A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 59
"I am fine, Nolise. It just took me some time to finish." Laeri smiled down at the injured errant. "You are free to go, warrior. Your arm will hurt, but you can fight immediately if necessary."
"Thank you." The man rose to his feet, rubbing his arm. "Your arts were swift and warm. You may be from a foreign land, but you have an errant's soul."
Laeri blushed and bobbed her head to try not to be overwhelmed by the praise. The errants were always so kind, unlike her exacting instructors or the unthankful Corans. Even Melal thanked her less, ever since he'd spent so much time with the Bloodskins. Why oh why couldn't he have joined the errants instead? They told such romantic stories of errants and their loves...
"We need to go." Nolise gently took her arm and guided Laeri away, used to her distractions by now. "It's one of those raiders and he won't let me touch him."
"Won't the other errants hold him down for you? We need to heal everyone we can."
"They might, but his leg is severely broken. Given the way he's acting, I thought it best if you made the attempt..."
The Bloodskin man sat against a house wall, struggling to turn his grimaces of pain into more masculine expressions. His emotional alchemy was only partially successful, which Laeri understood as soon as she saw his leg. Two large spikes of bone emerged from his flesh, and what could have caused such tearing? She realized that his leg must have been twisted in one direction, then he'd jerked it back into place.
As most of the raiders did, the man regarded them suspiciously. "Just leave well enough alone! The leg will heal if you give it time. I don't need any cold blood, at least not like that."
How to get through to him? Laeri adopted a kind smile as she knelt down beside his leg. "You may heal, but by then, the battle will be over. If you let me help, you can fight alongside the Hero and Chief Bufogu. Wouldn't that be better?"
"I suppose." The man's lips twisted and his displeasure shifted to Nolise standing behind. "Just don't let that damn northerner touch me. You came with the Hero, but her..."
"Never fear." Nolise's voice might have held a touch of scorn, but her face was shadowed by her helmet. "Laeri is better suited to healing this injury, so I have no intention of helping."
"Eh? If you're both healers with cold blood, what's the difference?"
"Healers aren't all the same, you know." Laeri set her hands on either side of the broken bones and began with simple sein. It would do little for his injury, but she found the Bloodskins usually reacted better to healing that felt good. "It's no different from warriors knowing some weapons better than others. I know bones quite well, so I can help heal your leg. But Nolise is much better with bruises and injuries to the head."
"Hnh." The Bloodskin man regarded them skeptically, but sat back to let her work.
Nolise knelt down beside her and asked a few questions regarding the process as Laeri began with the exposed ends of the bone. First came removing the shards of bone in the flesh, a process made much easier with sky sein. Though errants didn't view sein in the same way, Laeri had found they could understand the same arts, and in turn, she hoped to understand some of Nolise's techniques.
Eventually the early work was done and Nolise needed to assist someone else. That reminded Laeri of another patient, so she caught the other woman's arm before she rose. "Nolise, can you check on Cantyan? He's in the third hut on the left. Something struck him on the chest, and I tried to stop the internal bleeding, but he's so much older than most..."
"I understand. I'll look at him right away." Nolise was so close that Laeri could see her hazel eyes watching her with concern. "You need to take care of yourself too, Laeri. Once you're finished with the leg, please let yourself rest."
"I will." Laeri nodded to her and then returned to the leg. It would be a difficult process, but she needed the practice. If Melal or Tani ever had their bones broken so terribly, she needed to be able to help. She regarded the wound, then smiled up at the Bloodskin man. "This next part may hurt. It's okay if you scream."
"Pain is nothing to the Bloodskins!" He glowered at her so fiercely that she flinched, but her purpose was accomplished: he wouldn't complain and interrupt her work. That had been a trick Auntie Elima taught her for healing Corans, and it seemed to work just as well on Bloodskins.
The memory of Elima's face as she died rippled through Laeri's sein and for several heartbeats she could heal nothing. Then she took a deep breath, focusing on the old woman's lessons, and began.
Novices were never allowed to work with bones, because careless application of sein could easily make them heal incorrectly. As Laeri shifted the fragments of bone back into place, she was guided partially by her anatomy instructors and partially by the feel of the man's sein. The Bloodskins were mudmen of the first order, but their bodies knew how they should reform, which made her task easier.
Next came the task of fusing the bone properly. With Slaten she could have used less sein and trusted his body to finish the healing, but she had learned through painful relapses that the Bloodskins were not so easy on their bodies while recovering. One more lesson to learn.
Such mundane lessons always disappointed her, even if she knew they were an important part of being a healer. What she needed was strength and sein arts. She might be able to fight only poorly, but all the others were relying on her skills. If she didn't work as hard as she could, would they leave her behind?
There was just too much for her to learn! Even in her specialty, repairing flesh, she saw so many flaws in her own technique. She was competent with broken bones, but Nolise made her feel completely inadequate with so many other injuries. Neither of them was skilled with healing injuries to the internal organs, which could often be the most serious. Laeri might be able to return a warrior to their feet, but she worried that their health would suffer greatly.
