Chapter 6:

He slowly leaned back, eyes roaming my face. I met his gaze head-on, not shying away from the intensity of it.

"Where are you from, then?" He asked cautiously, a spark of curiosity in his eyes.

"A place simply called Earth." I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Very creative of the people who came up with it, isn't it? I'm from a country called the United States of America- the continent I lived on was North America, hence the country's name. In the northeastern corner, there's a little state called Maine. In that little state is a little town in the middle of a forest called Andover." I sighed wistfully as I remembered. Something I didn't let myself do often. "It's where my parents moved to after finding out they were expecting. I was born and raised there."

"And that's where your goddess comes from?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Her name is Eir. She's the reason I can heal, even before I developed magic." He frowned, confused. "I didn't know I could use magic until after coming to Fort Joy. I used Source to bolster the effects, yes, but I didn't know I was also using magic."

"How did you wind up in Driftwood?"

My eyes widened as I realized I hadn't seen Eir since the night the magisters arrested me. Outside of the vision or whatever it had been, of course, after seeing Rhalic.

"What's wrong?"

"I. Ah. Sorry." I gave myself a shake. "Eir has been with me since I was really young, as a spirit. She came with me, when I wound up in the old couple's front lawn. She said she would take care of it, when I was arrested." I paused, giving my cheeks light slaps. "Sorry. I'm not making any sense, I know. I went into an antique shop the day I went to Driftwood. There was a little girl spirit that was standing in front of the window, staring at one item in particular. I felt drawn to it, so I went inside and picked it up. It's a beautiful, semi-translucent gray pyramid. I purchased it and set in on my living room windowsill. The way the sunlight caught on it was breathtaking. Then, in the middle of the night, I woke up and felt compelled to pick it up again. The next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a field of flowers, and there was a little cottage near me. The old couple I lived with accepted me inside and warned me not to tell anyone. They taught me what it meant to be a Sourcerer, though they never said that only Sourcerers can see spirits." A weak smile. "Which explains the whole arrested thing, as I told you before." I paused. "And I don't know much about Eir. I do know that, apparently when I was young, I misheard her name as Ariel, so I didn't even know her name was really Eir until seeing her after meeting Rhalic."

"Is she who you pray to?"

I could see him struggling to put all the pieces together.

"Well..." I bit my lip. "When I was little, she told me about a goddess that was a great healer and that worked with herbs and poultices, who's helped countless people. From the first time she told me about her, I wanted to learn about plants and how they could help people. That interest led me to the Latin names for plants, which in turn led me to learning as much Latin as I could. My knowledge of it is far from perfect, but I enjoy the language so much, I just slip into it." I caught myself, smiling apologetically that I'd gotten off topic of his question. "As for who I pray to... It's always been to that nameless goddess. I guess... now I have a name?" It came out as a question, but I didn't mean it to.

He got to his feet, looking out at the water. "I can see why you wouldn't want anyone to know."

I watched as he walked a few feet, the tide coming in up to his ankles. Waiting for him to go through all the information I'd just dumped on him, I rested my chin on my knees again and stared up at the stars. With the sun gone, and nonexistent light pollution, the stars always shined so brightly.

"Tam pulcher." I murmured to myself.

"What does that mean?" His voice was almost carried away on the breeze before I could catch it.

"So beautiful. Lucida sidera." I hugged myself tightly against the chill in the air. "The shining stars."

Silence stretched between us once again, during which I started to doze off. After a while, a hand entered my field of view- I hadn't even heard his footsteps crunching in the sand- and I blinked, staring at it blankly.

"Come on. We should get back." He reached down and pulled me to my feet.

I stumbled, not expecting it, and crashed against his body. His hands went to my hips, steadying me.

"I'm sorry. I- Yeah. I need to lay down."

I stepped out of his grasp, moving toward the camp, but his hand wrapping around my wrist stopped me short. I looked over my shoulder at him, only to be spun around to face him, his mouth finding mine again.

"If I can't go anywhere, you can't, either." He muttered, glaring at me.

