by K. Manna
Eugene cleared his throat. “And now the fun begins.” He smiled as we all opened our eyes. “Just kidding.” Then he looked from Bree to Indee to me. “I would like the three of you to separate like you have done the last couple days. I believe this will create fewer distractions for each of you while you are trying to focus and heal. Remember, the Royals Rise is just a few days away. If one of you would please stay here and go first, then I would like the other two of you to choose a spot far enough away that you cannot see each other.”
The three of us looked at each other with wide eyes. None of us wanted to go first. Since I hadn’t gone first much during our time there, I agreed to stay put and suck up my crybaby feelings. As Eugene would have said, be a man or—in my case—a woman. Sasha, Cole, and Jeremiah stayed seated next to me as Bree and Indee silently walked off in opposite directions. And me, I nervously began chewing my lip again; I could taste that peculiar taste of blood.
This is going to be everything but fun. Dammit!
Dr. Avery walked up in a rush. “I am here. I am here. I am very sorry, but I had to tend to the Zyla.” He opened his case, taking from it the device that would soon show my tortured insides. With a smile, he said, “I am ready.”
Please, old man, go smile at somebody else. I am not in the mood right now. Hmm … I wonder why?
Cole looked at Jeremiah. “Hey, Jeremiah, are you sure you don’t wanna do the hurting today?”
Jeremiah shook his head with a big huge “no.”
“Fine, then what do I have to do?” Cole asked.
“Break a few bones is all,” Eugene replied, sounding as if it were no big deal.
OMFG! I should have been expecting this. But I’ve been too distracted … by other things. Maybe I’ve been in denial, too, I admit. Ugh, I have never ever, not once, broken a bone in my entire life, and now I have to do it intentionally. Oh, if my parents could see me now, they would freak. They might even be proud, too, but only because this concerns the royals.
“I knew it would be worse this time. I just knew it, and that’s why I didn’t wanna do the dirty work today,” Sasha explained, shaking her head.
Dr. Avery looked at me. “What bone would you like Cole to break? Remember to challenge yourself. No fingers or toes.”
“Um, none.” I sighed. “But since I don’t really have much choice, let’s break the good ol’ arm.” I pointed to just above my right elbow.
“The right humerus it is. Each of you, please take your places,” Dr. Avery instructed, placing the screen above my arm. “Cole, when I see that Margo’s bone has in fact been fractured, I will pull the screen away, cueing you to stop.”
Cole nodded.
“Or when you hear a crack. That should be a pretty good signal, too,” I muttered.
Sasha sat on both of my legs while Jeremiah held my left arm tightly in his hands. Cole gripped my right arm, one hand above my elbow and the other below my shoulder.
This is so crazy. Do all of them really need to be here holding me down? I’m little and weak. It’s not like I could do that much damage even if I tried.
“Really, you are all making me feel like a crazy lady, holding me down like this. Is it really necessary? I haven’t hurt anybody yet,” I said.
Dr. Avery said, “You’re right, of course, but I am not taking any chances, young lady. Since we have the help, we’ll use it. I once had a bad experience many years ago, and I will not let that happen again. A young man gave me a concussion.”
We were all surprised by what the doctor had just said. Cole watched Dr. Avery, waiting for the go-ahead. Dr. Avery fiddled with the screen a bit, giving my heart more time to race. I gripped my fists tightly, letting my nails dig deeply into the skin of my palms.
Oh, shoot! My stone.
“Wait! I need to grab something,” I said loudly.
Jeremiah let go of my arm long enough for me to get the stone out of my pocket. I tried to concentrate on the way the familiar stone felt in my hand rather than just squeezing the thing to dust, a task that would’ve been much easier if someone wasn’t holding me down and about to hurt me.
