears in Emeric's eyes.

Aire guided Emeric to the side where there were fewer eyes to gaze upon them.  She pulled him into a hug.

"With injuries like those it would take a miracle to recover.  You know that.  I don't want to give you false hope Emeric...so I'm going to be straight with you."  She pulled back and gazed into Emeric's red rimmed eyes...Seeing the pain in them brought shame over her. 

"He might not make it through the night..."

Emeric shut his eyes as tears spilled form his cheeks.  He buried his face into her shoulder, hiding his weakness...It shocked her...Emeric had been the strongest warrior she had ever seen in the Dome.  Not just physically, but also in his mental strength.  He had always pushed through every hardship and every challenge that sprang up in his path... He had cut down every foe.

But now...When the one closest to him gets hurt...That's when his soft side comes out...When he sees a fallen brother, he shows the empathy he truly possesses. 

"I'm sorry, Emeric.  I did everything I could.  Now all we can do is pray that fever doesn't take him and that he has the spirit to keep fighting."

Emeric didn't respond.  He simply clung to Aire...He feared that if he let her go he would be letting everything go...That everything would crumble away to dust...To ash...

"Emeric." Rayhan called from a far.  His voice seemed urgent, yet it took a lot for Emeric to draw away from Aire to gaze at his father.  Rayhan stood by the edge of the settlement, and by him stood a dozen men. 

Emeric felt his throat close momentarily, but he relaxed as he noted the dark hair and his Father's relieved body language.  Emeric wiped the tear tracks form his face as he moved towards the group of men.  Most of them were from the council.  Emeric felt a portion of his father's relief as he realized that some of the refugees had managed to escape the mass murder.

The men dispersed as Emeric reached Rayhan.  The older Etreshian barely had to look at his son's face to understand the turmoil he was going through. Rayhan gripped Emeric's shoulder in a comforting manner. 

"How is he?" Rayhan asked gently. 

Emeric sighed sadly, releasing some pent up tension, "He's breathing."

Rayhan's face fell, noting the serious tone in Emeric's voice. 

"He'll pull through.  Just you wait and see."

Emeric gazed levelly into his father's eyes. "False hope won't do me any good now Dad.  Aire said it would take a miracle for him to make it through the evening."

Rayhan nodded slowly, not sure what to say...There wasn't anything he could say to lift his son's spirit.

"I'm going away for a while." Rayhan said as he gestured to the council men who were examining the damage of the settlement.  "They helped the others escape the brunt of the attack.  I need to go check on everyone and make sure that all the wounds are being tended.  Aire will be coming with.  Will you hold the fort here?"

Emeric nodded slowly as he gazed around.  "Not much that needs looking after here." He mused softly.

"Keep a look out in case the Elites return.  We don't want them catching us with our pants down." Rayhan's choice of words were meant to ease Emeric's nerves...They didn't. 

Rayhan sighed softly as he turned to leave.  He paused momentarily, gazing at his son with a worried glint in his eyes.  "Malrick will stay as well. We'll probably be back by nightfall." And with that, Rayhan left.  Emeric took a few moments to calm himself before he turned back to Kedo. 

The pale figure seemed robbed of life.  Only the faint rise and fall of Kedo's chest assured Emeric that he hasn't lost his brother yet...

Emeric wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the fire that burnt in the center of the clearing signified the coming dusk.  The sky had darkened and so had Emeric's mood.  Kedo hadn't shown any sighs of improving. He remained unconscious, barely breathing.  Only now, a slight shiver ran through the juveniles body every few seconds, despite the warm, late afternoon air.  Kedo was getting a dreaded fever.

Emeric looked up when the distinct sound of footsteps met his ears.  He instantly spotted Malrick and four of his comrades striding closer.  Their expressions were stony and sent an uneasy shiver through him.  He got to his feet, awaiting their arrival.   Something in the determination in their eyes warned him of danger.  Emeric knew why...he knew what they were thinking...All of this was his fault...

He'd let Nedes go and the Chayran had turned against him after all.  He had told the Elites about the rebellion camp and where they were stationed...And now everything was ruined and some lives lost forever.

"We need to talk." Malrick said contemptuously.  Emeric met his gaze stoically, but shook his head, "Not now Malrick." To further his point, Emeric gazed down at his deteriorating friend.  Malrick scoffed, "Yes now." And with that they grabbed Emeric and guided him away from where Kedo lay.  He tried struggling against them, but the men where larger and stronger than him.  He set his jaw and prepared himself for what was to come.

Malrick shoved Emeric into the center of the circle of men who sat around the fire.  Emeric felt their eyes turn to him as he staggered to keep his feet.

He turned angrily to Malrick.  His patients wasn't taking the rough treatment all to well.

"What are you doing Malrick?" Hunter questioned irritably. 

"I'm doing what we should have done weeks ago when this brainless fool let the Chayran go." Malrick pointed an accusatory finger at Emeric, "It's all his fault.  Take a look around at your home.  At what's left of it.  All of this," Malrick swept his arms at the ruined buildings, "Is because Emeric cared more about the life of an enemy than that of his own people."

"Nedes didn't give us away." Emeric stated through gritted teeth. 

"The Chayran?" Malrick mocked, "And do you have any proof?  I believe not."

Emeric knew that the odds were stacked up against him.  He could see the fury in the eyes of the men who were seated around him.  They all blamed him and in truth he also did.  He knew that he had messed up...Nedes had given his word, but what was the word of a Chayran against a dozen blood thirsty Etreshians'.

Malrick smirked as Emeric remained silent. 

