Fulcrum of Light (Catalyst Book 2) C.J. Aaron (unputdownable books .TXT) 📖

Brasley handed the remedy to Ryl, smiling wolfishly once the cup and saucer had left his fingers.

“Enjoy,” was all he said.

Ryl smiled back, choking down the putrid liquid without taking his eyes off the mender. He managed to swallow the entire dose in a single gulp. Maintaining a straight, impassive face was a monumental accomplishment. He pulled off the feat … with the exception of a single, involuntary twitch of his eye.

“Now it’s time for you to rest,” Brasley said. “I can hold the Council back no longer. I’ve granted their desire to meet with you. The two of you will be joining them this evening.”

Ryl lay back on his bed, closing his eyes and steadying his breathing as he concentrated on preventing the vile mixture from escaping his body. He could feel the warmth of the liquid in his stomach, sensed it course through his veins, forcing his body to secrete the toxin.

“I’d like to wash up if possible,” Ryl whispered without opening his eyes. “I’m afraid I won’t make for pleasant company with how awful I smell.”

“Aye, that you wouldn’t, my friend,” the mender agreed. “I have young Ticco drawing baths for the pair of you now, as well as fresh sets of clothes. I’ll be back to fetch you when they’re ready.”

“Thank you for all of your help, Brasley,” Ryl said politely.

“Make no mention of it,” the mender said. “It’s your body that’s done the greatest share of the work. If only all of my patients healed like you.”

The mender’s voice trailed off as his sentence ended. He nodded before leaving them alone in the small room.

Aside from their brief visits with the mender and the few pieces of information Andr had gleamed from his solo excursions throughout the city, Vim remained a mystery to them. Whether out of deference to the mender’s instructions, or as a result of the orders of another, they’d been left alone since Ryl had awoken.

“Andr?” Ryl asked, cautiously opening his eyes to not unsettle his seething stomach. “What do you know about the Council?”

Andr stretched as he looked out the window toward the fields in front of him.

“Unfortunately, like all else here, I know little,” Andr said with a sigh. “From what I’ve overheard, the council is composed of only five members. The citizens of the city elect them to serve only a single term at a time. That is extent of the knowledge I've been able to gain on the subject.”

“Thank you,” Ryl said appreciatively. “It's a world more than I’ve been able to uncover.”

“Ha,” Andr laughed aloud. “Well, if you spent your days doing more than just sleeping, who knows what you could learn.”

As Ryl chuckled along with his friend, he was struck with the profound realization of how vastly different his life had become within the last moon.

He had gone from slave, to a free man. From prey, hunted by an unseen darkness in the vast wilderness of the Outlands, to a patient under the watchful care of a society the world knew nothing of.

Mender Brasley knocked softly on the wooden frame of the door as he entered the room with his apprentice in tow. Ticco carried two sets of spare clothing in his hands.

“Gentlemen, follow me please,” the mender ordered politely with a smile. “Cleanliness awaits.”

Andr moved to Ryl’s bedside offering his hand to help him up. Ryl was thankful for the assistance. The effort of the day had sapped a good portion of his remaining strength. His muscles protested the action, feeling rigid and painfully sluggish to react.

Holding Andr’s shoulder for support, the pair shuffled after the mender and his apprentice. Exiting their small room, the hallway traveled to the left and right. Small lanterns lit the space in a muted glow. As with the decor in their room, the craftsmanship was exquisite, despite the banal ingredients.

To their right, the short walkway led to a wooden door that opened to the city of Vim, a few hundred meters to the east of the regal staircase that led to the city’s exit. The door to Andr’s room lay across the hall from his. A single door remained closed on the opposite side of the hall, closer to the outer exit. Ryl didn’t need to ask what lay beyond its barrier. The stench of the blighted rose’s petals crept out from under the base of the wooden door.

To their left, the hallway ran deeper into the mountain, heading in the direction of the forest and the Outlands. The party passed a small washroom before entering a large bath. Two rectangular basins were cut into the floor, and wisps of steam wafted off the heated water that had filled them to their brims. There was a fragrant, relaxing floral scent to the air.

Like the other rooms in their modest residence, this space was hollowed out from the solid stone of the mountain. Ryl marveled at the construction. The walls bore no marks from chisel, no scratch from tools. The polished stone glistened with a mirrored shine. A small fire burned in a hearth set into the far wall. A pump and metal bucket, its bottom blackened from the flames, stood against the wall in the opposite corner of the room.

While the temperature in the hall was mild, the blaze had heated the bath to the point of discomfort. Ryl felt the sweat pushing at the toxin as it worked feverishly to escape his pores. Ticco placed their clothes on the room’s single, small table before hurrying to stand by the exit to the sweltering room. Brasley pulled a small strip of cloth out from the inside of his white robe, dabbing at the sweat that already covered his forehead.

Ryl fought the urge to leap into the inviting water. Reluctantly, he allowed the mender to assist him while her removed his well-worn shirt. The mender removed a small knife from the apron he wore around his waist, carefully slicing through the rough fabric up the