by Eric Vall
“Well ye’d be dead, for one.” He gave me a hard look. “That stunt you pulled back there, with the cave-in,” he continued and shook his head. “That there was bullshit. Don’t do that again.”
I gave him a wry smile. “Don’t worry, Aurora gave me hell for it.”
“Uh-huh, and she’s damn near in love with me over it. Better watch yourself,” he taunted with a smirk.
I raised an eyebrow, but the half-ogre laughed heartily and elbowed me in the side. When I winced, he put his hands up and rose.
“Alright, I better leave ye’ to it, before I reopen that back of yours,” he said and turned to rejoin the others.
“Before you what?” I asked with a furrowed brow.
“Nothin’, you just uh … you just rest up, yeah?” he called over his shoulder.
Shoshanne’s face looked vaguely irritated by the half-ogre’s words.
“Did he say reopen?” I asked uneasily. “Is my fucking back split open right now?”
The Aer Mage shook her copper curls and continued to mix a poultice in a bowl on her lap. “No … I closed it.”
“Shit,” I sighed and let my head fall back against the wall of the cave.
Having to abandon the train meant we’d be hoofing it to the capital, and who knew how long that would take us. If I was that badly injured, it’d be several days wasted while I was stuck in a sick bed. Now that the tunnel was nearly done, the threat of the ice giants loomed in my mind, and I was eager to help rid the dwarves of the violence that threatened their race. I didn’t even doubt I’d find the same cryptic rune etched in the icy flesh of the giants. I had no idea how many dwarves had died already in the last few months, but after spending time with Thrungrig’s group, and seeing how knowledgeable and downright decent they were, I didn’t want to waste another minute.
The Master had done enough to these mountains.
Now, it was my turn.
I felt a soft hand on my arm and looked to see Shoshanne’s warm brown eyes beside me. They were bright and reassuring.
“Don’t worry, Mason,” she told me with a smile. “You’re just fine. I promise. I’ll have you healed as quickly as I can manage.”
I looked at her closely and saw sincerity in her face. Her lips were full and curled sweetly at the corners, and her long copper lashes rimmed her steady gaze in the torchlight in a way that made the brown look almost amber. Everything about her looked warm and soft and sure.
I reached my hand up without thought and brushed lightly along the caramel-skinned beauty’s cheek, and although her smile flickered, she didn’t pull away. Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed, and I let my finger trace the edge of her jaw and the plush line of her bottom lip. Then I looked into her eyes and found that longing burned in them as her pupils expanded slightly. I ached to kiss her, but I gently removed my hand instead.
“Thank you,” I said.
Her eyes sparked at the words, and the sweet smile returned. “You’re welcome,” she whispered, and the pink of her cheeks deepened to a beautiful crimson. She must have realized she had leaned in quite close to me, because she blinked, quickly returned to her poultice, and let her curls fall in a curtain across her face again.
I smiled, but I didn’t look away, and I watched her work for a while until the dwarves finally finished their work and announced it was time to move on to the mines. Haragh and a few of the dwarves worked together to lift me into a cart, and I ground my jaw against the wrenching pain that wracked my body throughout the process. Once I was settled in, we began to move camp, and Pindor softened the ground under the cart so the trip would be as painless as possible.
The young man’s head was wrapped in a bandage, but he looked steady on his feet and assured me the fall was nothing. I remembered the sound of his skull hitting the rock and knew damn well it was more than nothing, but I was proud of him for pushing on like he did. He impressed me more and more each day.
Even though I felt like a useless lump in the cart, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the group I had with me. I was also more than grateful that I had the best doctor in the realm at my disposal as I studied the sway of Shoshanne’s hips while she walked ahead of the cart.
As the troop trekked through the tunnel, I could see the construction was as expertly handled as I’d expected of the dwarves. I was exhausted, but I called my magic to the surface of my skin as we went and tightened the wedges by a few turns as we passed. Soon, the tunnel began to lighten in front of us, and within an hour, the sky finally appeared in the distance. I still enjoyed the electric sensation that the innards of the mountain gave me, but after the last day, I was excited to finally leave it, and a grin spread across my face as we exited the other side of the peak.
