We saw a clear path and rested there. Harold woke up again when we stopped and looked around. He moved his head, his eyes always closed. He created a barrier around us and fell on the floor, looking exhausted.
"Are you alive?" I asked, tossing a bottle at him.
"No," he replied, looking up as he caught it.
"Taylor," I heard Julie shout from behind me. I turned and saw Taylor on the floor, holding her hand.
"It's too late," Cato said.
"No," Julie said, hugging her sister.
"What's wrong?" Harold asked.
"She was bitten," Cato replied.
"I managed to stop it from spreading, but I can't keep it up. Please kill me before I turn into one of those things," Taylor pleaded.
"No," Julie said, glaring at everyone. "Look, Sloane is fine; you will be fine too," she said, hugging her sister.
'Will I be a hypocrite like that if Elton is bitten? Or will I put him out of his misery?'
"Do it," Taylor said with determination. "I can't hold out any longer," she pleaded.
"But…"
"Taylor," I heard from behind me. The girl who was with Alvin ran past us and hugged her sisters. "You're okay, you're…" She noticed the bite and fell back. "No," she mumbled, holding her head. "No."
"Please, kill me," Taylor begged.
I walked away, going through the barrier, and ran for a while until I found a knight wandering around. I approached him, killed him, and took his sword. More knights came after me, but I ran off quickly before they could catch up.
They were still arguing when I got back. I took a cloth and water to wipe the sword before walking to her. They all stared at me in confusion, but Taylor seemed to notice what I wanted to do because she held out her hand.
"Wait, what are you doing?" the other girl asked.
"Cutting it off while she's still holding on," I replied. "Hold her hand for me," I said to Cato, and he complied immediately.
It's no surprise that she could stop the spread with her aura. Aura flows in the blood while magic has special links in some people. Skilled individuals can manipulate their aura to control the blood flow in their bodies; it can be used to stop bleeding but not heal. I noticed that the sisters had good control of their aura, so I wasn't surprised she could stop the blood flow in her hand for that long.
I stuffed a cloth in her mouth and raised the sword. She looked away as it cut through her flesh and bone. She let out a low groan and flinched a bit before looking at her hand.
Alvin appeared beside her and brought his hand to the wound. He created a small circle around it. Can he heal? This high-maintenance prince is becoming handy—too handy.
"How sure are we that she'll be fine?" Cato asked.
"If anything was going to happen, it would have happened by now," I said, stumbling back.
"You're r…" Everything went blank before I could make out his words.
…
I opened my eyes and sat up quickly. The first thing I saw was Harold's face; he had his usual smile on.
"For a minute there, I thought you were dead," he said. I looked around and saw everyone sitting around a fire.
"What happened?" I asked, glancing around. My eyes landed on Taylor, and she looked fine.
"Ms. Cady," the other girl called, rushing to grab my hand. "Thank you; you saved my sister. I don't know how to repay you," she said as I drew my hand back.
"Uh… yeah," I mumbled, looking around. "You should thank Alvin," I said.
"I did, but thank you. If you hadn't acted fast, she'd have died," she said.
"It's nothing," I replied.
I strolled up to Alvin and stared down at him. He glanced at my hand and stood up.
"I didn't know you could heal," I said, following him.
"You didn't ask," he said, searching a bag for something.
"I don't know how comfortable I am with the idea of you being useful," I said, and he glanced at me but didn't say a word.
"Here," he said, giving me a pair of gloves. I raised my hand and noticed that the pair I had on were ripped; the circle would be more visible if it weren't dark.
"Thanks," I said, collecting them.
"What are you two mumbling about?" Harold asked, appearing beside me.
"None of your business," I replied, turning to leave.
"What's that?" he asked, pointing at my hand.
"Gloves," I replied, and turned to leave.
"No, that," he said, grabbing my hand. "I've never seen a circle like this before," he said, examining it.
"Because it doesn't exist," I said, pulling my hand away.
"Can you use magic?"
"No," I said, turning to leave.
"It looks interesting," he said, following me. "Let's see," he said, raising his hand.
'Aren't you supposed to be blind? This mage needs to learn to mind his business.'
He started creating a circle, and that's when I realized what he was doing. I grabbed his hand to stop him, and he looked down with an amused expression.
"You need to learn restraint," I stated. "I said it doesn't exist; take that and mind your business," I said, letting go of his hand.
"It's my job as a mage to be curious about unique circles," he said, and I shook my head, turning to leave.
"That place was attacked by the person we're looking for."
"Elton?"
"No, the other person," he said, and I tilted my head in confusion.
'Who?'
"Who?"
"The lady who started this whole mess, remember? The reason why people are turning into monsters," he said.
"Oh, her. If she attacked there, then was the nail there?" I asked.
"That's the interesting thing," he said. "She was looking for something else," he said.
"What now?" I asked.
"The same thing we're after," he stated.
'Huh?'
"The nail?" I asked, confused.
"No, Elton," he said.
"Why?" I asked, my gaze darkening with unreleased anger.
"Beats me," he replied with a laid-back attitude. "He probably knows where the ring is," he said.
I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating or not, but it looked like his eyes opened slightly. I didn't see his pupils, so I assumed I was hallucinating.
"If Elton knows where the nail is, isn't that a good thing?" I asked, and his eyes shut.
"Maybe, but I thought you'd know where the nail is if he does," he said.
"I don't," I replied. "I was going to ask how you want to find it, but it seems like you're clueless," I accused.
"I have a rough idea where it is," he said, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Where is it?" I asked.
"Somewhere unexpected and well hidden; it's impossible to find there," he said.
"I don't understand, but if it's impossible to find, should we be worried?" I asked, and he smiled. That's not a response.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Cause…" he started, then turned to leave.
"Cause what?" I asked, but got no response. This mage has a way of annoying me.