Chapter 27: Drained

My energy still had not returned completely since giving Asa his gift and removing Salem's tumor. I didn't have the energy to fight Manfred off anymore. I had to run. I tried to take off in a sprint but he grabbed my ankle and I fell to the floor as it burned. I screamed and could see little black dots in the corner of my vision from the pain. "Why is it always me?" I yelled back at him, trying to kick my ankle free. "What makes you want to hurt me all the time?"

"You openly defy me. Your brother doesn't even do that. You show me no respect and you need to be punished." He snarled back at me.

"You're beating up a girl because she hurt your ego?" I couldn't stifle my laughter. I knew it would just make him angrier but I couldn't help it. It was pathetic. "Go ahead, do your worst. I can't help but to laugh at you, and I'm sure your manly pride is on the line if you don't kick the shit out of me again."

To my surprise, he didn't hit me. He sat up and offered me his hand. I wondered if it was a trap but I knew I didn't have the energy to sit up on my own so I took it. It wasn't a trick. He helped me lean against the wall and we sat next to each other, staring at the wall across from us. "It's not just that. I can't control my temper. I shouldn't have hurt you." He finally spoke. "Come on, I'll help you to the infirmary." He put my arm around his shoulder and struggled to pull up my dead weight. My legs didn't seem to want to work. "Can you walk?" He asked as he steadied me. I tried to take a step and almost collapsed on the floor. "What have you been doing? I find it hard to believe a force field and a dagger drained all of your energy. Here, get on my back. I'll get your cape later."

"I was busy curing cancer, Salem's mostly. And I'm wearing a skirt, Manfred. I'm not getting on your back." I stared at him. He just shrugged and put one hand behind my back and managed to lift me with his other hand behind my knees. I shrieked and he didn't seem to care.

"It would be a lot easier on me if you shifted your weight towards me and held on. You're a lot heavier than you were last year." He pointed out. I found my face getting red. I knew I was gaining weight but I was getting tired of everyone pointing it out. Manfred's face turned red too. "I'm not calling you fat." He murmured. I looked at the gash on his face. He was still bleeding a little bit but he wouldn't need stitches. I had only done enough to stun him and surprise him. "I'm sorry I hurt you. You just made me angry when you lied to me. I thought I had you under deep enough that you wouldn't be able to lie. It's frustrating when you lose your powers, and it takes a lot of energy to try and get them back. Especially with what I've been doing."

"How could you tell I was lying?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Because I could feel myself losing control." He looked down at me and everything felt awkward. Salem should have been the one doing this for me, yet he was nowhere to be found. "And when I start to lose control of a situation, I fly into a rage. It's what happened to my mother, when I slammed her fingers in the door." He stopped for a moment and shifted my body a little bit. "So that's what happened to Salem? His cancer came back and you got rid of it? Was it aggresive?"

"Yeah, he would have died within a week or so I didn't find him. He had hospice care and outwardly refused treatment and was waiting to die. It took more energy than I thought possible to save him." I informed him. We didn't say anything to each other for a few minutes but I could tell that my weight was starting to become a burden on him. I knew I wouldn't be able to walk though. My body was too exhausted. I was having a hard enough time focusing on what he had been saying to me and keeping my eyes open. I was lethargic and beginning to become dead weight. I could feel myself losing consciousness.

"Hey, stay with me." I heard him say. His voice sounded distant, but I couldn't stay awake.

Everything was hazy and distant when I finally opened my eyes. My head was pounding and there were no lights on other than the dim one next to my bed. I sat up and looked around. The beds next to me were all empty and the sun was no longer shining. When I looked down at myself, I was no longer wearing my damaged uniform, I had on my own pajamas. The thought of someone changing me made me feel sick. I tried to stand up, but I felt dizzy and nauseated. "Hello?" I called out. I could hear the creak of someone getting up out of a chair and the soft footsteps of someone turning the corner. It was one of the infirmary nurses. She was a nice woman, about as old as my mother with long black hair that she kept in a bun. She had caring brown eyes and a soft smile. She had given me cough medicine a few times when I had fallen ill and was sent here.

"You're awake. Don't try to move too much. It has been two days. You were very fatigued when Mr. Bloor brought you here. You also had two burn wounds that I put bacitracin and gauze on. One around your throat and one around your ankle. When I checked your wounds this morning, they were gone. …I'm not allowed to ask questions. But it was Manfred, wasn't it? That did this to you?"

"Yeah, but I'm not worried about it. You don't have to feel bad about not telling my grandma or my uncle about it." I rubbed the back of my head. My hair was greasy. "Who changed my clothes?"

"I did… I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't move. The rest of your uniform was sent back to your room. Your shirt wasn't salvageable."

"I'll buy a new one." I tried to stand up again, but I wasn't able to. "Do you have anything for me to eat?"

