Sword Bearer (Return of the Dragons 1)

Kara spoke then. “We Kriek have had to deal with such matters. Kalle and I will be glad to help you, Woltan, to remove this scourge.”

“What,” I muttered. “I just stand here, and

watch, while you operate on my parents?”

But they had moved away a little. I could hear them whispering quietly among themselves behind me but couldn’t hear what they were saying. I figured they didn’t want to speak with their minds because they knew I could hear them, that way. I was tired of overhearing everything, of seeing everything, of seeing my parents covered in pimples that weren’t really pimples. I’d had enough of the song that coursed through my blood, through my sword.

Why hadn’t my parents ever told me about any of this? I felt so unprepared, and where were they now, to comfort me? Lying on these cots, covered in demon spawn, under the control of some dark wizard, unable to speak to me.

I felt a hand on my back and the hand was warm. I turned around and Kalle was looking at me.

“Don’t worry too much, my friend. They may be disgusting, but they are nothing compared to what you just dealt with.”

“But we do need your help,” Kara said. She gave me a hug. I felt some of my anger evaporate. Just let me talk to them again. One more time. I let Kara hug me, try to heal me with her flowery scent.

But I wasn’t going to be able to talk to them, not anytime soon. I realized that, and suddenly I didn’t feel angry anymore. I just felt sad.

“We are here for you, Anders. That is what friends are for, and family as well. As Kriek, you are part of our family, and so are your parents. We will always be here for you.”

I felt myself fighting back tears.

“But how did you know? I mean, how did you know, that I was so upset?”

Kara looked at Kalle, who nodded. She said: “We can see it just looking at you, Anders. In your aura, your emotions are like an open book. That is one thing I’m sure Woltan will be training you in, hiding your feelings.”

I felt one last surge of irritation. “So you’ve just been watching me have one big pity party, huh?”

“Don’t worry, Anders,” Kalle said, shaking his head. “You’re going through a great shock.”

Kara nodded. “And we are all like this from time to time, and everyone at the beginning. It takes time to learn to mask your emotions, and more time still to master them.”

Woltan cleared his throat, looking at us a little uneasily. “Shall we cleanse them, then?”

Kalle looked at me, and I nodded, slowly. “Ok,” I said.

“I’ll put a sphere around all of us so none of them escape,” said Kalle.

He started speaking words under his breath, a long stream of sing-song that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I had so much left to learn.

A blue sphere surrounded my parents, and Kalle nodded as he continued his incantation. I reached my hand down to the sword and again Carolina took control of my voice, and a melodious green light poured out of my mouth, and lit up my father, or what was left of him. My father’s skin glowed where the green light touched it, and there were little popping noises as the tiny pimples burst, rejecting the demon seed.

Kalle was right. This was much easier, but disgusting. It really turned my stomach. Worst of all was the ripe rotten egg smell that grew more pungent as each of the pimples popped and the demon spawn inside died.

I was filled with mixed feelings. Killing the little beasts was disgusting but satisfying. If only they weren’t on my own parents!

I let my mind wander. I tried to think nice thoughts, but my mind kept coming back to these pimples that weren’t pimples, but instead demon parasites tucked into my parent’s skin. It made me think of when I had lice, when I was 6, after playing with some of the village children.

My parents had been furious, and my mother had spent hours picking them off my head, popping each louse and nit between her fingernails. Finally, exhausted, they had given up, and shaved my head. I had worn a green beret then, until it was in tatters and I had a new head of thick black hair. My mother used to say that shaving my head had made my hair even thicker and more unruly.

That was what these demons made me think of, lice.

Sucking not only blood, but also the life force, the aura of my parents.

It was a long time before I was hungry again.

Chapter XIII

The next week passed quickly in a whirlwind of spellwork, hand to hand combat training, and bladework. I barely saw my parents, which was nothing new; what was new, of course, was their condition.