Searching for the Key

Chapter 29

Katia, Nathan, Celia, and Damien were talking happily as they flew down the cliff and landed on the ground when Nathan suddenly remembered Jason.

"Katia! I saw Jason get hurt, and he didn't look good. We have to find him!" Nathan said in a rush but Katia understood perfectly.

Her face paled and worry clouded her eyes. She couldn't lose Jason. He was the only family she had left.

"Where is he?" She demanded.

Nathan looked around to get his bearings and led them to the tree where he last saw Jason by. They saw Mike and Amanda sitting next to him, but Jason didn't look good. His face was deathly pale from the poison and loss of blood and his eyes had trouble focusing. Along the base of the tree and pooled on the floor was the blood from his wound.

"Jason!" Katia gasped as she kneeled on the ground next to him.

Jason looked around dazedly until his eyes landed on Katia. She had multiple cuts all over her body that were still bleeding. Katia's clothes had tears in it and her hair was a tangled mess. Her face was almost as pale as Jason's from the amount of energy it took to fight Akur. She could feel her heavy eyes beginning to droop but she fought to keep them open. She had to be here for Jason.

"We put the potion," Mike told them and she noticed the small bottle in his hands was empty. "But it isn't enough."

Amanda had tears in her eyes. Nathan went to go hug her as Celia and Damien stayed protectively beside Katia.

"Katia," Jason said quietly with a small smile as he reached out to hug her. "I'm so proud of you. I saw what you did up there but I still think you coming back from the dead was cooler."

"Thanks," she said with a small laugh but tears were already beginning to fill her eyes.

"Mom and Dad would be so proud of you. I really love you, you know. I never said it but I do," Jason smiled delusionally. "You drive me insane but you've kept me grounded all these years. You'll be okay right?"

Katia shook her head and squeezed Jason's hand. "Stop. Don't talk like that." His eyes began to close but Katia shook him awake. "Don't leave me. I can fix you."

Katia was so tired and weak from the fight. Plus not all of her energy was there to begin with when she came back, but she had to try for Jason. He was her only family. Katia took some water from a nearby river so that she wouldn't have to use too much energy taking it from the air.

Then she brought it over Jason and put all of her energy into healing him. Katia could feel her energy draining quickly, but she wouldn't stop. Her breathing became labored and her arms fell tiredly by her sides. Katia opened her eyes and saw that Jason was completely healed. The color came back to his face and all that was left of his wound was a light scar. A small, relieved smile made its way to her face.

Healing Jason drained so much of her energy that her legs couldn't support her weight. Katia collapsed on to the ground but Nathan was able to catch her. She closed her eyes and was breathing heavily like she ran twenty miles.

"Katia!" They all rushed over and crowded around her.

"Katia are you okay?" Jason asked full of concern as he grabbed her hand firmly in his.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her friends and Jason.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "It's just that I didn't have much energy left and I used it all healing you."

"I didn't even know you could heal other people," Jason said in wonder. He regarded her intently, realizing just how much she's changed and grown in the last week. "Thanks, Katia. I thought I was a goner."