We were still staring.
Or rather, Vikra and I were staring while she blinked back at us, confused and perfectly serene in her new form.
Fletch… except not Fletch.
Voryna's body stood where Fletch was standing. Tall, elegant, porcelain-smooth features untouched by the rot she once carried. Long black hair spilled down her back like dark riverwater. Her eyes, Fletch's eyes, remained that strange bright blue threaded with violet.
He lifted his hands, inspected the fingers that weren't his, then sighed.
"Well," Fletch said as he reached down and tapped his newly acquired bosoms, "this is going to take some explaining."
Vikra turned scarlet. "You're… you're?"
"Female at the moment?" Fletch shrugged lightly. "Apparently when two souls share a vessel, the body chooses the stronger resonance. Voryna's was… admittedly overwhelming."
I exhaled a breath I didn't know I had been holding. "So you're both in there?"
"Alive as one," Voryna murmured through Fletch's lips, calm and soft.
Then Fletch's voice followed, slightly embarrassed, "But I'm here too. Just… now in her body." Fletch fondled the large grapefruits on this chest.
"Stop that!" one of his hands slapped the other.
"Sorry, love. It's just… I'm curious."
"I know, but I can hear and feel what you were thinking. That thing between your legs is definitely not flaccid anymore."
A headache bloomed behind my eyes. "Guys! Fletch…Voryna… please." I take a deep breath shaking off my future irritants, "If the two of you can keep your personal conversations inside, I would greatly appreciate it. Because, as of right now, we still need to leave the forest." All I could think about was how Andy had to deal with all of his coworkers. Disagreements in the labs between colleagues are always happening. I was not ready for this new headache.
Together, the three of us walked through the outskirts of Gromo Forest as its greenery twisted back to life around us. Rotten bark shed into fresh shoots. Vines curled into new spirals. Birds returned overhead as if someone finally turned the forest's music back on.
By the time we reached Gromireston, sunlight warmed our backs and the villagers cheered as the rot withdrew from the horizon.
But our rest lasted less than a day.
We journeyed onwards to the central region of the continent, the Holy Grounds that took us four long days to reach. Fletch traveled without complaint, though every night their voices fluctuated, sometimes his and sometimes hers.
The Holy grounds was a city of tourism. There were markets everywhere selling wooden figures of Saints, holy priests, and holy knights that fought in the name of the Saints. Here is where the holiest of people resides. Where the words of the many gods are spoken through the convent. Here is where we needed to watch what we say and do very very carefully.
The white stone gates of the citadel were enormous. The light reflected off this building could blind people. The air itself felt dense, clotted with prayers and judgment.
It didn't take long at all before we were approached by a nun. Her veil fluttered in the wind as she stared directly at me, not at my face, but at the faint green shimmer radiating from my hands as I healed a blister on Fletch's ankle from traveling.
She was staring at me, but then turned her attention to Fletch, "A young woman, such as yourself, should NOT be showing off your ankle, let alone your bare skin, to people around you. You are not a whore, are you?" She then turned to me, "You… you weld…iiadrica."
Her voice trembled. "An element lost for centuries."
"I, what?" I stiffened.
She stepped closer, eyes wide. "That power, I can feel it radiating off of you. You are a healer, are you not?"
"Sorry, sister. We are travelers and not from around here. We don't know who you are"
"I am Sister Mariaam. I am the Master of Keys for Tower of the Blessed. Now I want to know if it is iiadrica that you weld."
I glance around the tavern that has now quieted. All eyes glued onto us as if saying 'this woman's word is law'.
"What is iiadrica?" I asked.
"Well, iiadrica is the strongest healing element known to mankind. It heals without repercussions. It mends without sacrifice and restores all that is broken.."
Now I can put a name to my healing elements. Instead of the violet aura of Ether, iiadrica pushes out a neon green hue that relaxes the whole body.
"How do I even know if iiadrica is the element I weld?"
"Here…" Mariaam retrieves something from her robes and reveals it in the palm of her hands. "This is a Stone Hedge. I found it at the edge of the creek. It had been severely injured and I was going to bring it back with me to the convent…" she pushed the hedgehog towards me. "Heal this beast."
This tiny little thing looked like a glazed ceramic stone. I watched it slowly unveiling itself in its weakened state. The pink of its belly revealed its vulnerability to me.
"Please help me and in return I will grant you a wish." Its little voice echoed.
"What?"
