“It’s Lilja,” I say. “She’s bleeding. She hurt her foot somehow. Ari and I don’t know healing spells yet, so we don’t know what to do, and we don’t want to risk experimenting on her. We need you to heal her.”
Runa glares at me. “Aren’t you two supposed to be the Seekers? Taking care of dragons is going to be your job, and now you’re trying to get me in trouble. If my parents find out—”
“Please, Runa,” I say. “We don’t know what else to do. It’s to help Lilja. I wouldn’t ask otherwise.”
Runa sighs. “All right, all right. For Lilja.”
“Thank you! You’re the bestest friend ever.”
Runa heaves an even bigger, more dramatic sigh. “Don’t I know it.”
Without another word, we run through the darkness toward the beach.
TWENTY-THREE
Even Runa is winded by the time we reach the beach. “I can’t believe you brought me all the way out here in the middle of the night,” she huffs.
But when Lilja comes into view, Runa freezes. “Oh.”
I can’t help but smile. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
“She’s gorgeous,” Runa says breathlessly. “I’ve never seen one so close before. And she’s so big! I thought you said she was a baby.”
“She’s still growing.” I feel almost proud saying it, like Lilja’s my own child or something.
Ari waves frantically, reminding us of our purpose, and we rush quickly forward.
Runa looks a little reluctant to approach Lilja, but I reassure her. “She won’t hurt you. She likes people. Say hello to Runa, Lil.”
Lilja eyes Runa curiously, tilting her snout in Runa’s direction and taking a big sniff, but she’s less energetic than she’d normally be, I’m guessing. She’s lying in the sand with her injured foot splayed out beside Ari, who’s hardly taken his eyes off it. “Hurry,” he says sharply.
“Hi, Lilja,” Runa says. Blue light dances across her hands as she calls upon her gift. “I’m just going to take a look here, okay?”
Runa and I both kneel beside Lilja’s foot, across from Ari, and Runa leans in to examine it. “Look, I think there’s a splinter at the bed of her claw. The skin must be very tender there.”
Now that she points it out, I can see it too—a sliver of wood embedded in her skin. She must’ve gotten it from the driftwood on the beach or something.
“Can you help her?” Ari asks.
Runa nods. “I think so. I mean, obviously I’ve never healed a dragon before, but it should be easy. The wound doesn’t look that deep. I just need to remove the splinter and seal it up.”
Ari and I watch mutely as Runa works. “Here we go,” she murmurs, bending low over the wound. The sparks of healing magic fly from Runa’s fingertips to the base of Lilja’s claw. I try to observe what she’s doing, but it’s all happening too fast. Ari’s hands are glowing with his gift too, as he uses it to keep Lilja calm. I feel like the most useless person in the world. All I can do is sit and watch Runa work.
The piece of wood rises from Lilja’s skin, buoyed by Runa’s gift, and falls into the sand. “I need some more light,” Runa murmurs. “Bryn, could you…?”
“Of course,” I say quickly, eager to do something to help. I let my gift flood into my palms, the green light springing up around my fingers, and hold my hands out over Lilja’s claw, illuminating the area as Runa tends to it. The lights of our three gifts—green for nature, blue for healing, yellow for empathy—cast skittering shadows across the sand as we all hold our breath.
Well, all of us but Lilja, who lets out a roar, raises her head, and shoots a plume of fire up into the sky. Ari jumps, but Runa holds steady, never looking up from her work. The flames stretch a few feet above our heads before hitting one of the boundary spells I just set, which promptly releases a jet of water to put the fire out. A fine mist of droplets sprays down on the three of us, and I duck my head as the flames are extinguished.
“Well,” Ari says, “at least we know your boundary spell worked.”
“Good thing,” I mutter. “What happened to keeping her calm?”
“You try keeping an injured dragon calm for five minutes.”
“Done,” Runa announces loudly before I can retort. “She’s all patched up.”
