Chapter 2
After falling for a minute or so, my eyes closed tightly for fear that I would crash, my wings useless to resist the power of God's touch, I found myself calming. I felt my body coming slowly to a stop, and opened my eyes just as my wings touched the floor of wherever it was I had landed. Looking around, I found myself at Hope's side, near the bottom of what appeared to be a stairwell. She lying on the ground, not moving, but from where I was standing she only seemed to be unconscious. And then I saw it…her hair had streaks of red in it that didn't belong there…blood.
"She must be bleeding from the back of her head." I thought. There wasn't much time then. I had to bind myself to her quickly; before anything else could happen. If she got any worse, she may not be strong enough to make it through the binding process. It could be draining for a mortal…and she didn't seem as if she could be drained anymore than she already was.
I reached into my satchel and took out a golden slip of paper, which had been attached to my charge's life story. On it were written the words "Ian ran dais en licit age de binds." I read the words from the card slowly, knowing that this incantation would forever bind me to my charge. From that point onwards I would feel what she felt, know what she knew, and be better able to protect her. I felt warmth surround me as my soul melded with that of the girl's, making her officially my charge. She was placed in my care and there would be no turning back now.
Then I felt it. Pain. She was in great pain, and her pulse was weakening. I bent down to her carefully lifting her body into my lap, her head resting against the crook of my arm, her blood soaking my white robe a deep red. She looked so lifeless…and I could feel her pain role over me in waves now. She was acutely aware of what was happening, that she was slowly bleeding to death.
"God, no." I whispered, beginning to panic. I could not remember the healing incantation I had learned previously with my instructor. Now, when I most needed it, my memory was failing me. I looked at the girl in my arms, and prayed silently that something would jog my memory. Then out of nowhere, it hit me. "Mum de limas aura rah." I mouthed, the words audible only to me. I repeated them again, holding my index finger to Hope's head. The blood stopped flowing, and the sticky, blood coated strands of blond hair parted so that I could better examine her injury.
"Oh great", I muttered, seeing that she had nearly cracked her open her skull. One more hit and she could have died before I got here. I looked at her face, no longer contorted in a sleepy pain. The healing incantation had worked well. Far better than I had expected it would, considering I had never used it before. She could no longer feel great surges of pain…just enough to keep her alive. Placing my hand on her open wound, I muttered once more, "Mum de limas aura rah", and felt the wound closing. She would live for the time being. Only time would tell if she would return to her normal life. She could possibly have some sort of brain damage, but I wouldn't know until later. "If only I'd gotten here sooner", I whispered harshly to myself, still clutching her to my shoulder. "Maybe I could have stopped this from happening." As I looked at the girl's sleeping form resting in my arms, I was reminded of how fragile human life was, and how easily it could be taken away from them. Humans had such a short life span…75 years if they were lucky, less than that if they weren't, and most of them just wasted the time. But this girl was only sixteen; far to young still for it to be her time to depart this world.
She was small for her age, maybe 5'4'', and must have weighed somewhere around a hundred and thirty pounds. She had long brown hair, that would probably have reached all the way to her waist, and a few strands were naturally highlighted blonde. She seemed relatively fair skinned, though her cheeks were flushed as she slept. I dragged my finger lightly across her eyelids, willing them to flutter so that I may peer into her eyes. Eyes have long been said to be the window into a person's soul. If you were to look into them, you could learn much more about a person than they would ever tell you. Examining her eyes, I could see they were a green-hazel color with golden specks, very different from my own. The eyes themselves appeared to be aged beyond their years. Looking into them, you could almost see hurt and worry etched into each and every golden speck. She looked as if she had been crying recently…maybe a few minutes before I had arrived, but it was anyone's guess as to why.
Picking her up gently, I carried her up the stairs, careful to keep her head close to my body, where it wouldn't accidentally hit the railing, possibly promoting further injury. She did not stir as I walked down the long hallway to the only room at the end, which I assumed to be her bedroom. The room was poorly lit, a lamp by her bedside the only illumination. "Lumos" I whispered, beckoning the light to grow brighter, but not bright enough as to wake her.
Placing her gently on the bed in a sitting position, I untied the sash of her bathrobe, and slowly took it off her. It was soaked with blood, and I knew that no amount of washing would get that stain out. Tossing the robe in the trashcan by the door, I pulled back the sheets and placed her in the center of the bed, swinging her feet around, off the floor and under the covers. Yanking the covers gently over her body, I tucked her in, making sure she was resting in a way that would take pressure off the crown of her head.
She stirred for a moment, murmuring something I couldn't quite understand, and fluttered her lashes for a moment, before my sleep overtook her once more. The binding spell and the healing spell were tiring on their own, but to have both completed within a matter of minutes was enough to sedate a charge for twelve hours or more. Confident that she would not wake for a long while, I looked around the room for a place to sit. By the lamp, there was an old rocking chair, a crochet blanket hung over it's backing. It faced the girl, and the light was now bright enough for reading, so I sat down and removed my charge's life story from my satchel. I sighed, and glanced again at the girl. This would be no easy task. God was right about that. I lay back in the chair, the gentle fluttering of my wings causing it to move, as I made myself comfortable. I had a lot of reading to do that night…and the morning would bring new trials. The exhausting events of today still fresh in my mind, I opened up to page one of her life, and began to read.
