by Jay Boyce
There were gasps of astonishment and pain as the air blistered their lungs. Quickly, Jade pulled the heat from the rock and air with her magic instinctively. She’d used the principle that Ren taught her to pull from plants, but she felt the magical energy rush back into her in a tide. Still, everyone around her was coughing and starting to blister from the heat that was no longer there.
She quickly went to each person, healing them as quickly and concisely as possible. She looked down at the ground when she was done, murmuring a soft, “Sorry, I didn’t think there would be such a backlash of heat.” She was probably going to have to remove several of the amplifying wind walls so it didn’t kill anyone who tried to use it, but she had successfully created a pistol flame-thrower.
It was Aiden who coughed and questioned, “Are you done experimenting for the night?” He was looking at the molten slag still sitting in the courtyard.
She nodded. “Yes, I’m done experimenting with this for the night.” He didn’t seem to catch her clarification, just nodding absently.
“Class dismissed,” he said abruptly, turning and walking away. She stared after him before everyone else started walking away with a few backwards glances at her, save Lucas, who stood firmly beside her. His abruptness caused a fresh wave of guilt to crash over her, remorse at her outburst on her mind as she felt Lucas step closer.
She looked at him, her smile wan. Despite the energy she’d taken back, she was still running a bit low and needed to deal with the destruction of the courtyard. Lucas just gave her a look, then pulled her in for a hug. She sighed, resting her head against his chest, listening to the rapid thudding of his heartbeat as he whispered, “You don’t have to push yourself so much. You’re doing your best, and that’s all anyone can ask for.”
She sighed, breathing his scent in. It was a mix of ink, paper, leather, as well as something lighter, some type of wood. It was a soothing reminder of the library for her. She whispered back, “I can ask for more. So can Frank, and everyone who’s lost someone to the mesmer. I can’t afford to slow down.” She reluctantly lifted her head, knowing the feeling of safety she felt with him was just that—a feeling.
Still, he didn’t let her go completely as she walked towards the glowing overheated rock in front of them. Instead, he hooked her arm through his so he could lend her strength as necessary. He didn’t say anything or try to stop her, just accompanied her as she stretched her hand out over the superheated rock that was still letting off massive amounts of hot air.
Pulling the heat from it, she returned it to its previous state, seeming much harder than it had been before. She melded it back into the ground, leaving the courtyard looking as it had before they’d gotten there, albeit with the rock seeming a tad bit…shinier. Lucas shook his head, inquiring, “So, what’s next?”
She smiled at him and gestured back to Magnus. “Back to the workshop. I need to see if Kevin shows up, and there’s one other thing I’d like to experiment with tonight in the safety of my workshop.”
He looked curious but nodded and started leading her there as she absently reached into her pack, pulling out a muffin. “Want one?” she asked with a smile and he laughed softly.
“Sure, I’ll take a muffin. You’re not the only one who used a lot of magic, though the sheer amount you can use is insane.” He took the proffered muffin with his free hand, cheerfully eating it as they walked in companionable silence.
When they were almost to the Magnus Center, she was surprised to see Tyler loitering around the entrance. When he heard their footsteps, he looked around guiltily, then his eyes widened as he realized it was Jade coming back…with Lucas. “Jade! Lucas! What’re you doing…outside the center already?” His voice held confusion.
Jade smiled at him and had to stop herself from laughing aloud when Lucas pulled her closer ever so slightly, his face not welcoming in the least. “Class was in one of the courtyards today, but we’re just returning to my workshop to run a few more tests. What brings you here?”
He gulped slightly, looking at Lucas as he said softly, “Oh. I was just going to see if you could use an escort home. It’s not safe to walk the streets alone…”
“I’ll make sure she gets home alright, but your concern is admirable,” Lucas said with a smirk, like the battle had already been won, and Jade turned to look at him with a quirked eyebrow after making sure Tyler couldn’t see it.
Looking like a kicked puppy, Tyler deflated and nodded. “Sure thing, I was just making sure. See you around, Jade.”