As she began weaving the flesh over the bone, Laeri thought back to her decisions in Estronn. There was one ignorance she had chosen: she knew little of healing illnesses because she had always wanted to be a combat healer. Her instructors told her that she could easily become rich by focusing on disease, but their stories of curing kings and nobles could not erase her visions of healing sniffles and coughs.
That ignorance might cost her now, however, because the errants were actually more prone to illness than other warriors. It had baffled her until Olondris had explained the differences, and all at once everything had fallen neatly into place. The errants didn't focus on their bodies until they became Steeljudges, so they suffered from illnesses that warriors on the Chorhan Expanse would ignore.
Could the Deathspawn cripple their forces just by sowing disease in their ranks? Laeri decided to tuck that thought away deep inside herself where she couldn't see it.
When at last Laeri completed her work, she sat back with a satisfied smile. Her thoughts had wandered, but she concluded that the leg was sound. After telling the Bloodskin man to be careful, however futile it might be, Laeri left him to find Nolise.
Instead, she found herself facing Natala. The Bloodskin woman had been waiting quietly, but as soon as Laeri faced her, she burst out with a broad smile that Natala couldn't help but return.
"You look tired, Laeri. Are you doing well?"
"I am well," Laeri said, "I merely want to work as hard as I can before the battle truly begins."
"I had wanted to ask you... but no, you seem so tired..."
"Oh, what is it? You can tell me, you know."
"If you insist." Natala took her arm and guided her back into the village, rubbing her arm in an encouraging way. "The trouble is the Whitebones that were captured on our way. They may be prisoners now, but you'd help them, wouldn't you?"
"Of course! My duty is to heal anyone I can."
"Don't press yourself now, but once you've rested, please speak to me. I hope that we can make an arrangement with them in return for your help."
"I'd be happy to help if I can." Laeri frowned as she realized something odd that had been tickling at the back of her mind. "You know, it seems to me that you spend all your time with the Whitebones and the other clans they've captured. Why not spend more time with the Bloodskin women?"
"I fear they've long disapproved of me." Natala's face fell, but then she patted Laeri's arm and brightened again. "But I wanted to ask you something about that as well. Several of the women are pregnant, and they worry about giving birth during a time of war. Could you...?"
"Oh... that might be difficult if they give birth while I need to heal warriors, you know?"
"Ah, but I didn't mean for you to assist them then. They already know some healing arts, but you've seen their limitations. Would you be able to teach them some of what you know so that later they will be able to assist with the childbirths themselves?"
Laeri beamed at the idea. "That's wonderful, Natala! Of course I'll help!"
"You aren't worried about giving up your secrets?"
"Oh, mage warriors may speak of such things, but not healers. Our only secrets are the deepest workings of sein that could never be taught so easily. One of my duties is to share whatever knowledge I can with others who battle injury and disease, wherever I find them."
"You're an admirable woman, Laeri." Natala patted her arm one more time, always so affectionate, then pulled away. "Only speak to me before you help them, please. They are rather uncomfortable given all these changes, so it might be better to have someone to negotiate."
"Of course. You can count on me, Natala."
Leaving Natala left Laeri with a smile on her face, though it faded as she looked over the remaining bodies. The crises had passed, but her sein still flowed well enough. It would be better to heal some of the open wounds before she rested. That would reduce infections and set the warriors on the path to the full recovery that only time could provide.
As she walked toward them, Laeri stumbled. To her surprise, a hand caught her by the arm and held her up.
"Be careful, Laeri." Tani stood beside her with a concerned smile. "Don't push yourself too hard or we'll need someone to heal you."
"I will be fine..." Laeri had planned more arguments, but a delicious smell swept through her thoughts and led her eyes to Tani's other hand. "What... what is that you're holding?"
"Some of the errants set up a rough oven in the other camp. Did you know that they bake bread in the northern nations?"
"Truly?" Laeri clasped Tani's hand in both of her own and squeezed it as she stared at the box. "You've brought it to me, yes? To share?"
Tani chuckled and led her to a space between houses where Nolise sat and rested. Laeri had not known that the two of them were familiar with each other, but Nolise nodded politely to Tani. When Tani set down her box and began to reveal the loaves of bread within, the errant removed her winged helm. Though her face was a bit too lean and she kept her dark hair too short, Laeri thought she had lovely, kind eyes.
"They can't have baked very much," Nolise said. "How did you convince them to give you any?"
"I went to scout with a group of errants in exchange for their food." Tani smiled and handed a loaf to Nolise. "You're welcome to join us."
When Laeri accepted the large dark loaf, she gasped and passed it between her hands rapidly, letting it cool a bit more. The smell was certainly heavenly and she longed to bite it so quickly that she would burn her mouth. Once she couldn't wait any longer, she grasped it in both hands and bit down.
Her teeth practically chipped against the outer layer. Laeri pulled back and stared at it mournfully. "This... did they burn it?"
"The outside is hard, but the inside is good," Tani said. But Laeri was encouraged not at all, because the warrior was biting straight through it, her jaw like another knife. Just when Laeri was about to surrender the loaf, Nolise shifted closer and took it from her.
"It isn't burned, the crust is meant to be that hard." Nolise drew a knife and sawed the loaf in half before handing it back to Laeri.
