6. Arrick

Chapter six

Arrick

S he has suffered an injury. I knew the Afanc had a vice grip on her, but I didn't expect this much damage. Her foot has deep gashes where bone and tendons are exposed, and blood still drains from it. I'll need to heal this quickly so she doesn't suffer more blood loss.

Her body is light and soft in my arms. I can easily maneuver the rocks and small rapids without jostling her around. Her arms are wrapped tightly around my neck, and her wide eyes take in the situation with fear and maybe curiosity.

I reach the other side of the bank, where my pack and a canteen are. Soft moss stretches along the water's edge, and I gently set her onto it, feeling lost when her warm arms uncoil from my neck .

She lands with a gentle huff and immediately looks down to inspect the damage on her foot.

Her face drains of color when she sees the broken skin and exposed muscle, and she moves her hand down to touch the wound. My hand catches it before she can make contact, and I shake my head, indicating I don't want her to touch it.

Despite looking puzzled, she refrains from poking at it again. I turn around from where I have set her and stand at my full height, heading toward my pack, set against a tree.

"Where are you going?" a faint voice asks.

I motion towards the pack a few feet away. She tilts her head.

"You can understand me; you speak English?" I turn away for a moment and collect my things before returning to her. This is going to be difficult to explain since I can't explain.

I return to the moss where she rests, sit beside her, and hold out my canteen.

"Thank you," she says before emptying the entire container, and I nod in acknowledgment.

She wipes her full lips with the back of her hand, and I can see the questions build in her thoughts. Her tawny fingers drum the mouth of the metal bottle for a moment before she considers her first question.

"You saved me." Both statement and question. I nod yes in response. "You can understand me?" This time it's more of a question, and I nod again. "Can you speak?" I shake my head no at that. I can speak, just not in a way she can understand.

All creatures of magic in the forest communicate through our minds. This allows us to speak through great distances without a language barrier. I've never had use for physical language–until now.

"So you can understand me but can't speak. Interesting." She taps her fingers on her lower lip, considering. "You must communicate with others. Do you sign?" I gaze at her, puzzled. "Make gestures with your hands or body to convey messages?" I nod, understanding what she is asking but then shake my head again.

"No hand communication, so what's next? Well, an alligator-beaver hybrid attacked me, and I am staring at a six-foot-something ghost demon, so I'm guessing I'm not in Oregon anymore. Meaning the laws of nature don't apply here." She thinks for a moment longer. "Do you speak telepathically?" I cock my head in confusion. That word is entirely unknown to me. She points to her temple. "Your mind. Can you speak without words because you can speak through your mind?"

My eyes go wide, and I scan her soft features in awe. Her quick mind makes me wonder what she did in her realm and how quickly she will figure this out.

She notes the wonder in my expression and clocks it as a confirmation.

"Have you ever tried to speak? Making noises with your vocal cords indicates potential for language learning." I suppose I have made noises in conflict or strain before. I guess my body can do it. I nod in agreement once again.

"We will work on that later, but I don't belong here. I worry that my friends in Oregon will think I've disappeared or that they are trapped here, too, in danger."

She's not wrong about that conclusion. If I were a betting man, I would say her friends are somewhere here. The wisps manifest enough power that simply being in their proximity is risky. I wish I could tell her that. Tell her she is safe with me, and I will help her find her friends.

Tell her my name.

"Is there anyone in this realm that looks like me? "

Humans. There are humans here but none that look quite like her. My eyes scan her soft, curly hair and delicate, yet curved body. No, I've seen no one that looks like her, but I nod again, understanding the context of the question.

"Wonderful! Are they close? Can we get there on foot?"

I sigh deeply, calculating how long a journey on foot would take us to the flat farmlands. There is no way I'm going to risk porting her. I point to the sun and make a circular motion with my hand.

"Day. You're counting in days."

She is so quick that a slight smile arches over my jaw. I hold out ten fingers, then five more. Her shoulders instantly slump.

"Fifteen days. Unless we find another mode of travel, we will be walking for fifteen days."

I slump my shoulders in answer, pained at the disappointment I've caused.

Shit, I also can't explain my job, my purpose. Explain why she crossed the veil initially.

I realize just how desperately I need to speak to her.

I take my hands, touch my chest, and then lean over to tap hers. The move startles her, but I make the motion again, touching my chest, but this time making the only noise I know, a low grunt. Then I move to touch her chest again. Realization spreads on her face.

"Yera. My name is Yeerraa," she says, emphasizing each sound carefully, showing me how her mouth moves to make the sounds change.

"U-ri-rra," I say with my head bowed in embarrassment. I feel foolish and childlike, but she grins from ear to ear when I slowly bring my gaze up to meet hers.

"That was great! Your first time creating vocal syllables, you almost got it. This is going to be easier than I thought!"

I smile for the first time in a long time .

Seeing her mangled foot on the moss brings me back to reality. I reach for my pack and frantically start digging through its contents. My fingers graze over the taught leather pouch carved with fairy spells.

"What's that?" she asks, noting the intricately adorned pouch in an uncommon shade of purple. Of course, I can't answer back, so I point to the bag and her foot.

She looks unsure of what is happening, and I do my best to keep my face calm and pleasant. I don't think I'll ever look pleasing to her now that I appear like a ghost demon in her eyes, a notion that disappoints me more than it should.

Gesturing again, I try to show her I intend to rub the powder into her wound and that it will hurt at first but will make it better. I see a slight smile edge the counter of her mouth during my demonstration, and I can't help but smirk back at the absurdity of the moment.

Leaning over her foot with a pinch of the iridescent powder in my hand, I look at her; she sucks in a breath, and I drop the powder onto her flesh. It instantly starts hissing and steaming.

Pain furrows her brows at first contact. Then they ease, and her honey-colored eyes go wide.

The powder pops and crackles at the contact, but slowly, nerves fuse and skin regenerates layer-by-layer.

Does healing like this not exist where humans come from? That is a question I'll remember to ask later when I'm capable.

Her astonishment makes me crack a smile again. I wish I could explain this magic to her. Explain anything to her.

After fully regenerating her foot, the medicine slides off her unbroken skin in a pile on the moss. I scoop up the remainder and add it back to the pouch. Then, I offer her both my hands .

There is some apprehension, but she holds my hands tight and lets me ease her up slowly, giving another look of surprise when the foot bears her weight.

"Okay, so I guess we walk now? I wish I knew your name. It seems bizarre trusting you without even knowing your name."

You will soon , I think to myself assuredly, still feeling the grip of her hands on mine. You will soon .