Shadow Tree Read Free Page B

his attention to finding wild mint that he knew was growing nearby. He discovered it a few minutes later. This pleased him – it had been a very long day.
    As he later sipped his tea, Kiril stared at Bilblox, who was sitting in the boat. The longshoreman had not moved since their arrival on shore.
    â€œHow bad is your headache?” Kiril asked.
    â€œBad enough,” muttered Bilblox.
    â€œYou can stay shivering in that boat for as long as you’d like,” Kiril said. “However, I’m not leaving quite yet and as you can tell, I’ve made a fire. Come closer and have some tea.”
    For several minutes, Bilblox sat in the boat. He began to rub his temples vigorously and every few seconds, he sucked in his breath.
    Sitting on a piece of driftwood, Kiril stared at the blind longshoreman. He was experiencing yet another of his headaches, brought on by his refusal to take any of the ash he had first experienced on his maiden trip to Somnos. For non-Dormians, taking the ash was a remarkably intense experience, but thereafter, the non-Dormian was doomed to a lifetime of increasingly powerful headaches. It had likely been at least a year, maybe two, since Bilblox had last taken the powder, and his headaches would likely be quite powerful.
    The shuddering in Bilblox’s hands moved into the rest of his body, and he appeared to be having a seizure. Kiril walked to the boat and lifted Bilblox out with only a minimum of effort. He placed him on the pebbly shore beside the fire and held his head in his hands, like a concerned father with a sickly child. Feverish sweat trickled down from Bilblox’s head. The man was in serious pain.
    â€œIt’s all right,” whispered Kiril. “I can help you. I have ash from Jasber. It’s better than the kind you’ve had before. I took some myself and as you can tell, I’ve never felt stronger.” He paused and drew nearer to Bilblox’s ear. “You’ll be in a better position to help everyone – especially yourself.”
    Bilblox shook his head and silently mouthed a determined “no.”
    Kiril tried another tactic. “Are you sure you don’t want to know what happened to Alfonso? I’ll tell you, once you’ve joined me in taking the ash.” He could tell this had an effect, even though Bilblox tried to ignore him.
    Kiril reached into his overcoat and withdrew a cut glass vial from an inner pocket. The Jasber Ash inside seemed to leap up as if alive. Kiril carefully pried open the glass stopper.
    â€œTake the ash,” he whispered again. “Take it, and the pain goes away.”
    Bilblox closed his eyes and clamped his mouth shut. He turned away from Kiril’s voice and tried to remain motionless, but the tremors in his body continued.
    â€œI won’t force you,” said Kiril at last. “If you wish to die here, blind and alone, I won’t stop you. I’m giving you a chance for real life again – with vision. Nothing is predetermined; there is no rule that says we must be enemies forever.” His voice was calm and friendly and despite his hatred of the man, Bilblox felt drawn to that voice. The old rasp of elderly vocal cords
had disappeared after Kiril had ingested the powder. He was young again, and Bilblox knew it could be the same for him.
    They faced each other in silence. The wind off the Sea of Clouds was louder and colder than Kiril remembered. He shivered and saw he had two, maybe three hours of daylight left. He sighed. So be it. If Bilblox wanted to stay here and die, that was his decision. Instinct would only carry Kiril so far, and then reason kicked in.
    â€œI’m leaving,” Kiril announced. “And if you don’t want to die tonight, you’ll come with me.”
    Bilblox slumped in a heap, his body trembling. He said nothing, but knew that if Kiril left him now he would die. However, what upset him more was the thought that, once again,