The COATS Files

Chapter Seven- A Memory I Do Not Have

∣Previously∣

They had only been walking for a few minutes, long enough to descend into a comfortable silence, when Mary froze suddenly, her entire body going stiff and the new tattoo around her left eye glowing a soft, yet urgent orange. Fanta scarcely had time to choke out the first syllable of a worried "Milady?" when the skin on their back began to crawl as if ants were marching along within their skin, and, although they could not see it, the same orange radiated from under their clothes.

∣Present time∣

Mary's head pounded, a tight pain radiating from her eye in a way that had her clenching it shut and forcing the heel of her palm into it as if she could cancel out the pain. Her other eye, with teary, blurry vision, flashed over every inch of the area, searching for something that was not there on flickering planes of existence.

Instead, she gritted her teeth and focused on Fanta, who had collapsed to their knees in the weeds at their feet and was curling their nails into the dirt, moving rocks and roots and staining the end of their fingers. Their shoulder-blades twitched and moved like they were trying to escape their own skin, and Mary had only taken the first step towards them when the pain subsided.

Fanta heaved a heavy breath, settling at home in their body, and Mary turned her sight away from them, giving the older a moment to recover. The action gave her the space to blink away the tears from her eyes, but she could still feel the pulsing of the magic burned into her flesh. The colour and feel of magic gave away the owner, and as soon as Fanta could stand the two of them were abandoning the bag Mary had been clutching and following the thin orange string to wherever Ty was.

The library, when the two of them burst through the doors not ten minutes later, was cold. Mary's form went stagnant the second she crossed the threshold, deep nausea swaying her off her feet and pushing her back into Fanta's chest, their usually warm skin frigid as they shuffled farther into the room despite the way the cold scratched at their skin.

The two rounded a corner on shaky feet, and found Sofi kneeling over Ty's body, slumped on the couch, speaking healing spells so fast, one after another, it was astounding the girl's magic reserves hadn't hit zero. Mary swallowed hard, grimacing and forcing the urge to vomit the extreme cold was bringing up in her away, allowing Fanta to quickly lead them both to Sofi's side, her own healing spells rising in the back of her throat.

They fell into the same rhythm as they had when they healed Qween, but it was harder this time, not only because of the cold that was painting frost on the large windows, but it was as if the force trying to drown Ty had learned from the last time. Had gotten stronger.

The light that managed to pass through the frosted glass cast shadows on the floor, and they shifted as the sun slowly set. Soon, a white fog accompanied every breath and the air stung like knives as it was inhaled.

At some point, likely just seconds after the three healers had started working together, but what felt like hours, Jay and Mini barrelled through the library doors, still ajar from when Fanta and Mary had done the same. Jay summoned a flame, keeping the ice that eventually began creeping along the floorboards at a distance, while Mini sung healing notes, adding another layer to what was likely the only thing keeping Ty alive.

When the room had gone completely dark, the only light emitting from Jay's flames, the vibrant orange connecting them to Ty flickered out, for the briefest of seconds, like a candle that someone had tried to snuff out, but returned as a dull shadow of itself. The same dull, almost dead, shade as the purple string snaking down from the ceiling.

Mary turned, leaning against the back of the couch, holding Ty's limp hand in her own, and leaned her head against Fanta's shoulder. Sofi did the same on Fanta's other side, and soon both Jay and Mini joined them, the cold zapping their energy and draining any strength they had left.