Healer's Touch

by Deb E Howell

  Aris tipped a sailor to load the horses safely and ensure their comfort for the journey. There was even room for Emylia and Anya’s carriage to go on board, the vessel was so enormous. On board, they had two rooms booked below decks. Aris and the boys were to share one, while Llew, Anya and Emylia would share a room farther down the corridor. Llew protested, but the rules on board were set. The only mixed rooms were for married couples and families, and the rooms for singles were clearly defined. Looking less than completely convinced themselves, Aris and Jonas assured Llew that Braph would let them make it to Phyos together. What happened when they docked there would be another matter. Still, the sea journey to Brurun, on the east coast of Phyos, would take a little less than a week so they had several days to plan how to protect her.

  Llew dumped her few belongings in the tiny room and returned to the deck. She had never been on a boat before and wanted to watch as they departed Aghacia.

  Sailors untied the hefty rope keeping the huge paddle-wheel at the side of the boat still, and the even heftier ties between ship and moorings were loosed and pulled up on deck. Smoke belched from the chimneys above and the wheel creaked and began its slow rotation. The ship slid ponderously from the docks. When the last human structure fell behind and the ship entered the wild waters beyond the harbour, so much smoke billowed from the chimneys that it sank straight down, enveloping the deck briefly before the brisk breeze could catch it up and whisk it away. Llew coughed into her sleeve and the ship rumbled and the wheel turned faster, water spraying up about the paddles descending into its depths, and cascading from the paddles rising once more.

  “Hey, Llew.” Alvaro joined her by the railing.

  “Hey.” She smiled at him. The awkwardness which had shadowed their interactions when Alvaro first discovered Llew was a girl had all but gone and they were settling into a comfortable friendliness. Alvaro didn’t even take offence when Jonas spoke to her, although Llew suspected this was mostly due to the cooling of the relationship between her and Jonas. Jonas was still inclined to stick close to her, but was mindful to keep things official: he was purely a protective escort.

  “Does it feel strange to be leaving Aghacia?”

  “Strange.” She tried the word for fit. “I guess so. I don’t know. Aghacia itself was strange compared to the little bit I knew of it.”

  She had mixed feelings about the journey. Part of her still clung to the naive hopes and dreams she’d planted for herself when she knew she had to leave Cheer. Phyos was a big place, with bigger opportunities. But then she reminded herself that it was unlikely she could take advantage of such opportunities. In order to stay out of Braph’s grasp or Turhmos’ bed chambers – or whatever they would do with her – she almost certainly had to allow herself to be imprisoned in Quaver. At least she would have Aris and Jonas. Except that they were both in the army and would likely be away a lot. She didn’t like the idea of being stuck with a bunch of strangers. And she wondered what Alvaro and Cassidy had planned. Would she see them again?

  “Well, soon you will have seen as much of the world as me,” Alvaro said. “I hadn’t seen anything outside of Kas or Rakun until we got on the ship to Aghacia.” He turned to her, leaning casually on the rail. “Have you decided what you’ll do when this is all over?”

  “Aris wants me to go to Quaver.”

  “Aris? Or Jonas?”

  “Aris.”

  “What happened to exploring Phyos?”

  “I guess I’ll have to wait until it’s safe for me to do so.” She leaned one forearm on the railing, facing him.

  “What makes you think that’ll happen in your lifetime?” He almost sounded angry. “You should be able to travel. With a companion who can protect you.”

  “You?”

  His shrug failed to convey nonchalance.

  “I wouldn’t attract any trouble of my own.”

  Llew nodded at him and then rolled so she leaned on both forearms, returning her gaze to the sea. She had yet to see Jonas attract trouble he couldn’t deal with. But she could understand Alvaro’s need to hold an advantage in the face of a superior opponent. Superior physically, at least. They stood in silence, watching the ship slice through the waves while sea birds glided above.

  “Look!” Alvaro pointed to the sky. “That one’s an albatross. Look at that wing span.”

  Llew stared in awe at the bird above. Unconsciously, she spread her arms and Alvaro laughed. It was hard to tell from this distance, but she was almost sure the bird’s wings would out-span her arms.

