Moonless

Chapter 34

AN; 2597 reads and 444 votes. Beautiful!
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The effects of the alcohol were beginning to take their intended effect and my thoughts grew fuzzy. I was also beginning to feel very sleepy too.

"I'm not going to listen to a word you are saying!" I slurred.

Liam shook his head at me. "You know if you keep talking to yourself, they are going to think you are crazy."

"I'm not talking to myself, I'm talking to you!"

"But it looks like you are talking to yourself."

Beatrice appeared up to the edge of my bed paused. She had our old tackle box from our bathroom at the Barn. She bent down and when she stood, she had a clean bundle of gauze in her hands, which she held like a snowball.

"Who is she talking to?"

I brought the bottle to my lips and took another swig. The liquid went down like fire.

"No idea," Caesar brushed a piece of hair from my forehead cupped my cheek in his hand before letting his hand trace my chin. Even in my hazy mind, I found the gesture odd. He never touched me like that before...

"I hope she isn't hallucinating because of blood loss," he said with a frown

Benedick came up beside Beatrice with a threaded needle in his hand. "That and she has been chugging a good deal of the good stuff."

Beatrice walked over to where Liam stood and stepped right into him and grimaced.  Liam exploded into a cloud of gold dust.

"What's wrong Bee?" Benedick asked while he joined her across from Caesar.

"It's just really cold in this in-particular spot. A lot colder than the rest of the attic. I feel like I just walked through a block of ice," she reached over and snatched the bottle from my hand, and placed it on the floor.

Meanwhile, the golden cloud of dust had drifted to the end of the cot. I watched in awe while it formed back into Liam.

Beatrice rested her uninjured leg on the bed and leaned over me. Her auburn curls fell perfectly around her face.

"So I never ever have actually done this myself, so make sure to tell. This will be my first attempt at doing stitches by myself. Are you sure that someone can't just run over and get Bert? I know someone got attacked and that's why they are here. But it's still daylight."

"Listen," a now completely formed Liam said from the end of the bed. "I'm not necessarily against people just going for it, but when it's someone sewing my face shut, I would prefer someone with some experience. So listen to me and you can avoid being patient zero. You can heal yourself."

I ignored Liam. I was more focused on what Beatrice had just said?

Had she really forgotten that Bert was dead?

"Bert died in that attack, he can't help you remember?" I mumbled and Beatrice's eyes widen.

"He's dead?" she said softly.

"Yes, he died with Theodore and Charolette."

"What?" Beatrice asked, she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Here," Benedick handed her the threaded needle, "we're hold her steady."

"Do you hear what she is saying Benedick !? Why is she saying that!?"

"Beatrice you got to focus," Benedick softly into her ear.  "We will worry about it later."

Beatrice's eyes did not leave my face. "Aurelia, how do you know that they are dead who told you?"

"Grayson...when he brought me here."

"Ignore her Beatrice, see she's out-of-it. She's talking to people that are not even here. You need to focus," Caesar said.

"Don't any  of you  know they are dead?" I asked. A voice in my head was screaming at me to shut up. But it was hard to listen to it over the pain and the drowsiness taking over my body. 

The needle began to quiver in her hand. "They never did tell us who were attacked, and how bad the attack was..."

"I'm sure they are fine," Benedick

Beatrice stood and turned to face him. "Did you see either of them when we were packing up our stuff to leave!?"

"Well no but..."

"I can't do this," Beatrice said and backed away from the bed and out of my sight. "Not like this I-I...I can't breath!" she hiccuped

Caesar moved after her and disappeared. "You need to, the wound won't close unless you do!"

Benedick gave me one last glance before following after them, and I was left alone with Liam.

Liam shook his head at me. "I'm afraid that you just scared of your would-be doctor, looks like you are going to heal yourself."

"How could I heal?" I asked him.

"Easy, just drawl magic from the air. Magic comes naturally to us, it's like breathing, so you should be able to perform this. Just imagine yourself pulling energy from the air and into the wound."

"Okay," I replied and closed my eyes. I imagine that I was sucking in little droplets of light from the air and sending it towards the throbbing wound on my forehead.

The skin under my blood-soaked rag began to itch uncontrollably. And all at once the drowsiness and the cloudiness were lifted, like a gust of wind lifts storm clouds. And my ears were filled with Beatrice's sobs.

"I killed them they are dead because of me!" she cried.