My body was flung back like I had been kicked in the gut and hit something rock solid. The air left my lungs in a rush and I hit my head so hard I thought I heard a crack before I fell to the ground.
"JINN!"
I tried to concentrate on who was calling but my hands clutched my head in agony and I was unable to focus. Fuck, ow, ow, ow. I felt a weird sensation run through me and I tensed, realizing I was so fucking screwed. I didn't move and prayed to the heavens I wouldn't go into seizure mode. You'd think there would be a spell to prevent that from happening. There was one to delay it, jeez magic creators, get with the program in the health department.
I felt something touch me but flinched away, scared it would trigger the onset of tremors that would rattle through my body sooner or later.
"Fuck. Move!" Logan's hard voice sounded so far away, but I was scared by the anger that laced his words.
"Jinn?" He called my name so softly, it helped with my spike of anxiety, which at this point was more manageable than the pulsating pain that vibrated through my head like someone was purposely using a hammer against my skull. I did my best to ignore the sensation of warm liquid running down my head or how cold I was. It was at least comforting to know I wouldn't be exposed because I’d done that spell. I'd stay in this form at least until I was somewhere safe. Well, that's what I prayed for anyway.
"Shit, he's bleeding." I head Brax call out, followed by the shuffling of footsteps.
"We need to take him to the nurse now before he has a seizure." Logan sounded insistent and worried.
"Seizures? Fuck, Jinn gets seizures?" Maximus fumed.
"Alice is saying something happened when he was a kid. He hit his head after an incident which resulted in him getting seizures from time to time. But she's saying the head impact is going to trigger one," Kage explained quickly.
"Braxton, hold his legs, Maximus, keep his head stable. I can teleport us there. Logan, hold on to my shoulder. Kage, can you meet us there? I can't take anyone else like this."
It took me a few seconds to realize the anger-laced voice was Nixon, as it sounded so unlike his usual calm or bored voice.
"Ms. Landsford is coming...maybe we should wai-"
"Zane, I don't want to hear a word from you right now," Nixon snapped.
Zane stayed silent and Braxton took a deep breath. "We need to talk when this is over. Understood?"
"Understood," Zane replied quietly.
"Jinn, hang on for a bit," Logan soothed. I wish I could reply, but I wasn't capable, the weird sensation growing stronger with each passing moment.
It felt like the world shifted around me, my stomach doing a flip at the wave of magic that surrounded me, but I fought off the nausea, even though everything felt like it was spinning .
"What in the- What happened?! Is that Jinn!" The voice was high pitched and familiar.
"Nurse Savannah, long story. Jinn needs help now." Maximus sounded stressed.
"Maximus lock the door," Savannah ordered. "I need to know what happened, right now."
"We had a test. There was an energy burst and Jewel was pushed by the aftershock of the blast and slammed into a cement wall. She hit her head and now she's bleeding and is on the verge of a seizure," Braxton explained in one breath. He sounded freaked out, so unlike his normal composed confident self, which left me wondering how bad the situation really was.
"We need to move back or get Jewel in the bed, like right now. She's gonna have a seizure," Logan announced.
"How do-" Savanah began but Logan interrupted.
"I've known Jewel my whole life. No more questions." Everyone remained silent.
Okay, Jewel. No freaking out. You're gonna be fine. This isn't like when you were a kid. You're strong, it's not scary. It's not scary... you're not gonna die from this. Just a little jerking and possibly lip biting. I'm gonna feel like shit for a couple of hours and be lucky if I’m able to speak.
"Jewel. You're gonna be okay. Don't panic. I'm here," Alice’s sweet voice whispered. I felt tears roll down my cheeks, even while my eyes were squeezed shut. There was too much going on and my senses were more sensitive than ever. My hearing, the feeling of touch, the smell of blood that reminded me of Gabriel's, the intense fear I felt when he died, the same as when I got injured that day and Gabriel saved me. I wanted him here. I longed for him to hold me just as he did back then, telling me everything was going to be alright.
I miss my brother. That was the last thought I had before I began seizing and blacked out.
