Twenty-Eight
A Hero’s Demise
Frederich woke slowly to the sound of running water. He felt two gloved hands touch at his cheeks. He gasped as he woke but the hands held him firmly. He glanced up at a woman with a black cloak over her eyes, long gloves up her arms and a dark black gown. He lay inside a tub that emitted a blue light and he was naked. She let him go gently and held a finger to her lips to silence him. He watched her set narcissuses on fire into a cauldron near the entry of the room and she did a strange gesture around her head, a circle around her head and press on the forehead and waited for him by the door.
Frederich rose slowly and felt that the water had healed all his wounds, including a bruise from a tennis match from a week earlier. His skin felt refreshed and he ros