"Of course I do! I had a feeling you would be waking up soon!" The familiar voice of Cook walking into the infirmary made me smile. The smell of potato soup filled my nose and made me salivate. I was so hungry. "I can handle her from here, Mary." Cook said gently but with enough authority that nurse Mary didn't stay behind. Cook prepared a tray for me of soup with bread. "You haven't eaten in a few days. Anything heavier than this will give you a stomachache." She sat the tray on my lap and I began to devour it immediately. "Manfred Bloor had quite a gash on his face. He managed to make it disappear by the time I saw him again at dinner. It's nice to see that you have learned to fight back. Though I can't help but to wonder if Salem's departure from the West Wing had anything to do with your scuffle."

"No, I just made Manfred mad over something unrelated." I said through bites of soup. "How is Salem acclimating to being part of the common rabble?"

"He doesn't seem to mind. He's acting as childish as usual. Dr. Bloor has seemed a bit angrier though." Cook smoothed out her apron and let out a loud sigh. "I really wish that boy would take things more seriously. He has floated through life without any trouble and that was okay for him. But him picking a side really means he finally has to grow up."

"I think Salem will be fine. He just needs a few days to adjust himself." I said, trying to reassure her. I really did wonder how Salem would be settling into the uncomfortable dorms. Would he be allowed to keep his car? I'm sure they took the bottomless bank card he usually had away from him. I wondered what they let him keep and what they took away.

I finished my meal and Cook helped me stand to my feet. I felt a lot better than I had a few days ago. I knew I would still have to take it easy and not overexert myself trying to use magic. I was able to go back to my dorm that night and sleep in my regular bed. Because I had slept for two days straight, I wasn't able to fall back asleep that night. I caught up on some of my Literature homework by reading with my flashlight until the sun came up.

I made sure I was the first one in the shower when the sun came up and it gave me extra time to do something with myself. As I was curling my hair, I admired my face in the mirror. Ever since I discovered my power I could never get over the changes it had on my body. My hair had once been flat, straight and a dirty blonde color. Now it had volume and had lightened into a prettier white blonde. Although I had cut it all off while Salem and I were on the run, it was almost down to my lower back. My nails were healthier and stronger, my teeth felt stronger and looked whiter. Living in a cloudier place had gotten rid of my once tan skin but I didn't feel bothered because of all of my other changes. Everyone did however point out the weight I was gaining and I wasn't overly happy about that, even if I finally did get a chest to go with it.

I put on my uniform and my cape wondering how my day would be and if Salem was still upset with me. I checked myself in the mirror one more time before I left the room and headed down to breakfast. In the line, I was given oatmeal, toast and regular tea. Even though I hated academy oatmeal, I was so hungry that I didn't care. I was the first one there and sat down at my normal table in the blue cafeteria corner. I did some reading in my history book while I waited for the others to arrive. I didn't look up until I heard the sound of someone setting their stuff down next to me. I looked over and I was surprised to see Dagbert Endless, a boy that I had hardly spoken to and who had tried to drown my brother, Asa and Billy. "Go sit somewhere else." I said rudely, turning my eyes back to my book. The smell of fish filled my nose and it made me sad. Children often teased Dagbert for his smell because they found it unpleasant, but it was something I had been used to from when Ailwyn would take me on the boat with him when he was home.

"You're the head prefect, I need to talk to you." He said. "It's important."

"Fine." I sighed and put down my book. "What's wrong?"

"I had something stolen from me. Tancred Torsson has it." Dagbert looked down at his lap. "There's a curse in my family. When a boy in my family reaches his thirteenth year, he reaches his full power. Then he fights his father and the weaker one dies. I have no desire to try and kill my father right now, but I can't say the same for him. My mother was a mermaid and she made me some charms to protect me from my father and keep me safe. They are golden sea creatures made from the gold of drowned men's teeth."

I couldn't turn Dagbert away because I knew Dr. Bloor was waiting for an excuse to take away my position as head prefect. I opened my mouth to speak when someone spoke for me. "Fill out a report with me later, Dagbert Endless." Only one person spoke in that thick Irish brogue. "Leave Infinity alone, she has been sick the last few days."

Dagbert stood up and Riley Burns sat down next to me in his place. "Good morning, Bone." He said, flashing me a smile. "You look beautiful today, if you don't mind me saying."

"Thank you." I murmured. "For the Dagbert thing."

"I don't know what goes on with you endowed types, but I could tell that Dagbert isn't someone you wanted to be doing favors for." He took a bite out of his bagel and winked at me. Riley was cute in a lumberjack kind of way. He had sandy blonde hair and a beard to go with it. His hands were bigger than my face and he was big and bulky altogether. He had freckled skin and olive green eyes. "And I'm sure that whatever Torsson took, he did it for the greater good."

"I would stay under Dr. Bloor's radar if I were you. Or someone else might get that Oxford scholarship." I looked down into my oatmeal and frowned.

"Dr. Bloor has no control over who gets that scholarship. It's a third party that has nothing to do with Bloor's academy. Don't let him hold that over you. I don't know what else Dr. Bloor told you, but not just one person is limited to getting that full ride. We'll be seeing each other in Oxford next year. I can promise you that."

