by Cadman, Dean
Mr Daffer stood there with a look of complete shock and amazement, as the wound on Lusam's hand closed and vanished before his eyes. Once the wound was completely healed, Lusam wiped away the remaining blood to reveal a perfectly healed hand.
“How? How's that possible?” Mr Daffer whispered breathlessly, staring opened mouthed between Lusam's healed hand, and the two people standing before him.
“I told you, he can help Lucy with his magic, but you must promise never to reveal his secret to anyone. Ever,” Neala repeated.
“Yes. Yes, I promise. I'll do anything if you help my Lucy. Please help her. Please!”
“I'll do my best to help her Mr Daffer, I promise. But until I see her, I can't be certain I can cure her. You should know this before we start.” Lusam didn't want to give Mr Daffer any false hope, just in case he couldn't help Lucy after all.
“Please! Anything you can do. I would be forever in your debt. Please follow me, I will take you to her right away.” Mr Daffer almost ran out of the room, towards the dining room, where they had all shared a meal when they'd first arrived. Mr Daffer started to climb the wide curved staircase to the first floor, with Lusam and Neala following close behind. Lusam nudged Neala, and pointed up towards the incredible coloured glass dome, high up above their heads. It flooded the entire staircase with light containing all the colours of the rainbow.
“Wow!” she mouthed silently, almost falling up the stairs because she was unable to take her eyes off the beautiful glass dome.
When they reached the first landing, they were led down a long corridor to a room on the right. Mr Daffer knocked on the door softly, before opening the door slightly and peering inside. He then opened the door fully and gestured for them to enter. Lusam was shocked when he saw Lucy in the bed; she looked so pale as she slept. He noticed a woman standing next to her, administering a cool damp towel to her forehead. By the look of her clothes, Lusam guessed she must be a servant of some kind, and it alarmed him that someone else would be in the room when he performed his magic.
“How is she Lillian?” Mr Daffer asked in a quiet voice.
“She hasn't regained consciousness since yesterday, sir. I am afraid she may not last the night. Should I send for the healers again?”
“No. No thank you Lillian. Please, can you excuse us for a while. I will tend to Lucy for now.”
“As you wish, sir,” Lillian said, bowing slightly. She crossed the room, opened the door and exited onto the landing, before quietly closing the door behind her.
Mr Daffer waited a few seconds before speaking to Lusam. “I thought it would be better if we were alone when you did your … magic.”
“Yes, thank you. I appreciate that,” Lusam replied, very relieved he no longer had to worry about another person keeping his secret safe. He walked over to the side of the bed and sat down on the chair next to Lucy. He could not believe how nervous he was. It was as if the whole weight of the world was pressing down on him, and he had no idea if he could even help Lucy or not.
Neala could see the doubt and hesitation in Lusam's face as he sat there in front of Lucy. She walked over to him and held his hand.
She looked into his eyes and said, “I believe in you Lusam. I know you can do this. You'll do just fine.” She smiled at him, then gave his hand a final squeeze, before stepping back and allowing him to do whatever he needed to do. Lusam bobbed his head towards her, then turned to face Lucy. He searched his newly found knowledge for a way to begin, but soon realised it was obvious he must first find out what was actually wrong with Lucy. Focusing hard, he sent out his mage-sight to search inside Lucy's body for the cause of her illness. It took only a few minutes to find the problem. Lucy had some kind of growth in her body. It appeared to be eating away at the surrounding body tissue, and was also stopping her vital organs functioning properly. He also noticed the growth was slowly poisoning her blood. He knew he couldn't just break up the object, as that would surely kill her from the poisoning of her blood. It needed to be removed, but it was so deep inside her he had no idea how to do it.
Lusam retracted his mage-sight from within Lucy's body, and sat back heavily in the chair.
“What’s up? What did you find? Can you heal her?” asked Mr Daffer desperately.
“I found something inside her, and it needs to be removed. But, I'm unsure how to do it without killing her.”
“There must be something you can do? Please. Please try.” Mr Daffer moved to the other side of the bed and took hold of Lucy's other hand, while tears flowed freely down his cheeks and dripped onto the pristine white sheets. Lusam racked his brain for a solution, but all he could come up with was a crazy idea that he doubted would work due to its complexity. The only thing he could think of doing, was to create an opening in Lucy's skin and remove the growth that way. The problem was, the growth would have to be pulverized into minute pieces, so it was able to pass through the small blood vessels and routes necessary to reach the outside world. He couldn't allow the poison to enter her bloodstream, or it would kill her for sure.
He would again have to use his force-field magic, but this time, on a minuscule level. He needed to contain the broken up growth, and then manoeuvre it to an incision made in Lucy's skin, all the time, keeping track of thousands, if not tens of thousands of tiny fragments. If a single fragment was left inside her, he felt sure it could grow again and claim her life in the future. Thinking back to the days spent on the side of the river collecting gold, he knew his limitations in the number of object he could track and manipulate at any given time, and he also knew this would be many times that number.
