Bounden

Saira

The amount of injured and dead continued to pile up. I had used so much power in the fight that I didn’t have any left to heal them. The old woman from before had set up an impressive system. The critically injured were grouped together and had the most attendants caring for them.

Minor injuries such as cuts and broken bones were sent to an area where they could rest while they waited for the few attendants available in that group. Galorian had sent people over to help set the tents up at the start of the battle, they were ready and waiting when the first injured started to pour in.

The pile of dead soldiers was the biggest of them all. The survivors were charged with gathering them, piling them up and killing off any remaining demons hiding among the dead. They had been given orders to collect all amor and weapons. Then they could go into the mass grave that we would set ablaze in a ceremony.

It had been hours since the battle had finished and I told Aurelia that I would send her a report. All I knew right now was that our number was significantly depleted and we would not be able to stand against another battle like this. Not without reinforcements. There was no point in disturbing her now. I knew she was with Galorian, that she would be with him from now on.

Another worry I had to deal with was the mental connection she now shared with my brother, Zephyrus. If he could do it then I was sure that I could to. Our powers were different but I was stronger now. While I tended to the gaping wound on a man's side, I tried to access that power. The man was unconscious, all his mental defenses were down. It was the perfect time to try it. But how to get started?

There was no text in the books that I had seen in regards how to do this. Even the histories didn’t say too much, only that it had happened, never how. I closed my eyes and pictured the man before me. He was peaceful in his dreams, maybe that was the way in. I imagined what that peace would look like. My hands continued to work while my mind was focused on this new kind of magic.

I didn’t have much magic left but I mustered what I had. I imagined it as part of the peaceful dream this man was having. My magic swirled like a whirlpool in my mind. White light so beautiful that shifted into the sun. A man and woman tended to a small garden outside of a small house. They smiled and talked about the future they planned together. I had never seen this place before.

I was in the man's dream! It had worked! I didn't expect it to take so little energy, to be so easy. So, I could do it while the person was asleep. Now I had to try it on someone who was awake. I let go of the magic and returned to myself. The wound was closed and the bandage was as tight as it should be. He would be fine for now.

I scanned the area for someone who was awake. There, a few beds down from me was one. I got up and walked over to him. His wounds were horrid but he would survive. Half of his face had been cold burned by ice. They eye was gone and the flesh was red, black and flaking off. I tried to tend to the wounds that I could while I focused on his mind.

When I got through, it was all I could do to get back out. His mind was pure pain. The screams of agony filled his and my mind. When I was myself again, I grabbed a vial from my bag and poured a little sleeping potion down his throat. Let him sleep while his body healed itself. I cleaned and bandaged his wounds before moving on.

I had good news now to report to Aurelia. But first there was one more person I wanted to see, one that I wanted to try and understand. I had not seen Kairios since the battle finished. I knew he was alive. Watched out for his body as I walked through the blood-soaked beds. Each time I saw black curling hair my heart would skip a beat.

It took a while to find him in a tent full of generals. They were discussing what to do next, where we should go. I stayed outside the tent walls. I wouldn’t be welcome in there and I didn’t have to be in there to try this. At least I didn’t think that I had to be. I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes. There were at least five men in there. I waited for each of them to speak so I could figure out their locations.

“This is her fault.” One, older and not Kairios. He was tired and sounded furthest away.

“We are not capable of fighting these battles.” Two. Young with a voice full of arrogance and closest to me.

“We should retreat! How can we be expected to go on when so many of our number are lying in bed dying?” Three, this one was sad to have to say such words, he sounded close to the entrance.

“There is nowhere for us to go. Can't you fools see that?” Four. That meant that the last voice had to be him. He stood near the first speaker.

“We cannot retreat. That is the last option on the table. That woman, whom you're so quick to blame, has nearly died twice for you now. We are not capable to fight these kinds of enemies, that is true. What other option do we have? What are your ideas, or do you just have complaints?” Kairios sounded tired, his voice was so low.

I focused on the spot where his voice came from. Imagined what he would look like. He hated these men, the way they all wanted control over something they had no right to. However, they were necessary to win. I refocused until I could see the silver light of my power and I could see the destination that I needed to send it to. It was green and beautiful.

Laughter filled the air as three young boys played in the tall green grass. The two younger ones chased each other while the eldest watched. There was such happiness in the memory. Then the dream shifted to a late-night near the lake. The moans of a woman and a man in the same pace carried across the water. Love and passion filled the air and made my heart start to beat faster.

Then it shifted again. Only this time it was a loop of memories flashing by quickly. I caught a longer glimpse of a few of them. It was pure agony to look on the burned flesh of his body, the pain he felt clouded the memory. Next it was a dead boy with a familiar face laying on the ground. Heart ache clouded all thought of anything happy and pure.

I needed to get out of his thoughts, out of his pain. I could get into his mind but there was no control after that. That was the next step, taking back my control. I was so tired and I could feel my magic starting to dissipate. I needed to dig back into the memory of them together. The way that he felt about her. The screams and cries of pain started to go quiet.

He stood alone with a pile of the dead at his feet. He was looking out over the wreckage of the battle. I stood behind him and followed his line of sight, to where he was looking at Aurelia. She was covered in blood and looked like she was about to pass out. It took all his will not to go to her. The past feeling of love still swelled in his heart. It fought with the pain and continued to lose to it.

I felt sorry for him. No one so kind should feel such pain. He started to imagine himself walking over to her but stopped. Next to Aurelia stood Galorian, offering her a hand. When she took it, he turned and walked away. I had to yank myself out of his mind; I didn’t want to feel that pain any longer. It was too similar to the betrayal I felt from Massell.

I was back to myself standing outside in the mud. Well, this is what I wanted, to know that I could do it to any mind I wanted. I also knew that Kairios still loved Aurelia, he was just in too much pain to be able to see it. Maybe over time he would have been able to heal and come back to her. But now with Galorian here, that seemed impossible.

There was too much work to be done to stay standing there feeling sorry for my friend. Hundreds of dead and injured needed my attention right now. I also needed some time to think about how to reverse the magic to be able to block someone off. There had to be a way to give her the protection she needed and not need to be with her at every moment of the day.

Maybe there was a charm that I could give her, something that she could wear. I started to think about the ring and the strange magic that was used in it. Talismans had been used a long time ago when magic was new to us. We needed a way to channel it, over the years our bodies had grown stronger and able to with stand it. The way it had now turned to ink and was part of her, there was a lot to consider.

There was no way to do any research out here. All the books that I brought with us had been read and I knew that they held nothing that would help me here. It took me a few more hours of working and going through possibilities. Then it hit me like the silver light that I was given. I was such a fool for not thinking about it first!

The answer was already in my hands, had been the whole time. All I had to do was cast a spell on her to lock her thoughts away from any intruders. And I would use my crystal to do it.