| Chapter 77 Nick waited until the very last second, then threw the blankets back and rolled out of the way. His assailants sword sliced into the bed next to him. Nick quickly brought his sword up and blocked the next blow, then rolled completely off the bed and hit the floor with a loud thud. He pushed himself up and to his feet, turning to see his attacker closing in on him. Again Nick blocked the first strike, and the two exchanged a ferocious series of blows. They both seemed to be equally matched, so neither took the upper hand. The room was shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the open balcony doors. Nick could see alright, but he was wondering how his attacker could see him. In this light Angels couldn't see much. Between matching strikes and the clanging of metal on metal, Nick noticed the man was wearing some sort of night vision goggles. Nick grinned, thinking this was the mans first mistake. The man was relentless, and soon had flipped Nick's sword out of his hand. Nick watched it fly across the room and land on the floor near his desk. The man moved in for the kill, and Nick did the only thing he could. "Lights on full!" he yelled, closing his eyes as the room was suddenly awash in the golden light. The man screamed and pulled his goggles off, blinking against the sudden invasion. Nick took the opportunity to punch him as hard as he could, then moved past him towards his desk. On his way he pressed the button on his bracelet. Nick was halfway to his desk when the man ran up behind him and tackled him, sending them both to the floor. Nick managed to flip over and grabbed the mans knife wielding hand just as it was coming down. The two struggled, the knife coming closer to Nick's chest. Nick stared at the man, his lavender eyes shining in the light and seeming to intimidate him a bit. Nick kept staring at him, hoping it would unnerve him enough for the man to make a mistake. The attacker used his body weight to press the knife closer to Nick's body. Nick was struggling to keep the blade away from him, and knew his strength was going to give out pretty soon. His body was just to tired to put up this kind of fight for long. Quickly he glanced around the room, looking for anything that would help him. His eyes settled on a heavy vase in one of the corners. It would have to do. Nick half closed his eyes, as the vase lifted from the floor and flew across the room at lightening speed. It crashed into the side of the man's head, just as Nick's strength gave out. The man was still pushing with all his might when he was hit, so he fell in that direction. Nick was able to push him to the side, but not enough. The knife came down slicing through his upper arm. Nick screamed in pain, trying to push the stunned man away from him. Finally he got untangled and up to his feet. He reached out with his good arm and his sword flew into his hand. As he turned back around, the man was standing right in front of him. He blew some kind of powder into Nick's face. Nick tried to close his eyes, but he was to late. The scarlet colored powder invaded his eyes, nose and mouth. Immediately his vision blurred and his eyes felt like they were on fire. He dropped his sword and tried to wipe the infernal dust from his eyes. Blinking rapidly, it got no better. He stumbled backwards, losing sight of where his attacker was. Nick coughed violently, the powder now going to work on his throat. He could feel it tightening, and panic started to set in when he realized he was gasping for air. He tried to call out for help, but couldn't. Darkness started to close in around him, and he collapsed to the floor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rowland ran down the hall as fast as he could, sliding to a halt outside Nick's door. Several more guards were with him, and Rowland wasted no time opening the door. The sight awaiting him made his heart stop. As the door opened Rowland watched as Nick collapsed, his assailant hovering over him, ready to finish him off. Quickly the guard pulled his weapon and fired. The attacker stiffened for a second, then collapsed next to Nick. Rowland ran to Nick, turning him over. His eyes widened in fear as he saw the scarlet residue on the young kings face. "Go get Marie, quick!" he yelled to one of the guards. The man ran out of the room as another ran into the bathroom, coming back with several cups of water. Rowland took one and poured it over Nick's face. Then took another and pried his eyes open, flushing them out. "What happened?" the queen demanded as she and Mason entered the room. Several of the guards had bound the attacker and were dragging him from the room as they came in. "He used Vacelia dust," Rowland explained. LaDonna froze with fear as Mason took her hand. "Is..is he breathing?" she asked. Rowland shook his head, "I can't tell." Just then Marie came into the room, still in her pajamas. She took one look at Nick and rushed to the console. Calling down to the medical floor she barked out orders for supplies to be sent up and a doctor. Just as soon as she was done the supplies appeared on a pad next to the