A distant voice filtered into Corvan's head. "Strap him to the table." He had drifted in and out of consciousness as the leader of the Rakash carried him over his shoulder down halls and stairwells, deep into the gatehouse building.

  The Rakash eased him onto his back on a cold metal table that shook beneath him. "This one does not require the straps and you will not seal his eyes," the handless man rasped.

  "Sealing is required," another man answered, his thin nasal voice was much too loud for Corvan’s over sensitive ears. “The master’s elite Rakash must be able to lead the rest of his army even in the deepest dark.”

  Corvan tried opening his eyes but the intense pain from a lone lumien bulb swinging overhead seemed to pierce right through to the back of his head. He quickly shut them, then a shadow fell across this face. A finger pushed up one of Corvan’s eyelids and a round face with ruddy cheeks appeared. The man leaned closer and his sweaty odor assaulted Corvan’s nose. He held his breath until the man let his eye close.

  “He has absorbed a great deal of the master’s power,” the chubby man said. “If we do not seal his eyes, he will go blind anyway and be in constant pain. He won’t be much of a leader."

  "So you say, but this one will be different from the rest of us."

  "By whose orders?"

  "The Gatekeeper,” the Rakash leader intoned. “This one has a special purpose and needs to keep his eyes open."

  "The master said this?" the nasal voice asked incredulously.

  "Enough of your questions. You will do as I say."

  “Fine. I will modify the elixir so that it only heals and strengthens. It will take a minute.”

  Corvan could hear the rattle of metal vessels and the clink of glass as liquid was poured and mixed. After a while, the high voice spoke up, thankfully in a quieter low tone. "There is talk from higher up in the gatehouse. One of the guard’s told me our master grows weaker every day and never leaves his wheeled chair. He said the master prefers to stay in his office as he can no longer stand the light of the lumiens on his eyes, or even his skin. Others say . . ."

  The Rakash leader cut the man off. "Do not repeat those rumors down here or anywhere else. It is bad for the morale of our new troops. How are I or my companions to lead the new Rakash if you poison their minds as well as their bodies when they are in your cells."

  A shuffle of heavy steps approached the metal bed, blocking out the overhead light. Corvan squinted at the oily round face over him.

  "You certainly are a strong one. You should be sleeping soundly." A chubby hand held up a vial of vibrant blue liquid. "I have something special for you. This will end your craving for lumien seeds and give you the strength you need without destroying your heart." The vial tilted and hovered over Corvan's mouth. He tried to twist away but the pack on his back bunched up beneath him and restricted his movement. Clamping his lips shut, he twisted his head to one side.

  The man looked over his shoulder at the Rakash leader. “See that. You have influenced him negatively with all your talk of poison. I fixed it, as you requested, but if he will not take the elixir and dies down here, I will hold you responsible.”

  Corvan looked past his feet. The face of the Rakash leader appeared to float midair as the camouflage cloak blended in with the stone wall behind him. A handless stump pointed out at Corvan. "He's not lying to you boy. Take the elixir. If you have any reason left to live, take the drink he offers you."

  The pudgy man with his overwhelming stench wheezed in Corvan’s face. "Can't you feel the rending in your heart? You have survived more power in the Gatekeeper’s test than anyone before you,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “even him, but your chest is still swelling. Take the medicine now or your heart is going to tear itself apart."

  Corvan knew the man was not lying to him. There was barely enough room in his chest to take a shallow breath. He could not die now. His father was likely a prisoner in the gatehouse. Had they already treated him with their potions?

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Taking the vial, Corvan caught a faint smell of lumien fruit. He took a small sip, and the cool fluid slid down his throat, soothing its raw tissues. The muscles in his jaw relaxed and the tension across his forehead eased. It definitely felt more like medicine than something that would hurt him. He took a larger sip and the pain in his chest eased as the tightness and swelling went down. Draining the vial, he felt the relief flow through his entire body, right down to his toes.

  He slumped back against the table and the sweaty man grabbed the vial before it slipped from Corvan’s hand. "You will feel very tired,” he said. “Close your eyes and rest. Soon you won't feel a thing."

