Sarah’s spell was the second spell I had ever stolen and duplicated, so I obviously wanted to watch it work. But before I could see if my magical daggers had sunk deep into the beast’s chest and hopefully pierced an organ or two, the creature threw two smelly arms right over my face. It lurched forward as I ducked beneath its swing, and it was fast. A rush of wind rustled through my hair as different parts of the monster’s flailing body came at me with an inhuman fury.

  Only just as my own strength began to deplete, it getting more and more challenging to skirt the monster’s advances, the beast finally stumbled a step and then another step. It slowed its attacks, and I took advantage by sprinting toward Sarah, who lay on the ground at a nice, safe distance from the monster.

  The monster groaned a pathetic whimper, swaying back and forth precariously. One step at a time, it turned to face me, trying desperately to bare its long fangs at me in a terrifying way, but the expression only looked like a quivering, hideous frown.

  And then I saw them.

  Every single one of the 12 magical daggers I had conjured protruded all over the beast’s torso. The monster’s purple blood gushed out from underneath every blade, the blood further matting the monster’s fur. And as the daggers began to shimmer out of existence, the blood poured in waterfalls, now unhindered by the disappearance of magical blades once wedged into the wounds.

  With one final, boisterous growl, the monster collapsed face-first into the dusty stone floor. I wasted no time.

  “Sarah?”

  Before I could even see the damage, I smelled the metallic scent of human blood. I gently turned Sarah over onto her back and winced at the sight of her torn jumpsuit. Her entire left side was covered in deep claw marks, and her ruined jumpsuit was soaked in her blood.

  Come on, Rayden. What can you do? I asked myself as I frantically waved my hands over Sarah’s wounds. Her eyes fluttered sporadically, and she moaned in pain, seemingly unaware of what was going on around her.

  I racked my brain, mentally moving through every lecture in my Non-Healer’s Guide to Healing class, even though I had only completed a week’s worth of lectures.

  I don’t have any healing potions, but I do have…

  I emptied the contents of the new bag I had just bought from that old lady merchant. Out poured my remaining fruit and one strip of jerky, the tablet I used for school, and right at the very end, a small, brown pouch full of the various herbs I’d received from the healing class. I ripped open the ties around the pouch and dumped out its contents with the rest of the mess I had just made.

  “Sutureleaf,” I said aloud, scooping up the bright orange flower from the pile of otherwise green plants.

  The healing class professor had explained that sutureleaf was useful when speeding along the process of closing wounds. The orange flower with a dark center and nearly imperceptible purple veins along its petals was indigenous to this planet and was often used to encourage tissue regeneration. The professor had also said that the fresher the sutureleaf, the more it could attract essence toward the wound one is treating and help the process move even quicker. And, depending on the severity of a cut or gash, the attracted essence could help it take minutes or even seconds. That is if enough essence was around for the sutureleaf to attract.

  Living in a desert, like I had in Edrona, had never provided much of a selection of medicinal herbs. My home planet’s environment wasn’t very friendly to plant growth. Edronans had to primarily rely on those with potion-related and healing Skills. I’d seen some people use herbs back home, but we’d had a plethora of people who could heal with spells and others who sold potions. But, at this moment, I had no healer and no potion, and I thanked the gods for the sutureleaf I’d both learned about and gotten from class.

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  I gently pulled each silky petal off the flower. I sprinkled the petals evenly over the gashes carved into Sarah's side from the monster’s talons. Once plucked, the petals from the sutureleaf emitted a strong, bitter odor that made my eyes water. I continued the work, though, Sarah’s blood sticking each petal securely to her wounds.

  I darted my eyes about, waiting to see streams of essence speed their way over and strengthen the herb’s medicinal capabilities. Thankfully, the death of the furry beast had both released and attracted about half a dozen swarms of essence. Normally, I would draw in as much of it as possible to use later for cultivation, but Sarah needed the essence more than I did.

  I turned my head over my shoulder, watching the essence streams bob up and down as if sniffing out the sutureleaf petals. They raced over in an organized line and fell over the petals and Sarah’s wounds like a pile of glowing bandages.

  It was mesmerizing.

  I sat, staring in awe as the essence and petals worked together to seal up the wide gashes all along the left side of Sarah’s torso. It was like a dance–the streams weaved in between each orange petal, creating swirls around the bloody wounds and closing them up, leaving only fresh scars and blood stains along Sarah’s skin. I was so enchanted by the process that I didn’t notice Sarah opening her eyes wide and trying to raise her head from the ground.

  “Rayden?” she croaked.

  I jumped to action, placing my hands underneath her head and helping her sit up. Even as Sarah moved, the medicine and herb didn’t cease their work.

  “What happened?” Sarah ran a shaky hand through her sweaty hair and glanced around herself. Her eyes fell on the dead monster, and she frowned. “Oh, yeah. I remember now.”

  Her eyes then dropped to where she’d been wounded. “Sutureleaf–good thinking.”

  It was evident that Sarah couldn’t see the throng of essence streams clinging to her skin and essentially sewing up her wounds with their magic. Still, she obviously knew that the sutureleaf was helping her.

  “How are you feeling?” I said, slowly removing my hands from around her head, making sure she could remain steady on her own.

  “Good, I think.” Sarah swallowed. “Do you have any water with you?”

  I shook my head. “Neither of us came very prepared.”

  “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you about the maze, but I didn’t think we’d have to fight a monster.” Sarah closed her eyes and sighed heavily through her nose. “Professor Bilith is mean.”

  I nodded in agreement, allowing myself to laugh at the situation. Yes, she should have warned me about what we were doing, but the idea of a hidden door, in general, should have encouraged me to come prepared anyway–just in case. Sarah joined me in the laughter, but then she winced and grabbed her side.

  After a few deep breaths, she spoke again, “How did you kill it?”

  Sarah nodded her head toward the fallen beast.

  “Oh, uh…” I gulped.

  Should I tell her that my Skills allow me to steal and use others’ Skills? Will she feel weird about the fact that I’d used her spell?

  “I was just really lucky,” I said. “I used a weapons spell similar to the one you cast on the monster, and my aim was just very good. To be fair, you’d already weakened the thing before it injured you, so it didn’t take too much for me to deal the final blow.”

  Sarah smiled. “We make a good team then.”

  I smiled back. “Do you think you can stand?”

  She stretched her legs. “Yes, I think so.”

  I wrapped my arms underneath Sarah’s shoulders and allowed her to lean most of her weight on me. She weakly climbed to her feet and insisted I could let go. I did, hesitantly. Sarah swayed slightly, then stopped, giving me a thumbs up.

  “I can’t see much because the torches in this area are dim, but look….” I pointed to the wide opening where Sarah had first found the monster. “I don’t see any more path choices. I think this is the end.

  “Thank Euridice!” Sarah exclaimed.

  I tried to ignore the fact that my companion worshipped Lord Solomon’s rival–my rival.

  “Let’s find the answer to this stupid clue,” Sarah finished, leading the way with a slight hobble in her step.

  Before following, I called all of the remaining essence streams hovering over the dead monster and stowed them into my Soul.

  “You coming?” Sarah called without looking back.

  In answer, I caught up to her, and we exited the maze side by side.