"RUN, RUN, RUN, HEHEHE," I squealed, running around. I hadn’t made it ten steps before arms reached out and picked me up.
"Oh no, you don't. What did the doctor say, Jewel?"
I pouted, turning to Father who raised an eyebrow at me. "But Daddy. It's boring when I can't play! I don't like sitting all day in the boring room. I want Brother," I whined, my eyes already filling with tears.
He sighed, pulling me to his chest. "Sweetie, don't cry. It going to hurt your head and make the pain worse. Gabriel will be here any minute to come play with you. I can play with you now though if you like?" he offered.
I frowned up at him. "You fell asleep at my tea party last time."
His cheeks went red and he coughed. "That was because Father was tired and the tea made me sleepy."
I grinned, pressing my hands to his cheeks. "That's because there was a sleeping spell in it," I whispered before doing my best evil laugh. Father smiled, kissing me on my bandaged forehead.
I had been playing with a group of kids, using magic and spells when one of the boys crashed into me. I fell and my head hit a hard rock. One minute I was playing, and the next I was waking up in the hospital with a pretty nurse and toys. I was living the life, or that's what Gabriel said.
Mommy had to work late today so Father was here watching me until Brother arrived.
"Is our Princess wreaking havoc in the halls at this time of night?” I heard Gabriel’s voice.
I squealed, wriggling in my Father's embrace so he’d let me down. He sighed, lowering me to the ground but didn't let go. "Walking, not running,” he stressed.
"Yes, Daddy!" I cheered and he let me go. I laughed evilly and ran to Gabriel who shook his head but did so with a wide smile on his face.
He knelt down and opened his arms wide and I hugged him tightly. Then he lifted me up and I squeezed his neck.
"Jewel, you're going to choke your brother," Father pointed out.
I frowned, looking back at Father with a sad face. "But I missed him so much.". Father smiled before coming over to brush my cheek. "Alright, but let him breathe a little."
"Hehehe. Okay, Daddy." I rested my head on Gabriel's shoulder.
"You missed me that much?" Gabriel asked with a smile.
"Very much. It's boring without you," I mumbled.
"But Father was here."
"He fell asleep at my last tea party." I lifted my head and turned to point an accusing finger at Father. He looked sheepishly away.
Gabriel laughed. "Oh did he? Don't worry, I won't fall asleep. You want to play now?"
I took a second to think of what I wanted to do but yawned instead. "No. I wanna sleep," I mumbled, resting my head back on his shoulder. Gabriel patted my back and I felt safe in his arms, closing my eyes.
He was with me for the entire week until today because he had a test at school he couldn’t miss. I'd been having weird dreams and Mommy and Daddy said I couldn't bump my head again or I might begin to shake uncontrollably like I had when I first hit my head.
I didn't remember it, but from my dreams I knew exactly what it felt like. It was like having tiny spiders crawl all over your arms and legs, or like the feeling when Alice’s fox tail brushed against my skin when I was half asleep.
With Alice's fox tail, it tickled and made me happy, but the weird spider crawling feeling scared me to the point I felt I wouldn't wake up from the nightmare. It would become so hard to breathe and I would hear people talking and shouting. I
didn't like those dreams and when I finally would wake, I'd cry until Gabriel or Mommy came to comfort me.
Father wasn't good at dealing with me crying. Gabriel explained it was because Father hated seeing me in pain, so he had a hard time and couldn't console me for long.
"Meow." I peeked my eyes open again and saw I was in my pink princess bed instead of in Gabriel's arms. Alice licked my face, cuddling next to my face in her cat form. I wanted to get up and find Gabriel, but I was scared the creeping feeling would return. A gentle hand brushed my cheek and I looked up to see Mother's smile.
"It's okay Jewel. Mommy is here,” she reassured me.
I smiled and another face came into view, gold eyes meeting mine. "Logan," I whispered.
He gave me a wide smile before he yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Hey, Jewel. I'm going to sleep right next to you and fight the evil weird se-se...the seize thing away. So just relax. I'll make sure no one hurts my precious Princess."
