The Numbers on Our Arms

Chapter 24

Seraphina sat at her desk in her bedroom with her laptop set up in front of her. The screen of the app 'toom' loaded up the dots in front of them in front of Claire's face (her icon) before the screen vanished to a block vision of a room on the other side.

"Seraphina!" Claire greeted with her hands clasped together and a giant smile on her face as the camera slowly focused in on her. "It's been so long since we last talked. You never fully explained what happened. I thought you would contact me again once you get your ability back before you confronted John."

She let out a short laugh. "He didn't exactly give me the chance. I received the treatment one evening and then the next morning at school, we got into a fight. It wasn't exactly good for the treatment I had got. Actually, I fainted for three days afterwards and felt lightheaded for the next half-day."

"Ooh, that sounds bad." She brought up a cup of coffee to her mouth to take a sip. "It didn't turn out to bad, did it? I know he got suspended afterwards (you won't believe how many times he tried to talk to me) but you weren't badly injured, were you?"

"Most of my injuries came from using my ability too soon and for an extended period after the treatment. My ability has a large healing factor and speed so it didn't leave much injuries. He probably managed to hurt himself more."

"How? Do you mean from fighting you?" she questioned.

"So... not exactly," Sera replied, glancing off to the side. "At one point... Actually, I should explain the abilities he had before. He first had this one where he could shift between a speed and defence mode, which wasn't very powerful by his standards, though it is stronger than the average ability. Then there was whip creation ability which forms giant whips – actually, it's called conjure vines. They can look like whips though. The next was a lightning ability. There isn't that much more to it except that she's the Queen and fourth strongest in the school. The final is an ability called barrier and part of it is when you hit the barrier, it causes extra damage, but when you are the wielder and the barrier gets damaged, it does the same damage to you.

"The mains one at play here are the vines and the barrier, but the lighting sure was annoying when it touched me. At one point during the fight... Actually, at the start he put the barrier around himself but midway through it, he wrapped the vines around it and block himself from seeing outside. Somehow he could still tell where I was through the vines – yes, I know its his passive – but I don't think he was aiming at me intentionally. Or more, his target wasn't supposed to be me. He was attacking himself – some illusion of himself – and the damage from his barrier injured him. I know from other people that after the fight he couldn't walk and I had fainted into his arms."

"You fainted into his arms?" Claire raised her eyebrow.

"Yes. I eventually was able to break the barrier with the last of my energy and say something with him before fainting.

"What did you say?"

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and her sleeve slipped down her arm to her elbow. "That he's not a monster. He really needed to hear it. He had completely internalised it."

Claire bit her lip as she stared through the screen to her. "You have his soulmark."

"Huh?" How does she know that? I thought she didn't know his level. "How could you tell that?"

She put her arm down and pulled her sleeve to her wrist.

"You are taking a lot of sympathy for him and the mark. That's his eye colour and I guess I'm not shock at that level. Then I remember his mark, it was kind of like your eyes and on his wrist and the level would also match. I mean, I haven't seen it in a while and you know that," claire explained.