Restart Again: Volume 3

by Adam Ladner Scott

  “Marin,” I called out to her, raising my hands in a calming motion, “you’re alright. You’re safe.”

  The words seemed to take a few seconds to cut through her daze, and she ripped open the button up shirt to examine her wound. Despite the copious amounts of dried blood on her chest, her probing fingers found the skin unmarred by cuts or scars. She blinked hard, pressing on the spot she no doubt expected to give way to a gaping wound, then looked up to meet my eyes. “Lux? I—I...where…”

  “You’re safe,” I repeated, stepping closer. “You’re in the Corells’ wagon, far away from anybody who wants to hurt you. I healed your wounds; you’re going to be okay.”

  Her large, olive eyes filled with tears, and she half lunged, half collapsed towards me. I caught her before she toppled to the floor and gently leaned back against a crate, rubbing her back in slow circles. Her hands wrapped around my neck as she cried wordlessly into my chest. After a while the sobbing grew quiet, and she tipped her face up towards mine. “I asked the commander...why he had brought so many men,” she managed to say through her sniffling. “I asked him...to get my sister. She would tell him you weren’t bad. But he just left, and then his men...shot me.”

  “Yes,” I said sadly. “It was my fault. They were there for me, and I sent you out to talk to them instead. It was a selfish, stupid mistake. I hope you can forgive me.”

  “Forgive you?” she asked, confused. “You saved me. I barely had time to figure out what had happened before you showed up and took me away.” Her eyes scanned my face, full of fear and confusion; it was clear that she was still trying to process the incident as she spoke. “I owe you my life. When you brought me back to the wagon, Lia tried to…” She trailed off and swiveled her head around to look at Lia. “Oh! Is she—”

  “She’s fine,” I assured her. “Just out of energy. She tried to heal you, but she passed out before she could finish the job. I took care of your wounds as soon as I got back from...dealing with Savitz and his men.”

  “My wounds,” she said absentmindedly, drawing back one of her hands to trace her finger along her collarbone once again. “How did you…?” Her voice faded out as she looked down to observe the healed flesh. She let out a high-pitched yelp as she hopped to her feet and quickly pulled her shirt closed, turning to hide her face.

  “I’ll, uhm, I’ll go get Hana to help you clean up,” I offered. Marin nodded vigorously in reply, still looking away. “Alright. I’ll...do that.” I stood and made my way out of the wagon, where I found Hana waiting anxiously at the back flap. “Oh, good, you’re here. Marin is awake, and I think she’d like to get rinsed off and dressed in some more...fitting clothes.”

  “Of course,” Hana replied. “Did you happen to find any water while you were patrolling last night? That would make things much easier.”

  “I didn’t, but I can still help you on that front,” I said, pulling a silver orb from the last canister on my bandolier. I pushed the needle through the skin and depressed the button, and the orb immediately began to swell. Once it was the size of my palm, I cut the flow of energy and returned the needle to its proper place. “This is full of clean water. If you place it in a bucket and cut the skin, it should give you more than enough to get her cleaned up, but let me know if you need more.”

  Hana stared at the dull silver globe with wonderment, then grinned. “Thank you, Lux.” She took the orb and entered the wagon, returning a moment later with Marin, a bucket full of water, and a handful of clean cloth. The pair made their way through camp and into the nearby thicket of trees, where they disappeared from view.

  With Marin taken care of, I climbed into the wagon once again and returned to Lia’s side. I caressed her cheek as mana ran down my fingers, spreading out across her body. As opposed to when I had first checked on her, a faint amber glow glimmered in her core, albeit in a strange form; whereas her mana was usually buzzing radiantly throughout her body, the new energy was tightly wound and concentrated entirely in her gut. It was a fascinating discovery that warranted future investigation, but I had a more important matter to attend to first.

