Chapter 4

Bora

“Ok, how do we fix you?” Resh asked re-bandaging him quickly.

His heart raced and he stepped back afraid Caspian could hear it, “It’s an antidote as well as a poison.” Caspian responded quietly.

He seemed deep in thought and his eyes stayed fixed on the window. Kye snapped him out of his daze by asking, “Where do we get it?”

He glanced up at him surprised, “You still want to help me?” he asked almost worried.

“Well they say curiosity killed the cat but they never said anything about wolves so I figure we should be fine.” Caspian smirked.

“Nice logic. It’s very rare, and only grows in certain conditions. Meaning we couldn’t find it growing anywhere.” he said pulling his bloodied shirt back on.

“Then who do we get it?” Kye asked.

“The hunters,” Resh sighed annoyed, “they collect it.”

“And how do you propose we get it from them?” Resh asked rolling his eyes.

“They have a safe house here. It’s the only one that doesn’t move around.” Resh stood up and began to pace, “We have until morning.”

“We! Who is WE!” Resh exploded unable to contain himself any longer.

“You were the ones who wanted to help me.” Caspian said emotionlessly.

“And we are.” Kye said glaring at his brother, “How do we get in?”

§

Three figures walked down an empty street. They stayed quiet not wanting to draw attention to themselves. Taverns were busy, sending candle light into the street. Their shadows flickered eerily in the light moving like liquid coal along the cobblestones. The clicks of their boots echoed through the alleys giving them the unsettling feeling that they were being followed.

Caspian turned quickly into an a separate alley. The two men behind him followed, arms raised ready for a fight. He slowed down, passing a sleeping alley cat. Its eyes clicked open as he tried to take a step around it. It hissed and ran up a pile of trash clawing its way onto a roof. Cans and rocks tumbled to the ground causing the thin alleyway to fill with noise.

“How do you know where this is?” Kye asked giving up entirely on being quiet.

“I had an unfortunate encounter with a hunter.” he said, smirking, “Well for him at least. I followed him down here.” He said his eyes flashing red and his smile growing wider.

“I’d rather not hear the rest, thanks.” Kye said slowing to stay away from the poisoned man.

“Are you sure? I-” his words froze in his throat, unable to speak.

A raspy cough left his throat and blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. He fell to the ground, landing hard on the stones and nearly falling right into a yellowish green puddle. Resh didn’t want to know what it consisted of and dashed forward hoping he was still alive. They bent over his motionless body and flipped him over hurriedly. Kye grimaced, he looked like he was in a lot of pain.

His eyes were glowing red once more and his face was unnaturally pale and cold to the touch. He coughed blood, turning his lips red. His face was curled up in pain and his arms were wrapped tightly around his stomach. Resh reached toward him slowly afraid he would lash out at him. When he didn’t respond he grabbed his arm and lifted him up.

Caspian’s legs hung uselessly under him as Resh put his arm over his shoulder and Kye slipped his arm around his back. Together they dragged him to the wall and set him down slowly. Resh slapped his face lightly attempting to wake him. His eyes flickered open but he didn’t seem to be particularly awake. His eyes were clouded over and his pupils had nearly disappeared into his iris.

He coughed and they both backed away as blood flew from his mouth. He glanced up at them his eyes half shut, “Yo-u have to ge-t the bora.” he whispered raspily between coughs.

Resh nodded and the hounds slung his arms over their shoulders and lifted him up once more. They dragged him down the dark alley no longer caring to make sounds. Trash was kicked into the air and puddles filled with Caspian’s blood which poured from his mouth and chest, “Just hang on Caspian you can’t die right now.”

He was shaking violently but managed to whisper directions to them. The twins rushed through the alleys trying their best not to drop him. His shaking was making it hard to carry him without adjusting their positions constantly. His breathing was low and Kye made sure to listen for his coughs just to tell if he was alive.

He coughed reassuring Kye, blood trickled down from his lips. He shook again more violently, falling from the brothers grasp. Kye caught him by the back of the shirt this time and lowered him to the ground. He struggled on there for a moment, Kye kneeling by his side. He convulsed once then went still. The hounds glanced at each other, worried and disgusted by his poor state. Silence fell over the alley, “Is he dead?” Resh asked for the second time.

A gasp came from the body, he coughed once more blood pooling on the ground, “It seems I’ve miscalculated the time we have.” he said slowly standing onto his wobbly legs. He looked like he’d been ran over by a stampede of wildebeest, “The entrance is around the corner.” he stood fully and wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

He shook his head walking away from the stunned brothers a grimace on his face. He stood and waited for them to follow while leaning on the walls of the alley. The hounds followed after him deciding not to waste their energy questioning him. He disappeared around the corner and the brothers ran to catch up.

When the brothers turned the corner they gagged. An awful smell filled their lungs stealing the fresh air out of their throats. The street had opened up a little and two dumpsters sat stacked high with trash and other fowl substances on the wall beside them. Trash coated the ground making the stone nearly impossible to see. Cats hissed at them as they tried to step around them.

A group of cats looking more ragged than the others on the street howled as Caspian pushed over a crate of garbage they were standing on. It must’ve been at least two hundred pounds but he didn’t even seem to care. Resh looked to the ground to see if it had wheels but only saw deep scratches the posts had made when he pushed it.

Resh decided to ignore it and looked to see what Caspian had uncovered. A steel door smeared with cat feces and other strange liquids stood in front of them. Caspian reached for the knob. His eyes flickering red as he touched the cold steel, “Wait.” Resh said his voice low, cautious.

“Yes?” Caspian asked looking back at him in pain.

“Shouldn’t there be a guard or something?”

