Deadly Barrier

After Thea and Riz finished their meals, drank their medicine, and cleaned their beds, they stepped out of the room. The house had a second floor, but the room lent to them was on the first. They did not encounter a single soul when they passed a long corridor and reached the living room. It seemed that they were the only fairies in that house. They opened the main door and marched onto the front yard. The rain had stopped but the sky remained starless.

"Their front yard is similar to Gia's," Riz looked at the healthy growing herbs all over the yard with a smile. "Despite the bad weather they can grow these medicinal herbs."

They did not wait that long for Ayhan to arrive. After five minutes, he entered the gate. Asuren was not with him at that time too.

"Asuren is still not feeling well?" Thea could not help but feel worried. It was only their second time meeting but he was always getting sick.

"My mother will take care of him. He will be fine," Ayhan smiled and pointed at the gate. "Shall we go?"

"We do want to go home but is it really okay to leave your house without meeting your mother?" Riz asked when Ayhan stepped out of the gate.

"Mother takes care not only of Asuren but the entire village," Ayhan informed them. "I already told her that you are returning to Daybreak Realm. There is no need for farewells. We have the same goal. We will certainly see each other soon." He pulled a small pouch from the pocket of his overcoat and gave it to Thea and Riz. "Mother prepared a few bottles of health tonic. Drink it after passing through the Deadly Barrier and you will recover a bit of your strength."

"Thank you so much," Thea took the pouch and carefully tied it to the green cloth wrapped around her waist. "We can really find our way to the barrier. You should stay here and help your mother."

"Even if I stay here, Mother will not let me help her. She prefers doing things on her own. Aside from that, she keeps telling me that I don't have talent in medicine," Ayhan let out a deep breath. "So, I'll just come with you."

^##########^

Asuren jerked awake up from a nightmare. The seal bearer killed his friends because he arrived too late. When he opened his eyes, the voice of the Evil Witch thundered in his head and made him dizzy.

"Take her to me!!!"

Asuren ignored the voice pounding in his head and the chilling coldness around him. He still felt weak and his vision was a little blurry but he managed to get up on his feet, spread his wings, and soared fast towards the Deadly Barrier. He was only a few feet away from it when his strength had been depleted. He flapped his wings but, instead of pushing him forward, it faded. He plummeted on the ground, rolled against the slippery grass, and hit a tree. The fierce impact had instantly knocked him unconscious.

^############^

The road back to the deadly barrier was a quiet one. No one talked and the air was ominously silent. Everyone was scanning their surroundings with utmost vigilance. It took them almost twelve hours to reach their destination.

"Thea, what's wrong?" Riz asked when her friend landed on the ground and looked around. "Are you detecting danger?"

"I can… sense Asuren…" Thea could feel a familiar aura in the wind. It was faint but certainly from Asuren.

She cautiously followed the wind and found the sick fairy lying unconscious on the ground, hidden by the bushes and soaked with mud and rain. He looked pale and feverish. Thea pulled the bottle of tonic from the pouch hanging on her belt and gave it to Asuren. He quickly came around and looked around him with confusion.

"What… are you doing here?" he leaned on a tree, took a few deep breaths, and looked past Thea. The Deadly Barrier was just a few meters away from him.

"You should head back to Daybreak Realm," Ayhan told Thea and Riz. "I will carry Asuren back to the village."

"No…" Asuren took a few more deep breaths before transporting himself closer to the Deadly Barrier. "I need to get to Daybreak Realm and save our friends…" he quickly spread his wings but froze when he sensed a sudden shift in the already dark and depressing atmosphere of the area. The wind became ominous and, from the shadows behind Asuren, a silhouette had emerged and stabbed him in the back with a purple dagger. He dodged but the blade still pierced his left shoulder and he instantly dropped on his knees. The blade was poisoned.

Ayhan soared towards his friend, but the silhouette exploded and released a powerful wind that hurled Asuren inside the Deadly Barrier. Ayhan had been tossed away but he quickly regained balance and zoomed after his friend.

Thea grabbed Riz and dragged her fast towards the Deadly Barrier. She flapped her wings faster when she saw unconscious Asuren being protected by Ayhan from the violent and scorching wind. She managed to grab Asuren with her free hand and yanked everyone out of the Deadly Barrier as quickly as she could.

Before soaring inside the Deadly Barrier, Thea had hoped that it would be less painful since it was their second time passing through, but the scorching wind remained the same and spared none of them.

The four of them did not let go of each other even after getting thrown out of the Deadly Barrier, rolling against the dry and solid ground, and hitting a few bushes.

"Asuren!" Ayhan quickly checked on his friend as soon as they stopped moving. Like the rest of them, he had burns all over his body and his wings were terribly damaged. "Asuren! Wake up!" He ripped a part of his overcoat and wrapped it around the bleeding shoulder of his friend.

Thea took a few deep breaths before sitting up. She was as terrified as Ayhan because Asuren was getting paler and colder.

"Asuren!" Ayhan trembled as he listened to the heartbeat of his friend. "I… I can't hear anything."

"Let me," Thea emptied a bottle of health tonic and gave the rest to Riz and Ayhan. She had no healing hands like Gia but she learned something useful from an old friend of hers, that mortal named Henry Riverstream.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember what her mentor had shared about performing CPR. She placed her hands at the center of Asuren's chest then pressed it hard and fast until thirty compressions were done. She lifted his chin, pinched his nose shut, and sealed Asuren's mouth with hers. She had given him two rescue breaths. She repeated that cycle for what felt like an eternity. She did not stop until Asuren breathed again.

"Asuren!!!" Ayhan bellowed with relief but worried once more when his friend coughed out blood.

"Where… is she?" Asuren glanced around with fear in his eyes.

"She's gone," Ayhan glanced at Thea. "He is poisoned. Can you heal him?"

"I can," Gia arrived and immediately checked on Asuren. "This is a powerful poison but can be healed. We should bring him to my house. But I don't think I can carry all of you at once," she glanced worriedly at Thea, Riz, and Ayhan. "You all look terrible."

"I'm good," Ayhan carefully placed Asuren on his back. "My wings are damaged, but my legs are still working fine. I can run."

"We can also run," Thea and Riz had chorused then quickly got up on their feet and ran. "Follow us, Ayhan."

^##########^