Millian and Angeli

  Millian & Angeli

  "Millian!" The whisper echoed in my ears, making me jump. The room was empty, which meant one thing.

  "Stop doing that, Angeli!" I sent back. "You want me to get caught?"

  "No, but listen," the voice whispered in my ear again. I did my best not to react as one of the Healers passed by the door of the room. Gritting my teeth, I turned back to the bed and ripped the sheets off, stuffing them in the basket by the door. Holding my breath, I turned to the bedpan. With any luck, it would be empty.

  Of course it wasn't.

  "Okay, so, I'm working with the horses, right?" Angeli's voice continued. I hoped she had remembered to limit her voice to my ears this time. I didn't want people to think I was talking to myself. Again. Especially around here, that was dangerous.

  "And?" I replied while dumping the contents of the bedpan into a large bucket. I turned away to keep from gagging. That done, I rinsed the bedpan with a bit of water from another bucket and slid it back under the bed.

  This was my life.

  "Well, they're just so cute!" Angeli continued, oblivious to what I was doing. "They have these little pointy ears, and-"

  "Wait, stop," I answered while gathering up the buckets and basket to move to the next room. "You opened your mind to the Madness, risking your own sanity and my discovery by the Quis, to tell me that the horses are cute?"

  "Yeah!"

  "You don't even work with the horses! You clean up after them!"

  "They're still cute, though."

  I rolled my eyes and didn't reply.

  Another voice from the doorway caused me to jump. "And what was that look for?" it said.

  "Oh - nothing," I said, regaining my composure. The voice belonged to Seraine, one of the Healers that worked at the clinic.

  "Come now, Millian," Seraine said, coming into the room. "We both know you despise this work. You can admit it."

  "You're not going to goad me again," I said with gritted teeth. "Don't you have patients to attend to?"

  "That's no way to talk to your employer. Especially one who was nice enough to take you in when nobody else wanted you."

  I glared, but wisely held my tongue as I finished gathering up my supplies to move to the next room. Seraine still blocked the door.

  "May I continue?" I said in my best fake-sweet voice.

  Seraine's scowl deepened.

  "You're not in school anymore." she said. "Sooner or later you're going to have to realize that popularity means nothing in the real world."

  "Yes, Seraine."

  I stood and endured the woman's glare. After a moment, she stepped aside and I continued past to the next room.

  I allowed myself a small grin of victory once I was out of her sight. Whatever she might think, the real world wasn't so different from school. I had tangled with girls like her before, and I always came out on top.

  "Hey, Angeli." I sent the message to my friend's ears alone. "Let's go out tonight. I need to let off some steam."

  "Yeah!" she replied. "There's this new club out east that I've been wanting to check out."

  ***

  I arrived at the club shortly after Millian. Fortunately, she was easy to find even without our abilities. All I had to do was look for the crowd of boys - she'd be at the center.

  Sure enough, when I managed to shoulder my way through the press of bodies, I saw Millian in the center, preening under the attention. Of course I exaggerate, but Millian's always been able to attract enough attention that neither of us have ever had to pay for a drink.

  We had a great time that night - what I remember of it, anyway. The drinks were strong, the dancing was wild, and the music was loud - The club had certainly spared no expense, though I'm not sure they even had a vocalist. If they did, I couldn't hear her over the beat. I think they had hired an Illusionist to enhance the drums, 'cause I could feel it in my chest. If Millian had been willing to go to the Asylum, we could have jobs like that.

  At the end of the night, we made our way home, giggling and wavering just slightly. We arrived at the inn shortly after one in the morning.

  "Shhh!" Millian whispered as we came in the door. "We don't want Folian to hear us."

  We crept toward the stairs as stealthily as we could.

  "Girls." The voice made us jump, then cringe. Figures that he would be waiting for us. "You do realize that your room fee is due today?"

  I'd long since learned to let Millian handle matters like this, so I kept my mouth shut and moved back as she took control of the situation.

  "Yes, Folian," she said. "And we still have nearly twenty-four hours to pay it."

  "Twenty-two hours and fifty-one minutes. I hope you can still afford it after drinking all night. I'd hate to have to put two pretty girls out on the street."

  "Ha," I said. "You think we pay for our own drinks?"

  The glare from Millian told me I should have stuck to my plan of keeping my mouth shut.

  "No," Folian said. "I don't imagine you do. You know, I think we could work out an arrangement where you don't have to pay for rooms either."

  Millian has always had the ability to drain all emotion from her voice, making it colder than ice. She did that now. "You'll have your money tomorrow," she said. "Good night, Folian."

  I wasn't dumb, but I was a little naive, so it took me a second to catch on. "Oh!" I said. "You want sex! Sex for free rooms!"

  "Let's go, Angeli," Millian said, pulling at my arm.

  "Waitwaitwait," I said. "Aren't you with Helina? What does she think of this arrangement?"

  For some reason, the question made Folian look like he ate something sour.

  "Come on," Millian said, pulling me up the stairs.

