Hidden Fire (The FIRE series Book 1)

by Rosemarie Cawkwell

  “Don, you really need a wash.”

  “I need a bath. Do you think Lizzy could persuade the Healer to let me get one?”

  “She could try, if you asked her nicely enough. Alex, get the door.”

  Lawrence braced himself as Alex let go and unlatched the door, pulling it open. A gust of hot, putrid air, overlain with the scent of incense spilled out. Donach coughed and lifted his hand to his mouth as Alex covered his own mouth and nose with his sleeve. Lawrence, supporting Donach could only breath shallowly and hope they could do something soon. It didn't smell like Danna had much time left in the world.

  The twins led Donach to the bed to sit beside his sister. He took one of the still, withered hands that lay on the blanket and closed his eyes. Lawrence and Alex stepped back, and looked around the room. The Physick had left his pots of medicaments in a row on the table under the window. Alex sauntered over to read them; some were like the concoctions his Mother made to help when the family were sick, but most were recent inventions. There was a mercury compound and sulphur powder, and ground up elder bark. No clean water though, or an unsullied cloth. He sighed at the stupidity of some people and left to find a pitcher of water and a bowl he could heat it up in.

  Lawrence watched his brother go and nearly followed; they'd find the water and pan quicker with two of them, but Don needed one of them to stay and help, so he turned from the door and returned to his friend.

  Donach had been silent, searching through his sister's blood and bone for the infection, burning it away with his Will, re-knitting sliced and infected flesh. Sweat dripped into his face, his body shook as the strength drained from him into his sister's dying body. Danna didn't move. He searched for her soul, chasing any trace in her body but found nothing. He looked around the room with his Inner-Eyes, seeing only the Twin-Lights of Lawrence, muted without his twin to share energy with. The room held no spirit life; he looked out of the window. Outside his Inner-Eyes say the swirl of ice blue spirits, whipped into anger by some unknown creature, and among them, hugging close to the window, buffeted and jostled by the wild spirits, was Danna, a brilliant red soul now pale and ragged about the edges. He had to let her in and tried to rise from the bed.

  Alex returned and set the water to boil. Donach gasped and collapsed on to his sister. Lawrence rushed to his side, waving a piece of paper over his face.

  “Donach Umari, come back this instant.”

  “Window.” Donach hissed between cracked lips, “Let her in.”

  Lawrence raised one eyebrow as a tapping came at the window. He looked towards it but saw no stray leaf.

  “Open the window, she won't last much longer out there.”

  Lawrence nodded and rushed past his brother, knelt still at the fireplace, to open the window.

  “You'll have to hold back whatever else tries to get in Don.”

  “I will, just so long as Danna gets in.”

  “Okay, on the count of three.”

  Donach nodded as Lawrence reached for the latch. Weakly, Donach counted down and prepared for the confrontation. He closed his eyes and opened his Inner-Eyes; with a final nod to Lawrence the window opened and the storm spirits came swirling in. Or tried to. Donach pushed back against them as he pulled at his sister's soul, searching out the bright red flame and pulling it towards him. He collapsed against her prone body again as the final wrench of her soul from the grips of the storm spirits overwhelmed him.

  Lawrence grabbed a pot of salt that Alex had brought back on a whim to use as an antiseptic, and poured it along the window ledge.

  “You can't come in here. This place is ours.”

  Catherine hadn't taught the twins much, they'd been too old and cynical by the time she'd come into their lives, but this he knew: salt borders could not be breeched by a spirit. He stood at the window, a green flame in the sight Donach's Inner-Eyes even as he lay apparently unconscious, negotiating Danna's soul back into her body.

  Alex looked up and smiled at his brother's back, his own green Twin-Light flaring at the sight. Donach sighed at the sight; his friends had such power, if they learnt to use it. The Duchess knew, he was sure, but these were thoughts for other times, times when they could be discussed with Danna. He sewed her soul back into her body, leading it to heart, brain, stomach and genitals, anchoring it in place with threads of his own soul, feeding it from his meagre resources, until her soul-heart beat again and her body-heart beat was strong

  “Clean her wounds with that.” Donach gasped out before fainting dead away.

  The twins rolled him on to the other side of the bed and pushed back the covers. Danna was naked from the waist up, a pair of silk draws covering her lower half while bandages wrapped her belly and chest. Some of the smog that had greeted them when they entered the sick room had dissipated with the opening of the door and window but an odour of decay reeked from the bandages.

  “We need to get these off her. What were they thinking, leaving filthy bandages on so long?”

  “Mother will have fits when we tell her.”

  “Do you think we should?”

  “It would hardly have help us if Danna died because our Physicks are useless.”

  “True. Get the scissors, we may as well cut these bandages off. And the rest of that salt.”

  “Sulphur powder?”

  “Maybe, let’s see what we see.”

