| Chapter 51 Brian pulled the blanket tighter around him and shivered. He moaned as the pain returned. The drug was wearing off, and he wanted nothing more than to retreat back into the bliss he'd experienced. He pulled his knees in closer to his chest, trying to find some warmth against the chills he was having. He wiped his face with a shaking hand, a cold sweat pouring off him. "It has to be the poison," he muttered. He tried to sit up, only to lay back down again, the room spinning out of control. He held his eyes shut for a moment, trying to will away the nausea that came with the spinning room. He knew in his mind that he needed to escape. He had to get back to Marie and get some proper medical attention. But his body wasn't a willing participant. Even when the room wasn't spinning, he could barely stand on his own. There was no way he was going to escape. Slowly he sat up, looking around the dark room. The only source of light was the faint glow of the small moon. Brian sighed realizing there was nothing in the room that he could use to help him. A sharp pain hit his stomach and he winced. Almost instantly he could taste the Krystal he'd been given hours ago, and a fresh craving washed over him. He rubbed his face, remembering what Devon had said about the drug, that it only took one time to get addicted. Now he knew it was true. Even as sick as he was, the only thought he had was how he was gonna get some more Krystal. Brian shook his head, "No! Stop it! You can beat this... you just need ....air," he told himself, suddenly finding that it was getting hard to breathe. He stood up on the bed, putting all his weight on his good leg, and grabbed the bars of the small window. He pressed his face as close to them as he could and took in deep gulps of air. After a moment his breathing calmed down. He looked across the courtyard. There were still a few transports there, but several guards stood around them. He glanced over towards the stables, not seeing anyone. Maybe there were no unicorns there to guard? He looked towards the mountains, seeing their shadows against the night sky. As far as he could see was darkness, which meant they were no where near a city. If they had been, he would've been able to see the lights. His strength was giving out and he sank back down to the bed, pulling the blanket over. His ankle was killing him. He carefully pulled his jeans up and felt of the bandage. The heat coming off it scared him. He sighed, laying back down. He had to fight this, the poison and the drug, or he knew he'd never see Marie or the guys again. He closed his eyes, "God help me, please," he mumbled as he fell asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick wandered through the garden. He couldn't sleep, and he couldn't stay cooped up in his room. His mind was going a mile a minute, all the �what if's' raising their ugly heads and plaguing him with every step. He still couldn't get it out of his head that if he'd sent Brian home, none of this would've happened. He sighed, stepping off the trail and wondering through the thick brush and trees. He sniffed as the tears threatened to come back, the vision of Brian being forced to swallow that nasty drug playing over and over in his head. He stepped out of the trees only to be faced with a wall of rock. He looked up, not able to see the top of it. Nick then looked from side to side, noticing something, he turned and headed toward it. As he approached, he realized it was the opening to a cave. He glanced around for a moment, wondering if some animal lived in it. Then he shrugged his shoulders and ducked in. As he stood up on the other side, his breath caught in his throat. The cave was massive, going on as far as the eye could see. There were crystal like formations hanging from the ceiling, and they glowed, like tiny lanterns. Nick scanned the walls, noticing the faint colors of some ancient drawings. He walked over and inspected them. What he saw sparked his interest. All across the main wall was drawn a massive battle scene. Unicorns with riders and thousands of footmen where portrayed. Nick walked down the length of the wall, studying the art. When he reached the middle he gasped. There at the head of the army was the king. Nick stared at the drawing, a chill running down his back. The king was on a black unicorn. He wore armor of gold and had a massive sword in his hand. The most shocking thing was that the king didn't look like the others. He had white hair and lavender eyes. Nick stepped back, shaking. This couldn't be him, it just couldn't! He took a deep breath and continued on, studying the opposing army. They were a mixture of races, some Nick had seen, and some he hadn't. He recognized the Jeptimians, and the humans. "No," Nick whispered, in shock and fear. This couldn't be the future that was pictured, could it? He turned from the wall, not able to face it any longer. He stared across the chamber, seeing an opening. He walked across and peeked in. It was a smaller chamber, filled with weapons. Nick walked in, looking through the ancient swords and bows. From the looks of them, they had to be centuries old. He milled through the room, until he'd reached the far wall. There he stopped, staring. In the corner was the armor pictured on the wall outside. Nick