Without waiting for any reaction he dropped to his knees and rolled over the body that lay below him. His Light powers fell away, and his Healer energies blazed forth, even as he felt sickened by what he saw. It was Andi, the Black Crag guard, the young girl who had trailed along obediently in his wake, who lay dead on the stony pavement, her torso viciously stabbed multiple times in an attack that must have been horrific in its violence and pain. Alec felt determination not to lose a companion so needlessly, and he focused his energy on resuscitating her.
Andi! Andi, where are you? His soul called out to the departing spirit of the girl. He dropped his Healer energies and engaged his Spiritual energies, then flung his awareness beyond the physical world, seeking for the path her spirit would have followed as it left the mortal realm. Andi! He broadcast his own spirit into the profound unknown. Andi, do not depart; let me save you.
He felt a tenuous sense of awareness, and sent his soul further from his body, feeling his own body beginning to tremble at his departure. Andi, don’t leave yet. I can save you. I need you yet; there is more for us to share, he said the words, not knowing why, and felt the approach of the girl’s soul, returning to him.
He extended some element of his awareness, a tentacle of affection and support and compassion towards the missing girl, and made contact.
Come back with me, come into me, he urged the other awareness. We will return as one, he promised, and immediately felt a confusing integration of her memories and personality into his own. Their souls seemed to merge, to integrate with one another, and for a long moment he couldn’t tell if he was Alec saving Andi, or Andi clinging in wonder to Alec.
Disoriented, yet relieved, Alec gathered together the strands of his own self-consciousness, and flung himself backwards along the long trail among dimensions, past realms that he could not comprehend, as he returned to his body, and then felt the jolting impact of restoration to his earthly vessel.
He had slumped over, his body momentarily ceasing its own functions in the absence of his spirit to drive it. But now it re-engaged, his heart pumping with abnormal vigor from the shock of reanimation. He looked down at the body beneath him, a body whose blood was smeared across his own body and hands now, and he felt the horror in Andi’s soul as she saw the damage done.
Both of Alec’s hands went down and spread his fingers widely across her abdomen and chest, then he released a jolt, a thorough discharge that drained the greatest volume of Healer power in the quickest burst that he could call forth at once from the energy realm, healing the organs, repairing the flesh, fighting off the incipient infection that was already establishing its place. He was running out of his powers. He had pulled so much, so fast, from so many different portions of the energy realm that he had exhausted his abilities. His Healer powers were trickling to an end, and he hadn’t restarted the spark of energy to make the girl’s body live. Failure was imminent.
Alec reached down and yanked the knife from the sheath on Andi’s belt and wildly sliced his arm, causing his blood to flow forth. He split the sleeve of the leather jacket that covered Andi’s arm, then sliced it too, banged the two limbs together, and used the last dregs of his energy to combine their bodies, attaching his flesh to hers, just as he currently had their souls combined, letting his heart beat and pump the blood that would circulate through all their combined veins, keeping both bodies living. There was a sudden new burst of healing energy that completed the task for him, binding the veins and closing the skin around the open graft.
He looked up and saw the face of John Mark above him, then he closed his eyes. Can we sleep now Alec? Andi asked him.
We can sleep now Andi, he answered within himself, and passed out.
Chapter 20 – Andi’s Healing
Andi was dreaming of crossing the plains, a dream that felt like a story, and yet her own life, too. Then she found Bethany beneath a crouching lion, yet she did not know who Bethany was, although she thought that Bethany was beautiful. Suddenly there was a new dream, a memory coming to the surface, a soft memory of falling and skinning her knee, crying for her mother, and feeling the wonderful comfort of her mother’s embrace, the soft warmth of her kiss, and the dream lingered over the feeling of love for her mother and from her mother; yet that dream too felt like it was a story she was sharing.
No, that’s real, I remember, she thought to herself.
The dream of the protective embrace became a sudden urgent effort to heal a girl with an arrow in her chest, and then a man whose body was in a cave. She was always trying to save, to heal, and she wanted someone to heal her, to love her as a child, to take away the loneliness she felt as she slept in the orphanage.
She was kissing a boy, her first kiss ever, after school, behind the trees. Then she was in a darkened ruin of a building, kissing a girl!
Andi was impetuous; she made up her mind and she was ready to act. When she figured out what was right, she was ready to defend it, and she would throw her passion into her cause.
There were horrible creatures, frightening, maddening in their inherent evil, circling her, then she was once again running down the gauntlet line, determined to pass the last test before she was accepted as a guard for Black Crag, naked in the snow, staggering under the blows that rained upon her from the dozens of guards in two parallel lines on either side of her as she ran.
She struggled to awaken, and found herself looking up at a lush tropical canopy overhead, as a girl with golden eyes stroked gentle hands across her abdomen, tending to wounds that delivered burning pain.
I want to wake, she thought to herself.
Sleep, Andi, we need sleep. Go back to sleep, she felt Alec’s thoughts within her brain.
I have such strange dreams, Alec, she answered.
Sleep, Andi, and we’ll both be better, his voice was strangely close.
