MAGICAL INTRUSIONS

With his hand on mine, we make our way down the hall peeking into hotel rooms. The deafening sounds from the riots and pillaging continue outside the doors of the deserted hotel. We desperately search for a safe place to rest, for just a moment. I need to tend to his injured side. He is silent, but from his blood-drenched t-shirt and the clenching of his teeth, it’s clear that he has more than a shallow wound. Angry shouts from the streets of Chicago echo within the abandoned walls.

“Liam, you shouldn’t have come for me. You should have escaped while you could.

There’s no safe way out of the city now, we're trapped,” I say.

“Keely, look at me.” Liam stops and grabs my chin gently. He moves my head up so that my eyes meet his. “I wouldn’t and can’t leave you. Not to deal with this madness alone.”

I look away fearful that my true feeling for him will be revealed. An explosion from outside causes me to jump and I accidentally bump into his wounded side. Liam bristled as a sharp jolt of pain shot through him. I can feel this almost as he does, we are intrinsically connected.

“In here, Keel,” he says.

He pulls me into a room. I look at Liam and his olive skin is pale. Droplets of crimson blood drip from his side and puddle on the ground.

“I need to look at your wound.”

I remove my backpack and retrieve a first aid kit. I grab his hand and guide him to the bed in the room. I motion for him to sit and he reluctantly obeys.

“Lift your shirt,” I say.

He grinds his teeth as he lifts his shirt, exposing the ugly gash on his side. It’s deep. His skin is warm, and I fear infection is near. I realize that there is nothing in the first aid kit that will help his wound. He needs more help than a band-aid can provide, he needs me.

“Liam---”

“No Keely,” he says, knowing the thoughts in my mind. He rises and angrily walks away from me as he pulls the blood-stained shirt over his wound.

“I told you when I ended things. None of this funny shit. I meant it,” he said.

“I know, but infection is setting in and you’re losing too much blood. Please, Liam. Please, just this once let me help,” I beg.

“No.”

“Liam, look at me. You need to let me help you. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” I say as I look softly into his eyes.

Glass shatters onto the floor from an explosion and the angry voices of the rioters grow louder. Liam doesn’t hide his feeling of disgust for me. He can’t accept what I am, and who he truly is. An object flies through the window, Liam dodges swiftly. The pain from quick movement takes him to his knees. I rush to him. Our connection grows stronger, and my side now burns with the intensity of a thousand flames. I place my palm on his wound. His warm blood covers my hand. I can feel his rapid heartbeat on my skin. The prophecy has foretold our journey together and our bound souls forged by the love we have shared. He may never forgive me, but it must be done.

“Look at me, Liam. Look at me, deep into my eyes. Let the pain flow, out of you and into me. Let go,” I say.

My eyes burn as tears well from pain. The heat from his wound sears my hand. I struggle to remain focused. Searching for his injuries with my mind, I place healing powers upon the internal wounds. I continue to keep his eyes locked on mine. Gasping in agony, I release his pain and absorb into myself so that my powers can heal him. I remove all the infection that I can, and the wound closes. I am weak and growing weaker by the second. Afraid I lack the strength to stand, I lean against the wall.

Liam looks at me and shakes his head. His eyes are dark and telling.

“I’ll never forgive you. Never,” he says.

I lift my chin in defiance and rise to my feet. I know he will never forgive me; I knew it when I saved his life. My powers are what ended us once, and it has ended us again before we could even begin.

Wendy Miller-Norris is a novelist who specializes in romance and speculative fiction. Wendy is currently earning her MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction at Southern New Hampshire University. Her BFA is from Full Sail University where she received a Director's Award upon graduation. Upon completion of her MFA, she hopes to pursue her PhD at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette where she will concentrate her studies in Creative Writing Pedagogy, Speculative/Romantic Fiction, and Irish Folklore.