Chapter 19 - A Familiar Stranger's Reminder
Pain throbbed in her arm with every heart beat. Miriam just wanted to scream. But screaming would require that she use what precious little energy she had, so she resisted the urge. Instead, she slowly opened her eyes to see what had happened.
The last thing Miriam recalled before she passed out was Mandragora leering over her. She thought Mandragora would've killed her after she'd passed out, but the woman must've had other plans entirely. Her first glance around told her she had no idea where she was.
The second glance told her she wasn't in Mandragora's clutches.
"Oritel?" Miriam whispered. It was hard to speak; her throat was dry and sore and her voice sounded rasped and hoarse. He held her in his arms and was walking. He looked down at her after she spoke his name.
"Miriam!" Oritel's look of desperation faded, leaving a look of relief to take over. "You're going to be alright. I promise."
"What happened?" Miriam asked dazedly. How did she end up with him? Mandragora didn't have any idea where he'd been. There was movement ahead of them and Miriam saw Faragonda walking with Niobe. She and Oritel were safe with the rescue group.
"Mandragora brought you to Obsidian. That was where I was trapped. She was going to hand you over to the Ancient Ancestresses, but they weren't there. She was called away to help them to finish off Alfea." Oritel looked ahead toward the rest of the group. "Faragonda and Saladin found us on Obsidian. They barely got us out of there before their magic was wiped out by the evil of Obsidian. Now we're going to find a healer."
Miriam tried to move, but her body disobeyed her demands. The aching in her body increased as she struggled to regain control. "I'm weakened." she said dumbly, and blushed after she said it.
"Mandragora poisoned you when you were attacked by some bug. Faragonda fought the poison with her magic." Oritel's eyes were shining as he looked at her. "You nearly died." The way he spoke it made Miriam's heart drop. He'd been scared for her. "If you'd died…I don't know what would've become of me." Oritel murmured. "Now that I've met you…I can't live without you."
Miriam gazed up at him. She felt the same way about him. There in his arms, she felt safest. Anywhere else wouldn't be the same. "I love you Oritel. When you were taken, I was willing to do anything to find you. I couldn't rest easy until I knew you were safe." Miriam felt tears in her eyes. She fought to blink them away.
"Those witches spoke of harming you. I couldn't do anything to stop them and I was so angry." Oritel's body tensed as he said the words. Then he relaxed. "I love you too, Miriam." Oritel confessed.
She smiled when he said that. Then a thought crossed her mind. "Oritel…I need to tell you something."
"Miriam! You're awake!" Niobe's voice interrupted Oritel and Miriam. Miriam looked up, rather irritated to be disturbed. She had to tell Oritel something important. "We were so worried for you."
"Yeah. You were almost like dead." Radius said solemnly. "We found Oritel!"
"I think she can see that, Radius." Erendor rolled his eyes. "He is carrying her."
"Faragonda is trying to get us to a healer. You need definite healing after what Mandragora did to you." Niobe's expression went grim.
"Shouldn't we go to Alfea? The Ancestresses and Mandragora are going to bombard the school!" Miriam shivered as she thought about the destruction that would bring to the beautiful establishment. "They wouldn't stand a chance! They need us!"
"They need you. Your powers are the only thing those witches fear. Your powers are the only thing that can take out Mandragora effectively." Erendor looked at her sternly. "And obviously you won't be able to do anything until you see a healer. It's just how it is."
"By the time we get there, Alfea will be gone!" Miriam said angrily.
"What are we going to do Miriam? Throw helpless you at them? You can't use your powers I bet." Erendor snapped sarcastically.
Heat rose in Miriam's cheeks. "Well, I won't have the people at Alfea dying just because I needed a healer."
"Quiet." Miss Griffin hissed from ahead. The group fell silent as they watched the three veterans tense in expectation.
"That magic is powerful." Faragonda whispered to Saladin.
"I feel it." Saladin nodded. "But where is it coming from?"
A fierce power seemed to permeate the air. Miriam's own powers seemed to stir. She felt Oritel tense as well. He sensed the magic too. "What is it?" Oritel breathed. "It feels familiar."
"I don't know." Miriam murmured. She flinched as a sudden blaze of light pervaded the air, blinding her. "What…" Miriam's voice trailed off as she saw a figure come through the brightness.
"Who are you?" Oritel asked, his tone defensive as he held Miriam closer to him.
