#nr 8

Acheron and Sigurd appeared in front of the cottage.  

“Why the hell am I supposed to be here?” Acheron asked.  

Sigurd rolled his eyes.  “You heard what Kaelah said” he said “If we don’t check on him today, he’ll die and we need him to be alive”

“We don’t need him” Acheron said. 

“Don’t go sprouting nonsense, Ash” Sigurd said “You know exactly why we can’t afford for Reiken to die”

Acheron tisked and walked towards the cottage.  “I still don’t like this” he said coldly.

“You don’t need to like this, Ash.  Just do your job”

“Screw you, Sig” 

As they reached the cottage, Acheron froze for a moment.  Then he cussed and shot forward, ignoring Sigurd’s calls.  The cottage door slammed open and Acheron stood motionless for a second before taking two quick steps forward, going down on his knees next to Reiken.  

The other guy lay on the ground, in pool of his own blood.  

Slowly Acheron turned Reiken on his side, slapping his cheek lightly.  “Rei...  Rei...  wake up, come on you idiot....  open your eyes”

Sigurd stared at the two.  “What’s going on?” he asked.

For a moment Reiken’s eyes flickered open.  “Just... a cold...” he muttered, before his eyes rolled back and he passed out again.

Acheron cussed.  “This is not just a cold, you bloody imbecile...” he growled.

“What’s going on?” Sigurd asked.  

“Besides the obvious?” Acheron snapped “I don’t know...  This is the first time I’m see this.  It’s probably a demon sickness, something that I haven’t treated before”

“Will you be able to treat him?” Sigurd asked.  

Acheron shook his head.  “I don’t know” he said “We’ll have to see about that.  We should move him to the bed, so I can start working”

Sigurd nodded.  

The two picked Reiken up and carried him to the room, laying him down on the bed.  

“Sig....  Get me water and some towels” Acheron said and he placed his hands on Reiken’s chest.  A soft glow filled the air around him and Reiken as Sigurd left the room.

“Come on, Rei...” Acheron said “What the hell did you do?”

He reached for the healing, letting his power flow through Reiken, noting everything that was wrong inside the other guy’s body.

As Sigurd came back, Acheron pulled away from Reiken.  

“What did you find?” Sigurd asked.  

Acheron shook his head.  “It’s a demon illness” he said “I have no idea how the hell he got this”

Without warning Reiken gasping, his hand going to his chest.  His breathing became labored as he struggled to breath right.  

“Ash...” Sigurd started.

Acheron swore and quickly put his hands on Reiken’s chest.  “No... no... no... what the hell are you doing, Rei?” he snapped.

“What’s going on!?” 

“His lung has collapsed...” Acheron growled “The demon illness...  It’s wrecking havoc with his body.  This is a bloody mess”

“Then fix it” Sigurd snapped.

“If you’re not going to help, get out” Acheron snarled.  

Sigurd cussed.  “What do you need?” he asked.  

“A knife” Acheron said “I need to relieve the pressure on his lung, so he can breath again”

With a nod, Sigurd disappeared from the room again.

Acheron placed his hands back on Reiken’s chest, before he let his power flow through him into Reiken.  “Come on, Rei” he growled “Don’t you dare give up now.  Do you really want me to struggle this badly with you?”

He just kept the healing up until Sigurd came back with a knife, handing it over.

With one hand Acheron took the knife, the other still glowing on Reiken’s chest.  “Open the robe” he said, complete concentration on Reiken. 

Sigurd quickly did what Acheron said, before pulling back.  

“Make sure he doesn’t choke on the blood” Acheron said as he moved one hand to press against Reiken’s ribs “Clean up the blood as well...”

Taking deep breath, Acheron found the spot he was looking for, and slipped the knife in.  He could hear the sound of air coming out of the wound as Reiken gave a pain gasp.  

Reiken’s eyes fluttered open for a moment before closing again.

Acheron clenched as he just kept on working.  The sound of Reiken’s wheezing breaths, echoed in his ears.  Even though he’d heard it worse, this somehow brought back memories of a long time ago.

“Come on Rei...” he muttered as he worked “Come on... Don’t do this...  You still have to pay for what you did...  You can’t leave us now”

After a while Acheron slowly pulled back, the glowing hung over Reiken for a moment longer before it also disappeared.  The healer sat back, out of breath as he wiped the sweet from his face. 

Sigurd pulled back.  “Is he going to be alright?” he asked.

“I did what I could” Acheron said, leaning forward and resting his forehead on the edge of the bed “The rest is up to him...  If he wants to fight to wake up...”

***

Reiken struggled to breath.  It felt like his body was on fire.  He could have sworn that he heard voices around him.  It sounded like Acheron and Sigurd, but that couldn’t be.  He was probably hallucinating at the moment.

Why would Sig and Ash be at his cottage?

Before he could continue thinking about that, a sharp stabbing pain tore through his chest.  With every inhale the pain got worse.  His breathing felt like he was being strangled.  

There was a pounding in his chest.  It took him a moment before he realized that it was his heart beating rapidly against his ribs.  

Just as he thought he wouldn’t be able to breath anymore, a sharp pain shot through his side and it felt like the pressure disappeared from his chest.  He gasped, drawing in his breath as deep as he could.

Slowly he felt his breathing becoming better.  

The heat that burned through his body, lifted slightly.  Slowly he managed to opened his eyes.  

There was still a taste of blood in his mouth.

A face appeared in his line of sight.  He blinked a few times, before he managed to make out the face.  

“...Sig...” he muttered, feeling like his head was going to explode.  

After a moment the other person appeared and Reiken felt his chest tightened.  He tried to pulled away, but Acheron placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping him still.

“Move and I take your head off” Acheron’s voice said.

Reiken managed a slight nod.