By the time I'm done drinking my anger has passed, replaced by the pain of my broken nose. It stopped bleeding a while ago, but it's back and with a rather relentless fury. My hand is soon covered in blood within seconds of me trying to wipe it away before it touches my lips. I hate the taste of blood, and I'm already getting queasy with the blood running down the back of my throat. My faster healing process will heal it crooked if I don't reset it soon, and a crooked hag's nose is not attractive at all.
Pepito starts walking toward me and I try pinching the end of my nose to hold the blood in so I can focus on his steps. One wrong step and I'll put him on his ass again. He stops in front of me and raises his hands toward my face. I swat them away.
"Let me fix it."
"I know how to put it back. This isn't my first broken nose," I tell him.
"It's a bad break. You could make it worse doing it yourself." I don't want him anywhere near my nose seeing as he broke it, but I can feel just how bad it is, and he's right. If I do it, I could make it worse. "Let me do it."
My stubbornness tightens its hands on me, but I fight it off and fold.
"Fine." I lower my hand and let him replace it. Despite his gentleness, as he gets his fingers in the right place pain sparks at his touch. No matter how many times it happens, putting my nose back always hurts like a bitch. "Just do me a favor and count to three before you-"
A loud crack explodes through my head, accompanied by a newfound shock of pain as he snaps it back into place without a single warning. "Ow! What the hell?"
Tears instantly well up in my eyes as the pain continues and barely subsides. The blood pools out like a damn waterfall now, soaking my fingers as I try and cradle my nose without hurting it again.
That really fucking hurt.
"There's no need to cry about it," he teases, offering me a piece of cloth for the blood.
I snatch it from his hand and place it on my nose, throwing a red middle finger in his face. I glare as he smiles and walks away, though I feel happy at the fact that the movement has him wincing due to the swollen and reddening skin around his eye.
Victory.
My nose quickly soaks the cloth and I toss it aside to opt for lying down and letting the blood just flow until I feel the healing power start to tingle along the wound. It'll take an hour or so before it's fully functional again. If my mother were here, it'd be minutes, but she's not here, and I only have a small bit of her healing power to quicken my healing abilities.
Pepito nurses his own wounds, though he nicely brings me some cheese and jerky while I wait for my nose to heal. I thank him, my anger worked out of me, and eat it in silence. The next thing I know I wake to morning light and the feeling of dried crusty blood over my face. I test my nose before sitting up, finding my other wounds healed as well. Pepito however, moves slowly as he loads his pack, only putting it over one shoulder instead of two. We go all day without talking, and I stay behind him even with his slow pace, thinking that my plowing ahead would make him feel bad.
I don't know why I care about his feelings, but it might have to do something with the fact that I only feel slightly guilty for his battered body. I try to ignore it all day, distracting myself with the thoughts of the barrier or the feeling of the forest around me. Within the first half of the day, we've left the giant trees for normal-sized ones that are less entertaining. The sounds of animals have once again disappeared, though I do take note of Pepito's eyes looking into the forest as if he hears something nearby. I don't know how he hears things I don't, but I have a theory it has to do with my magic and that of the forest.
We camp out in a clearing and I build a fire without magic, figuring that it's better to save my energy for the barrier. We still don't speak as we eat and then listen in silence to the still night. Usually, I hate the silence between us, feeling awkward tension, but now it's more...I don't know. I suppose it's more of a mutual understanding now. Who knew making each other bleed could bring you closer together?
After watching him shift sitting positions for the hundredth time, I stand up and walk over to him before settling on my knees in front of him.
"Try not to move," I say, lifting my hands to his eye.
He pulls away. "What are you doing?"
"Healing you, obviously. Now sit still."
Again, he pulls away. "Why are you healing me?"
I sigh loudly, not liking his refusal. "Because you can't sit still and it's annoying me to hear you move every five seconds. You fixed my nose, I'm just repaying the deed. Now, do you want the pain gone, or not?"
He doesn't answer so I lift my hand to his eye again, thanking the Gods when he doesn't move this time. Calling up the healing power is easy, it's pacing myself that's the trick. Slowly, I see his skin begin to lighten, going from black to purple to blue to pink and finally to his skin color. The swelling disappears along with it, and then his eye loses the bloodshot.