The light faded and the figure became visible. The figure was actually cloaked making it hard for Miriam to determine the gender. Slowly the figure stepped toward Miriam and Oritel.
Immediately, Erendor and Radius tried to protect them, pulling out their swords and charging the mysterious stranger. Niobe and Faragonda held out their hands preparing themselves for the casting of some spell. Griffin and Saladin went about pulling out their own weapons of choice.
But the stranger raised a hand and flames erupted, knocking all of them to the ground. Miriam noted that the flames weren't even hot enough to burn them for the flames hadn't even singed their clothing, but they were powerful enough to throw them off their feet. The stranger wasn't aiming to hurt them. Miriam was about to say something when Saladin leaped up and charged again, his scepter swinging.
The stranger whipped around gracefully and caught the swinging scepter. Miriam caught sight of slender hands covered in pale pink gloves. The stranger was a female. The woman wrested the scepter out of Saladin's hands with a single calculated move and knocked him to the ground. All of this was done with unimaginable grace. Miriam could only stare as the figure turned back toward them.
Oritel gently set Miriam to the ground and took out his own weapon. Miriam tried to say something, but Oritel had already ran at the woman. The figure raised the scepter in her hands and blocked Oritel's blow. Before he could make his next move, the woman's foot flew out and kicked him in the chest. Oritel went flying backward, the wind knocked out of him.
Miriam could only stare helplessly as the woman continued her saunter over to Miriam. Her eyes took in everything about the woman. She noted the woman was barefooted except for accessories that went up her feet and wrapped around her legs. Miriam saw the woman also had pale skin tone, rather close to Miriam's own coloring. The dark blue robe rustled as the woman knelt next to Miriam.
"Leave her alone!" Niobe screamed as she scrambled to her feet . But the figure turned and threw out another flame tossing her back onto the ground.
"No!" Oritel roared. His voice became muffled as the woman threw up some sort of translucent orange barrier between them. Slowly she turned back to Miriam.
"What do you want from me?" Miriam whispered, her heart pounding fiercely. She was helpless and weak, lying there at the mercy of this stranger. "Are you aligned with the Ancestresses and their pet Mandragora?"
"No." The voice was soft and gentle. "I have come for other reasons."
Miriam licked her dry lips and laughed. "What reasons are those? Why don't you show yourself? If you wish to kill me, I wish to see my killer first."
"I have not come to kill you!" she snapped. Miriam could've swore she heard horror in her voice as she said it. "I've come to remind you. To keep you on the right path."
Miriam looked up into the darkened cowl, squinting to see the woman's face. She could barely make out the shape of large eyes glinting. There was a flash of light and Miriam saw they were a curious shade of blue. She looked toward the shield and saw the rest of the group trying to break through the shield.
She tensed as the stranger's gentle, warm hands slowly moved her injured arm. The woman seemed to gaze at the wound and carefully pressed her gloved fingers against it, gingerly assessing it. "Faragonda's magic cleansed it out pretty good. But not enough for me." The woman laid her hands on top of the wound and Miriam felt warmth. Heat flowed through Miriam, erasing all of her pain and exhaustion. The heat then seared in her arm, burning right where the wound was.
Miriam moaned as the searing intensified. Then it was over. The woman took her hands off and Miriam looked at her arm. It was healed. "You healed me." Miriam stared at the cloaked female.
"You need to fight them off. They mustn't take Alfea." The figure stood up slowly. "Go to Alfea. You won't defeat them, but you'll beat them down for now."
"I already knew I had to go to Alfea and fight that evil off. That's not much of a reminder." Miriam go to her feet and stood before the woman. They stood at about the same height, but Miriam still couldn't see her clearly.
"That's not the reminder I've come to give you." The woman said quietly. Miriam could hear muffled thuds as her friends' continued their useless attack on the barrier. But her focus never left the stranger who stood before her.
Oritel had been right when he said the stranger's presence felt familiar. Miriam looked at the figure and asked, "Remind me then."
The figure hesitated, then partially removed her hood to allow a bit of light to reveal her face. Miriam took in the large blue eyes and the pale complexion, the features she'd noted earlier. But her jaw nearly dropped as she saw brilliant red hair with gold streaks. The figure was quick to replace the cowl. "Don't lose hope, Miriam." she whispered. Then the figure was gone.