The fact that something is wrong is still nudging gently at the back of Joel's mind, though he's mostly set it aside, attributing it to the fact that this is going to be a significant change. For the both of them. If he's successful, Raleigh won't have pain in her leg any longer and he won't know quite what to do with himself. Having visions, seeing auras, being able to mix a potion, those are all things Joel's been able to do his whole life. They're just a part of him. But creating a spell from the ground up, being able to heal someone in this manner, it's bigger than he knows what to do with.
And it scares him a little.
"Focus on this candle here," he says, letting his finger hover over the flame of the candle that's at the north. She's seated right in front of it for a reason, Raleigh at the north, Joel at the south. "Breathe slowly and focus on the flame and when you're relaxed, I want you to count back slowly from ten."
Ever since the demon, seeing auras has become almost second nature, but he's learned to control it better, push it back. In the past few weeks, he's gotten good at seeing them only when he wants to and later, when he sits down and really thinks about it, when he talks about it with Spencer, that's the only reason he'll be able to come up with for why he hadn't noticed sooner.
He takes a deep breath, shifts his focus from the candle flame to her face, and the words die on his tongue. He's done it without thinking, let his gaze shift in that way he does, and what he sees when he looks at her is horrible. Her leg is an angry red, alight with pain, but that isn't the part that upsets him. Her aura, usually so bright, has turned an ugly, muddy brown. There are places here and there where it still shines through, but they're minimal and barely there at all. Something is wrong with her. Something is deeply wrong.
Joel shoves back from the table without thinking, knocking two candles to the grass where they sputter and go out. "Raleigh," he says, but he doesn't know where to go from there.
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And it scares him a little.
"Focus on this candle here," he says, letting his finger hover over the flame of the candle that's at the north. She's seated right in front of it for a reason, Raleigh at the north, Joel at the south. "Breathe slowly and focus on the flame and when you're relaxed, I want you to count back slowly from ten."
Ever since the demon, seeing auras has become almost second nature, but he's learned to control it better, push it back. In the past few weeks, he's gotten good at seeing them only when he wants to and later, when he sits down and really thinks about it, when he talks about it with Spencer, that's the only reason he'll be able to come up with for why he hadn't noticed sooner.
He takes a deep breath, shifts his focus from the candle flame to her face, and the words die on his tongue. He's done it without thinking, let his gaze shift in that way he does, and what he sees when he looks at her is horrible. Her leg is an angry red, alight with pain, but that isn't the part that upsets him. Her aura, usually so bright, has turned an ugly, muddy brown. There are places here and there where it still shines through, but they're minimal and barely there at all. Something is wrong with her. Something is deeply wrong.
Joel shoves back from the table without thinking, knocking two candles to the grass where they sputter and go out. "Raleigh," he says, but he doesn't know where to go from there.