It was different. Very different. Yet somehow similar.
After a few minutes, I felt a smile tug on my lips as we synced our separate energies, flowing continuously throughout our bodies together like an unending river of magic. I was so lost in the experience that it wasn’t until I noticed the smell of roasting meat that I popped my eyes open, instantly pulling my magic back inside of me.
I blinked a few times, feeling disoriented by my surroundings. I was in the same place, but the lighting was different. I realized the sun had set. And my father wasn’t standing next to us anymore. I hadn’t even noticed him leaving. I could hear him in the kitchen, working on dinner.
Had we really been sitting here that long?
Jasmyn slowly pulled away from me then, carefully removing her hands from underneath my shirt. Her fingers lingered on my shoulders, prompting me to look up at her as she raised her upper body. She looked down at me, holding my gaze for a long few seconds.
Without even really knowing why I said it, I spoke. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“You’re welcome,” she said softly. “It worked really well.”
I glanced down at my hands and arms, realizing for the first time that I looked like my normal human self again. “Oh!” I said in surprise. “Thank you for that too.”
She gave me a confused look. “What were you thanking me for the first time?” she wondered curiously.
I glanced away as I thought about it. “I guess, thank you for being my friend…and thanks for what we just did.” I looked up at her again. “Thank you for doing that with me.”
She nodded slowly, seeming embarrassed now. “I instinctively wanted to resist your magic,” she admitted quietly. “But it wasn’t so bad after the initial shock.”
I gasped. “Oh! I’m sorry. Did I…” I bit my lip, feeling embarrassed too. “Did I force my magic on you?” I asked hesitantly.
“It’s okay,” she whispered quickly. “I would have pulled away if I really didn’t want you to. Or at least said something.” She sighed heavily. “I’ve just spent my whole life reluctant to trust anyone. It’s difficult, even now, to break that habit.”
“Well I won’t do it again,” I promised. “I didn’t even realize you were resisting.”
I supposed that might mean the power difference really was extreme, like my dad had suggested.
She shook her head, her fingers tightening gently on my shoulders. “We can do it again. I really liked it, and it actually helped my magic recover a lot.”
My brow furrowed. “It did? How does that work? Did I give you some of my magic?”
She shook her head again. “No, I don’t think that’s possible. But for some reason your magic coursing throughout my body encouraged my own to replenish faster. I’m not really sure why it worked. Or how.” She looked at me warmly. “But I really liked it.”
“Me too,” I agreed with a grin.
My dad appeared in the doorway then. I looked up at him expectantly. “Oh, good,” he said with a smile. “I’m glad you’re finished bonding.”
“Bonding?” I asked in confusion.
He nodded. “Yeah, it’s what happens when two mages sync their magic together. It’s hard to do – requires a lot of trust – but it makes you more sensitive to each other’s magic. You might even be able to sense each other from a distance now, although there are limitations of course.”
I glanced at Jasmyn who looked just as surprised as I was. “Oh,” I said, looking back up at my father. “I didn’t realize we were doing anything like that. Do mages do that a lot?”
He scratched the back of his head. “Umm, no. Rarely actually. Like I said, it requires a lot of trust to be successful. Most are twins. And…well…” he hesitated. “I’ll just leave it at that for now. There are a lot of theories about why it works for some and doesn’t for others. We can talk more about it later if you want.”
I sighed. “That’s fine. Although, I’m surprised something like that can be accomplished so quickly.”
My dad laughed at that. “Sweetie, you returned to your human form over an hour ago.”
I gawked at him. “An hour?! It felt like a few minutes!”
He shrugged. “Something that involved will easily make you lose your perception of time.” He gave me another warm smile. “I figured that’s what was going on when neither of you budged after you returned to normal. It was obvious you both were unaware of your surroundings – too focused inwardly on each other. Anyway…” He thrust his thumb over his shoulder behind him. “Dinner is ready. Plenty of meat, although I’m curious to find out how Jasmyn feels about vegetables.”
