9 - Alice
I sat down in a worn leather chair as it began to lower, the doctor snapping his rubber gloves onto his hands as he walked over to me. I was back in that wretched building.
An avemium boy was lying next to me, his tears mixing with blood from the slash marks on his face, his eyes full of tears.
My mother put her hand on my shoulder, "It's going to be alright Alice. It's going to be alright."
"Ma'am, we've taken a look at her x-rays, and there's no easy way of putting this," I watched as my mother's face turned from fear to anguish before me as the doctor talked, "If we follow through with this, she's not going to have long, give or take, thirty at best, maybe forty."
My mother got even more miserable, tears spilling onto her lap, "Very well," she sniffled, "You may proceed."
I looked to the right at the avemium, and he reached his bloody hand over, clutching my wingless back, "Please," He pleaded, "Do something.."
"Ma'am," We're going to have to start the operation. If you were to kindly leave…"
"Alright, I'll take my leave."
As she got up and swerved away, I heard her whisper something in my ear, "I'm—I'm sorry Alice, there was no other way."
The doctor cracked his knuckles, making a disgusting pop noise, "Alright now you two, let's get to work shall we?"
I shot awake, out of breath and drenched in sweat. I looked at myself in the mirror I had placed in the corner of my room checking my back for my wings.
If we follow through with this, she's not going to have long, give or take, thirty at best, maybe forty.
I did some quick math. If my calculations were correct, I couldn't afford to use peprit again. I shook the thought out of my head, "No, I won't let that happen. I've got to stay strong, they're all counting on me to be there for them."
I got up from my bed and got dressed, putting on a yellow dress topped off with my favourite blue jacket. As I headed upstairs to the main foyer, I thought to myself.
"Two days untill we leave to Zleigh." I made a little checklist in my head, "Considering I have the most knowledge about magic, I bet I'll be assigned to pick up some magic items. So what should I get?"
By the time I had reached the top, the list had been completed, consisting of potions, magic dust, and at least one teleportation capsule if I could even find one, considering how rare they are. I walked into the foyer, eager to eat some of Cornelius' cibus again. Thankfully Cornelius, Julian and Rico were all sitting around the large round table to the left of the room, eating, Corra and Ray were both nowhere to be seen.
"Hey Alice!" Rico beamed as I walked over and sat down, "Care for some cibus? We were just discussing Zleigh since Julian says he's never heard of the place."
"Sure! I'm starved!"
I took a bite of the cibus as Rico explained some more to Julian, "So basically, Zleigh is a far off city, so we'd have to take a ship overseas to reach there, right Cornelius?"
"Precisely."
"Yep! It's quite a large place, so we'll be trying not to get lost but don't blame me if I do."
"Spare me the thoughtless ramble avemium, where will we find Lord Earl?"
Rico looked to Cornelius, "I… Actually I don't know." He scratched his head awkwardly, "What are we gonna do when we get there?"
Cornelius sighed, "Considering we make it to Zleigh in two days time, there is supposed to be a Lord's banquet being held there."
Julian grinned, his bright yellows eyes giving off a sort of shine, "I like where this is going. "
"Are we gonna get to use operation dress up?" Rico blurted.
"Yes Rico." Cornelius rolled his eyes, "We'll use operation dress up."
Rico did a little air fistpump, "Yes! Now can you explain it to Julian? I still don't fully understand the full plan."
"Alright," He turned to Julian, blocking Rico's somewhat cute obnoxiousness, "Here's what you'll be doing. Lords at the banquet are allowed one other party as guests, max ten, which shouldn't be a problem for us of course. You can probably guess what the plan is by now, right? It's simple, we'll pose as guests of one of the lords, and while everyone's back is turned, we'll strike."
Julian took another bite of cibus, didn't Cornelius say one bite could fill you for an entire day?
"You can't seriously think that we can simply walk in and have the guards not question us." He asked.
"You didn't let me finish," Cornelius scolded, "Of course you need identification, each guest is given a card by the Lord that invites then that has their name, a picture of their face, and their affiliation with the Lord they will be joining."