console. She grabbed them and hurried over to Nick. "Get him up on the bed," she ordered as she started preparing a shot. The guards did as she said, lifting Nick up to the bed. Marie injected the shot, then went to work, threading a tube down Nick's throat to ease his breathing. Everyone stood back and watched her work. With lightening speed she set Nick up on the portable ventilator, then started to clean the wound on his arm. By the time the doctor arrived she had it taken care of, and was re-flushing Nick's eyes. She filled the doctor in on what she had done as he double checked everything. The doctor helped her place a bandage around Nick's head, covering his eyes. "You should have become a doctor," the doctor commented, as they finished. Marie smiled, "Doctors are a little to boring for me. I like being a nurse, we get all the exciting work." The man chuckled, then turned to face the queen. By now word had spread of the attack, and the guys were standing in the room along with Ana. The doctor talked directly to LaDonna, but loud enough that everyone could hear. "He should be fine, thanks to Marie's quick action. We will leave him on the ventilator until he wakes up, and his eyes will remain covered for a few days. The cut to his arm was deep, but I don't believe there will be any permanent damage," he noted. LaDonna nodded, walking over and sitting next to her son. Marie gave her a reassuring smile, then stepped back to stand with Ana. She knew her friend would need her, just as she had when Brian was so ill. And she was right, as soon as she put her arm around Ana, she broke down. "It's alright, he's going to be OK," she soothed. Ana nodded her head, trying to get control of her emotions. "What happened?" Kevin asked, looking at Rowland. The guard sighed, "The alarm in his bracelet was triggered. When we arrived he had just collapsed. We'll interrogate the assailant, try and find out who sent him," he answered, leaving the room with the remaining guards. A.J. walked over and ran his finger along the dust covered floor, looking at it, "What the hell is this stuff anyway?" Marie looked up, "Don't!" she yelled, quickly grabbing his hand and washing the dust off with one of the towels she had used on Nick. "Don't touch it," she scolded, "It's Vacelia dust. It's a flower, that's very poisonous. It can cause blindness if it's in your eyes to long, and you could die by breathing it in." "Damn," A.J. muttered, "Is Nicky gonna be OK?" She nodded, "He'll be fine. He got the antidote quickly and it was removed from his eyes in time as well." "Thank goodness," Howie said, gazing at Nick with concern and relief in his face. Kevin sighed, sitting down in one of the chairs, "This was to close. What if Rowland hadn't gotten here in time? We could've just lost him." "But we didn't, we have to focus on that right now," LaDonna said, looking over at the young man. Mason spoke with the doctor for a few moments, before the man left. Then he took his place next to LaDonna, his hand on her shoulder. A.J. glanced at Howie, then back to the two, grinning. Howie felt his face flush, as he tried hard not to laugh. A.J. had been right after all. A.J. turned to see the queen staring at him, smiling. He smiled back, then quickly found great interest in his bare feet. He should have put on shoes, then he would've had more to study. "When will he wake up?" Kevin asked, still worried over his youngest charge. "It will be a while," Maire answered, "The antidote itself tends to knock people out for several hours." "Boys, there's nothing more you can do tonight. Go back to bed, get some rest. You can see him in the morning," Mason said. The guys glanced at each other, knowing he was right. Nick would probably sleep well into the next day, and there was no sense staying up with him. Kevin sighed, standing up, "You're right, I just don't want to leave him." LaDonna smiled, �I know you don't, neither do I. But there's no sense in all of us staying up." Kevin glanced at Marie, "He's really gonna be alright?" She nodded, "Yes." "Alright then, I guess we'll try and get some sleep," he said, gesturing A.J. and Howie to the door. The three left, leaving Ana standing at the foot of the bed, feeling very unsure of what to do. LaDonna motioned for her to have a seat, which she did. "Ana, you are welcome to stay with him. He'll be confused when we wakes up, and a friendly voice will ease him," she said. Ana nodded, on the verge of tears. Somehow Nick's mother understood just how desperately she needed to be there. If she had been sent away like the guys, she would have died with worry. Somehow LaDonna sensed that. "Mason, go on, we'll stay with him," the queen said. Mason looked at the three women, smiling, "I guess if I wanted to stay I'd be outnumbered huh?" The queen grinned and nodded, "Yes you would. I'll see you in the morning." Mason leaned down and gently kissed her on the cheek, "If you need anything, just call." "I will," she said as he left the room. LaDonna looked back to the stunned faces of the two girls, and blushed. Marie sat down, "When did this happen? And where was I?" Chapter 78 |