Freddie quartered the ground near the wall. The other wolves joined him in the other areas adjacent, all searching for the lost scent.
‘Found something,’ Dustin called and he wasn’t surprised Freddie dashed over.
‘My shirt and her dress,’ Freddie said clutching both to him. ‘She’s changed; she could be anywhere now,’ he whispered.
‘She hasn’t crossed the wall,’ Jim told him categorically. ‘She hasn’t had time to be far away.’
‘It’s your fault she ran,’ Freddie snarled angrily and advancing on the much larger lion aggressively. ‘You had to keep pushing and prodding her even when you could see she was already backed into a corner. What option did you leave her?’
‘She’s hiding something. I couldn’t take any chances,’ Jim said unrepentantly. The wolf rushed him snarling ferociously. The lion just managed to swipe away the attack before the wolf’s teeth latched on to him and did serious damage.
Wolf and lion were very unevenly matched but Freddie was not deterred. He was furious. His hopes of love, after so many years alone, cruelly snatched. The lion swiped at him lifting him bodily into the air. Freddie was up and snarling quickly but blood flowed from his shoulder.
Dustin began howling, Rupert and Johnny joined him calling for their lost one to return.
Freddie spared them a glance, the need to join them overcoming his blind fury and fighting instinct. Something made him glance back to see the lion charging him and already way too close to evade. Bracing himself for impact he heard a strange thud. The lion seemed to have hit a transparent wall and fell. Blood streamed from Jim’s nose but he was up quickly, shaking his head then looking around carefully.
‘What just happened?’ Drako demanded.
‘Someone put up a shield around him,’ Jim said and finally he sensed the presence he was looking for. ‘Come down little kitty,’ Jim ordered. The unblinking blue eyes up in the tree stared at him balefully, her anger palpable. She hissed baring her little fangs at him. Jim could see Freddie’s attention was completely focussed on her now. He rushed the few paces between them and flattened the wolf, pinning him down. He ignored Freddie’s yelp, the wolves and Drako’s protests, to stare challengingly up at her. He flexed his claws forcing a whimper from Freddie. A magical blast of force suddenly hit him. It knocked him backwards and off his feet. The tabby cat jumped to the ground and grew into a tiger.
‘Don’t try and hurt Freddie again,’ she growled standing between the two males.
‘So he is your weakness as you are his,’ Jim commented now understanding why Vako had once said that about him and Amelie.
‘Why do you say that?’ Natalya asked irritably. ‘We are not weak.’
‘That wizard knows you are not simply animus then?’
‘I don’t know what you mean. I am a wolf; you agreed that was what I was.’
Jim simply shook his head. ‘Come. We need to talk this through. I apologise for scaring you, I didn’t mean to. Now I have a better idea of what you are I shouldn’t feel inclined to be scaring you.’
‘Good. Then I’ll have no need to bloody your nose again,’ she said sweetly.
‘So what is she?’ Drako asked realising she and Jim had reached some kind of understanding.
‘Not here,’ Natalya said quickly. ‘Anyone could be listening,’ she added quietly. The males glanced round suddenly alert and moving quickly away from the wall. She met Freddie’s eyes nervously but saw no recrimination there. ‘Lean on me,’ she told him gently. He was a big wolf, she doubted she could carry him any distance but her tiger had a large sturdy frame and he was in need.
Freddie limped but kept pace. He was surprised that simply leaning helped take the weight off his injured leg. No one offered to assist the lion who also limped. But all he really cared about was that she was here with him. She had defended him and stopped Jim’s lion in his tracks.
They returned to Drako’s house in a tense silence. Freddie stood in the hall while Natalya went into the cloakroom to change and dress. When she came out the men had already done likewise and returned to their previous seats.
‘Freddie you’re hurt; you take the chair,’ Natalya urged him.
‘No, I’ll get blood on it. I’ll be perfectly fine down here,’ Freddie responded sliding down to the cushion on the floor.
She rather reluctantly sat down to face Jim, Drako and the other three wolves.
‘So what is she?’ Drako asked again.
