Shadow Beings

42. Gumes Qious?

Jack's body wavered, taking my hand's support to stand firmly on the ground. I hardened my grip and he turned his head towards me, giving me a weak smile.

"Have some of this," Aurelia said, passing a glass of bright, silvery-orange liquid. The fluid moved almost as freely as water and I realised it was light and diluted.

"This is the standard orange juice with a slightly higher concentration of nectar. Don't worry, the water content is almost eighty-eight percent so this shouldn't be too strong, but it should make you feel more energetic. It'll take some time for it to make a full effect," Aurelia finished with a smile, handing the mixture to Jack, and Theo had finished drinking it.

Jack accepted the bottle with a nod, only drinking one-fifth of what was left. The bottle hovered over his face, as he slowly tipped the contents into his mouth. He turned the bottle to stand straight after one sip, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he looked less stressful, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you, Aurelia. That one sip was very heart-warming, literally. We might need this during the ritual, so keep it safe."

Aurelia smiled, taking the bottle in the hand. With a flick of her wrist the container disappeared, fading into the air.

"How did you do that?" I asked, curiosity boiling inside me. Aurelia laughed a little at my frowning face, answering with that calming smile of hers.

"Phoenexias have a sort of hidden vault where they can keep their materialistic things that would help cure different beings in different ways. Sometimes, the things made from Nature are enough and more effective than energy healing. The more practice you have, the more stronger and larger will this vault get."

I wondered if I could do that too, though Aurelia did mention only the Phoenexias. Aurelia gave me a reassuring nod, probably saying that we'll figure out these things later. I gave her a smile, turning my back on the dead end of the alley.

"Alright everyone! We'll rest, um, where were we supposed to rest again?" I asked, turning towards Jay.

Evelyn and Elek walked to where Jay stood, a sly grin crossing Evelyn's face.

"Look beneath you," Evelyn said, as Elek nudged Conrad sharply in his arm, who raised his hand up with a tired face. I frowned, turning my gaze to the floor, when suddenly a hole opened beneath me. Now, this is not one of those cases where I would hover in the air dramatically for a few seconds because I fell immediately.

"Hey what- Elek! I'm going to kick you and Evelyn, I swear!"

I stopped suddenly, hovering an inch above the air, before I was dropped on the ground, my legs knocking each other briefly. I stretched my hands up, and my eyes hastily rolled to see the hole above me. The sudden rush of adrenaline left me and I narrowed my eyes, standing straight up with confidence.

"You two better come down right now so I can give you a good beating! And what even is this place?"

"You wouldn't even a hurt a fly, Audrey," Elek said rather cheekily, clearly containing his laughter. "you scolded Galen the other day for catching a fly, even though it was annoying you a lot!"

My cheeks warmed and I mumbled. "Yeah that doesn't matter. Now get down here! We can't waste time!"

Elek and Evelyn's face now sat on the edges of the circle above me.

Evelyn's close enough to push Elek in. I could prank him back...

I shook my head, smiling briefly before raising my hand up and pulling it back towards me, telling the others to come join me.