Hemi handed me a plate of food and I did my best to eat it. But every mouthful felt like it was about to make a hasty exodus. It had been this way our whole journey. Every time I ate, I felt sick and I wasn’t sleeping. I could feel the concerned looks from Hemi as he watched me eat. I tried, but I couldn’t keep it down. Sighing, I pushed my plate dejectedly away and stared at the fire until my eyes drew heavy. Moments later I felt myself being lifted off the ground by strong arms and laid gently on the one of the two bunks in the room. My eyes fluttered open briefly to make out the red hair and trimmed beard of Hemi. Covering me with a blanket, he turned. I could hear a heated whispered debate going on between him and Kael.
“This is not protecting her!” he argued. “You must be blind if you haven’t noticed. She is not eating, not sleeping and is losing weight. She weighs nothing more than a small child now. She’s having nightmares. She is obviously terrified.”
“I’m not blind. I’ve seen it before. In even the bravest of warriors. It is to be expected. She knows what we are going up against.”
“She’s just a child. I should turn around and take her back to our valley, back to her father, since you seem to be lax in your duty that you were charged with. It would be the right thing to do.”
I couldn’t hear Kael’s quiet answer even though I strained to hear it against the rumble of thunder. When the thunder faded, they had obviously quit talking and had gone to make up their beds. The storm sounded like it was about to get worse.
***
A crack of thunder made me jump and I felt a pulse of lighting soar painfully through my body. It was the iron butterfly, and I was once again trapped within the machine. The iron bands wrapped around me and pierced the different pressure points along my arms and body. The Raven peered at me closely through the silver mask, his eyes black and sinister. He raised his hands and called down another bolt of lightning and sent its currents through the bands and I jerked upright as the spasm wracked painfully through my body. Tears of pain poured uncontrollably down my face and I started to sob.
But my sobs were muffled as I awoke to strong arms holding me and my face buried into a masculine chest. The thunder from the storm made me sob and shiver uncontrollably in terror. Strong hands held me and comforted me as I tried to get a hold of my fear. The fire had gone out and darkness enclosed the shelter.
A low voice whispered comfort to me “Shhh, Thalia. You’re okay; it’s just a dream. It can’t hurt you anymore.” Another crack of thunder and my body jerked in memory of the pain; the sound of thunder would forevermore be linked to torture. The whispered voice continued to hold me throughout the storm, never letting up, never releasing me. I was safe; the voice kept the terror away as I snuggled into the deep chest and fell asleep, barely realizing that the scent was not the familiar scent of earth and spice but of leather and musk. It was the first time in weeks I was able to sleep through the night without fear of being plagued by my real life nightmares.
***
The next morning I awoke alone, cold and a little disoriented. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that I was the only one left in the way station. Sounds from outside attested to the whereabouts of Hemi, Joss and Kael. I was glad for the moment’s reprieve as I had the privacy to get dressed and ponder over last night. I was originally under the assumption that it was Joss comforting me during the storm, but now that I’m awake I’m not so sure.
Rushing to change into fresh clothes, I packed up and ran outside to find Joss who was clearing the path to the way station of broken tree limbs. It was an unmentioned code to users to leave the station as you found it. Clearing the path of debris and restocking the wood was expected.