I reached into my satchel and took out a golden slip of paper, which had been attached to my charge's life story. On it were written the words "Ian ran dais en licit age de binds." I read the words from the card slowly, knowing that this incantation would forever bind me to my charge. From that point onwards I would feel what she felt, know what she knew, and be better able to protect her. I felt warmth surround me as my soul melded with that of the girl's, making her officially my charge. She was placed in my care and there would be no turning back now.
Then I felt it. Pain. She was in great pain, and her pulse was weakening. I bent down to her carefully lifting her body into my lap, her head resting against the crook of my arm, her blood soaking my white robe a deep red. She looked so lifeless…and I could feel her pain role over me in waves now. She was acutely aware of what was happening, that she was slowly bleeding to death.
"God, no." I whispered, beginning to panic. I could not remember the healing incantation I had learned previously with my instructor. Now, when I most needed it, my memory was failing me. I looked at the girl in my arms, and prayed silently that something would jog my memory. Then out of nowhere, it hit me. "Mum de limas aura rah." I mouthed, the words audible only to me. I repeated them again, holding my index finger to Hope's head. The blood stopped flowing, and the sticky, blood coated strands of blond hair parted so that I could better examine her injury.
"Oh great", I muttered, seeing that she had nearly cracked her open her skull. One more hit and she could have died before I got here. I looked at her face, no longer contorted in a sleepy pain. The healing incantation had worked well. Far better than I had expected it would, considering I had never used it before. She could no longer feel great surges of pain…just enough to keep her alive. Placing my hand on her open wound, I muttered once more, "Mum de limas aura rah", and felt the wound closing. She would live for the time being. Only time would tell if she would return to her normal life. She could possibly have some sort of brain damage, but I wouldn't know until later. "If only I'd gotten here sooner", I whispered harshly to myself, still clutching her to my shoulder. "Maybe I could have stopped this from happening." As I looked at the girl's sleeping form resting in my arms, I was reminded of how fragile human life was, and how easily it could be taken away from them. Humans had such a short life span…75 years if they were lucky, less than that if they weren't, and most of them just wasted the time. But this girl was only sixteen; far to young still for it to be her time to depart this world.
She was small for her age, maybe 5'4'', and must have weighed somewhere around a hundred and thirty pounds. She had long brown hair, that would probably have reached all the way to her waist, and a few strands were naturally highlighted blonde. She seemed relatively fair skinned, though her cheeks were flushed as she slept. I dragged my finger lightly across her eyelids, willing them to flutter so that I may peer into her eyes. Eyes have long been said to be the window into a person's soul. If you were to look into them, you could learn much more about a person than they would ever tell you. Examining her eyes, I could see they were a green-hazel color with golden specks, very different from my own. The eyes themselves appeared to be aged beyond their years. Looking into them, you could almost see hurt and worry etched into each and every golden speck. She looked as if she had been crying recently…maybe a few minutes before I had arrived, but it was anyone's guess as to why.
Picking her up gently, I carried her up the stairs, careful to keep her head close to my body, where it wouldn't accidentally hit the railing, possibly promoting further injury. She did not stir as I walked down the long hallway to the only room at the end, which I assumed to be her bedroom. The room was poorly lit, a lamp by her bedside the only illumination. "Lumos" I whispered, beckoning the light to grow brighter, but not bright enough as to wake her.
Placing her gently on the bed in a sitting position, I untied the sash of her bathrobe, and slowly took it off her. It was soaked with blood, and I knew that no amount of washing would get that stain out. Tossing the robe in the trashcan by the door, I pulled back the sheets and placed her in the center of the bed, swinging her feet around, off the floor and under the covers. Yanking the covers gently over her body, I tucked her in, making sure she was resting in a way that would take pressure off the crown of her head.
She stirred for a moment, murmuring something I couldn't quite understand, and fluttered her lashes for a moment, before my sleep overtook her once more. The binding spell and the healing spell were tiring on their own, but to have both completed within a matter of minutes was enough to sedate a charge for twelve hours or more. Confident that she would not wake for a long while, I looked around the room for a place to sit. By the lamp, there was an old rocking chair, a crochet blanket hung over it's backing. It faced the girl, and the light was now bright enough for reading, so I sat down and removed my charge's life story from my satchel. I sighed, and glanced again at the girl. This would be no easy task. God was right about that. I lay back in the chair, the gentle fluttering of my wings causing it to move, as I made myself comfortable. I had a lot of reading to do that night…and the morning would bring new trials. The exhausting events of today still fresh in my mind, I opened up to page one of her life, and began to read.