A Questionable Quest

Chapter 24... in which the wizard wacks out and the seer sees stuff

It was like there was like there was a succion -- a straw or rope binding our hands together. No matter how much he tried, how much I might have wanted to try, neither of us could break the invisible ropes.

The old wizard yanked at his hand. It didn't move. I wasn't even holding on.

And then it happened.

It was like nothing I'd ever felt before. The only feeling that came close was when I'd taken a faulty energy potion, and I'd found my feet able to dance for hours during my sister's birthday ball -- I'd danced the entire night -- but all I really wanted to do was lie in bed and let my mental exhaustion wash over me.

It was like that... except a million times stronger.

I could feel the magic, in the humming that filled every vein in my body. It flowed through Avvenor's palm, into mine. It filled me with this exorbitant need to do something. To cast a spell... or several hundred spells.

And yet, at the same time, I could feel the magical bond between us wearing away at me. Like the amount of energy it took to drain Avvenor was akin to the amount of energy it took to engage in a weapons fight for several hours straight. My arms felt like lead. My hand wanted to pull away -- wanted to drop to the ground and break the invisible bond -- but it couldn't.

And not for a lack of trying. Avvenor had now given up on his tornado. He used his other hand to pull at our, trying, trying to pry them apart. His movements were frantic. His eyes were wide, his breathing rapid.

He was fully panicking.

I felt a tired grin slip onto my lips. He was beaten. Done. Even if this spell drained the last of my energy right out from under me... he would never be as powerful (or as pompous) as he'd been a minute earlier.

And he knew it.

We stood like that for... well, it was definitely longer than a minute. Likely longer than two. Maybe even three. His magic flowed through me. My limbs became heavier... heavier... I briefly wondered if I'd be able to stand after this all was over.

Van and Felix had moved away from their shelter. The winds had dropped, leaving broken glass and other miscellaneous debris scattered across the stone tiles. I vaguely acknowledged that they were moving closer, watching, wide-eyed.

And then the transfer of magic -- which had decreased from a steady flow to a sporadic trickle -- stopped altogether. Avvenor tugged one last time, and our hands came apart as if they'd never been stuck together. He stumbled and dropped to the floor, crunching something beneath his knees.

I didn't move. I wasn't certain I had the energy in me to move. I barely even had the energy to look up, and meet Van's eye.

He'd said I could do it, and I did. I'd saved us. All four of us, dragon included (Dero trod a sullen circle in the corner -- he, at least, had enjoyed the entertainment of a little strong wind).

For some reason, the thought that I'd saved us wasn't all that comforting. Maybe it was the look in Van's amber eyes. Maybe it was the way he watched me like I was a stranger -- or a friend who'd betrayed him.

For once, the little voice in my head didn't speak up. But I knew what it would say. You did betray him, it would tell me, and you were more than a friend.

I swallowed, as if it could push down the heavy silence that had fallen. It was a thick sort of quiet -- like when you slid under a well-made quilted blanket in the winter, and your entire body felt as if there were a weight on top of it.