Heaven Burns

Protection Spells

Thalia's POV

"You're moving funny," Reyna noted, eyeing me with care. "Come here."
By the tone in her voice I knew there was no room to argue. Plopping down into the dirt sharp pains radiated down my limbs. Reyna's hands moved naturally to the release mechanism of my arm before making me wriggle awkwardly out of my pants to do the same with my leg. Both limbs came loose with a small hiss as the hydraulics released.
Setting them carefully aside, she rolled up my shirt sleeve and inspected my arm with care. "What's the verdict Rey? Any cuts, scrapes, bruises, or gashes?"
"Thals, you have frostbite," she sighed, eyes squinted in concentration.
"What?!" Glancing down at my arm I saw she was right. I hadn't noticed it earlier because the swelling hadn't been bad, but the skin was now slightly blistered and discolored around the metallic cap. "How-How did...?"
"The metal got too cold," Reyna muttered to herself already scouring the small campsite for some form of treatment.
"Gods, of course it did." Groaning, I flopped onto my back staring up at the sky with what I hoped was a thoroughly pissed of expression."Why can't we go five minutes without anything going wrong? And why does it have to be me? Again?"
"I didn't think frostbite was a possibility," Reyna admitted, "but I know why you're angry. You don't want to be a burden. We're not used to being burdens or slowing things down  but...things are different now."
"Yeah, but none of this has been an issue before," I argued. "We were fine when Thia was younger. No hiccups. And now? It's like she's having to drag us along."
"Time changes things," Reyna sighed, shaking her head. "Artemis may have given us immortality but that doesn't mean we don't suffer the consequences of our own battles. I just hope these kids don't bear wounds as bad as ours."
"They already do, Rey. Just look at them." They all had there own little marks from battle. Andy was claustrophobic as a result of his untimely death, Marianna had returned still deaf but wearing the scars on her wrists, Jamie was on the verge of being a basket case, Leah was like a small stressed out version of Reyna, and Thia had the worst set of wounds around. She was affected physically, mentally, and emotionally.
"I'm gonna need water," Reyna noted, promptly changing the topic. "I'll have to head back and get some snow."
"No way. You're not going back there by yourself. That Titan could still be there." Frowning, I glared pointedly at her.
"I'll be careful," she assured. "Besides, it's not like you can come with me."
"You can Yoda me up that mountain," I assured.
"And make your frostbite worse? Not a chance," Reyna protested, already setting off at a brisk pace that I obviously couldn't replicate.
"Freaking Arellano's," I grumbled, stuck on the ground waiting impatiently for her return.
It felt like years and each sound of the wilderness set my nerves on edge. For all I knew she could be in trouble and no one would know. She'd be stuck out there by herself with a big old Titan chasing her down the mountain side.
I'd nearly worried myself into insanity when she finally came tromping back to set the snow above the fire to melt. "No worries, see?"
"Oh, I worried alright."
"I know," she laughed, sitting cross legged behind me and settling my head in her lap. Her hands ran gently through my hair and for a moment I nearly fell asleep.
"So what's your magical plan?" I asked.
"Just warm water and some bandages. The best I can do, and the best I know how to do, is slowly warm the skin back up. Thankfully it's not severe otherwise we'd have to chop more of you off and I don't think I could handle that," Reyna smiled lightly.
"You couldn't handle that?" I scoffed. "Do you know what amputation is like when you're not sedated?"
"No, and I think I'd prefer to keep it that way," Reyna laughed. Rolling my eyes, I let her go about her business in wrapping up my wounds with torn strips of cloth soaked in warm water.
The contact stung, but after a while the pain subsided into a small bit of relief. "All finished?"
"No," Reyna shook her head, "I'll have to change them every couple of minutes. You go to sleep though. There's no use in both of us staying awake."
And try as I might I couldn't stay awake even in an attempt to spite her.
— — —
"Rise and shine," A chipper voice nearly blew out my eardrum. When I opened my eyes, I saw Thia's cheerful face mere centimeters from mine.
"Thanks for yelling in my ear."
"You weren't listening," she snickered. "Mom tried to get you up a few times already."
"Oh."
"Everyone's ready to go," Thia smirked. "Come on."
"Don't be so smug about this," I grumbled.
"I'm not!" She protested. "I mean, I was gonna tackle you but mom said you had injuries so I couldn't. Which reminds me. What exactly did you do?"
"Walked up a frigid mountain and got frostbite," I explained, gesturing to the bandages about my arm and leg. "Because I love you."
"Awe, I know," Thia blushed.
"Let me see how things look," Reyna interjected, kneeling down and carefully peeling away the bandages. The swelling had gone down and a bit of proper coloration had returned but it was still a far ways from perfect. "Okay, progress is good. For now, let's just keep them protected. We can do the same process later."
"Alright, Doc." With her help I got my limbs back in place and my pants back on my body. "Do we know where we're going?"
"Not yet," Reyna whispered, glancing briefly at Thia who was just within ear shot. "She's gotten nothing yet. I found her awake at the ass crack of dawn meditating."
"Think she'll ever actually get an answer?" I worried.
"I don't know, but she's frustrated about it. We have to keep her hopes up in the mean time," Reyna instructed. "For now, I believe the plan is to find some supplies."
"Always a good plan," I agreed.
