Arcanius (31 page)

“Do what you have to,” the earl said.

“No!” Lexi shouted.

“Stand aside, woman, or I’ll have you removed,” the earl growled.

The first healer poured some of the clear liquid onto Tiberius’ back. Lexi could smell the astringent twang of strong spirits. She guessed that the clear liquid had been distilled for just such a purpose. The metal poker had been nestled in the coals as soon as the brazier had been brought into the room. Lexi felt sweat break out all over her body when the gray bearded man pulled the iron from the coals, revealing the glowing red tip.

The first healer stood up, took the poker, and carefully inserted it into Tiberius’ back. The sound of sizzling flesh was almost immediately joined by the stench that billowed out of the wound. Tiberius woke up screaming in complete agony. Tears flooded Lexi’s eyes, and she turned away. She could see the earl watching; the muscles in his jaw were flexed, but otherwise his face was completely impassive.

Once the healers had the wound cauterized, they began stitching the muscle back together. Tiberius had passed out from the pain again and so was mercifully unaware of the surgery taking place. When the wound was completely closed, the healers applied a thick bandage, wrapping it completely around Tiberius’ body. He was moved to the bed, and the healers left, along with Earl Ageus. Robere and Lexi sat near Tiberius’ bedside, waiting for him wake up.

“He was sick once,” the elderly servant said. “The poor thing could hardly breathe. I had to keep him propped up on pillows. The healers brought in steaming cauldrons steeped with eucalyptus. It was the most stressful week of my life,” Robere said. “But he recovered. He was always stronger than people gave him credit for.”

“You love him very much,” Lexi said.

“I hope the feeling is mutual. I never had any children of my own. He was just a child when the earl placed him in my care.”

“You watched him grow up then.”

“I did,” Robere said with a smile. “I worked with his brothers, too—we all did. The servants assigned to the earl’s family are almost like a family, too. But Tiberius was always different than his brothers. He had an open mind, always curious, and always seeing the best in every person or situation he met. I learned more from him than he ever learned from me.”

“He talks about you,” Lexi said. “He told me you were like a father to him.”

The elderly servant smiled.

“He also said you brought him his whip before he was banished,” Lexi said.

“It was the least I could do. He always loved that whip, and none of us understood why. I suppose he lost it in the blighted lands.”

“No,” Lexi said. “It’s with our belongings on the war ship.”

“Will you really leave Avondale again?”

“We must,” Lexi said. “Tiberius would never put the city in danger, and Leonosis wants Ti and the Balestone.”

Lexi looked into the corner where she had thrown the stone. No one had touched it, not yet. It was still covered with Tiberius’ blood.

“He won’t be well enough to travel,” Robere said, reassuring himself. “Not for some time yet, I would say.”

“He’ll be happy to see you,” Lexi said. “For however long we’re here.”

Robere had cleaned the blood from the stone floor and carried away the bloody clothes and rags. Now there was nothing to do but wait. Lexi had a bad feeling about things. She was afraid. Seeing Tiberius so weak and in such overwhelming pain had frightened her deeply. Tiberius had seemed so powerful, almost invincible, but now he seemed frail. She didn’t mind taking care of him, but she was afraid that finding and destroying the stones of power might be more than he could bear. She had to settle in her mind the fact that Tiberius might die before everything was said and done. It was a thought that made her more than uncomfortable—it filled with a chilly fear that she couldn’t hold at bay.

“You look beautiful,” Tiberius said weakly.

“Ti! You’re awake,” Lexi almost shouted.

“Master Tiberius, what do you need?” Robere asked.

“Wine, Robere,” Ti said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “And a little bread.”

“Right away,” Robere said. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

The elderly servant slipped out of the room, and Lexi took Tiberius by the hand.

“I couldn’t stop them,” she said. “Your father brought in healers. They cauterized the wound.”

“That’s good,” Tiberius said. “I couldn’t heal it.”

“You aren’t mad?” she asked in surprise.

“The Balestone’s magic repels my healing spells,” Tiberius said. “I might be able to heal the cut you made before you pulled the stone out, but I can’t do more. At least not yet.”

“Well, you’ll have to stay in bed, at least for a week or so,” Lexi said. “We can’t even think about leaving—”

“No,” Tiberius said. “We have to go. I can rest on the journey south.”

“Tiberius, think about what you’re saying. You’re hurt, and so is Rafe. We can’t travel until you’re both well.”

“I’ll heal Rafe now. Take me to him.”

Tiberius struggled to sit up, but Lexi held him down.

“No,” she said.

“Lexi, listen to me. My father may have already sent word to Leonosis that we’re here. If we wait, we could find ourselves surrounded.”

“You have to take care of yourself,” Lexi said. “You almost died.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Tiberius said, his face sweaty and pale from the pain.

“Why are you so stubborn?”

“I’m not being stubborn. I just don’t want you or Olyva or anyone else to be hurt because of me.”

“You can’t fight all by yourself, Ti,” Lexi said. “Let me help you.”

“I want your help,” he said. “I need you more than ever, Lexi, but the Balestone is evil. I know that now more than ever. You saw the havoc it caused in the wrong hands. We have to get the Emerystone and make sure that the portal to the Nether Realm is closed forever.”

“I don’t understand,” Lexi said, feeling a little defeated.

“That’s okay. I’ll explain everything to you soon. Right now, I need to help Rafe. Then we can make our plans.”

“Fine, I’ll have him brought to you,” Lexi said. “You stay here and rest.”

“Fair enough,” Tiberius said. “I love you.”

Lexi felt her fear and worry drain away. She leaned forward and kissed Tiberius softly, then hurried from the room so Ti wouldn’t see the tears she couldn’t hold back anymore.

