Phenomena (Chapter 16)

Stopping at the corner near Jepp's house, Cy breathed deeply for a minute before moving again. As he neared the house Cy felt his temples throbbing, the first twinge of a headache coming on. The transformation Cy had undergone when confronting the men of the Obsidian Order left him mentally drained.1

The headache arrived like a dark storm, a pressure front of excruciating pain that came howling into his brain, driving Cy to his knees on the street corner. The darkness threatened to engulf him and pull him down into unconsciousness.2

Slowly the first wave of pain passed, and Cy made it to his feet. Hoping he could reach Jepp's house before the second wave came, he staggered down the street, palms pressed against his temples in a vain attempt to ward off the inevitable. Cy walked through the gate and up to Jepp's door before the assault began. He stumbled and fell against Jepp's door. The noise startled Cara and April as they tended Jepp's injuries. "That must be Cy," Cara said quietly.3

Jepp stood up and turned to the door as Cara moved to open it. When she did a half-conscious Cy fell through the open doorway.4

"Cy," screamed April as she started to run toward him.5

Jepp caught April by the arm and said to her, "Wait. Let Cara take care of him. She knows what to do."6

"What are you saying," April asked as she looked up at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"7

Jepp looked into her eyes and hesitated for a long moment before he decided to tell her about Cy.8

Cara helped Cy to sit against the wall and then closed the door. She fetched a glass of water and some salt and honey to put into it. From her pocket she withdrew a small leather pouch. She opened the pouch, and a pinch of green powder from it went into the glass as well.9

Kneeling down beside Cy, Cara helped him drink. Cy's hands were shaking so badly that half the water was spilled, but he managed to swallow a few mouthfuls. The pain of the second wave had subsided, but the third wave was yet to come, and it was always the worst of all.10

Jepp steered April the far side of the room, doing his best to obstruct April's view of Cy, blocking her in an attempt to keep her from seeing what Jepp knew would come.11

"April, look at me," Jepp said. "Look at me."12

She turned to look at Jepp. The look in his eyes startled her, the intensity in them like a magnet attracting her attention. Jepp hesitated, then spoke in a low voice.13

"There's something you need to know. Something about Cy, and about me."14

April leaned back away from Jepp as if trying to get a better focus on him. "What do you mean?" she asked.15

Jepp pulled a chair over to her and said, "Maybe you had better sit down. This may take a while."16

April sat down and looked across the room to where Cy sat against the doorframe. Cy was beginning to feel the first tendrils of pain that preceeded the third wave. Searing pain stabbed at the back of his eyes while hot needles lanced up his spine, and Cy screamed in agony. A raging fire seemed to burn through every nerve of his body until, mercifully, he lost consciousness.17

April sat as if frozen, staring at the form by the door, compassion for Cy mixed with the stark terror of looking into the abyss of the unknown.