Path Of The Broken

21. Subtlety-1

21

Subtlety

Alex felt himself stiffen as one rapid-fire image after the other hammered into his mind. Finally they stopped, and, taking a breath, he looked up as he realised he must have just come out of a blackout period. It was always confusing and unsettling finding himself in unfamiliar surroundings, although this time he was in a bar—a bar that he recognised. Alex chuckled, not that the particular thought was terribly helpful. He had been to more bars with Jess and Kyle than he cared to count. Of course, a great many of them were disreputable and in the run-down parts of the villages.

The other part that perplexed him was how he’d ended up here, sitting in the back corner of a bar he vaguely recognised in the first place. The last thing he remembered was leaving William, intent to hunt down some Sundered… and then, here. Prodding at his memory didn’t reveal anything except blankness. Sighing, he gave up, confident that some memories would come back to him eventually. They usually did. Reaching down to his belt pouch, he pulled out some coins, remembering that this money had at least been given to him from William. Alex slid them across the table and signalled to the barkeep he wanted a drink.

The portly man nodded and poured a mug of ale that he passed it across to the serving girl with a nod in Alex’s direction. The girl walked across the taproom floor and placed the mug on the table in front of him, her cheeks flaming red. She looked at the coins and picked them up, looking at him through her lashes. She blushed even more as she took the payment with a shaking hand before she turned and walked back to the bar, glancing back at him several times on the way.

Alex chuckled. He’d obviously been charming enough to make a friend, even if he couldn’t remember. There was so much that was swallowed in darkness. It worried him what he might have done in that time, but he knew better than to prod at the emptiness.

Back at the palace, he’d thought he was in full control of what he was doing. Yet now he knew that he hadn’t been at all. The gaps in his memory were significant and startling enough that he knew he was losing time. Still, he had more moments like this, where he seemed to at least have some control over himself. While he hoped that this lucidity would last, he knew enough now to see that hope was futile. Someone would say something or an event would trigger him, and he would be lost again—lost in the confusion of overpowering emotion, voices ringing in his head, power surging through him that he grappled to control, but failed due to the turmoil in his own mind.

Alex pulled himself up sharply from that train of thought. It wasn’t helpful and would likely set him off into a spiral that would lead to someone dying at his hands.

He was beginning to learn in these moments between that he could exert some control, for a space of time. These were the moments he searched for the others like him, the Sundered. He was learning that not all of the Sundered were the same. There seemed to be degrees of madness in the ranks of the Sundered. It was a circumstance that he found strange, as the difference was stark.

Right now he didn’t know enough, and going off the rails himself didn’t help. It did give him something to investigate when he was sane enough to remember. He knew that going back to the palace was not an option; he didn’t have the control. Alex just hoped that in his moments of madness he didn’t just take himself back there anyway.

Reflecting on that concern, he realised that he couldn’t really say with any certainty that others wouldn’t perceive him in the same way as he saw some of the Sundered ranks, yet he could hold off the madness for more extended periods of time, sometimes managing to divert himself entirely.

Alex also took hope that he apparently wasn’t always murderous, even if he wasn’t always in total control. He’d somehow gotten here, to the bar where he was known. No one was apparently dead or running screaming from the room. That had to be a good sign, even if he didn’t quite understand how he got here, how long he’d been here or why he was here. Indeed, the barmaid seemed to like him, so he’d probably done something to impress her. If she only knew the truth about him, she wouldn’t be so happy about that circumstance.

Sipping his beer, he was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the brew. Alex pulled in a small amount of power, gazing around the room casually. No one here flared with power in his mind's eye. All of them were normal. He was also incredibly surprised at the bar he was in. It was decent.

Alex shifted his gaze towards the doors as they creaked open, and in the flare of light from the lamps out in the street a figure walked in, a dark outline against the lights outside. As the door closed, Alex found his attention was caught immediately by the woman who’d entered.

Isabella. The woman’s name was Isabella and Alex had seen her before, yet he couldn’t say right now when or how. With the recollection of her name, the memory of their meeting had flashed in his mind. They had been in a bar, this bar; they’d been sitting together, and had slept together many times.

Memories continued to flood his mind, and he allowed them to play out one after the other. He knew better than to try to resist or force this bombardment. Alex reeled at the memory of Kyle stabbing him. He remembered it was Isabella who’d brought him back from his spiralling madness. Alex smiled, his eyes drinking her in. He firmly ignored that part of his mind nagging at him that it would be better if he avoided entangling her in his world.

Isabella looked around the bar, and a spark of recognition lit her eyes. Walking through the crowded bar, she made her way to the back. She sat down opposite him without saying a word, raising her hand to the barkeep, gesturing for a jug to be brought and a platter of food. Isabella said nothing until the pitcher and food arrived, and paid the barmaid. Alex nearly snorted at the disappointment on the barmaid’s face as she glanced between him and Isabella before retreating to the bar. Isabella pushed the sharing platter onto the table between them and refilled Alex’s mug. Her gaze didn’t leave Alex, and the woman was clearly assessing him.

“Back with me, I see, Alex.”

Alex raised an eyebrow at her and swallowed a mouthful of the brew. On second taste, it was even better. Then again, perhaps Isabella had ordered a jug of something better than the contents of his original mug. The series of images flashing through his mind finally stopped.

“Just… I’m still a little confused, but yes, I’m back in my own head.”

Isabella nodded and poured more beer into Alex’s mug before topping up her own. There was no judgement at all in her.

“You are coming back to yourself sooner, I think. It’s the sudden rise in power levels that overwhelm your mind. You remember me?” Isabella took a long sip of her ale, not seeming concerned with the answer she was going to get.

Alex smiled and nodded. Reaching across, he grabbed her hand, and he kept his eyes on her as he kissed her palm. He decided even her blush was pretty, and pulling her gently across the bench, he wrapped his arms around her. He closed his eyes, sighed and relaxed.

“I remember enough. You’ve saved my sanity and my life more than once.”

Isabella relaxed into his arms, and they sat in silence. Alex was grateful she knew him well enough to allow his mind to catch up with being back. It was always disturbing, with his memories fragmented, coming back in bits and pieces like he was trying to put all the parts of a shattered mirror back together.