The Elder Blood Chronicles Book 2 Blood Honor and Dreams (33 page)

“What happened to him?” Jala asked, her
attention riveted on his mangled leg.

“His horse fell on him at jousting practice
this morning. He arrived here moments before you did,” Rose
explained and moved back down the table to stand at the man’s hip.
Withdrawing a slender knife from her belt she carefully sliced the
side of his pants down the injured leg and pulled the fabric back
to reveal the extent of the damage. Nodding slowly she looked at
Jala and raised an eyebrow. “Feel up to it? This is a big one. You
have bruising, abrasions, torn muscles, and shattered bones.”
Leaning over, Rose poked at the swollen knee and made a clicking
sound with her tongue. “That will be the most difficult part, the
knee cap is shattered and joints can be tricky.”

Moving closer, Jala examined the wounds and
nodded slowly at Rose. “I can do it,” she replied with only a
slight hesitation. “I’m not sure about the joint, but I will
examine his other leg first to make sure I know exactly what goes
where,” she added with a smile.

“Well, we are fortunate he has two,” Rose
said with a chuckle and waved for her to begin.

Carefully Jala laid her hands on the young
man’s wounded leg and closed her eyes. Slowly she drew on her power
and sent it into his body, mapping the tears and breaks as she
found them. Her healing on Finn had been blind fumbling, but over
the past few weeks, Rose had taken that fumbling and transformed it
into an efficient tool. She had assisted with burns and fractures
as well as infections and sickness in the commons. This, however,
was the most challenging case she had seen, let alone been asked to
heal. Her forehead creased with her concentration as she tallied
the total damage. This would be pushing her skills and she knew
it.

“You look concerned, Jala. If this is too
much, tell me now. Do not let this young man suffer for your pride.
If you heal him poorly, he will bear the marks of it for the rest
of his life,” Rose warned in a low voice.

She is testing my wisdom as well as my
knowledge then
, Jala surmised. Opening her eyes slowly she
moved her hands from the leg and looked over to see Rose watching
her with a knowing smile. Jala suppressed her own smile. The
expression on Rose’s face fairly screamed
You are out of your
league just admit it
. Jala looked back down at the young man
sleeping so peacefully and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes
again, she searched inside herself for the honest truth. Was this
out of her league? No, she decided, it hovered near it, but it
wasn’t out of her grasp. She could do this, but it would leave her
drained. She had come to realize during her training with Rose that
it was much easier to damage a body than it was to heal one, at
least for her anyway. Rose seemed to find healing as easy as
breathing.

Opening her eyes once more, she met Rose’s
gaze levelly and placed her hands once more on the wounded man.
Inhaling deeply, she called on the magic and sent it into the bone
first, calling all of the fragments back together. Piece by piece
she fused them as if working an incredibly complex puzzle. She knew
all too well from her talks with Rose that if she missed a piece it
could breed infection or if she healed it crooked the young man
would bear a limp for the rest of his life. Rose stirred beside
her, and for a moment her concentration lapsed. With another deep
breath, she pushed herself further into the healing trance and let
the rest of the world fade. Time lost all meaning for her as she
knitted bone and then the rest of the leg piece by tattered
piece.

“It’s just bruising now, Jala. You can stop.”
Rose’s voice came distantly to her as she was finishing the last of
the torn veins. “Jala, can you hear me?” Again the distant call,
and a pressure against her arm. Pulling herself back from the
trance, Jala became more aware of the discomfort in Rose’s grip and
looked down to find the woman squeezing her arm so tight the flesh
had gone white. “You have definitely mastered the trance,” Rose
said with a shake of her head.

Jala smiled faintly as dizziness washed over
her and she closed her eyes again. Her magic was utterly drained
and she still had a full day at the Academy ahead. Bracing herself
better against the table, she opened her eyes again and watched
Rose examine her work with a detached caring. She had no doubts the
man was fully healed. Even the bruising would fade soon.

Rose nodded slowly and moved her hand back
from the man’s leg and gave Jala a look of respect. “Very well
done. I am truly impressed. Are you all right Jala? You didn’t push
yourself too far did you?” she asked, concern creeping into her
voice.

