Secrets of the Trees

5 - How An Idiot Became A Genius

Slowly and as silently as possible, I reached for my satchel, pulling the stone out. Whoever was downstairs, was climbing up. Fast. I could hear the thud of heavy feet as they ran up the stairs, becoming louder as they ascended. For some reason, something in me wouldn't chant the spell, something in side of me wanted to go face to face and fight for myself.

When I was little, and my brother was just barely a kid, my mom held a day care at our apartment back in California. One of the kids would always pick on my brother. The fight in me couldn't stand it after weeks of the same cycle of hitting and crying. I took matters into my own hands and started beating the kid with a hanger. Sure, it sounds lame, a hanger, but hey, I was still taking the initiative to look after my own brother right?

Just as I was looking back on my past, there it was. Yep, another it. Eramthgin, what ever they're called. As soon as our eyes met it bared it's fangs at me. My head snapped back to the stone in my palm. What was that spell again?Ytilibicnivni? I couldn't be sure, but now my mind was changed about trying to fight after I realized I had nothing with me to help me out, especially since I could see his hand twitch, ready to make a move on me.

"YTILIBICNIVI!" screaming that, I looked down at my body, waiting for it to disappear. Instead, my body shimmered in flashing lights. What's going on? My eyes darted back to the rotting, mole-faced freak. It's reaction to my glimmering body wasn't confusion like I'd expected if I was invisible. If it was possible, I saw fear in it's beady black eyes, and it sped down the stairs just as fast as it had before, causing the whooshing sound. And now, it was gone.

My limbs trembled, my hands letting the stone slip through my fingers, and crashing onto the floor. It didn't break though. Just like the rock, I fell to the floor. At least, I assume I did, since control over my body was lost as I blacked out... Again.

Warmth. Dull, but comforting, warmth seemed to fill my veins. My consciousness began to regain itself, and there was a mumbled, monotoned voice speaking behind what my eyelids could not see. They felt leaden, too heavy to open. So I lie there, trying to understand what was being said. Mumbling, the mumbling was a male's voice, definitely not feminine. His voice sounded deep, yet still with youth in it's midst. Finally the voice was close enough to understand, and I felt a strong hand grasp my wrist.

"She still has a pulse, but the activity seemed to reactivate the wound in her back. This may take several days to heal. But we can't keep her here more than a day, I just, I just don't know what to do. She can't go back to her world in this state, her kind can't treat magic wounds."

My eyes fluttered open instantly. My back, the ceremonies, the magic. It was all too much to process. I looked to my left to see a man. Well, he wasn't exactly a man, he looked a little older than me, probably eighteen, maybe nineteen. But really, who cares. He was quite attractive.

 Big, olive eyes. No, not the green olives, they were so dark brown, they looked black, darker than I've ever seen before, surrounded by thick black lashes. It may sound weird, but I mean wow. His hair, fell over his face, also black as coal, but it looked so soft. Okay, I'm off topic now, back to my current dilemma...

I noticed I was wrapped in several layers of blankets. This, guy, looked at me sympathetically, but turned his gaze over to Deliah. Esiw wasn't there though, I wondered why.

"Deliah, what's going to happen to me?"

She broke her gaze from the guy, and responded,

"I really don't know. The Eramthgin search every corner of every part of Palladia for the ceremonies. There isn't a way to hide you here until you heal, and your wound cannot be treated by your own kind. When the master paraylized you in the woods, he probably used one of the forbidden spells to cripple you, which is why your back has acted up from what happened in the loft."