by Bob Dattolo
“You’re welcome. Now, like I said? Feel free to scream. You’ll know when to do it. I have to think through this and build some power. If this works, it’ll feel like someone is trying to stuff a couple dozen thousand pounds of pressure in your skull. Soul-destroying amounts of it. That’s what it seemed to take before they started pushing out. I don’t know that I can go quickly, so I’ll try to do what I did for myself.”
“Okay. Thank you for this.”
“You’re welcome.” I held her hand this time, giving her a minute before squeezing it. “You can hold my arms if you want, but I’m going to move to your head now.”
“Okay. Umm, good luck?”
“You too.”
She held my wrists as I moved to her head and put my palms over the mortmagi. I hate these things with a passion. They’re levels of evil that don’t make sense to me in any way. Yet they exist and people use them. Quite a bit, it seems.
And here we have another set.
Can I do this? Let’s see. If I can, I don’t know what that’ll mean.
Instead of fretting about that, I decided to build power. Let’s not put the cart before the horse. Way before the horse.
My hair remained dark as I worked hard as hell to keep the glow from happening and wasting that extra power. I don’t know what this will take, so I’ll kick myself if it needed that extra little bit and I pissed it away on a lightshow only one of us can see.
As the power builds, I continued to feel the spell in the mortmagi. I can still feel the phantom pain of them being in my skull. I lived with them for so long. So damn long. Bumped into them countless times. Hit them with hairbrushes. Tried to rub my eyes out of habit. Tried to get an itch that was under them. I know what she’s feeling intimately.
I’m hoping that helps.
My focus tightened as I tried to replicate what I did before. Twice. I tried to bring it down to pure, unadulterated focus. I don’t know how long it took to feel like I was ready, but I think it was a while. I can smell that she’s crazy nervous, and her hands are sweating where she’s holding my arms. Yet she’s not saying anything, she’s just breathing quickly, lying on her bed waiting for a near-stranger to possibly help her.
The building blocks of the spell started coming together. I know what I want to have happen. What the limits are. All of that. Another unknown amount of time passed until I felt like it was time.
At which point the spell flowed through my hands into her head.
I’m thinking we’re lucky she peed and pooped, because she went from panicked yet calm to locked up to the point that she can’t even breathe. Yet the power continued to build.
My spell is warring it out with the mortmagi’s spell. The power inside of them causes them to drill into the bone and pull themselves in tight, never allowing themselves to be removed. My spell is building behind that, fighting with everything in it to get the nightmare eyepatches to back themselves out.
That takes a lot of pressure.
Screaming starts from her and her hands tighten as every breath is now a blood-curdling scream.
As the power continues to grow.
“Do you want me to stop?” I couldn’t help asking that as more and more power flowed into her.
Her very next scream is a long, “NOOOOOOOOOO!”
Which gets more power to flow. I so understand what she’s going through. For me, it was worth it. I’m thinking it is for her, too. I was ready to die that first time. So is she.
That makes me want to do this even more for her.
At which the flow of power increases.
As do the screams.
Yet I can feel the mortmagi weakening. They’re starting to tremble under my hands. As if buckling from the pressure.
That’s a positive sign.
You know what? Fuck you, you metal pieces of shit. Let’s see if you can stop this.
The spell adjusts slightly, with more and more power going towards the screws themselves. Now I can feel the spell starting to unravel. It’s weakening like crazy, and it feels like an unraveling sweater. With every second that goes by, more and more of the spell disappears.
Until I hear that horrifying high-pitched squeal of the spikes being dragged out of bone as the screws begin to turn.
More and more pressure flows in, and those screws from hell speed up the tiniest bit. Then a little more. Then a little more.
Until they fall free, leaving me staring into the gaping eye sockets of my former classmate.
Another wave of magic flows from me on the fly, and I’m shocked to see the ragged wounds in her face start to flow together. I’m starting to see movement in her eye sockets as tissue begins adjusting and flowing and inflating.
What the fuck? Did I somehow heal her ey
Chapter 25
My entire body hurts. That’s my first thought. My first real thought. I’ve been sort of floating in a world of black, which I’ll admit I’ve done more than a few times in the past.
Then again, I don’t know what the hell is happening. Like at all. I know I’m here. I don’t know why. I don’t know where here is. I’m just starting to have memories trickle in. My name is Anwyn something or other. That thought sticks with me as I wait for other things to come to light.
All the while feeling like I’m being ravaged by pain as I just sort of bob here.
What was I doing? I know this isn’t normal for me even if I’ve experienced it before. I just don’t know what…
Oh, huh, my name is Maddie. Weird. How could I forget my own name? I can’t think of any reason why I would have thought it was…shoot, what was that again?
God, this freaking hurts. So much. It’s like my brain is fried. My body feels like I have lines of searing molten agony pouring through it.
This isn’t right. At all. While I’ve been in mountains of pain before, it has never felt like this. Never ever. Other times that I recall being in this sort of situation, most of the pain was in my back, my ass, and my groin. My face, too, now that I think about it. That couple that used to hurt me…
Okay, now I’m getting more. Somehow, thinking of that couple starts more of a stream of information flowing into me. It’s like watching a movie, except it’s mostly sucky parts and not many good ones. At least recently.