"I see." I could tell Julian was brainstorming, his eyes squinting as he talked, "And how do you intend to get the identification? I mean, we can't just grab one off of another guest because it has photo identification."
"Don't fret about it. I have a friend in Zleigh who can easily forge us some fake ones at a very low cost."
"Wow," Rico laughed, "How many connections do you have Cornelius? I mean, you don't look like the, "I'm going to forge a fake identity and pretend to be someone I'm not" kind of guy."
"You'd be surprised Rico. You'd be surprised."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
I clamped my hand over Rico's beak, snapping it shut, "Let's not dwell on that, alright?" I didn't need Rico learning about Cornelius' past.
"Alice," Cornelius ran his hand through his thinning hair, "Could you please go check on Ray and Corra?"
"With all due respect, why do you need me to?" I asked nervously, "Why not Rico? He knows them a lot better."
"Exactly, it's time you got to know them a little more. And besides, does anyone else in this room possess the ability to use healing magic?"
"No sir."
"I rest my case. Now go and check on them please."
I reluctantly trudged up the stairs, remembering what Corra had said yesterday evening.
Listen… Alice was it? I just want to let you know something. Don't, and I mean don't, make this mistake again. I don't know about your friend Julian, but if you had walked in on Ray, well, gods help you because I don't want to clean up your remains.
I shivered at the thought. I was even more scared now that I know what Ray is capable of, it looked like he used some sort of magic that I've never heard of before. Some sort of transformation magic if I had to guess. Although when he transformed, there was no seal off transformation on him so I might be wrong. I'll just have to ask, that is if I can walk in the room without getting instantly slaughtered.
As I walked down the stairs, my heart was pounding and my muscles felt as tense as a rock. I breathed in and out, trying to calm myself but it wasn't working, anxiety had been stalking me and like a snake and finally, it had struck, leaving me paralyzed with fear.
I was in front of Ray's door now, the big silver "R" on the front of his room staring me down like I didn't belong. My bright yellow dress started to feel uncomfortable as beads of sweat started to form all over my body. My throat felt like it was going to clasp close as I turned the door knob to Ray's room, the door making an ominous creaking noise.
The room was a mess, the furniture and the drab colourless walls were speckled with blood, like someone had been stabbed. Ray was lying on the bed sleeping, caked in blood, his scarf clutched in his hand. Or I guess I should say paw.
Alright, all I need to do is step out and close the door. I'm sure he'll be fine.
I stepped back out of the room, making sure not to hit any squeaky spots on the floor. So far so good. I took a deep breath, slowly closing the squeaky door, praying to the dear gods that it wouldn't make any noise.
Creeeeeeaaaaaaaak
Ray shot up from the bed, his revolvers instantly flipping from his holster. Who wears holsters to bed anyway?
"Great," I whispered, "I'm dead."
"Alice? What are you doing in my room?" In an instant he was behind me, his hot breath streaming down my neck.
I felt anxiety fully take over my body, my brain not being able to make any rational decision as I stood there, not saying anything.
"What are you, deaf?" I could almost hear him draw his knife and start dragging it across my bare skin, the blood starting to trickle down my neck, as the cool feel of blood ran down my body I could feel my spine tingle.
"C—Cornelius, told me to come check on you." I struggled, the words barely escaping my mouth.
"Well," Ray seemed to simmer down a little bit, sliding his revolvers back into their respective holsters, "Tell Cornelius that I don't need any help, I'm not a child. Now get out." He was still clutching his scarf, holding it even closer to his blood soaked fur.
I turned around, absolutely terrified, "Ray… Are you sure you're alright? I mean, you look… Off."
"I'm doing perfectly fine Alice, now go." I couldn't tell if the liquid he was drenched in was sweat or blood. Probably a mix of both. "Well? What are you staring at? Get out!"
Every single thing I could have said flashed through my brain in an instant, as if anxiety was trying to confuse me, laughing at my expense. I randomly picked one of the words, hoping it would be the right one, do you know what word I got?
"No." I immediately slapped my hands across my mouth, regretting what I had just said.
Ray's head snapped in my direction, his furious eyes cutting into me, searing into my brain, "What… did you just say?"