  Lawrence brought the salt to his brother and watched as Alex carefully cut the bandages away. The smell got worse once they were removed. He looked over them quickly, assessing the colour of the puss and trying to remember what Catherine had said, before carrying the bandages to the fire to burn them.

  “Hmm, Alex, this isn't good, there's some sort of infection eating holes in her skin.”

  “We need to clean it, pack the holes and redress the wounds. Did you see any honey on the table?”

  “No, I'll go get some.”

  “Send a tube down to the kitchen and tell them to hurry.”

  The two men went about the task of cleaning the great gash across Danna's stomach in silence, knowing only that they had an important part to play in her recovery even now that Donach had returned her soul to her body. They cleaned wounds with boiled salt water, lanced and drained infections, cleared out the root and packed the holes with honey soaked cloth, washing the skin around her wounds with more salt water before re-bandaging them with new bandages. They washed as much of her upper body as they could and checked the sheets were clean. They were soaked with sweat, so another tube was sent to the servant to bring clean bedding. The servants arrived at the same time as the Physick, who, trailed by an anxious Lizzy had heard the rattle of doors opening as the servants arrived.

  “What is this?” He screeched at the twins who had invaded his domain.

  “We're doing your job for you. Lizzy help Don up. You two, don't just stand there gawping, change Princess Danna's sheets, these are filthy.”

  “But not as bad as the bandages we took off her. Those reeked with pus so badly we had to burn them. Are you trying to kill our allies, Physick?”

  The wrath of the twins as they faced to arrogant Physick made the man pale and step back into the waiting arms of Commander Laitano, who had come to visit the sick and heard the exchange.

  “Yes, Physick, why do you leave my Lady in filth?”

  “It's not my job to change the bandages, look to the servants.”

  “We shall.” Alex turned to the two women making up the bed afresh, “Who is responsible for changing bandages and bedding in the infirmary?”

  “We are Master FitzAlbon.”

  “And why haven't you been changing our guests bandages and bedding?”

  Both women paled and looked at the Physick across the room. They looked at Commander Laitano who's expressive eyes and strong grip informed them that they would be safe should the Physick have been involved.

  “Physick Moore, he told us not to, 'cause he wanted the pus for an experiment.”

  “And now it's
been burnt how am I supposed to continue my work?” Physick Moore snapped at them, wincing as Laitano gripped him harder.

  “Commander, take this man to the cells. In the morning, have him transferred to the Goal; I'm sure the Office would like to talk to him about these experiments that, had Donach not asked for our assistance, would have resulted in Lady Danna's death.”

  “It will be a pleasure. Before we go, how is Lord Donach?”

  “Worn out from his efforts, but he'll survive.” Lizzy assured her.

  Donach had started to come too as she had helped move him to the table, sitting him down. Still weak but conscious, the young Umari smiled at Lizzy and pushed himself closer as he giggled quietly. A blush rose in her cheeks and the Twin-Light in her heart flared purple. He looked at her with his Inner-Eyes, surprised. Lizzy didn't have a twin, as far as he knew, why did she bare a Twin-Light in her soul? He shook his head, assuming his Sight was off, but still the Twin-Light remained a smaller flame in her soul-heart. In her heart, he saw a tight ball of pure white light – the Source of the Fire she carried; he knew what that meant even if the Twin-Light puzzled him. Sometime soon Lizzy would burst with the Fire she carried. No one else, not even Katerina seemed to have seen this, though Laitano had said something about Lizzy having the Sight. He checked her brain and saw the Inner-Eyes pulsing but tightly bound. It had never occurred to him to look at her like this, and now he had he knew why his mother was desperate for this alliance. Such a strong Fire would shine like a beacon in the night to his mother's Sight, even bound as strongly as it was. These Alboni didn't know what treasures lived among them. The FitzAlboni were powerful, their Fires burning steadily, but something about Lizzy put even the twins in the shade. He put the ideas aside to look at later, and fell asleep on her shoulder, exhausted from the extended use of his magic, and from his recovery; he had only returned to himself twelve hours before.

  During Donach's discoveries the conversation had continued and a new Physick brought to the Palace to care for both, with strict instructions from Alex to watch them both closely, and change both dressings and bedding daily. A further tube was sent, a message to Catherine to ask for her attendance in the morning to advise on the patients’ care. A message came back almost immediately to say she was on her way with Elenor, who needed to see Healing in action, as part of her education.

  Alex and Lawrence carried Donach back to his own bed as soon as the servants had changed the bedding. His arm had gone numb and he couldn't move his fingers. When Catherine and Elenor arrived at the infirmary they went straight to his bed.

  “See my dear, the bandage is too tight. We must remove it. Do you have your scissors?”

  Elenor yawned as she nodded, it was well past midnight, and opened the leather case she carried. At fourteen she was quite mature, and Catherine trusted her with the medical bag. She took out a long, thin pair of extremely sharp scissors and proceeded to cut the bandage from hand to shoulder. Once free Catherine took her patient's hand and started to rotate it, feeding energy into his numb limb as she did so. Once a small amount of life had returned she let Elenor take over.