And there we go. Okay, I’m in the academy. I don’t know why I’m like this right now, but I know I’m in the second year at the academy. I know that I was doing something. I just don’t know what.
Opening my eyes came as somewhat of a surprise. I wasn’t planning on doing that. I really wasn’t. It just sort of happened.
And Lord how I wish it didn’t.
The light hurts. My eyes go from okay to burning in no time flat. The light is like a supernova that’s trying to devour me body and soul. Just with more anger behind it.
Something blocks the light that I can’t quite make out, “Holy shit, you’re awake?”
Groans tear at my throat as I recoil from the nuclear explosion of sound assaulting me, yet I can’t pull away or get away. My body just doesn’t want to react with more than twitches.
The thing blocking the light moves closer, and I can just start to make out a face that doesn’t register at first. When it does, I’m further confused about what’s going on. Why is the woman from the bookstore here? Wherever here is? Wait, Alicia? Why is Alicia here?
She speaks again, this time making her voice low enough that it only sounds like a shout meant to wake the dead. “Can you see me?”
“Hurts…” my throat barely works as I get that out.
She looks away, “Can you turn the lights off?” The brilliance behind her fades, yet it’s still too bright in here. Then something comes in and rests on the side of my head before she speaks again. “Is that better?” Her voice is muffled.
Ohhh, okay, she blocked my ears? That’s good thinking. “Be…better.” That word almost doesn’t get out. Like at all.
Her fingers are light on my face, coming away with bright r
ed that smells familiar, “I can’t fucking believe you’re alive after all of that.”
“Wha happen…?” God, it’s too much effort to get out two complete words.
She blinked before looking away from me, then back, “Do you know where you are?”
Tiny head shake rather than speaking. That hurts less. Barely.
“You’re at the house we set up for the stricken. Do you remember coming here?”
Another shake.
Her face dropped a little. I can’t quite read her reaction well, though, it’s like I’m not firing on all cylinders.
“Do you remember Jenny? She was in your class last year?”
Images and scenes of a girl that opted out of the trial flash in front of me. “Little.”
“You came out here to check on what we set up for the stricken? You ran into her on the front porch. That doesn’t ring a bell?”
Another shake.
“I…I don’t know what to do about that. Can you tell me how you feel?”
“Hurt.”
“What hurts?”
“Everyth…”
She looked down my body, then back, “I’m not surprised? I got a call saying that you were convulsing. When I got here, you’d been throwing up blood for most of 15 minutes already. There’s like…literally two or three gallons everywhere. I’m not sure how you were able to stay alive through that. I understand from Jenny that you heal like a beast, but something like that? I’d be dead from losing anywhere close to that amount of blood. So would anyone I know. You didn’t stop throwing up blood for another ten minutes.”
“Wha happen…?”
“Do you remember trying to help Jenny?”
Nothing. I vaguely recall seeing her lately, just…no details. Just an inkling of a forgotten memory.
She nodded, “Hold on a second.” I couldn’t focus on her or follow her as she moved away, but it wasn’t needed since she came back so quickly. When she returned, she had another person with her. A person that looks familiar. Just…wait…
More images and memories hit me, making me arc my back in pain as my brain suffers through the onslaught. Scene after scene. Discussion after discussion. Everything that I seem to be missing from my recent life rams into my skull at one time, making me cry out.
And throw up more blood.
Oh my fucking God, that hurts.
When I open my eyes again, two horrified people are staring down at me. Except…
“I don’t…Jenny…healed?” I can’t speak in complete sentences yet, that’s for sure.
Alicia pulled Jenny in for a hug. “You got the mortmagi out. Somehow, you healed her eyes, although she can’t see. I’m thinking you healed the eyeballs themselves, but the optic nerve might be damaged? I’m not sure how you did that, but that’s on top of getting the mortmagi out. She can’t see, but…you can see her hair. Her eyes. She’s not quite where she was before, it’s like something isn’t firing right, but she seems to have magic again!”
Jenny starts to cry, “Thank you for what you did! I can’t…I didn’t think it would really work. I’m so sorry you’re hurt. Are you okay?”
How the hell do you answer that? “Not sure.” Ahh, good, solid words that only felt like I was gargling with broken glass.
Alicia touches my face again, “Jenny said you seem to be able to heal quickly? Can you try that? I don’t know what you’d do for that?”
“Can try?” For some reason, I really don’t want to try this. Like at all.
But here goes nothing.
Nothing except pain.
As soon as I touch my magic and try to get it to build, it’s like lava poured through my body, causing me to scream. I managed two before blood sprayed out again, dousing both of them in a hellish eruption that sent them scrambling back from me.
My attempt to touch my magic died without me being able to get it to move. It’s like sticking my arm directly into fire. Just without the comforting warmth of the body-wrecking flames. This is worse. Infinitely worse.
Even so, oddly enough, my throat felt a little better. “That sucks.”
Alicia came back in slowly, “What the fuck was that?”
