Mimi

Wyatt was laughing, as Brian sulked. From the banter they had while walking, I could tell they were close friends. Even if Wyatt didn't understand it. Even as we walked, I could see the people moving about at night watching the Captain and his Vice escorting me. The people were calm, and most of them thought I was an elf noble, those that realized what I was were still relaxed thanks to the two in front of me. Brian himself was leading us through alleys around the markets, and past restaurants with signs painted to show what they were. The boards displaying the food and their cost in coin, all had pictures right next to the words. It was clear not everyone could read or write here.

Wyatt himself didn't even bat an eye when I told him I couldn't read, which probably made sense to him. It made it worse that I was lying to him about it, just to spend some time away from the guards watching me warily. I held the monster manual under my wings with a lower arm. I had already read it front to back, memorizing everything I needed. There were so many monsters, and beasts to eat. The manual had a few lies sprinkled here and there, likely to help the smarter monsters make it to the Underground. I had no idea why this might be the case, but it became clear that Oswald wrote the manual to help certain monsters more than people.

It was because of this, that I decided to not challenge Oswald on the rumors of his death coming. It explained why he was upset when I told him I knew the white death was coming. He thought I was telling him that I knew the rumors, instead of just calling snow what I felt it was. The fact that he was upset, meant he didn't want Richard to know, and that he was using him. It left a sour feeling in my chest, but telling Richard would be pointless.

The hives were moving along quite nicely, with Rose back at the true hive. Gray took the initiative to show Beru how to make new bodies for himself, which meant my officers could just change to the younger bodies without having to die. The preparations for the snow were going along quite well, and Gray did not need to be told what to do. The only oversight Gray had, was the fact he needed to use magic in order to control the vampire body. If he lost his telepaths, then he wouldn't be able to use it anymore. Still it opened up a lot of options going forward.

We finally stopped walking as Brian spun around in an alley. "Here we are, the best food for the lowest price!" He grinned at both of us.

Wyatt looked around, seeing the unmarked door in the alley. "Are you sure Brian? It better not taste good because of your curse."

Brian chuckled a little, "Trust me, I'm the guy actually using the information on these streets. I wouldn't be a good vice if I couldn't find a good place to eat."

I nodded, "I trust him Wyatt, and if he lied then we can get him back with another bet." I gave Brian a grin.

Brian held up both his hands, "Hey now, I've been here a lot. The food is cheap, but it's still good. How about this Wyatt, if you like it you pay." He smiled at Wyatt, who shrugged.

"Sure, sounds like a bet. Gotta give you one, so you keep coming back." Wyatt grinned, opening the door and heading in first.

Brian did a mock bow, holding his arm out to keep the door open. "My lady." He said it in a slightly over the top tone, and I followed after Wyatt still having to almost bow myself to get through the short door.

Brian followed after, as I looked around the place. From Edna's memories it fit the description of a bar perfectly. A counter with stools lined up. Bottles of alcohol lined up on shelves that had magic to keep others from touching. Various tables were littered about, with walls between them for secret meetings. All eyes were on either Wyatt or myself, as smoke lingered in the air. I could see the bartender beaming at Wyatt with a happy smile, even though they seemed to be in their thirties.

A large buff man moved towards us, wearing a suit with the sleeves torn off. His voice was deep, but calm given the situation. "Welcome to the Soggy Slice. If you are here for someone, please take them outside without disturbing our patrons."

Wyatt looked up to the large man, who was still dwarfed by myself. "We're actually here to eat, you sound familiar do I know you?"

The bouncer smiled, "Yes you do sir." I saw the bartender run into the back. "Please follow me to your booth." We followed after, but I couldn't make out what others were saying in the back. The hushed whispers mingled with the others that started talking since we arrived. A few patrons discreetly getting up with coin on the table so they could leave.

