With Tom leading the way, the duo took off. Their earlier speed had doubled as the heavy steps thundered across the tightly bundled buildings and forgotten cars.

  Doubt filled David's mind once more, subconsciously adjusting his grip around the woman's back. He would gain nothing from healing her but held all the risk. What if there was some form of enslaving magic that David did not know about? Healers were enslaved many times in the stories that he had read.

  " Do you see the red dome over there? " The boy pointed at a shimmering thing of arcane, barely visible above the roofs. " There, it's safe in there. "

  Both of them, one carrying the weight of indecision and another carrying a different kind of weight, increased their speed once more. Rusted cars that must have aged 20 years appeared. David saw his car, sitting neatly parked with others in front of his old gym. Even under the rust, the make and brand of the car were easily distinguishable.

  From high above, the dome curved downwards towards the parking lot, separating the lot from the gym as if the world beyond was a different realm. Two men stood just beyond the red, swords in their hands, yelling distorted words.

  " It's me, my mom, she's hurt. We need to come in! "

  A single tear ripped through the intricate fabric of woven arcane sigils, erupting in a dazzling explosion of orange flames as if the threads could no longer contain their power.

  David, Tom, and his Mother stepped through the created door. The guards shouted after them, but neither stopped their mad dash.

  " Quick, into the gym. We have beds there, and Vanessa might be able to help her. " The boy said, stopping and ushering David through the smudged windowed doors.

  Rows and rows of empty linen beds were laid across the floor. David's eyes took in the people standing around. Some were dirty, while others were clean. Some looked healthy, but others were sick. Some even had pristine white gauze soaked in witch hazel around wounds, while others had festering wounds filled with puss.

  " The female locker room is our place. Can you put Mom there? I'll get Vanessa. She'll know how to help Mom. She definitely will; she always knows what to do. " Tom took off, running back outside, not even bothering to explain where the female locker room was.

  David knew where the lockers were from his previous life. He stepped around bodies, trying to block his way. David stared at the floor, avoiding eye contact with practiced ease, wanting to keep the people as far away from him as possible.

  But he also saw the sights around. Cheap cloth made up beds close to the exit, while pillows and extravagant by compare quilts formed beds in the back. The front was littered with dirt and refuse, while the back appeared pristine.

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  When he stepped into the locker room, the opulence made him pause. Drapes adorned the entry, and the sweet smell of incense assaulted his nose. Gold candlesticks and polished paintings hung on the walls. Some cubes appeared to emit light similar to halogen lamps.

  With a mental shrug, David focused on the Mother in his arms. He placed her on silk sheets to feel her pulse. It was rapid and weak, trying to pump the last bit of her blood through veins littered with holes.

  Guilt flashed past his eyes as Tom burst through the curtains, tears and snot stains still marking his face. His hair appeared ruffled, and a single feather, akin to a cow lick, stood erect on his crown.

  " She's not here, " Tom began. " She left to gather water with the normals. What are we going to do? Mom is so hurt. But she'll be okay, right? "

  Tom's hands landed on David's shoulders, shaking him in feeble attempts to draw courage from the physical touch. David stepped aside shortly after it began, evading the discomfort he felt.

  " I can't heal her. " David thought, his mind spinning. He had nothing to gain here but everything to lose. The worst case was a stranger died in his arms, and David might be questioned. But this wasn't his fault.

  " Please, Sir. Can you help my mom? She's all I have left. She took me away from my Dad so he would stop beating me. She's the only one I've got. "

  Like a bolt of lightning, a figure flashed before his eyes—a figure he held more dear than life itself. She, too, was ripped from his grasp. Clara, anything that mattered came cascading back into him.

  David ran his fingers along the edge of his linen pants. He felt a hard piece of wood, a quarter the size of his palm, affirming his decision.

  The tight walls of the locker room echoed deep as David opened his mouth. A divine hymn whispering of joy, warmth, and health rang about, alerting everyone in the gym. Soundwaves echoed beyond the doors into the streets and possibly even the woods miles away.

  David thought of Clara as he sang the Song taught to him by Brahan, using precious Galdr of which he had none to spare.

  The green light of his magicks danced on David's hand as he kept the Song alive. The hand holding his Galdr brought outside of his core through a mystical hymn, was placed below the Mother's belly button.

  As energies intermingled, a sputtering light of flames erupted out of the Mother's core. The orange energy warred, fighting back against the green, but soon was devoured with a resounding pop akin to the crackle of a log rolling around in a fireplace.

  With the energy defeated, David's own seeped into her pores, creating a green trail akin to fire following her veins. The fine lines, in emerald shade, enhanced the beauty of the Mother as it cycled through her heart back to her core below her belly button.

  The Song reached its crescendo as the wounds closed, stitching themselves together in artistic display.

  David felt feeble as the Song ceased. He could barely stand. Gone was the image of Clara that had overlapped with Tom. His mind once again began to turn in dark directions.

  " Enemies? " His silent companion began. " We kill. "

  " You sure are bloodthirsty, " David intoned to the voice, knowing it wouldn't hear, distracting himself from the dilemma of his own design.

  Silence filled the air, and the divine Song echoed off distant walls. Tom gasped at David, mouth opening and closing that reminded David of a goldfish.

  " What by the elders is going on, Tom? They said you returned. " A distantly familiar voice interrupted the calm.

  Through the curtains, a woman stepped into the room with haste. She held a petite frame adorned with shimmering, intricately embroidered robes. Her countenance radiated an aura of unwavering confidence, and fiery feathers ran along the length of her platinum-blonde hair. A black line extended along the corner of her eyes, akin to an extended wing, and it crowned her face in perfection.

  But much to David's dismay, her ears were pointed. The dagger-like appearance of said ears dragged a warning into the front of his mind.

  " Nárenvinyant?, " David thought. His eyes now suspiciously arrived at the feather on the kid's head.

  David scanned the Mother with a turn of his head, expecting to see a feather, but found none.

  With a sudden start, the calmed-down breath of the sick patient hitched back high. Her body convulsed, shaking in the throes of pain. The body began to foam at the mouth, leaking black sludge from the lips.

  " YOU! " The petite girl shouted. " YOU did this to her! "