“Be safe, Tyler!” she smiled and called after him as he started walking away and they entered the building. As soon as the door closed behind them, Jade looked at Lucas again, asking pointedly, “Was that really necessary?”
He smiled, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve no idea what you mean.”
Jade sighed, pulled her arm away from him and turning to face him completely, scowling a little bit. “Don’t play stupid, Lucas. It doesn’t suit you. I am not territory to mark.”
He sighed, shaking his head. “You’re already stretched thin. Your friends barely see you except those who have access to you at mealtimes, which is just the royals and professors. You’re always busy and running around, trying to do something new. Do you blame me for wanting to not share all of your time? This is the first time I’ve even seen you in days.”
She pondered this, sighing before she took Lucas’s arm again and guided him up the stairs to the second floor. “No, I suppose I can’t blame you. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were feeling neglected.”
He shook his head. “Everyone wants a piece of your time. You’re beautiful, talented, brilliant, and usually kind. The question is, who do you want to spend your time with?” He looked down at her, and she had the feeling his question went much deeper than the surface.
She smiled softly, shaking her head. “There are things I have to do for my gift that require me to meet new people. I’m trying to use my time wisely. Maybe when things calm down finally, I’ll be more able to choose, as you say. For right now, I’m just scrambling to prepare for the future. However, I’m glad to have friends by my side as I do that.” She smiled brightly at him and turned to unlock her door.
Vaguely, she thought she heard him mutter, “Friends, huh?” She just couldn’t be sure, it was so soft.
So why did she imagine his voice held a note of disappointment?
Chapter Thirty-Two – Options
Jade stepped into her workshop, Lucas following close behind. Curious, Lucas looked around at the fellacai swarming over the trees and garden. She realized he’d never been in here before and spread her arms cheerfully, “Welcome to my workshop!”
He smiled at her, but it held a note of frustration that she didn’t quite understand. Why would Lucas be frustrated right now? Even if she could identify the feeling, she didn’t necessarily understand the why. Still, Lucas looked around and his expression eventually loosened. “How many different things are you working on?” he asked curiously.
She laughed softly, shaking her head. “I’ve got so many ideas in my head, things I want to do and try to create, but I just don’t have enough time in the day. Most of my projects that are quality of life have been put on hold while I prepare for the hunt on Sunday.”
His head whipped around, staring at her. “What hunt on Sunday?” His voice almost held a note of accusation.
She smiled and shrugged. “I apparently instigated a mesmer hunt. I leave Sunday morning for the woods.”
He was openly scowling now. “Jade, you’ve only been in this world for less than a week. Why on earth are you trying to hunt them NOW? You have time.”
Her expression turned a little forlorn as she stared out the windows at the darkening night. “I might, but Frank doesn’t. Every day I stay here is another day he’s been tortured and eaten. It’s killing me inside that I haven’t already left. Will more mesmer come for me tonight, or will they wait until tomorrow? If the traps start working and the
mesmer are caught, will they switch their target to one of the other cities for easier pickings? The longer I leave them alone, the more people get hurt.”
Lucas walked over, taking her hand as he said softly, “We’ve been dealing with them for a long time. This isn’t your fault, and you don’t have to carry the burden.” It was the second time tonight he’d tried to convince her she didn’t have to take on the world.
She smiled wanly at him, squeezing his hand as she explained, “On Sunday, I went to the church. I heard what the people think. They’re expecting some sort of hero, and they think that’s me. They think I’m here to save them.”
Lucas pulled her so she was staring right at him. “Let them think what they want. You have a choice, you know. You can do whatever you want. You don’t have to do this.”
She reached up with her free hand, tucking a lock of brown hair out of the way of his glowing hazel eyes. They were filled with a fervor, and she could only meet them with sadness. “This is my choice. I don’t want to live in fear, and I don’t want to lose or leave my friends to some terrible fate, not when I have the ability to put a stop to this. Too much has been lost. Too many people have been taken.”
