Blood Ink

Sixteen

"Issei, we've been walking for hours." I groaned. He paused and looked at the distance we had put between us and Mathias's lavish estate that was up in flames. "Its not much further." He answered. I didn't know where we were going. "I can't take another step!" My feet were aching and the clothing I was in wasn't made for walking these kinds of distances. Issei stopped and I almost collapsed at his feet. "Too much walking." I complained in a very human fashion.

"You want to stay here with Lord Mathias?" He asked. I threw a rock at him in response. "You don't need to be so rude." I huffed. "These clothes aren't designed for this kind of thing." I pouted. He dropped his duffel bag that we had picked up a few miles behind us and he unzipped it. He dug through it and pulled out a shirt and some jeans and threw them at me. "Hey!" I glared and he turned his back in the other direction. "Get changed." He stated. "Or im leaving you behind." I stuck my tongue out at him in a childish way.

The clothes looked like a spare that belonged to him. The button down was clean and smelled decent enough. I wasn't sure the jeans would fit well but he didn't say anything. I changed slowly feeling my body ache from all the walking that I was one hundred percent too too out of shape for. I was startled when both the shirt and jeans fit perfectly. "Im done." I wondered if he was my size and he turned back toward me. "How did.." I began asking. "Enchanted clothes, they change to fit the wearer." He explained, ah that made perfect sense. Of course even his clothes had a magic element to them.

I began folding the outfit I had gotten from Mathias. It would be a nice keepsake. As I began to place them in the bag I heard Issei speak up. "Leave that."I stared at him. "But it's good clothing." I protested as I held the silk garments. "Could have a tracker." He said. "Ditch them." My hands gripped the fabric tightly not wanting to let them go since they were so nice. I also knew it could get a good amount of money for them. Issei ripped them from my hands and threw them onto the ground.

"Hey wait!" I moved to grab them again but he stopped me and lit the garments on fire. They burned in a colorful fashion and I felt pissed. "That was great fabric!" I yelled at him and he looked at me indifferently. "Its a material possession you could get a new one." I wanted to punch him. He was absolutely the most infuriating person I had ever met. I almost regretted not going to Mathias and sticking by him. I would have felt immense satisfaction if something struck him dead here and now.

I stopped myself from thinking that way, I remembered the emptiness I felt when he had left the first time. The sidewalk of empty faces, the white noise in my head. The irritation drained out of me along with the aches and pains that were in my bones.

"You're not going to abandon me again?" I squeaked and our eyes met. His eyes were so intense, unlike Mathias. They were riddled with secrets I didn't know. Stories he would probably never share. "Whats an ancient one?" I changed the subject not wanting to think of his absence. "Someone powerful with a lot influence in the different realms. Someone with abilities to create a curse like yours to transcend the sands of time, They're considered eternals." Issei answered and didn't make eye contact with me again. "We need to keep moving." he finally said. I didn't complain, as I stumbled several steps behind him.

His scent filled my nostrils, it seeped out from his clothes and was oddly comforting as I pressed forward in the scorching heat of this pocket dimension. He told me Mathias lived in a gap between worlds, and the opening to get out was a bit of a walk away. This gap was a pretty wide one, and I was irritated I had to walk it. I could have stayed here, and not risk myself. I didn't have a home outside this dimension and I doubted Mathias would extend his arms to me with the same generosity as before. Everything felt twisted,  I didn't know what I wanted.

My value was determined by a curse from an eternal one. I grit my teeth until my jaw hurt. "Issei." I spat angrily and he turned to me. "I want my curse broken." His expression changed to one of amusement. "Okay." He answered like it wasn't a big deal. As if breaking a curse from an ancient powerful eternal being was something he did on a daily basis. "Okay." I said relaxing again and saw a shimmer from the sky to the ground. It was the opening, we were getting closer.

"Does that shimmer mean we're almost out of here?" I complained. Issei didn't humor my complaints I felt like I had seen enough of these rocks, and felt enough of this heat. Although I loved the luxury there was no way I was coming back to this boring place. "How did you do that stuff back at Mathias's place?" I needed some kind of conversation to keep me entertained.

"I didn't think it would work." He admitted. I was confused, by what he meant. "I winged that stunt I wasn't sure it would work. Your curse has specifications that even I don't know. Its ancient and the one who placed it probably disappeared ages ago." I realized he meant that what he did was a 50/50. If it didn't work we'd be stuck as prisoners.

I didn't come with an instruction manual. "Well what was on the paper?" I wondered aloud. "Specific instructions, I wanted some scraps to ignite into massive flames. Others were to light up and then explode like hand grenades, and then one to turn into a large body of water." My eye twitched at his words, he was clearly insane.

"Blood magic is rare." He stated. "Almost to anyone, its unheard of and uncommon." That didn't make me feel any better. "So how will we break it?" I asked stopping in my tracks. "I'll figure it out, first lets focus on our current task." I had the urge to run.
I ran toward the opening past Issei who didn't make a move to follow me. I jumped over rocks and almost tripped a few times.

The shimmering gateway looked like cracked glass. It let off a loud obnoxious hum like the entryway had been forcefully placed here. Some chunks of rock floated in the air forming a smaller arch way in the opening. Issei walked past me toward the gate and I grabbed his hand. I didn't understand how pocket dimension openings worked and he didn't give me a crash corse. Was it like teleporting?

I didn't want to be separated from Issei. The information of a fairytale book cole read once, also talked about port keys. I didn't know if that applied to pocket dimensions. I just remembered him telling me how one of the characters got mangled badly in the transport out after seeing some kind of flying Quidditch game portion. I didn't really want that to happen to myself. This was all stuff that wasn't supposed to exist. Issei didn't hesitate he walked through the blinding white opening and I stumbled in after him.