Rise of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 010 - On deaths bed (Patreon)

The trip there was a struggle for Kaen and Pammon as he collapsed against his dragon’s neck.

I will be there in just another minute.  Just hold on!  Pammon cried in a panic.

Kaen felt the fear and worry through their bond, telling him all he needed to know.

Pammon was getting weaker, which told him whatever this poison was, it was stronger than he had first imagined.

I’m sorry, I didn’t notice the man.  I should have…

Nonsense!  You could not know he would do that, and we both know Bren will be beside himself knowing someone from his school did this to you.  Focus on holding on!

The training grounds were in sight, and Pammon ignored the fact there were so many adventurers inside one, in fact picking the one with more people, hoping someone there was a healer.

As he landed, they scattered, most running away because they were unsure why he landed almost on top of them.

Unlatching the straps that held him on the saddle, Kaen fell from it, crashing into the ground.

A whine rose from Pammon as he watched the others.

Two older healers, a male, and a female, ran across the ground and held up their hands as they came close to Kaen, who was trying to stand up.

“Poisoned… arm,” he managed to get out as his voice struggled to work at all.

Pammon wined and nudged him with his snout.

Both of the healers bent over him and rolled Kaen onto his back, the male one letting out a gasp and covering his mouth the moment he saw his arm through the cut fabric.

“We need help!” he shouted as he dropped his hand and turned to face those around them.  “Summon the Guild Master and tell him the Dragon Rider has been poisoned!”

Multiple adventurers took off running in different directions toward entrances to the hall.  Someone would make sure he was summoned quickly.

“How is he alive,” the woman asked as she put her hands over his arm, which was now covered in black lines running up and down where all his veins were.

“The dragon,” the man whispered, joining her in healing.

Both of them closed their eyes, light radiating from their hands as they tried everything they could to keep Kaen alive.

“You’ll never win,” Stioks informed him as he pressed the sword into his arm.

Kaen was lying on dirt, somewhere with large rocks all around him.  Perhaps in the mountains, but he wasn’t sure.

He tried crying out in pain, yet nothing seemed to work.  Kaen glanced around, looking for Pammon, yet he couldn't find him no matter where he looked.  Pain lanced through his arm and body.  It burned as he looked at the man who had killed his father and was killing him.

“A sorry excuse for a dragon rider and a Marshell,” he sneered, leaning forward as he grinned.

Hatred filled his eyes, and Kaen felt the weight of him pressing down.  Like a force, he couldn’t fight.

“There is no way you will defeat me.  I will kill you and all that you love, leaving everyone fatherless and alone.”

He tried to cry out, but his voice never came.  No matter how wide he opened his mouth, silence was the only thing it brought.

Laughter from the man he sought to defeat echoed all around him.

The world went dark as he felt his life slipping away.

Kaen, I’m here!

“He’s awake.”

His eyes fluttered open slowly, and light seemed almost to blind him even though he knew it was not that bright.

“Stay still, and do not try to sit up!”

The voice sounded familiar.  He knew it.

“Sulenda?”

“You were expecting someone else?” she teased as he felt a cool, wet cloth against his forehead.  “Now, stay still, and let me give you something to drink.  You are still burning up.”

Relax and rest.  Hess will be back in a moment. I told him you were awake, and he took off running.

Pammon’s voice brought him comfort after that dream.

Where am I?

The bed didn’t feel like his bed, and the smell of it was different, too.  It was clean and yet something else.  Lavender.  Why would anyone use lavender in a room?

Keeping one eye closed, he groaned as he looked out the other.

Sulenda was smiling. Her hair was going in every direction.  She looked worn out, and he could not imagine how late it must be.

“Where am I he?” he asked, choking down a tiny bit of water she poured into his mouth.  It had felt amazingly cool and refreshing.

“You are in the guild hall infirmary, Kaen.  You were poisoned, do you remember?”

Nodding, Kaen flexed his left arm, and a jolt of pain shot up to his shoulder.

“Hold still, you fool!” she snapped when she noticed him jerking in pain.  “You are still recovering and will need a few more days before you can get up.”

“How long have I been out?”

No reply came for a moment, and Kaen opened both eyes, looking at Sulenda and seeing the pain on her face.

“Nine days.”

Her voice was pained, and it seemed to take everything she had to tell him.

Nine days? That wasn’t possible.  It was just a small scratch.  Had it been that bad?  What about the lifestone ceremony?

“Phillip and Frederick?”

A cough and a laugh got mixed together, and she sounded momentarily as if she might choke.  She held a cup to his lips and poured more water into his mouth.

“The ceremony went fine.  It was smaller than originally planned, but only a few know what happened to you.”

Frustration and anger filled Kaen’s mind.  Who had done this and why?

Pammon, what can you tell me?  Who was the man who tried to kill me?

We do not know.  He had moved to the city over a year ago.  He had trained with Bren and his staff for more than a year.  It is obvious they learned and planned, waiting for their time.  I am sorry I did not protect you as I promised.

Sorrow and hurt washed over him like a river.  Pammon was blaming himself for this.

I don’t think I would be alive if it weren't for you.  I didn’t see it until it was almost too late.  The only saving part in all this was how fast I was.

He had a lifestone, Hess told me.  There is no telling who he was or how long he had trained, but they say the poison he used was wyvern poison.

A shudder like flame ants running up one's leg sent his body in pain from that thought.

A wyvern?  We were considering hunting one of those…

We were, Pammon replied a few moments later.  Perhaps we were fortunate that we had not.  Neither of us really knew how deadly that poison was.

