Chapter 11 — Mistake

“No no no no no no no no—”

Ness was hugging her knees to her chest at the side of the trail, hyperventilating.

“This isn’t real. This isn’t happening. I’m dreaming. I’m hallucinating.”

Mira hovered anxiously nearby; she was desperate to wrap her arms around Ness and reassure her; but that would only make the situation worse. Much worse. She looked at Mictlan for some kind of help or support; he only shrugged and rolled his eyes. He made an exaggerated show of looking down the direction of the path they needed to walk. They were miles — and hours — away from anywhere that might be considered a refuge.

“Wake up. Vanessa, wake up. This isn’t real. Snap the fuck out of it.”

Ness pinched herself on the arm, hard enough that she winced. She slapped herself in the face. She reached up, and — gritting her teeth — tried to pull the dog ears off of her head. She yelped, and then screamed in guttural frustration.

Mira dug around in her satchel and pulled out a water flask that had not yet been emptied. She extended it toward Ness, careful to keep her distance.

Ness flinched away from Mira, vigorously enough that it threw her off balance, and she toppled into the underbrush at the side of the trail.

“NO,” she shouted at Mira. “DON’T TOUCH ME! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?”

Mictlan looked at the two, starting to look anxious at their lingering, and annoyed at both of the women.

((Need to keep moving.)) he signed, brusquely.

Mira glanced between the two. She tossed the flask toward Ness, and then rubbed her temples.

“It’s not safe here, Ness. We need to keep moving.”

Ness untangled herself from the foliage she had falling into; her breathing and her wide, unblinking eyes still belied the panic she was feeling, but the tumble had shaken her out of the downward spiral. She reached, unsteadily, for the water flask, fumbled with the stopper and its wire latch, and then downed half of it in a single draught. It tasted dirty, and the flask gave it an unpleasant, metallic tang. Ness wondered whether the water was even safe to drink.

“I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what you did.”

Mira looked embarrassed, and couldn’t keep eye contact with Ness. She looked back down the trail towards the forest village they had come from.

“I… am not a healer, Ness.”

“But you said you healed me??”

“I know a healing spell.. for emergencies. It’s supposed to restore injuries… restore a body to how it’s supposed to be.”

“I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE DOG EARS,” Ness shouted back at Mira.

“If your shouting draws attention to us we’re going to have bigger problems than your ears,” Mira snapped back, starting to grow legitimately angry.

“I. Am. Not. Supposed. To. Have. Dog. Ears.” Ness repeated, through gritted teeth— but only loud enough to be heard.

“Apparently…” Mira sighed, gesturing in a what do you want me to say? sort of way, “…you are.”

Eventually, Mictlan hauled Ness to her feet and physically shoved her down the trail to start walking. He walked just behind her, a barrier separating her from Mira.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Ness asked.

She had calmed down, but she was still troubled and deeply unhappy about the situation. Her aching feet were not helping her mood.

“Once we get to the edge of the forest, there should be border outposts. I can trade a spell or two for shelter and dinner. If you—”

“Yeah, fine, whatever, if it means I can stop walking for a while.” Ness didn’t bother to mask her annoyance.

“I was trying to save your life, Ness. I didn’t know this would happen.”

“And I’m ‘supposed to be’ a dog? Arf arf? Tail wagging?” She slapped the faux fur tail that was hanging limply from the back of her belt. “Why isn’t this thing real now, too, anyway?”

“The magic was focused on your head and neck, where you were most injured.”

“So if I’d landed on my ass, I’d have a tail instead of ears?”

Ness glanced back over her shoulder when Mira didn’t respond; the sorceress looked chagrined.

“Ness…”

“What?”

“I’m… I’m sorry about all of this. It’s not your fault. You didn’t choose to come here. I’m sorry. When we get back to the city, I’ll pay a healer to fix your ears. It’s expens—” she paused mid-word. “…difficult magic. But I’ll make it right.”

It was Ness’s turn to walk quietly for a few minutes. She let Mictlan take the lead again, and fell back to walk alongside Mira, an arm’s length away.

“I— I don’t know,” Ness said, eventually. “I, uhm. Maybe. Yeah.”