I grab his wrist next, easily taking the bruising there. "Turn around and take off your shirt." He gives me a suggestive look that has my eyes rolling. "I've seen your bare ass a dozen times now. Just do it you pervert."
He looses his teasing smirk in a second at the mention of us both having likely memorized every inch of each other on accident, but he lifts his shirt with a wince, and I make quick work of the injured muscle and tendons before lifting his arm to get to the ribs. I look him over one more time, poking certain areas to see if he winces or if anything's tender. I find a few smaller spots he didn't seem to notice and fix them, then sit back on my heels with a satisfied smile. It was worth it to use my energy for this. Now we'll move quicker with only one more day to go.
I don't bother going back to my bedroll before lying down and closing my eyes. My limbs hum with my power, but I know better than to think that it's relaxation. A few more minutes the fatigue sets in, and I go to sleep.
*****
"Gods and their Saints."
I stare up at the barrier, though I can't see it. I can feel it, however. It's pure energy rippling through the air at the edge of the forest, stealing my breath with every step forward. The closer I get the more raw energy that radiates from it. I can feel a headache easily settling in. Raw energy like this messes with my powers, making them go all wonky. I bear the pain to get close enough to flatten my palm along its surface, testing my own limits against it. My skin meets an icy cold wall that has zaps of frost snaking up my arm. The sensation has me pulling away within seconds.
This is nothing like I've felt before. It's ancient and yet feels freshly built with no sign of breakage at any point in time. As far as I can tell, there are no weak spots for miles upon miles. This barrier is strong, which means it's going to take quite a bit out of me to even make a dent. At least, that's what I'm assuming. No one knows anything about this thing, which makes my job twenty times harder.
I look straight at it, yearning to just walk right through and onto the green and untouched grass only a few steps away. If I didn't have the eyesight that I did, I wouldn't even notice the small village only a few miles away from us. Pepito said it was well populated, but the people never drift this close to the barrier. Which is, I suppose, a blessing. I wouldn't want to crush anyone in my attempts to crumble this thing.
As my temples beg for mercy, I slowly walk backward until the headache dampens and then leaves. I walk the length of it for a little way, then walk back and in the other direction, pushing my power towards it as test pokes. Never once does the barrier falter or pause. Endless power flows from it, which only worries me further.
"Well?" Pepito asks as I stop in front of him again, hands on my hips as I stare upward at the invisible wall. He's been letting me do my thing while he snacks on some berries he found somewhere.
"How come the other side looks to be at the same time of day as we are if the Blight travels at a slower rate than the real world?" I ask, giving my brain a break from piecing a puzzle together.
"It's a part of the illusion. You won't know the actual time of day in the real world until you walk through the barrier. The barrier makes it look like we're traveling at the same speed, but we're not."
"How do you know?"
"It was an hour past dusk when they threw me in here, only when I came through, the sun was high in the sky. Looking at the barrier from that side, it looked like the night in the forest, and looking back out it looked like day. The only reason we know of the time difference is that when you're on that side looking in, the bodies you see in here move so slow that they seem to be statues."
I nod, tucking the information away. The distraction barely helped in my search for a way to penetrate the wall. So I keep thinking.
I have the power of void manipulation. The power to turn something into nothing and nothing into something, or alter the molecular density of something to turn it into something else for a short period of time. This barrier is nothing more than something with a molecular density, which means - in theory - all I have to do is alter it or make it disappear entirely in order to get through. With this much energy to alter, I don't think I'll be able to open more than a small slit without help, and seeing as said help is on another continent and beyond reach, I'm on my own here.
Then there's the matter of just how long I can hold it open - if I can get it open. My energy is well saved and stocked, but again, I'm fighting against pure energy. So, in summary, I have no right solution, just a few theories.
Sighing, I start to bounce on my toes and shake out the nerves around my body. Pepito stands upright from leaning against a tree, sensing that something's about to happen. Let's hope something will happen, at least.
I keep my eyes on the barrier as I talk to him. "I'll test it first to see what it is, then I'll try to make a small opening and hold that for as long as I can. I don't know what will happen, nor if it'll actually work, so just...don't distract me, and don't do anything stupid. Do exactly as I say and nothing else unless you want to test your fate. This could take a bad turn really fast, so just stick close and try not to die."