  Llew and Alvaro stayed by the rail or wandered the deck most of the day, only going inside when lunch was served. Their little rooms felt too cramped for Llew to spend any great deal of time in hers. Jonas didn’t enjoy the boat ride so much and opted for his bunk. The ride down from Cheer had been tiring for all of them and he welcomed the chance to lie down; although, from the occasional groans he emitted, Llew suspected there was more to his discomfort than fatigue.

  The sun shone, and the warmth in it made up for the breeze skipping off the water.

  A couple of times a chill ran through Llew that had nothing to do with the sea breeze. She found herself looking over her shoulder often with the same result: nothing out of the ordinary. When would Braph make his move? If he did anything on the ship, he had nowhere to go, nowhere to take Llew, so she made herself relax in the knowledge that she had a few days of real freedom left. She didn’t know what faced her on Phyos, but at sea she could just be Llew, spending time with her friends. And they were her friends. Her lips quirked up at that thought. Kynas had been a friend too.

  “Oh! What are those?” Grey shadows kept pace with the ship, and now and then one would break the surface to dive back under.

  “They’re dolphins.” Alvaro grinned at her wonder. “Pretty, aren’t they?”

  Then without a word he seemed to leap over the railing. Only he didn’t leap. It was as if a giant unseen hand grabbed him, dragging him across the rail. He flailed wildly and thumped into the turning wheel, following its arc down into the water below. Llew gawped at the spot where he’d disappeared; a few bubbles floated to the surface, but otherwise there was no sign of him. Her mouth hanging half open, Llew was frozen to the spot. The wheel continued to turn, driven by the steam engine below deck, each paddle striking the water with its flat edge and sending up a stream of bubbles just as Llew thought Alvaro had done.

  It took her a moment to realise but soon she was hearing coughing and spluttering and a great cacophony of water draining off something larger and more water-logged than the wheel’s paddles. Llew ran to the other side of the wheel where Alvaro hung, attached by the back of his shirt to the most miraculous wooden splinter Llew had ever seen.

  “Llew!” On seeing her, Alvaro tried to roll and stretch his arms out to her.

  Llew flung herself across the rail, clinging for dear life with one hand and reaching for him with the other. His fingertips brushed her own, but carried on past. Llew shuffled along the rail, reaching again and again until Alvaro was too high to reach. She dashed farther along the deck and waited for him to come down to within reach again. Alvaro twisted and squirmed, trying to free his shirt. Llew wasn’t sure how much of a good idea that was, since it may very well have been all that had prevented him being lost overboard entirely. Passing the highest point, he lost his grip and his feet swung down toward the water again, twisting his shirt on its hook and pulling it tight about his armpits: there was a tearing sound. Still he hung helplessly.

  “Help!” Llew turned from his second plunge into the watery depths and ran back to the rising side of the wheel, hoping he would still be firmly attached, but not so firmly he couldn’t be detached. “Stop the boat!” She knew it was a futile request, but she couldn’t think how else to save him. “Stop the wheel!”

  Unusually, the deck around them was deserted, and the time between Alvaro’s submergence and re-emergence seemed immeasurable.

  “Help!”

  “Lle
w?” Cassidy appeared around a corner.

  “Cassidy! Help us!”

  Cassidy cried out to someone behind him and ran to her. His face twisted as Alvaro came up, choking and spluttering once more, and Llew saw a reflection of the same hopelessness and fear she felt, though it was swiftly replaced by a determination to do something.

  Cassidy assessed the situation, and swore under his breath. “Hold onto me, I’ll see if I can reach him.”

  Llew nodded and twisted her fists into the loose folds of Cassidy’s shirt, hoping the material would hold together. Just as Cassidy made to lean over the side, a breeze from the wrong direction hit them and Jonas was there.

  Alvaro was coming up level with the deck again.

  After a brief assessment of the scene, Jonas leapt off the deck, landing on the wheel above Alvaro, then stepped back as if on a ladder until he and Alvaro came level with each other.