“Think I strained my magic.” Thank God, a full sentence. Things are looking up.
“You just…” she looked down her body, “so much fucking blood. You seriously should be dead. All three of us should be dead if we bled as much as you’ve done in this room. Possibly five of us. This is a fucking nightmare.”
“Sorry. Not doing it on purpose. Obviously.”
“You think?” She touched my face again, “Can I pick you up? Get you into the shower? Maybe some water will help?”
“Please?”
She picked me up, which hurt quite a bit, but I kept that inside. The physical pain is receding, leaving the feeling that my nerves have been slowly dragged from my body and dipped in acid as the primary source of pain. And that’s not physical.
Apparently, it’s magical.
The room changed and we were suddenly in a much smaller room. Jenny turned on the shower while Alicia held me. I can see the mirror, which I’m thinking probably is a good sign.
Not that I look good. I look like a zombie attack victim. I’m liberally doused with blood, very nearly covered from head to toe. It’s thick, with some starting to dry, and I swear it’s enough blood to have killed me. And that’s just what’s on me.
Alicia turned towards Jenny, “Can you see if they can clean up the blood out there? Thank God you have wood floors in your room. Carpet would be wrecked. They need to hit everything quickly.”
“I can do that. They’re waiting to help.” She left us behind, and I heard her talking to others.
And then the exclamations of horror as they looked into the room. Now I want to see it and get an idea of what they’re looking at. Huh, wait, no. They’re smelling it, not seeing it. Still, it has to be horrific and I wish I could see it.
Instead, I’m enveloped in warmth as Alicia steps under the spray, blocking my body from most of it at first. “How’s the temperature?”
“Good. Feels good.”
She sat me on a little chair thing in there, “You can’t stand, right?”
“No.” Easy enough to say. And admit.
“Okay, I gotta get these off. Hold on a bit.” She pulled her clothes off, letting them soak in the stream of water. Blood is coming out in thick streams in the water. It’s a horrifying amount of blood, made worse by knowing it’s from me.
It feels good, though, to have water reaching my entire body. The more I sit there as she wrings out her clothes, the more I can start to move on purpose. Not easily, but it gains speed. I was able to move both arms between the time she started working on her bra and then finished. Then my legs as she worked on her shirt. Sitting forward took a mountain of effort, but I was actually able to reach down and grab her shorts. They’re freaking sodden with blood. So much of it.
“What the fuck?” My throat feels way better than before.
Her voice went low, “Keep recovering. I’m not sure what to say here. You did two completely impossible things out there, but you’re paying a price now. Have you ever seen someone that has strained their magic?”
“No. We talked about it a little last year in classes, though.”
“Yeah, well, you’ve strained your magic. Maybe burned it out, but hopefully not.”
What the fuck? “You can do that?”
“You can. It hurts more when you try to reach your magic, right?”
“Yeah. A lot more.”
“That’s one of the signs.”
“Will I heal?”
“If you burned it out? Maybe not. If it’s just strained? It may take days to get it back to full strength. I’ve done it a few times in my life, just nowhere near to the point of throwing up blood by the gallon. That was Halloween special effect bullshit out there and one of the scariest fucking things I’ve ever seen. I’ve strained myself maybe a dozen times in my long life. I’v
e never had it take more than two days to come back. The more you try to touch it early on, the longer it can take to come back.”
“I can’t cast spells?”
“It’s a possibility. If you burned it out, then maybe not ever again. Like I said, hopefully that’s not the case.”
Okay, this might be horrifyingly bad. I’m in an academy where strength rules, so if people know that I can’t cast magic? That might suck beyond belief and lead to a very quick end to my second year of classes.
“Let’s get you cleaned up. Are you feeling burning inside? Like in lines connecting through your body?”
“Like I’m on fire, yeah.”
“Okay, definitely strain, then. You have to wait until the pain starts going down to be able to touch your magic again.”
“Once it starts to go down, can I use magic to heal myself?”
“Jenny said that you can do things like that. I’d say yes to physical, just not to magical healing. I’m not sure that’d work.”
So not good. Wait, fuck, “What about being able to shift?”
Her face fell, “I’m not sure about that, honestly. I found it harder to shift when I was strained. I was just never as strained as you are. You should try it. If you can’t, then I know that puts you at risk in the academy.”
It sure as hell does.
Dammit.
My thoughts went wild, then slowed as Jenny came back into the bathroom. “They’re working on everything.”
“Thank you for that. She’s recovering a little, but she strained her magic.”
I can see her through the glass door, and she looks beyond upset now, “I’m so sorry for that. Thank you for what you did for me. I can’t…this is like a miracle. I may not be able to see, but I can feel my magic again!”
“You’re welcome? I’m sorry I couldn’t heal your sight. I wasn’t quite expecting your eyes to heal like that, honestly. I was trying to heal the damage so that you didn’t get an infection. I wasn’t expecting eyes out of it.”
“Either way, thank you so much! You were right, it hurt beyond belief, but the end result is pretty spectacular.”
“You’re welcome. If I can get my magic back, I’ll see if I can heal your eyes the rest of the way. That would be pretty cool.”