《Pay me in Venison》25. Fever
Advertisement
The building was on fire. I called for Andray, but there was no reply. I ran down the burning hallway and kicked his door in. He was passed out, probably from the smoke. I had to ram the double door several times before one of the door panels broke. I widened the gap and dragged Andray out onto the balcony with me.
In shock, I saw that someone had tied the door latches together with rope. Someone wanted us dead. I leaned over the balcony rail to look for help. There had to be some of the servants out in front. They could get help.
The park and the driveway out front were empty. We were going to die here. I heard the sickening crack of roof beams breaking. Then the entire facade of the building started to fall forward, taking the balcony with it. I turned to Andray, but he was gone.
There was nothing but burning debris raining down on me, retribution for my failure to protect the boy. Soon I was on fire myself, screaming from the pain as my skin blistered and melted and fell off me. A pit opened up where the ground should have been, and I kept falling into the inferno. Darkness overtook me.
"You'll be fine, child," my mother said to me, her lovely face framed by her blond hair and her hazel eyes. She took a cold damp cloth and wiped the sweat from my face. "The fever will break soon, and you will be fine. Rest now."
I woke on a floor mattress covered with blankets in front of the woodstove. Cat Rider was sleeping next to me. I was confused. I didn't remember falling asleep last night on a mattress and certainly not with Cat next to me. What happened with the fire? Who was that woman? Why did she call herself my mother?
Advertisement
Then I remembered the wolves who chased me. It looked like my mind shout spell worked because someone obviously rescued me. Were the fire and that strange woman just a dream?
I sat up and didn't wake Cat. That surprised me. He must not have slept well. No one else was in the guest house with us. That wasn't good since I needed to visit the great outdoors to relieve myself. I did think it strange that I felt so weak and wobbly on my feet.
My next surprise was no pain. Nothing hurt though I remember the bite in my hindquarters and the burrs digging in between my toes. I lifted my left front paw and inspected it. The skin on the pads looked pink and new and there were no nasty little burrs anywhere. My paw smelled like soap. My other front paw did too. I couldn't see my hindquarters no matter how hard I twisted around but I didn't feel any pain, stiffness, or bandages back there. Someone ---Cat or Cloud --- had healed me. That might explain the sleeping Cat Rider.
Since the goblins put up winter shutters over the windows, I couldn't see how late it was by looking outside. I couldn't avoid it. I had to wake Cat. I used my usual method for waking him and licked his face with my big wet tongue.
"Fuzzy, that's disgusting!" Cat sat up. "Why do you persist in doing that?" I loved that annoyed look on his face. Then it vanished and he hugged me, "you're finally awake. We've all been so worried about you. You came down with wound fever. You've been out for three days."
What? Three days? It must have been a bad fever. That would explain the fire and my human mother: they were fever dreams.
Advertisement
It took some effort, but I managed to cast the mind talk spell. * Cat, I need to go outside and empty my bladder. *
"On it, Fuzzy." He had fallen asleep with his false leg still on. He aligned it so he could get up to a kneeling position and then stood up, using my shoulder for balance. He carefully walked to the front door and opened it for me. He was still there a few minutes later when I scratched at it to go back in.
"I filled a bucket with water, Fuzz," he scratched behind my ears. "You need to drink some after a bad fever like that."
I didn't think I was thirsty but I emptied the bucket and wanted more. Cat was already waiting with a pitcher of water. That water was gone as soon as he poured it into the bucket.
I stumbled back to the floor mattress and laid back down. I was not feeling like myself. I had no energy. All I wanted to do was to rest some more. Cat covered me with some blankets. Then he sat down next to me so I could see him without lifting my head, "I can't believe I fell asleep. We've been taking turns watching you. I must have been more tired than I thought.
"I want you to rest for a few days, Fuzzy. You lost a lot of blood and then you had that fever."
* I am not fragile, * I protested. * All I need is some food and I'll be fine. *
"You think?" he gave me an exasperated look. "See this?" He produced a plate that was covered with bloody burrs and tuffs of my fur, "Cloud and I pulled out 42 burrs from your paws. It took hours and by the time we were done, it was dawn and you were already running a fever. There will be no hunting for you for a couple of days. You lost a lot of blood, survived wound fever and you need to recover. This is not negotiable."
Roaming Wren returned shortly after that.