  My mana suffused through her body without resistance, rapidly approaching the concentrated energy in her core. A strange, out-of-body sensation filled me as my mana expanded: I began to sense the world through the suffused body parts, which was difficult to process without Lia’s consciousness guiding the feeling. When the two fronts of mana finally met, I felt an electric rush in my spine, and the already blurry lines that separated our bodies disappeared entirely as we momentarily became a single, unified being. Lia’s eyes flicked open, and she stared at me with a warm smile.

  “Hey there,” we said in unison.

  She laughed as she slowly propped herself up on her elbows. “I passed out, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, you did,” I answered. “It’s mostly my fault. I should have warned you that the needle uses a lot more mana than the spells you’re used to.”

  “That would have been nice to know, yes,” she said with a pronounced huff. “Is Marin okay?”

  “She’s fine. Aside from losing some blood, she’s as healthy as ever.” I sat on the floor and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close. “How are you feeling?”

  “Weird,” she admitted. “I’m tired, but also wired at the same time? I know I should be tired, but your energy is...different than mine. It’s in my body, but it’s still yours, somehow; the color, the feeling, they’re not mine. My body knows I should be sleeping to get my mana back, but it’s using yours to compensate, maybe? I don’t really know how to explain it.”

  “No, I get what you mean,” I said. Although I couldn’t find the right words to describe it, I felt what she was feeling in real time. The two energies were distinct inside her body, both fueling different processes in different ways; her own mana had withdrawn into a tightly wound ball within her core in an effort to regenerate her depleted reserves, while mine circulated in gentle waves throughout her body, seemingly without purpose. Having seen the mana that was stored in Val’s shield, I had theorized that the same principle could potentially work for transferring energy to another person, but I hadn’t found an appropriate time to test the idea—until now.

  It took a few seconds of mental experimentation to find a way to sever the connection to the mana I had stored in Lia’s body; although I had cast magic at a distance multiple times, there appeared to be a distinct difference between activating the mana stored in an object and simply leaving it there. I felt my stomach drop as if the floor had been pulled out from beneath me when the connection to my extended energy broke. Lia appeared to feel it too, and she let out a soft groan as our consciousnesses separated. “What just happened?” she asked, leaning her head against my shoulder. “I felt your presence fade out, but your mana is still here. It’s...disorienting.”

  “That’s a good sign, I think,” I answered, scratching the side of my head. “I left you some of my mana. Whether or not you’ll be able to control it in a helpful way, I have no clue.” I peered down at her out of the corner of my eye with a grin. “It’s uncharted territory for me, but given your record, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

  “Well...I’m still awake,” she said, holding a hand out in front of her face and flexing her fingers. “That’s good enough for now.”

  “About that: Do you think you could keep watch for a while? I’d like to get at least a few hours of sleep while we travel today,” I asked. I stifled a yawn as the exhaustion I had held at bay all night began to creep back over my mind. “No pressure, of course; I can stay up until you’re at full strength if you aren’t feeling up to it.”

  “Oh, sure. You don’t sound tired at all,” she teased, poking at my face. “I’ll be fine. I should get up anyway; I’m beginning to understand why you ate so much on the way back from Attetsia.” As if to illustrate her point, her stomach let out a loud yowl.

  “If you’re sure,” I said, giving her shoulders a squeeze. I took her place on t
he bedroll while she began to prepare for the day. “Wake me up if there’s any trouble. Or if you need me for anything. Or if you get particularly bored.”

  She laughed and kissed me on the top of my head. “Go to sleep. We’ll be fine.”

  “Alright,” I replied, slowly lowering myself to the floor. “I love you.”

  “I love you,” she echoed sweetly before turning to exit the wagon. I closed my eyes feeling safe and content and was asleep before Lia made it to camp.

  ***

  3. A JOURNEY TAKEN TWICE

  “You’re already writing ANOTHER letter?”

  I jumped at the sound of the voice, having missed the speaker’s entrance through the tent flaps behind me. Turning to the intruder, I immediately understood why; the voice belonged to the Knight of the Whispering Winds, famous for both her incredible speed on the battlefield and the total silence with which she moved. I glared and puffed out my shoulders to block her view of my still-blank paper as she approached. She was dressed head to toe in her battle attire: form-fitting hide armor, dyed snow white and lined with pitch black fur, a shortbow made of ebony wood with a matching quiver, and a bandolier full of ivory daggers. Even through the shadows of the tent, I could see mischief in her icy blue, almond eyes. Her straight black hair was pulled back into a ponytail that dangled over her shoulder as she tried to read my hidden paper.