“Who would guard a trash dump.” he asked, Resh nodded deciding that was good enough logic for him.

Caspian twisted it slowly but it didn’t move. He twisted it further accidentally breaking off the knob. Annoyed he slammed his shoulder against the steel. It flew open revealing a long set of stairs into darkness. Without thinking Caspian started down the steps. The brothers looked at each other nervously. Resh shrugged and walked inside. Kye shook his head, “I’ll be a lookout.” a hand flew out of the tunnel grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him inside.

“You are not leaving me here with this lunatic.” Resh said closing the door behind them.

Complete darkness surrounded them for a moment. Their hearts beat loudly in their chests. Suddenly feeling confined Kye’s lit his hand fire almost scorching Resh’s hair. Red light spread through the tunnel. They saw Caspian’s silhouette leaning on the wall at the end of the tunnel. They rushed down the stairs fearing the walls would close them in before they made it to the bottom. When they made it to the end Caspian stepped out of their way.

They walked into a dimly lit room. Candles were set around the room their wax running low. A bluish glow hung in the air. Shelves were placed symmetrically across the floor. Weapons of all kinds lay on them. Small hand grenades, bows, swords, axes, and other crude items that the twins didn’t want to know what they were used for were scattered about.

A shelf to the far side of the room had plants growing from it. A purple electrical light hovered above the shelf. It buzzed loudly giving the brothers the unsettling feeling that bees were swarming the room. Resh shuddered the room was freezing cold. His breath steamed out in front of him. They’d only walked down a few meters how had it gotten so cold he wondered to himself. He scanned the room for some kind of enchantment that would answer his questions.

The walls were blank but when he looked up he realized what was making the blue glow. A large circle with different lines cutting through it was carved into the ceiling. It was huge and covered the whole room. The carvings were about an inch thick and the magic hung just below the top of the concrete. Resh tapped Kye’s shoulder pointing for him to look up, “Caspian what kind of magic is that?” Caspian looked up to the ceiling.

“Water, it's a seal to keep moisture out of this room.” his voice was rough and his skin was losing even more color

“Don’t plants need moisture to survive?” Kye asked keeping a watchful eye on the seal.

“Not this kind.” he answered simply.

Caspian limped over to the plants leaning on the shelves of weapons for support. His eyes didn’t reflect the flames of the room like the fire hounds did. Instead they stayed eerily dark. Kye was curious about the room and wandered away from his brother who followed Caspian. His eyes wandered to a shelf with swords on it. He walked over to it forgetting to be cautious.

They were well crafted, he couldn’t see any dents or scratches on them. Blue sun steel formed their razor-sharp edges. Black heart wood was carved into the hilt. It wound up the blade infused with the steel. The sheath was made of the same strong wood, gold was embroidered into it spiraling up the dark material. It must’ve cost hundreds.

He reached toward it slowly. As his fingers got closer to the cold steel, he felt his hand tingle as if it was falling asleep. His brows knit together in confusion. He tried to pull his hand back but he couldn’t seem to control his body. His legs were frozen in place his hand still reaching for the blade. A cold hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled him back.

He snapped out of his daze and could move his legs once more. He looked over to see who had helped him. Resh was glaring at him, “Don’t touch anything.” he whispered, pulling them away from the sword, “Didn’t you see the circle?” Kye’s confusion grew.

He looked back down at the sword and saw a small golden circle glowing beneath it. Three triangles crossed in the middle and a smaller circle sat in the center, “Light magic.” Kye mumbled to himself.

“Yeah be careful in here I don’t know what any of these things are.” Resh said worriedly glancing around.

Kye nodded and walked back to where Caspian was. He had knocked over a few plants and was now triumphantly holding a small red vial. Inside was a strange blue liquid, “Precrushed, they’re saving me so much trouble.” he grumbled walking over to a wall.

He collapsed to the ground, “Shouldn’t we leave?” Resh asked looking around nervously.

“No, we don’t have enough time.” He said straightening while pulling off his shirt.

He peeled off the bandages revealing large splotches of dried blood. His skin was a bluish hue around the cuts. Green slime oozed from them as well. Kye looked away disgusted. Caspian grabbed the vial and popped off its lid.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He took his bloodied shirt sleeve and placed it in his mouth. He brought the vial to his torso and started to pour the liquid on the wounds. His eyes began to glow as the liquid bora began to steam. Heat radiated from his body. Causing the freezing room to steam up.

His hand fell to the ground, the vial shattering on the concrete. Green smoke rose from the wounds and added to the heat. His face was a mask of agony and his body was turning red with blood. He leaned his head back against the wall and ground his teeth into the sleeve. His eyes clenched shut and he stopped breathing for a moment then went still. The amount of smoke increased, and his breath became ragged once more.

The twins backed away, suddenly worried for their own safety. His eyes shot open as the smoke turned blood red. His eyes glowed the same color. A low growl echoed around the room. His teeth ground harder into the cloth nearly breaking his jaw. Unable to take the pain any longer his arms wrapped around his torso and started clawing at the wounds attempting to manually bleed himself to get the poison out, “Stop you’ll kill yourself!” Kye shouted realizing how much blood he was losing.

They both quickly forgot about their own safety and ran toward him. They grabbed his arms and held them back against the wall. A scream escaped from Caspian’s throat and he tried to reach for his stomach again. He was still surprisingly strong in his wounded state but the twins managed to hold him down. After a few agonizing seconds he closed his eyes and the smoke dissipated. Soon it was completely gone. The brothers slowly backed away again. He coughed, blood ran down his lips again. His body went limp and he sank to the floor.and he sank to the floor.