Chapter 5

Reaching out, he found the man before him had a lot more power than Tom had ever felt before.

Summoning the last of his power, Tom thought of his home and pulled as hard as he could. Appearing in the living room, Tom found he couldn’t stop and skidded into the wall full force. Tom awoke an hour later with a throbbing in his right arm and a headache to boot.

“Frilly!” Tom yelled, hoping she was alright.

Frilly was there in a flash. Worried, she looked over his arm and head, seeing a trickle of blood on his forehead. “You have to heal yourself. Look inside and think of being whole and unhurt.”

Looking at Frilly like she was crazy, he did as she said. Slowly at first, then with a slow build, a glow started to spread. Looking down, Tom was surprised. Damn it! How could he have been so damn stupid?

The pain had finally started to fade, but it was still throbbing like a bitch. Trying to stay awake, Tom felt out for anyone near. Finding no one nearby, he laid back and slowly closed his eyes, feeling the world slowly start to slip away. Frilly hovered nearby, upset, still under orders not to reveal where they were or to leave. She was afraid that Tom’s healing powers wouldn’t be enough for him to recover. Whipping her dark hair from her face, she could only stand guard nearby and wait. Drifting in and out of consciousness, Tom had dreamlike visions of a small golden-haired woman bathing his face and body when he was hot. Damn! Tom thought, this was a nice dream. The woman was gorgeous. Her golden hair was soft and silky; each time it brushed his skin, it was as soft as a breeze blowing barely against his skin.

Tom didn’t know who this woman was, but he thought he was in love. The care and devotion she showed him in the dream made him promise himself that as soon as he was well, he’d search the world for her. Two days later, Tom awoke with a start. Sore as hell but alive, he tried to call out, but his parched throat prevented it. Thinking of a glass of water, it was there, but it took a lot longer than he was used to for it to appear. After slaking his thirst, he looked for Frilly.

“Frilly?” he asked, seeing her tiny body draped over a matchbox on the table, “you okay?”

Stirring, she fluttered over to Tom and checked his head. “Ah, good, your magical fever has broken.”

“My what?” Tom asked, annoyed but curious at the same time.

“Your magical fever, one of many conditions that can occur when injured by magic. Since I wasn’t allowed to seek help, I hoped that the healing powers you had initiated were enough for your body to heal with. You took quite a lot of the blast, even if it was only a glancing blow,” Frilly stated matter-of-factly, feeling his head again, glad to find no more fever.

“What do you mean you weren’t allowed to seek help?” Tom asked, a little befuddled.

“You said, and I quote,” Frilly started, “Frilly, do not leave here and do not in any way reveal where WE are, ” smiling sweetly, Frilly waited for Tom to respond.