  “So what if I am?” I asked defensively. “It’s been four days since the last one. A lot has happened since then!”

  “We’ve had two battles, Elden.”

  “Two battles is a lot!” I pointed my quill at her in accusation. “What would you know about letters anyways? You don’t have anybody back home worried about you fighting on the front lines.”

  The knight spun backwards and collided with the center tentpole in feigned injury as imaginary arrows impacted her chest, causing the whole structure to sway perilously back and forth. “You wound me! Where are your manners, Sir Knight of the Flashing Blade?”

  I rolled my eyes and groaned. “I told you not to call me that! It’s a stupid name.” I paused, suddenly narrowing my eyes at her. “Wait, wait. You don’t actually like your nickname, do you?”

  “Why shouldn’t I?” she asked, amused. “Only the greatest warriors are given nicknames. Just because I got mine first doesn’t mean you should—”

  “Elden!” Another voice shouted from outside the tent, and was followed a moment later by a burst of light as the flaps opened to reveal a broad-shouldered man in black plate armor. “We’ve got to...oh, Kel, you’re already here. Did you give him the news yet?”

  “Well, I was trying to, but Elden here was too busy writing his letters to pay attention,” she answered, her voice dripping with playful sarcasm.

  I let out an exasperated groan, then turned to the man at the entrance. “What’s up, Jarut?”

  “We have another war meeting to attend. Our next operation begins at sundown.”

  My jaw dropped. “Another operation already?! There’s no way the men are up to that!”

  He shrugged. “I’ll admit, I’m not sure what King Janus is trying to accomplish with this recent offensive. I guess we’ll find out at the meeting.” He turned and exited the tent. “It starts in twenty minutes. Don’t be late!” he hollered over his shoulder as he left.

  “You’d best hurry with that letter, Elden,” Kel teased, turning to leave as well.

  “I’d already be done if it weren’t for the interruption!” I shot back at her, fighting off the grin that tried to creep across my face. With my distraction dealt with, I spun back to the table and tapped my quill against the blank parchment in thought.

  “Tell Amaya I say hello,” Kel spoke quietly into my ear, her face suddenly inches away.

  Her voice caused me to jump in surprise again, and I smacked the table loudly. “I told you to stop doing that!” I yelled at her as she made for the exit once again. She threw her head back and let out a burst of melodic, high pitched laughter as she pushed the flap open and disappeared into the outside world. Grumbling under my breath, I watched the flap for a few seconds to confirm that she wasn’t going to sneak back into the tent again, then finally returned to my writing.

  I dipped my quill into the inkpot at the edge of the desk and began my letter as I always did. “Hey there, beautiful. I’ve missed you.”

  ---

  A gentle hand shook my shoulder and roused me from my dream. Blinking away the fuzz of sleep, I found Lia crouched next to me with an excited smile on her face. “Come see!” she whispered excitedly. “Come see!” She turned and hurried out the back of the wagon without waiting for a response. As she disappeared from sight, I realized the cart was stopped and nobody else was inside with me. After fighting off the temptation to use Detection to find what Lia wanted me to see and quickly go back to sleep, I climbed to my feet and left the wagon as well.

  The source of her excitement was clear as I pushed through the cloth flaps: a thin layer of snow covered everything in sight, and heavy flakes swirled lazily in the air. Marin and Lia stood in the center of the road with their faces upturned toward the sky, laughing as they attempted to catch the fluffy crystals on their tongues. Hana and Marten tended to the horse with a bucket of water and a bag of feed. I smiled and took a deep breath, appreciating the faint scent of burning wood in the crisp air.