walked over and ran his finger across the shoulder, revealing the golden shine, from under all the dust. Nick stared at the suit in awe. After a while his curiosity got the best of him and he reached out, grabbing one of the metal covered gloves. He put it on, flexing his hand. It was a perfect fit. The glimmer of something caught his eye and he looked over, seeing the sword. He bit his lip, wondering if he should or not, but finally picked it up. As soon as his hand touched it, it began to glow. Nick held it up, seeing the engraving running down the blade. He wiped it with his hand, trying to read the faint markings. That's when he realized they weren't in his language. He stared at them, puzzled. If Celeste had always been one race and one language, then where did this come from? After a few moments he put the sword back and took off the glove, returning it to where he'd found it. He walked out of the room back into the main chamber, his mind full of more questions. He was going to leave, but something pulled at him to stay. He wandered to the back of the main chamber, finding several more rooms. Some were filled with more weapons, while others looked like living quarters. He made it all the way to the back, staring at the wall. His mark graced the entire back wall. The paint seemed to shimmer, making it look alive. It almost seemed as if the raven was staring at him. Nick shivered under the beings stare, and looked down. "What the hell?" he said, seeing a familiar sensor. He brushed the dust from it, then thought why not? He passed his mark across it, and was rewarded with a loud rumbling noise. Nick stepped back as the wall separated and opened into another room. He coughed as the dust flew around, the doors not having been opened in centuries. When the dust finally settled, Nick stood there in shock. He'd found the kings chambers. He walked in, noting that nothing in this room was dusty. Everything gleamed with cleanliness. The marble like floors reflected the lights from above, making the room bright. Nick walked over to the bed and felt of it. The blankets were the softest he'd felt, even softer than his own in the palace. He sat down on the bed and looked around. There was a desk on one side with elaborate carvings down the legs. A table and chairs, and even a bathroom. Nick checked everything out, surprised that it all still worked. The desk was full of papers, all in the same language as the engraving on the sword. As much as Nick would've liked to stayed, he was getting really tired. His body finally giving out. He contemplated laying down on the bed, but knew better. If morning came and he was nowhere to be found .... well he didn't want to cause that kind of panic. He took a small piece of paper from the desk and folded it up, placing it in his pocket. He needed to find out what language that was. Nick took one last look and then stepped back into the main chamber. He passed his mark over the sensor and waited until the doors were shut before making his way out of the cave. Once he was out, he took notice of the moon. It was going down, and the faint light of dawn could be seen. He hurried back through the trees towards the palace. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Marie, please eat," Howie begged. Marie sat on her bed staring at the food tray he'd brought her. She shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. Howie sat down next to her and took her hand, "I know you don't want to. Neither do I, but we have to take care of ourselves. And you have to take care of your baby. Brian's gonna need us when he comes back, and if we're sick we can't help him." Marie bit her lip and looked at him. She could see his worry and concern in his chocolate eyes. "I'll try," she said, picking up her fork. Howie smiled, staying with her as she ate what little she could. When she pushed the tray away, he stood up and took it, "I'll take this back. Can I get you anything else?" "No thank you," she said, laying back in bed and staring out the balcony doors. The suns had risen not long ago and the day was turning out to be warm and beautiful. Howie sighed, watching her. She was so broken hearted, almost like the life had been torn out of her, leaving an empty shell. He shook his head and turned towards the door. A.J. walked in, just as Howie reached to open the door. Howie grabbed the tray before he dropped it. "She eat?" A.J. asked. Howie glanced down at the food, "Not much." A.J. nodded, walking into the room as Howie left. He sat down on the side of the bed and gently brushed the hair from Marie's face. She glanced at him. A.J. smiled down at her, "Hey, why don't I take you somewhere. You know, get out of the palace for a bit?" She shook her head, looking back out the doors. A.J. sighed, "Ok, we can stay here then. Would you like to play cards, or we could watch the vid?" Marie laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I don't need a babysitter Alex." A.J grinned, "I know you don't, but until Brian gets back, it's our job to look after you." She sat up and looked at him, "Our job?" He nodded, "Mine, D's, Kevin's and Nick's. See it's an unspoken agreement we all have. It started when Brian had his heart surgery. We kinda agreed to take care of things for him until he got back on his