Free Lumen by Joseph Eastwood

for sight; his eyes fell heavy, blurring that. He fell back against the wall, pushing himself up, he a glimpse of the two guys. One of which he knew was the guy from that morning.
    “But should I?” he asked.
    “Mark, I said no.”
    Daniel gasped as his eyes started to water and burn the side of his bruised face. Jasper and Mark chuckled as Daniel wavered to keep still on his feet, the swelling on his face had turned into a light fleshy pink and his eyes had become blood-shot.
    “What can  you  do?” Jasper spat.
    Daniel opened his mouth to reply, and instead was sucking at air like he was about to drown.
    “Looks like a fish,” Mark said, chuckling to himself.
    “Because he is out of water, aren’t ya? People like you should go to schools down there, with the  scum .” Jasper joined Mark with laughter. “Now you can hit him, use some of that ice stuff, the one Rik said was too advanced.”
    “Oh, yeah. Or should I give ‘im some water,” he said.
    Daniel tried to control his wobbling and focus his eyes. He made out the dorm key in Jasper’s hand, when something convulsed in his knees and ate at the balls of his feet, creating and infectious cramp. His knees bent and he clenched his teeth hard, biting the inside of his cheek until it bled. Then he made fists with his hands, but he couldn’t keep them clenched.
    “Fight back then,” Mark said with a huge grin on his face. He closed his eyes and poised himself; both of his hands dropped to the side, palms facing Daniel.
    “Summon and simmer,” Jasper chanted in a whisper.
    Mark’s fingertips turned white, and slowly the white made his skin thick. He wriggled his fingers and the ice spread to his wrists. Mark glared at Daniel’s swollen face, he didn’t have a clue if Daniel was looking at him or not, and although it was Daniel’s plan to undermine Mark and dodge the attack, he found himself to be a bit slow. As Mark thrust his hand towards Daniel’s chest, the ice spread and clung to his t-shirt, latching to his skin. Daniel fell to his knees coughing as he tried to pull the t-shirt from his skin and cut the source of the burning.
    Mark and Jasper high-fived, their mix of energy cancelled each other out, and Mark ended up with a wet hand. They both stared down at Daniel. Jasper drew his leg back as if to kick him, and laughing as Daniel flinched, his hand trembling closer to his chest.
    “Why?” Daniel asked, his voice had become deep and gravely.
    “You’re not welcome. And I bet that Taner guy, I bet you lied to ‘im didn’t ya,” Jasper said.
    Daniel felt something instinctive tickle beneath the ice. The ice didn’t melt, and his clothes didn’t clog with water. But he was dry.
    “You learnt a little Lowerlands trick.” Jasper scowled.
    Daniel jumped up from his knees in a flash. It had reminded him of how flexible he’d had to be, especially coming from the Lowerlands where you were taught to climb trees and fend for yourself from the animals or running away for fear that you’d be caught and treated like an animal. Jac had taught him to how to fight, especially when everyone was a predator in the thick of the forest. Daniel stood up straight, seeing their faces soiled with surprise.
    “You might need to work on that  ice  thing,” Daniel said, clenching his hands into fists.
    Daniel swallowed the fear in his throat and swung his fist at Mark’s face, hitting him on the bridge of his nose. A steady flow of blood left Mark stunned and Jasper bewildered. Daniel went on to hit Jasper, only to have his hand whacked away.
    “Mark’s not stupid, he’ll get you back. And I’m not stupid enough to make the mistake in the first place,” Jasper said, grinning in Daniel's half-swollen face. “Take your card, and stay in your room.” He flicked the card from between his fingers to Daniel’s feet. He started to walk away with Mark following leaving a trail of blood dotting the floor.
    Did that just happen?  He