by Andrew Rowe
I turned my head toward her. “I...thought you said you weren’t a fighter.”
“That was in relative terms.”
“Relative to who?”
Cecily shrugged, standing. “Keep healing him. I don’t know how you’re healing him, but it seems to be working.”
I nodded and went back to work. Patrick’s chest was rising and falling, at least.
I hoped that Marissa and Sera were okay. I hadn’t had the chance to check. Presumably, if Vanniv got them outside, he could find a healer somewhere in the crowd. They were both wearing their regenerative equipment, too. I’d insisted on that much.
I poured more mana into the wound, watching with fascination as the severed pieces of bone began to unite.
I couldn’t hope to do anything about any internal damage he suffered. I didn’t know how to diagnose it.
Once the wound was shut, I stopped, and switched to casting a Lesser Regeneration spell. Hopefully that would work along with his equipment toward healing any internal injuries.
With that done, I began to slowly lift Patrick from the ground.
Cecily turned to help, and together, the two of us began to inch toward the door.
There was virtually no one left at this point. Almost everyone was either dead, unconscious, or had fled the chamber.
So, I wasn’t particularly surprised when Mizuchi landed right in front of the open doorway, just before we made it there.
Cecily and I wordlessly set Patrick down and turned to a sideways dueling stance.
We’d done this together before, as children.
Of course, we hadn’t been fighting the neigh-invulnerable child of a god beast back then. We’d just been training against a very different kind of monster.
Mizuchi kicked over a nearby table, looking from side to side. “You children really are persistent. I think you’re the last ones left, though.”
“I’ll surrender if you’ll spare the other two,” I offered.
Cecily actually kicked me when I said that.
“How very noble of you, but I’m afraid I’m not interested.” Mizuchi took a few steps forward. “A shame. I’ll remember you, at least. I remember the last one who used that sword against me, too.”
“Sorry, Cecily. I’ll try to keep her busy. Go—”
Then Mizuchi’s hand was around my neck, and she was lifting me off the ground. “I think not. There will be no more ‘holding me off’, no more stalling for time.”
Another voice came from right behind her. “You put that boy down this instant, young lady.”
I watched Mizuchi’s draconic features contort in confusion. Then she turned, dragging me by the throat.
Professor Vellum stood in the doorway to the room.
“You,” Mizuchi hissed.
She tossed me to the side like an unwanted child. I hit the wall hard. I think I might have broken something. Possibly my pride.
“Yes, yes. Me. Shall we have a bit of a chat?” Vellum clapped her hands together.
Mizuchi’s swing ripped through the air, tearing straight through Vellum.
Without resistance, since the image of Vellum just wobbled a bit and then raised an eyebrow. “Come now, Mizuchi. You should know better than to believe I’d just walk right over here and talk to you from a few feet away.”
“You are not supposed to be here.” Mizuchi turned her head from side to side, searching.
“I’m obviously not. I thought I’d made that clear. Do pay attention.”
Mizuchi hissed. “Then you will be unable to interfere with my meal.”
That was a good point, and one that sent me quickly scuttling back to my feet. I raised Selys-Lyann into a guard position and began to inch my way toward the door.
Cecily, however, was still on the other side of Mizuchi. With an unconscious Patrick that she couldn’t move on the floor next to her.
Resh.
Definitely going to have to do this the hard way.
I slashed in the air, projecting a shockwave of ice.
Mizuchi turned, looking mildly surprised, and raised a claw to block the attack.
I twitched my right hand.
The shockwave moved, shifting its path, and slammed Mizuchi in the face. Ice formed where it impacted, and she raised her hands to claw it away.
“Now! Run!” I yelled.
Cecily took one last look at Patrick, then turned and ran for the door.
I slashed at the air twice more, sending more shockwaves of ice to slow Mizuchi down before rushing for Patrick.
Mizuchi recovered too quickly. A wave of flame enveloped her body, pushing outward and clearing the frost.
She moved straight in between me and Patrick.
“I don’t believe I was done talking to you.” Vellum’s image said. “Perhaps this will get your attention?”
An explosion ripped through the air above us. The sudden noise and intensity naturally drew my gaze upward, and Mizuchi reacted in much the same way.
“Behold!” Vellum clapped her hands. Vibrant colors spread across the skies as another explosion occurred. “My power far eclipses your own.”
Mizuchi turned toward Vellum and hissed. “Really, old crone? You think I don’t know what fireworks are?”
I inched toward Patrick while Mizuchi was distracted. Any chance was better than no chance.
“No, no, dear. You’ve got it all wrong.” More fireworks exploded in the sky. Vellum pointed upward.
Mizuchi looked, shaking her head. “There’s nothing there. Just your parlor tricks.”
“That’s just the beauty of such tricks, my dear. They’re all about misdirection.”
Another Professor Vellum appeared right next to Mizuchi. “You were looking up when you should have been looking down.”
Mizuchi glanced down.
She was surrounded by a ring of runes.