“Me too,” I admitted, looking up at her with a mischievous grin.
She gave me a wary expression in response.
However, it turned out that Jasmyn could eat vegetables without a problem – she just didn’t prefer them because she had to eat a lot more to feel full. For her, eating a whole rabbit, squirrel, or fox in one gulp was a lot faster, with the idea of sitting down to enjoy a meal being a foreign concept. Her perception of eating was totally different than ours.
Instead, she just wanted to get that part over with, like any other bodily function, since being distracted by consuming food could be dangerous in the wilderness. Eating was basically just a necessity to be accomplished as fast as possible.
And she certainly wasn’t a picky eater. According to her, fruit and berries had been a staple of her diet when she was younger, since catching animals wasn’t always feasible.
If anything, it was a little amusing to see her struggle with using a spoon, only to give up and ask if she could eat raw vegetables that hadn’t been chopped up. She might have done the same with the meat too, had there been any unprepared. But her only option was to shove handfuls in her mouth, swallowing without chewing, since it had all been minced and boiled.
Neither of us were bothered by her eating habits.
It didn’t surprise my dad at all, as if her way of eating wasn’t even remotely foreign to him, and I just found it fascinating.
By the time I finished dinner, it was already late enough to go to bed for the night, so we both said goodnight to my father prior to heading into my room. Jasmyn assumed she would be sleeping in the living room, but I insisted she sleep with me instead. It had been something I’d thought about ever since I met her a week ago, because it felt like we were having a sleepover that other girls my age did sometimes. Except it was even better than I imagined.
Now my best friend was going to be living with me too!
Needless to say, I felt giddy once we were snuggling, sighing in contentment as I pressed more into her lying behind me. I was facing the wall in my bed, with her upper half lying next to me while the majority of her tail went right over the foot of the bed, resting on the floor. Her arm was wrapped loosely around my stomach.
I had my knees bent so I could feel her warm underside against the bottom of my feet. Despite her skin’s toughness on the snake portion, it was also smooth like leather. I still didn’t care for snakes, but really it was their heads I didn’t like.
Alternatively, I liked the snake-portion of Jasmyn’s body just fine.
“Are you okay?” she asked quietly from behind my head.
“Yeah,” I replied, slightly confused. “I’ve never been happier.” I then wondered if she had misinterpreted my sigh.
She tightened her embrace slightly. “Me too,” she admitted. “This is the first time I’m not sleeping alone. It’s really nice.”
“I agree.” I sighed again. “You’re so warm.”
“Too warm?” she wondered, considering it was fairly warm in the house.
“No, not at all,” I replied honestly. I was then pensive for a moment. “Actually, to be honest, I’ve never felt too warm…or too cold, even in the winter. And now, it’s even more so. I actually like how warm you are. It feels really good.” I rubbed my feet back and forth against her lower half. “Especially on the bottom of my feet,” I admitt
ed with a giggle.
I heard her let out a sharp breath through her nose as she attempted to stifle a laugh. “Well, I’m glad,” she said quietly.
I felt the end of her tail curl back onto the bed and loosely wrap around my ankle. She gave it a tight squeeze and then let it slide back down to the floor. I scooted against her a little more and took a deep breath, deciding I should try to sleep.
It was difficult though, considering everything that had happened today. I still felt a little anxious from earlier, especially the dying part.
As my mind began to wander, I thought more and more about it. Thought about the blood. About it being on Jasmyn’s arms.
“Are you okay?” I whispered after a second.
I didn’t want to remind her of it, but I also didn’t want to let her struggle with the grief of what she’d done on her own. I wasn’t sure how I would have felt about it if it were me, but I was confident given what I knew about her that it probably bothered her. A lot.
Jasmyn was silent then for a long time.