  Reflexively, I reached out with Detection to scan our immediate surroundings and was surprised by the amount of focus it required. Although I had only pushed out a few hundred yards in every direction, the strain made it feel as though I were pushing the ability to its limits. I pulled the energy back to a tight radius encircling our spot on the roadside and watched the area closely to determine what was causing the disturbance. The answer was immediately apparent: every time a snowflake landed within the area my mana covered, my brain took notice of the movement and updated my mental map.

  “It’s a lot, isn’t it?” Lia had made her way over to the wagon while I had awkwardly stopped in the snow, apparently showing the strain of the Detection on my face. “The snow. Up here,” she added, tapping her temple with a smile.

  I nodded. “It’s definitely an interesting quirk.” I looked up to the overcast sky, shading my eyes from the falling flakes. “How long was I asleep?”

  “Not too long. I think it’s about noontime,” she answered. She grabbed my hand and spun to face the countryside again. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

  Surprisingly, I agreed with her. The neverending winter of Hedaat usually blotted out the sun with vicious blizzards and had never been something I considered beautiful. After living beneath snow and ice for so long, I expected that the sight would instantly darken my mood, but the gentle snowfall brought with it a quiet tranquility that put a smile on my face. The simple joy of Lia’s expression infected me as well, and I gave her hand a tight squeeze. “Yeah, it is.”

  Our break quickly came to an end as Marten called us back to the wagon to finish the remainder of our travel for the day. We rearranged the back of the cart to better accommodate all of us being awake, stacking the crates along the outside edge to create a main thoroughfare down the center with unstacked crates for seating on either side. When we were finished, Lia and I sat down on one side, facing Hana and Marin on the other.

  “So,” I started, “there’s something I wanted to talk about with all of you.” My eyes locked with Marin’s as I continued. “Specifically with you, Marin. You know that it wasn’t our original intent to bring you with us, but given the circumstances, I certainly couldn’t leave you there. Now, though…” I trailed off, leaning my chin onto my interlaced hands, “...there’s a decision to make.”

  “Wait!” Marin shouted. “I need to say something first.” The sudden outburst surprised me, but I gave her a nod to proceed, curious about her thoughts. “I know you have reasons not to trust me because of my sister, but I don’t have anywhere else to go. If I go back to my family, the guards will kill me before I make it into the city. I d
on’t have any money, I don’t have my things, I don’t have...anything.” Her face fell, and she sniffled softly.

  “Given that the guards saw us leave in a packed wagon, I doubt Virram will order the Corells’ house to be watched. It would be a few days of travel on foot to get back there, but you could return for your possessions,” I replied. “There’s a good chance everything is still there, exactly where you left it.”

  “A chance, maybe, but what if you’re wrong?!” she challenged me. “I would either be walking back into a trap with nobody to help me, or stuck in Yoria with nothing! I can’t go back there.”

  “And if you come with us?” I countered, speaking gently. “You’ll still have no possessions. Granted, the Kaldan military won’t be a concern anymore, but you’d be in a foreign land with nothing except the clothes on your back.”

  “Not if I stayed with you!” She looked around the wagon for support as she continued. “Give me a chance to prove that you can trust me! I’ll do anything if you just let me stay. I’ll help Marten with his business, I’ll cook and clean and do yard work, anything! You won’t even have to pay me!” She leaned forward and grabbed my hand in hers, looking up to me in desperation. “I just need a chance to live.”

  I raised my eyebrows at her, slipping my hand out of her grip. “Well, I was going to suggest that you continue with your original business deal with Marten once he gets everything set up again, but I’m sure the Corells would appreciate a free maid.” I looked to Hana with a devious twinkle in my eye. “What do you think?”

  “Oh, that would be lovely!” she said as her ears perked up excitedly. “If I didn’t have to cook and clean, I could get so much more knitting done!”

  “It’s settled, then!” I exclaimed, clapping my hands for emphasis.

  Marin’s head whipped back and forth between Hana and me, a dumbfounded expression on her face. “Wait, what? No! What?!”

  Lia cackled beside me. “Alright, I’ll admit it. That’s pretty funny when it isn’t happening to me.”