Not What It Seems

“The only person I can think of that might have an antidote for this poison would be Lady Zaria.” My Master stated after hearing what had happened and examined me.

Vudu explained the poison to him after bringing me to the Academy. I was still in shock and didn’t talk much. But from what I remember Vudu said, my eyes don’t look like they are blind, but that is part of the poison. If we didn’t get an antidote, I would be blind for the rest of my life. Most magic requires vision to be able to perform. And the thought of going without vision for the rest of my life frightened me. Though I could adapt, my entire life would change, and I would be more dependent from now on.

“How long would it take us to get to Lady Zaria?” Vudu asked.

My Master let out a sigh. “At least a day to the South. Two days at most. I can be sure she knows you are coming.”

I didn’t hear a verbal response from Vudu, but he soon helped me to my feet and began to guide me out of the Academy. I felt completely helpless. One doesn’t often realize how dependent they are on a sense until it’s taken away. One thing though, was Vudu kept both hands on my arms and guided me in such a way that I didn’t need to worry about running into anything. I needed to adapt.

After a slow walk to my home, I heard the voices of my friends waiting for me. I did notice that no one talked to us during our walk home. I suspected that maybe Vudu’s appearance set them off and they were wary to come close to us. Though he proved to care about the town and its people, they still feared him because they only saw that he was a demon and an unknown.

“How is she doing?” Elaine’s voice asked Vudu.

We continued to walk into my home as he answered. I was still too depressed to speak. “She’ll be fine. But we have to go to Lady Zaria, to see if she has an antidote. I think it would be better if we took a carriage to get us there rather than walk.”

He guided me to my chair and sat me down while Elaine and Erik entered the home. I listened closely as I heard Lina softly ask Vudu to pick her up. With a small grunt, he complied and lifted her into his arms. It astonished me that I was catching all of this just by listening.

Erik’s voice came next. “Is there anything we could do to help?”

There was silence for a bit, and then Vudu answered. “Zeriah, recently took in a hedgehog. He will need to be cared for while we are gone. He’s over in the corner, and his name is Pepe.”

I heard Elaine’s light steps walk over to the corner of my home. Some soft hissing came from Pepe as she picked him up. Walking back over to us, I felt her hand touch my shoulder in reassurance.

“We’ll take care of him.” She said. “He’ll be here when you return.”

I swallowed and nodded in response.

“Thank you.” Vudu said to the couple and I heard a shift as he gave Lina to her father. “We better prepare to leave. I don’t want her to suffer from this longer than she has to.”

They gave a silent reply and walked out of my home, closing the door behind them. I listened as Vudu’s footsteps came closer to me. A small breeze told me he crouched down in front of me to be eye level. His hand went to my knee.

“I know this is hard, Firefly.” He said. “But I promise to fix this.”

I didn’t respond.

His hand moved to my cheek. “Zeriah, we have to move. This poison is exactly how it sounds. It does take your sight, but it will slowly kill you. So, if we don’t get the antidote, you will be blind for the rest of your life. And it will be a short life. I don’t want that to happen. You’re still needed here.”

I blinked, and tears that I didn’t know I was holding back fell down my cheeks. This was overwhelming, and I was exhausted. I could tell that Vudu was trying his best to help me. He was trying to comfort me while also telling me the dangers. He was right, we had to get moving. But at the time, I just wanted to give up.

Gentile touch brought me out of my dark thoughts. Vudu’s hands cradled my face as he wiped away the tears from my cheeks. Though I couldn’t see it, I could feel an intense gaze on me as he held me. A shift in his movement made it so he pressed his forehead against mine. A moment a silence fell between us and we stayed in that position for a while. I felt comforted and cared for. And though he couldn’t have the emotion, his actions caused me to feel loved. He was right, we had to get moving.

“Please.” I finally spoke. “Hand me my staff. I can use it to feel what is in front of me.”

Vudu pulled away and stood up. I listened as he walked over and grabbed my staff. Walking back over, I heard him set it in front of me to grab. I reached out and slowly felt around for it until my hand connected to it. Using it to stand up, I took a deep breath and nodded.

“Let’s go.”