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“No!” I protest.
“Yes.” This time, though, he sounds amused. “You wicked little witch. You find it hilarious that youranima nexumis suffering.”
“You’ll be fine once Zohar revitalises you,” Mael says dismissively. He opens the packet of biscuits, and hands me a custard cream. I grin, and dip it into the mug of tea I have, ignoring the longing look from Ryes.
With how scratchy his throat is, food won’t help.
“How long do we think Zohar will be?” I ask once I’ve eaten my first biscuit.
“No idea, why?” Mael asks.
“Because I need your help,” I say, looking at Ryes with a small grimace. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean right now. I know you’re not well—”
“He’s got a pathetic little cold and he’ll be fine,” Mael says, rolling his eyes. “What do you need from him?”
“You can dreamscape, right?”
“Right,” Ryes says, dragging the word out as he narrows his eyes. “Is that weird fuck still bothering you in your dreams?”
Yes.Nothing better than going out to conduct a zombie-raising ritual, and then need to talk to the weird man that now stands in a corner every single time we talk.
“It’s not about that,” I reply instead. “My grandma… okay, bear with me. She came to me a few days ago and told me not to forget.”
“Forget what?” Mael asks.
“I don’t know because I had already forgotten,” I reply, sighing when they both do. “And then she’s brought it up a couple of times.”
“You’re so good at sharing the messages with us from the dead woman,” Ryes says. The sarcasm isn’t lost on me, even if his scratchy throat made it sound much sadder.
“If I shared all the messages from the ghosts, I’d never get to have a conversation again,” I say dismissively. He narrows his eyes, but doesn’t comment. “But she mentioned on Saturday night that Necos might be able to help.”
“Fucking hate the time lord,” Ryes says, angrily pulling his blankets around him more, and in the process, covering me with them, too.
He sloshes my tea and shoots me an apologetic look, but I’m not too upset about it. Mael warms the blanket and the wet mark disappears.
“I did that for you,” he says pointedly, locking his pale amber eyes on mine and grinning.
“Thanks.”
“Nobody ever does anything for me, and I’m sitting heredying,” Ryes mutters.
“My grandma also said you or Eirik could help me better than Necos could,” I say, offering him the peacekeeping smile as I bend the truth ever so slightly. He beams at me as Mael scoffs. “So once you’re healed… I thought we could try and recover what I’ve forgotten?”
“I feel like we went from A to Z without making the stops in between,” Mael says. “What have you forgotten?”
“Well if she knew that, she’d not need my help would she?” Ryes asks before dissolving in a coughing fit.
“Water,” I bark, the attitude in my tone surprising me, but Mael disappears to do as I ask. I help Ryes sit up properly, and rub his back gently as Mael comes back in with the water.
“Sip it,” Mael says. His tone is gentle, one he usually reserves for me. Ryes does as he’s told, groaning as he settles back in the chair with his eyes closed.
His chest is wheezy, and he’s a lot paler.
“You’re getting worse,” I say quietly.
“It’s just a cold, ZoZo,” he says, but his voice is shaky and weak.
I narrow my eyes before grabbing his hand. He tries to pull it back, but Mael surprisingly helps hold him in place.