We were seated at our booth, while Brian pulled out a small metal case. He began to roll some herbs into paper and lit it with the same case. A fire crystal used just to light his herbs. The same bouncer moved around the room, talking to the other customers asking them to pay their dues, or have it put on the tab.

Finally a one armed man burst through the door from the back. He was tall and lanky, but had some muscle definition. He slammed a cleaver on the bar counter, making everyone turn towards him. The man work an apron, and light clothing with some sweat on his brown. It was clear he was the cook. "Now that I have everyone's attention, I regret to inform you that the Soggy Slice will be closed for the rest of the evening. You may take your food home free of charge, and your drinks will be put on your tab." He smiled towards us, "I have very important guests tonight, and wish to serve them as best I can."

There were a few complaints, but people started to file out of the room. Wyatt made a face, as he tried to piece together what was going on. Brian seemed to laugh to himself, as the bouncer locked the door behind the people. Wyatt scratched his chin, reaching for his pipe, but stopping. It was a move based on instinct as he struggled internally. The three slowly moved towards us, smiling softly.

Then it hit Wyatt, "Alexander! Eliza! Hamilton! It's been too long hasn't it!?" He looked at the three as they stopped. The bartender was a female without any assets and could pass for a man with how short her hair was.

She tackled Wyatt with a hug, "I thought you'd forget about us!" Wyatt embraced her, rubbing her back.

The cook known as Alexander just smirked, "Glad you remembered us Captain."

Hamilton rubbed the back of his bald head, "It has been a while, joining the Guard didn't work out too well for us."

Wyatt looked at Alex's arm nodding, "I see that. I'm sorry if you got hurt because of me." Wyatt slowly frowned, holding Eliza close. She herself was on the verge of tears.

Alex held his stump, which ended right above where an elbow would have been. He smiled gently back at Wyatt, "I blamed you when I lost my arm, but that was because I was young and angry. We humans tend to mature a little quicker than those that live longer sir."

Wyatt glanced at me, as if wanting to ask something, but stopped himself. Brian was taking the whole situation in, slowly smoking his herbs. A sort of somber silence settled between us, but Eliza pulled back wiping a single tear from her eye. "Sorry about that, w-what brings you three here?"

Brian spoke up, "A few things, I looked into your backgrounds and found you lived at the orphanage before becoming guards. You aren't in trouble, and I thought Wyatt should see what he's doing first hand."

Wyatt looked at Brian and frowned a little, "What do you mean?"

Brian gestured to the three, "Wyatt, you're inspiring orphans to throw their lives away." He took another drag.

Before Brian could finish, Alex stepped forward and slugged Brian with his good arm. Brian to his credit just rolled with it, but took no damage. I could sense his magic worked as a shield to soften the blow. "We made that choice, and the pay I got for losing an arm helped me start this business." Hamilton grabbed Alex from behind, to keep him from readying another hit.

Brian cracked his neck, his herbs not even leaving his mouth from the punch. "How many do you think have died Wyatt? You don't even check on them, and couldn't recognize these three until you saw them together." His voice was low, as he looked Wyatt in the eyes.

I spoke up, "May I ask why I'm here? What was the point of letting me see this Brian?" I lowered my voice, to let him understand this was neither the time nor place for this kind of talk.

Eliza pursed her lips, looking me over but mouthed a, 'thank you.' to me. Alex seemed to calm down a bit, as Hamilton kept a firm grip on his arm. Brian and Wyatt both looked at me. Brian blew a little smoke at the table, before answering, "If you're going to be around Wyatt, you need to know what he's doing to those around him. I didn't think a monster would care enough to interrupt. I th..."

Wyatt interrupted, "She's not a monster Brian. Why are you doing this?"

Brian took a long drag from his herbs, finishing them as he breathed out. "Vivian said to give you a hard time, and to get you thinking about the orphanage. I know it's a rotten thing for a friend to do, and it isn't Vivian's fault that I said these things. I'm going to leave, and I'll see you tomorrow Wyatt." The other two men moved out of Brian's way as he left through the door, Hamilton locking it again after he was gone.