He sighed, looking down before he whispered, “Promise me you’ll come back safely.”
She smiled gently, shaking her head. “I promise. I have no intention of dying when I’ve only started really living.” It wasn’t even like she wanted to go hunt them down. She just wanted to be happy! Sometimes though, you had to fight for that happiness.
He nodded, looking back up at her as he took a deep breath, then turned to her workshop. “So, what are you working on tonight that we came back for?”
She smiled, grinning as her mood lifted at the thought of her experimentations. “A couple things, really. I told you I’m waiting to see if Kevin shows up so I can try to heal his foot. Other than that, I want to practice flying.” She waited for what she said to process, and he just stared at her blankly.
Finally, his voice cracked a little bit as he asked, “Flying?”
She nodded, then let go of his hand and took a step back. Concentrating, she focused on decreasing her personal gravity until she started to float in the air. Triumphantly, she proclaimed, “Tada!”
She was sitting in a meditation pose in the middle of the room, enjoying the feeling of being weightless. Her fellacai had come back over, fluttering around her as she just enjoyed the sensation for the moment. She was memorizing the feel of the right amount of gravity that made it so she didn’t go shooting into the ceiling or plummeting to the ground. She was making minute adjustments, testing it as she went up and down. Lighter made her go higher, heavier made her come down. It was logical and worked very well for going up and down. Now she just had to make sure she could move around.
Lucas was just watching her in amazement, never straying far. She could tell he intended to catch her if she fell. The knock at the door surprised them both, and she faltered for a mere moment before stabilizing. She nodded to him, asking, “Can you answer that? I don’t really know how to move around properly while floating yet.”
He had taken a step towards her when she faltered, only nodding when he realized she’d stabilized herself. “Sure.” Walking to the door, he opened it wide as he glanced back over his shoulder at her as if to assure himself she hadn’t crashed back to the floor. In front of him stood Kevin, who was being supported by Seamus again. “Hey guys, come on in,” Lucas said with a simple gesture.
Kevin and Seamus didn’t move. They were staring at Jade, who was floating in the air. She smiled and waved at them from her seated position. “Hey, you came! Excellent!” She quickly waved her arms again, the movement having sent her spiraling through the air a little as she fought for control.
Kevin looked at Seamus and asked curiously, “Is it just me, or is she floating?”
Seamus shook his head. “Not just you.” He looked at Lucas as if to ask, ‘what the heck is going on here?’
Lucas just grabbed the other side of Kevin, supporting him in and forcing the other two to follow as he absently kicked the door closed behind them, leading them over towards Jade. “She’s practicing flying,” he muttered, which caused the other two to glance between him and Jade, who was now lowering herself gently to the floor so she could stand and stop spinning. She was grinning a little dizzily.
Once on solid ground again and with normal gravity, she bounced cheerfully over to them, only stumbling once in her excitement. “Alright! Why don’t you have a seat here on the table? I need to do some checks first to make sure, but then we’ll talk about what can be done.”
The boys nodded, and Lucas and Seamus helped Kevin to sit on the table with his leg and metal foot propped up in front of him. Jade absently put a hand on his skin, closing her eyes as the mental picture popped up into her head. In her mind’s eye she could see the skin had been cauterized and everything ended in an ugly stump that had long since regrown into an end. She studied his right leg, memorizing the pattern and thinking.
Finally, she let go, nodding and taking a step back as the boys looked at her in curiosity. She was no longer smiling but had a troubled look on her face. Kevin was the first to react. “I told you it was useless. Come on, Seamus, help me up. This was a waste of time.”
“Would you shut up and listen to what I have to say before you go jumping to conclusions?” Jade snapped a bit waspishly, causing all three of them to pause in their actions. She waved at his foot. “I think I can regrow your foot, but it means you’re going to be in a lot of pain because I can’t work with what’s there at the moment. We’d have to create a new wound by cutting off the parts that have regrown wrong.”