“By my power, by divine power, by the power of the stars,” Vellum snapped her fingers. “I banish you from this place. Begone.”
The runes flashed.
Mizuchi vanished.
Then Professor Vellum smiled, clutched her chest, and collapsed to the ground.
Chapter XXI – Deep Wounds
I knelt next to Professor Vellum immediately.
“There is no possible reshing way I am going to let you die before you explain what just happened.”
I turned on my attunement.
Professor Vellum had no aura at all.
That was not a good sign.
I began the treatment process by panicking.
Then, I cast a Lesser Regeneration spell on her, like I had with Patrick.
It wouldn’t be harmful, but I didn’t know if it could help, either.
She didn’t move. Her chest didn’t seem to be rising and falling.
A moment of inspection told me that her heart wasn’t beating, either.
I didn’t know how to deal with that.
I wasn’t medically trained. I’d read a few pages on healing magic. It did not involve restarting hearts.
I screamed for help.
But nobody came.
After a few more moments of panic, I realized the anti-communication runes were on this specific room, not necessarily the entire house.
I rushed out the doorway.
“Necklace. Message Elora. Mizuchi is gone, need immediate medical help.”
Elora Theas appeared next to me a few seconds later, wobbling on her feet.
Sheridan appeared with her. “What happened? How badly are you hurt?”
“Not me. There are other people hurt in the ballroom.”
Sheridan pointed at my arm. “You are hurt.”
I looked to my left arm. Blood was seeping into my tunic from where Mizuchi’s claw had hit me. “I have a regeneration item on. I’m stable, we can deal with this later. For now, there are higher priorities. Professor Vellum’s heart stopped. And Patrick is pretty badly hurt, too.”
Sheridan frowned, but nodded. “Show me.”
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I led the two of them to Vellum.
Sheridan knelt down, put a hand to Vellum’s chest, and then winced.
I turned to Elora. “You didn’t happen to bring Derek or Keras with you...?”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t teleport all the way back home from here. Not enough mana. Sheridan was at the party, just in the other ballroom with the second-years. No one attacked that room. What happened after I left?”
I waved a hand across the room. “A mess. Vellum managed to banish Mizuchi somehow.”
I gritted my teeth as I remembered Professor Conway hitting the ground near me. “I need to check on anyone else who might still be alive.”
“Banish...?” Elora frowned. “That’s...unusual.”
“We can worry about that later. Help me find people who are alive?”
Elora shook her head. “I’m going to go get more healers.”
“Even better.”
“I already sent messages to Derek and Keras to hurry here, but it’s a long distance. Even with their speed, it’s going to be a while.”
“What are the odds that Mizuchi comes back?” I asked Elora.
“Unlikely. Banishment spells usually take a while to shake off. Days, at least, if not longer. Not that Mizuchi should have been able to get out of the spire in the first place...”
I nodded. We’d have to look into how that had happened later.
I had ideas, but I didn’t want to think about them at the moment. My focus was on finding and helping survivors.
Minutes passed as I found anyone with a pulse and threw a Lesser Regeneration spell on them. With my minimal expertise, it was the safest way I could treat them without risking further harm.
I had no experience with triage, but I understood the concept readily enough.
I had to ignore the people who were too far gone for my meager treatment.
A few minutes later, I saw Sheridan’s shoulders slump. I rushed over to them.
“It’s done,” Sheridan said. “Vellum’s heart is pumping. She’ll live. For a little while longer, at least.”
“Th-thank you.” I managed. I let out a deep breath.
Sheridan smiled. “It’s my job. Now, let’s see who else we can help, shall we?”
We went to Patrick next. I felt terrible that I hadn’t gone to him first, but I knew a stopped heart was something that needed immediate attention.
“He’s doing fine. But, uh, try not to remake any bone until you know what you’re doing? You’ve got some bone in parts that should be cartilage.”
I winced.
“I can fix it before he wakes up. But here, watch.”
I watched, and I learned.
Hours passed.
At one point, I stopped to take a vial out of the Jaden Box. I walked to the area where Sera had managed to land a cut on Mizuchi’s leg.
I collected what I could of Mizuchi’s blood. I knew it could be extremely important.
I asked Elora to check on Sera and Marissa as soon as she got back. She reported that they were outside recovering.
That was good. It meant I didn’t have to worry about them immediately.
I pointed Sheridan to a few people that had been alive, but beyond my ability to treat. They treated some, and, like me, had to move past others.
Elora arrived with more healers, and more guards.
The guards weren’t in case Mizuchi came back. They were to keep anyone who wasn’t a medic from coming back into the room.
There were some surviving teachers and staff that had been in other rooms, deliberately avoiding the chancellor’s speech. And the second-year students had been in a separate ballroom, so they hadn’t been affected by the attack.
They were outside now, consoling children and directing people home.
After the healers came the people who were there to move the bodies.
I knew some of those bodies.
The old woman who had hosted the party.
Chancellor Wallace.
