Wed Mar 24, 2010 2:19 pm by Dallid
"She strikes me as fiercely independent, but she also enjoys company and I fear is rather lonely. Yes, I suspect asking some girls to help out would prove most beneficial.”
They were back on the road toward the Monroe farm for only a few minutes before they saw someone running toward them out of the darkness. Dallid cautiously reached for the hilt of his sword.
“Dallid! Thank the elements!”
He dropped his hand back to his side as he recognized the voice – a local teenage named Peter, son of Cody, a town laborer.
“It’s father! His heart…”
Dallid followed the young man at a sprint, cutting across yards and leaping fences until they reached his house. Just inside the door family members huddled around a man lying prone on the floor. Peter’s father was unconscious. His wife Rebecca held his hand, daughters Gypsum and Valerie hovering helplessly beside her. They immediately stood and backed away as Dallid and Peter entered, Esmerelda, despite her skirts, close behind. “HELP HIM!” Rebecca screamed.
Cody wasn’t breathing. Had they arrived too late? Dallid kneeled beside him, hands glowing over his chest. The man’s essence was still within – he could be saved. Another half minute and it might have been a different story.
Dallid went to work. In seconds, Cody drew in a heaving breath. Rebecca choked back a sob. “Is he going to be all right?”
“He will be,” Dallid repied, concentration focused on Cody, “in a few minutes.”
The minutes passed – Dallid was sure it seemed like an eternity for the family – and then it was done. He withdrew his hands as Cody’s eyes fluttered open.
“That was a bad one.” Cody croaked.
“They’ve all been bad.” Dallid replied.
The man nodded solemnly.
“Cody,” Dallid went on in a gentle voice, “that was the second heart attack in the space of a single moon.”
Cody nodded again.
“I can soften your arteries so the blood flows easier, I can start your heart when it stops, but I cannot strengthen it – not for long - and it is rapidly weakening.”
Another nod with frowning acceptance. “It’s my time, isn’t it.”
“It has been for awhile.”
The family’s tears were flowing freely now. Peter was trying to maintain a strong front, but Dallid suspected not all the moisture on his face was from the rain. “Father… no…” Gypsum pleaded.
“I won’t take more from the cycle than is my due! No more reviving, and no resurrections. This is it.” Cody declared with finality. Then confusion crossed his face. He turned back to Dalld. “But… You’re always talking about the Cycle… I heard you died – years ago, back when that Dragon was defeated. Everyone thought you were dead. Then you showed up in Far Reach. What happened? Were you resurrected?”
Dallid paused for a moment. “It’s complicated,” he said finally, “but, no, I wasn't.”
“Complicated?” Cody gave a weak laugh. “How can it be complicated? Either you have or you haven’t!”
“I’d prefer not to discuss it.”
Cody frowned. “Well… that’s an odd answer, but we won’t pry. Here…” He handed Dallid a silver piece. “Wish I could give you more – you’ve given me time to put my affairs in order, and that’s more than I could ask.”
Dallid accepted the silver. “This donation is more than enough. Thank you. I will check in from time to time, and if there is any assistance I may offer, for any of you, do not hesitate to ask.”
Learn the past. Observe the present. Guide the future.