Wilderness hannah, p.6
Wilderness Hannah, page 6
part #3 of Damsel Series
“We will raise energy, and then open a rent in space. You two will need to shed your blood on either side of that, on the Earth, to hold it open for a brief moment. That won’t be needed on the other side, when we come back, but to hold such a thing, even for twenty seconds, is a remarkable task. Do you agree to do this for us?”
They both nodded, and muttered yes.
Lash and John arranged them all in a line, with Wisp standing right behind Debbie, who was the one really doing the work needed. John called out though, right there on the street, behind the hospital, with a man floating in the air.
“Repeat this nine times. Together. Olec, sevect, rend!”
They all did it, and on the seventh pass, Debbie covertly waving her hand from right to left, making a slash between worlds appear, outlined in glowing red, Lash walked over and cut first Terry, then Hannah, on the arm.
“Anchors, to the sides, you must leave blood on the ground. Hurry, those cuts won’t last long.” They had stung, like ice, when made, and Terry had hissed in pain.
Then scurried and bent down, actually rubbing her arm on the filthy city street. Hannah did the same, knowing she had some Bactine in her things. Some band-aids, as well. When the Never could be seen, John yelled, sounding almost panicked.
“Go, go! They can’t hold this long!”
She started to actually breathe hard, as if doing any of the real work. Terry did as well, though that was due to the fear of the situation. They all hurried, even the injured people, with the kidnapped man being so drugged up that he probably didn’t realize what was going on as they entered the hot, humid, forest. It was daytime, and while she had her pack on, Hannah had to turn to grab the large sack filled with goodies, before she could step across. No-one helped her with that, until Terry grabbed a bit of it, to tug it with them. Not even knowing what was in it.
They were the last ones through, and Debbie waved her hand, very covertly again, looking away to hide her smile. Even if it was kind of clear what they’d just done. A thing that Hannah decided to run with. After all, while she was decent with the magic of the place, a thing everyone there could, in potential, use, she didn’t really want it to be known that she could do magic like what she had planned.
The spot was one that she’d been to before, so she called out, which was a bit of a giveaway, if anyone was paying attention.
“Friends in the blue rocks! Come to trade!” She got Terry to yell that as well, since that might be unusual enough that the women who had seen them on television might not realize how involved Hannah was.
The big trick was going to be getting whoever came along not to talk for long enough to explain what they were trying to do. Most of them were kids, after all. More to the point, they looked like children. Hannah had taken the time to talk to some of them, and a few had, clearly, been living there for well over a century. They might not be growing up, but the lost children weren’t what they seemed, either.
A whistle went up, which was eerie, even having heard it many times before. Then, from the sky above, about two minutes later, five of the kids dropped, sinking rapidly to the ground.
Daniel Pan looked at them all, his face confused for a moment.
Hannah, to be weird, threw herself on the ground, grunting in pain, if only a little and put her hands out in front of her.
“Oh, Great Pan, leader of the Never, we have brought goods and riches to trade with you, in return for healing! These people and myself, were attacked by a werewolf, from my world. That curse is, perhaps, upon us. Would you accept these things we have brought with us, in exchange for a cure and healing? I have these trinkets, to bestow such a thing on?”
The pieces of jewelry were nice, but didn’t match at all. One was just a cheap turquoise round, in hand beaten and polished silver, for instance. The other things were as nice, but had been purchased for less than a hundred dollars each, from a stand near a small country shop, at the end of the shooting season. Really, she’d gotten everything they had that way, just for this kind of thing. Still, she had to dig in her pack for them, the spells already set, by her own will, and power.
Which Daniel Pan noticed when he touched the things. They lit up on contact, all of them, the second anyone else touched one. They had to be passed from one person to another to work, after all. In this case, they tried to cure Dan of lycanthropy, which he didn’t have, and then any wounds or damage he might hold. That meant a few scratches on his arms, light things that came from living, and flying through, the trees probably made that a constant thing in his life.