"You finally woke up," Wren was smiling as she pulled off her boots. "We earned our first two gold for those wolves who chased you, Fuzzy. Owl and I followed your tracks back to the den. The boys are out right now counting up how many wolves live there. Once we know that, we can make a plan to get rid of them. We need to finish up here as fast as we can."
"Oh?" Cat straightened up. This was news to him too.
"Petel sent a message to Kizdangengar, the goblin capital, reporting our arrival. He mentioned that you, Cat, had magic that worked against wyverns." Wren had apology written all over her face, "the Goblin Queen requests our presence to hunt down a wyvern nest. Her courier arrived with four horses for us to speed up our trip."
"That's good, isn't it?" Cat looked confused.
"There's a problem," Wren grimaced. "She's invited another group that has also brought down a wyvern. Its nominal commander is Prince Willam Nordweg."
Advertisement
I Shall Eat Everything
Xuanhuan + LitRPG A young man is granted the opportunity to reincarnate with the ability to eat and gain traits. (The cover image does not belong to me. If the owner so wishes, I will take it down immediately.)
8 55The Elven Foreign Legion
The proud Elven nation has defended it's forests for thousands of years. Now the Human lead Union are invading. To face this threat an army of Elves are mustering. But the humans better be aware this time the Elves are not fighting by themselves. An old hermit had spent many years hunting in the deep forests. A rumour of War has him visiting the closest city. Soon he finds himself enlisted in army and marching to War. A young Elf has ran away from home to join the Army and fight the invaders. The Army and fighting battles is not what he expected. A swashbuckling adventure with giants and other fantasy creatures set in the time muskets and cannons Will publish a chapter a week
8 103Reaper of the Shadows
People die everyday without anyone noticing it. It takes people time to recover from the event. Some follow the victims path, some take vengeance. But, the one responsible for this are Reapers. When people die they only see someone weilding a scythe and before they could see who they are, they died. But one reaper is different. David Maxwell died when he was stabbed in the heart. He thought he would die, but before he can he was offered a chance to become a reaper by the person who killed him. He thought it was somekind of joke and accept since he was gonna die. He then woke up in an unknown room with the person who killed him next to him. Note: I made a few adjustments to the Genres, since i thought deeply about my fiction. Anyways this is just something i do for fun and somewhat of a hobby to me. With those thoughts in mind i hope you like my fiction.
8 158HALF BREED HAVEN: A HOT TIME AT THE OL' LUCKY SEVEN
Bullets, bad guys and biracial babes all combine in one "Wilde" night at the Lucky Seven gambling hall as the Daughters of Half Breed Haven use everything from weapons, to stage craft, to their own hourglass figures and illustrious beauty to once more seek to beat the bad men of the West and save the day. Four Races, One Father, Enemy to Outlaws and Desired by All-That's what the Wildes of the West are all about and their adventures beyond this short story can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/A.M.-Van-Dorn/e/B077GNX3GP/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1 Author’s Note Thank you for joining the Wilde family on one of their adventures. Just a quick note regarding what you are about to read Please be advised the Wilde siblings are all grownups, and therefore they engage in very adult escapades and situations that include their romantic encounters as well as the sudden violence that can occur in their continued fight against assorted bad guys of the Old West. So, in short, these stories are recommended for mature readers of 18+ years of age.
8 138Shadow Honor (series)
Book One- Shadow Honor: Two different societies. One existing in the light of day, the other within the shadows. Two different sets of morality. Can one young man be a bridge to both worlds? Can love really conquer all? Or must there also be honor among the worlds, and what shape would that honor take? In the depths beneath the Everbright City lies a vast complex of caves known as The Shade. The Underking of the Shade, Salidar thulu'Khant, seeks to free the demons imprisoned in the city above and use them to unseat King Neredos, the immortal ruler of humanity. The future of the world rests in the unwilling hands of young thief and Shade native, Styx, who is thrust into the middle of a conflict which has perpetuated for centuries.Book Two-Clouded Purity: Eight centuries before Salidar thulu-Khant's reign, the world was much different. Technology, not magic, defined the world, though political machinations and civil unrest had pushed the world to the edge of destruction. Two young men, embark on a journey of self-discovery while dealing with the consequences of a broken society. Meanwhile, an ancient force seeks to unleash a Trial of Destruction on the world.
8 149Eren x Reader
First real story and not just one shots so please if you criticize be polite
8 169