Shaking her head, Jala smiled and tried to
find the will to summon words. With an effort of will, she blinked
her eyes and cleared her throat. “I’m fine, just low on energy. I
wish I could heal as effortlessly as you do, Rose, but for me it’s
like swimming with lead weights. I can heal complex things but it
comes with a heavy price.” Her voice sounded odd to her as she
spoke, almost echoing in her ears.

Rose nodded again, her expression growing
parental. “I think you should sit down now, Jala. It was wrong of
me to offer this healing to you and foolish of you to accept, I
think.”

“Are you not satisfied with my work, then?”
Jala asked as she moved to a chair and carefully lowered herself.
The feeling of vertigo would fade soon she knew. It was the same
thing each night as she filled the mage stones. This was nothing
serious, as Rose seemed to believe.

“I’m quite satisfied with your work, young
lady, and you know it. What I’m not satisfied with is the condition
you’ve left yourself in,” Rose said, her tone definitely parental
now.

“I’m fine, Rose. This is a condition I’m used
to. I fill stones every night and I have this dizziness every
night,” she assured her with another faint smile. “I don’t
understand why healing is so difficult for me. I thought if I
practiced more it would get easier,” she said, trying to keep her
words from sounding like whining.

“It should be, honestly, I don’t understand
it either, Jala. I’ve tried to teach you the most efficient ways of
doing things. It seems to me that healing costs you double the
strength it does others. It’s strange, considering your gift for
it, skill-wise,” Rose said with her own heartfelt sigh. Frowning in
thought, she shook her head slightly and then regarded Jala with a
raised eyebrow. “Perhaps it’s no fault of yours, Jala, but a quirk
of your Bloodline,” she suggested.

“My Bloodline?” Jala pressed, unsure as to
whether she should be happy that she had something to blame for her
troubles or depressed at the thought that this might be something
she couldn’t overcome.

Rose nodded eagerly, her mind racing down the
path she had formed. “Yes, you know such as the Firym difficulty
with elemental magics outside that of flames, or the Shifter’s
tendency to druidic arts. You know most of the Shifter’s cannot
even grasp the basics of arcane magic. I’m not exactly sure what
the Merrodin gift was.” She looked to Jala as her voice trailed
off, as if expecting her to supply the answer.

“I don’t know what my family gift is,” Jala
admitted quietly and shrugged at the Healer. “No one has ever told
me and I have never thought to ask. There has been so much to learn
already that, well, I just never thought to ask.” She shook her
head slightly as she spoke, amazed that the thought had never
crossed her mind.

“It’s likely that Sovann would know,” Rose
offered and studied Jala carefully. “I have heard rumors about the
Merrodin magics, but they are all rather dark. I’m afraid I never
actually knew much about them while they were ruling.”

Jala suppressed a snort of laughter and
grinned at Rose. “Everything about the Merrodin is rather dark.
Every story, every rumor, every piece of history I’ve dug up has
been dark. Why should their magic be any different,” she said, her
tone touched with traces of bitterness and disgust. Inhaling deeply
she closed her eyes and opened them again, reassuring herself that
the moments of dizziness were past. “I should likely go. I’m not
sure how long I spent healing that poor man but it’s no doubt
getting close to time for my other classes.” She stood slowly and
smiled at Rose’s look of concern. “I’ll be fine,” she assured
her.

“I’m afraid I agree with Wisp on your life,
Jala. You push yourself too hard and too fast. Be careful about how
much you ask from yourself, child.” Rose pushed off from the table
she had been leaning against and gave Jala a light hug. “I’ll walk
you to the door,” she said and motioned for Jala to lead off.

“You don’t have to, Rose. I know the way well
enough now and I know you have things to attend to,” Jala protested
but began moving toward the door none the less.

“I know quite well that I don’t have to,”
Rose said and followed along on Jala’s heels. “You know, I’m not
from any of the houses. I’m not noble by any means. The fortune
that I exist on was made by my father. He was a horseman of rare
talent,” Rose began as they walked, her voice perfectly
neutral.

“Truly, well then, I’m surprised you don’t
practice your arts on animals,” Jala replied with a smile to the
taller woman. She wasn’t sure where this conversation was headed,
but it was undoubtedly one of Rose’s pearls of wisdom.