The arctic air bit at my cheeks, and the mountain range stretched out for hundreds of miles before us in the bright blue day. The dwarves stopped to take in the view, and I could see the pride on their faces as they looked across their land.
Thrungrig turned to call over his shoulder. “That’s the capital, off on the right.”
I strained to get a better view from the cart, and I could just make out a cluster of metal steeples tucked in a valley far off in the distance. My magic tingled as I itched to see the capital up close and get an idea of what the dwarves could make of a city with their extensive abilities.
“And over there,” Thrungrig continued as he gestured to the left where a path was just visible along the edge of a snowy cliff face, “is the mine.”
I could hear the pride in his voice, and if there hadn’t been open wounds all over my midsection, I’d have jumped from the cart from the surge of magic that pulsed eagerly in my chest.
Chapter 12
“What do you mean, you couldn’t see?” the half-elf asked.
Aurora, Cayla and Shoshanne stood with their arms folded and effectively had me cornered on a makeshift hospital bed. They’d refused to wheel my cart anywhere near the mines from the minute we arrived, and now I sat right where I’d been planted: a dwarf-made cave that served as an infirmary.
I sighed and explained myself for the fifth time. “I mean I was fucking exhausted, and my eyes wanted to shut, much like anyone who stays up too late. The air was for shit, those shrieks were deafening, and the whole thing was a bad circumstance. End of story.”
Aurora narrowed her eyes with concern. “I could hear and breathe just fine.”
“Well, yeah. You are an elf … ” I muttered.
The half-elf waved this off. “Doesn’t matter, the Terra Mages were fine, too.”
“What do you want me to say? You try laying steel tracks and building a tunnel on few breaks and no sleep, and then battle a pack of Naga. I’d like to see how anyone else would do, I really would.” I knew I was being a little short with her, but to be fair, it would have taken twenty damn minutes to just show me a mine before locking me up in a sick bed. Not too much to ask.
Aurora dropped her arms and let out a huff. “Exactly! Mason, what you’re describing is what everyone at the Order is warned about from their very first week. All of this, the brain becoming disoriented, the natural systems of the body not functioning properly, overload of your senses, everything, is exactly what they describe as the warning symptoms of fatality due to overstretching your magical abilities. It’s what I’ve been trying to get you to understand since we met. You need to rest, or you can seriously injure yourself.”
I started to think I should have never opened my mouth. I scratched my beard and feigned indifference as I said, “Still the same as working like a dog on no sleep. Trust me.” I was cool as a cucumber under the scowls of the beautiful women, but Shoshanne’s voice when she spoke shook my composure a little.
Her words were husky and unyielding as she leveled me with her gaze. “Wrong. Lack of sleep does not make loud noises cripple a person’s ability to see. Not to mention, Wyresus gave me a six volume series on the physical effects of magic on new and even practiced mages. Aurora’s right. You’ve desc
ribed the symptoms to a tee.”
I fidgeted a bit and tried to come up with a different angle, but the women were already resolved.
Cayla stepped forward and took my knees in her hands. “Lay down. Now.” She swiveled me before I could react, and Aurora and Shoshanne forced me to lie down on the rock bed.
“Well, if you insist,” I chuckled, but I was met with three glares. “Fine. I’ll be a good boy and stay.”
The half-elf looked closely at me, then said, “By the gods, Mason Flynt, if you leave this bed or use a scrap of magic, I will tie you down with those chains of yours and refuse to pleasure you for a week.”
My jaw dropped, and then Cayla nodded in firm agreement.
“Godsdamnit,” I groaned and finally let my head fall back. “Fine. No fun, no magic. Defender Flynt the invalid, at your service.”
