"Paddy says she's healing quickly. There is no problem with her seeing Haeckel."
"What's the matter with you, Luke?" I asked as I saw his expression screw up in pain. He shook his head, his eyes tightly shut, and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Liam's magic is malfunctioning," said Fletch, looking nervous. "We believe that because he passed out before he could know that Lee is incapacitated, he is subconsciously using his magical energy to search out the general. But he's so weak that, without knowing it, he is draining energy from the people around him. Luke has been stationed here to suppress Liam's power. He is, apparently, the only person strong enough to do so."
"What about James? He could probably do a lot more than what Luke is doing. He should be able to get into Liam's subconscious and stop him from there."
"James refused to go anywhere near Liam."
"WHAT?!" I scrambled to turn around in my chair, to see if Fletch was joking, and winced as a sore muscle in my back pulled. The edges of my vision dimmed.
"Kayli, dammit! Sit still or I'll strap you to the chair."
What the hell? Why would James refuse to fix his brother? He had seemed calm and happy when he'd greeted me after I'd woken. "I want to see Liam," I said firmly.
Luke winced and opened one eye, the gold in his iris blazing. "Now's probably not a good time. He's just had a surge of strength and I'm finding it difficult to hold him off."
I grabbed the wheels of the chair and shoved them forward. I got a few inches before Fletch grabbed onto the handles at the back and I was forced to stop.
"Let me see him, Fletch," I gasped. Just that small movement had made me lose my breath.
"If it's not safe..." Fletcher trailed off.
I gripped the armrests. I felt fine, I was strong enough to get up and walk there. Surely it was the door that Luke had been pacing in front of. It was barely a few metres away. I could reach it. I would reach it, even if I had to crawl. I lifted myself up on shaky arms and began to move forward.
But both of Luke's eyes whipped open and he quickly grabbed onto my shoulders and pushed me back down into the chair. Something similar to an electric shock flashed between us and he gave a gurgling gasp before collapsing onto his knees. Oh no, he was so fatigued that he was about to faint. And then Liam's malevolent magic would be free to steal energy in search for Lee.
... Lee. I pushed him to the back of my mind, refusing to allow questions to arise.
"Fletch, go find James."
"But Luke needs attention and I can't leave you here..."
"James can help Luke, he has to come. And you'll be better off looking for him without needing to wheel me around."
Luke was muttering something under his breath and even with my sensitive hearing I couldn't make out what he was saying.
"Ah, dammit! I thought I could have a moment's peace but NO..." Fletch's voice faded as he ran off.
"We were wrong," muttered Luke, weaving left and right on his knees. Suddenly he pitched forward and his hands met mine. The feeling we shared this time was the opposite of the electric shock. It was a dull, throbbing feeling and Luke groaned and fell sideways.
"Aw, man. NURSE!" I called out. I was about to call out again when I felt something suffocating and threatening shroud around me. It was like a tug, a pull of everything inside me. Liam's wayward magic. Was it going to steal away my energy?
The Thief's Revenge - Ch 46 [liam]
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