  Further footsteps announced the arrival of Aris, the ship’s captain, and a couple of sailors.

  Jonas freed Alvaro’s shirt, and his audience gasped as he swung one arm wildly, regaining his balance even as the pair reached the wheel’s summit. Still clutching the wet garment, he threw himself forward to grip a paddle, then pivoted, took hold of Alvaro and hefted him back to the deck. Alvaro didn’t have time to adjust for a good landing and crashed in a heap, groaning.

  Jonas stepped over a couple of paddles, keeping pace with the wheel, then leapt, half-landing on the rail before gracefully swinging onto the deck.

  Llew blinked, recovering from the shock of seeing such a feat, and dashed to Alvaro’s heaped form. Cassidy was already there, patting his cousin’s cheeks and looking for a response. Llew put her ear to Alvaro’s mouth.

  “He’s breathing.”

  “No kidding. I can hear him from here,” Jonas stated, then swore at the fresh blood seeping through his sleeve. He must have reopened his wound.

  He was right. Alvaro’s breath rasped in his throat, but he remained unresponsive. His face was grazed and there was evidence of developing bruising. Llew grabbed Alvaro’s arm and was about to clasp his hand when Jonas knocked her hand aside.

  “And who were you going to heal from after you fixed him?”

  Llew looked at him. If she healed Alvaro, it would only serve to weaken her, leaving her unable to help anyone else should the need arise. Anger flashed through her and she threw Alvaro’s hand aside as she stood up, wishing she could find a target for her frustration.

  “Let’s get him inside.” Aris took charge, and then he turned to Llew. “What happened?”

  “He didn’t fall.” She was certain of that. She was almost as sure of something else. “It’s him, isn’t it?” She watched the unconscious Alvaro disappear around the corner in the arms of several sailors and tried to calm herself. People healed themselves without her help all the time. He would be fine.

  Aris and Jonas looked at each other.

  “Why? I thought he would leave us be until we reached Phyos.” Llew was on the verge of tears. She’d just convinced herself the sailing would be easy and now Alvaro was half-drowned and unconscious.

  “Braph knows he can’t just swoop in and take you as soon as we land in Phyos. He’s likely tryin’ to weaken us.” Jonas must have seen Llew deflate because he moved closer and draped an arm across her shoulders. “Don’t worry. Braph can’t beat me, Llew.”

  She looked him in the eye; he believed it.

  Cassidy, Llew, Jonas and Aris fretted up on deck while Emylia and Anya ministered to Alvaro. He woke in the afternoon, but remained in his cot. His whole body was bruised and grazed, and the shock had him feeling faint and nauseated.

  Llew slept restlessly that night. Images of Alvaro going over the rail looped through her mind. What power did this Braph have that let him drag someone overboard without his physically being there? Yet Jonas was confident Braph couldn’t beat him. He would know, wouldn’t he? He’d been doing this sort of thing for years. But if Braph picked them off one by one while on the boat . . .

  Emylia got up a couple of times during the night to check on her patient, but she always returned soon after and promptly went back to sleep. Llew tried to take that as a sign that Alvaro was doing fine and that she should let sleep envelop her, too. She tried.

  In a half doze, Llew thought she heard a noise outside the room. She was counting her way down into the inky depths of sleep when she smelled something and her eyes shot open. Smoke! She shot from her bunk and flung open the cabin door. The blaze flashed into the room, ringing the doorway with fire and throwing Llew back onto the floor. There was a scream behind her.

  Cassidy, Jonas and Aris were there in an instant, thrashing the flames with blankets. Anya screamed again as the flames continued to spread into the windowless room. Llew held an arm in front of her face against the heat, coughing as smoke burned her lungs. The men backed out of the doorway when two sailors arrived with a water pump in tow, and soon the wash of seawater splashed across the cabin floor, soaking Llew’s back and sleeves.

  As soon as the fire was dampened down, Jonas pushed past the sailors.

  “Llew!” He knelt on the wet floor, reaching out to her. “Are you all– Ow!”

  “Sorry.” Her bruised backside ceased to ache and her lungs cleared at his touch. She was soaked. He helped her up before giving his hand a vigorous rub and clearing his lungs with a couple of good coughs.

