Colorless II: Black & White

7 - Uncertain Haze

"Rinian," Meira said. Her tone was curt, and his heart jumped guiltily. He knew he was in trouble. She said his name again, but he couldn't get to her. His legs and arms wouldn't move. His eyes were glued shut. He tried to speak, but the effort made pain beat against his head like someone was trying to crack it open with a sharp rock.

"Rinian!" she said again.

"What?" he finally managed to say, but what came from his chest was only a weak groan. The sound of his own voice broke the illusion. Meira wasn't there. A strange, powerful emotion gripped his throat at that realization, but he couldn't name it.

Someone was touching him. They felt along his torso and pushed back his hair to check for blood. He was surprised when they examined his neck next. How could they miss the fissure down the center of his skull?

He pried an eye open, and for the briefest moment, he thought he saw Meira's dark pink hair. Instead, it was maroon fabric from Lyra's coat. She leaned over him, and Rinian averted his eyes from her chest. "What happened?" she asked when she noticed him blinking the blurriness from his vision.

"It's my fault," Senya said. She sounded as miserable as Rinian felt.

Ilyse and Nell were there too. Embarrassment began to burn hot at his skin.

Nell took his hand in one of hers, and she wiped his face with her sleeve. "Sweat," she lied. He could feel the stinging in his eyes. Rinian threw an arm over his brow and wished that everyone would leave him alone. Nell didn't let go of his hand, but she turned away to give him some privacy. She was the only one who did. He could feel their eyes on him.

"It's my head," he said when he decided it was better to admit there was something wrong than to let everyone think he'd fainted because he was some weak-hearted child who missed his mommy. He regretted it as soon as Lyra started touching him again, parting his hair to look for an injury. Her fingers were like tiny hammers. If Rinian had a free hand, he'd have pushed her away. "Stop! It's not...it just hurts."

"Like a headache?" Lyra asked.

He would have nodded if it didn't cause pain to roll around in his skull.

"Can you... I mean... have you ever...?"

"No." Small ailments like headaches or colds had never bothered him before. Whenever Rinian had been in pain, there had always been a very clear reason for it. Like an arrow to the shoulder or a charcoaled hand. This time was very different. There was nothing on the surface that he could find to heal. Even his body didn't seem to know what to do to fix itself.

"From the magic?" Senya asked.

Again, he stopped himself from nodding. "Yeah."

Lyra frowned. "What magic?"

"During the fight earlier, he used two types of magic at once," Senya explained. There was clear relief in her voice. That she hadn't been responsible for his fainting.

Rinian curled his fingers around Nell's hand. He wanted everyone to go away, and he wished he could telepathically communicate that to her. When she spoke, it wasn't what he wanted to hear. "What do you think?" she asked.

Thayer was standing behind her, back away from the swarm crowded over Rinian. He let out a slow breath and then inhaled sharply through his nose. "It's certainly not an impossible feat," he said. "Plenty of people have managed it before."

Senya was probably disappointed about that. She'd thought he was so amazing for doing it.

Thayer continued in a condescending tone. "Magical strain, most likely. Although, unless he's been continuing to use magic like a moron, there's no reason the symptoms should be worsening."