Page 81 of Class Studies
“Beryl!” I screamed.
Beryl tried to push himself off me but hissed in pain and collapsed. His heart raced against mine.
I whimpered as his weight crushed me to the floor. “Beryl, can you move?”
The light in the room brightened, and I blinked.
An otherworldly creature floated above us. I didn’t know how I knew it was a she, but she had the body of a house cat and a raccoon’s head, all in shades of white and silver. A display of brilliant pearl peacock feathers fanned out of her tail, lighting our space with cool light.
“Oh, gods, your back,” Tanwyn said somewhere near my feet.
Beryl moaned again.
I gasped, trying to breathe with his weight crushing my tiny form. “I have two healing potions.”
“I’m on it.” Abe darted past me.
With Tanwyn’s help, I wiggled out from under the mage who saved my life. I hurt but pushed down the pain to focus on Beryl. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. Gashes of every size covered his back, from his scalp to heels. My out-of-control magic even cut through the soles of his shoes.
I trembled, my hands shaking so bad I had to hold them together in front of me. Beryl couldn’t die.
Abe returned with my potions. She set one down next to me before going to Beryl’s side. Even with Tanwyn’s help, they couldn’t roll Beryl’s dead weight over to give him the potion.
Tears streamed down my face.
Tanwyn picked up my healing potion and shoved it in my face. “Drink it.”
The cut on my forehead burned. Every muscle ached, and though I wanted to help Beryl first, I couldn’t do anything like this. It took me three tries to uncork the bottle. I splashed the first sip across my upper lip with shaking hands, but the purple liquid slid down my throat, instantly easing my pain.
Tanwyn whistled. “Vac, help.”
The bear-shaped monster who swallowed my extra magic padded to the summoner’s side, making me choke on the last sip of my potion. His muzzle reminded me of a fuzzy pig despite his shape. He walked on wolf paws with a dog’s gait. A lion’s tail dragged behind him, wagging in an impossible ‘S’ shape.
He dropped his head to smell me, and I froze in fear. His fluffy bear ears twitched. He opened his jaws, and the smell of hot cinnamon filled my nose as he stuck his face in mine. A molten orange tongue threatened to lick me.
I scooted backward, grateful for the tingling of the healing potion keeping any of my cuts from reopening.
“Vac,” Tanwyn said harshly. “Beryl, now.”
The bear-shaped monster pushed away from me with a whine. He wiggled his light brown muzzle under Beryl and rolled the big internal mage. I gathered enough wits to lurch forward and cradle Beryl’s head before it flopped to the side.
His back hit the floor, and he grunted in pain, returning to consciousness. Abe stuck the open potion bottle in his mouth. He choked, but the woman tilted his head back, forcing the liquid down. “It will still work in your lungs, boy.”
I couldn’t see his back anymore, but the cuts on the side of his arms closed. I sagged in relief while Abe and Tanwyn both sat heavily.
Vac whined, his tail making an odd hissing noise as it smudged my chalk on the ground. The terrifying creature tried to fit itself onto the summoner’s lap, and Tanwyn absently pet it.
Silence blanketed us.
I tore my gaze away from my friends. Tears filled my eyes as I surveyed the devastation around me—my failed magic.
A lump of melted silver sat where my hand had been. The spell consumed my scale. I reached forward and pulled the bowl to me, smudging the bits of my runes not already covered in turtle blood and random tuffs of stuffing.
The metal dish had somehow survived. Bits of green shell and guts covered the inside. More stuffing stuck to those, making it look like some demented Christmas decoration.
I laughed. I don’t know where it came from, but I couldn’t stop the bitter low sounds from ripping out of my gut.
Tanwyn placed a hand on my arm while Vac drooled on my shoulder before licking the side of my face.