Chapter 43: She’s Awake

"Elise?" I echoed.

Calvin turned to me. I couldn’t describe the look on his face. It was a mixture of surprise and confusion. Lowering a hand, he pointed to the woman.

"This, I think, is Elise," he glanced back. "I’m almost sure of it."

"Does that mean you know her?" Katrina chimed in from behind us.

"I don’t, no. A neighboring guild has an ongoing search for her," Calvin explained, placing a hand on his chin. "We’ll have to wait for her to wake up before I can be sure..."

He clucked his tongue and cursed at himself under his breath before turning to the unconscious woman. "Did she happen to have a guild card?"

"Let me fetch the nurse. She would know," Damara said, standing and leaving the room. The clunk of the latch rang out.

After a few moments, when they returned, the nurse entered behind Damara, holding a silver tag that gleamed in the lamplight. She handed it over.

After inspecting it, Calvin gasped. "It is her," he concluded, placing her guild card on the table next to her. "She’s waking," he murmured, gesturing to the group.

"There’s too many people in this room. You will give the poor girl a heart fright," she explained. "Two max," the nurse demanded, forcefully ushering out my companions.

"Who could have done something like this?" I asked, my voice carrying a hint of anger still. "To a woman on top of that," I clicked my tongue. "Scum. No matter where you go, they’re always around."

He gave me a concerned look before replying. "Getting angry now won’t change what has happened to her," he said calmly, placing his hand on my shoulder. "I’m going to report this to the guild. If you would, stay here until she wakes up."

With a few pats, he left the room, leaving me in the deafening silence. The woman’s, Elise’s, shallow breaths could be heard. Looking at her, I had a sense of dread wash over me. I needed some air.

Met with the faces of my companions just outside the room, the dread lowered but didn’t fully go away. Her beaten body repeatedly flashed in my memory.

"Sam? Are you okay?" Katrina asked, Micro-Sarah flying from her shoulder to mine.

"Don’t worry. The nurse said her recovery was assured. She just needs some time," Micro-Sarah added.

Damara walked over and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me tightly. My worries slowly began to fade as my mentality was grounded. She looked up, smiling at me.

"You can’t make everything perfect, Sam. It’s just not possible," she said, her voice low and smooth. "We got her out and to safety. That’s what matters."

We stayed in that hallway as the afternoon dragged into evening. The sunlight coming through the front windows faded into a dark orange, stretching shadows across the floor.

Katrina eventually curled up on a nearby bench, wrapping her tail around her legs as she dozed off. Damara stayed put, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, keeping watch over the corridor.

I sat on the floor, unable to shake the image of that flooded cell. Micro-Sarah rested on my knee, humming quietly to fill the silence. Time crawled. Every passing footstep or creaking floorboard made my head snap toward the door.

Hours passed before the latch finally clicked open. The healer stepped out into the hall, wiping her hands on a fresh towel. She looked exhausted, but her posture had relaxed.

"She is awake," the healer said, dropping the towel into a basket. "You may all go in now."

Like a flood, we scurried to the door. Once inside, Elise had sat up and was looking around wildly. Her face shifted to one of fright as she watched us come into the room, choosing to hide under the blanket.

"You are Elise, right?" I asked.

No response. The woman stayed under the blanket, breathing heavily.

"We aren’t going to hurt you, Elise," I murmured softly, taking a seat next to the bed. "I can wait, though... so whenever you’re ready to talk, we’re here." I turned to Damara. "Do you think Calvin is on his way back yet?"

"It’s been hours. I would hope so, but I don’t know how busy guild officials are."

"Should we call for him again?" I asked.

With that, Damara left for the guild hall to deliver the news, returning shortly after. "He’s here," she said, letting Calvin into the room.

A hand shot out from under the blanket, latching onto my shirt tail. I turned to find it was Elise’s. She had thrown the comforter off and grabbed me. Tears streamed from her eyes.

"Don’t leave me," she muttered, her voice deep and broken. "Please."

"I’m right here," I said gently, placing my hand over hers. She trembled under my touch, her grip on my shirt tightening. "Nobody is going to hurt you anymore. You are safe."

Calvin stepped further into the room, keeping his distance so he wouldn’t spook her. He looked from her to me, a heavy exhaustion settling on his shoulders.

"Elise," Calvin started, keeping his voice incredibly soft. "I know this is entirely too much to ask right now. We were hired to find a precursor relic down in those caverns. Did you happen to see the people who took you carrying a device?"

Elise flinched at his words. She pressed her face into my arm, hiding from his gaze. I glared at Calvin, silently telling him to back off.

"They didn’t carry it," Elise whispered, her voice cracking. "They were trying to take it."

Calvin furrowed his brow, taking a half step forward. "Take it from where?"

She let go of my shirt with one hand and reached up to her collarbone. Her frail fingers pulled the thin gown down just enough to expose the center of her chest.

Right over her sternum, a faint golden light pulsed beneath her skin. It bore a striking resemblance to the metallic veins running through the cavern walls.

"It bonded to me," she explained, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. "A mage kept chaining me to that table. He said pain was the only way to force the magic to activate. He beat me over and over, trying to make it heal me so he could study the result."

Silence fell over the room. My stomach twisted into a tight knot. The restorative apparatus Calvin needed to save his daughter wasn’t just some dusty piece of ancient hardware.

It was permanently fused to the traumatized woman currently clinging to my arm.