Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 365

Chapter 365: Not yet dead
Ford silently growled at himself, hating the weak feeling of waking up from involuntary unconsciousness.

This was becoming a habit, and a stupid one at that. Humiliating to have fainted–how many times now?–in front of Mia and her family. Absolutely mortifying.

Mia!

The last image he had before blacking out from magic overuse was Mia lunging towards the monster with his small whittling knife in her hand.

Before he could even manage the energy to pull his eyelids open, he calmed himself. He could feel her hand in his. It was all right. She was there, beside him, comforting him as much as she was preserving her own magic.

He squeezed it lightly, and realized that it was completely limp. His eyes snapped open with concern, and turned toward the feeling of her presence.

She was laying beside him, unconscious and pale.

Ford sat bolt upright, confused and alarmed, the questions sticking in his throat as he struggled to ask them.

“What–” He coughed, and a canteen was offered, uncorked and close to his mouth. He could do little more than tilt it back, so deep in his bones was the exhaustion.

Ford hoped intently that this was not the healing water. It would be wasted on him.

“Mia’s hurt,” Daniel said before any of the other adults could speak. “Mama said since you fix her magic, we should have you hold her hand to help her get better.”

“I hope that wasn’t out of line,” Anaisa’s eyes darted between her niece and her maybe-brother as he dealt with a wave of vertigo.

“No. Thank you for taking care of her,” Ford looked at Mia carefully. Had they not given her healing water? Where was she wounded? “What happened?”

“When you hid Mia, she stabbed the monster,” Daniel seemed far more eager to talk about the events than any adult in the group, so Ford listened as patiently as he could to the boy’s explanation. “Her hand got shredded on its scales and the green blood–we think it poisoned her. Some mythical creatures are known for their acidic blood. Of course, I haven’t read about anything like these, so I’ll let the princess know her library is incomplete–”

“In a very respectful way,” Anaisa amended a little sharply.

“Of course, Mama,” The boy looked a little offended.

“Please,” Ford cringed, but Seth took mercy on his desire for knowledge.

“Her hand was her only wound. We gave her the water from the clearing, and it healed the wound, but she is still pale. We’re not sure whether the blood had magical side effects. We’ve just been waiting to see whether she gets better…”

The woman’s father blinked and looked away, emotion clouding his gaze.

Ford turned his eyes to Mia. She was nearly as pale as the chalky surface of the floor on which she lay.

“How long has it been?”

“Three hours,” Grandpa spoke for the first time, and Ford had a flash of memory; the man had been crushed between the wall and the monster’s jaws.

“Are you all right?” He asked, but the old man waved Ford’s concern away.

“I’m always fine, Ford. I always will be.”

His brazen words came across as matter of fact from the patriarch of the family, and Ford was tempted to accept them at face value… until his gaze drifted towards the doorway.

The mountain of white scales constituting the monster’s skin almost fully blocked the egress of the chamber, causing Ford’s eyes to widen. Viscous green liquid pooled underneath its bulk, a bizarre contrast to the milky white of the floor.

Somehow, it was more disturbing than the red blood one would expect from any creature.

“We were hoping… that is, if Mia could wake, and look for a safe place for us to touch the corpse…” Anaisa’s voice faltered. “We don’t want anyone else to suffer the poisoning she’s gone through, so we haven’t attempted to move the body yet. We will soon if she doesn’t wake.”

Ford nodded slowly, wishing his power were something more useful for the situation.

“Thank you, for shielding Mia,” Seth told him quietly.

“I had to,” Ford frowned. “She was in danger.”

“We all were!” Daniel protested, but his mother shushed him.

Looking at the woman’s face, Ford wondered how much pain she might be in. Poisonous gases in the mines could make men’s muscles convulse, leaving them screaming in pain as they died. It was a terrible thing.

Was the poison from the monster anything like that? Despite being unconscious, was Mia suffering?

Still holding her limp hand lightly in his, Ford concentrated on masking her pain. He’d never tried to do this for anyone but himself. There hadn’t been a need, nor really an opportunity.

He felt faint, and looked away. Of course, completely exhausting his magic was what had made him pass out in the first place. It was stupid to try something like this immediately upon waking!

Ridiculous, and yet, his concern for her seemed to override his sense.

He closed his eyes, wishing there were a way to replenish his magic more quickly.

“Is there anything else we can do for her?” He whispered to no one in particular, causing Grandpa to clear his throat.

“Not that we can think of. We gave her the rest of the special water, and there’s no other medicine we brought along that we think would do any good to counter green blood-poison, if that’s what’s even happening.”

“I see.”

The words were not full of resignation, but thought. Surely there was something to do. Waiting couldn’t be enough. Shouldn’t. Ford grimaced.

“Can I get you something to eat? More water?” Anaisa offered, searching his face carefully, but Ford shook his head.

He was going to ask how long they would wait, but Mia was their compass, their map. Without her, there was nowhere to go. Maybe even no way to get back.

But none of that mattered to him right now. He was far more concerned about Mia’s well being than the group’s future. So much so that it frightened him a little.