Melina felt her heart race at what lay before her.
The second body- Telma Driyonne- that had been covered whole with white cloth stirred suddenly, pulling the white cloth down subtly.
Her eyes widened in shock, as she tilted her head just in time to see the dead man slowly open his eyes, blinking at her.
Startled, she stood up from where she sat, her eyes locked to the veins beneath his skin that darkened, turning almost black.
The air grew thick with the scent of decay, and before she could act, the blackthorns crawling through his flesh began to recede, pulling inward as if being drawn by some unseen force.
The redhead felt her heart pounding in her chest, "This..." she shook her head, "This...isn't right..."
Hadn't he been dead? She asked herself but also tried to mind-link with Kilgharrah. However, it appeared the mind link was severed. She couldn't connect with the dragoness.
Staring back at the figure, she saw Telma peel the cloth off his body, and dread washed over her. Her breath hitched.
It was like she had seen a ghost.
Or maybe she really did this time.
"What...H-how is this possible?" She stammered, gaping at the knight.
All other patients in the ward were still asleep. Since this was no special ward and instead the public place where the sick were treated, it was hard to tell who was and was not awake yet. There were a lot of patients here.
"W-where am I?" Telma's voice came out hoarse.
He looked at his blue, veiny hands that returned to normal like nothing had happened.
"You...Y-you're alive..." She said in disbelief.
This was impossible. Perhaps he hadn't been dead? Melina wondered.
However, Telma just lay there, staring at himself and the others in a daze.
It felt like his brain was still rebooting.
Melina tried to trace the dark magic that she had felt in him earlier but she didn't feel it anymore. It disappeared into thin air.
"Hello?" The young knight sat up on the bed looking around like a lost child.
She stood frozen when he began to look around, wondering if he could see her but Telma didn't look her way. Instead, he searched the room as if trying to take in his environment.
Telma groaned, a deep, guttural sound as if he were trying to shake off the weight of death. Slowly, he raised a hand to his forehead, wiping the sweat from his brow. His movements were awkward, his body stiff from the time it had spent lying still, but he seemed alert.
Melina was still contemplating what to do when she heard footsteps from the upper floor, and she turned her gaze to the stairs.
Her heart skipped a beat as the physician, a middle-aged man with greying hair and a tired expression, stepped into the room. His face was worn from sleepless nights tending to the wounded, his under eyes dark and saggy, looking sleep-deprived, but his face soon mirrored shock when he got to the ground floor of the infirmary.
He paused immediately, his eyes dilating in an instant when they fell upon Telma, standing alive and moving.
He staggered back when he reached the end of the stairs, his mouth slightly agape.
Horror clouded his face, which was already pale, and his palms began to sweat.
"Y-you...Oh Lord," He glanced at where Telma's body had been laid previously and then, at Matthew's body that was sleeping peacefully, taking in his appearance that seemed much better than the last time.
What was going on? The physician asked himself, suddenly feeling dizzy.
"A-a-a ghost..." He stammered.
Telma blinked at him, confused, "A ghost?"
He was not a ghost?
"You...you're a ghost!" He yelled in panic and since it was night, his voice travelled far, reaching the people outside.
The few other knights who were asleep on their bed, their injuries not yet healed and their bandages still intact stirred in their sleep.
"Heavens! A ghost! It's a ghost!" He continued to shout, jolting some of the patients awake.
Other practitioners who had also been asleep while on duty were alarmed and ran out to the open space where the physician stood, panicking.
"A ghost? What are you talking about? I'm not a ghost," he tried to explain a bit, but his explanation only worsened the situation.
"I...I am Telma," he continued but the physician was already backing away, his face ashen, muttering under his breath. "This cannot be. I pronounced you dead myself... You were cold, lifeless!" His eyes darted around the room as if seeking some sign of illusion.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, stepping forward, and looking at the practitioners and patients that stared at him in the same shock.
Matthew, however, didn't flinch as he slept peacefully, his mind unconscious of his surroundings.
"Guards! Guards!" The physician turned and bolted for the door, his panicked cries echoing through the stone corridor.
"A ghost! The Knight's ghost!" He shouted, his voice cracking.
Melina's heart hammered in her chest as the physician's screams filled the halls. She could already hear the guards' footsteps thundering down the corridor toward the infirmary. She didn't dare move, didn't dare even breathe, as she watched Telma frown in utter confusion.
"What on earth… what's gotten into him?" Telma muttered to himself, turning slowly as if trying to understand what was happening.
One of the practitioners exclaimed, pointing to him, "Y-you were dead. You were dead a night ago," she said, remembering that they had just been preparing to move his decaying body by morning but now, even his skin had returned to normal.
Some of the knights stood up I'm trepidation and gaped confusingly at Telma whom they had been mourning just yesterday.
Those who were already aware of what happened at the battle with Dasha looked at Matthew and a practitioner came forward to examine him.
He looked perfectly fine compared to the previous night. This made her raise her brow as she observed his injury. It was almost healed.
Telma looked toward the noise, a frown creasing his brow. "What are they shouting about? I'm... not dead..." he muttered, his voice laced with confusion, still unaware of the true reason for their alarm. Even he wasn't sure if he was not a ghost anymore.
Melina's breath quickened, and seeing the endless bout of commotion that took place, her face paled when the guards began to come in.
Her invisibility cloaking spell was still in place but with the guards on their way, it was only a matter of time before someone noticed something amiss.
She couldn't linger here for long when there were people like King Albert and the priest around. She needed to leave.
Swiftly, she began backing away, careful not to make any noise. The physician's panicked shouts grew louder, more frantic, as he burst through the doors into the corridor, pointing back toward the infirmary.
The guards were almost upon them now. Melina could feel the ground vibrating slightly beneath their heavy steps. She had no time.
She turned and dashed silently toward the door, her heartbeat thundering in her ears. The cool night air hit her as she slipped out of the infirmary just as the guards rushed inside, their swords drawn, ready to confront whatever they had been summoned to.
Still cloaked, she pressed herself against the stone wall of the hallway and her body passed through it.
She could hear the muffled voices of the guards behind her, confusion thick in the air as they found Telma standing alive and well.
The slowly fading sounds of the people there still lingered but she wasn't stupid to wait.
"It's true… how can this be?" one of the guards muttered.
"He was dead this morning!" another whispered in disbelief.
Such has never happened in history. This was news!
"We should inform the king immediately," One of the guards suggested and so went on their conversation.
Melina didn't stop running until she reached the servant's quarters. She dodged to a corner, making sure no one could see her, and finally, she released the cloaking spell to see her shadow, which had once disappeared, shimmer in the darkness.
She leaned against the wall, her hands trembling as she processed the night's events. Somehow, she had awakened Telma, but this—this was not what she had intended.
She didn't think casting a spell out of the Advisor would affect the dark magic in Telma or even awaken him.
Were their magic linked? Or was this a facade to confuse her?
The redhead couldn't tell what had happened but she definitely needed to know who had put dark magic in those men and why it had affected Kilgharrah.
What if this knight was just an equal threat or had been corrupted by the magic in him?
She quietly went to her room where Nikita, along with the other girl was asleep.
She breathed out in relief, safe from another banter and stiffly, she lay on the ground to sleep.
She closed her eyes, thinking back to Kilgharrah with hopes that their mind link would connect, but it didn't.
She could not hear a thing from the dragoness.
What really happened?
...
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