Of Shadows and Darkness

Chapter 13

"Gregor! Please come back to me Gregor! Don't leave me Gregor!" I wept.

"I'm not leaving. I just need to figure out how to stop the compulsion without using more compulsion magic on you," replied Gregor, from across the field. He was miles away, so far away. I feared he might disappear, flicker out like a candle in the wind if I blinked.

"You are so far away Gregor. I'm scared. Please come back," I begged.

"I'm literally ten feet away from you," sighed in exasperation Gregor.

I pressed my lips together stifling a cry. I didn't want him to hate me more. I couldn't live if he didn't love me. I wiped my tears and watched Gregor in silence. I felt like I was dying without him. I was empty and lost. More tears gathered and fell onto the grass. I whimpered and cried- I tried to be quiet but I couldn't. It hurt to be away from him. It hurt not to touch him, to not kiss him. I was nothing without him, I couldn't exist without him, I didn't exist without him. His taste lingered on my lips and his touch lingered on my skin. The places he touched, the traces of him ached. They were scars, brands seared into my flesh. It hurt. Everything hurt. Every fibre of my being ached for him, begged for him, fell apart without him.

My body crumbled under the misery. I collapsed onto my hands and knees, tears pouring down my face. My brain throbbed and my blood was lava."Gregor," I whimpered. Through my blurry eyes I saw the shape of Gregor rush back to me.

"Tristan, are you okay?" he asked. His words crackled and buzzed like he was speaking through an old tv set.

I let my body fall onto the grass and I rolled onto my back. "I don't know, I don't know," I cried but it sounded like whispers. My tears burned like acid.

"What's going on?" The sound of Gregor's words faded as the buzzing grew louder in my ears.

"It hurts." My voice broke as my throat tightened. It hurt to speak. My jaw hurt, my lungs hurt, my tongue hurt.

"What hurts? Where does it hurt? Tell me!" Gregor looked desperate but he sounded like he was miles away.

"My head, my body, everything- hurts." My vision dimed.

"Don't close your eyes, wake up! Wake up!" Gregor shook me and a woke up a bit. He sounded clearer and felt closer than before. "What should I do? I don't know what I should do."

"Gregor," I gasped. Icy cold air filled my lungs, it hurt to breathe. My muscles were stiff but my limbs were limp. Gregor said something but I couldn't hear him- it was just buzzing. I needed to stay awake- for Gregor at least.

My fingers felt numb but I managed to sit up by clinging onto Gregor. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself focused. The world around me rippled, despite or maybe through the pain I felt a sudden rush of clarity. I remembered I could pass the magic inside me to Gregor.

"Gregor!" I cried but I couldn't hear my own voice. "You need to make a portal."

I saw his mouth move and shake his head but I couldn't hear him. My eyelids felt heavy.

"I can't hear you Gregor. I'll try- I'll try and give you magic but you need to take us to someone to help us." It took so much effort to speak, I couldn't even tell if I was actually speaking but Gregor nodded in response. I reached for his hand and noticing what I was doing held my hand.

I closed my eyes and imagined my magic gathering in my chest, like a swirling mist and then flow down my arm. I felt my burning hand tingle. I pressed my magic through my palms to Gregor's hand. There was a wall that stopped it from passing through, I tried to push again but my magic did not pass through. It felt like I was making waves against the edge of a dam.