Nothing At All

3.1

Waking up the second time was even more difficult. I knew I was awake, but the fog in my head refused to let me open my eyes. The dull ache in my forehead grew stronger the more conscious I became, and my leaden limbs stayed glued to my side. It wasn't until I felt the vomit in my throat, that I managed to roll over and get ready to puke again.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and suddenly there a bucket underneath me. I unceremoniously dry-heaved for a solid minute before weakly pushing away the bucket and collapsing face-down. It felt like I was on a bed, and the sheet I was shoving my face into was the softest thing I had ever felt. I almost fell back asleep trying to catch my breath.

Finally, I gathered up the strength to roll back over. My eyelids peeled themselves open and I was greeted by the sight of a stone ceiling ten feet above me. From what I could see without moving my head, the room I was in was dark, with only a sliver of light to my left. The bed underneath me was the only furniture I could sense.

I gradually came to my senses and realized, with a start, that someone else was in the room with me. It was either that or a disembodied hand I had felt touching me; I don't know which scenario would be worse.

With a moan, I pushed myself up onto my elbow. That didn't work when my shaky arm proved too tired to hold my weight and fell back down.

Someone was suddenly at my side. They gently took my arm and helped guide me into a sitting position, propped up by a mountain of feather pillows. I tried to get a better look at the person, but they were hidden in shadows.

I knew I probably should I have been scared, but I didn't have it in me to freak out. That is, until my eyes adjusted to the dark and I recognized the person as the mysterious cloaked figure from the woods.

I tried to roll away from them, but I sank deeper into the fluffy mattress. My heart pounded against my ribs, and I couldn't scream. My throat, sore from puking, couldn't really handle it. I scrambled to move myself as my weak body protested.

"Relax!" the figure said, stepping back. They raised their hands up and opened the palms to show they had no weapons. "I mean you know harm."

I probably should have kept trying to get away, but I say their retreat as a good enough sign that I wasn't about to be killed. "Get away from me," I whispered, hating how weak my voice sounded.

The person obliged. "I shall remain away from you, if it shall bring you comfort." The voice belonged to a woman; it was soft and gentle, but raspy, like the rustling of dead leaves. It was the voice of someone who hadn't spoken in a long time.

She retreated to the other side of the room, into the darkest corner, and settled into an armchair there. Her posture was straight but comfortable, and she removed her hood with grace. Pale skin, whiter than fresh snowfall, was really the only thing I could see. Dark hair fell past her shoulders and she focused her blurry face on me.

"Who are you?" I blinked, trying to see her better.

She folded her hands in her lap. "You may simply refer to me as Mircalla. I cannot expect you to remember my full title."

"What the fuck is going on?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why the hell am I here? Where is Mom and Alex?" I turned my head towards the room's only window—barely a slit in the stone—and saw daylight outside. It was at least the next morning, meaning it had been several hours since I last saw them.

"I know not who you speak of. As for your reason for being here, I was hoping you could tell me."

Her fancy, stuck-up way of speaking was too much for my addled brain. I had to process her words before I could respond. "The storm sent me here. I was standing in this circle and Mom was there and then the lightning hit me and next thing I know, everyone was gone."

Mircalla leaned forward and cocked her head. "What storm do you speak of? There has been no such weather event within the last month."

"You're shitting me," I said, once again glancing to the window. "How did you not notice that massive thunderstorm last night? It was like a wet version of Hell."

She sighed and tapped her fingers against the arm of the chair. She uncrossed her legs and then crossed them again. After a pause, she said, "No, I can very much assure you that the sky was clear for the duration of the night. In fact, when I found you, the weather was calm. Do you not remember?"

I buried my head in my hands and tried to gather all my memories of the previous night. It was a blur of chaos and broken glass. "We were being chased by people, a bunch of assholes in black that looked like you. They shot Alex in the leg." I choked up at the thought of it.

"These assailants that you speak of, describe them to me."

Looking up, I wiped away a stray tear. "You've got to tell me what's going on. I'm begging you. Where are Mom and Alex?" The pain in my head flared up as I suppressed my tears; I was not about to cry in front of a complete stranger.

"Again, I know not who these people are. You must tell of those who attacked you; it is urgent."

She got up from the chair and walked towards me. Before emerging from the shadows, she pulled the hood over her head. Any hope for a good look at her face disappeared as it was obscured by the dark cloth. She sat down at the edge of the bed, her body sinking into the mattress.

I balled the blanket into my fists and gritted my teeth. "I don't know!" I exclaimed, pushing down the frustration growing in my chest. "They were dressed like you and they chased us in their black car all the way down the road. We hit a tree and started running and they followed us. They had a fucking bow and arrow for some reason and they used it to hit Alex."

"This might confirmed my theory," Mircalla mused, tapping her chin with her finger. "It seems you have the Order after you. This is bad, very bad indeed."

I raised my eyebrows. "Care to elaborate?"

"Yes, yes." She rose to her feet and speed-walked to the dresser in the far corner. She grabbed something off the top before coming back to me. "After I found you last night and brought you here to recover, I noticed this on your wrist."

I took the broken, golden bracelet from her and held it in my hand. The thin silver chain glinted in the light, and the charms, shaped like coins and stamped with a swirling design, overlapped. Instantly I knew that this was the bracelet Mom had given me last night. I also knew whose bracelet it was.

"This is my great-grandmother's," I mumbled. "It's been forever since I've seen this thing, at least a decade. This is what Mom put on me right before the lightning hit me."

She let out a breathy gasp. "So it is the bracelet."

I looked up. "What do you mean? How do you know what this is? It's been in my family forever. Whenever Grandma died, Mom took it and put it in the safe."

"I know not how you came to have it, but many years ago this belonged to my grandfather." She gingerly took it from me and dangled it in front of her face. "I knew what it was as soon as I saw it, yet I still doubted myself. But when you say what it did, well, then, that confirms everything. Even in its current state, this tiny thing contains more power than either of us could ever imagine."

I paused to understand the convoluted idea she was saying; her way of speaking was not making this easy. "What 'power' do you mean?"

"This bracelet is magic. Did you not know that?"

"Fucking pardon?" My mouth dropped like a cartoon character's. Magic?

Mircalla ran a thumb along the jagged edge where the jewelry had broken. "It is what my grandfather called an amplifier. He is the one who made it, and it is two of a kind. This tiny thing can be used to generate unseen amounts of magic; even the weakest wielder can do unspeakable things with it in their possession. He disappeared with it and the other one he made over a century ago. I never thought I would see it again."

I shook my head and held up my hands. "Rewind, and start again at the beginning. What is this magic you're talking about?"

"I take you know nothing of the world of wielders?" She sighed at my baffled expression and slid the bracelet off. "If you truly are clueless, then how in the world did you come into possession of one of the most powerful items ever crafted?"