Taken

Chapter 30

"He don't have much time left, love. We better hurry," Ray says as he flutters around Leo, examining his wounds. Vul has his eyes narrowed at the pixie but says nothing.

            "Okay," I say as I kneel beside Leo. "What do I have to do?"

            "Place a hand on his head and one on his heart. When you heal, always start with the mind and the soul. The light'll cleanse both first before moving onto the wounds." I nod and do as he says. He then kneels on my right hand, the one over Leo's heart. "Now I can only do so much. Light pixies weren't crafted for healing, but I can guide you." He turns to Vul. "You'll have to keep an eye on the door. In order for this to work we can't be disturbed."

            I repeat this to Vul who nods curtly and then heads over to the entrance. He crouches down beside it, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

            "Now you need to shut your eyes and imagine his wounds closing. Think of the gashes stitching themselves together and the bruises fading," Ray says and I nod. Leo's eyes are closed and his breathing is ragged. Sweat slides down his face.

            I take in each of his injuries, memorizing them before shutting my eyes and picturing the wounds closing, healing, then vanishing all together. The light inside me stirs, its movement erratic, trying desperately to escape.

            "The light's first instinct will be to mend him, but it wants to do so all at once. His body won't be able to handle it. You can feel it, can't you? Trying to escape?"

            "Yeah," I say, wincing at its erratic movements.

            "You can't let that happen. You have to control it, to let it trickle through only your hands. Think of it like a faucet, with you turning the handle, just a gentle turn."

            I take a deep breath through my nose, trying to grasp onto the light. "Okay," I say with a nod.

            "I'll do my best to help guide the light through your hands, but you control the amount, just don't let it control you."

            Another deep breath.

            Come on, I think as I furrow my eyebrows, trying not to wince at the light's intensity. You are the host. You are in control.

Besides, it's just a faucet Ari. All you have to do is turn it on.

I imagine a hand wrapping around the light, concentrating it into a thin stream. At first I can't get a grip on it. It keeps thrashing around inside me, rebelling.

            "You're in control," Ray says. I nod, concentrating harder.

            Inhale.

            Exhale.

            There.

            It's in my hand now, growing thinner and less intense as I manipulate it. I direct it toward my hands, toward Leo. Ray brushes against it, guiding it into the heart and into the mind. I imagine the wounds closing, disappearing from Leo's skin. And then they do. I feel them shifting, mending right under my fingertips. The light is warming me up to the point just below searing, taking away Leo's wounds and the pain.

            "Ari," Vul yells, but his voice is far away, muffled. "Someone's coming."

            Inhale.