Holmberg, D K - The Sighted Assassin 02 - The Forgotten by Holmberg D K

Author:Holmberg, D K [Holmberg, D K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2016-08-28T23:00:00+00:00

14

Erasn was more addictive than toxic, creating a withdrawal when not taken regularly. To Nord, it would have seemed like he was getting sicker when he hadn’t gotten the antidote, when really he had just been withdrawing from what Orly had been giving him. Better yet, erasn poisoning would look similar to bakka toxicity up until the end. The lack of bleeding would be the only thing that told them apart.

In a fit of anger, I threw the skin onto the ground.

Cael reached up and touched my good hand. Where she touched me, the skin tingled. “Galen—what is it?”

I spat dust and the flavor of the erasn out of my mouth. “A waste, that is what this is.”

For the first time, I wished that she would just Read me so that I wouldn’t have to explain. I wasn’t certain I had the energy or the patience. I saw her try, felt the soft fluttering of her attempt to Read me, but then she shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

What she should have said was that she could not Read me. It happened with me occasionally. Neither of us understood why.

“Nord wasn’t poisoned with bakka,” I said, looking over to the dormant and dried trees.

“But he’s sick. Even you said he was sick,” Cael said. “His mind has gone now. Can you get it back?”

I nodded. “He’s sick,” I agreed. “But not with bakka. Probably never was, though Orly may have told him he was. This is erasn poisoning. Different, but very similar. Close enough that I didn’t even question.”

“How?”

I pointed to the skin. “In the water. Bastard was dosing him each time he gave him the ‘antidote.’”

Cael looked down at the water skin. Realization flashed across her face quickly. She hadn’t Read me; she was just smart. “What will happen if he doesn’t get more?” she asked.

I shrugged. The effort was almost too much for me. “Not sure. Depends on how much and how long.” We knew that Orly had been poisoning him for years, but did not know how much. Probably small amounts; too much would make the water taste peculiar.

Of course, Nord thought he was drinking an antidote.

“Why would he do that to Nord?”

I didn’t understand. What would compel Orly to torment Nord for such a prolonged period of time? Something motivated it—Orly rarely acted without a plan. “Can you Read him?”

Cael shook her head. “That’s when I knew something had changed. There’s too much confusion in his head, almost as if it is clouded over.”

“But you can Compel him.”

She looked at me strangely. “That’s different.”

“You should ask,” I suggested.

Cael turned to Nord and looked into his eyes. He looked back at her with an odd expression on his face, a mixture of confusion and frustration, which left me wondering how much he understood.

“Do you know Orly?” Cael asked.

The question was infused with her power and I had to resist the urge to answer, myself.

“Of course I know Orly,” Nord answered.

“How?” Cael asked.

“We go way back. I mean, Orly took me in when I first came to Eban, let me join his crew.

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