“It… might take me some time to raise the money.”

“What? Aren’t you some wealthy and powerful sorceress?”

“If I were wealthy, I wouldn’t be sleeping on the ground in this armpit of a forest hunting down bandits.”

“You don’t seem to be very good at that.”

“Sometimes… everything just goes wrong.”

“Like me,” Ness replied, quietly.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Yeah, it is.”

Mira didn’t argue further.

Ness imagined that the edge of the forest sould be a sharp line, an immediate transition from the dense woods they had been trekking through to, perhaps, rolling plains of green grass. In reality, the woods thinned gradually until she realized that she could see for almost a mile ahead. The trail they were following gradually disappeared, too, as the terrain opened up.

A tendril of smoke snaked up from behind a wooden stockade in the distance, and they arrived at the gates of the border outpost without further incident. Mira spent the remaining few hours of daylight reciting spells to mend the guards’ broken equipment, and heal what minor injuries she could, limited by the specific nature of her healing magic.

Mira’s mind felt thin and threadbare by the time the quartermaster declared they had earned their keep, and found them a trio of cots. They ate stew and fresh, rustic bread from the mess alongside the rest of the garrison, and washed it down with local ale.

“What language are they speaking?”

Ness had been dazed and glassy-eyed by the time Mira had finished her work. The ale and food had helped, but she was still distracted and fidgety.

“What?” Mira tilted her head at Ness, confused by the question. “Rōkiic. Same as you and me.”

“I’m… I’m speaking English. You’re speaking English.” Ness frowned. “Wait, how are you speaking English? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“What are you saying?”

“I understand you. You understand me. I don’t understand them. You say you’re speaking the same language they are?”

“Yeah, I— oh. Oh.” Mira frowned deeply, and took a deep drink from the ale. It was too bitter and had strange flavors from the herbs that the foragers had brought in, but it was ale and it tasted like civilization.

“A sorceress can usually communicate with her familiar, but familiars are usually.. uhm… very stupid creatures.”

“So, what, we’re communicating psychically? Telepathy?”

“Yeah, basically.”

“And I can’t understand anybody else in this world and nobody can understand me.”

“We can find you an envoy’s medallion in Terok.” Mira sighed. This entire expedition was rapidly becoming extremely unprofitable.

“Envoy’s medallion?”

“It will help you learn the language, quickly. But it still takes time. A few weeks.”

“Terok?”

“The capitol, where I live.”

They finished eating and found the cots the quartermaster had prepared for them, in a corner of the barracks. It was noisy and hectic, but after their travels and the hours of spellwork, it still felt luxurious.

“Can anyone use magic?” Ness was squirming beneath the itchy blankets they had been provided, trying to find a comfortable position.

Mira made a thoughtful noise.

“Yes… and no. It’s a litle bit like singing?”

“Fun to do at karaoke?”

“Carry oaky? No, forget it. Uhm. Anyone can sing, but most people are bad at it. Really bad at it. And it’s… dangerous, if you’re bad at it.”

“So you’re, what, like a natural singer?”

Mira didn’t reply for long enough that Ness wondered if she had fallen asleep.

“I worked hard. Trained hard. Some people are natural talents, but mostly it’s a skill.”

“But you’re good at it?”

Mira was silent.

“Mira?” Ness frowned at her.

“I have my guild seal.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s illegal to practice magic, outside of educational settings, without a seal.”

“I’m asking if you’re good and your answer is it’s not illegal for me to do it?”

Mira looked glum; she rolled onto her back and stared at the rough wood ceiling above.

“Why did you take a job all the way out here, anyway? Not enough work for a just-barely-qualified magician in town?”

Ness glanced over at Mira; who sighed, and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands.

“I’m.. I’m sorry,” Ness said, softly. “That was harsh. But really, why this job?”

“Jobs like this pay better.. And I really needed the gold.”

“Why?”

“Sorcery training is expensive… We can’t work until we have our seal, so we can’t really apprentice..”

“Hold the fuck up.” Ness couldn’t figure out if she was completely aghast or if she thought it was incredibly funny. “You ripped me out of my home because you have fucking student loans?”