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“Fine, you are nuzzling me. What do you want, creature? I’m not food. I’m not prey. What do you…?”
Her fingers stopped on a hole at the creature’s side, crater-like and one she hadn’t noticed when she had been feeling it up earlier. It was close to the ground, not as soft as the others parts…wet, and touching the liquid had the creature rearing back. The tapping in her head became deafening, pulsing hard as she crawled forward.
“Wait! I’m sorry. Come back.”
Silence. Seconds later, the creature returned but was more tentative.
“I won’t hurt you. Can I touch it, please? I want to know what it is and how I can help.”
The lack of response had her exploring again in a more careful manner. When she came upon the hard crater, she didn’t touch the wet spots but felt its breathing grow shallow. Needles of pain slithered towards her afterward, mirroring it.
“You are wounded. Something punctured you there. Or…”
She gripped the edge of the crater and wiggled it. At first, she assumed she was mistaken and it was a part of his hide, but several more wiggles loosened the edge enough to give her a hint.
“It’s stuck in you. This hard thing.”
And she knew how to remove it.
“Mr. Creature?”
Silence.
“I’m going to pull as hard as I can. Please don’t crush me to death.”
Again, there was silence, so she communicated it in her head, too. Just in case. The creature stopped nuzzling, stopping moving. The bracing readied her for her bracing, too, their shared silence dancing in the air before she counted inwardly.
One. Two. Three. Hold.
Magic released, coasting down her arm and wrapping around her hand. She fisted, waiting for it to thicken, nudging everything she had left into it before she gave one mighty pull—a pull that felt like it was in slow motion. In that slow motion, she heard the pop before the crater gave way, releasing from the creature’s skin and sending her crashing yet again. She lay on her back, winded, gripping what felt like a bowl filled with what had to be blood.
There was a heaving sound. Then the weight was back on her, nudging her up, and she wrapped a hand around it to stand in triumph.
“It’s gone. I don’t have enough to heal you, but maybe you can heal with…oh.”
Magic. Magic was in the air, not hers, and choking her with its intensity. Just like that, she knew the creature had healed itself along with one other thing—and the knowledge had her trembling.
“You know the monk, don’t you? Do you know the healer who lives in the mountains?”
Nuzzle, nuzzle went the head, but this time in an up-and-down motion. She sucked in a breath. She kept holding on until she felt its face touch hers, the magic close enough to inhale now. So, she did—and in that dizzying moment, Daria felt more clarity than she ever had in her life.
She saw the creature. She saw the cave she was in, a space so big and gaping everywhere, and the colors that danced on the creature’s feet before spreading on the walls and ceiling. There was also the object in her hand, which turned out to be a rock shaped like a bowl and probably part of the cave before the creature had stepped on it. The assault on the senses was too much, but it wasn’t until she spotted the water on the other end and felt the tingles in her pocket that everything narrowed down to one rumination.
I’m close. I’m so close.
Her vision went in and out. Her instinct told her there was more on the next step, the next dimension. But maybe there was time to take a breather and savor this first.
“I can use a bath. Can I take a swim there?”
There was a tiny nod.
“Okay. Be my guard. Don’t hurt anyone.”
Daria felt the giddiness build up as the key grew warm when she ambled toward the water.
Chapter 9
Charlie woke up to an empty spot beside him, its coldness signaling that it hadn’t been occupied for a while. Panic flared, kept tamed as he ventured out and searched around. There were plenty of reasons she could have left, from basking in the familiarity of the cave like she had the newness of the ocean breeze, to volunteering to guard the entrance like so many others had done.
