"Fine," James said, relaxing his grip. "Why don't you start by telling us what you think just happened?"
"I . . . was trying to see the magic . . . and then there was . . . like . . . an explosion that pushed me back," Danny replied honestly.
"Do you have any idea what caused it? Did you see where it came from?" James continued to question.
Danny sighed heavily, shrugging his shoulders. "No. . . . I don't know why that happened. . . ."
James frowned at the boy's lie. He clearly knew something.
Mikaya had been watching Danny fidget as he spoke, and she got the same impression. Danny was not being completely truthful.
"Hey," she interrupted the interrogation. "It's okay to tell us. Haven't we been helping you out?"
"I know. I honestly don't know what caused it," Danny said with more conviction.
If it was a question of his knowing what had happened to Lina and himself, he really didn't know anything. He had just been nervous lest they discover the secret treasure hidden under his shirt. Now that James had released him, Danny began to relax a bit. What Mikaya said was true, these people had really helped him a lot. If it wasn't for them, those monsters would still be after him, maybe for the rest of his life, and he was sure that would have meant a much shorter lifespan as well.
"Go over there," James said, pointing to the other side of the fire as far from Lina as possible. It would also put Danny deeper into the cave, so he wouldn't be able to make a run for it without going through James. Then, he whispered a question to Mikaya, "Can you sense any magic on him?"
Surprised, Mikaya turned to look at James. "I didn't think to . . ." she said, as she reached out toward the boy with her own magical aura.
To her surprise, she did sense something, although very faint. Her eyes widened, and her lips parted in a little breathless gasp.
"Shh. Don't let on that you know anything. There's more than meets the eye with that kid," James confided. Then, he went to Lina to check on her again.
Mikaya also knelt down at the Gatis's side.
Even after having suffered from the inexplicable mishap, Lina had immediately checked on her patient after sitting next to him and recovering slightly.
Yevad's wound had almost completely healed, and his breathing had steadied. He had fallen into a peaceful sleep.
"How are you?" Mikaya asked the feline, concerned.
"I've been better, but it could have been a lot worse. At least your comrade is doing better."
"Thank you," Mikaya said.
The Gatis wasn't kidding about the possibility of its having been worse. Lina had survived having every drop of magic sucked instantly out of her. She had literally nothing left from the magic shared with her by the plants in the Harvest Lands before leaving with James on their mission. To another magic user, this would have been the equivalent of completely bleeding out.
If Mikaya or Elena had been the victim of the magic theft, either Elf would have died. Like humans, the Gatis could not naturally use magic. They were not born with magic like other magical beings, so having it taken away did not have a fatal effect on Lina. However, unlike humans, the Gatis could hold magic inside their bodies. They could receive magic, and learn to wield it.
"I just need some rest," Lina said, trying to stand, but she was suffering from mild shock and wobbled a bit.
"Here, let me help you," James said, taking her paw in one hand and wrapping his other arm around her to steady her.
Since he was much taller than she was, he stooped as he walked her toward Mikaya's blanket.
"Do you mind if she sleeps there?" he asked politely.
"No. Of course she can. I'll move to the other side of Elena, where Danny was going to sleep."
"Thank you," Lina said weakly.
"I'm sorry about this," James said sadly. "I should have protected you better."
Lina huffed a small laugh. "Please, you couldn't have known something like this would happen."
"What actually did happen? Do you know?" Mikaya asked the burning question she had been wanting to for several minutes.
"I exhausted my magic, like your friend. Only it's not as bad."
Mikaya couldn't help her curiosity. She sensed toward Lina with her magic aura, like she had with Danny. To her amazement, she couldn't feel anything at all. Worried that her abilities were not working properly, she sensed toward Elena and found that her friend's magic aura had grown somewhat stronger.
That meant that it wasn't a problem with Mikaya.
Lina had no magic about her at all now, just like a human. Yet, Danny had a feeling of magic around him. How could this have happened!
James covered Lina with a blanket, and she fell right to sleep. "She's really exhausted," he thought as he turned to see Mikaya's expression illuminated by the firelight.
"Hey," he said, startling her out of her reverie.
Mikaya almost jumped, but managed to flinch instead.
James walked to stand next to her.
"You felt it?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
Somehow she knew what he meant and nodded.
"Is she really okay?"
"Yes. It's because she's a Gatis. She isn't in mortal danger. It's okay," he said softly.
Again, Mikaya nodded her understanding without saying anything.
"I just wish I could take her back to the Harvest Lands," James mused.
"The Harvest Lands?"
"The plants could help her recover."
"Oh, I see."
Mikaya didn't entirely understand, but just then something occurred to her.
"Maybe we should go back to the Elven Valley," she voiced her idea. "I think we might be able to help her there, and it'll be safer since the Harvest Lands are gone now. . . ."
Danny strained to hear from where he sat in the far corner of the cave. The crackling sound of the fire completely blocked out anything James or Lina said, but he had heard Mikaya's last suggestion. "Will we really get to see the Elven Valley!" he thought in astonishment. Humans were not normally permitted to enter there.