Alec! There was panic in her spirit. I am not myself; Alec, what is happening? Oh heavens, am I dead?
Andi opened her eyes, and saw a dim ceiling above her. She raised her arm, feeling a drag on it that made her look over to see that her arm was hairy, and that another arm was growing out of it. She began to scream, then felt her mouth shut.
Andi, be calm Andi. It’s me Alec, telling you to be calm, you must, his voice was soothing. Relax and be calm now. She took a deep breath, or perhaps her body did it for her.
What is this? Andi asked carefully. Another dream?
Thank you, Alec replied. This is not a dream any longer.
You’re body was badly injured, dear, Alec said kindly. I healed it part of the way, and it has been healing while we have been sleeping. I imagine it is healthy and whole now, he said reassuringly.
But, he added slowly, I had to save your spirit and your body at the same time. He sighed deeply. I rescued your spirit first, before your body was ready, so I had to put your spirit someplace safe until your body healed.
Are you saying that I’m not in my own body? Andi began to panic.
Don’t be frightened Andi, Alec told her. There’s the girl I rely on, he added as she quelled the rising fear. That’s the Black Guard fighter I’ve counted on; you are such a marvelous girl – so much more than I expected!
I put your spirit where I thought I could keep it safe. Well, really it was the only place I had to save you – you are in my body with me; we are sharing the body, and we are sharing our minds as they mingle together. Some of your dreams are my memories, some are your own.
Here, let’s sit up, together now, shall we? Alec directed, and they both placed their hands down and pressed their torso upward.
They were sitting on Alec’s bed, back in the room at the estate. Both the bodies were on the bed, Andi’s lying peacefully next to them as they sat up.
We’re sharing your body? she asked Alec in awe.
When will I return to my own body? she asked immediately.
When I am better rested, I will have the power to help you return to your body, he explained. I need more rest, so that I c
an recover from, he paused, everything, he finished the sentence.
What did you do? She asked, then sensed his memory, and relived with him as the light came from his hands and killed the bandits.
I remember, she said, the attack, and through her eyes, Alec saw the band of thugs emerge from numerous shop doors all simultaneously, converging on the small group in the street, who were on their way to meet Alec, a few minutes early.
Alec felt her pain as the men stabbed at her, too many blades for her to block all their thrusts, and she suffered the needless inexcusable extra stabs slammed into her body as she lay on the ground in pain.
So what shall we do until you are rested? Andi asked. She looked down, and started to place her hand down on the flat stomach of Alec’s body, then ran the fingers lower.
“Andi!” Alec spoke aloud in shock. “I’m right here. Please, don’t,” he spoke in embarrassment and more, as he felt his body swiftly react to the stimulation.
So that is what it feels like for a boy, she said smugly, but did nothing more to add to the situation.
Are you rested enough to send me home? she asked.
Maybe I better try, he commented primly. We both need to relax. Your spirit must relax, and focus on the peace and serenity it felt when you left your body before, he instructed.
They each sat in silence for several moments, then Alec’s spirit wrapped itself around Andi’s, gently lifting her beyond his body, and into her own, with a smooth sense of transcendent stability in motion. He was aware of a flicker within his own body as the physical systems began to falter in the absence of his spirit. He gave Andi a jolt, withdrawing his spirit from her slowly, then rapidly, forcefully contacting her again, causing her spirit to seek refuge and to root itself back in her own body.
He fled to his own body, and discovered that it had crumpled back down onto the mattress. He rested within the physical shell, thinking about the comfort of having his body back under his sole control, thinking about the sense of safety and slight sadness he felt in the restored isolation of his soul from Andi’s. They were each separate now, and it felt different. He no longer found Andi’s memories floating around among his, or her urges making his body respond. It was a relief, and yet a great emptiness too, but even with the separation, he could feel and sense her.
Alec felt the mattress shift, and then suddenly Andi was laying upon him, and he opened his eyes to see her just above him, and then their lips were kissing, with an unimagined passion that they both shared, a passion that reflected their relief in the separation, and at the same time their mutual sense of loss from the separation, and a shared deep understanding and desire to please each other, even after so short a time of joint awareness. Alec felt shock, and yet acceptance too.
There was a noise somewhere, and both their heads pulled back from one another, and turned to see Salem standing in the door way, coming in to check on them.
“I see that you are awake,” she murmured with a stammer, staring at Alec.
“We just awoke moments ago,” Alec said in confusion, uncertain of the meaning of the stare she directed at him.
“You’re not Alec!” Andi said suddenly, her eyes open and staring down at his face. She recoiled, pulling back from him with such force that she pulled his arm violently away from his body.
“What do you mean? Oh, oh,” Alec uttered. He was still wearing the face of Salem’s dead husband, Cozen, the former marquis of Woven. With his free hand he pressed against his nose as his Healer energies poured gently into his face, reversing the changes to the hair and the lips and the eyebrows.
“I’m sorry,” he said to both women, realizing that Salem had seen a scene in which her husband appeared to be kissing another woman. “Salem, is everyone else okay?”
“Yes, everyone is fine. We’ve just all been worried about you. They’ll all be relieved to hear that you both are conscious and appear to be healthy,” she told them.