“You’re sure?” I ask as Ari leans forward for a closer look. “She’s all healed?”
“Yep.” Runa grins.
“Thank you,” I say, giving her a quick hug. “I owe you one.”
She smirks. “You owe me more than one. I can’t believe you brought me all the way out here for a splinter.”
“It looked more serious at the time,” I say defensively. “There was blood and everything.”
Lilja, who has apparently had enough of three humans crowding around her foot, spins away from us, spraying rocks everywhere, and trots briskly out to the sea.
“Not even a thank-you,” I joke. “We need to teach that dragon some manners.”
I glance over at Ari, who’s staring after Lilja with an odd expression on his face. “Someone else could use some manners too,” I say loudly. “I don’t think the two of you have been properly introduced.”
Ari snorts. “It’s a small village, Bryn. We’ve met before.”
“Barely,” I say. “Anyway, you just helped heal a dragon together, so you ought to say hello to each other properly.”
Runa rolls her eyes. “You’re starting to sound like your mama.”
I open my mouth to retort, but Ari cuts me off, finally addressing Runa. “So how’d you do it?” he asks. “How does healing magic work?”
“What do you mean? I’m a healer. It’s my gift.”
“I know, but… We’re going to have to be able to do passable healing spells, even small ones, to win this next round of the Seeker competition. But how do we learn that? What do healers actually do?”
“Why do you even need to know that?” Runa asks. “Two of the current Seekers are already healers. If you come across an injured creature in the Realm, you can just get one of the other Seekers to help. I don’t get why they make you learn all these different types of magic.”
“That’s true,” I say, “but think of it like this. Say I’m wandering the lava fields by myself and I come across a severely injured dragon that needs immediate help. By the time I track down one of the other Seekers and direct them to the injured creature, it might be too late to save the dragon. But if I know a few basic healing spells—like how to stop a wound from bleeding—then I can at least keep the creature alive long enough for a proper healer to get there and finish the job.
“I don’t think the council is really looking for healers this year, since they have two already. They don’t need a specialist. But they do want to make sure that we have a passing knowledge of the spellwork, in case we ever need to handle a problem on our own. It’s the same with boundary spells—Seekers with defender gifts will do the most complicated ones, but all Seekers need to know the basics.”
“I get it,” Runa says. “So you have to figure out how to heal without a healing gift.”
I nod. “Exactly.”
Runa bites her lip, considering this. “Healing isn’t all that different from either of your gifts, I suppose. The first thing you do is locate the life source of the injured creature or person and let your gift interact with theirs. You sort of… direct their gift to do what you need it to do.”
“I don’t get it,” Ari says, but I nod.
“It’s like what Mama was telling me about anchors,” I explain. “She said that naturalists and empaths and healers all have to anchor their magic to living things to do different spells. That was the secret to figuring out how to do a boundary spell with my gift. So you use their life source as an anchor, and then you shape it to fix the problem.”
“Yeah, basically,” Runa says.
“But wait,” Ari chimes in. “Do you use their life force to heal, or yours? When you lifted that wood from Lilja’s foot, it was your gift
surrounding it and lifting it up. And wouldn’t an injured person or creature have a weak life source anyway? Isn’t that difficult to draw from?”
Runa grins. “Now you’re asking the right questions,” she says. “Healing is all about restoring balance. Every life source has an appropriate level of energy. Healing is basically lending some of your energy to the wounded to help restore theirs. If you don’t lend enough, you can’t heal; if you lend too much, the balance gets out of whack.”
“That’s like the nature gift,” I say. “Tending to things and helping them grow is all about balance.”
Runa nods. “So what I just did for Lilja, for instance—I didn’t need to lend her very much of my gift, because her life source wasn’t that depleted by a tiny splinter. If I had given her a lot of energy, it would have been way more than she needed. Instead of funneling my magic into hers, I used it to lift the wood out myself. But if she were severely injured and her energy was drained, I would have focused on improving that first, by giving my energy directly to her.”
