Awakened (Bloodline, #1)

Chapter 17

17: The Blood Curse

We were just several hundred meters away from the borders of Vrivarya but with Kei's condition, we could not even move from our current position. Moria said moving him might spread the poison in his bloodstreams faster so we had to camp in a nearby cave.

It must be too frustrating for them because we were literally a few steps from our destination. Moria even went for an extreme proposal of leaving him here, but I vehemently rejected it, leaving us stuck in the cave. Few seconds later, she said she was just kidding.

Was this really the time for a joke? And I doubt it was a joke in the first place, but I couldn't be sure.

"What should we do?" I murmured.

She sighed in dejection. "I'm afraid there is nothing more I can do, lady."

Kei groaned in pain. His wound looked worse now. His ashen complexion was turning paler and the blood vessels in his right arm and neck became visible under his skin, a sign that the poison had already spread in those parts.

Worried and desperate, I turned to Moria. "Why can't you heal him? I mean . . . I have always thought mages can heal people?"

She held her gaze and for a second, I was afraid I offended her. "Perhaps you misunderstood, lady," she replied, shifting from her seat. "Yes, normal mages have healing abilities but only for themselves. It is limited to our own bodies, and for this reason, we are quite confident with direct attacks. But also for this reason, we prefer to fight alone or with other mages. Clearly, having three mages was far more advantageous than our group."

Naalala ko naman ang nangyari kanina. Despite my attack against Alfonse, the same one that killed the Katteris and ghouls, he seemed not too worried about it, and even managed to heal himself. Moria also said that she could heal herself when she volunteered to be my target for practicing that ability, but I thought that was just a subtle way of saying she was far stronger than me.

"Arcanes are our only hope now," said Irus who settled beside me.

"Arcanes?"

She let out a heavy sigh. "True, normal mages can only heal themselves, but there are also mages who can cure everyone but themselves."

"I presume those are the arcanes?"

She nodded. "They are a special kind of mages. Undeads who can restore anyone back to health, regardless of what kind of injury or magic has been inflicted to the victim."

"Then we should see one!"

"Oh, that's impossible, lady," she retorted. "It's precisely because of their crucial abilities that they are protected. They live in the castle and mountains, both located at the far end of Vrivarya."

The little hope growing inside me was shattered immediately upon hearing that. I thought we would have a chance to save him.

Irus became more restless. He had been pacing back and forth, worried about Kei's well-being. He wanted to run to Vrivarya, too, but Moria said we shouldn't, much to my surprise, since earlier, that was what she wanted to do. After much consideration, she said the cave was the safer option, for now, because those mages might still be around. With Kei being—in her words—useless, along with my strong presence, we would be more open to attacks. At least here, Moria could focus on dressing Kei's wound, and Irus could defend us easier.

But wait, if we managed to run to Vrivarya while carrying Kei, perhaps there could be a chance.

"But that would be a better option than him dying here, right?" tanong ko.