  “First we must have skin to skin contact, to break through the outer shell, like this.” Catherine tapped Elenor's forehead, waking her Sight enough to see the process with her Inner-Eyes as well as her body-eyes.

  Elenor saw the shell around Donach's body breech as she took his hand and felt their individual shells fuse temporarily.

  “Now, feed some of your Fire up into your hand. No, not so much.” Catherine touched Elenor and blocked some of the Fire she was feeding out of the Source in her heart, sending it back. “Now gently, gently, that's it.”

  Elenor Saw her Fire, a pale green the colour of new leaves, slide into Donach's hand and along his arm until it reached the wound that had disabled him in the first place. She saw his own Fire, stitching the wounds edges together.

  “Add some of your Fire to his.” Catherine's voice was far off, distant as her own when she answered, “Yes Mother.”

  The green Fire swirled among Donach's more practised work, adding crude strength to the fine strands of crimson Fire.

  “To his shoulder, then release the Fire to do its work alone.”

  Elenor, sent the Fire up to Donach's healthy shoulder and tried to release the Fire as she had been taught, breaking the link between her magic and her Source.

  “It won't!”

  “What's happening?”

  “Every time I cut it the strands re-join.”

  “Alright, I'll show you what to do.”

  Elenor became aware of another Fire mingling with her own and the flesh they healed. She watched as Catherine cut the threads she had attached to Donach's flesh.

  “You see, quickly, and draw the end back into your Source as you do it.” The ideas came across more clearly than the words, showing Elenor the way.

  Elenor saw, understanding at last, and as Catherine withdrew from the contact, she started to cut and withdraw the Fire into her Source. Once the Fire was in place, in her Source and in Donach's wounded arm, she returned her concentration to the join in their shells.

  “Take your hand away, slowly, watch it, be certain the shells are back in place. We don't want to leave an opening for something to cause you or him harm.”

  “Yes Mother.”

  All through this Lizzy and the twins had watched in silence; a faint muttering from the ladies was all they saw as first Catherine and then Elenor closed their eyes and started to manipulate Donach's damaged hand and arm. Lizzy felt an itch in her gut but dismissed it as hunger; they'd been here for hours, and at the Goal for hours before that without eating. It was amazing to her what a bit of massage could do to restore the use of an arm, returning blood circulation and some movement to the limb. Aunt Catherine was certainly talented and had obviously taught her skills to Elenor.

  The twins looked on, awed. They couldn't See clearly what was happening, but, as with their assistance to Donach earlier, they could feel something happening. It surprised them how talented their little sister was; she must have been having lessons for years. They barely saw their sister now, and hadn't spent much time with her in the last five years; her life, Alex realised, was as much a mystery to them as their activities must be to her.

  Chapter 46

  Lizzy watched as the triumphal procession made its way to the Hythe from the palace where the king and duke had offered grateful thanks and rich gifts to the leaders of the Umari forces, and a cash bonus to the regiments they had brought with them. Their brightly painted ships waited out in the bay to take them home to Umar and a fleet of small Alboni ships bobbed in the waves between the ships and the Hythe. Fluttering banners dressed the Hythe, hung over the seaward walls, and matching the flags hung from the masts of all the ships and boats tied up and out in the bay. A band played sea chanties to the waiting crowds held back from the Hythe by the Hythe Gate. The Hythe itself was lined with seaman and marines in dress uniform, while the royal fleet lined up to the south, preparing to fire a salute to their Umari comrades.

  “What a sight.” Prince Michael sighed.

  “It’s a rare one. I’m sure I’ve seen only one Alboni triumph in all my years here.” Catherine told her nephew, “It’s been such a long time.”

  John misheard the comment. He looked at his aunt and said, “Don’t be silly auntie, it can’t have been that long, you’re not old.”

  “You sweet boy Johnny. I’m getting quite ancient.”

  The children laughed. Lizzy sighed, it almost felt like they had something resembling a normal family life now. With luck, the feeling would continue.

  Lizzy Alboni returns in Fire Betrayed.

  If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review. Thanks.

  Visit rosemariecawkwell.wordpress.com for details of future releases in the FIRE series

  About the Author

  Rosemarie Cawkwell lives with her two dogs, Ezzie and Gyfa, a large collection of books and a couple of dragons in a smal
l town on the banks of the River Humber, and dreams of other worlds and other times. A writer for decades, she has finally got around to publishing a book, with the encouragement of family and friends.

  Hidden Fire is the first in a four-book series following the adventures of Lizzy Alboni. Rosemarie also writes historical fiction and crime, and has plans to publish several novels in the next few years. She is studying for her MA in Creative Writing and fits novelising around blogging and studying, reading books and writing reviews. She also likes to sew.

  Photograph © Nicky Cousins