“But if that were the case, wouldn’t you still want to use your own energy to lift out the wood, so it doesn’t cost her any?” Ari asks.
“You could, if you have enough,” Runa says. “But remember, you’ve got to keep your own balance in mind too. If I give a lot of energy to an injured creature, then I might not have enough left to tend to the wound itself. So instead I would guide their newly energized life spark to do it, which wouldn’t tire me out as fast. It all depends on how everything is balanced.”
“We really need to practice this,” I say. “But it’s not like there are a lot of injured creatures around.”
Runa grins. “Honestly, Bryn, I’m ashamed of you. What kind of naturalist doesn’t notice the nature around her?”
It takes me a second too long to catch on. “Oh! You think I should practice on plants? But how do you heal plants?”
Runa shrugs. “They have their own energy, don’t they? And you can improve their health. What if you tear a petal off a flower and then try to reattach it, or break a blade of grass in two and then try to sew it back together, the same way you’d stitch a wound? It’s different from healing a person or a creature, obviously, but it’s something to get you started.”
Ari’s shoulders droop, and it takes me a second longer than it should to realize the problem. “But that won’t work for Ari,” I say. “Empaths don’t really work with plants. How can he practice?”
Runa considers this. “Why don’t you start by seeking out living creatures nearby, and then try to practice balancing their energies? Look for birds or fish or insects or something, I don’t know. Practice transferring energy back and forth and sensing whether they have too much or not enough of their own. That’s the first step of becoming a healer. The actual stitching of wounds and stuff is all just visualization anyway. The balance is the hard part.”
Ari shrugs. “Guess it’s worth a shot.”
With Runa’s help, Ari and I spend an hour or two practicing. Once I think about it in terms of a naturalist spell, healing makes a lot more sense. Nurturing the life sources of living beings is already my specialty; figuring out how to use that interaction to heal is hard, but not impossible. Ari seems to be getting the hang of it too; he practices balancing the energies of some of the crabs that scuttle along the beach. Lilja, meanwhile, seems to have completely recovered from her injury and is now rolling around in the surf, bathing herself with seawater and occasionally splashing us with it.
Successfully stitching together the sixth flower petal in a row, I can’t help but feel elated just thinking about how impossible this would’ve seemed earlier today. This morning I was convinced that I couldn’t do boundary or healing spells properly; now I can do both. Papa helped me a little, but I never would’ve guessed how much everyone else would help too. It was Elisa who told me I could use air for boundary spells, it was Mama who explained about anchoring my magic, and it was Runa who taught me healing. Without the three of them, I’d never be able to pass the second trial.
Finally, Runa calls an end to the practice. “I’d better get home before my parents find out I’m gone,” she says.
“It won’t be dawn for ages,” I say, glancing up at the sky. “You’ve got time.”
“My papa always gets up before dawn,” Runa says. “He says farmers don’t sleep. Anyway, I’m not sure I can even stay awake much longer.”
“Do you want me to walk back with you?”
“Nah, I know the way,” she says. “Stay here and practice some more.”
“Are you telling me I need it?” I joke.
“Most definitely,” she says, smiling. “You too, Ari.”
To my surprise, he laughs. “You should take over our training from Seeker Agnar. You’re a better teacher than him.”
Runa grins. “One of my many talents.” She waves goodbye to Lilja, then turns back to us. “Stay out of trouble, you two.”
“No promises,” I say.
Runa heads up the path toward home, and then Ari and I turn to each other.
“We’ve still got a few hours,” he says. “You want to just sit out here for a bit?”
“Sure.”
We sit down on the beach, and Lilja comes bounding out of the surf and nearly tackles both of us, flinging water everywhere.
“Dumb dragon,” Ari mutters, wiping water from his face.
“Don’t insult my dragon,” I say. “She’s had a rough night.”
“Your dragon?” Ari protests, but I ignore him.