Taking Reyna's extended hand I let her tug me to my feet and gave my limbs a little test use. After a light jog I figured I was good enough to at least ride a horse.
Once saddled up, we set off in a direction I didn't know the name of and hoped for the best. Talking was kept at a minimum and I had the feeling no one wanted to bring up the obvious: we were a bunch of chickens running around with our heads cut off.
Thankfully, at one point, Jamie decided to be rather talkative. I got the impression that since his encounter with Kronos two years ago he hadn't seen much of the outside world. He'd preferred staying pent up inside where it was safe.
"Why does bees bumble?" He asked. The silence was shattered by one of the most ridiculous questions I'd ever heard.
"They're clumsy," Luke replied, "so they bumble."
"Do they know they bumble?"
"I don't think so," Thia laughed. "I think they believe they're normal."
"Okay," Jamie went silent again for a long time. "How is crab different than lobster?"
"One's longer than the other," Reyna smiled.
"Are lizards crawl dragons?"
"Yes," I smirked, stifling a laugh.
"Turtles."
"Are awesome," Andy agreed.
"Have hard hats," Jamie elaborated, knocking his fist lightly on his head.
"To protect them from falling Jamie's," Leah teased.
"Mean."
"Yeah, Leah, you're mean," Thia snorted.
"Is grass ant's jungle?"
"Yes! I always thought that!" Marianna burst into a fit of enthusiasm, "I used to watch the ants when I was little and pretend they were going on small jungle expeditions through the grass!"
"That's honestly adorable," Luke laughed.
"How big do whales have belly buttons?"
"I'd imagine very big," Andy frowned, "but now that I'm imagining it I don't really want to."
"Jamie, can I ask what brought on all of these questions?" Reyna mused.
"My brain."
His curt reply sent us all into a fit of laughter. I'd nearly forgotten what it was like talking to a small kid. They had little context for expressions or questions. I could recall numerous times when Thia had made me laugh so hard I nearly peed. For instance, the time I told her I was on the edge of my seat and she made sure I wasn't about to fall off. Or the time I told her I was going to explode I'd eaten so much and she hid under the couch cushions to get away from the blast.
"You're going places, kid," Luke assured, wiping a stray tear from his cheek.
"I haven't laughed that hard in years," Thia wheezed. "My stomach is killing me."
"Well, that's not good." Jamie frowned only making us laugh harder.
"Hey, look at that you guys!" Marianna gestured ahead where a cluster of small rooftops peaked out of the tree line. "No idea where we're at but maybe it's a good place to stop."
"Hope they have a Dam bathroom."
"What place doesn't have a bathroom?" Reyna asked.
"Ah, never mind it. Inside joke," I sighed, resting my chin on her shoulder.
The Pegasi moved with renewed energy at the prospect of a break and food. Soon we emerged into a small looking town that appeared uninhabited. Weeds pushed through broken pavement, doors were ajar, windows hung agape, and brush crowded out an empty fountain.
"Looks...nice," Thia noted.
"Looks like shit," Luke snorted.
"I was trying to be fair," Thia frowned, "maybe people still live here."
"I highly doubt that," Andy mused, "but let's look around. Maybe we'll find somebody or something useful."
"Buddy system," Reyna called out as the others began embarking on their own escapades.
"Be my buddy?" I asked, earning an eye roll in return and a kiss to the nose.
"I'll be your buddy, "Reyna smiled.
Leaving our valiant ride behind, I half shuffled along with her help. The first building we came across was slanted like a large gust of wind had toppled it over but didn't complete the job. It's windows were in tact but the door was no where to be found.
Inside, the floor was covered in dust and dirt with a small puddle of stagnant water in the corner. The roof bowed inwards resting just a few inches above my head.
"There's a chest," Reyna gestured to a small wood rotted box tucked into a corner. She left my side to inspect it and after prying the splintery lid open rifled through the contents inside.
She retracted an old moth ball covered blanket with interesting patch work. Following the blanket was some sort of old heirloom that looked like a twisted candle holder. I supposed if we needed a club it would work. The third and final object within the ugly chest was a bronze pendant.
"What's on it?" I asked, noticing the faint design of a pattern.
"Latin," Reyna mumbled already reading it. "This is old."
"No shit." My wife gave a very nasty glare so I was quick to correct my attitude, "uh...no wonder this is a dump?"
"Bad save," she smirked. "Anyways, it's some sort of protection charm."
"Really? Seems pretty good to me if it actually works," I grinned, knowing full well we were all walking hazards. If one of us could avoid being mince meat because of a pendant our odds greatly improved.
"Yeah, but what's it for? This place seems peaceful," Reyna frowned, rising from her knees and helping me back outside.
"Can you read that?" Andy asked.
"I'm dyslexic and it's in Latin you idiot," Luke glowered.
"Well, my Latin is very bad," Andy replied, both boys stood staring up at a bronze tablet embedded above the door.
"That's what school is for," Marianna chastised, standing on her tip toes to read it.
"Does that look the same to you as this?" I asked, poking the bronze pendant.
"Yeah, seems like every home has something like it," Reyna mumbled, examining the other buildings. "But I just don't get why they're needed."
A howl burst from the brush no more than a mile away. The noise was loud, echoing, and followed by a chorus of other howls. "I guess that's your answer."
"Uh, did the trees just howl?" Luke worried, glancing back at Reyna and I. Neither of us replied. We both knew who it was and for once no one had any silver.
"That son of a bitch."