Alora: The Portal (Alora 2)

“I think he was trying to pull the intubation tube out when he was unconscious, and he probably doesn’t need the straps anymore. But I can’t release him until Dr. Sanders clears it.”

“I should be able to work around it.”

Daegreth gave no resistance as the stringy-haired man wrapped a stretchy rope around his arm, but he couldn’t fathom its purpose.

“Make a fist for me.”

He complied, baffled by this odd behavior. The man reached into his box and pulled out a strange object with a tiny pointed extension. Then the man aimed the point at his arm, and Daegreth realized he meant to stab him with the point while his arms were bound. He jerked against his bonds, shaking the bed.

“Don’t be nervous,” he said, with a smile belying his intent. “You’ll just feel a tiny pinch. If you’re afraid of needles, you could close your eyes.”

The woman, distracted by some odd parchment she was holding in her hands, had not noticed the man’s weapon. He had to act quickly. Testing, he discovered his legs were unbound, though some kind of rope or chain secured his middle to the bed. Blessing his flexibility training, he swung his leg up and over the man’s head and down across his arms, scissoring it back, and sending him flailing across the bed. The strange pointed blade flipped through the air and fell to the floor.

&nbs

p; The man yelled in protest, and the woman let out a blood-curdling scream. Her beauty diminished in his estimation as she revealed her weakness. He’d always admired the courageous female warriors, especially those who’d seemed undaunted by his own physical prowess.

“Run!” Daegreth demanded. “Find someone to render aid. I’m too weak to hold him longer than a few breaths.”

She disappeared from his view as he strained to secure the assailant, who was yelling and thrashing between his clamped legs. Just as he was reaching the end of his strength, the woman returned with a host of men. Heaven be praised.

“Let him go!” A tall man with grey hair spoke the order with the authority born of leadership and respect. Without hesitation, Daegreth obeyed, relieved to relinquish his struggling captive, who stepped back, glaring at him.

“I don’t get paid enough for this,” declared the stringy-haired man. “Someone else can get a blood sample. This guy should be in the psycho ward.” He grabbed his box and fled.

“He’s escaping,” Daegreth told the tall man who stood beside the bed. “Why are you not detaining him?”

The tall man ignored him and began to manipulate a strange clear flexible rope. He spoke over his shoulders to the men waiting in the background. “Let me sedate him, and then you can cuff his legs.”

He regarded Daegreth with narrowed eyes. “You don’t act very grateful that we saved your life. You were practically dead when you arrived. I was told you were dangerous, but I hadn’t expected this kind of behavior. Now we’re going to have to restrain your legs as well.” His anger was palpable.

“I don’t understand. That man was attacking me, and I only defended myself… and the maiden as well.” His tongue thickened, and his eyes grew heavy.

The tall man gave his head a negative shake. “We’re going to have to send you away, now that you’re in stable condition. I can’t afford any more incidents like this.”

Daegreth attempted to make sense of the words in his muddled mind. He was being expelled from heaven… or hell… or whatever place he was in.

*****

Alora’s nose burned from the antiseptic smell in the hospital room. She was tired of arguing, but someone needed to speak up for the young Water Clan warrior who was sleeping soundly after a fresh dose of morphine. “I can’t help feeling sorry for him.”

“He’s not our problem. Graely will decide what happens to him. Doc Sanders wants us to get him out of here before he causes another incident.” Uncle Charles perched on a chair by the hospital bed. “Just remember… You and Kaevin are going to transport him to Laegenshire and come right back. If anything happens to delay you—anything at all—you talk to me immediately. I’m wearing this blasted belt, so I don’t want to be out of the loop.”

Kaevin responded, “We’ll return immediately. Father’s waiting with Laethan at the healing house. They’ll bind him to the bed until the council decides what to do with him and the other Water Clan captives.

“But what will they do? They won’t execute him, will they?” Alora stared at the young man, his face a mask of innocence as he slept.

“It’s doubtful that would happen, but it’s not our decision to make.” With his thick brows knit tightly over his eyes, Kaevin squinted at the sleeping patient. “Why do you care so much about him?”

“I don’t know. It seems like he’s an innocent victim of Vindrake’s evil. He can’t help what he’s done.”

“We can’t know that he’s innocent. He may have been violent and evil even before he took the bondmark.” Emphasized by the dark circles from his injury still lingering under his eyes, Kaevin’s scowl was intimidating.

“Wait! Don’t go anywhere!” Brian Franks rushed into the room, breathless and dripping with sweat. “Thank goodness—I’m not too late. You can’t take this boy to Laegenshire.”

“But we must—my father commanded it.” Kaevin stood tall, blocking Brian’s access to the sleeping warrior.

Rising to his feet, Charles placed a hand on Brian’s shoulder. “The decision’s already made. What’s going on, Brian?”