“I wish we could go into the Realm. I already miss it,” I say.
“Yeah. Can you imagine what it’s like during the day?”
“It must be incredible. I can’t wait to see it like that.”
“Not going to happen, since you’re going to lose and I’m going to win,” he teases.
“You wish,” I say, with less bite than usual. “I just meant, it’s a shame we can’t fly Lilja into the Realm.”
“Yeah, but there’s no way. Just look at how noisy she is. Whoever it is sneaking around in there would catch us.”
“Yeah.” I sigh.
We’re silent for a minute until Ari says, “Thanks for getting Runa tonight. That was really smart thinking. And I had no idea she was so good at healing.”
“You’re welcome.” I can’t help but roll my eyes. “You boys, always thinking girls can’t do anything.”
“I didn’t say that!” Ari protests.
“No, but you were thinking it. If you’d paid any attention to Runa’s magical abilities at all in the past, you’d know she’s the best young healer in the village. If she were in the competition, Tomas wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Why isn’t she competing, then?”
“I tried to talk her into it, but she doesn’t want to be a Seeker. She wants to be a doctor. Anyway, it’s better for us that she doesn’t.”
“True,” Ari says. “Better for us that she’s on our side.”
It’s weird how he says “our side” as if the two of us can remain some kind of team. But I let it go. “She’s like our secret weapon.”
“Well, and Lilja.”
“We have more than one secret weapon.” I grin.
“Yeah,” Ari says. He pauses. “And we have each other, too.”
I have to swallow past the lump forming in my throat and can’t respond. Because he’s right, and also wrong.
We have each other for now, but it can’t last much longer.
TWENTY-FOUR
The rest of the week passes in a blur. I spend most of my time practicing spellwork for the next round of the competition. Ari and I both get better at healing and boundary spells, to the point that I’m sure we can handle whatever the second trial will throw at us. Who knows if we’re good enough to beat the other competitors, though. Neither of us will ever be as good at these spells as a healer or a defender, which means there’s a chance that Tomas and Emil might pose real threats. Only three of us can pass to the
next round.
These are the thoughts that have me picking at my breakfast the morning of the second trial, while Elisa chatters with Mama about one of the other village girls. Papa notices me listlessly prodding the food on my plate and leans closer to me. “Everything all right, Bryn?”
“Fine,” I say, sticking a small bite of fish into my mouth and pretending to chew.
“Not nervous about the competition, are you?” Papa says knowingly. “Surely the village’s next Seeker has nothing at all to be nervous about.”
“Definitely not,” I say.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with getting a little nervous,” Papa says with a small smile. He lowers his voice conspiratorially. “I certainly did during my competition.”
I look up. “You did?”
Papa laughs. “I vomited in the bushes before the third trial, I was so nervous.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Didn’t stop me from winning, though, did it?” Papa says with a wink. “Nerves are normal. But don’t let them prevent you from doing your best. If you can do that, I have no doubt you’ll win today, and in the final trial too.”
I smile. “I’m planning on it.”
Papa grins back. “That’s my girl. Now, eat your breakfast before it gets cold. Champions need to keep their strength up.”
I gulp down the rest of my meal with renewed vigor. Papa’s right, of course. There’s nothing I need to be nervous about. I’ve done all I can do to prepare.
Together, my family and I head for the arena.
The crowd outside is smaller today than it was for the first round. Probably because there are fewer competitors, so fewer families are attending. And some people will wait until the final trial anyway—that’s when the whole village will come out to see who is chosen as Seeker. I spot Elder Viktor and Aron walking inside, though, and my stomach twists. That means Johann is already here.
“Are you ready?” Papa asks, clearly thinking the same thing.
“I’ll walk to the back entrance with Ari,” I say.
Papa, Mama, and Elisa all give me a hug and wish me luck. I wave them into the arena and wait for Ari. He arrives moments later, along with his mama, who greets me warmly before entering the arena.
Seekers of the Wild Realm Page 21