A heavy weight lingered in the air, as Wyatt looked down at the table. I could see the other three thinking about how to salvage the situation. Then I placed the monster manual on the table. "Hey Wyatt, weren't you going to teach me how to read tonight?" Something was better than the silence that would let these feelings fester.

Eliza laughed, "He actually taught me how to read, I wanted to sit on his lap, otherwise I wouldn't." She was a smart one, picking up on the topic being changed for the better.

Wyatt nodded, "I remember that, it might be better if you sit beside me then Mimi." I moved besides Wyatt, holding the book.

Eliza smiled, "I'll get you both something to drink. I'm pretty good at mixing cocktails. Anything you want?"

"I'll take whatever you want to make Eliza. Mimi will just have a water." Wyatt smiled a little feeling better.

"What a jerk, won't even let me drink with you." I crossed my arms pouting.

Wyatt laughed, "Nope, you need to focus. I'm pretty good at reading myself, but you don't know how to yet." I smiled, because he was bouncing back just fine. I also found some satisfaction in the fact that I already knew everything important inside the book.

Alex smiled, "I'll whip you both a batch of tonight's special. Hamilton, come help me so we can give these two some time to study." Hamilton nodded, and followed behind Alex.

With the three occupied, Wyatt whispered to me. "Can you fix his arm?" He opened the first page, pointing at the words.

I whispered back, "I would probably need to have the scar cut off, but it should be possible. Remember how Eric's body still had scars? They faded, but didn't disappear. The wound needs to be fresh. Though that's his choice Wyatt, you can ask him, but respect his decision."

Wyatt nodded, as he began to explain the alphabet, and how the words worked. It was rather impressive since his voice took on a softer tone. I could see him explaining how it all worked to children and actually spending time helping the orphans when he could. It was honestly a pleasant surprise to see the same Wyatt who constantly said he didn't like thinking to much; that he truly enjoyed explaining what he did know. I could tell it made him happy doing things like this, that if he wasn't Captain of the Guard, he would have become a teacher for small children.

Hours passed, as I ate two servings of tonight's special. Wyatt was slowly getting drunk, but knew his limits enough to only be slightly buzzed. With a couple hours until midnight, I told Wyatt I would take the book home to study it for the rest of the night. He felt much better, and it was clear the three had their own things to talk about with him. Before leaving, I wrote a note on some paper they gave me. It explained that I needed Wyatt to help me learn how to read and write, and not to be upset with him showing up late and drunk. I tested his patience with some of my more silly questions to make the whole thing feel natural.

I walked back to the safe house, just to kill time and check with the hives some more. Beru agreed to make himself a couple new bodies just in case he needed them. Gray was using his vampire body to gather as much material he needed to ensure his hive would stay warm in the sewers. Which shouldn't be a problem now that they could move the hive into the vampire's hidden room. Testing those connections, I found that Gray needed at least three of his own bodies to touch the vampire in order for the connections to work. Gray's solution to this was to borrow into the back of the vampire's head on the soft spot. I resolved to make a new version of myself and see if I could recreate what happened between my mothers. We would need another vampire body to test it on. Which Gray knew where a few were, so it was tomorrow's objective for him to kidnap another vampire.

I quickly asked Beru if Cynthia had managed to bring anyone in today. He answered that there were two people, and that Cynthia explained I only needed to heal the one. After a bit of back and forth, I was able to find out it was some minor noble's daughter. That she was suffering from the skull shakes, and didn't have the coin to heal her through the church. The man was desperate, and parts of the girl were showing black spots. From what I understood, she was kept alive using a blood mage that was able to feed her with his blood. It made sense that the most desperate would come first.

I made it in front of the safe house, knocking once to hear who was inside. I could tell Eris and Robert were both there, with two new figures. I felt for the links to the escort I dropped off here earlier, to find I was connected to them weakly in the Underground. Robert managed to get them all down there, and it was very pleasing news. I opened the door, as Robert stood straight, "Welcome Specter, I'm glad you could finally make it."

