Bait

Asuren was chained against a wall. The room was dark and cold. Standing in front of him was a purple silhouette, holding a purple dagger. It stepped closer to him and did not hesitate to stab him in the heart.

Asuren jerked awake and winced at the outburst of pain in his chest and left shoulder. He looked around and squinted at the brightness that was coming from an open window. He could not believe that he was experiencing daylight for the first time in his entire life. The sunlight was warm, blinding yet breathtaking. He would have marveled more at the magnificence of the clear blue sky if not for his throbbing shoulder.

"Here. It will help ease your pain," the fairy named Thea had given her a smoking mug of green liquid.

He took the mug but did not drink on it. He stared closely at the green liquid with hesitation and almost dropped it. His wounded shoulder exploded with more pain. He felt nauseous and vomited blood.

"Gia!" Thea gently rubbed his back and her eyes were filled with worry.

"I'll... be okay..." he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He remembered the silhouette that stabbed him and the explosion that hurled him into the deadly barrier. Thea grabbed his hand while Ayhan embraced him and tried to protect him from the scorching wind.

He also recalled waking up and seeing Thea pressing on his chest. There was worry on her face that was replaced with relief as soon as Asuren opened his eyes. There was another fairy that checked up on him and then Ayhan carried him on his back. He wanted to stay awake but the poison spreading in his body made him drowsy and he fainted on the way to that almost empty clinic.

The fairy that checked up on him had stepped out of a room that seemed to be the kitchen because she was holding a tray filled with more smoking mugs.

"He will be okay," the fairy said after putting the tray on the bedside table. "He already vomited all the poison in his system," she smiled at Thea then glanced back at Asuren. "The medicine you are holding will help ease your pain. You should drink it."

Asuren carefully examined the green liquid. He could not sense any poison in it, but he was still hesitant. His hands trembled against the mug as he reminded himself that the fairies who prepared it were the same fairies that saved him from the Deadly Barrier and the poisoned dagger.

"If you are hesitant to drink that medicine, I need to wake your friend Juliann. He will tell you that the medicines I brew are safe."

"Juliann?" Asuren took another look around the room. His eyes had finally adjusted to the brightness of the area. He scanned the patients on the bed and his eyes widened with shock. "Juliann and Calix are here?" his heart pounded with relief.

"My friends helped them out like what you and Ayhan did for me and Riz back at Nightfall Realm," Thea answered with what seemed like a proud smile. "Don't worry about them. They are quickly recovering. Juliann already woke up and told us that you will be hesitant to accept food or medicine from us. If you will be more comfortable with him awake, we will wake him up."

Asuren tightened the grip on the mug, closed his eyes, and swallowed the smoking medicine. The effect was instantaneous. The pain in his left shoulder had faded.

"Thank you," he returned the mug then glanced around the room for the second time. "Where is Ayhan?"

"He is with Riz," Thea answered. "They are trying to find traces of the seal bearer you mentioned. We will join them as soon as you recover. You should get more rest if you want to recover faster."

Asuren had no intention of closing his eyes. How could he sleep in the house of a stranger? But whenever he was poisoned, he would feel exhausted for a few days.

^##########^

"He already regained consciousness. You should stop worrying," Gia tapped Thea lightly on the shoulder. "Lie down and get some rest. You know that I can take care of him."

Thea only stared at Asuren. She could not help but get more worried and curious about him. His eyes seemed to hide a lot of fear and fury.

"Listen to Gia," Riz entered the house. Behind her was Ayhan. They were both exhausted. "Get some sleep. You and Sel should help us with the search tomorrow. Let's split up and cover more ground."

"Asuren will not die on us. I will not let that happen," Gia winked at Thea and made her sit on an empty bed. "Get some sleep."

"Asuren is tough," Ayhan glanced at his unconscious friend. "If not, the Evil Witch would have killed him a long time ago. He survived a lot of sufferings. He crossed the Deadly Barrier and lived. He will not easily die. Get some sleep, Thea. You will need a lot of strength in pursuing the seal bearer."

"Fine. I'll sleep," Thea sighed, lay down on the bed, and covered her entire body with a blanket.

^###########^

Thea only slept for four hours but she already felt rejuvenated. She was already sitting on a chair right next to the bed of Asuren.

"You really want to watch over him that much?" Gia had given her a mug of hot chocolate and a slice of bread.

Thea only smiled.

"Juliann woke up and cooked rice and stew. If you want to eat more, just go to the kitchen. I'll just get some sleep."

"Where is Sel?" Thea asked when she could not find her friend anywhere in the house.

"She visited her father," Gia rested on an empty bed. "Will you not visit yours?"

"I'm still annoyed at him," Thea frowned. "But I can't ignore him for a long time. I might visit him tomorrow. Sleep well, Gia."

Her friend closed her eyes and had fallen asleep after a few minutes.

Thea took a sip of the hot chocolate and felt relaxed. She missed that warm, delightful, and bittersweet drink.

"I am still alive? Juliann too?" Calix woke up and looked around him with vigilance. He slipped out of the bed and covered his fists with flames. "Who are you and these two sleeping ladies here? Are you working for the seal bearer? How did Asuren and Ayhan get here? What did you do to them? Why are they unconscious? Are you experimenting on them?" the more questions he asked, the more powerful his flames had blazed.

Thea told him everything that had happened and Calix had finally calmed down.

"A lot had happened since that disciple knocked me unconscious," the flames in his fists had vanished and he returned to his bed. "I still can't believe that Asuren finally made it out of his prison cell. The Evil Witch probably could not reach him here but then… that seal bearer wants to meet him. And by the way his disciple knocked us down, he will probably treat Asuren way worse than that."

Thea was worried but if the only way to lure the seal bearer out of its hiding place was already with them, they should make good use of it. There were seven of them. They could protect Asuren.

^##############^