Syphon: Guardians of the Fractured Realms Read Free Page A

nap.
    As he examined it, the word vambrace popped into his head.
    How would I know what a vambrace is… Is my memory starting to come back?
    After fiddling with it for a few minutes, he realized he couldn’t figure out how to take it off. It was almost as if it had been crafted around his hand and arm instead of being slipped on.
    All of it was fully articulated, moving fluidly as he flexed his hand, wrist, and arm. He also realized after a few minutes that it was also completely silent. There wasn’t a hint of clicking joints or rattle of loose fittings. As he looked closer at it, he could almost make out the glistening of the blue-tinged iridescent scales on the body of the dragon. With that level of detail and quality, he came to the conclusion that it had to be worth a small fortune.
    Where would I get something like this. More importantly, how could I afford it? Am I rich?
    As he pondered the question, he noticed the eyes for the first time. As he looked at them, he felt that whoever the artist was had outdone themselves. As he stared, he almost felt like there was an intelligence behind the sparkling blue facets, glittering in the light. If he had to guess, he suspected they were sapphires. If that was the case, and based off the quality and detail of everything else, it wasn’t that hard to believe.
    As he stared at the eyes, he felt like they were drawing him in.
    “Time for your night meds.”
    The sudden voice snapped him out of his revere. Looking up, he noticed the nurse that had undid his restrains earlier entering his room. Cracking a smile, he nodded to her.
    “Thank you for unstrapping me earlier. It made me feel kinda helpless.”
    “Oh, it wasn’t any big bother. I honestly don’t like it when any of the patients under my care have to be restrained. I mean, I understand if they’re a danger to themselves or others, but from the sounds of it, all you did wrong was have the misfortune of was being in the wrong place at the wrong time… Or at least that’s what I heard…”
    She trailed off as she focused on swapping out the empty bag of saline for a full one. Turning back to him, she handed him a small medicine cup with a few pills in it. As he took it from her, he raised an eyebrow.
    “Something to help you get some more rest. I can get you something for pain if you need it.”
    Fumbling slightly with the pills and the cup of water, he shook his head slightly.
    “Honestly, other than a slight headache, I feel fine.”
    “Well, if it gets worse, just hit the call button.”
    “Thank you.”
    “No problem, I’ll be back in a little while to check on you and refill your pitcher.”
    Smiling, he slipped his loose hand behind his head.
    “I guess I could hang out here a little longer then… I’ll see you later.”
    She chuckled slightly as she walked out the door.
    “See you then…” she said as she clicked off the room light.
    §§§§§§§§§§§§
    His eyes snapped open. He wasn’t sure why, but something was wrong, something that was causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. He slowly glanced around the room, trying to figure out what had startled him awake. As he glanced around the room, he almost felt a magnetic pull drawing his eyes toward the corner of the room, the one farthest from the door and window. As he stared, he started to notice indistinct movements coming from the shadows, almost like an afterimage. At the same moment, he felt a chill travel up his left arm.
    “So Samuel, even after what happened to you, you can still sense me. I’m actually pretty impressed.”
    He jumped reflexively at the unexpected sound of the stranger’s voice, his right hand clenching around the rail of the bed. As the speaker continued, he kept getting the impression that something wasn’t quite right about the voice. He tried to put his finger on it, but couldn’t quite determine the source of his unease. As the sound played around him, he felt the corruption in the