Chapter 55 : Honeyed Whispers

"Breathe deep, clear your mind, focus on the natural rhythm of the world around you."

Oz sat cross legged atop a flat stone, freezing her ass off. Her hands rested gently on her lap, unable to stop hunching over. 

The Comedian slapped her back with his walking cane, causing her to quickly straighten up. Oz glared at him, receiving another bonk with the cane. 

"Focus. Controlling your mana is the first step to magic control."

"I'm trying." Oz grounded out between her teeth. She wasn't much of a 'meditate and think about it' type of person. She was more the punch and run. Having to sit was exhausting. It was especially hard with her teeth chattering from the cold. 

She opened one frosty lash to glare at the cow skull, "And don't you say 'There is no try'."

Somehow the bone seemed malleable, the eye ridge tilting up as if a cocked eyebrow. The Comedian chuckled slightly while leaning against the tree beside her.

"And what's with the mantle, you're bones. Can you feel the cold?"

"You're avoiding the lesson. Eyes closed. Focus. And no, not entirely." 

Oz sighed and closed her eyes once again. After the experience in the dungeon, she wasn't too fond of remaining still in the cold. It has been days, yet she still feels the ice seeping into her bones, the salt drawing out her very soul. 

Selene clued her into what fun she missed out on. Nahern went on a warpath, slaughtering guards and monsters of the depths out of his way. Clearing floor after floor for hours straight. Selene hadn't seen her brother in such a state for years. There's no way their Uncle doesn't know they cleared the dungeon after so long.

Despite the cold, Oz's cheeks still flushed at the thought that dared to bubble up. 

No one ever cared if she was caught up in dungeons before, the Guild would have left her to struggle her own way out. To know Nahern was that affected somehow makes her both happy and horribly guilty. 

"Control your thoughts. The magic is swaying. Push past them, dive deeper." 

The deep baritone of the lich's voice washed over her, pushing Oz deeper and deeper into the riptide that made up her conflicted thoughts. 

'What am I even looking for?' She thought, feeling foolish simply sitting there with her eyes closed. 

Deeper, deeper still.

Then, slightly, flickering in the darkness of her heart there was something. Like an extra beating heart? No, two! Like something was humming in harmony with her own heart beat. 

"I ah..feel something?" Oz whispered, almost afraid to breathe. Snow crunched and the light was overtaken by shadow. The unfamiliar weight of the lich's body pushing into her was new. For being a skeleton in a suit he was surprisingly hefty.

"Describe it while focusing." His voice was hoarse against her ear, taking every scrap of her self control not to slap him away. Her face scrunched up as she tried to explain what she felt.

"Like something beating in harmony with my heart? Two extra beats? Shit that's cold!" Oz's eyes snapped open as the skull was pushed against her back. Even through the light mantle and leather she felt the icy bite of bone against her warm body. She squealed again in complaint, trying to struggle away. Yet The Comedian kept his arm around Oz's waist, trapping her there as he listened to her heart beat.

"How can you hear, you don't have ears." Oz protested, now picking at the iron brand around her waist. "Move, you're freezing!"

"Be still." 

An odd shiver ran up Oz's spine, the rich rumble of the lich's voice vibrated through her bones.

"Interesting, very interesting. Could it be the prisms within your soul, or something else? I need to inspect further."

"Dude, too close!" Oz growled out, elbowing the lich in the side. That made him grunt slightly and step back. She glared at him before a sudden vibration caught her attention. He blinked his sockets then motioned to her wrist. Throwing his long limbs around her as his boney fingers reached for her wrist. Oz grunted as she was yet again pulled into an embrace, thankfully the wool of his suit and heavy fur kept the chill of his bones off her.

"What is this interesting device? A sub dimensional communications aray?"

"Dude, it's just my smart watch." Oz laughed , flipping her wrist over. The name atop the screen made her heart go ablaze.

"Why the hell is he calling me!" She growled, blood boiling in her veins.

"Who?" The lich asked, curiously holding her wrist up to his sockets. His fingers tap-tapping over the tempered glass screen.

"My lousy step brother! Gimme my arm back." She tugged her arm from his hold and growled. 

When she refused the call, he only called again. And again.

Six times before Oz snorted out a long stream of curses.

"Answer the boy, saint. I'm curious now." The lich chuckled, eye lights twinkling in the skull.