Simon was engaged in a verbal battle with one of the king’s personal attendants. It had been already thirty minutes since it had started, and he was starting to get tired.

  “As I told you, you can’t enter the room while the Shaman is performing the ritual, it can be dangerous for both you and the artifact. I am preventing you from entering by loyalty towards the kingdom.”

  The ugly man snorted.

  “I know that’s not true, what can he even do with his skinny body ? I’m sure he is destroying the artifact even further, I need to check that everything is in order.”

  The commander sighed internally.

  ‘If he was outside earlier and had seen Thomas’ entrance, he wouldn’t make such a ruckus. It’s obvious why the king sent him, the others must have been too scared.’

  He was about to rebuke the attendant once more, when the big golden door started moving. It was finally over. It had taken more time than expected, when Simon did a circution with Thomas it never took more than ten minutes, but it was normal to take that long since the task wasn’t easy for the Shaman this time.

  “Well, they are finished over here, shouldn’t you go and report to his majesty ? The Shaman will go meet him shortly.”

  The attendants gritted his teeth in anger, but eventually he turned around and walked out. When the hallway was clear, Simon turned to the door once more.

  ‘Why aren’t they coming out ?’

  Then he heard a whisper coming from inside.

  “Commander ? Are you alone ?”

  Tira passed his head through the entrance, a worried look in his eyes. Without thinking, the knight ran to him.

  “What’s going on ?”

  “Are you alone ?”

  The boy was strangely insistent. Understanding that the situation was urgent, Simon scanned the corridor but it was empty.

  “I’m alone.”

  As soon as he heard the answer, Tira pulled him inside. The scene the knight discovered was nightmarish. The artifact was shining brilliantly, completely repaired, but in contrast Thomas was convulsing on the floor, his limbs twisted like a broken doll. His hollow eyes were full of tears, his mouth opened and gasping for air. Tari was desperately trying to put a cigarette in his mouth, but Thomas couldn’t close it long enough to inhale the drug. In desperation, the boy started to stuff raw cigarettes in his throat, trying to make him ingest as much of the rolled leaves as possible, but the Shaman was choking on them.

  “Stop it ! Are you crazy ?!”

  Simon ran to his side, shoving Tari to the side, and taking out the leaves from Thomas’ mouth.

  “But he is having an attack, he needs the drugs !”

  “Not like that !”

  After making sure Thomas could somewhat breathe again, Simon took out a cigarette and a small lighter, inhaling as much as he could despite the thick smoke that made him cough.

  “What are you doing ?”

  Without answering, he lowered his head and exhaled as close as possible to Thomas’ face. The knight was starting to tear up, his head was rigging and his vision was becoming blurry, but he continued again and again, lighting up another cigarette.

  “Stop it, you’ll die !”

  But Simon didn’t stop. He didn’t feel his limbs anymore, his stomach was starting to churn, but he only stopped when Thomas gained consciousness. The Shaman’s eyes rolled in their orbits, nding on the knight. His voice rang in Simon’s head.

  “I told you. I trust you.”

  The commander smiled brightly.

  “I know.”

  Then he lost strength in his body, falling on his side next to Thomas.

  ***

  He woke up in a moving carriage, his head against the window. The knight blinked slowly, trying to adjust to the light of the sun. In front of him, the twins were sleeping by leaning on each other, their chests moving regurly. Simon tried to turn his head but his body felt incredibly heavy. That’s when he noticed that the carriage was filled with thick smoke, but a thin yer of pink light was protecting him from it, forming a bubble of pure air around his whole body. He couldn’t move, but he whispered weakly.

  “Thomas ?”

  “I’m here.”

  The voice came from beside him, but the knight couldn’t see the Shaman.

  “What happened ?”

  “You almost died but I detoxified the drug. You’ll feel bad for a while but otherwise you should be alright. If you feel like you're starting to feel an addiction, tell me.”

  “I already guessed. I mean, why am I here ? What about your audience with the king ?”

  There was a short silence.