Breathe, just breathe. Think about something else, something happy and fun. Hmm, like that time I spit up milk at my birthday party after nasty Bastien farted. Eli helped clean me up. Oh, and the balloon fight. Yeah, that was so much fun. Oh, and that one time Eli and I dared each other to drink melted butter. Ugh, we had such raging stomachaches after that, but we can laugh about it now. We were always such little dweebs doing the oddest, most random things. But we had so much fun. And then that time …
SNAP!
Cole’s hands abruptly bent my arm in a way it should never have been bent, causing excruciating pain to shoot through the right side of my entire body.
“Awwww! Shit buckets! Damn you!” I screamed out in pain, not truly meaning what had poured out of my sudden potty mouth.
Dropping the jade stone from my left hand, I carefully rested my hand over my broken upper arm.
Ugh, gross, my bones.
With my eyes clenched tightly, I focused as hard as possible on purple healing light and energy that would make this awful pain go away. Slowly, the heat from my hand began to intensify, causing my cracked and crooked bones to ache even more. A vein in my forehead pulsed uncontrollably, like a heartbeat in my head. This had officially been the moment of the most pain I had ever endured in my entire sixteen years.
After much painful time had passed, Dr. Avery lightly touched my hand. He wanted to check my progress. As I removed my hand, he looked at the screen, moving his finger over it to change settings.
Holy crapola! That’s my jacked-up bone on the screen.
The long bone making up my upper arm had been completely cracked a few inches above my elbow joint. Let’s just say that nobody had to be a doctor to tell this bone had been broken.
“You have quite the oblique fracture. The bones have grown slightly closer together, my dear Margo. This will be your toughest challenge yet. This will take time, so please be patient. We’ll give you time alone to work your magic. I will be back to check on you after meeting with Bree and Indee,” Dr. Avery explained, pushing his glasses up on his nose.
My hair clung to the sweat on my neck and face. I nodded.
Yeah, get outta here, all of you.
This terrible pain made my irritation skyrocket. I didn’t want people watching me in pain, especially if they weren’t able to do a dang thing for me. I took a deep breath.
All right, Margo, this is all up to you. In a little while, this will all be a memory. You can get through this. Do you want to be a great healer like Sonya, to live at the palace with the Zyon?
“Y-yes, I do,” I stuttered.
Gritting my teeth, I pushed all of the energy from within me into my left hand. I was done screwing around, whining. This was the culmination of all my training, all of my energy, here in this moment, my moment. Purple light soared from my hand even as I brought it up to flick a strand of sweaty hair off of my lip. Heat like the blazing sun flowed through my throbbing arm. The sensation of heavy pressure and pulling peaked while my bones began to shift, causing a very odd feeling like something alive was moving inside of me.
Ugh, this feels weird and gross.
Someone screamed in the distance. Honestly, I couldn’t tell if it came from Bree or Indee. Then suddenly everything stopped—with me, inside of me. No hint of pain. No uncomfortable sensations in my arm. I didn’t even feel my own heat radiating or the purple light in my palms. It was as if someone had flipped a switch, an off switch. I lay my head down on the grass, wanting only one thing: to relax. The back of my head hit something hard in the grass. I reached to see what it was.
My stone.
I returned my head to the grass and held the stone up toward the yellow sunlight and watched tiny white sparkles reflect off of it.
; Such a cool little stone, so small, but meaning so much.
Looking at the jade stone always reminded me of Eli. Thinking of Eli reminded me of the confusing dream that morning.
It was only a dream, I know that, but it felt so real.
My dreams had often had a sense of realism to them, but that last dream really made me think about Eli and the Zyon.
Did they really see each other? Have they talked? How crazy would that be if they were, what? Acquaintances, even friends? Huh, very crazy. My old crush and my new crush cannot and should not be speaking with and smiling at one another. What if they were talking about me? Or not at all about me? Ick, what if they were checking out other girls?
I heard footsteps in the grass, coming closer and closer until a shadow spread over my face, blocking the sunlight. Dr. Avery must have been through with watching bones being snapped here and cracked there. He smiled down at me now, wiping aside a few of his stray hairs blowing in the wind. Crouching down beside me, he pulled the all-seeing screen from his case and played with it for a few minutes.
