~ 48: Under The Weather - Part 3 ~

Dominic slowly and very quietly turned his head as he noticed the shadow looming over him. The dread in his eyes was evident as he finally sighted the tall figure.

"You!" his voice thundered. "What the hell are you here for?"

"Care to explain what made you think you could touch my cousin?" said the eye-patch man as he winked at me. I couldn't smile any harder for my cheeks already hurt.

'Good one,' I complimented him.

'Anything to get you out of trouble and smiling like that,' he replied softly.

A glint of emotion passed his eye as he calmly looked down at the other man.

"I— I—" he stuttered as woeful dread washed over him, turning him as white as a ghost.

"What drove you to dress up as her friend and threaten her?" he growled, the tips of his fangs shimmering in the light.

"I was ordered by my master to do so," the replica said. "She doesn't belong here."

"She doesn't belong to you either. When did you join hands with anybody to bow down like that? You had a very high head all the time. It's a shame that it has been bent."

"Watch what you say, halfling. You will never be strong as any of us true-blooded creatures. You are destined to receive the punishment of your parents and forefathers."

Lucas only had to step forward and summon his sword for the cowardly fellow to leave. I knew that he didn't take off the eyepatch for fear of anyone seeing him, but that itself would have been enough to scare him away. The next second the sword was gone behind his back and I sat there in shock.

He chuckled and said, "That was only an illusion. Did it terrify you that much?"

"Well, the cameras..." I started and then immediately checked around to see if anyone had heard that. Then I whispered, "The fact that you could create an illusion was not something I was expecting. I thought the sword actually came in your hand, which was unbelievable."

"You worry too much. Also, summoning things like that is inhumane, or the better phrase would be 'out of this world'. If creatures could just order things about, why would anyone have to carry anything? But people still carry their wands, staffs, blades and whatnot."

My throat was sore because of the exposure to the cold weather, but the hot food had helped in keeping the severeness at bay. My coughs got Lucas concerned like he knew something was terribly wrong.

"You should get home quickly and gargle your throat with hot salty water," his husky deep voice came through my ear as I held my ever-tightening throat to stop the coughs from rising. "If you can eat anything at all now, I will fetch you some soup."

'No need for that,' I wheezed, finding it to be the only way to communicate with him. 'The cold air still hangs around me even though the rain surely didn't touch this place.'

'It rained here, but only for a minute at most,' he replied. 'The ground was cleaned and had dried up pretty fast with the sun's rays being strong in this part.'

'This is a strange phenomenon. How could it rain like that here? I'm sure there's no history of such a downpour.'

'Is that the problem at hand right now? Shouldn't you be concerned about yourself first?'

'What if what we heard yesterday has something to do with today's—'

'There's plenty of time to think about that. Let's get you inside in a warm corner.'

He led me to the seating section, which was decorated with flowers in tall vases in the spaces between the sofas and the armchairs. My coughs echoed through the hall, no matter how hard I tried to suppress them. And I felt that I had much to pay to the man called my cousin.

'You saved me from falling into a pit I could never get up from by myself,' he said quietly as he sat me down. 'I'm glad that begging to the One in heavens above worked, for I would have never found you, and I wouldn't be here roaming freely.'

He rubbed my back as I went into another string of wheezes and barking coughs. Yet nothing could soothe it, not even the lukewarm air wafting towards me.

"Wait here," he muttered. "I will be back in a minute."

I bent my head, hugging my legs to get my body to come to terms with the surrounding temperature. I didn't know how long he had taken or what he did to me as my head started to turn. I could only feel the warm fluid poured down my throat. I asked for more of that painkiller despite being full.

After the second time, my head felt crushed as a handful of painful memories crossed my eyes. I saw blood, water and light in different forms I couldn't catch, for a whole minute, before they dissolved.

I opened my eyes and realised I was clutching his shirt so tightly like I had seen a nightmare. His standing stature while holding and caressing my head to help me relax captured my heart in two different ways. I savoured the affection I hadn't received in what felt like a long time, yet the thought of people misunderstanding the scenario played in my head. I instantly let go of him and hid my face in my hands.

"I'm sorry," I murmured to hear him laugh.

"What was so embarrassing for you?" he questioned loudly as he patted my head like he wanted everyone to hear. "I'm just a brother helping a sister out."

"But the people around won't think that. You know what they are like."

"I don't care. There is nobody around and if they are, they already know the consequences of false rumours."

I heard feet patter away and noticed that people had indeed been listening and watching. So he had purposely raised his voice to get them to do the job required of them and not eavesdrop.

"You should call your friend up and see what she's up to," he said with a smile.

"I will do that presently," I said. "I hope that we get to go home soon. I don't want to spend money on taxi fair again if we aren't pooling."

"You know, I can always take you home. Saves time and money."

"And wastes a great deal of energy. You had enough to spend today. I don't want you pursuing me for every small thing that happens. I can do some things by myself."

"As you wish."

He sat down on the armchair beside the sofa I sat in and watched me go about my work with his hand under his chin. I sighed heavily at him having to play the bodyguard and cleared my throat as I made the call.