Chapter 35

Tiberius

When he first woke up, all he could think of was pain. His back felt as if it were on fire, and there was a deep-seated ache that started in his back and radiated down through his hips and up into his shoulders. But when he opened his eyes and saw Lexi, he felt an immediate sense of calmness and strength. She was there, still watching over him, and that fact filled him with pride.

After sending Robere for food and Lexi to bring Rafe, Tiberius finally let himself summon his magic. He hadn’t been able to heal Rafe on the rooftop, and then he couldn’t heal himself after Lexi removed the Balestone. Those incidents had left Tiberius with an overwhelming fear that the Balestone had somehow robbed him of his magical skills. He still knew the spells, but he couldn’t move the magic into his own wound. He knew that the Balestone had left some residual, magical debris; he could feel that much. Even though the voices were no longer in his head and he wasn’t competing with conflicting internal desires, he still felt traces of fury and a lust for power.

“
Sano Sarcio Acies Deprimo Abscido
,” Tiberius chanted softly.

He felt the magic stir around him, then he directed it into his back. The healing flow immediately went to work on the edge of the deep cut in his back, and he could feel his body pushing the stitches out of the muscles and skin. His pain didn’t quite double, but it flared bright enough to take his breath away. He felt a sense of relief as he worked the spell, but whenever he tried to coax the magic deeper into the wound, it refused. The fiery pain from the cut vanished, but the deep ache remained. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t heal the area that had been in contact with the Balestone. It was as if there was a void in his back and nothing he tried would heal it.

“
Acies Penetralis Deprimo Sano Crudus Viscus
,” he chanted, trying to cast the spell to heal internal bleeding. But the magic always moved around the small wound deep in his body, like water flowing past a rock in a stream bed.

Then an idea struck Tiberius. Lexi had told him the healers had cauterized the wound. Tiberius had a vague memory of unbelievable pain, the stench of burning flesh, and the sound of his own screams filling his ears. Perhaps the spell for healing burns would work, he thought. It was the most complicated of the Sana Magus spells, but he had successfully cast the spell before.

“
Acies Sano Cuticula, Acies Penetralis Resarcio Viscus
,” he said, repeating the spell over and over.

He pushed the magic toward his wound. He could feel the charred flesh deep inside his back. He could even feel the blood flowing through his veins and the organs working around the wound, but the small pocket where the Balestone had been lodged refused to be healed. It was like a ruined eye socket, weak and weepy. The residual evil of the stone clung to the charred flesh like a sticky residue, stubbornly refusing to be swept away by Tiberius’ healing spells.

Finally, after several minutes of intense effort, Tiberius gave up. He felt better and was able to raise himself up to a sitting position on the bed without help. There was still a lot of pain, a horrid, deep ache, and as he moved, the muscles in his back quivered, threatening to spasm.

He untied the bandage that the healers had wrapped around his body and with one hand felt his back where the cut had been. Now there was nothing but smooth flesh. Robere came in with a tray but immediately set the tray down and hurried over to the bed.

“Master Tiberius, you mustn’t,” he said in a shrill voice.

“It’s okay,” Ti explained.

He had to turn slightly so that Robere could see his back. The old man was speechless. He reached out with a trembling hand and touched the place that had been sliced open and was now perfectly smooth flesh, without even a mark to show where the cut had been.

“What about the stitches?” Robere asked.

“The spell pushed them out,” Tiberius said.

“So you’re healed,” the servant said. “The way you healed me?”

“Not exactly,” Tiberius said. “I could only heal the cut Lexi made, not the wound the stone left in me.”

Robere looked at the Balestone still covered in Ti’s blood in the corner of the room.

“I should throw it out,” Robere said. “I can take it up to the wall and cast it out into the mist,” he said.

“No,” Tiberius reassured the elderly servant. “The Balestone has to be destroyed. That’s my task. But it can’t be done here. I have to go far to the south first. Far away from Avondale.”

“But this is where you belong, my lord,” Robere said.

“Not anymore,” Tiberius said. “I’ve seen too much. Besides, I doubt the city would accept me the way that you have.”

“They would love you, lord, if they knew you as I do.”

“Perhaps, but Leo will hunt me down wherever I go. If I stay here, the whole city would be in danger. I can’t do that.”

“I see. But you won’t leave right away, will you? Surely you can stay for a while?”

“I will heal Rafe and see my father,” Tiberius said. “Then we must leave. Every moment that I wait gives our enemy time to find us.”

“Who is your enemy, lord?” Robere asked. “Surely not your own brother?”

“You above all people know how dangerous Leonosis is,” Tiberius said, thinking of how his older brother had tortured the helpless, elderly servant. “But I don’t think Leo is acting alone. The princess—I mean, Queen Ariel—is a sorceress. I believe she has summoned a powerful spirit being to our world and now the creature looks to enslave us all. The only way to stop him is by destroying the stone.”

“Your father should give you his war band. A thousand soldiers could stop this monster.”

Tiberius smiled. He knew that Robere couldn’t fathom the depths of their enemy’s power, but he would put all his trust in Tiberius without hesitation.

“You brought food?” Tiberius asked.

“Yes, of course. Wine, just as you asked. Fresh bread, some cheese, and fruit, as well.”

“Help me into a chair. I don’t want to stay on the bed.”

“Are you sure?” Robere asked, the concern evident in his voice.

“Yes, positive,” Tiberius said.

Robere took his arm, and Tiberius stood up slowly. The muscles in his back threatened to cramp, and the deep pain throbbed, but after a moment Tiberius felt strong enough to stand on his own. He walked slowly toward the tray of food while Robere moved one of the wooden chairs back to the table. Tiberius sat down on the edge of the chair, not letting his back touch the hard backrest of the chair.

“A pillow perhaps, my lord?”