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I looked at the two men Robert brought. One of them missing an arm and a leg, while the other was shaking and sweating. "My sincerest apologies master. You told me not to be caught while I moved." I glanced at Eris, to find she was sleeping happily in a more dressed state.

Robert nodded slowly with a small smile, "You did well then, were you followed?" I appreciated that he was doing exactly what I wanted him to. I glanced at the closet, finding it overflowing with food that was ready to eat.

"I'll be talking to you through our bond now, is that okay?" I looked at Robert, as he nodded. I muttered a small, "Understood." Before walking to the man that was shaking. I looked at the pale man, who was struggling to breathe. The man had tattoos on his arms and legs, but otherwise seemed weak. Looking at his ink, I could tell that there was magic in them, though I did not know what they did yet.

Robert took my lingering stare, to mean I wanted to know more about the man. He coughed, "Carter, go ahead and tell her your name and what you can do. I don't feel like explaining things to her for you."

The man known as Carter shakily nodded, "Name's Carter as you heard miss. My magic pertains to rituals, but everyone in the Underground feels that's a waste since even normal people can do them. Right now I only know simple rituals, but if I have the coin I can learn more. Robert... I mean boss explained it was your choice if I was to be healed or not. I know there are others, but please miss." He looked at me pleading.

I looked into his eyes, while the amputee just sat in the corner on the bed. "Like hell she can fix us Carter. Robert's just wasting our time, so she can eat us. Probably taste better when we're dripping with hope, right Robert?"

Robert laughed, "Then why'd you come? I seem to remember you willingly holding onto my shoulder when I said it was possible."

"That was before I knew it was a monster. I thought you managed to get the support of a Bishop or some shit. I'll eat my food and get fat enough for your pet to kill me quickly at least. Don't expect me to be happy about it." The amputee crossed his arm over his leg, with a full head of blue hair. From what I could tell he was physically fit, but that degraded after his loss of limbs.

"I came, because you gave me hope you bastard. I trusted you." He wiped his face, taking a deep breath.

Robert nodded, "Then be quiet and watch. She will earn your trust." Robert looked at me, "Do it."

I wanted to know what Carter's goals and motives were a little more, but I couldn't go against Robert in front of the two or the lie would fall apart. I stung Carter as he jerked a little. I watched as Carter slowly stopped shaking, looking around and blinking. "Holy shit... C-can I eat? I'm starving."

Robert gestured to the closet, "Help yourself, do not forget you are a part of my gang now." Carter didn't have to be told twice as he ran to the closet and started eating the first things he could grab his hands on.

I spoke up, "There are only two of you at a time, because my master demands I keep my third stinger for him if anything happens. I can do this only three times a day."

Robert smiled bitterly, "You weren't supposed to tell them that Specter."

I lowered my head properly, "Sorry master." I moved towards the blue haired man, "I was saying it because I am unsure if I can heal his arms and legs without tearing the scar off. Should we try it?"

The man swallowed hard, "My name is Greg, don't worry about tearing the wound open. I'll handle it but please make it quick."

Robert wrapped some cloth into a ball. "Very well, I doubt I need to tell you how much this will hurt. Put the gag in your mouth and brace yourself." After Greg did such, Robert nodded to me.

I gently gripped Greg's leg and arm with both sets of arms. I had my stinger on the man's chest as he bit down into the make shift gag. My muscles coiled under the exoskeleton. It almost felt like a cramp, but worse and that didn't bother me. Once my muscles in both arms were ready, I used the other arms to grip and hold the limbs in place. There was a snap and a crack as my muscles jumped at once, the joints dislocating for the ones I used. The human's forearm was turned into paste, with blood oozing from the fresh stump. The same happening to his new section of missing leg. The flesh sliding off the two arms I couldn't use for a while. I stung the man, glad to see he healed just fine.