"Got nothing to say?  Last time you seemed rather eager to defend the Chayran.  I guess you know just as well as all of us that you deserve a punishment."

"And what would that be?" Emeric asked, hating the wrath he heard in his own voice.

Malrick smirked, the expression looked out of place in the weathered face.  He turned to one of his comrades and nodded.  The man took a rucksack from his shoulders and removed an object that looked suspiciously like branding iron.  He handed the metal rod to Malrick.

Malrick twirled the iron through the air a few times before placing it into the hot embers of the fire.

"Your punishment Emeric, will be the mark of a traitor.  You will bear it from this day onwards to remind you of the injustice that you have done.  Every time an Etreshian gazes at you in disgust for the mark you bear, you will remember the lives you had forsaken.  Everyone will know of the treachery you have done by choosing to save a Chayran rather than your kin." 

Emeric's eyes grew wide as he took in Malrick's words and the branding iron that was cooking in the flames. 

"You can't do that, Malrick.  Only the chief can brand someone with it." Hunter protested, rising from his seat.  Sadly, he was the only one who had spoken up.  The other men gazed eagerly at Malrick.  They wanted to see justice served after what had transpired. 

"Well Hunter.  Do you see our dear Chief around.  No? Well then, I guess someone else will have to administer the due punishment in his absence."  Malrick spat.

A sadistic smile came over Malrick's face as he stoked the fire with the traitor's brand.  It was glowing a hot red color. 

Emeric backed away, but two of Malrick's men stood behind him, blocking his escape.

"Grab him." Malrick ordered.

Emeric tried breaking away as the men reached for him, but there were too many of them.  They came form all directions, closing in on him.

Emeric was grabbed from behind by a strong hand, but he spun around and punched the man in the jaw.  He fell to the ground, dazed.  It was a small moment of victory for Emeric, but after he violent strike, hands fell on him from each side, pinning his arms down as the men got a better grip on him. 

Hunter was also struggling against some of the men as he tried to stop their attack on Emeric.  But they held him back effectively.

Emeric grunted as he tried freeing himself from the vice grips, but it was no use. 

They forced him to his knees and ripped his shirt off.  Emeric increased his struggle as Malrick lifted the glowing iron form the flames.  "No..." He grunted, but the men holding him were too strong to fight off.

Two men pressed Emeric down over a log.  The one gripped his hair and pulled his head sideways, leaving his neck vulnerable.

Emeric's breaths came in shallow rasps as Malrick approached.  He seemed to move mockingly slow. 

Emeric shut his eyes against the imminent pain. He could already imagine the glowing iron sear into his flesh. He prayed that his father would appear to stop the suffering before it could start, but his father was somewhere far off in the woods. 

Emeric felt the heat hover over his neck.  "My father will kill you for this." Emeric said through clenched teeth.  He knew what the mark of a traitor would mean for him in Etresh.  He would be treated like a Chayran.  People would hate him more than he had been in the Dome.  And that hatred would follow him to his grave.

"Hold him steady now." Malrick ordered angrily.

Just as Emeric felt the hands on him tighten their grip, the red iron seared into his neck.  He couldn't hold back the cry of pain that was torn from his lips as his flesh dissipated beneath the seething metal.  Emeric struggled against the hands that pressed him down.  His body convulsed with pain as Malrick pressed the branding iron to his neck for a torturous 30 seconds.

Emeric clinched his eyes shut as tears built up in them.  He was gagging against the stench of burnt flesh.  When the men finally released him, he fell away from Malrick and emptied his stomach...The pain along with the stench was too much for him to take.

A dragged out moan rose from his chest as Emeric pressed a hand to his burning wound.  He forced air down his throat, but breathing just didn't seem to come as easily as before.  His throat felt parched and each forced breath he took sent stabs of pain through his neck.

Emeric clambered to his feet remorsefully. He met Malrick's prideful gaze with fury.  It took all he had to refrain from hitting the councilman.  Before he could do anything to the smug Etreshian, Emeric turned on his heal and walked away from the group of men who were supposed to be his kinsmen...Yet they had treated him with the same amount of mercy that the Chayrans had.

Emeric sank down next to Kedo on the ground.  They were quite a way from the others and the warmth of the fire, but Emeric didn't mind.  He wanted nothing more than to put distance between himself and Malrick.

The sun had just set when Emeric heard the distinct sound of hooves thundering closer.  He spotted Rayhan, Radclyf and Aire riding into the settlement through the shadows of the trees. 

"What happened?  We heard someone scream." Rayhan's urgent words met Emeric's ears even from the distance.

Malrick and the others seemed to shrug the question away, but Hunter signalled Rayhan to the side and spoke softly...As he spoke, he pointed in Emeric's direction.  Rayhan whipped his head towards Emeric...The worry was evident even from the distance.

Emeric lowered his gaze as Rayhan hastily approached. The shame that the brand on his neck brought hung heavy over him.  It always would.  The pain did little to ease his nerves.

As Rayhan came to a stop next to Emeric, the younger Rogue got to his feet.

Emeric expected his father to be mad.  To share Malrick's feelings about the settlement and it's undesired fate.  Yet, to Emeric's surprise, Rayhan softly took hold of his jaw and turned his Emeric's head to examine the brand.

Rayhan winced as he took in the inflamed wound.  Although the searing metal had prevented bleeding, the swelling of the wound was still a matter of concern.  If the wound swelled more, it could block Emeric's airway and he could suffocate.

"Why'd he do this?" Rayhan asked angrily. 

Rayhan didn't say anything.  He simply turned a deranged look in Malrick's direction.  His eyes said much more than words could...

Malrick was going to pay for what he had done.