Shoshanne chuckled, and the three women finally released my limbs. Then they walked to the wall where Haragh had formed a long shelf in the rock for Shoshanne’s materials. I could hear their low voices and strained my neck to find them in a concentrated huddle, but I couldn’t make out the words. When they finished, Aurora and Cayla came to my bedside and gave me a kiss on each cheek.
“Rest,” the half-elf whispered in my ear before the two headed for the wooden door at the opening of the small cave.
Before they closed it behind them, however, Cayla stuck her head back in. “Shoshanne’s under strict instruction to keep you from calling up any of your magic, terra or metal,” she warned. “By any means necessary.”
I raised my eyebrows at her words, but the door closed before I could respond. Shoshanne remained with her back turned while she worked on mixing something that smelled horrible, and I wondered how many shades of red she had turned at Cayla’s insinuation. She looked composed though when she came over, and she only instructed me to drink some nasty smelling tea.
I somehow gulped it down without vomiting, and then I sent the healer my most charming smile. She remained completely unphased, with her arms crossed, and just as I was about to say something cheeky, my vision blurred, and I went unconscious. I thought I heard a husky chuckle as I collapsed back on the bed, but I quickly slipped into a very quiet, and very wonderful, blackness.
I didn’t know how long I was sedated, but when I woke up, I felt like I hadn’t eaten or drank in a week. “Whaaat the fuck … ” I slurred. My tongue seemed like it was two sizes too big.
“How are you?” Shoshanne’s voice came from beside me, but when I opened my eyes, everything around me turned.
“What did you do?” I groaned.
“My job,” she answered cooly. “Here, sit up. I have food for you.”
I felt her warm hands slip beneath my shoulders, and I strained to pull myself up into a seated position. My back still throbbed, but the rest of my limbs were surprisingly responsive. Only my head was a complete loss.
“Do you drug your patients often?” I asked.
“Only stubborn ones. Here, drink this,” she instructed.
“No fucking way.” My vision started to straighten out a little, but I didn’t care how damn beautiful the sight of the Aer Mage was. I wasn’t an idiot. “You drink it.”
Shoshsanne sighed. “It’s ale.”
“Well then … ” I looked more closely at the mug in her hands, and the blessed hoppiness filled my nose. I snatched the mug up and drained it without pausing, and by the time it was empty, I started to feel human again.
Shoshanne had a smirk on her plush lips, as she handed over a platter of food next. The smell of fresh bread and hot sausage overwhelmed me, and I shoveled the steaming food into my mouth like it was my last meal.
“Oh my god,” I mumbled through a wad of honeyed bread.
“Good,” she laughed. The Aer Mage went over to her work table while I gorged myself on the wares, and when she returned she brought fresh bandaging material and another mug of ale.
“Bless you,” I mumbled, and I drained the cup while I worked on another bite. Once the plate was nearly empty and I had a nice buzz tingling in my knees, I finally took a breather.
“How long have I been out?” I asked.
“Only a day,” she answered with a shrug.
“Hmph.” I pursed my lips and crossed my arms. “And you didn’t draw any dicks on my face or anything?”
Shoshanne’s eyes bulged. “I didn’t what?”
I laughed heartily and waved her off. “It’s a joke, never mind.”
She looked thoroughly confused but gestured for the plate. “Are you done?”
“Uh … yeah,” I chuckled. “But I wouldn’t say no to another ale.” It had been another joke, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the Aer Mage rise and get me another frothing mug.
I grinned when she returned. “Best medicine there is.”
“Oh really?”
I was halfway through my mug, but I caught the coy smile she tucked behind her curls as she said those words. Then she laid the bandages on a table beside the bed, and I wiped the ale from my beard as I finished.
“Well, one of the best,” I amended. I watched the caramel beauty finish her work and obeyed when she asked me to lie down again.
“I need to rewrap these bandages,” she said. “It might hurt a little.”
I braced myself while she carefully slid a cold hand-knife under the edge of my wrappings and began to slowly cut them from my torso. I hadn’t realized how tight they were, but the release of pressure caused the dull throb in my back to kick up a notch. I winced, and the Aer Mage sent me a wry smile.