“I did for a time, actually, that’s where I
developed my love of healing. I would mend that which others had
broken. My father raised and trained race horses, you see, and they
are started very young by most. My father was often mocked for
leaving his to age before running, but he swore by it. You see, a
young horse is full of energy and vigor and will run it’s heart
out. So many see youth as a merit when running. My father, however,
knew better. He knew that if you trained slowly and allowed the
horse time to develop you would have an animal that would run just
as hard with a chance of winning as well as thriving after it’s
career. A young horse’s bones are weak and they do not see their
limits. I’ve seen a young horse win a race only to die at the
finish line from a burst heart.” She spoke soothingly and regarded
Jala with the last of her words.

Jala nodded once and smiled. “I promise not
to run till my heart bursts Rose. Thank you for the warning. I push
myself, I admit that freely, but I don’t ask more of myself than I
see others demand of themselves. Every morning, Finn trains with
his swords as Valor does with his lances. Neph and Sovann practice
daily with their magics and Wisp is always working to improve her
archery. With the exception of Sovann, all of them attend the
Academy as well. The only difference between them and me is that my
training is more diverse.”

“And that they are older horses,” Rose added
with an ironic smile. “They have run this race for years, Jala. Do
not believe for a minute that the rest of them left the gate with
the speed you are running. They gradually built themselves up to
the routine they now follow.”

Jala sighed and nodded her reluctant
agreement. “Well said. Rose. I’ll try to pace myself better. It’s
just …” She trailed off and shrugged, looking to Rose and wondering
if the woman would understand.

“It’s just that you have so much weight on
your shoulders now and no idea of knowing how much time you have
been given, Lady Merrodin,” Rose finished for her with a slight
frown. “I do understand, Jala, but I still worry.”

Jala smiled and gave the woman another light
hug. “I will never be able to thank Sovann enough for arranging
these lessons with you, Rose. Between the wisdom you offer and the
healing you’ve taught me this time has been invaluable to me.” She
spoke quietly with sincerity thick in her voice.

“May we have many more lessons, but for now,
you had best go. If I’m not mistaken, that’s your husband I see
waiting below on the street,” Rose said, motioning toward the
window.

Jala’s eyes immediately flew to the window
and Rose chuckled in response to her speed. It took her only a
moment to pick Finn out in the crowded street below. He was seated
at a bench across the street, arms folded across his stomach and
legs stretched out comfortably before him. Her first thought had
been that something was wrong and that Finn had come to fetch her,
but he didn’t look upset or agitated. Still watching him closely,
she focused on the link between them and received only patience and
contentment back from him.

“Nothing says true love like a smile such as
yours,” Rose said, her tone a bit wistful.

Jala flicked her gaze back to the healer and
shook her head, her grin widening. “I hadn’t even realized I was
smiling,” she admitted.

“That’s what makes it magical, Jala,” Rose
said and motioned her once again toward the door. “I’ll see you two
days from now. Try to find out more about the Merrodin gifts before
then if you can. Perhaps if we both work at research we can
determine why healing is so draining on you.”

“I’ll speak with Sovann tomorrow,” Jala
promised and quickly pushed out the door. As usual, Marrow waited
on the roof above and dropped down lightly beside her on the stairs
as she exited. “How long has Finn been here?” she asked as she
began to make her way down the stairs a bit quicker than
normal.

“Twenty minutes or so,” Emily answered, her
voice barely above a whisper. The Blight child’s voice was
different to her ears and Jala flicked a glance in the direction of
it.

“Are you well, Emily?” she asked, unsure what
it was about the voice that had sounded off. Perhaps the child was
simply tired. Her nightly hunting might be catching up with
her.

“I’m well. Worry about why he is here, not
me,” Emily replied quietly.

Jala nodded to herself, deciding to let the
issue rest for now. In truth, she was rather curious of Finn’s
appearance. She reached the bottom of the stairs as he was crossing
the street and leaned back against the rail, watching him approach.
Even when he wasn’t fighting, Finn moved with a fluid grace. She
felt the smile returning to her face and let out a sigh. It still
amazed her how just the sight of him could lift her spirits so
much.