It took me a moment, as tired as I was, to understand what he was talking about. Oh. I couldn't stop the wide smile that broke out at that.

"I won't. Not without you." I assured him, reaching up to loop my arms around his neck, guiding him back to me for another kiss.

"Are those... pigs?" Lohse asked dubiously.

I was more focused on the water- it was clearly cursed. And it would take hours, even with all seven of us, to clear it all out by blessing it. Chewing my thumbnail, I wondered if there was something else we could do.

The pig closest to us spoke of being in incredible pain- perpetually on fire- that the curse on her and the others had turned them into swine. That they'd been this way for a long time.

Only Ifan and I seemed to understand her, which caused her even more distress- because I was focused on something else, and Ifan wasn't sure what to do.

"I wonder if blessing the pigs would work." I mused, for everyone else's benefit. "You all could try that."

If they couldn't, we would figure something else out. I wouldn't leave these people to suffer. There had to be something.

As I walked away, approaching the water, Sebille called out. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know." I admitted.

I just knew that I felt compelled to handle the water.

Holding my hands above the water, I concentrated so hard it was as if the rest of the world had faded away. A long string of prayer left me, asking for help with the curse. That I wasn't sure what I could do, but I wanted to help these animals- who might actually be people. A whisper of movement, and I smiled softly, her arms around me, hands resting on mine. A glow came from our hands, spreading out over every cursed, wet surface. When it dimmed, disappearing a few moments later, the water was pure and crystal clear.

"Thank you." I murmured, glancing over my shoulder at her.

She returned my smile as she pulled back. "Of course. How can I say no to you?"

I stood, looking to the others, and found them all just staring at me. "Did you try Bless?"

"Ah. No. We were too busy wondering what you were up to." Lohse said, shaking her head.

"Go ahead and try it." I smiled up at them. "I want to make sure I got all the water cleared."

Eir walked beside me as I moved from puddle to puddle.

"I haven't seen you in a while. Have you been well? Do you have the pyramid?" I asked softly under my breath. Just loud enough for her to hear.

She nodded. "I am well, yes." Holding out her hands, I caught the pyramid appearing out of thin air from the corner of my eye. "Here."

I cupped my hands in front of me, and she gently sat it in my grasp. Pulling my pack around, I stowed it carefully inside, already feeling better at having it in my possession again.

"You may come across others." She informed me. "If you do, simply sit them beside each other and let them connect. That way, you can teleport freely between the two."

"That would come in handy for separating the party."

"Or trying to get into places that only something so small will fit."

"Thank you."

Having made it around the whole area, not finding anymore cursed water, I went to the others. They'd blessed the pigs, and said pigs had run off somewhere after thanking them. Which only Ifan had heard, and he'd informed our companions.

"You get it done, lass?" Beast asked, watching me intently.

I realized Ifan was, too. As was the Red Prince.

Nodding, I smiled at them. "Yes. The water is good. Curse-free."

We walked back to the camp, the Wolf walking beside me, Eir on my other. What we came back to was Gareth fuming. He wanted to be the one to destroy the shrieks, but several others were demanding he stay and plan the attack while someone else took care of them.

I opened my mouth, but a hand quickly covered it. I glanced to the side at Ifan, confused. He was frowning.

"Too. Good. Let them handle it."

Gently prying his hand off, I went to argue, but was cut off.

"What if whoever does it gets hurt? We'd lose them and the wand." Lohse asked, arms crossed. "Then, we'd be down a person and back to square one."

I felt the frustration coming off the man, and I pressed a kiss against his palm, earning a startled look.

"I want to help." I murmured. "And it seems I'm not the only one. If Lohse goes and gets hurt... I would never forgive myself for not being there to help."

He took a deep breath in through the nose. "Fine."

With that, he went to talk to Gareth, and I watched as the Seeker handed the Wolf the wand, giving a firm nod.

Together, our group made their way to the ruins we'd first found Gareth. To test out the wand, before heading to where the magisters were holed up.