“Could you bring a knife we could use to sever this connection?” Alec pointed at the two arms between the two bodies in the bed.
“Immediately,” Salem said and pulled the door closed with haste.
“There’s the Alec I intended to kiss,” Andi said. “Since I haven’t kissed Alec’s face yet to thank him for saving me, I suppose I should start over again,” she leaned aggressively into Alec and pressed her chest against his as she pressed her lips against his again.
Alec returned the kiss, intoxicated by the taste of her mouth, enjoying the soft assertions of her tongue until there was a knock on the door, and Andi raised her head, looking smugly satisfied.
“Come in,” Alec cleared his throat and spoke. Salem entered with a knife on a tray before her. She placed it on the corner of the mattress.
“Everyone wants to know when you’ll be down, of course,” she said.
“This will only take a second or two,” Alec answered. He stretched for the knife as Salem turned to go. “Are you ready?” he asked Andi.
“As ready as you’ve made me!” she answered with a smile, as Alec placed the blade against the connective tissue.
“As soon as I cut it, clamp you hand around the cut to try to staunch the bleeding before I can heal it,” he instructed, seeing that Salem had already left the room.
With a swift motion and a sharp pain, Alec sawed the two apart. He dropped the blade on the floor and clasped the hand from the injured arm around Andi’s wound, while his other hand grabbed at his own wound, and he let his energies lose through both hands, healing the bloody cuts quickly.
“Let’s go see the others,” Alec said, slipping out of bed. “We can find out what the situation has been since we passed out.”
“Wouldn’t you rather stay here a little while longer?” Andi asked, stretching her body across the mattress with a smile.
“What I want to do and what I should do are two different matters,” Alec smiled back. “We shall discuss such things later. But right now our friends are downstairs waiting for us, and we may have work to do.”
“Such a party spoiler!” Andi answered, sitting up. “I told Marva I would bed you before this trip is over, and I’ve almost got you there!”
Alec looked at her in astonishment. “You’ve planned this for that long? Good Lord girl, you’re a beauty; couldn’t you have your pick of any boy you meet? You can do better than an old man like me,” he shook his head as he strolled to the door. He’d had no idea she had considered him in such a manner; if it was true, the girl was more subtle and devious that he realized. Even during their shared pairing within his body he’d not sensed any such intentions.
He was flustered and flattered. Andi had spent much time around him during the trip, he realized. She’d been the trained guard, the one with the most military experience and bearing, so he had expected to be with her a great deal. But he’d never thought to consider her action in any light but that of comrades, even after Hope’s single warning of Andi’s interest in him.
“We’ve not really met that many suitable folks along the way, I hope you’ve noticed,” Andi replied,” but even if we had, you were the one I wanted. You’re a legend,” she added enthusiastically.
Alec held the door open. “Let’s go,” he commanded her, put off by her comment. He did not want to be pursued as a trophy, regardless of the attractiveness of the pursuer.
Andi joined him and they walked down stairs together, where Bauer and Hope and Jasel were waiting for them. “Is Salem here?” Alec asked, wondering at her absence.
“She just left; she didn’t feel well, she said, and she didn’t look well,” Bauer explained.
“What day is it?” Alec asked. “Do we need to go back to the jewelers and try to complete the sale of the gems?”
“You fought in the street yesterday morning, and have been resting ever since,” Bauer answered. “After we brought the two of you back here and put you to bed, we took the liberty of taking the stones you had, and went back to the various jewelers to complete the sales.
“We were treated with considerable respect, I must say, once the bodies had been removed from the street,” Bauer continued. “All the prices were honored, and we have a considerable amount of cash in hand now. We just need to go purchase the building, as we planned.”
“What is the news in the city? Alec questioned. “Do we know if the marquis has done anything new?”
“The gossip among the jewelers was that the palace is locked up, with no one going in or coming out,” Hope answered.
“The city knows something is going on in there,” Jasel added. “People are nervous.”
Alec sat back and contemplated what to do next.
“And how are you?” Hope asked Andi. She turned to Alec. “You truly brought her back from the dead!”
“She was at the very limit of my ability,” Alec answered. “Another minute and I think her spirit would have been beyond my reach. Your call to me in the palace saved her life.”
“Your voice was powerful, my lord,” Andi responded. “I think I remember you calling me back, and I knew I had to obey.”
Alec sat in silence for a moment, suddenly remembering and wondering what it was about Andi that had brought John Mark’s face to his attention at the end of the rescue. The prophet would explain such an appearance in his own time, Alec realized, and decided to let the topic go for the time being, so that he could focus on more immediate issues. He needed to finish up this mission in Woven to fulfill his promise to Salem and the others, and then he needed to hastily begin his further pursuit of Kriste’s captors.
Everyone was looking at him, he realized, waiting for him to say something.
“I will go to the palace and find out what the situation is, and what it calls for. I think I should take Salem with me this time, and if the time is right, we can begin the restoration of her family back to the ruling seat,” he said. “Jasel, will you accompany us, and watch over our horses?” he asked.
The Caravan Road Page 28