Pammon was right.  Had they gone and attacked the wyvern and been poisoned while alone and in the wild, both of them might have died.

Perhaps we should research a little more before we go after one.

Kaen was relieved when he felt Pammon laugh at his poor excuse of a joke.

I have never thought of you as being smart until now.  It seems like staying far away from them would be the right move for a while.  Hess informed me that wyvern poison is very rare.  It often requires multiple people to die to kill one and harvest the sack.  Any group that attempts to attack one knows that people will die.

Accept you and me, it seems.  We are too foolish to think that far ahead.

Perhaps, but for now, rest.  Hess will be back in a few minutes, and you should rest.  It has been a long week.

Focusing on his room again, he saw Sulenda watching him.

“Talking with your bow?”

Chuckling, he grimaced as his body shook.

“I was.  Perhaps we were not as smart as I once thought.”

“Perhaps,” she answered with a grin.  “For now, take another drink and relax.  You will need your strength.”

“Hairy dwarf balls, Kaen,” Hess muttered as he sat next to him.  “The fact you are alive is a miracle.  No one survives wyvrens poison.”

“I owe it all to Pammon and, I’m guessing, the guild.”

Herb shrugged as Kaen glanced at him.

“You actually owe a lot of people, but I doubt you want to pay the person you owe the most,” Herb responded as he gave a weak smile at Kaen.  “The truth is Lord Hurem and Ava are the ones you owe.  They used a wide variety of poison potions and were able to find a cure for you.  I have no idea how much they spent in gold or resources to make that happen.”

Closing his eyes for a moment, Kaen thought about what that might mean.

“When did they find a cure?”

“Two days ago.  They gave it to you yesterday.  I hate to tell you, but Pammon has been giving you the needed strength to stay alive while healers kept pouring everything they could into you and him.  He has also eaten a herd of animals to stay well-fed so that he could focus on keeping you on this side of the ground.”

Kaen winced and closed his eyes.  Letting out his breath slowly, he opened them again and gazed at Hess, who was watching him.  The concern he had was written all over his face.

“I’m sorry this happened, and you all had to fuss over me like this.  I promise it won’t happen again.”

Herb and Hess both started laughing at that empty promise.

“You cannot control who will strike or when.  There is a world of espionage and things like this on both sides.  Your problem is you are not prepared like your enemy is.  The good news is they decided to try a poison like Wyvern’s poison.  Had they used something in the drink they gave, everyone but you may have died.”

His pupils dilated as he realized what that meant.

“Everyone but me? Like Hess, Sulenda and Callie?”

Herb nodded, and a grunt could be heard from Hess as he shifted in his chair.

“Most would not expect a poison you eat to kill you.  Pammon has already proven his ability to keep you alive.  It had to be something deadly most would fear, including Stioks.”

A knock came from the door as he lay in the bed, thinking about what Herb had just said.

“Come in,” Hess roared louder than he intended.

Kaen’s heart thudded in his chest as the door swung open when he saw Ava standing there.  Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail, and her eyes were blue seas along an angry red landscape.  It was apparent she had been crying for a while.

“You’re alive,” she said with a soft sigh.  “I am so glad you didn’t die, or I would have killed you.”

All of them laughed at her joke.

“If you will excuse us, Hess and I have a few things we need to attend to,” Herb said as he bowed slightly.  “Be nice to him, Ava.  He still can’t defend himself.”

She glared at Herb as she slowly nodded her head.

“I cannot make promises, but I will do my best to help him continue to heal.  We both know the need for Kaen Marshell this kingdom has.”

He nodded, and Kaen felt a squeeze on his leg, seeing Hess give his goodbye as they left him alone with her.

“Thank you,” Kaen blurted out the second the door was closed.  “Thank you for saving me.”

Standing at the end of the cot he was lying on, she watched him, her eyes taking all of him in.

“You are welcome, Kaen Marshell.  I am happy that our family could be of service to the kingdom and you.  Perhaps this will pay my family's debt for saving my life years ago.”

“I never asked for that to be a debt!” he shouted, wincing as his shoulder ached from the exertion.  “I did that because I cared about you.  Because I still care about you.”

“Words spoken from a death bed are sometimes things people believe the others want to hear.”

Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly.

“Ava, I have never lied to you.  I have always been truthful.”

“You never told me you were a dragon rider!” she shouted.  “How can you claim to be truthful when you did not share that with me!”

“I told that to no one.  It was a secret I could not share with anyone, not even Sulenda.  The world could not know about him until the moment came to reveal the two of us.  You know that and are just using that as an excuse to keep this chasm between us.”

She clenched her fist as her face became red.  He saw the anger she still had toward him.

“You could have taken me with you,” she growled.  “Instead, you left me here.  Rejected and left me to spend my days wondering if you would ever return.  The last time you came, you did not show me the affection you once told me you had for me.”

He began to respond but kept silent.  His lifestone had started burning a little, and he knew it was not the time to speak.

“I love you, Kaen Marshell.  Enough to give up my family name, enough to give up my title, and enough to follow you anywhere you go.  Do you love me just as much?  Say it now or know this moment will never come again!”

She stood there. Her lip quivered as her voice spiked.  The hurt, core-wrenching pain she felt as she bore her soul was fully displayed for him.

As Kaen prepared to share his heart and soul, he felt something coming from through their bond, Pammon.

You cannot promise that.  I sense what you are about to say, but we both know that is impossible.

But–

Would you curse her with the pain of you dying if we fail? What if she is used against you? Then what?

Kaen sighed as he knew Pammon was right.

“Ava…”