  ***

  Folian didn't show up in the common room at breakfast the next day, for which I was grateful. I couldn't help but glare at Angeli across the table as we ate. It wasn't just because of last night - actually, that had turned out rather well, as long as it didn't get us evicted. No, part of the reason was because Angeli had the day off from her job and I didn't. The other part was because she never seemed to show any of the lingering aftereffects of alcohol, whereas I wasn't sure I could keep my breakfast down.

  "Hey," Angeli said around a mouthful of food. "So I think I'm gonna hang out in the forest today."

  "Going to visit your friend?"

  Angeli paused with her fork halfway to her face. "How did you know about that?"

  "You told me, last night. You know you can't keep secrets. Even if you could, the food you're stuffing in that pack would raise some suspicions."

  I couldn't help a smile at the way she bounced up and down in excitement. "He's so cute, and I almost have him eating from my hand, and I just want to take him home and-"

  "No bringing him here," I interrupted. "He's a fox. He'd just as soon gnaw on your hand as take food from it."

  "You're wrong, he's sweet and different from all the other foxes."

  "Just be careful, Angeli."

  "I will."

  The sun glinting through the window told me it was time to get moving. I ignored my nausea and shoveled the rest of my breakfast into my mouth.

  "Gotta go," I said, standing.

  "Have fun at work!" Angeli said.

  I twisted my mouth at the sarcasm. "Thanks," I said dryly.

  "I was serious!"

  ***

  "Eddi! Where are you, Eddi? I have food for you!" I wasn't sure if he knew his name, or just recognized my voice, but he always showed up when I called.

  A flash of red caught my eye and I froze. Slowly I knelt on the ground and pulled a scrap of bacon from my pack. I held it out in front of me and waited patiently.

  After a couple minutes, a small red furry form crept out
from behind a tree and sat on his haunches ten feet away. I tossed the piece of bacon out in front of him, and it landed in the dirt a few feet in front of his nose.

  "You know," I said in a soft voice, "it wouldn't be so dirty if you took it from my hand."

  The fox cocked his head at me for a moment before focusing his attention on the meat. He sniffed it twice, then gulped it down.

  "There you go," I said. "Want some more?" I fished another piece out of my pack and held it out. "Come on, I'm not gonna hurt you."

  For the next hour I tried my best to coax the little guy closer to me, tempting him with bacon, ham, and even bread and eggs. He must have been starving, but he still refused to come close enough for me to feed him by hand.

  It was nearing evening when I finally gave up for the day. I tossed the remaining food to Eddi and stood, stretching. Then I heard the growl.

  All the hours I had spent practicing defense Illusions with Millian disappeared at that sound. Had I been able to think, the lone wolf wouldn't have posed a threat.

  But I froze.

  The wolf stalked closer, his meal assured. Even as he leapt, the only thing I could think of to do was raise my arm. His weight knocked me off my feet and I landed hard on my back as his jaws bit down, flooding my mind with pain. He ripped, tearing the flesh of my arm and splattering my face with blood as he stood over me.

  Terrified as I was, I had given no thought to Eddi - that is, until he shot past me and launched himself at the wolf, knocking him off balance. The fight was brief. Eddi missed his first lunge at the larger animal's throat, and within seconds landed with a small thud on the ground, neck crushed.

  The sight of his body lying on the ground jerked me out of my trance. With a thought, I created two Illusions - one of a blindingly bright light, which I placed in front of the wolf's eyes, and another of a sound like a thunderclap, which I focused on his ears.

  That did the trick. The wolf yelped once and scrambled around in the bush, trying to escape the Illusions. I removed the lights from his eyes, created one more thunderclap, and he took off through the woods like a frightened rabbit.

  I didn't even notice I was crying until I crouched over Eddi's body, hoping for some sign of life. I poked his chest. No movement. His eyes were open - one had dirt stuck to it. Hope fled, and I with it, racing through the forest with no regard to direction. Grief clouded my judgment, as tears clouded my eyes.

  The combination was more dangerous than any wolf.

  ***

  The wail in my ear nearly caused me to drop my bucket. "Millian!" Angeli cried.

  "What?" I replied. "What's wrong?"

  "He's dead, there was a wolf - my arm - and I was running and I tripped and I heard a snap I think it's broken and now it's getting dark and I think he's coming back and I don't know what to do I can't move-"

  "Wait, stop. Who's dead? Where are you?"

  "Eddi! Eddi's dead."

  "Calm down. Eddi's your fox friend?"

  "Uh huh."

  "Okay. What happened?"

  "There was a wolf," Angeli said, sounding calmer now. "And he attacked us, and he killed Eddi, and then I drove him off. But then I ran away, and I tripped and fell and I think I broke my ankle. I can't move, and it's getting dark and I'm scared."

  "Where are you? I'll come and get you, and we can bring you back to the Healers. We'll tell them we were both out for a walk. In the woods. In the dark."

  "I don't know where I am. West of town. You need to bring the Healers with you, or I'll never make it back."

  "And what do I tell them? They can't know we're Illusionists."

