The Nextworld Invasion and the Death of Magic - 14. Chapter 14 - Through the Night

Tigath and Othri were resting. They had each donated a pint of their own blood to replenish what Alydrael had lost. She was still unconscious, and Nuji was grateful she had not woken up during the makeshift surgery. Her leg was a mess, but it would heal.

Nuji was on the deck of the ship with Kilial, and she was planning on casting a charm over the men’s blood in preparation of the transfusions, but the captain insisted on remaining right beside her, which made Nuji reluctant to use her magic again.

“Whatever happened in your past,” Kilial said, “it does not dictate your present or your future, and I shouldn’t be required to stand at the opposite end of my ship. You’re thaumal muscle is obviously much stronger than mine, and your access to our people’s magic is astonishing, but whatever you do isn’t going to hurt me.”

“How can you be so sure?” Nuji replied. “My teacher is dead because of a spell I cast when I was young.”

“Nah,” Kilial replied dismissively, “I don’t buy it. There wasn’t a hint of danger when you were treating the girl.”

“Alydrael,” Nuji reminded her.

“I know, I know,” Kilial said with a chuckle. “Glad we had you with us to help her. So go on; do it. Use your magic on the blood. I’m going to watch.”

Nuji let out a frustrated breath, and she mumbled, “Alydrael also insisted on watching me perform spells out in the wilderness.”

Kilial laughed. “Of course she did.”

Nuji took a breath and began speaking arcane words over the blood. Nothing perceivable happened, and in less than ninety seconds, she was done.

“Your mastery of our Rothian casting language is… I know I just said this, but it’s astonishing,” Kilial stated. “It really is.”

Nuji tried to ignore the compliment. “Will you help me with Alydrael? We need to set up the transfusion. Can you please find the syringe in my bag? It’s sealed inside a canister labeled 413.”

Kilial located it and handed it to Nuji, who attached it to the end of a tube that stuck out of a syphon. Nuji poured the charmed blood into the pump, and she turned to Alydrael with the needle in her hand. She spoke three more words of the occult language, and the needle’s tip entered Alydrael’s vein. Nuji began to squeeze the pump at a steady rhythm, and she offered, “Do you want to take turns pumping the blood into her?”

Kilial smiled. “I’d be happy to.”

The two Rothian women fell silent for a little while.

Kilial eventually reached out to take the pump from Nuji’s hands, and she began to squeeze it at the same rate. “Nuji, listening to you while you treated Alydrael was mesmerizing.”

Nuji dismissed Kilial’s words again, but then she realized something. “Hey, you got our names right!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kilial replied with a faux-guilty smile.

They became quiet again.

Nuji took the pump back to finish the transfusion, and when the blood with her magic cast over it was pulsing through Alydrael’s veins, Nuji removed the needle and bandaged the tiny puncture wound in her arm. She turned to Kilial. “Can we let her rest here on the deck for a while? Is there a shade we can put above her?”

Lestralin assisted Kilial in shifting a large movable awning across the deck to where Alydrael was unconscious. With her stabilized and protected from the sun, Kilial, Nuji, and the others also rested.

It was night when Alydrael finally awoke, and she found herself in muddled darkness. She could see, but nothing made sense. Her entire body ached, especially her leg. She could barely move, barely think. Her mind felt congealed like coagulated blood. She could feel her heartbeat, pulsing behind her eyes, and she tasted metal.

“It’s okay,” a gruff voice whispered to her. “Don’t move, you’ve been hurt. Are you in much pain?”

The question did not make sense to Alydrael. All she knew was pain, but it was not a sharp and precise pain; it was subtle, throbbing, persistent pain. She tried to speak. Her throat was a desert.

“Here,” the voice offered, “drink this.”

Alydrael’s pale yellow eyes focused, and she could see a Noktar man leaning over her. He brought a goblet to her lips and carefully poured a little sweet liquid into her mouth. She tried to swallow.

“Nuji made this potion for when you woke up.”

Through Alydrael’s all-consuming pain, the name Nuji meant nothing.

“Drink a little more,” the man encouraged. “She said it’ll ease your hurt and help you sleep.”

Alydrael managed to get the first sip down, and she took another. She closed her eyes as she swallowed. “Alydrael,” she mumbled, and she felt a burly, strong hand take hers very gently.

“Yes, that’s your name,” the gruff voice said, and the voice sounded like it was smiling. “Rest now, Alydrael.”

Lestralin turned from her, and he saw Nuji sitting up.

“Were you able to get her to drink a little of the tonic?”

Lestralin nodded and stepped away from the injured young woman.

“Good,” Nuji whispered, “thank you.”

“That poor girl,” Lestralin said under his breath.

“She’s tough,” Nuji countered. “It’s bad now, but she’ll be okay. She’s going to pull through this. Why don’t you get some sleep? Thank you for watching over her. I’ll keep an eye on her for the rest of the night.”

The next several hours passed uneventfully, and the sleepers rose with the dawn.

Alydrael also woke up, and Tigath and Othri were by her side.

“Take it easy,” Tigath said in a quiet voice. “Do you want some more of the potion?”

Alydrael brought a hand to her head. It was screaming in pain. She brought a hand to her leg. The pain in her head became a grain of sand compared to the mountain of agony that was her thigh. She inhaled a sharp breath and wheezed the air out with a rattling cough.

Alydrael was looking at her legs. She could see both of her thighs, but she could only see the knee, shin, and foot on her left side. Her brain told her that her other leg was under a blanket, but a tsunami of pain overtook her, distracting her from her thoughts. She squinted her eyes shut and gritted her teeth.

“Drink some more of this,” Othri’s voice echoed in her mind.

Alydrael opened her eyes, and she tried to take what he offered, but her hands would not obey the commands she was giving them.

“Help her,” Tigath whispered.

Othri raised the small vessel with the sweet liquid to her lips, and she swallowed some of it. She felt the pain smothered, as if a blanket had suddenly suppressed it. Alydrael could still feel it all, but now it was somewhat softened.

“What happened?” she hissed through her teeth.

Nuji replaced Tigath and Othri beside Alydrael. “You were injured, and I treated you. This potion is helping you rest and heal, and hopefully it’s reducing some of your pain.” She assisted Alydrael in taking another sip. “Go back to sleep. We can discuss things after you’ve rested more.”

Alydrael lay back and closed her eyes again.

The other five gathered around Lestralin’s map of West Sea.

“We’re about here,” Kilial informed them, indicating a spot in the vast stretch of blue. “According to Lestralin, these two islands have cities that might be small enough not to have attracted the attention of the Humans.” The names listed were Geldon Island and Toge Isle. “There’s also Port Tarinbell, where we were headed before the Humans came through the walking door downstairs. It’s on the mainland and might have been spared. Those are the three closest locations that I think we should check out, but which one? Where should we go?”

Lestralin pointed out each of the minor cities. “On the southern continent, New Aggaria is a small port, but the much larger harbor of Springdale is another hundred miles farther along the coast.”

They settled on which town to head toward first, and for several hours, nothing happened as the Mermonster cruised merrily above the waves, but a strange crackling noise drew everyone’s attention, and a voice spoke through the static.

“…you hear…”

Sparkling lights flickered near the main mast, and the air began to vibrate. The voice spoke again.

“Can… hear me?”

The flickering became a shimmer, like a mirror with a warped glass, and a pale woman’s face appeared.

“Can you hear me?” her voice echoed.

Tigath, Othri, Nuji, Kilial, and Lestralin were shocked.

“It’s a Human!”