Then, as if he’d taken lessons on such things, the tiny boy, who looked like he was at least half elf, held them up and yelled.
“I bestow these Anti-Werewolf charms with power! When handed to one afflicted, or in danger of such, they will break the curse and prevent any harm of a magical nature, in that vein. They will work for four minutes, completely curing such in that time, and healing all wounds or illness the attacked being possesses at the time of holding. Now, what did you bring to trade?” His tone was kindly and seemed both a bit high pitched and gentle, at the same time.
As if he really wanted to aid them, no matter what might have been brought along for that.
She needed some help, from Terry, to carry, and then dump out the large cloth sack.
“These sweets, the jewelry that the magic is on, since we cannot take it back home and...” She had more jewelry, and some gold coins, but Daniel moved forward and looked at all of them, then pointed, at Terry.
“You have medical gear, in your pack?”
Hannah did as well, but Terry nodded, seeming a bit shy. She started to unpack that, since, clearly, they were the ones who had come begging. The Pan looked at it all, then waved at her rather generic first aid kit. It was a decently large one, still with its plastic wrapper on it.”
“The sweets, the jewelry and the box with the red cross on it?”
The other kids had to fight from laughing, since in their economy, they were getting far too much for the work. Especially since Hannah had, to them at least, very clearly handed Daniel Pan the working magics, and didn’t need them at all.
She’d been let up from her beseeching, and even if they weren’t the best role-players, the kids didn’t give the whole thing away, by calling out that Hannah had been there, working, dozens of times, over the last months. Or that she was called the Damsel there. That or the Witch, No More.
Instead, they sobered, and pulled the whole thing off, after a bit.
Both Hannah and Terry were the ones looked at though, and they gave the goods over, as if it were a fair price for such a curse breaking and healing.
Which it honestly was.
The rest of her crew stood back, as if they weren’t really involved, letting Hannah deal with the mighty Pan, as if a single misstep could ruin the whole deal. Debbie and the rest stood there, with their eyes downcast. Even the ladies who needed the aid had started to do that, once they got the idea.
Terry didn’t, but she was one of the people trading for their lives. Those of the other people there.
Clearly that made a difference.
Daniel, not being mean, passed the four amulets over, first to the three people with obvious bandages, then to Hannah, when she held her right hand out for it.
They didn’t all flare with a bright blue light. A thing that passed through the bodies of the vastly harmed man, and the slightly plush woman, as well as Hannah. The Pan waved at them.
“The curse is broken, for all time! You, my lady, did not have it inside of you. Still, hold that magic for four minutes, and all wounds will be healed.” That was for the older woman, who seemed fine, learning she hadn’t been infected with a lifelong curse.
That worked, and didn’t feel like anything in particular. It wasn’t the showiest thing Hannah had ever made at all, but she was smart enough to understand that people didn’t need to suffer or be left drained to heal. Even from harsh wounds.
Not there, in the magical land they were in.
Then, with a bit of waving, the kids took the big bag of treats, which was heavy enough to be a real burden, four of them placing a hand on it, and flew away. Daniel took the amulets back, once everyone was better, his face fighting a pleased grin.
“It was a pleasure doing trade with you, ladies. Perhaps again, if there is need of it? Unless you need help with the beast who harmed these good people?” He gestured at the others, but was speaking directly to Hannah and Terry, as if they were the bosses there. Which was basically the rule.
They were the ones who had brought the riches to trade. Then overpaid on a level that was probably going to have to be explained on the next trip there. Still, Daniel, seeing that Terry was still bleeding, from her arm, passed her one of the amulets. There was no fancy flaring, but she actually yelped, after a few seconds.
At first Hannah didn’t get it, but then she understood why that had taken place. Not because it had hurt, but because the years of drug abuse and damage were, rather suddenly, gone from her friend’s system.