He barely had time to scream, before he stopped and looked at his new limbs with wonder. He flexed and balled his hand, while stretching his leg. He took a second to look at the blood that dripped off my hands, bits of his flesh and bone on the bed. Robert spoke up, "Specter, are you okay?" I could tell he was trying his best to keep the fear out of his voice.

I nodded, "Yes, I used a little too much force to make sure it was a clean sever. I will heal, I just need some food and to rest. Is that okay master?" I looked at Robert, holding his stare as he nodded slowly. "Then I shall be going home, I hope you'll have treats for me tomorrow since I was a good girl, correct?" Robert nodded again, before handing me some of the food from the closet. He seemed to understand I was going to talk to him tomorrow.

I took the food and left, my upper left, and lower right arm hanging limply. I needed to know how long it might take for this to heal in a fight if I should ever need to use it. I could feel my natural regeneration repairing it further with each step, but even trying to move my arms would force it to restart again. It took a minute before I could use my arms for anything basic, such as pointing. Then another minute before they were fully healed. That was incredibly slow during a fight, which meant I really needed to make certain it wasn't a waste to use it.

I made my way towards the church, moving between the alleys and buildings. To my surprise, no one tried to harass me tonight, and I didn't hear any trouble going on. It was just a pleasantly calm night. I even managed to make it just before midnight, giving me a few minutes to walk into a shadow and pop up on the other side of the wall instead of climbing it. From what I understood the small noble was already here with his daughter.

A few of the priests were outside, and waved at me with smiles. I saw that Eric was there as well, and the other two went inside. Eric was all smiles as he approached me, "Greetings, my lady. How are you doing this evening?" I could see the scars on his body had faded a little more since I initially healed him.

"I am well Eric, thank you for asking. I trust you are the same?" I smiled at him a little.

He nodded, "I no longer hurt because of you. I wished to give you my thanks in person. I met a fellow by the name of Robert recently, he asked me to stop preaching your graces. Is he your tamer, or am I being misled?"

It was a pleasant surprise to find him so calm and collected. It almost made me regret not asking him to stop sooner. "Robert is not my tamer, but he is someone I have healed. I would prefer that you stop however, since I only wish to help those that I desire."

Eric bowed his head a little, "Then I shall be silent about such, I apologize for any inconvience towards you."

I softly rubbed Eric's back, "You are fine, I just felt it wasn't my place to stop you. I have someone else to heal tonight, what can you tell me about them?"

Eric gushed a little, "It pleases me greatly that you are so familiar with me. That you even know my name." He coughed a little, to steady himself. "Before I tell you, have you taken payment from Robert, my lady?"

I tilted my head, before shaking my head. "His wife was sick, and I wanted to see if I could heal her. That is all." I wasn't going to even bring up starting a gang or using Robert.

Eric looked up to me smiling warmly, "Spoken like a true saint, my lady. The man inside is very capable in shadow magics. He lost his wife to an assassination attempt while on an expedition beyond the walls. Then a maid he believed he could trust, tainted his daughter's food with blood of your ilk. He has a butler slave, who practices blood magic and uses such to nurse the man's daughter. That is all I know my lady."

I smiled back at Eric, "Thank you, I am happy to not be going in blind. Please have a nice night Eric." I moved past him, walking towards the back door of the church.

Eric bowed his head, "I shall, thank you my lady."

I moved into the church which was the same as always. Using Beru's directions, I found the room where Cynthia, the Father, and the other three were. Cynthia smiled as I entered the room without knocking. "Welcome, my friend. It has been too long." I smiled back at her.

The Father spoke up, "Mimi, dear. This is mister Raul, and his assistant Avery. The one on the bed, is mister Raul's daughter."

