“What’s that?” Kallie asked. I made a gesture for Oberi to check it out.
Oberi flew upward. Her wings beat in a panic as she said,There’s a Familiar tied up in the fence line!
My throat tightened. That barbed wire was sharp. Anything that tried to get through the fence would be cut to ribbons.
Ez and Opal had been finishing up their basketball game when the bray echoed through the yard again. Ez had been standing completely still the first time the animal cried out, but when it screamed again, he began tomove.
I’d never seen my brother run so fast. Opal tore after him in the direction of the noise. Marcus and Kallie hurtled after them, but Charlie had to push my wheelchair through the grass, so that took forever.
Hurry, hurry,Oberi said nervously. Rishi kept dancing around my wheels, and we almost ran over him, so Oberi flew down to pick him up in her claws. The cat yowled loudly as Oberi carried him through the sky.
The trees eventually broke. I caught sight of my brother, looking upward at a gorgeous creature that was dangling twenty feet up from the top of the fence line. It was a massive male peryton, with white fur and curling golden lines running through his coat. He had giant antlers which glowed with a golden light, though that light was pulsing, as if it was beginning to fade. The peryton’s pink nose quivered as he continued to cry out for help, and blood ran from his blue eyes. The winged deer had an arrow shot through one of its wings, and could no longer fly.
Barbed wire tangled in its antlers. The peryton hung from it, twitching as he attempted to twist his neck to escape. It looked like the peryton had attempted to fly over the prison, then fallen from the air after someone had shot through his wing.
The knotted metal around the peryton’s antlers created a deadly barrier. The more it struggled to break free, the harsher the wire cut around its face, and the deeper the creature bled.
We couldn’t get close to the fence line. With the inferichite lining the property’s edge, and the bracelets on our wrists, the closest any of us could get to the fence without passing out was ten feet. The four of us were forced to watch as Ez and Opal took action.
“We need to help him.” My brother’s tone was full of panic as he reached up, seemingly wanting to touch the deer with a trembling hand. “He’s struggling to breathe!”
“Ez, we can’t get any closer!” Charlie called out. He was holding a hand to his head, pushing off what I knew was a splitting headache, like I had.
“You don’t understand! He’sdying!” Ez shouted.
He wouldn’t know that unless he was connected to this deer. The peryton’s appearance only meant one thing. Ez was bonded to this creature, and if we didn’t get him free, Ez would die just as soon as the peryton bled out.
Without warning, the barbed wire holding the peryton captive suddenly snapped. The peryton let out a bray as it tumbled through the air, landing harshly against the ground. Ez immediately ran forward and began untangling the barbed wire from around the peryton’s antlers and neck. My brother cut open his palms trying to set the peryton free. It was tedious work, untangling each line of wire away from the peryton, but the animal stopped moving once Ez’s fingers skimmed his coat, like he knew he was trying to help.
Once the peryton was free of the line, Ez struggled to help the deer up. He wasn’t strong enough to lift the creature, but at his pleading, the peryton staggered onto his hooves and walked a few feet. The peryton managed to fall in a heap before us, but he couldn’t move any farther.
My Anichi magic could feel the life draining away from this creature. Ez had freed the peryton, but it didn’t matter. The poor thing had lost so much blood.
“We’re far enough away from the fence line that you should be able to use magic,” Ez pleaded. He panted with the effort of freeing the deer. “Ava, you’ve gotta heal him.”
I steeled my resolve. Marcus and Kallie helped me out of the wheelchair and onto the ground, so I could put my hand over the peryton’s body.
Careful, Ava, Oberi warned, like she worried I wasn’t well enough to do this.
I tried. I attempted to draw power from her and Charlie, but I immediately felt some kind of pushback, and I nearly threw up.
“I’m sorry. I’m too weak,” I said frailly. “Oberi, please.”
Oberi flew above the peryton. She landed at his head, but before she made a move to lay a feather upon the creature, she spoke softly.If I attempt to heal this creature while you are so fragile, we could lose you all over again.I draw my strength from our bond, and therefore, work best when you and Charlie are at your greatest strength. This is a high risk.
I was about to tell her to go ahead and do it anyway, but Charlie cut that off immediately.
“No,” Charlie said sharply. “We aren’t doing that.”
“What’s going on? Why isn’t Oberi helping?” Ez asked weakly. Tears welled out of him at the overwhelming experience of bonding with and potentially losing his Familiar all at once.
I told Ez what Oberi had said, and he shook his head. “I won’t accept this. He’s my Familiar. If he dies, I die, too.”
Ez knelt beside me, barely containing his sobs. “Whatever happens, I’m going with him.”
Ez spread both of his hands across the animal’s pelt, to bury his hands inside the bloody fur. When he touched the peryton, his body ignited with a golden light that matched the halo coming off the peryton’s antlers. I was awe-inspired, as I’d never seen anything like it. I watched as the smaller cuts on the deer’s coat stopped bleeding and started to fade away.
“Ancestors, Ez. You’re a dual caster,” I gasped. “You can heal.”