It was... traumatic, seeing the shriek be purged. Something I wondered if I'd have nightmares about. The Source left what remained of the body it had had, the body exploding and falling to the grass in a bloody mess. Several minutes of simply staring at the scene, I turned and vomited, unable to stop until my stomach was empty. Even then, I dry heaved a few more times.

It was one thing to hear about it and a wholly other to actually see it with my own eyes.

"Maybe you should stay ba-"

Wiping my mouth, I straightened, interrupting the mage. "No. No, I'm okay. I want to be there, in case anything bad happens."

Thankfully, no one openly argued. Although... there were plenty of doubtful looks.

Once we got there, I motioned for them all to wait for a moment, and I bowed my head and prayed for us to go unseen. To prevent anyone from seeing us, to prevent a fight between just us and however many magisters were inside. We became translucent, and I nodded for them to continue.

Still being cautious of the shrieks, we moved forward, Fane wielding the wand and taking them out one by one. Quickly, we retreated. They would notice shortly that their defenses had been breached, and we needed to return to let Gareth get started on his phase.

One the trip back, however, we came upon an elf that was pacing back and forth in front of... people, tied to crosses. Like shrieks were. These people were becoming shrieks.

Lohse and Fane spoke to him, and he spoke nonsense mostly, but one thing was clear: he knew them, and he knew they should die but didn't want to kill them. Couldn't bring himself to do it.

I stepped toward one of them, something touching my arm making me look back over my shoulder. Eir. She had a sad expression, shaking her head, eyes on the person in front of me.

"I can't heal that."

The words pierced my heart, and I struggled to understand. Something... Something we couldn't do? But... What would happen to them, then?

The others talked, coming to the decision that, if they were to become shrieks anyway and there was no way to save them, they should be put down. I watched with tearful eyes as they cut them down from the crosses and ended their suffering.

I knelt by them, my hands clasped in front of my face, and prayed for them to find peace. When I came back to myself, I started to get to my feet, and Ifan helped me.

"It's like he isn't even aware that we're here." Lohse muttered, and I looked over to find the elf still pacing, lamenting his friends' fates. She glanced at me. "You good, chief?"

I looked away. "We should get back."

Without waiting on them, I started walking again. They quickly fell into step with me.

I watched as Gareth gathered everyone who would fight around him, giving a speech to bolster their morale. There would be even more blood spilled before the day was over, and I had to just stand aside and let it happen. I had never been in this situation before coming to Fort Joy, and I was suffering mentally and emotionally for it.

"Do you want me to help them? His people?" Eir asked quietly.

"I do. I don't. Yes. Please."

I was being selfish. I didn't want anyone on our side to die, but... by asking for her aid, I was condemning those against us. I was weighing our lives over theirs. Again, something I had never experienced before.

Closing my eyes, I asked for her to give them aid by strengthening them. When I opened my eyes again, I found their weapons and shields glowing. She had taken me literally, it seemed.

My companions' eyes all went to me, each of them giving me a nod, before they focused on Gareth again.

A battle cry left the Seeker, and everyone raced into the ruins. Without a second thought, I rushed in after them, doing my best with the magic I knew to help.

I heard someone shout "Her!" and suddenly, I was surrounded by three magisters, their swords all pointed at me.

Things happened very quickly after that- Englo and another wolf appeared, tearing into the men around me. The third went down with a bolt in the back of his head that came out a bit through his eye. He collapsed at my feet, just as the other men went still on the ground.

Not giving myself time to think about what just happened, I threw myself back into erecting walls to protect our side.

Finally, finally, it was over, after what felt like an eternity. We had lost none, and they were all dead. Including Alexandar, who Ifan was standing over, pulling the bolt out of the fallen man's abdomen. An almost feral expression on his face.

A woman appeared out of thin air, regarding the scene before her. Gareth went to speak to her, and I watched as my companions, save Ifan, went to join them. Judging from how Ifan suddenly looked sharply at the group, he was able to hear what was being said, and he moved to stand with them.