The two looked at me, studying my every move. Raul was a dark curly haired hispanic man with dark bronze skin. Shadows were very apparent around his eyes, as he seemed to dismiss me when we made eye contact. It was clear he was unwell himself from his sunken cheeks, and withered muscles. I could sense him using magic just to keep himself moving. Manipulating his own shadow, to spur his body on. Raul dressed down, and I would not have guessed he was a minor noble.

His butler on the other hand was an elderly man with deep wrinkles carved into his face. He was bald on the top of his head, with hair around the sides in a classic monk style. The butler dressed up, wearing a nice suit and tie combo. I could sense him using magic to channel his own blood into the girl laying on the bed, as well as Raul's blood. He was using themselves to constantly filter new blood into the girl.

I moved towards the girl to properly see, her taking off the blanket. The butler shouted, "You must give yourself an introduction before even thinking of touching her!"

Raul raised a hand towards Avery, quieting him, as I looked over the poor girl. Raul's voice was low, and filled with the pain of a man who lost the love of his life, and was forced to watch as his daughter was slowly wasting away. "Can you save her?"

The girl in question was maybe ten, with long black hair that had grown while she slept. She had her father's skin, and nose, but that was all I could see for the resemblance. She smelled like her father at least, but I was unsure if I could fix this. My voice wavered a little, "How long... has she been like this?"

Raul took a deep breath shaking his head, as if about to tear up. "She was poisoned three years ago. A-at this point, I'm not sure anyone but a Pope could heal her. I do not have the coin, and I cannot leave her alone. She needs our blood just to breathe. If you need anything... please tell me." He grabbed my forearm, gripping it with enough strength to make his knuckles white. "Anything." He gave me a piercing stare, making it very clear he truly meant what he said.

Avery spoke up, "Master... you must not lower yourself like this before a... a creature of this kind." Avery himself sounded pained, but I felt it was more because he didn't think this might work at all. He was right to think so, because just stinging the girl would kill her.

I looked back at the poor girl, her entire right side completely black. Her heart beat only continuing because of the blood mage forcing it to. There were black spots littered all over the girl's body as I tore off her clothes. Her body was completely skeletal from the waist down, and I ignored the gasps and punch thrown at me from the butler. It was better to say that the only parts of the girl that even seemed remotely healthy was her left arm, chest, neck and face. Healthy being very loosely used, since the girl's bones were easily seen, like the flank of a Whispering Wolf.

There was silence in the room, as I brushed the little one's hair back. Finally I spoke, after a minute of that silence. "Master Raul, I do not know if I can save her. I do not know if making the attempt will kill her by itself. All I can promise, is that I will try. Are you aware that her heart still beats because of Avery? He is using his own magic to keep it going."

Raul nodded, "Yes... I talked to him about that. Avery is the one I trust most in this world. You do not need to call me master, that title will be gone after I give you everything I have. Please, tell me what you need. I will try my best to get it with what coin I have left."

I nodded, "Avery, can you use any blood for this girl, or is there a reason you are using her father and your own?"

Avery adjusted himself, to stand formally. "There are different blood types, why do you ask?"

"I can sense you are giving the girl blood from yourself, and master Raul here. If you are able to give her more blood, we might be able to give her body enough energy to survive. Cynthia, Father, I need you both to gather all the priests you can and let Avery sort through them. Everyone else will need to cook fresh food in case this works."

Cynthia didn't even blink, "On it."

The Father coughed a little, "Sir Avery, can you tell what blood would be acceptable."

Avery nodded, "I cannot sense any other blood type at this point." The Father left after Cynthia.

I smiled a little, "What? Nothing about how insulting it is to use the blood of commoners?"

Raul laughed a little, "My love was of common descent. That doesn't matter to me. I realize that if this doesn't work, she'll die anyway. I cannot gather coin like this. I cannot save her, if we fail here. If you fail... she will not die alone."

I let out a small sigh, "I figured as much. You will only give this church as much as you can afford for now. I'm not interested in titles, or land. You will keep what you need to live comfortably, and spend time with your daughter. Her mind will likely be the same or diminished slightly from when she stopped waking up. If the father tries to take your land, or too much let me know. Work out paying in installments or what have you."