“Sorry. It is much better, though,” she assured me. “Look.”
I strained to get a glance at my abs and was met with a nasty greenish-black mass of bruises. “That’s better?” I asked.
“Oh yeah,” she answered with a smile while she finished removing the bandages. “That hole there was gushing blood for hours.”
I looked more closely and could see traces of a hole now closed up where my ribs ended. “Did my rib come out of there?” I asked uneasily.
“Yes,” she replied simply. “And two more came out the back.”
I cringed at the thought and laid back down. “Great.”
The Aer Mage chuckled as she gathered the new bandages. “Don’t worry. You’re done bleeding, and the ribs are well set. The bandages are just to keep you from shifting them for a couple days. Sit up.”
I did as she said and was careful this time not to curve my spine too far.
“How does that feel?” she asked, and her hands were warm on my ribcage.
“Not too bad,” I replied. “Bit sore on the back, but the front’s fine.”
“Breathe in,” she instructed, and I did. “Now engage your stomach muscles.”
My abs flexed, and I was happy the pain didn’t increase.
I grinned. “Feels fine.”
“Can you raise yourself up, with your fingers and feet holding your weight?” she asked next.
I tried, but my lower back shot a lightning bolt through my gut, and I collapsed hard onto the bed.
“That’s what I figured,” she muttered and went over to her table. I took deep breaths while the pain subsided and was finally able to prop myself back up when she returned with a poultice. “This will numb the area beneath the bandage, but that doesn’t mean you should strain your back muscles at all. The ribs are not ready for that yet.”
“Great,” I said through gritted teeth. The poultice felt like flames on my skin, but the Aer Mage massaged it into my back for several minutes, and her practiced hands moved in firm circles until the feeling in my back was gone. Then she began to rewrap my torso and had me lay flat so she could finish the work.
“What time is it?” I asked. The cave was lit with a few torches mounted in crevices on the walls, but there was no reference for where I was or what the day outside was like.
“Almost dinner time,” she replied. “Everyone’s in the eating quarters. I ate before you woke.”
I
nodded. “Guess you’re stuck babysitting me for a while longer?”
Shoshanne kept working but sent me a coy look from behind her curls. “Why? Already planning an escape?” She raised her brow, and the challenge in her eyes was distractingly sexy.
“No, ma’am,” I chuckled and gave her a mock salute. “At your disposal.”
“Good,” she said and finished the bandages with a satisfied smirk. Then she cleaned up her station, pulled out a large volume from a stack of dusty books on the far table, and began to flip through it until she found the page she was apparently looking for.
I smiled at the little crinkle on her forehead and decided she was even sexy when she was concentrating. How the hell this woman was still a virgin, I couldn’t imagine. If I had been in her class at the Order of Pallax, I’d have cut my own damn arm off just so she’d lean over me with that little smirk.
I took a deep breath and tried to distract my mind as I shifted to get more comfortable. My entire lower back was numb, but the rock bed under me wasn’t nearly as soft as the one I’d made for my lovers and I back in my workshop. No doubt Haragh had constructed it. The half-ogre was strong as steel and probably didn’t give a shit about how soft his bed was. I peeked over to the Aer Mage to make sure her nose was still buried in her book, and then I carefully called my magic up to soften the bed.
“What are you doing?”
I froze and doused the magic. “Nothing,” I said to the ceiling of the cave.
When the pages began to turn again, I tried an even smaller bit, just a tiny trickle, but a sigh immediately came from the corner of the cave, and the book shut with a loud thunk.
“Hey,” she said firmly, and then she was at the edge of the bed with her hands on her hips. “No magic.”
“I didn’t,” I lied innocently.
She cocked a brow at me. “I could feel it.”
I gave her a sheepish grin. “Won’t happen again.”
The Aer Mage narrowed her eyes.
“It’s just … ” I sighed and relented, “this damn rock isn’t soft enough. It’ll only take me a minute, honest. No effort at all, hardly--”