"Um, I—I said no, Ray. You're not looking too hot, I need to heal you."
He backed up, sitting back down on his bed, "Come inside, I want to ask you something."
Wait, what was going on?
I walked inside, making my way around the puddles of blood that laid on the hardwood floor.
"So," Ray rasped, he leaned against the blood soaked wall opposite where I stood, his eyes ejecting fear into my body like a needle, "It's obvious you're not just checking in on me. You need help, don't you."
"I beg your pardon?" I was even more confused now, "I'm not sure I uh, really understand."
"Don't play dumb with me Alice, you're smarter than this. Spit it out or I'll force you to."
"What?!" I squealed, "Ray, I swear upon the gods, I don't know what you're talking about!"
"You need help with mastering the forbidden magic you used on Corra, don't you?"
I breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, uh not really Ray. I just wanted to check on you, I swear."
"Well, if that's the case, I have some questions to ask you then."
"G—Go ahead."
"Where did you learn how to use forbidden magic?" His eyes giving off an intimidating gleam, I felt like he might lunge at me at a moment's notice.
"C—Cornelius taught me. He has the spellbook for peprit."
Ray let out a laugh, "He does, does he? That cheeky little… And does he possess the spellbooks for imperium and turae?"
"Unfortunately no. He's always wanted to complete his collection though."
"He does know that those spells are hella illegal, right? And, the spellbooks are ancient artifacts. He can't just collect them like they're bottle caps. Ignorant fool."
I just kinda stood there, not knowing what to do or say, nervously shuffling my feet like I was dancing.
"Alright," Ray's voice cut through my thoughts, "I've heard enough, now get out of my room."
I turned to leave, but something wasn't right. I couldn't leave him here like this, it seemed inhumane. I looked at Ray, I hadn't noticed the massive cut across his left eye. He looked like he was in agony as he went to lay down on his bed, the sheets had been turned a nasty dark red colour. Despite how scary Ray was, I couldn't bear to see him like this, but he wouldn't listen to me. I knew what I had to do.
I sprinted down the hall, Corra's room in my sights. If anyone could talk some sense into Ray, it was her. I opened the door to her room, expecting the room to look the same as Ray's. But when I opened the door, it didn't smell like death and there wasn't blood splattered everywhere, it was just... a normal room. It looked exactly the same that it was the previous day. Corra was sitting at her desk, a bandage wrapped around her head, pulling her ears back. The floor was spotless, and her bed adjacent to the single window in the room was made neatly. As I stepped into the room, she turned to see me.
"Hey Alice. Ya' need something?"
"Uh, I thought you didn't want me coming in your room?"
"Hey, you saved my skin out there. I owe you one, now what's up?"
"What, you're not going to tease me about Rico?"
"Nah, I'm too tired for that stuff, maybe later. Now, what was it you wanted?"
"Well, I was hoping that you'd be up for talking some sense into Ray. He's in really bad shape and he won't listen to me, no matter how hard I try."
"Alright, I'll see what i can do and then we'll call it even."
Struggling to get up from her chair, I helped Corra balance herself.
"Thanks," she said, wincing in pain, "Hopefully I'll recover in time for Zleigh."
We stepped out of the room, Corra's arm around my shoulder, putting her balance on mine, "Hopefully," I mumbled, "Depending on how long you were dead, the recovery time is different."
"Yeah, what exactly did you do to me Alice?"
"I used one of the forbidden spells on you, peprit."
Corra coughed, "Aren't those super illegal? Like, if you get caught using one you're sentenced to death, bad?"
I shrugged, "Yeah, but I'll do what I must to save a friend."
"Alright, but I'm just saying that it wasn't wise. If one of the Wisps had stuck around and seen you perform that spell, it would have been curtains."
I opened the door to Ray's room, now that I'd been in Corra's room, I noticed the smell even more. It smelled faintly like a crypt, the smell of death tickling my nose like a duster. Corra gasped as she saw Ray lying on the bed, a pool of blood at his feet. As we approached him, Ray's knife gracefully flipped from his sleeve to his hand, his bloodshot eyes shooting open.