‘An animus wizard powerful enough to rival Amelie I suspect,’ Jim said.
‘She’s like Amelie?’ Freddie asked.
‘Not exactly. Amelie is more animus biased, so she can be any animal she chooses. Natalya has said she has form limitations but the magic side appears to be very strong.’
‘I don’t have a magic side. I thought that was impossible for an animus?’ Natalya protested.
‘For an animus it is, but I don’t think that’s all you are. You have demonstrated to me a number of spells. Most designed to throw me backwards and flatten me,’ Jim added absently rubbing a bruise on his leg. ‘But they were strong spells nevertheless. You also shielded Freddie whilst holding cat form. You weren’t actually touching him or even right beside him either. That took power and considerable ability. More so than many of my experienced wizard students are able to muster. Were you taught to use your magic?’ Jim asked leaning forward eagerly.
‘I don’t know how I did those things, although I know I did do them,’ Natalya said slowly, puzzlement in her tone. ‘I wasn’t thinking about it; I just acted.’ She glanced round aware they were all watching her intently. ‘I don’t remember much of my life before I was taken from my mother and went to live at the manor. Father and my little sister had already gone abroad into hiding by then; I don’t know if they still survive.’
‘Tell me a little about the wizard.’
Natalya dropped her head her hand seeking Freddie’s hair. ‘I don’t like dredging this stuff up,’ she told Jim, then met Freddie’s steady gaze. That gaze bolstered her confidence enough to lift her head. ‘His father was a wizard, a junior type I think. He used to visit my lord and they’d get drunk together. Sometimes he would bring his son. They used to place bets on how quickly the son could hunt and capture me. Like any animus I was considered vermin and only good for being a bit of sport. They enjoyed setting spell traps to paralyse or trap me in a well or force me to take over from the donkey driving the smith’s air furnace. He locked me in the old grain cellar once. I was trapped there for a week. Fortunately I was found before I starved to death. And all that was before he became a man and learned other ways to torment a girl. So you see; he is hunting me for the hell of it, like he has considered it his right to do for years. If he has any redeeming features, I don’t know of them.’
‘Does this sadistic bully have a name?’ Jim asked through gritted teeth.
‘Nathaniel,’ she said. ‘Can you heal Freddie now?’ she asked deliberately changing the subject.
‘I could, but you probably could too,’ Jim told her.
‘I wouldn’t know where to begin,’ Natalya said quickly and nervously. ‘I might hurt him.’
‘Practice on me,’ Jim suggested and pushed up his sleeve to reveal a nasty gash.
‘Why?’
‘I can guide you more easily if I can feel what’s going on. Besides, he attacked me because of you. It’s only fitting you heal us both.’
Her eyes narrowed, not agreeing with his logic. But if she could learn to heal someone it’d be a very useful skill, especially with Freddie in need.
‘What do I have to do?’
‘Come here. Put your hands either side of the wound. Ok, now look at it closely. Send your senses into the wound. Does it feel wrong? Compare it to the flesh around it.’ Jim hissed, ‘careful, you’re trying to mend, not make it worse.’
‘Sorry, I was seeing how deep it went,’ Natalya apologised. She thought about mending the torn flesh and realised it was moving under
her gaze, knitting together in their right places.
‘Can you see any dirt or infection?’ Jim asked quickly.
She stopped and realised there was indeed a dark “wrong” patch under where she’d just healed. She called it out, forcing the flesh to part again to allow it out.
‘Stop hissing. You didn’t tell me to look for that before I started healing you,’ she told him. Moments later the bloody gash was replaced with a small sealed red line. She released his arm immediately unwilling to prolong contact with this wizard especially now he was no longer distracted by pain. She watched him examine the mark, probably more than superficially then flex his arm.
‘Is that acceptable?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ Jim said trying to keep his surprise to himself. She had accomplished this healing with minimal direction. He’d hoped she would drop her guard a little and ask for assistance; but no. She also didn’t seem drained doing it. But through their physical contact he’d taken the opportunity to lightly scan her mind. He discovered many oddly disjointed things in her mind. He thoughtfully watched her hurry back to Freddie.
