Claiming The Remnant

Chapter 41

[ Garrett ]

Shit.

At the centre of the garden was a wooden gazebo covered in climbing roses. There I found the source of the scream.

"Zach!!!" I shouted, hoping the nuisance would hear me. Flipping 'Lady Esther' on to her back from the tangled pile that she had collapsed into, I checked her breathing and her pulse. She was cold, taking short breaths that seemed to catch in her throat, the pulse was sporadic; uneven beats that shook her whole being. "ZACH!"

"What, Captain?" He said from the bottom of the gazebo steps. Before I could reply he was gone. I crossed my fingers that he was getting a Dr and not just a Healer.

"Han, are you alright?" The violet eyed girl nodded in response. She was clinging to the rail looking terrified. Turning my attention back to Taiya I peeled back one of her eyelids.

"Ye Gods, what is happening?" Her eyes were shifting beneath the lids, not looking around - shifting. Flicking from one colour to the next. Unique, detailed irises in every shade and colour; natural and magical.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jo had caught up and was watching with disdain. "She needs to shift, but for whatever reason she can't. The magic is killing her. You wouldn't know about that though, would you? You don't have magic." Never had I been cut so deep. There was no time to process the pain because in the same instant that my heart felt like it had been torn open Taiya's stopped.

"Willis, get over here and help." I was in Captain mode. Everything else had been put aside.

"No." It was quietly said but filled the night air with the sound of a thousand voices.

"Willis, I am still your Captain." Even. Measured. Reasonable.

Jo disappeared behind her magic. s**t.

"Han, come over here. Kneel on her other side." I took off my jacket. "It's ok, you probably won't need to do anything but I'll give you instructions, ok, it will be alright."

I put one palm over the other. Heel of the palm on the sternum between her breast, arms locked, shoulders directly above, I pushed down with my weight. Not all of it though, I was aware of how much bigger I was in comparison to her tiny frame. The compression wasn't hard enough, her chest barely moved. I put more weight into the next one rocking my whole upper body into the motion.

Trying to do compressions with just arms wasn't effective. You couldn't apply enough pressure and it was quickly exhausting. Pressure gauged, I began in earnest pressing down on her narrow chest to a steady but speedy rhythm and counting to thirty. It felt like it had taken a lifetime to start but I knew in reality it was only seconds.

First set done, I tilted her head back, pinched her nose closed and pulled slightly on her chin before taking a normal breath, placing my mouth over her's and gently breathing into her. I watched her chest rise and fall as I did so, making sure the air was actually going in.

I repeated the action, ignoring how Jo had snarled and stormed off the second I'd put my mouth to Taiya's. I couldn't see them but the deliberate stomping made it obvious. Two breaths done I waited 10 seconds encase she started breathing again on her own but nothing happened so I started compressions again.

I was at the end of my third set breaths when Zach arrived with Poflorin. I cursed inwardly. At the very least he could have brought Asperonin.

"What happened?" Poflorin asked hurriedly, kneeling next to me and Zach ushered a quaking Han out of the way and took her place.

"Something to do with her magic, her eyes were shifting from one design and colour to another very quickly but they weren't glowing. Her heart and breathing stopped shortly after." I explained quickly before beginning compressions again. A rib cracked on the first press.

"You're hurting her!" Zach cried out and started grabbing my arms. "Poflorin, do something, heal her."

"Zach, calm down." Poflorin told the younger boy. "The Captain isn't trying to hurt her, it's normal. Her heart has stopped, he is trying to restart it. There is nothing to heal unless it starts beating again." Poflorin gulped beside me. A silent maid and two children were all I had right now. This was not an ideal situation.

I wondered if the King would blame me if she died.

Zach reached out and put his hands on mine, his eyes blazing green.

"I need to do it, you are hurting her." He almost sobbed. I was about to reiterate what Poflorin had said when Zach's hands sank through mine and into Taiya's chest. "You do the breathing."

"Zach, look at my hands." I spoke firmly and calmly even though I wanted to completely freak out at how easily Zach had used magic to put his hands through another person. "Like this." I demonstrated how he should massage her heart.