"I told you," He yelled, his claws had come out of his paws, "To stay out."
"But I—"
"No Buts! I—" He stopped when he saw Corra next to me, immediately getting up to see her, clutching his side.
"Ray," She said coldly, "Let Alice heal you, this isn't healthy. Just look at you! You look like a walking cemetery!"
"I don't need any help Corra," He grumbled, "I'm fine! I don't need any magic to heal me."
Corra walked up to Ray, her knives flipping into her hands, "You'll let Alice heal you, or else."
Ray's face was still dead serious, "Do you expect that to intimidate me? You wouldn't hurt me and you know it."
Corra lunged, putting Ray in a sort of hold, tying his arms back, "Do it Alice! Now!"
Ray struggled as I put my hand on his scraped, blood soaked chest, "Sana tibi." I whispered, my eyes closing as I focused all my energy into my hand.
As I imagined the energy flowing through my body to my hand, I felt Ray's body relax as I felt the wound on my hand start to close. I opened my eyes to see Ray standing there, Corra still holding him back. He was still soaked in blood, but it looked like most of his wounds had been healed.
Corra let him go, "There, that wasn't so bad." Patting him on the head like a child.
Ray brushed her hand away, "Shut up." He huffed.
"Hey," Corra had sheathed her knives, "I've been meaning to ask you guys, but what happened last night exactlly? How'd we take down Grey? I don't remember much."
We explained everything to her, the resurrection spell, Ray's transformation, the whole thing. After explaining, Corra had some questions.
"Ray, you have some explaining to do." Corra asked, her arms were crossed and a stern look was in her eyes.
"Corra, I think we need to talk." Ray turned to me, "Alice, leave us so we can speak in private."
"Uh, sure." I turned and left, closing the door behind me, wondering why I couldn't join in on the conversation.
I walked up the stairs, the thought of what Ray was going to ask Corra haunting me, biting at my flesh, pleading for me to know the answer. I walked back into the main foyer, Cornelius, Rico and Julian were still sitting there, talking about Zleigh. Rico was the first to notice that I had walked into the room.
"Alice? What happened?" I hadn't noticed until now, but I had blood all over my face and hands from interacting with Ray. I was a mess.
"Oh, well I managed to heal Ray, but it wasn't easy. As for Corra, she seems to have taken care of herself, she only has a minor head injury, which is good. Also, I should mention Ray's room smells like death and needs to be cleaned immediately. Like, right now. Do not go in there."
Cornelius let loose a sigh, "He didn't give you too rough of a time, did he?"
I let out a hearty laugh, "That's a funny joke Cornelius." I turned to Rico, "Can you believe this guy."
Cornelius put a finger to my lips, "Enough of the sarcasm, I'll talk to Ray about it, but in the meantime we need to talk about supplies. Any ideas?"
Rico raised his hand like he was in school, "Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!"
"Yes?" Cornelius mumbled, rolling his eyes, "What do you have in mind Rico?"
"Well, what if I were to go and buy a lot of bombs, and then we could blow the whole banquet sky high!" He left out a maniacal laugh, his jet black feathers gleaming in the candle light.
Cornelius immediately shook his head, "Nope, we need this to be a silent job Rico. No explosions allowed."
"Awwww." I patted Rico on the back, didn't want him feeling bad about his horrible plan.
"What about you Alice, any bright ideas for what we shou pick up for Zleigh?"
"Well, I was thinking that we should pick up some magic items. I think they'll prove to be very useful if we get into any sticky situations."
"What kind of items do you have in mind?"
"Well, I was thinking maybe some potions, magic dust, and at least one teleportation capsule if we can find one. Plus, I don't even know if there's any place in Grustenburg that sells magic items, considering they're illegal."
Cornelius tapped his chin, considering the idea, "Alright, I'll think about it, any other thoughts?"
I was about to speak when I heard a voice come from upstairs, followed with a thumping noise.
"Yes, I would like to propose some supplies that we need." Ray was walking down the stairs, his fur had been dried and all of his wounds had been healed, he would have looked normal if it weren't for the scar across his eye.
"Ah! Ray!" Cornelius exclaimed, "So very nice of you to join us."
