Somnia Online by K.T. Hanna (reading strategies book txt) 📕

So it wasn’t what she’d done the last time.

Merlin went flying past her head, just missing her, and smashed back first into a pillar to her left. The crunch of breaking bones set her teeth on edge, and she couldn’t help but glance back, cringing when she realized he’d been impaled again.

But even as she watched, Merlin reached up and yanked the ice spear from the soft tissue at the front of his shoulder. An HoT hit him, and he yanked the offending item out of the wound and dropped down from the pillar to land slightly clumsily on the ground. Blood spattered his lips as he did so, and he laughed. “Don’t look so shocked, Mur. I’ve been impaled far worse than that.” He grinned at her with blood still on his lips and loosed his bow.

It had only taken a couple of seconds, but it was enough time for Murmur’s laugh to die in her throat as James tossed a voice circle at her. It was the only way she could think of to describe the purple and black ball of moving smoke that he threw her way.

She wouldn’t have been able to dive out of the way if Snowy hadn’t yanked her robe with his teeth and pulled her unceremoniously onto her butt. It narrowly missed her, and she could feel the nothingness emanating from it as it passed too close for comfort.

Standing up, she gathered her focus, completely aware of Snowy by her side with his unwavering support.

Even as James let out the warning howl again and his wave of Rampaging Anger almost took out Karn and Dansyn, Murmur cringed; the Discordant Note hadn’t covered everyone this time. She watched them roll away from the attack their hit points dropping even further. That was their second hit, and now they were at forty percent more damage with every strike. If she couldn’t solve this soon, the raid wasn’t going to last long enough to rescue him anyway. And she got the distinct feeling that if they wiped, they wouldn’t get back in without gathering the keys again.

Mind Healing. It was the only course of action she could take. And if it didn’t work, she’d need to adjust it so it did.

Mind Healing

Cast: Instant – 5-minute recast

Type: Restorative

Duration: 20 seconds or 75% of the caster’s level, whichever is greater.

Effect: You may create and insert a vision for the target to experience—it’s best to have some of these pre-prepared. This will not cause any damage but instead assist in soothing a tormented mind. Use with caution and be aware that people who could benefit from this skill might be closer than you realize.

What could she send to him that would soothe his mind? What could she craft in image form that might help him realize his situation and help him take control? The only thing she was glad of right then was that her normal spell rotation was ingrained in her mind. She could execute her debuffs all while contemplating other things. Time wasn’t on her side. Even as the thoughts rushed through her head, Snowy came and pushed his snout into her hand, wuffing slightly and letting his cold, wet nose touch her skin at the same time.

She laughed, and her head cleared as the stress reduced and allowed her to be more analytical. Glancing up, she noted the way the sky was warped, only visible through the magic shielding that stopped its prisoners from escaping. Probably also kept them alive and dry while under water.

Right. She didn’t know James well, but something she guessed he wanted to do above all else was complete the tasks he’d been given. And one of them had been to find out all the information on the headgear she had.

That he’d get that promotion, that raise. Very self-serving aims, but she couldn’t judge him. Everyone had their own motivations and technically owed no one else anything.

She set about her business as quickly and thoroughly as she could, crafting the image of him completing his job well, of him being a good worker and receiving praise from his boss, wasn’t difficult. She’d met James once, and she’d seen, even then, that he wanted to prove he was right. Brushing his mind in this state was a painful chore but one she had to complete. Because setting him in front of a boss he’d never worked with would tarnish the credibility of her vision. It would harm him instead of hurt him, and that was the last thing she wanted.

A five-minute recast meant she couldn’t fuck this up. Or she totally could, but she refused to do so.

Just as she was about to dive in, Snowy yanked her down with the sheer power of his jaw. Murmur fell backward awkwardly, stumbling as she went, and narrowly avoiding another of those sweet little black holes of doom James sent her way. And this time, this time he was watching her with a smirk just visible outside of his hood. And she could see the pipe dripping bodily fluids all down his back as he turned to aim at Masha next.

Murmur scowled and hurried herself up. Casting her net out, it allowed her to subvert some of the deeper thoughts that weren’t intruding on the current moment from James’s mind. Like fishing the top of the pool with a net to gather leaves. Promotions, happy times, memories that were fragmented in there with the nature of the nightmare he was currently living through in this damned game.

A promotion. He’d received it maybe a year or two ago. The progress of time inside a memory was iffy to work with. She only hoped that when she pulled away from trying to read into his mind, she didn’t damage him or herself in the process. Bit late to think about that now, though.

Taking a deep breath, she withdrew, but left, at the very forefront of his thinking, the image of happiness, of pride, of how