It had been a simple kindness, of course, but Hannah knew it was, actually a very large thing that had just happened. Terry, wide eyed, passed the necklace, the cheap turquoise one, back to the elf-like boy.
Hannah spoke then.
“We have this beast under control. A great warrior came and stopped it for us, thankfully. Still, if we may be allowed to come and trade again, if the need comes, oh Great Pan?”
There was a smirk, which looked a bit devilish and a bow, done with a flourish that made it seem incredibly phony. Like a little kid playing make believe.
“As you will, ladies. You others, as well?”
Then, rising faster than she could track, the boy vanished with a whooshing sound.
Only when Daniel was gone, did the man who had been kidnapped speak.
“I’m... not certain what’s going on here?”
Everyone froze, for a moment, either not knowing what to say, or feeling like they didn’t want to admit to a crime. She got that. The trick there was in making certain the man knew that he’d consented to what had happened, even if he really hadn’t.
“You were a bit out of it.” Hannah waved at herself then the other women who had been attacked.
“We, us four were attacked on the street, yesterday. By a werewolf, as it turned out. My friends arranged for me to not turn furry once a month and go on killing sprees, and you all asked to come as well. At least once you knew about it. You were kind of drugged and the hospital didn’t want to let you go. Which was the right call, because you were pretty messed up. You aren’t now, so we can get you back there and cleared, so you can go home. Really, tell them that this was a dream and then you woke up, being better? I really don’t want the paperwork on this. Thankfully, Terry here knows the right people.”
The man made a face then and nodded.
“I... Don’t understand. Well, I remember that thing ripping at me, and I seem fine now, so that works, right? This dream seems pretty real. Are we going to get busy now?” He moved toward Terry, and bent over, kissing her.
She did it back, but Hannah laughed.
“It’s not that kind of dream, you two. Not this time, anyway. We need to get back, before you’re missed?”
The older woman, who hadn’t been infected with lycanthropy, seemed pretty chuffed that she wasn’t all scratched up any longer. She’d had real bite marks as well, so had been pretty lucky, not to have been loaded with the curse as well.
Hannah blocked all of that out, as they chanted again, with no blood being needed to anchor them this time, and Debbie being covert with her own work that way again. Then they still had to rush through the rent in space, which showed the same location they’d left from. The magic dropped instantly, as soon as Hannah and Terry were through, having gone last again.
Lashondra looked at Wisp, who was dressed all in blue, with a full-face mask, that showed his brown eyes, but nothing else. From the way the suit was filled out, you couldn’t tell that it was a woman inside of the outfit at all. That was being done with telekinesis, of course. Hannah had been told that one, and seen it deflate, several times.
In the moment, he made the man vanish with him, teleporting him back to his hospital room. Then, popping back, did the same with each of the ladies. The rest of them were taken, not directly home, but back to Hannah’s, for some reason. Into her living room, in fact.
Once they were there, John explained that one, in part.
“That was done wonderfully, all of you! Hannah, you have the payment for the work done on this, ready to go?” He was, clearly, acting.
For Terry’s sake.
Lashondra seemed almost stiff, suddenly, as if offended at the idea, and Debbie actually cleared her throat.
“None of that, John. Ms. Lamond already knows who we are, so we don’t have to trick her that hard. After all, she just risked her life, to hold that portal open. To help other people. That was impressive. Brave.”
Hannah agreed.
“I didn’t expect that part with the healing for you. That... pretty much fixed years of drug abuse in four minutes. How do you feel?” Everyone looked at Terry, who let her head play side to side then.
“Good? I was already sober, but... This is better, I have to admit. I feel like I have some energy left. Was that portal thing really that dangerous? I know you said, but...”
John grinned at her then.
“Does it matter? The chips were down, and the call went up for someone to risk everything, for other people. That isn’t my way, day to day, but you clearly stepped up, didn’t you?”
Lash grinned then.