  “I went but we didn’t speak for long. He won’t trouble us for a while.”

  “What do you mean ? Are you alright ?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  Gathering all his strength, Simon pushed against the window and turned to the side. That’s when he saw Thomas. Or was it him ? It was hard to say. He was changed, almost like a beast, with big round eyes making most of his face, feathers and scales mixed in his long bck hair, his mouth was big and long with several rows of pointy teeth. That thing was absolutely terrifying. But somehow, Simon felt a strange sense of familiarity. He looked at the hands of the beast. They were strange, long with slim fingers, but most of all they looked exactly the same as when they were doing a circution together.

  “Is it… How you look like everytime ?”

  “Don’t look at me.”

  The Shaman turned his back to him, hunched over to hide his disgusting features. But Simon was still looking at him with the same eyes as usual.

  “Is that why the king didn’t speak to you for long ?”

  “I should have hid it better, but when I regained consciousness and saw the twins’ faces…”

  Thomas was starting to shake, his voice becoming unsteady. Simon opened the box of cigarettes that was between them on the seat and took one out, handing it to the Shaman.

  “Don’t think about it if it hurts. And the king is not a problem, we’ll manage somehow. Think about something else.”

  He leaned against the backrest, taking a deep breath. His body felt sluggish and he was starting to get sick.

  “That drug is awful…”

  Thomas lit up the cigarette and started to smoke.

  “I know. Thank you.”

  “It’s nothing. I was starting to panic, you looked so bad.”

  Simon tried to ugh but his stomach was churning. He closed his eyes and let out a small whimper. He heard some noises next to him, and Thomas’ voice sounded even closer.

  “Does it hurt a lot ?”

  “I think the carriage is making me sick…”

  “Let’s go home faster then.”

  Simon felt something take him and a gush of wind on his skin, and he opened his eyes in a panic.

  “What the…”

  He couldn’t finish his sentence because he was so high above the ground that he first thought he was hallucinating.

  “Hang on tight.”

  Thomas was flying, two pairs of big webbed wings fpping in his back, holding onto Simon’s hand who was surrounded by pink light.

  “A bit of fresh air will make you feel better.”

  It was a strange sight, flying above the kingdom with a strange beast holding his hand, but the knight didn’t question it. He wasn’t afraid. It was so miraculous seeing the carriage disappear behind them as they flew at high speed towards the Shaman’s territory.

  “It’s beautiful…”

  “I know. I do that often. Nobody else can fly in this dimension, no cursed beast, no other human, only birds. It feels great to be alone as far away as possible from everyone else.”

  “Well you’re not exactly alone right now.”

  Simon ughed, but a sinister light was growing in the Shaman’s eyes.

  “I’m doing this because you saved me, but it’s for me too. I’m barely holding on right now, but I will soon break.”

  As if proving his words, his hand started to shake and his clothes were getting wet from the cold sweat. He looked so bad one would think that strange beast was about to die.

  “If only you knew… I thought I wouldn’t remember if I was drugged enough… I thought it would st longer… Why did it take them thirty minutes, those sick bastards…”

  He was starting to ramble, his pupils shaking. Simon held his hand tighter to show him his support.

  “Hold on until we reach the mansion. If you need it, I can guard your room so that nobody enters.”

  Thomas didn’t seem to be able to hear, he kept rambling until his eyes watered and he broke into small sobs that startled the knight. He was crying like a kid, with those big round eyes that made most of his head.

  “I don’t want to be here ! I want Bael !”

  He was crying so pitifully, his wings having trouble maintaining the speed. But Simon couldn’t say anything. The sight of Thomas crying was heart wrenching, his sorrow filled with pain and longing was too much for him to bear. The commander bit his lip, trying his best to refrain from breaking down too. Thomas’ tears made him want to cry, it was painful to see him suffer.

  ‘Shit… I think I love him… But I shouldn’t, he doesn’t need me. There is only one person in this world that can ease his pain and repair his broken heart. I’m no good for him.’

  AmbreaTaddy