She stepped forward, indicating about two inches above where his flesh ended. “We’d need to cut off to about here so I could regrow it properly. It’d take a lot of energy from both of us, for me to facilitate the healing and your body to have the nutrients and energy to create the new mass.” She paused, shrugging as she stepped back. “I also guarantee it would be painful.”
He was about to say something when she held up a hand to stop him, taking a deep breath before she went on, “It’s not something I’ve done before, so I can’t perfectly guarantee it would work. I think it has about a sixty percent chance of being successful. I’d say there’s a twenty percent chance it won’t work and I’d have to seal it off at the new cut, two inches shorter. Then there’s the last twenty percent, which is where your body can’t handle the shock to the system of trying to regrow a limb and you die.” Silence reigned in the room.
“So you’re saying I have little better than half a chance that I’ll be healed, with the other options being me having to relearn how to use a new, shorter leg or death,” Kevin’s voice was strained as he repeated what she said to be sure he had the right idea.
She nodded. “I would prefer to have Mike and Scylla present if I try, and that should increase the odds for you to not die or have something go wrong.” She paused, thinking about it. “Which means there are only a few times it could be attempted, all of which are either late at night or early in the morning.” She paused again, thinking about her schedule. “Thursday night after dinner would probably be the best time.”
She shrugged and offered. “Well, either that or we could wait until after I’ve come back from the mesmer hunt, though I guess there’s no guarantee…” She trailed off as Lucas glared at her, then sighed and shrugged. “What? I know I promised, and I’ll do my best to come back fine, but I’m not omnipotent. Things happen.”
Lucas was still glaring as he said, “Then don’t go.”
She shook her head. “Not an option.” She turned to Kevin. “So, those are your options. I’ll give you some time to think about it, but if you want to try on Thursday, I need to know by tomorrow so I can arrange for Mike and Scylla to be there. Ultimately though, this is your life and your choice. I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re okay on the other side if you decide to do it, bu
t you have to be prepared for it to fail.”
“You don’t pull your punches, do you?” Seamus spoke softly enough that she almost didn’t hear it.
She turned to look at him as he stood solidly behind Kevin, then spoke bluntly, “No. I believe in letting people make choices based on the truth. I won’t sugar coat it.” She hesitated as she looked at Kevin, then went on, “In my old world, I was a cripple.” This got their attention, and only Lucas was looking away now. “I couldn’t leave my bed because my legs didn’t work at all. I was basically a living skeleton, and the doctors told me every day that I shouldn’t be alive. When I woke up in this world, I was healed. I don’t know how it works or why I was chosen, but I will never forget what it felt like to be helpless, to have to rely on everyone around me for the simplest things like eating or using the bathroom. You can fend for yourself. You’re still living. I’m offering you this because I always wanted to stand on my own feet. Perhaps that’s selfish of me, but I at least wanted to give you the choice for something different.”
“Thanks.” His voice was quiet in the silent room, but clearly heard. Kevin started scooting to the edge of the table, Seamus silently helping him as he stood up. His eyes stared piercingly at Jade for a moment, then he concluded, “I’ll think about it and let you know.”
Jade nodded. “Something to keep in mind. If you do decide to go through with it, you need to basically start eating until you feel sick. You’ll want as many nutrients in your body before the procedure as possible so that you have something to pull from to make the new material without the rest of your body wasting away.”
“Okay.” That was his only acknowledgement before he and Seamus turned, walking slowly to the door and leaving. As soon as the door closed behind them, Jade turned and walked over to her sitting corner, collapsing in the chair there.
Lucas joined her shortly after, sitting in the closest chair and looking at her with concern. “Are you okay?”
She looked up at him, smiling softly. “I will be. I think I’m projecting onto him. I want to do this for him, but I think it’s for me, and I’m wondering if that desire is clouding my judgement of the situation. If he chooses to trust me, it’s still going to be dangerous for both of us. I honestly should probably wait until I’m stronger to give him a better chance, but despite that…”