I smiled and finally calmed, feeling safe again. "Okay. Thank you, my Prince," I whispered. He brushed my cheek with his hand and the motion felt nice and calming. My eyes finally closed as I submitted to the darkness of sleep.
I was safe with my family and prince Logan.
Something brushed against my cheek, and I forced open my heavy eyelids. Everything was blurry and even though I squinted, it made no difference in clearing my vision.
"Jewel?" I turned my head slightly to the right, Maximus’ voice sounding close.
"Ma...xi?" I whispered; my throat felt dry and hurt after forcing out that single word.
"Hey, don’t speak yet. Let me get you some water and your glasses. Braxton brought them over this evening since you left them in the test locker," Maximus explained.
I wanted to nod, but my body felt stiff. I took deep breaths and tried to ignore the steady dripping sound coming from my left. It reminded me too much of the hospital when I was young. I never really liked IVs, so the reminder made my nerves spike. I didn't feel like my boyish self, my heightened level of anxiety and nervousness not at all how I would feel when I was a guy.
It was strange to say the least that I had more confidence as a male, but it was probably a mental thing more than anything. My impression of a male was that they didn't show emotions like fear and worry, but I knew they experienced them and they could be just as powerful and nerve-wracking. I guessed that having watched my father and brother, and the way our culture had stressed such things all played a role in my current mindset.
I wished it wasn't that way, but that was something I'd have to work towards and remind myself of whenever I went from Jewel to Jinn.
Maximus was back, his footsteps alerting me of his return. I felt him slide my glasses onto my face and I opened my eyes to see a clearer view of what looked to be Brax and Maximus’ room. I blinked a few times, noticing Logan's arms crossed, resting on the edge of the bed with his head laying on his arms as he slept. I realized he must have been on his knees and and just fell asleep there. Alice was curled up next to him in her fox form and Koa was perched on the end of the bed.
Logan looked exhausted even though he was sleeping. His hair was a mess and I noticed a section of dark bruising on his right hand where it poked out from beneath his rested head.
"Jewel, here." Maximus brought the straw to my lips and I mentally sighed as the cool liquid entered my mouth, drinking it slowly as I reflected on when I was younger in the hospital. I drank about half when Maximus said I should wait a bit to drink the rest.
I nodded slightly, my head feeling numb and weird, but at least the headache was gone. Maximus smiled, putting the glass on the nightstand.
I took the chance to look down at my body, noticing I was sitting at a 45-degree angle with pillows keeping me in that position and I was indeed in my female form. I frowned, cautiously moving my head to check the markings on my left shoulder; the flower faint design was still present which left me even more confused, wondering if I did the spell wrong.
"If you're wondering why you're female, Ms. Landsford voided your spell. It worked just fine but you were expelling too much mana and we didn't want you getting weaker than you already were," Maximus explained.
I relaxed back in the comfy pillows. "Oh."
"How are you feeling?" Maximus reached out and took my hand to rest in his. I glanced at his hand in mine, the comfort of feeling his warmth and the show of worry and compassion from his actions and the relieved expression on his face.
"Would it be strange to say I don't know? Numb? I’m...just trying to play catch up and it’s not working." My memories were all jumbled up and weren't planning on falling in order without me working up a headache.
"You want a recap?" Maximus smiled.
I matched his smile with a weak one of my own. "Yes please."
He nodded, squeezing my hand. His thumb rubbed the back of my hand as he began to explain. "We had our test for Physical Studies and our team was matched up with Eric, Andrew, and Nick. You and Zane were matched with Andrew and Eric, while Nick and I were delegators on the side. You fought and the goal was to push the other team out of the arena. The plan was to create a burst of energy that would push both sides back but you would have a stable net to catch and prevent you from being forced out of the arena."
I frowned, slowly remembering bits and pieces but my mind was still only at the beginning of the match. "Um...what went wrong then? Sounds like a flawless plan."
Maximus’ expression darkened and he glanced away. I copied his frown. "Why are you mad?"
"Zane was no help and purposely didn't fight back. He created a cement wall instead of a net," Maximus revealed through gritted teeth.
