Shadow's Edge (Shadows Saga bk1)

Chapter 14- Blocked

Mara woke to the sound of hushed tones and a high-pitched beeping near her head. She tried to sit up, but she was restrained by a myriad of cords and tubes.

"What's going on?" She said, her voice raspy as she tugged at the tube in her arm. She lifted her hand up to her head as a throbbing pain worked inside of it.

Marx, Trixle, and Zander surrounded her, everyone speaking at once, giving Mara no chance to reply.

"Are you okay?"

"How do you feel?"

"Do you need anything?"

"Does your head hurt?"

"Do you want us to call the nurse in?"

Mara shut her eyes tightly, holding a hand out in front of her to silence everyone. "What happened? Where am I?"

"I'm so sorry Mara, it's all my fault-" Zander started, but he was cut short.

"You're right, it is all your fault." Natalie said from the corner. "You kids were dealing with magic you should have stayed away from. I should take some of the blame myself however, I knew I shouldn't have let you go back that way."

"What happened?" Mara asked again. She had started to get annoyed by now and if she didn't get an answer soon, she knew it was bound to get worse.

"We aren't totally sure," Trixle said. "It appears the portal somehow took your energy and blocked your magic as well in the process."

"Blocked my magic..." Mara echoed quietly.

"I've been testing your aura twice a day since you lost consciousness. You seem to be getting healthier, but the block seems to be staying firmly in place," Trixle said.

"So my magic is gone?"

"Yes and no," the answer came from Marx this time. "From what we understand your magic just has a barrier around it. For all we know, it could be something inside your head that's blocking it."

"Until we figure out what it is though, you're basically human," Zander said looking away. Mara saw something strange flash behind his eyes, but just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished.

Marx reached out and placed his hand on top of hers. Where their skin touched, Mara felt that same tingling sensation when she had gone to see him. He quickly took his hand away, and Mara could see sadness, a sense of regret in his deep brown eyes.

She had no idea what Marx could possibly be regretting, none of it had been his fault, he couldn't have stopped anything from happening.

"Wait a minute," Mara said. "You said you've been testing my aura twice a day since I lost consciousness. How long have I been out?"

"It's Thursday," Trixle said. "It's been four days."

"Four days?" Mara shrieked.

"Like I said, your energy was way down. Your aura barely had anything to it. I thought you were dead." The fear Trixle had felt that day had begun to creep into her voice.

A woman in a white nurse's uniform entered the room. "Miss Collins, I see you're awake. All of your levels appear to be normal. We'll just need to keep you for a couple more hours, but you'll be able to go back to your room this evening."

Mara nodded as the woman busied herself. She checked all of Mara's tubes and made sure the fluid drip was working properly. The woman made some marks on the chart at the end of the bed before nodding to everyone and exiting the room.

"Mara," Natalie started. "The Headmistress knows about your little off campus adventure. You and Zander have both been placed under house arrest. You're to go to classes and to your room. Your training sessions with Mr. Delcole will take place in a designated classroom under supervision, and you will receive a new mentor as soon as possible."