When you looked at Riley, you couldn't tell what a talented person he was at first glance. You didn't look at him and see "Riley the future doctor", or "Riley the cellist". All you saw was a big kid with a beard. Riley struck me as someone that you would see playing for the NFL, not an erudite. I wouldn't believe it if he wasn't my lab partner or if I had never heard him play the cello. "I really hope so." I said.

Riley and I sat in the corner of the cafeteria discussing our plans once we got into medical school. He wanted to be an oncologist, I wanted to be a pediatrician. It was nice talking to someone about my future for once rather than what was happening with the Bloors or what the endowed children were doing. I felt like a normal girl for once, finally talking to a normal person. "Are you just going to completely give up the cello?" I asked.

"I like music and yes, I was put here because of my talent with the cello, but who am I going to help in this world with a cello? No one." He laughed. "I'll still play music and it'll always be a part of me, but I won't do it for a living. I won't join a symphony. Or run off and play bass in a band."

I realized breakfast was almost over and Charlie, Salem and everyone else hadn't came and sat with me yet. When I scanned the room, I found them sitting somewhere else. Charlie and his friends were all talking about something, but Salem was looking at me. He wanted to talk to me. "Hey, I have to go do something really quick." I said, looking back at Riley.

"Say no more. I'll see you around." He winked at me again and we both laughed. Salem got up from his seat and walked out of the cafeteria, a silent invitation to follow. I returned my dirty dishes to the kitchen and quickened my pace to catch up with him. He turned and walked into the prefects lounge, a place where he was no longer allowed, but it would be empty for the time being.

I walked in and shut the door behind me. Salem was leaning against once of the desks. I barely had time to shut the door behind me before he grabbed me and backed me against the wall. His fingers curled in my hair behind my ears and his lips were on mine in under ten seconds. His kiss was hungry and desperate. He pinned me harder against the wall, his hands traveling down my body and coming to a rest on my hips. I put my hands on his chest and pushed him back a bit. "You're going to get us in trouble." I panted, trying to catch my breath.

"I don't care." He growled.

"Seriously, knock it off." I said. "We have all weekend for that." I added, my face turning red. Then I punched him in the shoulder. "Where the hell were you the other day? I called for you. You can't tell me that you didn't hear me yell your name or hear my thoughts when I was being attacked by Manfred. Are we just going to act like I wasn't in the infirmary the last two days?"

"Wait, Manfred attacked you?" Salem seemed surprised, but there was no way he didn't know. "I asked Manfred what happened and he said that you had fainted. I thought it was from still being exhausted. When I saw you in the infirmary, you looked fine. The nurse said it was just fatigue."

"Have you not seen Manfred? He had a huge cut in his face. He ripped my shirt."

"Infinity, I honestly didn't know." Salem shook his head. "My powers still haven't completely come back so I haven't been trying to read thoughts too much. And Manfred didn't have any cuts on his face. Dorcas must have gotten to him. I didn't know where you were until I saw Manfred in the King's room that night. His face was fine and he told both Charlie and I that you had fainted earlier in the day and you were resting. When I went and saw you the next day you were covered up, but you were wearing pajamas."

"I yelled your name when it was happening. It was as soon as we left Dr. Bloor's study."

"I…" His face turned red. "I was really upset. I had music on when I was packing my stuff up so no one could hear me and in return, I didn't hear anyone else…" He had been crying but didn't want to admit it to me. "What did he come after you for this time?"

"He hypnotized me." I looked down at my feet. "He asked me a bunch of questions and I couldn't lie to him. But when he asked me where you had been hiding when you disappeared, I fought against him and it made him mad. We got into a scuffle and I learned something new about my powers. I can make weapons. I conjured a dagger and cut his face. Then we stopped fighting and I couldn't move. I was so tired. He carried me to the infirmary and I passed out again before we even got there."

"That bastard…" Salem shook his head and looked down at the floor. "There's not much I can say to him. I don't have special treatment anymore. I have to behave like a normal student if I want to graduate. I can't slack off anymore and I can't make any waves. I'm lucky they're still letting me graduate after being gone for almost two months. I just have to make up all of my work and pass all of my classes. It would be pretty embarrassing to get held back twice."

"It's not like you could help it." I pointed out. "I'll help you get caught up. It's no big deal. But I'm not going to do your work for you."

"What do you take me for? A total slacker?"

We just stared at each other in silence for a few minutes before laughing. Salem was a huge slacker. I hoped the severity of the situation would be enough to scare him into shape. I had faith in Salem. I adjusted my cape and we both got ready to head back to the cafeteria before everyone was dismissed when the door opened.

"What are you doing in here? You're not a prefect. And you, you know that non-prefects are not allowed in here." Manfred barked at us from his spot in the doorway. He didn't look as angry as usual. He looked more uncomfortable than anything.

Salem pulled a folder from what seemed like thin air and held it up. "I was explaining the classwork that she missed but the cafeteria was too loud." He placed the folder in my hands and I opened it up. It was mostly empty save for a few of Salem's make-up assignments that he had completed already. I hoped Manfred wouldn't call his bluff.

"Fine, but you both need to leave now." He rolled his eyes. I closed the folder and both Salem and I made a hasty exit.