“Looking good, Margo. You are becoming a great healer. Your humerus looks fantastic,” Dr. Avery complimented me as he eyeballed the screen.
“Why, thank you. I have never been told that I have a fantastic-looking humerus,” I joked.
Dr. Avery looked at me and smiled before reaching for something in his pocket. It was a cell phone, a fancy-looking model that you couldn’t buy just anywhere. I had never seen anything like it.
“There is more excitement to come,” Dr. Avery said as he texted a message on his phone.
“What else?” I asked.
He smiled. “You will find out soon enough.”
Eugene, Sasha, Jeremiah, and Cole showed up shortly after, and they had with them an unfamiliar face: a guy with long sideburns, a goatee, and dragon tattoos covering both of his arms.
He doesn’t look that much older than me. Why is he here?
The guy stood tall and proud, but I sensed a little bit of dread in him by the way he fidgeted with his fingers. He stood staring down at me with kind, but almost fearful, eyes.
“This is Donovan, and he has agreed to be of assistance for the Royals Rise. He—”
Donovan interrupted Eugene. “Believe me, I’m not looking forward to this, but it’s a pretty awesome deal; actually, a once-in-a-lifetime deal.”
I got up and looked at him oddly. “Deal? What kind of deal?”
“I let you break my bones and heal them back together until the Royals Rise is over, and then I get to live here.” He pointed at the palace. “And I will be given a full-time job for the rest of my life. Now I won’t have to worry about finishing college.”
“A very good deal, indeed,” Eugene agreed.
Dr. Avery looked down at his watch. “We had better get started. I have a couple important meetings that I must attend this afternoon.”
“So, what bone are we going to break?” Donovan asked nervously.
Dr. Avery looked up toward the sky with a thought. “Cole, we will have you break Donovan’s left lower leg. The lower leg consists of the tibia and fibula bones. Margo, you will need to heal both of these bones completely.”
Two! Ugh. I thought one bone would be hard enough. Well, here we go, healing hands. Work your magic.
Everyone took to the ground, positioning themselves for the big break to Donovan’s leg. Dr. Avery sat at the ready, holding the screen above Donovan’s soon-to-be-broken bones. I sat off to the side next to Eugene, waiting to hear the awful snapping sound of bones breaking. I hadn’t healed anything this major on anyone but myself before, and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to do it. By the look of him, Donovan was more worried than I was. The way his chest moved in short, shallow breaths, I thought he was going to pass out. Maybe that was what he wanted.
Dr. Avery nodded for us to begin, causing Donovan to clench his fists and hold his breath. The veins in his temples and neck swelled as he struggled to keep his head high enough to watch his torturer. Cole gripped tightly below the knee and above the ankle, pressing in opposite directions.
CRACK!
“Aw! Shit, damn … fuck!” Donovan yelled in agony, throwing his head back.
Sasha had looked away for a matter of seconds, not wanting to watch the scene play out. Donovan rocked his body as he cursed out in pain, before suddenly rolling toward Sasha and biting her arm. A scream shot out of Sasha’s mouth as she tried to pull away. Bad idea. Donovan held on like a pit bull, and pulling away only helped to ensure that the wound broke skin. It all happened so fast that I didn’t know what to do.
Should I heal Sasha or Donovan first? What do I do?
I looked back and forth between the two of them with uncertainty.
Dr. Avery raised his voice. “Donovan, my boy, let go of Sasha’s arm. Come on now. You must release her so Margo can help the both of you.”
Thankfully, Donovan listened to his words and loosened his jaw so that Sasha could free her arm. She immediately rose to her feet, moving away from biter boy to protect herself. She paced back and forth with little gasps of pain.
“I-isn’t she going to fix it?” Donovan asked, grabbing at his broken leg.
“Margo, go and heal Sasha first, please. That will take less time. Go now,” Dr. Avery demanded.