“Honestly, it wasn’t dangerous at all, so we weren’t really risking your life. A lot of that was... A bit of a farce, really. For instance, Hannah already had the magic, in her possession, from the start.” There was a questioning glance then, from the woman.
As if she’d gone there earlier, on her own, to make the things, somehow.
So, she explained.
“Which I made just then, before handing them over to Daniel Pan. If we need to go and do that again, Terry, we won’t have to actually trade for it. We also badly overpaid. The poor kids were about to bust a gut, halfway through, over that.”
Her friend, who Hannah had never actually thought of as being super smart, glanced at the rest of the group then, and started to nod.
“Okay. So, Hannah can do real magic? Only over there, though? And the rest of you... You were in the show, or working it, because we had demons involved for some reason? I didn’t get the real explanation on that. I was already going into withdrawals, so, you know, I was kind of focused on me at the time. Then I saw Demons and decided that being high wasn’t that important, any more.”
No-one explained it all, but John waved at her a bit.
“We can cover that for you, if you want, love? The big point right now is that we need to be on the same page about what happened and not really tell a lot of folks about it. We helped people, but some don’t like that sort of thing. At least Hannah won’t be turning into a wolf each month. Speaking of which, does anyone have any information on that? Now that we aren’t locked down, Tri-D finally being pushed back, I hadn’t expected an uptick in anything magical, for a while. Was this random, do you think, or what?”
People started to sit, with Wisp moving in next to Terry, as if that wasn’t going to seem out of place. Then, Kate was a friend of hers, too. The issue of the moment was that Wisp was there, not Kate.
Terry reached over and took the uniformed superhero’s gloved hand. As if that were only natural.
John looked at the move, then didn’t so much as bat an eyelash in that direction.
“I need a fag.”
Hannah got the slang, but Terry, who clearly knew he meant a cigarette, deadpanned her own reaction. Showing she was actually feeling better. It had been a while since she’d actually been funny on purpose. At least around Hannah.
“I know a few cute guys who swing that way. I could call one and set you up?”
That got a laugh, but John shook his head.
“Wrong word choice there, love. I need a smoke, I mean. Not that I shouldn’t quit. One of the problems with staying with you Hannah, nothing to smoke or drink. I’d whine about not getting laid, but I’m still hopeful on that score.” He made fake eyes at Hannah then, and added in Wisp and Terry, as if that was going to be the game plan for the night.
Debbie and Lash both glared at the man, as if in judgment of his over-the-top flirting. Even if it was clearly just words, with no real intent behind them. Even if the guy was cute enough to have scored with at least two of them, if he played his cards right.
It took a moment for Hannah to get the real idea. It wasn’t that Lashondra and Debbie were upset on her behalf, or for Terry, or even Wisp... They were jealous, because their boyfriend was acting like they weren’t together. She didn’t know how she knew that, but it suddenly clicked in place for her. They’d all been stuck in the same cell, for five years, then Debbie had managed to force her way out, into the Never.
After that the other two had had no-one, other than demons, for another five years.
That they’d be close in that way simply made sense. How deep it ran, she didn’t know, but it was kind of showing, in that moment.
Not that she was bringing the idea up. That kind of thing was pretty natural, after all, given the situation they’d been stuck in. Literally in a fifth dimensional cage, where the only other third dimensional objects were each other... Hannah literally couldn’t imagine that kind of thing and honestly didn’t want to.
Then, John didn’t smell like cigarettes, and while it was clear that he’d been drinking some, that ten years without anything had probably left him pretty close to fixed, that way, himself. He hadn’t gone out for drinks the night before or anything, at least.
She changed the topic then a bit, back to what she thought of as important.
“For now, if anyone asks, we hired a group of mages to take us to another reality, so we could barter to have the curse broken. You and I covered that, Terry. Which is kind of true, since we brought the trade goods. If anyone asks for more than that, we don’t know anything. Not even contact information. We, um... Technically kidnapped that guy, from the hospital room. I really can’t get behind that part of things.”
