The Cost of Conjuring: A Bargain Beyond Blood

16. Yeah, not awkward at all

When the darkness draws back I wish I was dead.

The magic must have burned away the last traces of Phoria, because I can't imagine feeling anything close to happy ever again. My body is heavy and cold and just thinking about moving it is impossibly taxing.

"Get off me! If you puke on me, I'll kill you."

The words vibrate through the ground under my chest. The warm ground. Oh.

I blink and try to scramble up but I have no strength in my arms so instead I just roll off. My back hits the actual ground with a thump. Cold seeps through my sweat-drenched shirt and into my spine and shoulder blades, settling like it's there to stay.

I hear Li get up from where we must have landed. My mind is sluggish, numb, and excessively hard to motivate into anything. At least there's none of the panicky edge that really makes the Phoria production hell and if I were capable, I would be thankful for that.

"Did you die?" Li asks, sounding like he wishes I had.

"Sadly, no."

"Coming down is not as fun?" His voice is too sharp, too aggressive.

I really fucked up this time.

I breathe in the damp and unmoving air and open my eyes. It doesn't make any difference.

"I've felt worse."

"I don't care."

"Then don't ask."

A string of artificial green lights slowly make contours and shadows appear and I know where we are even if I've never been here before. We're exactly where I wanted us to be.

The green emergency lights disappear into a tunnel, making the metal of the tracks below them gleam an otherworldly green. The ceiling is too high to see and the broad stone stairs leading up to the surface are closed off by metal gates laden with so many chains it could be guarding the path to the underworld. There's also a lonely bench, covered in graffiti and dust a few meters to my right.

The screen on Li's phone lights up his face and I close my eyes. Then put my arm over them for good measure.

"I didn't plan any of that."

Li doesn't answer. The only indication he even hears me is the slight pause of the tapping of his thumbs. Not that I expected him to believe me. For some reason, I still try.

I take a deep breath and press the heels of my hands into my eyes so hard a tiny galaxy flickers into existence behind my eyelids.

"I'm not disgusted by you."

He walks away from me. His steps echo through the giant space. I remove my hands and crane my neck so I can follow him with my eyes after the inverted version of the galaxy fades. He's lifting his phone into the air like a torch. Is he looking for a signal?

I push up into sitting but when the pain hits I sink right back to the ground. Biting my lip and breathing through my nose.

Turns out I'm not as healed from this week's escapades as I thought. I cut a lot of corners with the teleportation circle, sure, but not enough to justify this searing pain originating from... everywhere. Is it because I took Li along?

I roll into a fetal position and hug my abdomen. Fresh sweat joins the cold sheen on my upper lip. My mouth tastes like sour iron.

Li must have given up on getting a signal because when he speaks he's close again.

"Too much magic?"

I try to breathe but every movement hurts, my chest feels like it's about to implode.