Another Body

On Ruken afternoon Sky was pacing in her rooms. She checked the timekeeper on the wall for the umpteenth time. It read, 2:37 pm. Aven was very late. She contemplated using the terminal on the wall to call his rooms again but rejected the idea. He hadn't answered the last two times she'd tried. Changing her mind, she began pressing the buttons on the terminal when a loud banging on her door made her jump.

Uncertain as to why he'd be knocking like that, Sky opened the door. She saw red. Dark reddish-brown stains covered Aven's arms, chest, hands, face, and Sky quickly looked back up at his face. He was stark naked. Judging by the wild, dark, slightly cRezed look on his face, Aven was angry beyond all reason.

He grabbed her and slammed her against the wall. Pain cracked across Sky's back as the air was driven from her lungs. Looking up at Aven, she saw under his skin a spider web of purplish black where his veins should be, and his green eyes had turned the same color.

"Av-" His mouth slammed down on hers and the now familiar feeling of liquid light shot through her body. Roughly, he shoved his tongue in her mouth. She bit down on it, hard. His blood swarmed into her and with it a wild, alien force. Aven went still. Seconds passed as more of the force flooded into her. Aven made a sound like a whimper. Then the flow cut off and he dropped to the floor in a heap.

Sky stared at him panting as her stomach roiled. She now knew what his blood tasted like and she knew from the scent of it that the blood on him wasn't his. She needed help and fast.

Hitting the terminal, Sky called Dain's room. He picked up right away.

"Dain," She said desperately. "I need your help. Can you come up and bring West and your books please?"

Two minutes later there was a knock on her door. Fearing it was the Chancellor, she opened it slowly. Sky saw West and Dain. She let out a relieved breath as their faces turned surprised. Dain pushed the door open and grabbing her by the arms, looked her up and down.

"Are you hurt?" He asked his voice steely.

She tried to pull back as she said, "I'm infected." Dain frowned and put a hand on her stomach. His eyes widened. "Can you help? He just showed up like this. He was infected. That's what made him do it." Dain looked at Aven with hard eyes. "Please?" Sky pleaded. At last Dain nodded and moved to take one of Aven's arms.

"What?" Demanded West. Dain barely spared him a glance.

"I'll explain while we clean him up. Help me with this. Skylar, open all the windows. We need to get this air out of here. Then come find us in the guest bathroom. We'll have to clean you too." Sky paled and then blushed, but she did as she was told. She even used an air current to pull the air in the room outside.

Sky entered the bathroom and stared. Aven was on fire. It wasn't a massive fire but still he was burning. The entire room smelled like cooking meet and singed hair. West turned to her.

"We'll have to do the same to you. It will hurt." Sky nodded and closed her eyes. Heat flashed across her mouth and biceps, the places where Aven had touched her. Then it was gone. She opened her eyes and found West staring at her with an odd expression on his face.

"Go change your clothes." Dain ordered.

Sky nodded but couldn't resist saying, "Please don't kill him." Before she went to her bedroom to change.

She had just finished putting the twins' books in her practice room, when there was an insistent knocking at the front door. With a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, Sky answered it.

The Chancellor stood on the other side his shoulders thrown back in triumph. He was flanked by a sandy-haired male, whom Sky recognized from the training courts, Vaeryn, and Instructor Drakkon. Instructor Drakkon's face was unreadable while Vaeryn's was grim.

"Kazu," The Chancellor snapped. The sandy-haired male stepped forward and grabbed her arms. He sniffed her and his face registered surprise.

"She- She's clean." The male, Kazu, said. The Chancellor's face darkened.

"That doesn't matter. You're coming with us." He snapped. Sky jerked back out of Kazu's hold.

"For what?"

Chancellor Draekkon smiled cruelly and said, "Another body has been found and one of the scent trails led here."

"Well, it wasn't me. I've been in here studying." Sky replied evenly.

The elevator chimed. With a polite excuse me, Dain entered Sky's field of vision.

He lifted the book in his hands and said, "I've got it." All of the males looked at him with sharp expressions. Dain flinched and shifted on his feet.

"Have you been in here studying with her?" Vaeryn asked. Dain's eyes widened and he nodded.

"Sky asked us for help." He stammered. West came out from down the hallway in Sky's rooms.

"What's going on?" He asked with contracted eyebrows.

Sky turned to him and said, "They found another body." West's eyebrows shot up onto his forehead.

"Another one? Is that four? At least they can't blame you for this one." A dark red flush suffused Chancellor Draekkon's features and his nose scrunched up in a snarl. "We've been in here with you, so you have an alibi.

Sky smiled wryly, "That isn't stopping them from trying." Instructor Drakkon crossed his arms while the corners of Vaeryn's mouth lifted slightly. Kazu glanced uneasily at the Chancellor.

"Where is Aven?" Vaeryn asked sharply.

"He's sick." Sky replied hastily.

West put a hand on his hip and said, "Skylar asked him to help us study, but he collapsed when he got here. If he was out in the forest, he may have been poisoned by a Lesser."

Vaeryn turned to the Chancellor, "The scent stops here." He said, "I will investigate further and give you my results." Then he faced Sky. "Skylar, take me to Aven." Sky bit her lip and nodded.

Chancellor Draekkon snarled, "They're lying! Take them all in for questioning."