212 Braving the Darkness

Macha entered the Swat family home later than expected. The office errands she had to run went smoothly, and she was glad to have gotten off of work early. With her extra time, she rushed down to the market to buy a few presents for her family. Unfortunately, she became distracted in the toy store and ended up staying longer than she should have.

She struggled with the bulky sky-blue trunk which held some clothes she wanted to leave at the family home, toys for Jóhanna, and gifts for Xuanwu and Tai Shan. It tumbled to the ground as she reached for the red-lacquered door.

As soon as she opened the door, Tai Shan hurried to greet her. He wore a pair of scarlet wide-legged silk pants and a white standing-collar shirt. He hopped over a wooden sofa and took her luggage, handing it to a servant.

"Jóhanna found Aži in the park. I brought him back here because he doesn't look well. How was Tyr this morning?"

He hoped the wyvern's spirits would recover after a few hours, but nothing had changed.

This was the first news she heard of Aži being sick since the demon-tainted hand. Tyr neglected to mention the severity of the wyvern's health yesterday. He only mentioned that the wyvern was under the weather.

Her brow wrinkled with worry. She feared the demon's hold had not been extracted completely the first time.

"Take me to him," she said hurriedly, ignoring his question.

The door to her niece's room hung wide open, and she found Aži curled up on the girl's bed. A plethora of wyvern-shaped stuffed animals surrounded him. Jóhanna laid a light-blue blanket with wyverns embroidered out of silk thread on top of him.

He appeared to be in pain and a look of discomfort graced his face. After placing her hand on the side of his head, she found him to be hotter than usual.

"Aži, we need to get you home," she stressed in a concerned voice.

She proceeded to put her arms under him, but he wrapped his jaw around her arm to let her know he did not want to be moved. When she released him, he went back to resting and flicked the tip of his tail.

Jóhanna adjusted the blanket that was wrapped around him and patted his back.

"Don't worry Aži. I love you." After saying this, she turned to Macha and explained calmly, "Aunty Mama, I love you too. But we had a long day and we need a nap."

The girl delivered this statement so seriously that Macha blinked her eyes for a moment. "A four-year-old just ordered me to leave," she thought. She looked at Tai Shan who spun around to hide his wide smile. He pretended to be inspecting a drawing on the wall.

Seeing that her aunt did not move, Jóhanna slapped her lips a few times with her fingertips.

"We need our goodnight kisses," she explained as she tilted her head upward.

Macha and Tai Shan both gave them kisses and closed the door.

As they stepped away from the room, Tai Shan mimicked his daughter with a smile on his face, "I love you too, but we had a long day..."

He shook his head at how bossy his offspring could be. His copper locks reflected the sconces in the hallway, glistening as they moved along.

While Jóhanna was adorable, Aži's health still concerned her. She drew her lips in and bit them. "Do you think I should wait till tomorrow and see if he feels better? If not, I can go get Luna right now."

While Jóhanna was adorable, Aži's health still concerned her.

Tai Shan pondered her question.

He looked back at his daughter's bedroom door. "It's getting late and the wyvern might just need some sleep. We can check on him early tomorrow morning and if he isn't better by then, get Luna."

She nodded her head in agreement. "I'm going to write a letter to Tyr and let him know that Aži is sick. Could I use your A.E.M. system?"

Since the wyvern had a link with Tyr, it was important that he be informed about what was going on.

"Of course. He might even know what the problem is. It's in my office, you can use it as often as you want." As he said this, he nodded his head in the direction of the office.

While Tai Shan did not know much about wyverns, he assumed that Tyr would have a good deal of knowledge concerning the species. It was also important to inform the man of the situation because he would have a better idea of whom to contact if Aži's condition was serious.

****

Later that night, Jóhanna woke up to Aži's high pitched moaning, his breathing sounded rapid and his scales were hotter than before.

Her friend's condition worried her. She remembered when she felt sick, her Papa would stay up and use a wet towel to cool her body off. Her grey eyes moved to the wyvern who lay on her bed. She knew where to get a towel and a bowl, but they were outside her room.

Outside was scary at night and the house was always too dark. Even leaving the safety of her bed scared her because something might be lurking under the bed for her to step down. It would grab her ankles and steal her away.

Aži's made another high-pitched moan in his sleep, and Jóhanna gazed at his distraught face. The pain he went through caused her to gather up her courage.

She put a cool hand on top of the wyvern's back and whispered, "I'll save you."

She grabbed her favorite stuffed animal, which was a red wyvern with silver eyes and peered down over the side of her bed. She waited; her heart raced at the thought of a clawed hand coming out to grab her.

Moments passed, but nothing appeared, so she quickly jumped down and bolted for the door. Her hand rushed to the handle, and she pulled it down, frantically tearing the door open. A long hallway of darkness stretched before her. The light from her room pushed back the unknown, fading into nothingness as it extended down the hall.

While her rapid breathing came to the forefront over the other sounds, she could still hear the rustle of the plants outside. When she tried to swallow, she found that her mouth was dry. Her courage wavered, and she looked back at Aži. He looked terrible, and she felt torn on what to do.

Aunty Mama's words echoed through her mind. Jóhanna remembered that she asked her aunt if she ever felt scared.

Her Aunt once said, "Everybody's been scared and been stared down by an enemy. What's important is you don't fall to that fear. You have to be brave."

Ever since that day, Jóhanna tried to be brave so her Aunt could be proud of her.

Pressing her lips together in a line of determination, she rushed into the darkness. Her cheerful yellow nightgown was swallowed up by the shadows of the night and the faint pitter patter of her feet sounded down the hall.

"Oww!" she exclaimed, after bumping into a chair.

A cold shiver traveled down her spine and she squeezed her stuffed animal. She quickly picked herself up off the ground and continued running to the kitchen.

The moonlight from outside drifted through the window. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she could see a towel. She grabbed it and threw it on the floor with her stuffed wyvern. She then climbed up onto a counter and opened a cabinet. She pulled out a bowl and filled it with water.

After she climbed down, she reached up to bring the bowl down, but the cold water splashed on her. The darkness felt like it was closing in on her, so she put her stuffed wyvern and towel into the bowl and ran back to her bedroom.

Once in her room, she slammed the door shut. She inhaled shakily and put the bowl on the ground. The stress had been too much, and she began crying. Now she was cold and wanted a hug.

Aži woke up and discovered that Jóhanna was covered in water and upset, so he slinked down to the floor.

She reached out her arms and hugged him. His warm body warmed her and calmed her frazzled nerves. As they embraced, a purr came out of his chest that comforted her.

Macha and Tai Shan both opened their doors. They heard a door slam and thought they heard crying. They stared at each other in the darkness with their doors wide open. Their rooms were across from each other, and they had opened them at the same time.

He held a rapier while she clutched her robe. They both listened in the still of the night, but everything seemed to be all right.