  “What was it?” He turned back to the doorway.

  Anya huddled behind Llew, snuffling into Emylia’s shoulder.

  Cassidy scooped up the charred remains of something metal.

  “Kerosene lamp?”

  “Not alone, with this much damage.” Aris frowned at the blackened frame and walls.

  “He’s trying to kill us.”

  “Not you,” said Aris. “He can’t kill you.” Muscles in his jaw worked. He was angry, and at first Llew thought it was directed at her for being what she was. “His best chance of taking you as soon as we reach Phyos is to have you heal off Jonas. He can’t attack Jonas directly, but if you weaken him, there will be no one to stop Braph.” He looked at the two of them. “You have been warned.” Jonas pulled his hand away from Llew and nodded.

  It was almost sunrise and they headed for the ship’s dining hall, pausing briefly for Emylia and Cassidy to check on Alvaro.

  “How is he?” Llew asked.

  “Still sleeping,” said Aris, stretching to see past Cassidy.

  “Is that good?”

  “I think so.” He looked back at Llew. Then he patted her arm. “Folks heal without the help of Aenuks all the time.” He smiled. “And there’s something called medicine.”

  Llew smiled briefly back at him, not feeling a whole lot better. A girl was dead because of her and her power. Now Alvaro was injured because of her and her power. Guilt was becoming an all too familiar feeling. She wrapped her arms across her belly, as if that could protect her from a crazed magician.

  “The good news?”

  Llew cocked her head: There was good news?

  Aris continued, “His power is finite. We’re on a ship, surrounded by ocean. He gets all his power from those crystals, which he can’t replace without significant machinery. It can’t last forever.”

  “How many does he have?”

  “Don’t know.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Alvaro stirred around mid-morning, but stayed resting until lunch time. When he made an appearance in the dining hall he moved stiffly, and ate little.

  They stayed together as a group through most of the day, and never went anywhere as anything less than a pair. Despite being confined to a ship, they never saw Braph. This was disconcerting, because Llew was certain he was watching them all the time; he was watching her all the time.

  The sun shone from an almost cloudless sky and what wind there was remained high and gentle enough not to bother the passengers. Word from the sailors was that they were making good progress and might even arrive in Rakun half a
day early. Llew was ambivalent about the news. On the one hand she was looking forward to arriving in Rakun, since Anya would be safe, and the city sounded exciting. On the other, she was apprehensive about leaving the ship, finding comfort in the thought that Braph had to conserve his power. Chances were good he wouldn’t attack again. But the thought wasn’t enough to let her relax when bedtime came round again. She lay awake, tensing at the slightest sound, and Anya clearing her throat, or Emylia scratching her nose, nearly had Llew jumping for the ceiling.

  Anya slipped from her bunk.

  “You alright?” Llew asked into the darkness.

  “Yes,” Anya whispered, her voice light, barely touched by sleep. “Just restless.”

  Llew linked her fingers behind her head, heaved a sigh and waited for sleep to come.

  There was the sound of metal on wood. Llew’s knife, the one Jonas had given her before Cassidy was injured, was lying on a wooden set of drawers between the two bunks in the little room. Llew tensed. What was Anya doing?

  The crackle of feathered bedding sounded with Emylia’s gasp and Llew was out of her own bed and on the floor in an instant. Wet material tore, and there was another cushioned thump and a gasp, weaker than the first.

  It was too dark to see, and Llew flailed her arms before her until she found the frilly form of Anya. The other girl’s arms rose and Llew visualised her brandishing the knife over Emylia. Suddenly the earlier sounds made sense. She grabbed Anya and pulled her away, staggering back to the door. Anya continued mindlessly swinging the knife, as if Emylia still lay before her.

  There were no lamps lining the corridor, all having been doused for the night as a precaution: but now lamps were being ignited one after the other as sailors made their way toward them. Jonas grabbed one of the newly lit lamps before rushing to Llew and her captive. He snatched the knife from Anya, and she fell limp in Llew’s grasp.