feet. That meant being there for his family. Just like now, we're here for you until he comes back." Marie smiled, the first real smile since Brian had been taken. She knew the guys were all close, but she didn't realize that when she married Brian, she gained four brothers as well. "Thank you Alex," she said, reaching out and hugging him. A.J. held her as her emotions took over and she began to sob. He stroked her back, soothing her, "Shhh, it's gonna be Ok." After a few moments she pulled back, wiping her face, "I'm sorry." "Hey, it's alright," he said, "Come on. Why don't you get dressed and we'll go down for your check up. Then if you feel like it, we can take a walk in the garden, get some fresh air." She sniffed, "You aren't gonna take no for an answer are you?" "Nope," he said with a smile, causing them both to laugh. "Alright," she said, crawling out of bed and heading to the bathroom, "Give me a minute." A.J. sat back on the bed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Take your time, I've got all the time in the world." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick sat in front of the console, watching as the computer ran through all possible matches to the writing on the paper. He was getting impatient, as minute after minute went by with no match. He felt someone coming and quickly shut off the computer and hid the paper, just turning around as the door opened. Rowland stepped in, "I'm sorry to bother you, but ..." "You found Brian?" Nick asked hopefully. Rowland sighed, "No your highness. The unicorn is dying. I thought you might want to know." Nick's heart broke a little more as he nodded and walked past Rowland, heading for the stable. When he walked into the stable, sadness washed over him. He knew it was the other unicorns in the building, and took a deep breath, walking to Kena's stall. He stepped in, seeing Kena laying on her side, struggling to breathe. The vet stood up and shook his head, "The poison was to strong. There's nothing I can do." Nick nodded, keeling down next to the creature. He ran his hand down her face and neck, "I'm sorry girl. I never wanted any of this to happen." Kena stared at him with her large brown eyes and purred. Nick smiled. She was dying but she made sure she made him feel better. He shook his head as a tear trailed down his cheek, "What is it they say? When a unicorn dies they go to a beautiful field, full of their favorite grass, with flowing streams of clear water." Kena blinked, gasping for air. Nick stroked her neck, "Don't fight anymore girl. You lived a good life here .... go to your field." Kena stared at him for a moment. Then as if she'd understood him, she closed her eyes and grew still. Nick stayed by her side until she was gone, letting his tears fall. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian woke to the glare of the sun in his room. He sat up, noticing a tray of food sitting in the floor next to the door. He slowly got up and hobbled over to it, sitting down in the floor next to it. He took a shaky breath, seeing the small vile sitting next to the glass of water. Instantly he craved it, and had to will himself not to grab it. He quickly ate as much as his churning stomach would let him. Not that he was hungry, but he remembered what the man had said about the poison. He then drank the water, staring at the vile. By the time he sat the glass down, his hands were shaking. He closed his eyes, willing all the strength he could muster and shoved the tray back through the opening at the bottom of the door. He couldn't let the drug take over, no matter how much he wanted it. Slowly he got back to his feet and hobbled back to his bed. He already regretted what he'd done, his craving getting stronger. He was near tears when he heard someone outside the door. He watched as they pushed the vile back through the opening. "No," he cried, covering his face with his hands. How was he suppose to fight this when they wouldn't let him? He looked at the vile again, his mouth watering. Brian licked his lips, his body screaming at him to go get it. He took a deep breath, coughing when he did. Another chill ran through him, and he stared at the ceiling. Maybe if he didn't look at it, it would help? After a minute he'd abandoned that idea, getting up and making his way to the small container. He picked it up and turned around. Waves of dizziness came over him and he grabbed the sink to steady himself. Leaning on the sink he stared at the liquid, his body and mind in a duel. He was in so much pain, he just wanted it to stop. He opened the vile, careful not to spill it. If he just took a little, just enough to dull the pain, it wouldn't hurt would it? It wouldn't be like taking the whole vile and getting high. He raised the container to his mouth, his hand shaking so badly he knew he was going to drop it. He took a sip, quickly replacing the lid and setting the container on the back of the sink. Instantly he found relief from his pain, but it wasn't enough. He wanted more. "No I can't," he scolded himself, pushing up from the sink and stumbling back to the bed. He wrapped the blanket around him and lay back. If he could just stay strong, just take enough to dull the pain, maybe he had a chance? At least that's what he'd keep telling himself. Chapter 52 |