Finally, I twisted around to look at her, our faces barely an inch apart. She was still awake of course, her eyes squinting with a grimace. Her expression was pained. I quickly reached up and rested my hand on the side of her stomach. Jasmyn’s muscles flinched at the touch, before she abruptly took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, almost like she was on the verge of sobbing.
Her eyes were glowing faintly.
“Do you want something from me?” I asked quietly.
She finally sobbed, her eyes closing in agony as tears slipped sideways onto the bed. I reached my hand up and rested it against her cheek, pressing my forehead against hers. “What do you need from me?” I rephrased.
She sobbed again, her voice coming out in a whimper. “Your forgiveness,” she whispered.
“Oh,” I said in surprise, pulling away slightly to get a better look at her. “For what?”
“For killing them,” she replied with another sob. “For causing you trouble.”
My eyes widened.
I didn’t hold a grudge against her, but I admitted I didn’t feel like it was right. My father had raised me to believe that everyone’s life was important – not to be taken lightly, even if they were horrible people. It was why I was so surprised my dad shrugged their deaths off so easily. Was he just trying to be easy on Jasmyn, seeing that she was torn up about it?
Possibly I could reason that Ryker might have deserved it, because even if he didn’t really mean to stab me, he did intend to kill Jasmyn. So it was self-defense. However, the others? Most of them were just a part of the crowd, lacking the courage to stand apart. It was either side with Ryker or become someone he tormented. Granted, in doing so, I imagined that several of them found themselves enjoying the bullying. Like Kaylee.
She was sweet to me at one point, long ago when we were both really young. But that changed in a heartbeat when she was harassed for being friendly to me. Now, she went out of her way to bully me, even if none of the other kids were watching.
Well, used to, at least.
I supposed that since they were dead, I wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore, but they weren’t the only ones who tormented me. Just the ones who did it most often. There was a group of older kids who shoved me around when I came across them, all boys, but I rarely saw them. I knew better than to venture near their stomping ground after a certain time of day. Granted, they didn’t throw rocks at me. Instead, they tried scaring me.
And they didn’t single me out. They picked on almost everyone younger.
I sighed heavily as I gently rubbed my hand against Jasmyn’s face. “I forgive you,” I whispered softly. “I might have done the same if they had killed you.”
“Really?” she wondered hesitantly with a sniffle.
I nodded. “I really like you, Jasmyn. It’s why I didn’t move when he stabbed at us. It would horrify me if someone hurt you, and I’d want to hurt them back.” I sighed. “Granted, I probably would have only killed Ryker,” I admitted. “But then again, I’m thinking clearly right now. I don’t know what I’d do if I was overcome with that rage. The same rage that made timid-you kill people.” I finished my statement with a smile, hoping my lighthearted tone would help, despite my words.
She sniffled and gave me a weak nod. “I’ve never been so angry before. I felt like a different person entirely. One who wasn’t afraid. One who wanted to hurt others.” She sniffled again, before her expression became more determined. “But even still, I won’t let you get hurt like that again,” she added firmly. “I’ll get angry before you get hurt. Not after. Even if I regret it later.”
I moved my hand and slipped my arm underneath hers to give her a half-hug. “Me too,” I agreed. “My dad always taught me that everyone’s life was important, but I can’t help but feel like yours is more important to me. If someone is threatening you, I will defend you. All I could do was die for you before, but now I can truly protect you.”
Her gold eyes pained again as more tears slipped out. “You say that like dying was no big deal,” she sobbed, her voice trembling.
“I’d do it again,” I said quietly. “It was horrible, but I’d still do it again. Without a doubt, because living while knowing you died instead is too unbearable for me.”
She took a shaky breath, and pulled me tighter against her. Her tail reached up again to wrap around my ankle. At the same time, I interlaced my fingers with her free hand that was squished against my side. We remained like that for a long time, both of our eyes closed, with her sniffling occasionally.
I knew she was finally falling asleep, exhausted after all the stress, so I tried to do the same. However, when her tail loosened on my ankle, followed by it slowly sliding back onto the floor with a quiet thud, I opened my eyes to stare at her sleeping face.
