Chapter 26 #2
Gunter’s eyebrows shot straight into his hairline. “You can?”
“Do you know what this reminds me of?” Yuki indicated Lina’s mirror image with a wave of the hand.
“Magical burnout. I’ve not seen it often in my clan, but we had a few cases where someone had done something stupid.
It looked something like this. Lina, what does your chest cavity feel like? The sensations.”
Lina wiped tears from her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater, still looking at Sora and Yuki as if they held all the hope in the universe in their hands.
“Cold. Like I swallowed a popsicle whole and it’s stuck there.
And kinda prickly, a pins-and-needles sensation, as if something in there is numb.
It’s never felt great, I just got used to it. ”
“Burnout,” Sora agreed with a nod. “Her entire body has a malformed magical connection, and while it’s there, it’s withered.
It can only be genetic, as I can’t imagine how your entire clan suffers from the same condition otherwise.
But not all genetic faults are without a solution.
Lina, with your permission, I’ll share these findings with my family.
We’re all doctors who love a challenge; I’m sure we’ll be able to come up with a good treatment plan. ”
Lina nodded vigorously. “Do it.”
“Good.”
Yuki, however, wasn’t done. “In the meantime, I’d like to try something. I want to treat you like a magical burnout victim. It may or may not do much good, but it will at least ease that cold, painful sensation.”
Lina again nodded strongly. “Yes, please. Anything. I’ll try anything.”
“Okay.” Yuki turned toward the table and assembled several ingredients, speaking easily as she did so.
“I’ll mix together rainbow mist, dragon’s breath, captured sunlight, and a touch of honey.
The honey’s mostly to make it easy to swallow.
These elements combined will restore some of your magical power, give you a boost. If we offset the magical drain you’re suffering, it will reinvigorate your core. ”
Sora hummed in approval. “That’s a grand idea, Kaa-san. I have fresh clover honey from the greenhouse in the fridge, if you want to use it.”
“Perfect. Fetch it for me.”
Yuki mixed it up with quick competency, as if she’d made such a concoction a million times before. Then she handed it over, advising, “Down in one, if you can. Don’t sip it.”
Lina took the glass from her and eagerly chugged it in one go. Then paused, eyes alight. “Wow, that has a kick. But it feels great going down. Like a warm tea or something.”
“That’s almost precisely what it is, for a mage.” Sora took back the glass and eyed her red diagnostic lines. “Yes, that’s already better.”
Gunter’s eyes went to the mirror so he could see for himself. The result was almost immediate. Where there had only been ash-grey lines before, there was a hint of lightness, the lines more clearly visible against the organs and tissue. It wasn’t a drastic change, but it was a visible one.
Lina put a hand to her own chest, looking down with wonder. “That cold feeling isn’t there anymore. Oh my god, Doc, you’re amazing. Can I have more of that?”
“Twice a day,” she answered with a grin. “No more than that; we’re trying to revive your magical core, not overload it.”
Sora agreed with a nod. “For now, we’ll continue this treatment until I can properly confer with colleagues. Either way, I think we’ll find a solution to this problem.”
The tears in her eyes this time were from pure joy. “You really think you can fix me?”
“I believe so. It helps that you’re young—your core isn’t twisted with misuse. But for now, see me right after breakfast and after dinner. I’ll mix this up for you fresh, as it’s best that way.”
Lina beamed at him. “Absolutely, I’ll be here.”
“Good.”
Dimitri gave a knock at the door as he entered. “Hey, everyone, what’s the verdict?”
Sora waved him in as he answered. “It seems to be a combination of magical burnout and a severed connection. I think it’s reversible, but I’d like to call on my family to get a second opinion. This is a rather unique situation. Are you here to check on us?”
“In part. Both our kings want an update. And Mage Lisette said to bring this to Lina—get her to explain what it is—because she has no clue.” Dimitri pulled something from his messenger bag and put it on the table with a clink.
It was perhaps the oddest-looking device Gunter had ever laid eyes on.
It had a silver disc on either end, something with a small strap on the top, another larger loop at the bottom of it, all connected to a slender, rectangular box via flexible tubing.
It was rather like a water hydration pack but with arms? He couldn’t really make sense of it.
Tori took one look and growled in disgust. “Oh, that thing.”
Gunter’s head snapped around. “You recognize this?”
“Hell yeah, although I wish I didn’t. That’s what the Jaeggi were using on Cassie to drain her of power.”
This was the device?
Lina also gave it a disgusted look. “Yeah, that’s what it’s for.
The flat discs go into your palm, with the loops over your finger and wrists, and the magical energy is drawn into that main part, there.
It’s stored like a battery until the energy flow is reversed and it’s put into another mage.
This one’s broken. The reverse switch is missing. ”
“Hence why they left it behind.” Dimitri poked at it with a finger like he was touching a dirty dishrag. “I thought these severed wires here were a sign it was broken. But now I wish I hadn’t brought it back with me.”
Gunter was equally disgusted by it, but the device told him something else, hinting at something that went far, far deeper. He caught Lina’s eye and indicated the machine. “Miss Lina, are machines like this common? Does the Jaeggi Clan use machines like this on a regular basis?”
“I mean, most of our magic uses machines in one way or another.” She splayed her hands in a shrug. “It’s not like we can draw magic out any other way. We’ve got different devices for different types of spells.”
Tori made a strange noise in the back of his throat. “Wait, so what about what Sora and Yuki just did? Drawing on the elements in the bottles, the wand, all of that? Have you ever seen magic used like this before?”
Her eyes darted between the five of them, lip bitten uncertainly. “Uh…so that’s normal for you? I mean, that’s not just doctor-type spells they were doing?”
“Oh my god,” Tori breathed, the realization hitting him clearly.
“Their magic is so warped they can’t even channel magic properly. Even with stolen magic, they can’t do it.” Sora ran a hand over his face. “What the hell did Kaiser Jaeggi do to his own family? It’s monstrous.”
Lina’s eyes traveled over the table once more, taking in the elements and tools Sora had laid out.
The realization sank in with her, too, and she looked lost for a moment.
“That’s normal. You’re telling me mages do this?
They pull out ingredients, and maybe a wand, and they speak the spell and that’s all it takes? You don’t need anything else?”
“No, child,” Yuki answered gently, her expression sad. “No, that’s all we need.”
Lina’s eyes came up to meet hers. Her expression warred between anger and grief. “Just how badly did one man destroy us?”
“More than we anticipated.”
“But you still think you can fix me?”
“This is a land of magic and wonder.” Sora took her hand in his, squeezing in support. “We can do amazing things with it. I’m not about to give up hope before we even start. Are you?”
“No. No, I’m not.” She sucked in a breath, released it. She seemed overwhelmed, in need of a minute to think everything over and let it sink in.
Yuki suggested to Gunter, “Find her a room and let her rest. She needs that, after all she’s been through today.”
“Feed her first,” Sora chided him. “Her stomach is entirely empty.”
“All things considered, maybe let her eat here? The clan might have really mixed emotions if she’s in the dining hall,” Tori cautioned.
Ah. Good point.