Raul blinked, "Why are you doing this? Why do you care about my comfort?"

"I don't, I just feel it is better to bleed you for as long as you live." I felt it might be useful to have a minor noble supporting me, but it would be for the best if he just kept this all formal. I felt a divine energy react to my words however, and glared at him.

Raul smiled softly, "Sorry, my talent is honesty. It reacts whenever someone isn't being entirely honest."

I looked back at his daughter, a small blush on my cheeks. "It's not like I care about people." I felt that same divine energy again. In truth, I did have people I cared about. Though it only mattered that this noble saw me as something better than I was. A monster that cared about people, and that was enough. It was important to keep, 'you,' out of the sentence, otherwise it may not have reacted.

Raul smiled smugly, as the Father brought in all the priests that were here. Some were even woken up. By the time Avery sorted through everyone, we were left with five priests, Raul, and Avery themselves. I had hoped for ten in total, to make it less taxing on everyone, but I did not want to spend the rest of my night here. I had used two stings earlier, which left me with seven more. I asked Avery to make certain that everyone was sharing equal amounts, and that everyone was about as close to having the same amount as the person next to them.

Avery nodded, as the Father came in with a magic ring. It was explained as a ring of focus, that Avery could wear to focus better. He accepted it graciously, while the father said it was an heirloom of some kind. I didn't question it, since there were more important things to focus on. I looked at the little girl, who was still bare. After all, I needed to watch this happen. "Are all of you ready?"

They replied one after the other, and I stung the girl near her heart. Magic quickly followed the sting, as the men and woman had their blood given to the little one. Avery was forcing the bad blood away, and I watched the group behind me with my third eye. It was like watching a tide, as fresh new skin replaced the blackened skin. Then the healing slowed down, but some progress had been made. I spoke out loud so they could hear me, "It will take more than one sting, but she is healing. Avery is there enough blood for another round?"

Avery wheezed a little, "Yes, thank you for the break." He was sweating from the focus, and I was glad he received the ring from the Father.

I stung the girl again on the human part of her. I wasn't willing to test what might happen if I stung what was already infected. Not yet, not with so much on the line. The girl was finally able to breathe on her own as her right arm was covered from the shoulder down, and her waist was still black all the way to her feet. "Avery?"

Avery took a few more breathes, "There might be enough blood between us for another miss!"

"No, come here." There was silence, as Avery walked over to me. "You are fighting her heart now, you can let go."

Avery blushed a bit, and seemed to slowly let go of the girl's heart with his magic. Both he and Raul were tearing up. "I never thought I'd see the day..." He was happy.

I poked Avery on the chest, "I'm going to sting you, so share the blood and get ready for another round. That will make four stings in total, and we'll need time to eat and take a proper break. I cannot fully heal her tonight, due to my limit but she should wake up in the morning even if she can't move her arm or legs.

Avery nodded, "W-when you are ready miss." I stung him, as he jumped. The blood moving from him to the others, and I could hear their stomachs gargle for food. It seemed that Avery was able to share how my healing worked with those around him.

I looked at the little girl one more time, "Don't forget to do as you have been, and keeping the tainted blood from spreading it. Make sure you watch her in case anything happens between today and tomorrow." I held one arm on the bed, to stay balanced. Something like a heat flash going through my body from never having used so many healing stings at once. I took a deep breath and stung the little one for the last time tonight.

I felt a little weaker, but was able to pull myself together after a minute of resting. Raul and Avery stayed in the room, watching over me as I was given a large pot of food by Eric. It was a stew of hearts, and it truly tasted delicious. Still it tasted nothing like Richard's. I could just sleep here for the night and finish healing the girl tomorrow. With those thoughts, I ate all I could, before falling asleep in the corner. Just in case they needed me now that the hardest part was done.