"Yeah yeah." Ray walked into the kitchen, coming back with a fresh beer in his hands.
"Well Ray?" Rico was eyeing the beer Ray was holding in his paws, "What are some of the things that we…" His tongue ran along his beak, "Need."
Ray tossed the beer to Rico reluctantly, which Rico then started to chug, "Well, considering our food problem will be covered thanks to Cornelius' cibus, I suggest we pick up some items that should benefit us when we do go to that banquet. So, I was thinking that we should pick up some disguise kits, and some magical items for emergency use."
"Yes, while I think that some disguise kits will be useful, I'm still unsure about magic items, considering they are illegal. I wouldn't want the whole mission to be compromised because of something that we may not end up using."
"You do prove a good point Cornelius," Ray returned, "But since when did doing things illegal stop us? Hell, this whole operation is illegal."
"Ray, please step outside with me. There are still some things we need to discuss." Cornelius got up from his chair and ushered Ray into the kitchen.
Before they left, I grabbed Cornelius' sleeve, "Cornelius, why can;t we discuss it as all together. We're a team after all, we should all deserve the same treatment, right?"
"I know Alice, but I need to talk to Ray about some personal things. The things we're going to talk about don't concern you." He gave me a pat on the head, ruffling my blond hair.
"Hey," Rico put his hand, or I guess I should say wing, on my shoulder, his feathers tickling me as they brushed against my skin, "Don't worry about Ray. He's just a big grump." He said cheerfully.
I looked Rico in the eyes, "Has… Has he always been like this?"
"I'm not really sure. I've been with Corra and Ray for three years, and he's always been a grouch. But something tells me, way back in the past before I came, he might have been an actually decent person. But I dunno, it's just a theory."
"Oh, alright." I couldn't explain it, but I just had this sinking suspicion that the reason Ray was the way he is, was because of me. I don't know though, maybe I was just being paranoid, "I just… I can't help but feel that the way he is has to do with me and Julian coming."
Julian stood up from his chair, "Well, if that's the way he feels then I have some business to take care—"
Rico put his wing across Julian's chest, holding him back, "I assure you guys, that Ray has no grudges with you at all. He's always been like this I swear."
Julian sat back down with a huff, cursing under his breath, "So, why do we have to wait to go to Zleigh? I want to kill Lord Earl now." He unsheathed his silver blade and started to clean the dark green emerald in the center of the hilt off with his jacket, making it shine even more.
"Well, I don't really know the technicalities of it," Rico answered, "But I believe it has to do with booking a ship and finding a captain to actually sail it. Cornelius can't just walk into town and instantly find someone who owns and pilots a boat, it's not that simple."
"Well," He sheathed his sword, "I guess that sort of makes sense. But still, I can't help but want to go right now. I'm itching to do something."
"Well, I guess we could go and get some of those magic items today." I said, "It's only nine, we'll have plenty of time to go out and buy some of them, but the thing is, I don't know where we'll be able to find any store that sells magic items."
"I know where we can find some magic items." In a flash, Corra was behind me, she had gotten a new bandage that was wrapped around her head, and her jacket had been washed, the bright scarlett colour free of all blood stains.
Rico ran up to give her a hug but she slapped him away, "Don't think I'm going to be giving away free hugs, pest.���
Rico rubbed his cheek where he'd been slapped, "What, what was it you said about getting some magic items, Corra?"
"Oh, right." She sat down on Rico's chair, making him sit on the floor, "I've gained many connections from my time as a marauder here in Grustenburg, so I may know someone who could help us out."
Julian sat up from the table, "Well, let's go! What are you morons waiting around for?"
"Well," Corra said, "There is one slight problem. I'm not sure if he even lives in town or not. There's a pretty good chance he's not around anymore."
"Well, we can still try, right?" I inquired.
"Yeah!" Rico exclaimed, "Can we at least scout around town for this person?"
Corra huffed, slumping back into her chair. She was obviously considering it.
"Well?" We all asked in unison.
She looked up, a sparkle in her eyes, "Alright everyone, let's go. We're off to Jack's magic shoppe."