‘I need to see where you’re hurt Freddie,’ Natalya said softly meeting his eyes. ‘Or would you rather Jim heal you?’
‘No,’ Freddie told her and began unbuttoning his shirt one handed.
Natalya stilled his hand with her own and unbuttoned the few he’d fastened. She gently eased the shirt off over his injured shoulder and looked him over. He had three other gashes marring his skin but they weren’t as bad as the shoulder. ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered ashamed of indirectly causing such pain. She glanced up at Dustin, aware he and the other wolf men had come over to see just how badly Freddie was injured. Dustin met her eyes and quickly urged the others back to their seat out of her way.
Natalya placed her hands on Freddie’s shoulder and gasped at the pain he was in. She gritted her teeth against the natural impulse to let go. He was hurt; he needed her. She set to work, meticulously cleaning any trace of dirt or possible infection from the wound. Only then could she help his body to heal, to knit muscles, torn sinew and blood vessels, back into their right places. She was very relieved to feel the reduction in his pain at each step, to know what she was doing was helping and working.
Freddie watched her, awed by her all over again. Soon his shoulder felt not only healed but as if it had never been injured. But her hands remained on him, her concentration still focussed remotely so he didn’t move. Then he realised he had other pains that had been covered by the excruciating shoulder injury. One by one his injuries healed and his pain eased.
Natalya sent her senses all over his body searching for pain or injury. ‘You’ve broken a lot of bones,’ she commented. She found a hard knot of scar tissue on his thigh that must have been a nasty wound and assessed it closely. The muscle hadn’t knit in quite the right places and the result was a weakness in his strength and a ridge of scarring. ‘What happened here?’ she asked feeling the scar through his trousers.
‘Someone shot me with an arrow. Wasn’t easy to get the damn thing out,’ Freddie told her.
‘Natalya have you just assessed his whole body?’ Jim asked.
‘Of course. I had to know he wasn’t hurt anywhere else. I don’t think I can mend that old scar just now though,’ she admitted. ‘Sorry,’ she said and now looked properly at how her mending of his body had turned out.
Freddie got to his feet and moved about assessing his body. He felt tired but fitter than he had in a long time. The injuries Jim’s lion had inflicted were completely gone. ‘My back doesn’t hurt, nor my foot,’ he exclaimed.
‘I found many injuries. The only one I can’t mend so easily is your leg. It’s knitted together out of alignment. To sort it properly it’ll have to be opened up and re-healed. That’s not something I fancy trying and I’m sure it’d hurt.’
Freddie pulled her up off the floor and hugged her. She felt rather limp in his hands and he quickly sat her down in the chair. ‘That took a lot out of you didn’t it.’ Freddie turned to Jim, ‘have you any more questions just now?’
‘Lots, but they can wait,’ Jim said. ‘She needs to rest. Natalya, will you please talk to us before you decide to run off again? We are all prepared to help you with that wizard. You know you do have the ability to never be a helpless victim again. But I rather think you could use some training. This is a school remember and you have definite wizard ability. Think about it.’ With that Jim left, returning quickly up to the school.
Natalya watched Jim depart thoughtfully. She wondered if she’d ever get a handle on his personality or know whether she could trust him. In lion form he was direct and forbidding but she understood him. In human form he seemed to fluctuate between gentle and welcoming and then distrustful and defensive.
She glanced back and realised all five men were watching her.
‘Do you need to sleep Natalya?’ Freddie asked solicitously.
‘Probably, but I’ve so many questions going round in my head.’
‘Questions for him?’ Freddie asked.
‘Some, but I’m more interested in your answers,’ she told him. ‘Jim does not bring out the best in me,’ she admitted wryly.
‘Were you truly going to leave?’ Freddie asked.
‘I don’t know. I just had to get away from him and be alone.’ She fell silent feeling a wave of nausea. ‘He’s done something to me. I feel different.’
‘Different?’ Freddie asked hunkering down beside her knees. ‘In what way?’ She sounded lost and alone.
Natalya put a hand to her head suddenly dizzy and had to close her eyes. ‘I’ve regained lost memories of my childhood. Knowledge and different perceptions are rushing at me and I don’t know why.’