"My brain may be slow right now, but that sounds a bit stupid. The afterburst from the combined power from both forces would send us flying into the wall and could break a bone or two if it was hard enough," I concluded.
Maximus met my gaze with a sympathetic smile and my brain caught on. "Don't tell me..." I trailed off when Maximus nodded.
"You noticed Zane was looking to the sidelines over at his new friends, who he confessed yesterday told him to do it. They reassured him they would use their connections to get him a good grade since he knew he wouldn't score well if the test ended up being long range spells."
"But...he could have just said so. It still doesn't explain the cement wall," I added.
"He said he didn't remember how to make a net," Maximus huffed.
"We learn that kind of thing in primary school. I knew how to do that when I was three." I mumbled the second part and Maximus grinned.
"You were a prodigy child, huh?"
"Is that the term used everywhere? I thought my family just called me that for fun."
"Ya, it's an actual term for a child showing fast mana development. Brax and I were often called that,” he admitted. I wanted him to expand more on his childhood but I put it on the back burner so I could learn more about what had happened.
"Hmm...so I guess I flew back into the wall."
"Yes and hit your head really hard. Nixon used a teleport spell to bring us to the nurses' office and when we got you into bed, you had a seizure," Maximus explained with a frown.
I bit my lip, shivering at the word. I didn't like talking about my seizures. I hadn't had one in years, but I guess hitting my head must have triggered it.
Maximus squeezed my hand, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Logan explained you hate talking about it, so we don't need to. I just wanted to catch you up on things."
I nodded, glancing at the IV pole with distaste. "Do I need that?"
"Well, now that you're awake, not really. Do you want it out?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Okay hold on." Maximus stood up, letting go of my hand. I assumed he was going to get Savannah but he came to my left side, pressing a few buttons on the monitor before checking the site where the IV was.
"What are you doing?" I asked quietly, not wanting to wake Logan and the familiars.
"Ta
king your IV out,” he replied calmly.
"Um...I don't think that's legal," I pointed out. He gave me a sexy smirk and grabbed a pair of gloves. I watched as he turned off the machine. Then he put his gloves on and checked the area of the IV site once more before he began pulling at the clear tape.
I glanced away; I hated watching when they pulled the IV out. Sure, it wasn't as gruesome as my mind was making it out to be, but it still grossed me out. I felt him pull it out, then a cool feeling of something cleaning the area. When I looked back, he was placing a cotton on it after having cleaned the area with an alcohol swab. Then he put a pink bandage with hearts on it.
I raised an eyebrow at him and he grinned. "I thought you'd like pink more than the the basic ugly bandaids,” he confessed and I smiled.
"How did you know how to do that?"
He gave me sad smile. "My mom was sick a lot when I was little. She was so unwell, but we couldn't afford to let her stay in the hospital if her condition wasn't progressing. We moved her to homecare and there were days she'd pull out her IV when she was upset. I got myself trained to be able to insert it in case anything happened and a nurse couldn't travel down,” he revealed.
My shoulders sank at his words and as much as I tried to hide my sadness, I failed miserably. He smiled, shaking his head and moving a few strands of my hair out of my face.
"It's okay. She's not suffering anymore,” he whispered.
I slowly moved over to one half of the bed, thankfully not waking Logan. I patted the bed for Maximus to sit next to me. He was hesitant but took me up on my offer, sliding his legs beneath the sheet and relaxing next to me.
"She's not? Did the illness get better?"
He smiled. "No. She's in heaven with my dad."
My mouth opened to respond, to say something comforting like 'I'm sorry,' or apologize for bringing it up, but no words came out. Losing someone was so hard and I had yet to move on from Gabriel's death.
Maximus moved his arm to pull me gently to rest on his shoulder. "Hey, don't give me that face. I've...almost come to terms with it. She was sick for a long time and that's kind of the reason why I met the Parks. Brax was my first friend since no one wanted to chill with the fat kid with a sick mom."
REFLECTIONS OF YOU (Brighten Magic Academy Book 1) Page 23