  "Millian, please. I don't care if they know. We have no choice."

  "I can't. I can't do it. I will not go to the Asylum, Angeli."

  Silence.

  "Angeli?"

  Her voice came to me, so quiet I almost couldn't hear it. "So tired. Gonna have a nap. Wake me when you get here."

  "Angeli! Damn it!"

  I was backed into a corner. I couldn't just leave her out there, and I couldn't bring her back on my own, especially if she was unconscious. There was no time to gather help outside of the clinic, and besides, word would spread anyway. There was only one thing to do.

  Mind made up, I raced down the hall to the dining room of the clinic. I threw open the door - and nearly ran into Seraine.

  "Finished your chores already, child?" she said. "Fine, let's go get your money then."

  "No, I-"

  "Not finished? Then get back to work. Whatever you're so excited about, I'm sure it can wait."

  "Let me-"

  "Go, now. Shoo. Come back when you're done."

  Anger bubbled up inside of me. I figured, well, I was already to committed to this, so I might as well go all the way. A simple Illusion amplified my voice and filled the room full of Healers and Quis.

  "I need your help!" I said. That got their attention, as twenty heads swiveled toward me as one. "My friend's injured in the forest and we-" One of the Quis must have realized what was going on and blocked me, because my voice dropped to its normal level. "-have to save her," I finished.

  "You're an Illusionist." Seraine said. The room was silent behind her.

  "Yes, and I'm sorry for keeping it from you but-"

  "You'll have to go to the Asylum for training."

  "Yes, I know, but right now we-"

  "We have no Quis available right now to take you, but I've been meaning to travel to Insen myself, so Talmar and I can bring you along. We'll leave immediately."

  "What about Angeli?"

  "Yes, yes, we'll organize a search effort." She waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. "But-"

  "I'm going with them."

  "What? No, child, you're coming with me."

  "No," I said. "I'm not. After we find Angeli, we can go."

  "Child-"

  "Seraine." One of the other Healers came up behind her. "Let her come. She won't try anything with so many of us around, and she has the best chance of being able to find her friend."

  Seraine's glare alternated between me and the other woman. "Fine," she said. I thought I saw her eye twitch as she said it. "But the second we find the girl, we're leaving."

  After that, the search organized faster than I could have hoped. We had a group of fifteen people, while the others went to find more volunteers from the town. We set out immediately.

  The sun was already setting when we started our search. Unfortunately, tracking was nearly impossible on the hard-packed dirt and patches of grass, so we were reduced to a sweeping search of the entire area. As night fell, the Quis brought out torches. Their light barely penetrated the forest, reducing our search effectiveness.

  As the evening wore on, I became more and more worried. I hadn't heard from Angeli since she told me she was going to have a nap. Our search area was so limited that it might take until morning to find her, and by then it might be too late.

  Seraine and Talmar, her Qui, walked beside me. They hadn't let me out of their sight since we left the clinic. I turned to Talmar.

  "Unblock me."

  "Why?" Seraine said.

  "I can help! I can try to contact her, or-"

  "It's too dangerous."

  "I don't care! The sooner we find Angeli, the sooner you can drag me off to the Asylum. I've been doing this for years with no problems yet. What's one more night?"

  "You know what? Fine. Talmar, stay ready. If she wants to risk her own mind, I don't care, but I don't want her freaking out and blinding all of us."

  As soon as the block was lifted, I tried to talk to Angeli. I got no response. But Seraine's comment had given me an idea.

  An Illusion would work better than a torch.

  In seconds I had whipped up an Illusion of a ball of light. It lit the surrounding area like a thousand torches, illuminating pairs of searchers in the distance. Seraine and Talmar shielded their eyes, but fortunately didn't decide to block me.

  It was only ten minutes later that a shout
brought me running.

  By the time I reached them, one of the Healers had already laid a hand on Angeli's arm. I only caught a glimpse of torn flesh before the injury started to mend itself. The crunch of rearranging bone told me that her ankle was being Healed as well. In moments her body was well again.

  I held my breath. If she was already gone, the Healing would have been for nothing. We had no Necromancer to bring her back from the dead.

  "She'll be fine," the Healer said. "She just needs to rest now."

  One of the Quis, a massive man with shoulders nearly as wide as he was tall, scooped Angeli into his arms. Too bad Angeli wasn't awake. She would have enjoyed that.

  "Well," said Seraine as she came up behind me. "Shall we be off?"

  I briefly considered fleeing, but as my ball of light winked out, I knew I had already been blocked. There was no point in even trying to run.

  "We're going back to town first, right?" I asked. "I have things to get."

  "Yes, yes. I suppose we'll have to wait for the girl to wake up as well. Pallin can't be expected to carry her the whole way to Insen."

  "Aww," Angeli's voice whispered in my ear. "But it's so comfy!"

  I threw a glare at her. A small smile played on her lips, though her eyes remained closed.

  "Shh," she whispered to me as she snuggled against the man. "I could use some comforting right now."