‘Shall I call Jim back?’ Drako asked already reaching for Cassy.
‘No. I can’t face him so soon,’ Natalya told him.
‘Cassy then?’ Drako asked. ‘This sounds like something you need to speak to a wizard about.’
‘She’s busy with her studies and she’s helped me enough. I don’t want to interrupt her again.’
‘I’ve passed on your question,’ Drako spoke, his voice distracted as he continued to converse with Cassy. ‘She’s going to ask Jim for you. She’s just met him coming in and they’re going to his office. Right, here we go. She says Jim thinks someone has put blocks in your mind, hiding your true abilities and memories of them. It may have been done to protect your identity and hide your ability from being found and used as a child. He thinks he may have inadvertently cleared one of the blocks.’
‘Does that mean he thinks there are others?’
‘Yes, bound to be,’ Drako responded quickly having thought of that and asked. ‘At this point he says you are likely to feel overwhelmed and unbalanced. But he thinks it unwise to release any more until you’ve got to grips with this first lot. Once they’re all released everything should come into focus. You need to appreciate it won’t make sense yet, but there’s no point releasing everything; years of memories will be far too much to handle all at once. You should eat something; you’re looking grey, and then get some sleep. That will recharge you, which will in turn help settle your mind.’
Natalya eyed Drako hearing his tone warm and change on that last bit. She suspected that had come from Cassy alone. ‘Can you thank her for me Drako? That’s been most helpful. Now I know why he ran; talk about meddling after I expressly told him to stay out of my head!’
She got up nodded to Drako and left, Freddie as always by her side. Once outside and clear of Drako’s house she stopped to breathe deeply and centre herself. It wasn’t easy; her mind was whirling with snatches of people and places from her childhood.
‘How are you doing?’ Freddie asked gently. ‘What do you see?’
‘I have memories of people that my gut tells me I know and love. But I don’t know their names or who they are. I think one is a sister but I can’t be sure. It’s all so fuzzy. My senses have changed too. I come out here a
nd I see everything differently. I feel your magic pulsing like a heartbeat. The village is a loud jumble of pulses, then I look over at the school and feel them there too, yet they have a different, higher tone. It’s like many people each playing drums, at the same time, deliberately and in a way that ought to make sense, but I don’t understand the melody. It’s so loud and I can’t shut them out,’ she wailed.
Freddie wrapped his arms around her and felt her rest her head trustingly on his shoulder. ‘You hear me; concentrate on me alone. That should help your focus,’ he suggested. ‘No one with animus hearing can take in conversations near and far at the same time. You already know how to focus and turn down the volume for that. Maybe this new sense can be handled in a similar way?’ He felt her go still and tense in his arms. He held her guessing it was best not to interrupt. He needed to give her time to try and figure it out. He rested his face in her hair, breathing in her scent and enjoying the simple feeling of holding her in his arms.
Natalya felt his head lift; he was obviously looking round them, but he didn’t release hold. Nor did he comment in any way that she was clinging to him wordlessly in the street. They must look very strange; at least this was a quiet side street. She kissed his cheek. ‘Thank you Freddie. That helped,’ she told him and noticed a rush of feeling emanating from him as a result of her kiss. She kept hold of his hand and they returned to his house and inside away from prying eyes.
‘Tea?’ she asked.
‘Wouldn’t say no’, he smiled glad of something simple and mundane to think about. He stoked up the fire in the stove while she rinsed and dried their cups. Next he rummaged in his cupboard and presented a small tightly lidded wooden box with a little flourish. Inside were a stack of oat cookies.
‘These are good,’ Natalya exclaimed munching a softly chewy honey rich cookie. ‘Did you make them?’
‘No! I can cook well enough not to starve but baking’s beyond me. We have our own bakery in the village. Most of it goes up to the school, but if we’ve something to trade then we can have some of the good stuff. Otherwise they pass out the excess or the dodgy batches to anyone appearing at an opportune time. First come first served.’
Natalya: Wizards of White Haven Page 9