"Ok." Zach whispered. He was concentrating, there was an intensity in him that I hadn't seen before. Jo's comment that I didn't understand magic because I didn't have any had really stung and would for a while but looking at Zach I understood their point in a small way. The complexity of the task he was undertaking was immense. Not only did he have to focus on the pressure and motion but also on keeping his hands and legs solid so he could hold her heart and didn't fall through the wooden floor of the gazebo.

"You're doing really well Zach." I praised after giving some more breaths. Taiya was starting to cool a little more now. I was prepared that we might have to stop, that there might not be much more we can do. "Stop for a moment, give it a chance to go on it's own."

"I can't stop, he told me not to stop." Zach was close to tears. "Please just breathe again."

"Who said that?" I asked after putting what appeared to be another pointless breath into Taiya's lungs.

"Benton." Zach stated. Benton. I nodded and breathed into Taiya again but this time I felt hopeful. "Will you do something, please Rin?"

"There isn't anything I can do." Poflorin told Zach with an edge of distress.

"Try, just try." Zach begged. I didn't understand why Zach was so invested in Taiya living but the lad was giving it his all and I wasn't going to let him down.

“Is there any risk to it?” I asked Poflorin between putting air into Taiya’s lungs.

“No, no I suppose there isn’t.” The young Healer closed his eyes and put his hands on one of her legs, after a moment he changed the positioning of his hands putting a hand on each leg.

“Thank you.” Zach whispered, whether to me or Poflorin or both I didn’t know. I was concentrating on counting between breaths when Han came and knelt by Taiya’s head. It made me jump a little as I had forgotten she was even here. She put one hand carefully on Taiya’s shoulder, closed her eyes and bowed her head. She might have been praying, she might have been using magic; I didn’t know. I didn’t even know if Han had magic, her hair was always covered and I had never spent any time in her company. The only thing I knew was that she couldn’t speak.

“Oh.” Zach and Poflorin murmured at the same time. My lips were so close to Taiya’s I felt the air stir as she finally breathed of her own accord.

“Shitting cunt.” She muttered. “Agh, f**k, hurts.”

“Taiya...?” I cautiously asked, ‘Lady Esther’ wouldn’t be so vulgar. Zach removed his hands from inside her body, a mix of triumph and horror on his face. This must have been quite a trial for the lad.

“You.” She hissed, squinting at me. “Why?” She moaned. Hands weakly clutching her abdomen. I rolled her onto her side just in time for her to vomit and pass out. Zach had moved off of the gazebo and on to solid ground. He peered up the steps looking drained, it must have all taken quite a toll on him which surprised me as he seemed to effortlessly flit through the castle all day, everyday.

“Is she ok?” He called.

“For now. It’s time; we are going to need the twins and Amerise. Zach, will you be able to move us all to Lady Esther’s Suite?” Poflorin spoke calmly, hands still on Taiya. I was confused as to why they would need Amerise or the pink shaded twins.

“I can do it, Rin. Easy peasy.” He nodded eagerly. Zach seemed really different, he wasn‘t shifting about as much and his words were more cohesive, his speech less broken.

“You sure? You look tired, I don’t want to get stuck in a wall.” He chuckled. I failed to see what was funny. Could we really get stuck in a wall?

“Very funny Rin, I’m good to go.” Zach rolled his lightly glowing eyes.

“Captain, could you carry Lady Esther please? We need to move to solid ground for Zach to move us. Well, he could technically move us from here but it wouldn't be pleasant.” Poflorin kept his hands on Taiya the whole time.

“Of course, Poflorin.” I moved around and carefully scooped her up. Poflorin rose with me, keeping contact with her the whole time.

“Healer,” He said tersely, “it’s Healer Poflorin.”

“Rin…” Zach snickered. “Is this really the time?”

"Start as you mean to go on, Healer Poflorin." I said respectfully, manoeuvring the limp girl in my arms carefully down the stairs while giving the Healer room to keep his hands on her.

