Healing Magic

Janie

I don't remember anymore why I travelled there now. Maybe it was to gather supplies as I often avoided going in to town? Or maybe it was to find out what chaos had ensued the night before? I had heard explosions in the distance and seen lights over the tops of the trees. Either way all trains of thought derailed when I came upon a body.

At first I didn't know if he was alive or not. As I stood on a hill of what appeared to be a crumbled building, a breeze ran past me taking the ends of my hair with it and wrapping my dress around my legs. It blew in to the crater of rubble, down to the body of the fallen man and tousled his hair as well; that was when I found his eyes. Definitely alive but only just and staring straight up at me. They were odd.

I paused just gazing at him wondering what on Earth had happened to him. His clothes were in tatters and the parts of his body that the material was no longer covering were blood stained and painful to even look at. He had a bruise on his face the size of a golf ball and his cheek looked swollen. His eyes were glazed over, most likely from exhaustion from whatever he had been doing beforehand. There was also something across his mouth. Mud maybe?

I looked around, hoping that some other poor soul could burden themselves with this stranger but no such luck - we were in the middle of nowhere, I suppose. I sighed deeply. I didn't like getting involved with matters that were not my own, but then I could not let a man die because I didn't help. If he were to die because of my negligence then I would be no better than them.

I crept down the steep slope of junk, careful where to place my step, and stopped at his feet. Again the breeze flew past us and from this distance his eyes didn't look so lost. There was a glimmer in the corners which was probably what had kept him alive for this long. I slowly crouched down to search them and he followed me the whole way.

As I said, his eyes struck me as odd but I knew what was wrong with them. His left eye was a natural deep blue colour - probably his original eye colour overall - but it seemed now that his right eye was blood red. This was not the only clue I had to go on. Now that I was inches from his head I could see that the mud smeared across his face was not all dirt. He had thick stitches sewing his lips together and not only a few. From what I had learnt as a young child this was very clearly sacrificial magic and very different from my own.

Those who were born without the gifts of my family were free to seek out those of us who were able to give or share. They were able to learn how to use our powers but at a cost. The sacrifice differed from person to person, whether it be the original witch or the reborn witch. This man had a vocal seal which meant he was still able to speak and use his voice unless he was using his magic. As soon as even the slightest of energy ran threw his body, his voice would be locked up and his mouth sewn shut. I knew this sacrifice as the mark of the Witch Zuleika. His right blood eye was another mark, where she always placed the source of the magic. But she didn't often give out power unless someone traded something of value first and I wondered what he had given her.

As I pondered this strange person in front of me I delicately traced the threads over his lips, I had never seen it up close before. He inhaled and his eyes flinched so I withdrew my hand.

"Sorry," I muttered. I knew it was painful but it was just so fascinating to me. I sighed and then brought up both of my hands to either side of his head without touching him. May as well get this over and done with. I told him honestly, "This will hurt, but I don't think you have the strength to open them yourself."

Just as I was about to use my own natural magic to tear the threads, his hand shot out and grasped my wrist, stopping me. His breathing was laboured and I frowned at him in confusion. He looked down to his other arm and I followed his gaze. There was a deep gash there but I realised as I watched that it was closing. The flesh was knitting itself back together, it was incredibly slow but it was healing itself alright. This meant he was still using his magic, therefore if I had torn the seal it would have grown back reinforced.