It was quiet this far away from the town, and she took her last few moments outside to marvel at the birdsong and splash of the river in the distance. It sounded like peace, and she could get used to it. Xia mounted the steps, pushed the heavy wooden door open and was standing in the entry room within a few strides. She stopped short when a loud crash echoed.
“Nyx?” Brooks’ voice sounded behind the wooden table, deep and full of concern. Xia caught a glimpse of booted feet peeking out from behind and her heart fluttered.
Something was wrong.
“Nyx!” The urgency pulled Xia from her stupor, and she raced to his side. The pixie-like girl was lying on the floor, her mouth slightly agape as small tremors wracked her body. What caught Xia’s gaze, however, was the absence of the violet irises she had been so taken by.
White, milky eyes stared at the ceiling as Brooks shook her fragile frame. Xia knelt beside them and placed her hands on Nyx’s cheeks. She didn’t feel warm to the touch, and the tremors weren’t big enough that she would hurt herself. It was more aseries of consistent twitches than anything, like she was lost in a dream.
Xia closed her eyes and focused on where their skin met.
“Can you heal her?”
Xia flicked her eyes up to catch the last moments of hope cross his beautiful face until it fell to concern. “No, I can’t. Sometimes I can speak to the blood, but I’m not getting anything.”
“What the hell does that mean, Siren?” he squeaked.
She looked back to him and would have laughed if the circumstances were different. Sitting in front of her was not the ageless God of Chaos. It was Brooks with his dramatic expressions and unique spark that she was so drawn to. Compassionate but at the same time unyielding.
For god's sake, focus.
“It’s hard to explain.” Xia removed her hands from Nyx and sat back on her heels, unsure what to do next to help the girl. There was no blood, no foam seeping from the mouth, and no indication as to the cause of the attack.
“I’m going to need you to try.” Brooks still had his hands on the girl but was no longer shaking her senseless.
“I have–” she stopped, trying to pull a coherent explanation from her muddled thoughts. “I have an atypical affinity for water. I am a direct descendent of Poseidon, which means that my chaos is strong. Undiluted.”
“And tell me how that relates to blood?”
“I can call to water in every way imaginable, in all of its forms. From the largest body of water to particles so small you can’t see them with your eyes.”
“I guess this is where the blood comes in.”
“Zeus almighty, Brooks!”
He held up his hands apologetically but didn’t speak.
“Our bodies are made up ofso muchwater. Specifically our blood. I can’t tell a whole lot from it, but sometimes if there wasany sort of poison or substance ingested, I can sense it in the blood because it changes the water inside.”
“What do we do?”
The fact that this all-knowing being was relying on her for knowledge and strength was endearing. Like they were a team.
“I guess we just… wait.”
“Wait?”
“She will either come out of it or die.” Xia shrugged.
“I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t that.”
“Can’t you do something for her?”
A battle waged inside him, so intense that every emotion filtered through to his expression. Fear melted into concentration before disappointment took over.
“I don’t have anything left. It comes back slowly, but I can’t–” Brooks ran a hand through his hair, leaving the wayward curls mussed in such a boyish manner it caught Xia off-guard. “I can’t help her.” The muscle in his jaw flexed as his troubled eyes watched the convulsions wrack Nyx’s body.
“It’s okay, Brooks.” Xia forced as much compassion into her voice as she could. The world would be more than happy to place the weight of itself on his shoulders. Chaos may not have cared to carry that burden, but Brooks? Brooks would hold it until it crushed him. “Death cannot be helped here. We’ve lived and died for thousands of years. It’s just the way it works.”