Professor Conway.
That last one...hurt. It really hurt.
He’d saved my life.
If I’d moved just a little bit faster, maybe I could have saved his.
I tightened my hands as I thought about it, but I couldn’t cry.
I still had more wounds to stitch. More blood to wipe off my hands.
I worked until I couldn’t, and then I worked some more.
***
I found Cecily waiting outside.
“You’re a jerk.”
I nodded to her. “I know.”
Cecily looked away. “You should have just come home with me when I asked.”
I shook my head. “No. I might be a jerk, but by being here, I saved a lot of lives. So did you.”
She turned her head back toward me. “I was scared, you know. I’m still scared.”
“I know.”
“Come with me back home now? I...don’t want to be alone right now.”
I shook my head. “I need to make sure Patrick and Marissa recover. They’re in bad shape.”
“I...” Cecily frowned.
“But you can come with me. We’re going to be at Elora Theas’ estate. She can teleport us there once she’s recovered a bit more.”
Cecily sighed. “Everything always has to be done your way, doesn’t it?”
“In this case? Yes. Yes, it absolutely does.”
“Fine.” Cecily folded her arms. “But you owe me some answers.”
“That’s fine. I wouldn’t mind hearing what you think about a few things, too.”
***
Cecily and I found the others shortly later.
Patrick had woken up after Sheridan’s treatment, but he was still in a lot of pain.
Sera and Marissa were both asleep when I found them, huddled together under a blanket.
Apparently, the healer that Vanniv had found hadn’t been skilled enough to treat them completely, but he’d been able to treat the most serious wounds and gave them something to help them sleep until better healers arrived.
Vanniv was still there, being uncharacteristically quiet. He rested his hand on Sera’s forehead. I thought she’d probably find that comforting.
Derek and Keras had apparently arrived a couple hours before, but hadn’t been allowed into the manor. They’d been briefed on what had happened already, and they were standing guard over our injured companions.
Sheridan and Elora were both still working. I sent Elora a message with our location, so they could find us and teleport us back when she had sufficiently recovered.
I didn’t trust my own meager skills to do any better with the healing on my injured comrades directly, so I just cast a Lesser Regeneration spell on each of them and sat down to rest.
My hand ached. My head ached.
I’d dipped below my safe levels in both attunements.
There was no alternative, as far as I was concerned.
I couldn’t check my mana watch. I’d disabled it by draining out of it during the fight. Still, I knew I was deep in the negatives. I didn’t care. There were too many cases when even a basic regeneration spell might have saved a life.
After a little while, Patrick started crying.
Vanniv took his hand off Sera to move closer and rest Patrick’s head on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything.
I waited, worried, and felt useless.
Hours passed.
Eventually, Elora and Sheridan returned.
They took us home.
***
We were all hurting when we arrived. Physically, emotionally, or both.
Derek left again almost immediately to head to the hospital where several of the wounded were taken.
He didn’t talk about it much, but Professor Meltlake was his aunt, and she was in terrible shape. She’d survived, but even with Sheridan’s treatment at the scene, it was uncertain how long she’d take to recover.
We moved Patrick, Marissa, and Sera to the master bedroom. Elora had her household staff drag additional beds inside. We set them up side by side.
Elora and Sheridan left together after that, assuring us that they’d make sure to have guards posted on their rooms as well.
The chances of Mizuchi coming after us to finish what she’d started were low, but we weren’t going to be foolish enough to skip taking precautions.
I didn’t trust random house guards to watch over us. Not after seeing that Elora’s staff had already been infiltrated once.
Keras agreed to take the first shift on watching over the rest of us while we slept.
I promised to take the second.
Cecily agreed to take a third watch. I didn’t intend to wake her.
I liked Cecily, but I didn’t trust her.
I would have expected to have trouble sleeping, but my exhaustion was bone deep. I wasn’t sure I’d ever overused my attunements to that extent before.
Fortunately, I was tired enough that I didn’t have any nightmares about the scars that might have resulted from that.
Keras didn’t wake me until well after dawn. He’d let me get a full night sleep.
I suspected that was probably his intention from the beginning.
Keras must have also spent the evening piecing the Dawnbringer replica back together. The blade was fully repaired when he set it down next to where Patrick was sleeping.
Everyone else woke slowly in the hours that followed.
Elora brought us to the dining room for breakfast a bit later, then dismissed her house staff.
“Eat,” she said, “Then I believe we have a great deal to discuss.”
***
We devoured a quick breakfast. Most of us hadn’t had a chance to eat anything the night before, and eating was an important part of recovering from both injuries and over exerting ourselves.
After that, it was time to discuss our situation.
“Is there anything to block people from listening in on this room?” Cecily asked.
“No. Just the house in general,” Elora answered.
I stood up. “Can we write on the walls?”
Elora raised an eyebrow. “If you must. I suppose this is important enough.”
I looked to Cecily. “You get silence, I’ll get anti-scrying?”
She nodded. “Right.”