I was wide awake, beginning to feel restless. My door was cracked open out of habit, and the moonlight coming in from the kitchen was seeping into my windowless bedroom.
There were two moons in the sky, a pale white one and a smaller light-red one that disappeared behind the other in the winter. Right now, the mostly white light had a slight pinkish tinge to it because of the smaller crimson moon.
I felt like they were calling out to me, yearning for me to come play in the night. I tried to ignore the sensation, knowing I’d be exhausted tomorrow if I didn’t fall asleep soon. However, after a while, I finally pulled away from Jasmyn and sat up.
I stared down at her, watching her breathe slowly, her full lips slightly parted, before I moved my gaze down the length of her sky-blue tail.
It looked dull in the darkness. I wanted to see the brilliant color better.
I held up my hand to look at it, only to take a slow breath in as I focused on the flow of magic inside of me. As I pushed the air out of my lungs, I similarly allowed my magic to seep out of the channels within.
Barely a little magic was released, and suddenly my hand was rapidly graying, my fingernails elongating into midnight claws.
My eyes didn’t sting this time, but unexpectedly it was like a veil had been lifted from my face, abruptly allowing me to really see. Jasmyn’s tail was so bright it almost sparkled from the dim moonlight.
I felt a smile playing on my lips then, my mood shifting with the transformation, as I decided to answer the twin moons’ call to come play.
I was going to go have some fun.
Chapter 5: Decisions
After I silently slipped out of the house, I didn’t really know where I was going. I just wanted to go somewhere – anywhere – flying through the trees like a ghost in the night. I couldn’t believe how fast I was, and the more of my magic I let out, the faster I ran.
I ended up returning to Jasmyn’s cave, reaching it twice as fast as when we made the trip earlier. That’s when I finally stopped, staring down at the blood-soaked ground where I had died. I supposed I had been subconsciously drawn to this spot.
I knew my father said I couldn’t easily b
e killed, but it still felt like I had been, especially since I didn’t know I would live. My mind still went through the same processes and thoughts as if I was really dying.
It truly felt real.
My pointless life flashing before my eyes. Thinking, ‘Is this really the end?’ Hoping that Jasmyn would be safe. Wishing my mom was here with me.
Earlier at dinner, my dad shared that the magical amulet wasn’t spelled to break if I was harmed. Rather, when my body’s stress peaked beyond a certain point, my magic forced its way out, breaking the seal on me in the process. He hadn’t known that would happen, suggesting instead that I would have remained in a state of near-death until either my body had time to recover or someone removed the pendant. He assured me he would have removed it himself if it hadn’t happened on its own so explosively.
As I considered that earlier conversation, I slipped into Jasmyn’s cave briefly, before deciding to track down where she had made her kills. There were people still out with torches and guns, trying to find whatever had slaughtered my classmates, but I wasn’t worried about being seen by them. My body was too dark, and I could run too fast.
I ghosted straight towards the direction of town, knowing that’s where they had been headed after Ryker stabbed me. It only took a few seconds to find the scene of the first victim, which I assumed had been my attacker.
I stopped and crouched down when I found two men talking. The one on the left was holding an oil lamp, while the one on the right grasped a flaming torch in his hand. The larger fire caused light to dance around the area. I didn’t recognize either of them, but both had long guns, holding them pointed toward the ground as they spoke quietly.
I would have seen through the foliage clearly without the light, but the extra luminescence really made all the red pop out. I was shocked by how much blood there was. It was soaked into the ground and splattered all across the trees and plants. I even saw pieces of what I assumed was leftover remains of Ryker’s body.
Which didn’t make sense, given how little blood Jasmyn had on her. There should have been no way for her to be so clean if she had caused this massacre. There was no blood on her tail, and no blood on her body either, both of which should have been covered in it.
Magicbound to a Snake Girl Page 5