Mariaam studies me for a bit and then repeated, "Can you heal it or not?"
Everyone looked at me, waiting for me to do something. I gently hover my palms over the little beast, "Mend." The healing green aura illuminated.
"Whoa" Vikra and Fletch said in unison as everyone else in the tavern stared in awe.
"Eridan, I've never seen it glow like that before." Vikra said.
"You've never seen it's color?"
"No, this is the first."
"But I heal you all the time."
"Yes, but I've never seen it."
"That is because this beast is a luminator." Mariaam said, switching our attention back to the nun. "Any magic use on it will be shone. You see? It was the Gods that made me pick this helpless thing up. It was the Gods that brought us to meet, and I truly believe it is the Gods that are telling me that only you can heal…" she bends inward towards me to whisper, "who can heal a very special someone at the convent." She straightened up her back and grinned. "Come! You must all come with me at once!"
Vikra moved protectively beside me. "Why?"
"Because," she whispered, "someone is dying. They have been possessed. We are desperate.. And we… we cannot let the world know."
Her desperation was a quiet plea wrapped in secrets.
Fletch gave me a nudge. "Eridan, remember, the convent has a lot of power here. It should be our priority to not offend the churches during our stay here."
Mariaam cleared her throat and another nun quickly ran up to join the group."We will compensate you handsomely," the nun added, slipping a heavy sealed pouch of gold into Vikra's hands. "But we need privacy."
I exchanged a look with my companions. Fletch tilted his head. "I have a feeling about this one." Voryna said through Fletch.
"Alright," I said. "We'll help."
They took us down three sets of spiraling stairs into the Underhall. The walls sweated from moisture. Candlelight flickered weakly across stone carved with prayers. At the end, a thick iron door waited. Inside, the room was dim. There was just a bed and a man chained to it.
The man's wrists and ankles were bound in chains that were drilled into the walls and floor.
"This is Deacon Burrows and he is possessed," Mariaam whispered at the threshold. "We have tried every holy rite. Every prayer. Every healer. Nothing seems to work. Our head priest's patience has worn thin. You three have forty-eight hours to fix him. If you fail, the head priest will determine your fate."
"What happened to the others that did not succeed?" Fletch asked Mariaam.
"They are now serving the church. Some in the convent and some as crusaders and missionaries. You can use your imagination to where you may end up if this is unsuccessful."
Then she shut the door and bolted it from the outside. The room fell silent. We stared at the disheveled man on the bed.
Burron spoke first.
"I don't understand the chains," he said quietly, staring at the ceiling. "This is all so dramatic! All I did was fall in love."
My breath hitched.
"Are you the demon that resides within Deacon Burrows?" Vikra queried.
Burron smiled a soft yet sad smile. "This is the eighty-nineth time I have to explain myself. There is no demon. The truth is, I do not want to be a priest anymore. I have purposely sinned against every vow, every oath that I have sworn to the Saints so that I may be free of this restriction of my life. And yet, they will not let me leave."
The chains clinked as he shifted slightly. No darkness curled from him. No demonic hiss.
I stepped closer, narrowing my eyes. "You're not possessed."
"No," he said simply. "Possesed with heartbreak and love, yes. But with demon, no!"
Voryna muttered, "This place is twisted. I felt a great unease, meeting Mariaam"
I knelt beside Burron. "Tell us everything."
*
"I was a Queen's Guard in Helanica," he began. "A sword stained by too much blood. I was forced to retire from my role as Queen's guard to repent as punishment by the Crown Prince, Helanica's new king. It was then that I placed my faith in the Saints. I put every once I had into hard work, prayers, and atonement. That's when the promotion started with the Citadel. They wanted me to become a priest in their honor, but that life is not for a sinner like me. Priesthood is pure and I am nothing but."
His eyes glowed with memory as he continued.
"But just two years ago I met Luani, the lake deity of Sirene Depths. It's only two miles north from here, and I can't even get to her."
My breath stilled.
"She thanked me for feeding the fish every morning. For keeping her waters clean. She confessed she had watched me for years before showing herself to me. It didn't take long before our love had grown."
His voice cracked.
"And I loved her."
He swallowed. "We promised to run away. She would relinquish her divine role. I would shed my holy vows. We'd meet under the full moon at the lake to elope."
His expression darkened.
"But the citadel discovered us. They captured me a month ago. Locked me here. Chain me, drug me, bind me… to 'purify my soul.'"
His eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know if Luani is still there. Still waiting. Or if her heart has broken from my broken promise…"
The room felt too small for the weight of his pain.
I rose slowly. "Burron, we're getting you out."
Vikra blinked. "We're what?"
"We are not leaving an innocent man to rot in this dungeon," I said. "Not for falling in love."
Fletch placed a hand on Burron's shoulder. "Say the word. We'll help."
Burron trembled. "But how will you escape the citadel?"
I inhaled deeply. "I'll stop your heart."
He froze. "…What?"
"Just enough to mimic death for a few minutes," I clarified. "Ether can do it. They'll open the chamber. Then we run."
"How can I run if my heart no longer beats?" Burron asked with dismay.
"Sorcery that the Citadel has yet to witness." I smirked.
Vikra rubbed his face. "You terrify me sometimes."
"Only sometimes?" I quipped.
He glared.
Burron nodded. "Do it."
With my hand on his chest, I summoned Ether. I steadied his heartbeat until it faded into silence.
He slumped and the color of his flesh paled.
Virka picked the locks on the chains and freed Burron's wrists and ankles then I got onto my knees to fake a prayer as Fletch bangs on the door.
"Someone, help us! He's dead! He DEAD!" Fletch yelled Voryna's highest and most convincing voice.
Two nuns came rushing into the chamber to check his pulse and one of them screamed.
"The deacon!"
I encircled us with a shield and dropped the depleted breathing air around us. CO2 rose up causing confusion in the two nuns.
"This will do for a little bit." I say.
We moved fast. Vikra scooped Burron up. I bent the light around us, Ether weaving invisibility across our forms like a cloak. Fletch kept pace behind me as we slipped through halls, past guards, past prayers, past all the holy eyes that never saw us.
Once outside the gates, I reversed the effect. Burron gasped awake, clutching Vikra's tunic.
"You're alive. I was sure Eriden had killed you for sure." Vikra said, grinning.
"We're not safe yet," Fletch added, then his voice changed to Voryna's, "Now is the only time for us to flee."
We ran until the Holy Grounds were a distant stain behind us.
*
Night blanketed the world when we reached the lake. The full moon hung bloated and white above it.
But the lake…was dying.
Poison clouded the water. Dead fish floated on the surface. Plants curled inward like fists. The air stank of algae and rot.
Burron collapsed to his knees. "No… no, no, Saints, no…"
A ripple broke the water from Burron's tears.
Luani rose weakly, her form flickering like a candle in the wind. Her hair floated around her like reeds caught in a dying current.
"Burron," she breathed.
He ran to her, falling into her arms.
"They poisoned my lake," she whispered. "The citadel… wanted to destroy me. To erase any trace of what we were." Her form wavered. "I don't have long."
"No!" Burron took her face in his hands. "We were supposed to run. Please… please don't leave me."
Her eyes softened. "I can't live if I no longer have a home to protect. And they have destroyed my home. The gods are saying that my time here has come to an end.
"Then I'll give you a home. I will give you something to protect." Luani's eyes flickered a glimpse of hope as tears began to roll off the edge of her eyes.
"How?"
I stepped forward. "Me." Both of their heads turned to me, pleading for help. Instinctively, I began to wave my arms around, following the flow of water.
Water obeyed me instantly. It swirled around us, pulled from the dying lake, and drawn into the air. I condensed it, layer by layer into a silver-blue charm small enough to fit in a palm.
It pulsed with life. The lake now stood as a dried up memory of what it once was.
"This will hold what remains of your essence," I said. "You can stay with him. Protect him and live."
Luani touched the charm. Her body dissolved into waterlight, flowing into the charm like a final tear.
Burron clutched it to his chest and the muddy terrain stilled.
Burron rose slowly, his eyes burning with new purpose.
"I am no longer a deacon," he said. "And I cannot return to Helanica, nor to the citadel. My place is here, with those who saved us." He touched his charm and then kissed it gently. Luani's waterlight flickered a beautiful blue essence.
He looked at me, then Vikra, then Fletch.
"If you'll have me… I will lend you my strength." I will be your tank. The hardest defense guardian. I will be the man who died for love and lived again for it."
I smiled softly. "Then welcome to the party, Burron."
And just like that, under the dying moonlight, our group of four stood together.
A slayer.
A bowman.
A tank.
And a scientist wielding impossible magic.
Our next journey had already begun.