Page 34 of Elmwood Inclusive Magic Academy
I feel…certain. Powerful.
I try to remember what my mother and Professor Chan told me. About letting go of effort, letting go of the boundaries between myself and Rae. My senses shift and my mind loses the distinction between my hands and her body. I can sense the edges of Rae’s wound, grasping for wholeness. I can hear her moan in pain. My heart aches, beating in perfect synchrony with her’s.
“Maggie, it’s working!” whispers Hallie, urgently. “Keep going!”
My eyes are shut, but I’ve found a new awareness more powerful than sight. I oscillate my focus between her wound and the space around it. It coaxes Rae’s wound to heal, to knit itself together the way it naturally would over many weeks.
I lose track of time.
“Oh my god, Maggie,” Hallie gasps.
I open my eyes, slowly. Rae is unconscious, but her breathing is steady. There’s still bright red blood around her, but now her wound is clotted. It doesn’t look pretty, but it’s much, much better than before.
“Maggie,” says Hallie, tossing the healing book onto my bed.“Howdid you…”
I exhale slowly. “Well, you told me I could do it!”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think you actuallycould!” Hallie gaps at Rae’s closed wound. “Holy shit, I had no idea you had so much natural ability! Are you sure you’ve never done that before?”
“Never…”
I survey Rae’s wound warily. HowdidI manage to do that? Could it have been Pan, amplifying my abilities? That wouldn’t be enough to dothis, would it?
I’m suddenly very faint. Hallie puts her arm around me and gives me a reassuring squeeze.
“It’s ok, it’s all done now. You should really get some rest. I don’t need to sleep, I can watch over Rae.”
“Ok…”
Hallie puts me into bed and tucks the covers around me. She looks a little intimidating with the blood around her mouth, but right now I’m just grateful for her presence.
As my eyes drift shut, I look at Rae’s limp form on the bed. A warm sense of relief washes over me. She’s all right.
I fall asleep immediately.
Rae
I can still smell the panther. I can feel his hot breath close to my face. I can hear the horrible, squelching sound of his teeth ripping through my chest.
They went for the vampire first, which was surprising. Maybe they wanted to teach her a lesson about hunting with me. Maybe they wanted to surprise her and take her out first. She’s young…maybe they guessed they could overpower her. She didn’t know much about fighting.
I know about fighting. I took out the first panther - crept in on her blind spot. But I knew I couldn’t beat the numbers. There was another one on my tail. The vampire got spooked. She retreated for a moment, thinking they would back off. They didn’t.
All four of them ambushed me, and their leader got a good bite in. I thought the vampire would save herself, get away while they were busy with me. But she didn’t. She used her healing powers against them. She knew she could heal more easily thanthey could, so she launched herself at them, one by one. I have no idea why she came back. But she got them good enough that they retreated back into the woods.
I can’t remember much after that. Only the pain.
And the witch, but that must have been a dream.
CAN'T I DROWN HIM A LITTLE?
Maggie
When I wake up, the sun is already out. Hallie must be in her coffin.
I sit up, displacing Pan, who was sleeping on my chest.
“Ow!” he says, rubbing his head with his paw.