He gives me a concerning look but drifts closer to me nonetheless.
Really bouncing on my toes now, I take deep breaths and shut out all thoughts but those of determination.
I can do this.
I've survived worse and have far worse to face.
This will be nothing.
Not wanting to overthink it, I slowly walk back towards the barrier, fighting against the headache slipping in. I can feel Pepito right behind me, not at all seeming to be affected by the barrier as I am. It must be a magic thing.
Raising my hands, I let a small tendril of my power snake around my arm to my displayed palm and slowly slither towards the barrier only two steps away. My power quakes at the feel of it, going from a solid, golden rope to one that frays at the ends that touch the wall. I pull it back and do the other hand, coming to the same result. I do it again and again, familiarizing myself with the barrier and the feel of it. They warmth and ice, bend and buck. A few more tests and I find that it's taking whatever I feed it and combating it with the opposite. Where I go to make the string clear and straight, it bends it and pulls apart the end into torn rope. When I make it harsh it turns gentle, and vice versa. Which means I have to find the opposite to its own energy and slip my power beneath it to crack it open. It sounds easier than it is.
Now I can't just think close and it'll suddenly open, that's not how it works, otherwise people would've figured it out and had been walking through it with ease. I can think more energy and turn it into no energy, but it's made of energy which is smart in its ways. It'll easily deflect that.
So what do I do...
With a rather terrible idea, I hold up both hands and ignore the growing nervousness blooming in my chest. "When I say so, run straight ahead as fast as you can and don't stop - no matter what," I order Pepito.
I don't turn to see him nod, figuring he'll listen well enough.
Summoning the depths of my power, I feel the barrier flare to life in response. I can feel it recognize me, feel its eyes snap to mine, and turn its full attention to my power. The old crazy perverted man was right. This wall isn't just a wall built and sustained by the Gods, it's a living thing. It responds and sees, and it's currently not liking me.
Focusing every muscle on my thought, I slowly let my power ooze from my hands and against the barrier. I take it slow as if caressing the creature within. It's the touch of a lover, the touch of a missing feeling. I smooth it and let it melt like molten steel. Burning and yearning to be formed. The wall pulses in response and the headache becomes a thundering throb and brain-shattering migraine. I push it aside as much as possible, repeating the words in my head over and over, focusing on the task at hand.
With one screaming thought, I feel the wall shriek. "Now!"
Pepito doesn't hesitate and takes off, only instead of doing as I said and just running straight through, he sweeps me off my feet and then takes off in a sprint. I lose focus for a second but snap it back upright. The slip costs me and the barrier shoots an arrow into my head, making my ears ring and my head pulse in pain. For a second I don't think we'll make it, so I let it all go. I clench onto the barrier with a falcon's talons and sink them in. Deep. The barrier shrieks again making my head go light, but I don't let go. I keep holding on, keep fighting.
One second it's the day, the next it's dark and Pepito goes crashing to the ground, twisting mid-air so that I land on top of him.
My whole body instantly gives out, my power drained to the dregs. The barrier snaps into place like a water damn crashing. It fills the crack I made, its energy once again humming to life and reinforcing.
Saints that hurt more than the nose break.
I try opening my eyes only my eyelids feel like cement. They stay shut, my whole body dead weight over Pepito who shifts under me. I'm so disoriented that I don't feel him move me into his lap until he puts his head to my chest, listening for the heartbeat. I'm awake, yet my body is dead asleep.
"Open your eyes, Branka." His voice is far away, his touch on my cheek even further. "Dammit, open your eyes! Now, Branka!"
The command has my eyelids pulling up ever so slightly yet just enough for me to blurrily make out his fuzzy head. It takes me a few minutes to get it, but then my voice croaks to life and slurs the words, "Did it work?"
He doesn't answer which makes me drift closer to sleep, but then I hear his voice again and refocus. "...stay here for now...village...we made it...here...we're here..."
That darkness pulls me under, and I just barely manage a few last droopy words before it all goes away. I swear I hear him laugh loudly.
"I hate you."
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