  The Rakash leader spoke. "Yes. He won’t feel a thing. For once you are telling the truth for, I know what you will do once they are asleep. You search them and take whatever you can find. When I first came to the gatehouse, I had a ring on, but after you treated me, it was gone. I didn't care at the time because of all the elixirs and potions you kept giving me to drink, but now I want my ring back."

  The chubby man stepped away from the table. Corvan tried to turn his head to follow him, but his muscles had turned to jelly, and his head refused to move. The Rakash leader passed by and out of Corvan's view. His voice rasped again. "Do not try to run. You have taken my eyesight, but I know where you are. I can hear every breath."

  The nasal voice squeaked like a mouse caught in a trap. "There is a ring on my finger, but I don't remember where I found it."

  There was a brief scuffle. "Yes, that’s the one. Take it off," the Rakash commanded.

  "It's stuck,” the man whined.

  A crack and a cry of pain was followed by the growling voice of the Rakash. "I can take your finger with the ring, or you can take the ring off."

  "Give me time. I need some grease,” the man whimpered. He grunted and groaned for a moment. "Here, take it and be gone."

  The voices in the room were growing fainter but the next words from the Rakash leader caught Corvan's ears. "I will go when I am certain that this boy will be allowed to rest in peace.”

  Rest in peace? The words caught him off-guard. Were they going to kill him?

  "Take him to the cells,” the Rakash said. “I will be back to check on him as often as I please; you won't see or hear me coming, so don’t do anything foolish." The Rakash leader left the room, his clicks guiding him out the door and fading away down the corridor.

  The nasal voice came closer; low and bitter. "Yes. I will do as you say, but our master will not be pleased to hear what you have done. He will take care you once and for all. His rod is much more powerful than you will ever be." The bed shook below Corvan; the light overhead shifted and moved. Small lumiens began sweeping past on the rocky ceiling, just like the time he was wheeled down the Fenwood hospital hallway to get his appendix out. It didn't smell like a hospital though, more like the overused outhouse next to his school.

  The rolling stretcher turned a corner and entered through a gated doorway into a small room. A lumien bulb hung from a hook in the center of the ceiling but this time its light didn’t hurt as much. Corvan still looked away from the bulb. He didn’t even want to think of lumien seeds or bother checking to see if he had a desire for more.

  The oily face drew near, the crooked smile looking somewhat like a poorly carved jack-o'-lantern. " My medicine takes away the craving for the power of the lumien seeds and helps heal the damage done to your body. As long as you keep taking my elixir you will feel better. It will give you more strength than the lumien seeds ever could."

  The man reached up to touch the bulb and it grew brighter. Corvan raised a hand to block out the light.

  "Now you understand what I was telling the handless one. This version of the elixir will cause difficulties with your vision." The man dug into his pocket and pulled out a black cloth mask, like the Lone Ranger wore, except this one had slits instead of eye-holes. "I use this when I go to Anamir city. I too have lived in the dim light of the master’s Gatehouse for too long." The man clumsily fastened the mask over Corvan's eyes. On one hand, two of his fingers were wrapped together with a strip of cloth.

  "Now, as the current Rakash leader requested, I will leave you alone to sleep for a time. My elixir heals your body you must help it along by resting as much as possible. Everyone here is also resting between their doses, so please remain still and quiet. You don’t want to wake them early or they can get irritated. "

  The man backed out of the small room and pulled on the side of the opening. A grid of rusty metal bars slipped silently into position. Corvan sat up but the man waved him back down. "This is necessary to protect you,” he whispered. “At times we have ones that react to the medicine, and they become violent. These bars will keep them out of your cell should they escape."

  The lock clicked and Corvan lay back, overcome by an overpowering weariness that radiated from every cell in his body. If his father was in one of the other cells, he would have to find out when he had the strength to move about.

  Folding his arms over his chest, he closed his eyes. As he dozed off, the damp nasty smelling air became drier and clearer. He opened his eyes, and through the slits he could see the walls of the small circular dream room and the light of a medallion shaped star. He watched it through hazy eyes, but the door did not open this time. If Kate showed up, he would tell her he was sorry for how he had acted the last time he was here.

  Corvan closed his eyes. He would rest while he waited for Kate to arrive.