“Ismene, I don’t mean any disrespect, but this Magick is lethal. My power–itburnsthings. I can’t touch him with it!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, girl. For this spell to work we need the fyreandyour Magick. He will be just fine. Do you want to save him or not?”
Airess looked down at Taryn’s face and realized an unspoken truth, a truth she wasn’t ready to put into words. She met Ismene’s eyes and nodded, carefully placing her hand over Taryn’s heart.
Her pulse quickened with fear that she would burn a hole straight through his chest, but his skin remained intact. There was no physical reaction at all.
“Good. Just like I thought.” Ismene commented, and placed the azure flames onto Taryn’s Oathmark.
“Wait! What is that fyre?” Airess asked, panicked.
Ismene looked at her in disbelief, as if Airess should already know.
“TheSoulfyre,” Ismene said. “One of the many fyres of life given to us by the Gods. It has healing properties, enough to restore his soul, if the Gods deem him worthy.”
Ismene left no time for Airess to ask any more questions. The priestess began to speak erratically in a language Airess didn’t recognize, her voice ebbing and flowing with her words. Her arms and body shook as she performed the spell.
Taryn sucked in a breath whilst still unconscious, his brows creasing in anguish. Ismene ceased her chanting and looked to Airess expectantly. “Now is your part. In order for this spell to work, I need a Magick only you possess to pull him out of his curse. I can only do so much from my end. Use your abilities, reach his mind, and set him free.”
Airess’ heart pounded as she looked from Taryn to Ismene.
“How do I do that?”
“How do we reach anyone’s mind? By connection. Find your connection, and pull him back to the surface.”
How was she supposed toreach his mind?
This was madness. Airess started to doubt Ismene’s methods, but she also knew the severity of the situation.
How can she reach his mind, his spirit, his… dreamform?
Airess did what she felt called to do, listening to a deeper part of herself. She closed her eyes and breathed, slowing her heart and mind.One. Two. Three. Four.
She let go of her earthly tether and envisioned her dreamform –
Suddenly, she was above her own body–above Ismene and Taryn on the table. Her physical form was glowing, Airess’ eyes were not her usual gold, but glowed a soft lilac. Airess realized whatever she was doing was more than just dreamwalking. She reached out a ghostly hand towards Taryn’s heart.
“Taryn.” She spoke softly, her voice echoing. “It’s me, Airess.”
She lowered her body until she was closer to him, setting her dreamform hand over his body.
Upon touching him, she was transported inwards to the depths of his mind, and she was suddenly falling through darkness. Airess felt the terror, the never-ending nightmare he seemed to be trapped in. She heard the screams of war. Saw blood on Taryn’s young hands, desperately scrambling to retrieve an arrow in a battlefield. Then, images of Taryn sitting alone, barely aged thirteen–homeless amongst the streets. It was everything he never said about his past.
She had to think. What was she to do next? His soul felt far, yet so close. So close that if she could just reach a little deeper, she could yank him free from whatever kept him captive. She felt him brimming underneath the surface, whatever this in-between state was.
“I’m not letting you go,” she said, and slowly sunk her hand into Taryn’s body.
His physical body jerked, muttering vague sentences.
I need to reach your mind, she thought.
Airess felt cold, dark Magick recoiled at her intrusion into Taryn’s psyche. Whatever it was, it didn’t want her there. The sentient Magick struck Airess and gripped onto her ankles. It dragged her deeper within the black void, the embodiment of Taryn’s trauma. The black Magick crept up Airess’ legs, pulling her under. She cried out, not sure what was happening. Not sure if she could survive whatever this was.
Airess closed her eyes. She had a strong mind. She knew she could do this. She knew she had the strength to fight back.
She called upon her Starlight, willing the energy to expand around her like an aura. She screamed, ripping through the dark Magick’s hold until it was nothing but a speck of dust within Taryn’s mind.
Airess wasted no time being free of its hold. The world spun as she searched for him under the layers of terror, fear and sadness. Under the layers of memories that had engulfed him. She pulsed her Magick–whatever it was–into his astral body. She reached out into the void, ready to find Taryn.
