Immortal Tales - the boy with magic

Chapter Five - second part

She always had.

The thought punched him in the gut harder than the projectile vomit. The way Andre took such patience in healing, the way her hands moved looking for wounds... it was all too familiar.

He could close his eyes and see her golden eyes and freckle nose when they were still in the forest, that last kiss...

"Stop that" he ordered himself.

Those memories, the memories he had gotten back thanks to his magic, didn't mean anything anymore. It had been almost two thousand years since their last kiss, and Andre did not have any memories of him. She had been married since. She had a child. She lost a child.

Andre was not the same person he had known, he could not force the truth on her. Not now anyways. He should just move on.

His thoughts were stopped by a painful cramp in his abdomen. Were his kidneys trying to get out of his back? His small intestine was also not having the time of his life.

-I will never have carbonara again in my life - he muttered with closed teeth.

Andre brushed the sweat away from his forehead with a cold cloth. Isaac moaned in relief. His temperature was rising fast. He was shivering and sweating at the same time.

Everytime he tried to grab his magic, this slipped away. His inner pool of power so distant, it was barely flickering. Panic started to arise in his mind.

Andre had taken the plate of carbonara and was exploring the spaghetti with the broken fork.

-A bit overcooked, but it doesn't seem like ... oh wait - she said. -The fork is broken, there are fragments all over. -

Isaac grunted in agreement.

-You must have eaten a scrap of it - she said still not convinced. - But food poisoning does not kick in THAT fast. And you look ... -

Andre didn't need to finish her sentence. Isaac knew his face had seen better days. The immortal passed him another ointment, this time by rubbing it on his lips. They were so cold, Isaac barely felt her touch. A few instants later, his shivers stopped and his temperature turned somewhat normal.

-And also what kind of restaurant uses rusty forks? That means they must have been originally made of ... I don't know, iron? - she laughed to lighten up the mood, but her smile died before being born. -Iron. -

Isaac had no idea what she meant. He tried to reach for his magic, a reflex at that point. After a few tries, he pulled the magic thread and attached to his life force with all his strength. It was hard to mantain the flux of magic, harder than it had ever been in his life, but he did it.

His stomach stopped revolting form the inside out, his kidneys burned less intensely.

"One, two, three, four, five ..." he counted for the pain to stop.

"Six, seven, eight, nine..."

-Isaac, you just ate and ... rejected some iron from your body- Andre said.

-Yeah great - he muttered trying to get up. Andre kept him down with only one hand.

-No Isaac you don't get it. - her voice was trembling. -There are legends about magical beings of the forest ... indestructible if not for one small weakness for iron. It supposedly drains their magic from the inside out. I never believed them before but ... -

Isaac's head still pounded too much to drag any conclusions. -So are you telling me that iron is ... bad? -

Her hands went onto his forehead, checking his temperature.

-I am telling you iron is deadly - she replied coldly. -You have been lucky your body rejected the metal as soon as it did, you could have died. -

Isaac didn't feel particularly lucky in that moment, but he trusted Andre's words. Especially because all of his vital organs were still trying to recover.

-Valeria ... she must have been handcuffed in iron - he realised with a shiver. -She cannot run away -

Andre held his hand and checked his pulse. -Then I guess we will have to free her. But for now you need to rest. -

Her hand lingered on his. He wished his pulse didn't quicken just then.

Andre helped him up and towards the bed. Isaac fell face-down on the covers, too tired to move any further. The immortal put her hands on his torso and Isaac realised she was trying to unbutton his suit, now dirty with all sorts of bodily fluids.

He tried to help her but his fingers were too chubby, too clumsy. Little black spots started to appear in front of his eyes and he passed out.