The sound of his voice rattled me from my stupor, and I flew into action. Hurriedly, I went to Sasha and began to heal the teeth marks in her skin. The force of Donovan’s bite had already caused dark-purple marks to appear. Luckily, the damage seemed mostly superficial. Aside from her obvious discomfort, I wasn’t sure that she even needed me.
Donovan complained, “Hurry up! I can’t stand this pain.”
“The poor girl didn’t know you were going to bite her. Now, be patient, Donovan. One thing at a time. You will be back in one piece very soon,” Dr. Avery said calmly.
“Aw! I can’t wait any longer,” Donovan complained again.
Dr. Avery began to pack up his screen. “Well, then you shouldn’t have bitten the poor girl now, should you have?”
“I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. It just happened,” Donovan groaned.
“Nothing just happens, son. That is no excuse. You need to control that mouth of yours. Do you know what will happen if you do that again? You will be waiting and in pain … again,” Dr. Avery lectured.
Sasha’s arm began to heal up nicely. It wasn’t healed completely, but Dr. Avery grew impatient and made it clear that he needed to finish with Indee and Bree before his afternoon appointment. Sasha told me it was good enough and that she was thankful that it no longer hurt. Everyone walked off, except for Donovan and me.
I sat down beside his broken leg, which had begun to swell and discolor. “Okay, stay still now. I will do my best to heal you as quickly as possible. I know the pain, and it is horrible.”
Donovan complained, “Oh, it hurts so damn bad. This sucks even more than I expected.” He moaned for a moment and then asked, “You healed that Sasha girl up pretty fast, so it shouldn’t take too long, right?”
“Well, your injury is much more serious and complicated, so it might be a while. And to be honest, I have only healed my own broken bones. You are my first. Ya know … ?”
Donovan sighed after hearing exactly what he didn’t want to hear.
“And the pain usually gets worse before it gets better,” I added.
Practice that morning had been extremely difficult and had taken even longer than usual again. When I finally finished healing Donovan’s leg, he was totally amazed and so thankful. He said that he felt like he had been in a movie and that all the pain he had felt was worth it. No regrets, he said, even though he knew there would be plenty more pain to come over the next few days. Really, who could deny that the deal he had made with the Zylo wasn’t completely worth it? Nobody, because it definitely
would be a dream come true—minus the torture and pain.
Bree, Indee, and I sat at the dining table eating our late lunch. My creamy, extra cheesy, homemade macaroni couldn’t have been any better. It tasted so good. I was hungrier than hungry, so I ordered a third helping.
Wow, I still can’t believe that all of this food fits inside of my stomach.
At school, we had learned that the stomach was comparable to the size of our fist, and all of the food I stuffed down made me think of how much my stomach had to expand to fit it all in.
It must be stretchy like a snake eating its enormous prey. Weirdness.
“I can’t believe Eugene is leaving tomorrow. The time flew by so fast,” Indee said, chewing and talking at the same time. Tomorrow was Friday.
“I know, right? Just think, two of us will be going home on Sunday. That is so crazy. I can’t imagine going back to my boring life and my boring school. Worst of all, the catty chicks from school,” Bree said, sadly looking down at her food, forking her stir-fry.
Indee nodded his head. “I know what you mean. All the jocks at my school call me a fag just because I’m different. It’s like you gotta play sports and wear jerseys and crap for them to accept you. It gets old. I really don’t want to go back to all that.”
“In a way, I kind of miss it all,” I chimed in. “But I would give it all up for this. Nothing compares to the royal palace.”
“You got that right, girl.” Indee smiled, reaching over to give me a high-five. His enthusiasm was contagious, or would have been had he not sent my glass of chocolate milk flying through the air. I got a good spraying, and my lunch wasn’t so lucky, either. My plate of mac and cheese was now chocolate mac soup.
“Oh, I’m such a klutz. I’m so sorry,” Indee apologized.