"Speaking of 'as you mean to go', stop using that name." There was an authority in Poflorin's voice that I didn't recognize.

"It was her through. You think she will remember when she wakes up?" I looked at her pale face.

"We will deal with it if it comes to that but you will keep it to yourself, Captain." Healer Poflorin said sharply. Taiya moaned, and whimpered in my arms.

"Concentrate Rin!" Zach snapped.

"I am, it's not physical pain." Poflorin snapped back.

"You don't have authority over me, Healer Poflorin. I don't take orders from you." I glared at the lad. Magic users, all the same thinking they can walk over me.

Poflorin was glaring right back when Han became a flurry of movement. She pulled out a little notepad and pencil, scribbled something and passed a note to Poflorin.

"Han says if you tell, she will tell." The young Healer said after reading the note.

"That's not enough reason for me to bite my tongue." I reasoned, exasperated with these children. "You realise she is a criminal?"

Taiya cried out, her limbs twitched responding to whatever was happening behind her closed eyes.

"Shhh, shhh." Zach stroked her face. "We don't have time for this. I know everyone's secrets. How about that? Is that enough?" A strange look played across his face.

"That will about do it." My jaw was aching from how hard I was clenching it. Captain of the guard being out done by two children.

"How does this need to go, Rin? Fast?" Zach said with an urgent tone.

"As fast as you possibly can because it will interrupt my magic."

"Ok. Everyone relax, we are going to go on the exhale. I will count us in on Esther's breathing. Everyone hold hands, close your eyes and Captain - hold her tight. If you leave her in a wall I will f*****g kill you." The violence in his voice was unexpected and shocking. Not only that but he thought I might do that. "On the third out; in, out, in, out, in…"

The sensation was odd and loud, very loud but it passed so quickly it was almost like it had never happened.

I had barely finished breathing out and I was opening my eyes in the sitting room of the Turquoise Suite, pushed or pulled by Zach's magic out of the wall to stand on the floor. Only Zach wasn't standing. He was a mess of green hair hunched over on the floor clutching his chest.

"Jakar!" I bellowed, knowing he was the guard on rotation. "Han, go get Grace." I set Taiya down on the chaise longue; a weird and twisted deja vu.

Zach was scrabbling on the floor, completely out of sorts and panicked.

"Captain?" Jakar yelled back.

"Get me Asperonin, Dr. Heathson, whichever of the twins is holding the magic and Amerise."

"Yes, Captain." He yelled, I could hear his feet pounding the floor as he raced to follow my urgent instruction.

"Calm down Zach, I'm not going to hurt you." I stepped towards him, hands raised in peace. If I were him I would be scared of me too. Moments ago he had threatened my life and now he was entirely defincless on the floor but I had no reason to hurt him. He was just a lad.

"Zach hold still so the Captain can check you for me, you know I can't take my hands off Lady Esther.” Healer Poflorin said sternly. "Check his temperature and pupil dilation." He ordered me.

"Burn out? Really?" I said looking into Zach's eyes. They were dilated so wide that it didn't even look like he had an iris. His skin was beyond fever hot. “What happened to easy peasy?” I tried to be breezy and friendly. Poor lad. He was regretting his threat on my life now that he couldn't use his magic. Now Zach was just a trembling child. It was unnecessary, we were on the same side. I was violent but only when it was called for and only on the order of my King.

"She was really heavy." He answered, gasping for air. I looked at him, confused and he looked back, not only with pain, but with a wide eyed expression that stated ‘oh s**t’.

Everything clicked. Taiya was light physically but according to Zach she was heavy. She was magically heavy. She had the Remnant on her person, well I should say in her person. I remembered that particularly nasty scar on her abdomen that the King had asked about.

“Is it burn out?” Healer Poflorin interrupted my thoughts.

“Indeed it is Healer, cold bath?” I checked, eyes still locked with Zach.

“Yup.”

“Ok lad, let’s go.” I scooped the gangly boy up one motion and carried him down the hall to the bathroom.

“Don’t let him out until his teeth are chattering!!” His Healer friend called after us.