Luna Calls

SUMMER: Part 4

I woke up to immense pain searing down my arm. "AHHhhhhaaa!" "Hold her still! This won't work if it doesn't saturate into the puncture holes of the bite!" Through the tears stinging my eyes I recognized the wizard from the mountains, his eyes unmistakable.  He looked into my soul with them as he spoke "You need to remain as still as possible; the pain will worsen but it will get better. Please." His eyes now pleading with me to understand, and I did. I locked all of my joints, awake now, and ground my teeth together in agony as the pain intensified. Once they were done pouring the remainder of the potion into my wound, they let go of me. I laid still letting myself feel the pain but refusing to let it take over my mind again. I kept my eyes on the stranger, on his eyes, the black abyss so much easier to focus on, to be swallowed by.

The pain began to subside about 30 minutes later and I started to look around the inn and away from the wizard. A snowy haired man staring at me with a panic-stricken face, a younger woman standing near him behind the innkeeper's desk with hope shining eyes, they seemed to be the only two here. I tried sitting up slowly but was stopped suddenly by the wizard's hand on my ankles. He squeezed them and firmly said "Don't."  I began to speak, realizing my throat was dry as I croaked out "Why?" He smiled gently and said," Just another minute please, then I will carry you to our room." OUR ROOM?! My mind was whirling and he must've sensed the panic because he immediately followed up with "They only have one room available, I am sorry. I won't be staying much longer anyways, I just need to be sure you are safe and well looked after." Sadness washed over me. I wasn't sure why I was so drawn to this stranger but it felt as if I knew him, as if we had met before. I felt safe in his arms, his gaze, and his presence, safer than I had felt in a very long time.

As I laid there feeling the residual pain, I tried to occupy my mind by mulling over the past 24 hours and wondering what I could've done differently. I knew I would need to get a letter out to Silas immediately, he needed to know about the pack and would surely want to double up guard forces. What were they after? It was consuming my mind until I felt a familiar prick at the base of my neck, occlumency. But who? Who was working so hard now to open my mind? There was no way it was the innkeeper or his help. Could there be an enemy nearby who was searching minds of witches and wizards? WH-...... God damn it. How could I be so naïve? Of course it was him. I wondered briefly if he had been in my mind since my injury, if I was unable to notice because I was so weak at the time, if I only noticed now because my strength was slowly returning? He took two steps towards me and I flinched, unable to factor out if my feelings were true or fabricated by the stranger. He raised an eyebrow and slowly spoke,' I'll just be taking you to 'your' room now if that is alright?" "Y-yes. Thank you, Mr.--?" He looked from me to the other two magic folk occupying the common space and looked increasingly agitated. He bent down and scooped me up in his arms, securing me to his chest like before and I inhaled deeply. He smelled of hearth, parchment, and leather and I was slipping once again as I felt him try once more to penetrate my mind. Snapping out of it, I began focusing on the hallway he was carrying me down.

The walls were a stale blue with white floral patterns, the portraits of witches and wizards lined the walls but didn't clutter them. It seemed like such a happy place and my present condition felt as if it put a damper on what was surely a family vacationing spot. The man stopped in front of a beautiful hand carved wooden door and I looked down to find an 'inn-elf' opening the door for us. I looked at him in his gray worn in shirt and said,' Thank you so much for your help." He looked up at me and smiled, replying "Feel better Miss." And with that the wizard stepped in the room with me, the door closing gently behind us.

The room was beautiful, white wooden panels lined the walls and there were bookshelves floor to ceiling. The bed linens were a royal blue and all I wanted was to sink into them. To my right there was a massive balcony with two chairs that overlooked the lake. It was a place one would take a partner for a romantic getaway and at that thought, I blushed. "Are you feeling feverish?" The man said. "No, sorry, I think I can walk now Mr.—??" He walked over to the massive bed and set me on top of the comforter. "My name is...." he hesitated for a moment as if he was deciding wether or not he wanted to be honest, something in his eyes told me he chose deception. "James Carr, Jamie if you will." I let out a laugh and he unleashed a glare I wasn't aware existed. It silenced me and I swallowed hard. "I-I'm sorry. That was rude of me." He took a deep breath and said "And you? What is your name?" It was my turn to play his game so I decided to lie, just as I imagined he had. "Sage Addington."  Ok so it was a half lie, but a lie nonetheless. "It's nice to meet you Sage, now if you can, please get some rest." And without another word he left the room, still on edge.