She carefully poked at the inside, hesitant this time, but found it soft. When she reached within, she discovered that it was shockingly light and fluffy. A piece of it easily pinched off between her fingers, and when she put it in her mouth, it practically melted.
Laeri sighed happily and began digging out every last crumb. All at once the loaf transformed in her mind from an inedible stone to a delightful shell that shielded delicious bread within. Tani watched her with a fond smile, still biting through the entire bread, while Nolise used her knife to cut the crust into smaller pieces.
"Has anyone heard if they've encountered the main body of the Deathspawn yet?" Tani asked. Nolise shook her head.
"Still only skirmishes, and more of them as clans are pushed toward us by their movements."
"Would it be possible to pinpoint their location by which clans they're displacing?"
"Unfortunately, there are enough clans that there's no way to know. Some of the Deathspawn must be close, but their main army is said to be on the other side of Mount Tmil."
As the two of them spoke, Laeri listened with mild disapproval that was overwhelmed by the deliciousness of the bread. Though she would have preferred to enjoy the food, she admitted that the war was more important. If the Deathspawn truly threatened the Sage, then it was the most important thing in the entire world, and her healing was helping to build the Legend.
Shouldn't that have made her happy? She could hardly have taken a greater role without being the Hero herself, or some legendary master, so why did it leave an empty space where her heart should be?
Just as Laeri was about to join the conversation, she felt something change. It started with Tani pausing, putting down her bread and reaching for her sickle knife. Next Nolise noticed and began to stand to her feet. After that came the scream.
All three of them rushed from their place and into the spreading chaos. For a moment Laeri could not understand what was going on and feared that the errants and Bloodskins had begun fighting one another.
Then she saw the Deathspawn and she understood: they were under attack.
Since she was safest with warriors, Laeri hurried after them as they approached the entrance to the village. It seemed as though a small group of Deathspawn had attacked, met by the village's guards and the injured who were well enough to fight. They had no intention of winning, however, it was a targeted attack to try to kill the wounded.
Several spilled past the main battle and onto the village's dusty road. Tani killed the first two with her knives, slicing out and spinning back in a way that proved her much more than a mudman. Nolise joined her, drawing a short sword and fighting cautiously. She was no brilliant fighter, but she could repurpose her earth and water sein to strengthen her body instead of healing.
Why couldn't Laeri do the same? She understood the techniques, and for one glorious moment years ago she had somehow defended Melal in his battle. But she was a healer, not a warrior...
A cry of fear made Laeri look to the side and she saw several Deathspawn advancing on the fallen warriors. Laeri gasped as she saw more come over the side of the wall. Worse, there were humans with them - how could humans fight alongside Deathspawn? She realized that she had immediately understood that they weren't Bloodskins - something about their layers of cloth had struck her as different.
Whoever the traitorous tribe was, they had led the Deathspawn to the village and they intended to strike down the injured. Laeri wanted to call for help, but she saw that Nolise was pinned down and Tani was struggling to help her. It looked as though they would win the battle, but by the time they did, it would be too late.
Laeri gripped her staff tighter and decided on a new truth: she was a healer, and her patients were being threatened.
She advanced toward the first of the Deathspawn, gathering her sein in her arms. Even if she had no great skill, she could still wallop him over the head until he stopped moving. Laeri swung out wildly, determined to overwhelm him with her passion alone.
The Deathspawn's blade struck aside her staff and he grabbed her throat. Though Laeri struggled, her staff thumped uselessly against his shoulder armor and she was slammed against the side of one of the huts. All at once her fight left her. It was hopeless unless someone...
A knife embedded itself in the Deathspawn's throat and his hand loosened. By the time Laeri straightened, coughing and easing sein into her throat, he had already slumped to the ground, clawing at the blood pouring from him.
"Thank you, Ta-" Laeri cut off as she realized that it was not Tani who had saved her, but the Bloodskin man whose leg she'd healed. He grunted and readied a spear in one hand, a knife in the other.
"Step away from her and you don't have to die."
The speaker was another raider, not from the Bloodskin clan. He was a surprisingly handsome man who smiled as if he wasn't standing in a battlefield. When the Bloodskin man grunted and attacked him, the raider easily knocked aside the thrusts of his spear.
Even in the first exchange, Laeri realized that her protector couldn't win. The handsome raider scared her in the way Chief Bufogu scared her: a mudman with no art, but terrifying quantities of sein that could be used to bludgeon through his opponents.
Old Cantyan joined the fight, briefly pushing the raider back. Yet when she saw that he couldn't win either, even working together, she feared for him. He was such a kind old grandfather, she didn't want him to die, yet...
For a brief moment Laeri had a vision of herself striking from behind, knocking down the handsome raider and saving the men who protected her. It dissolved as she felt the pain throbbing in her throat.
Then several knives flashed through the air, nearly striking the handsome raider and forcing him to retreat. He looked worried for a heartbeat, but his eyes followed the knives as they pulled back through the air, just as Laeri's did. Both of them saw Tani at the same moment, but when Laeri looked back at the raider, strangely, he had broken into a grin.