I, however, found a little alcove and slid my back down against the crumbling wall. Knees to my chest, a hand against my heart clutching my shirt, my other deep in Englo's fur. Trying to draw comfort and strength from her. Turning, I shifted to a kneel and buried my face in her fur, silently crying.

There was just... so much death. I had only ever helped people before. Earlier, with the skeletons my companions had fought... They were already dead. They were just animated corpses. If they had been like Fane, I would have felt this way, but they weren't. They were just magically animated flesh.

A wet nose nudged the side of my head, and I turned to look at Afrit. Ifan's wolf. The man who stood behind him, a pained look on his face as he approached me.

"I'll be okay." It came out almost as a whimper.

He seemed reluctant about something.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" On alert now, I sat up, wiping my face dry.

"Gareth sent some of the Seekers to take the magisters' ship." My stomach fell. "We have the ship. But not all of them made it back."

I looked down, my fingers tightening in my wolf's coat.

"It will be okay." She assured me softly as she nuzzled my cheek. "We'll get through this. You'll be okay."

"I know." I whispered, kissing her forehead. "I know."

"She's right." He said, crouching, reaching out and touching my other cheek.

I gave him a weak smile. "I know. I know I'll be okay. I'm being self-"

His expression hardened. "No."

I blinked at him.

"You're not being selfish, silly." Lohse's voice proceeded her as she walked around the wall. "You've just never dealt with this kind of thing before, that's all. It gets easier."

I... wasn't sure I wanted it to. How many more times would I have to see this, before I became "used to it"?

"Come on, lass." Beast motioned for me to get up. "Let's get on that ship and off this island, okay?"

"Are they going to bury their dead?" I asked quietly. "We can't just leave them."

He and the mage exchanged looks, with her shrugging.

"I'll go ask Gareth what he wants to do. I'll be back." She flitted away.

Several minutes later, she was back.

"Yeah, they're gonna find a section of ground to bury the dead in. So, it'll be a few hours before we actually leave."

"Good." I nodded slowly, my eyes dropping to the ground. "That's good."

The Red Prince was the next to join us, and he frowned. "I wish to speak with you alone."

I saw Ifan's hands balled into fists in my peripheral vision, and I smiled at him. "It's okay. Go."

The three left us, Afrit following only after Englo nipped at him.

The lizard sat in front of me, studying my face. "You've never seen a battle before."

I shook my head. "No."

"How do you feel?"

"I don't know." It came out as a whisper. "I feel thankful that no one died in the land fight. I feel selfish for feeling that, because everyone on the other side died. I'm upset- devastated- that Gareth's men on the ship, who I didn't even know about beforehand, didn't all make it out. I feel useless, because there's nothing I can do for them. I want to help, but I can't resurrect the dead." I buried my face in my hands, crying anew. "I just feel so... much, and I don't know what to do."

"You should hold those emotions close to your heart." His tone was serious, on the verge of an order. "And whenever you are faced with this situation again, remember what it feels like to be here. Use them to remind yourself of what you don't want to happen again. And do everything in your power to prevent it from repeating."

Slowly, I looked up at him, my eyes wide. I wondered if that's what he did. As a prince of the House of War, he would be used to fighting. But what kept him going?

With a firm nod, I stood, brushing off my clothes. "Thank you."

He gave me a satisfied smile. "Good. You're back. Now, why don't you go pray for the dead?"

I couldn't stop my own smile from blossoming as I nodded again, and he walked me to where the Seekers were digging graves. I stayed out of the way, kneeling as I prayed at length for them. Using each of their names, asking for them to find peace in the Hall of Echoes. Asking for their loved ones to find peace and closure, to know that their fallen fought for freedom and justice. Whatever that was worth.

Some time later, a hand settled on my shoulder, giving me a light shake. Pulled from my trance, I blinked up at the Lone Wolf. He nodded toward the small boat that would take us to the ship.

"We're leaving."

Taking a deep breath, I let him pull me to my feet, and we walked to the boat together.