Fade To Black, The Curseborn Saga, Book 1

Chapter 16 - An Unexpected Cruelty

"Baelie!" Remi cried, running over to where she had collapsed. "Baelie!!"

Her sister was wheezing uncontrollably, with her body in a fit of spasms. The lingering smell of honey on her armor made Remi want to lick her from head to toe, but the fresh feelings of terror held her back. Maile was nowhere in sight, as she had started running away at full speed the moment the wasps had even come close to them.

"Maile!" Remi called out to her. "Maile, come back!! It's ok!"

Whirling around, Remi found Arya. "This place is sick! You train with those things!?" Arya kneeled down next to Baelie, ignoring Remi's words. Baelie had multiple sting wounds that had pierced her armor like a knife through butter. Her skin was inflamed and swelling, leaking a thick white pus that smelled so terrible, Remi was on the verge of losing her lunch.

"Do not grieve for her. She will survive. And it seems that your sister is stronger than you thought," Arya said, laying her hand on Baelie's forehead. "I must say, I am impressed. For a moment there, I glimpsed true courage in her. She's just full of surprises, isn't she?" Arya moved quickly around Baelie's body, examining her.

"To think she actually made it all the way to the honey and back," Arya muttered. "It's nearly unbelievable. You have no idea how rare it is that someone makes it back from the honey, alive, on their first encounter. Your sister is a truly remarkable individual."

"Stop complimenting her and help her!" Remi could barely look at Baelie's grievous wounds.

"I can help her!" It sounded like the voice of a child that had spoken up.

Remi looked up to find a small girl wearing plain white mage's robes. She had a soft genuine smile, and big blue eyes that reminded Remi of the tree spirits; straight copper-like hair that shone like the metal itself fell down over her shoulders. The girl knelt down, gently brushing Baelie's hair behind her ears.

"Lady Aquas," said Arya, bowing. "Thank you for coming."

"To think this young girl actually made it all the way to the honey and back," whispered Aquas. "I can't believe it, even though I witnessed the whole thing with my own eyes. Just goes to show that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

"Why is everyone making it seem like she should have died?" Remi's eyes darted from Arya to Aquas.

"What's done is done," said Aquas. "She has survived. Nothing else matters now."

Remi took in the sight of Aquas again. Something about her energy, something about her overall appearance was. . . Blinking twice, Remi forgot what she was thinking about. Looking back at Baelie, she remembered and turned her eyes back to Aquas.

Wait, what just happened?

She could feel a strange numbness in the back of her mind when she focused too hard on the girl. Every time she tried to think about Aquas in any way, shape, or form, her mind would go blank, as though an invisible barrier were protecting her.

"Are you a member of the Force, as well?" This time it was Maile who spoke, who had just walked back over to them.

"I am, indeed, young one," said Aquas, holding her hands out over Baelie's twitching body. Upon each and every finger she wore a different ring, copper, brass or silver. Each ring was etched with ancient looking characters that Remi couldn't transcribe. Yet, even when she tried to focus and remember a single one of the symbols, it just seemed to pass out of her mind and away into nothingness.

Just thinking about you is utterly frustrating! Remi thought. Why is everyone in the Force so weird!? And why does just being around you make my head go all crazy!? How the heck could this little girl have the power to control my thoughts. My thoughts!! She took a few deep breaths, trying to take back control of her own mind.