Chapter 4 - Part IV

"You are a fool, I curse your ignorance." she spit, "You know nothing of lovers or family."

Anita absorbed the fumes of the Nü girl's hatred, which only gave the raven woman strength. "Come, my ill-tempered swamp rat. We have much work ahead of us yet. In constructing your bodies elsewhere, we had to sever the links between body and mind of the two of you. We have wasted much time rediscovering each other, so together, we shall rebuild."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fire must have been going for awhile because flame no longer danced upon the glowing bed of hot coals. No one had cause to feed it, as the little tavern room had but one conscious occupant. That occupant, Gregor, exhausted, phased in and out of half dreams and veiled realities, collapsed in a wicker chair between two small pallets. Upon the each pallet, two near lifeless bodies rested, though Gregor knew better. These men and women danced in another realm.

To his surprise, Cedric was the first to stir. Perhaps there was some strength in that man that had not yet been blotted out. His mousy nose twitched as his eyes gradually fluttered open. Taking a stunned look at his surroundings, Cedric then pulled himself up against the headboard and noticed his pallet-mate, Davin, begin to move himself, struggling to achieve consciousness.

What a headache.

The scrawny Eidren chef collected himself and noticed another pallet across from the snoozing Gregor, where the woman in blue-black and the Nü girl rested in deathly stillness and reflected that he too had likely been in such a state. Gregor had told him the cost of his escape would be some harsh treatment, but he had no anticipated this. The feeling of inhabiting the dead while still alive, the burning of his blood and the tearing of his soul, this was more than a domesticated servant was built to endure. Would that I had never been forced to pay that price, thought Cedric, too bitter a pill to willingly swallow.

Keeper Rel! He was just a cook! His life goals prior to this mess amounted to roasting the perfectly moist Oaken Wood turkey and baking the fluffiest muffins. He had no more use for politics and espionage than he did a sword or tiara.