The Healer’s Curse

CHAPTER 4B — The Awakening Beneath the Trees

Spike tried to pull the light back, to bury it the way Ayla had taught him, but it wouldn’t obey. The relic pulsed harder, a living drum inside his chest. “Stop,” he whispered. “You’re hurting her. You’re hurting me.”

The Warden hissed and drew closer, pressing its snout against his shoulder like an animal seeking warmth. Energy spilled between them, thin threads of blue connecting scale to skin.

Ayla’s eyes widened. “Spike, look at me! You have to sever it before it locks in!”

“How?”

“Think of something that isn’t the relic, something that’s yours. Anchor yourself.”

He clenched his fists. Mine? He thought of the ambulance wreck, of the dying man he had dragged back from nothing.

Of the horror when that man’s eyes had glowed blue. Of the promise he’d made to never let that happen again. “Mine,” he growled, forcing the word through his teeth.

The pulse stuttered. Ayla stepped closer, voice low. “Good. Keep pushing. Don’t let it think for you.”

Spike’s knees hit the mud. “It’s, stronger than before.”

“Then be stubborn.”

He laughed once, breathless. “You don’t know me, Ayla.”

“I know you’re still fighting. That’s enough.”

The Warden shrieked; light sprayed from its open mouth like shattered stars. Spike’s body convulsed, and for a moment their shadows fused on the forest floor, one man, one serpent, one blinding outline.

Then it was gone. The silence after was too deep. The rain had stopped mid-fall, each droplet hanging in the air before crashing down again all at once. Spike collapsed forward, coughing.

Ayla caught him before he hit the ground. “Hey! Hey, stay with me.”

He looked up at her through the blur. “Did it, die?”

“No.” She glanced toward the place where the Warden had been. Only a faint burn mark remained, seared into the earth. “It retreated. Or it’s inside you. Hard to say which.”

“That’s… comforting.”

“You’re still glowing.” She pressed a hand to his shoulder; warmth radiated beneath his skin. “We need to get you somewhere safe before”

Before she could finish, a distant crack echoed through the forest. Not thunder, gunfire.

Ayla’s expression hardened. “They found us.”

“Who?”

“Relic Hunters. The ones who trained me to kill people like you.”

He blinked. “You’re telling me this now?”

“Would you have trusted me otherwise?”

Spike managed a half-smile. “Probably not.”

Branches shattered behind them. Three figures emerged from the mist, cloaked, masked, weapons humming with faint blue runes. The lead Hunter leveled his rifle. “Target acquired. The vessel is unstable.”

Spike staggered to his feet. “Vessel? I’ve got a name, you know!”

Ayla stepped in front of him, sword gleaming. “You’ll have to go through me first.”

The lead Hunter tilted his head. “Betrayal confirmed. Orders remain.”

They fired. Ayla’s blade flashed, deflecting the first shot, but the second struck Spike square in the chest. He felt it, a cold impact, followed by the relic’s flare.

Blue light erupted from the wound, throwing the Hunters backward. “Spike!” Ayla screamed.

He looked down at his chest. The bullet hovered just above his skin, melting into light, then disappeared. The relic’s hum deepened, resonating through the trees. “Guess it doesn’t like being shot,” he muttered.

The ground split open beneath his feet. Blue symbols raced outward in a circle, carving themselves into the mud. Ayla grabbed his arm. “You’re triggering a gate! Close it!”

“I don’t know how!”

“Then” she hesitated, fear breaking through her usual control “then let it happen and pray we survive!”

Light consumed everything. The forest vanished in a blinding surge, the Hunters’ screams swallowed by the roar.

When the brilliance faded, Spike and Ayla were gone. Only the scorched sigil remained, burning faintly in the rain.

Moments later, the lead Hunter stirred, half-buried in mud. He lifted a cracked communicator to his mouth. “Command, this is Alpha. The vessel has breached containment. Possible planar displacement.”

“Understood,” a cold voice replied. “Track the signature. And if the girl’s with him, bring her back alive.”

The line cut off. The Hunter looked toward the fading light on the ground. “Wherever you’ve gone, Miller,” he whispered, “we’ll find you.”