Lusam explained in detail what he had seen to the others, and then told them of his plan to remove it, and why it was not possible, due to the incredible number of particles that would need to be dealt with and manipulated simultaneously. Mr Daffer sat there holding his wife’s hand, and cried in silence.
“There must be a way to do it. There has to be,” Neala said out loud to herself. She sat there for several minutes, thinking in a room so quiet, she could hear her own heartbeat. “Is it possible to remove a small part at a time?” she asked Lusam hopefully. “Then you wouldn't have to deal with as many parts all at once.”
Lusam took a loud intake of breath. It almost sounded as if he had been holding his breath since finishing his explanation. “I suppose it's possible, but I think it would take an awful long time to achieve.”
Thinking about the problem in more detail, he realised he could contain the growth in a force-field, then take a small portion at a time into a second force-field to remove from her body. He would also have to maintain a third force-field at the skin surface, to stop her bleeding to death while the procedure took place. He felt dizzy at the complexity of it all, and he also had no idea how long it would take to do. Could he even maintain his magic that long non-stop? He didn't know. If his magic failed, the poison would enter Lucy's bloodstream and kill her for sure.
He took a long steadying breath, then began to explain the concept of what he would have to do if he attempted the procedure. When he finished speaking, he was met with a wall of silence. It was obvious that both Mr Daffer and Neala understood the enormity of such an undertaking, and the potential risks involved to Lucy.
Mr Daffer stood up from his chair, bent over and kissed Lucy tenderly on her forehead. “I Love you Lucy,” he whispered in her ear. Then he walked slowly around the foot of the bed, and came to stand before Lusam. He placed a hand on Lusam's shoulder, took a deep steadying breath, and spoke what must have been the hardest words of his life, “Although I could never fully understand what you must do to try and save Lucy, I do understand how incredibly difficult it must be for you. But, even knowing that Lucy may die should it not work, I would still ask that you at least try to save her. Please know that I will not place blame upon you Lusam, should your efforts be in vain, and neither should you blame yourself if such comes to pass.”
Lusam could feel Mr Daffer's hand tremble on his sho
ulder. He sensed the incredible self control of the man, being able to stand there and request that he still try to save Lucy, even knowing if he should fail, the love of his life would surely die. Lusam placed his hand on top of Mr Daffer's, and looking him directly in the eyes, he replied,
“I will give it all I have, I promise. You've both given us so much, and it's now time we tried to repay you for your kindness.” Lusam's words were too much for Mr Daffer, he squeezed Lusam's shoulder one more time, then turned his head away, as a flurry of tears rolled down his face. Neala stepped forward to steady him, and helped him back to his chair next to his unconscious wife.
Lusam looked over at Neala, and she nodded at his unspoken question of whether he should begin. With a deep breath, and a prayer to Aysha to grant him the strength to complete his task, he closed his eyes, and sent forth his mage-sight to once again locate the growth within Lucy's body.
Finding the growth, he surrounded it with a force-field, and carefully detached it from its blood supply and surrounding tissue. Carefully, he repaired the area and then made sure there was no further internal bleeding, before beginning the long process of removing the mass. Taking a small piece of the growth and separating it off from the main mass into a second force-field, he began to manoeuvre the tiny object through Lucy's vascular system, and towards the surface of her skin. He had no idea there were so many blood vessels inside a human body; it was like the largest and most complex maze he could have ever have imagined.
Finally, he found a route to the surface of Lucy’s skin towards her lower abdomen. Parting her skin with his magic, and placing yet another force-field over the cut to stop the bleeding, he let the small piece of growth pass through the opening, and removed it from Lucy's body. Not able to break his concentration and look for himself, he just hoped that Neala was there to clean away the parts of the growth he was removing from Lucy's body as they emerged.
Countless hours went by, and still Lusam had not removed all of the growth. Neala had no idea how he was able to maintain his concentration for so long without even moving. If it wasn't for the small glistening specks of material appearing every few minutes on the surface of Lucy's skin, and the beads of sweat on Lusam's forehead—which seemed to becoming more noticeable by the minute—she would have assumed Lusam had fallen asleep, sitting upright in his chair.
Lusam was almost completely exhausted. He could sense his magic reserves were almost depleted. All he could think about, was a lesson he had been taught by his grandmother so long ago about the overuse of magic. She had told him: “Never attempt to use too much magic at once, for if the magic reserve of any mage becomes empty, it would surely kill them.” He knew that point wasn't far off, and would certainly come before he had finished his task.
His head pounded with the effort, and his heart raced at the thought of the consequences of failure. Lucy would surely die. Mr Daffer would be devastated at the loss of his wife, but most of all, he feared letting Neala down, by not being able to keep his promise of a life together. Without Lusam's magic, Neala would be once again forced to live on the streets. No! He could not let that happen! He would not let that happen! Desperately, he searched for an answer. All he needed was a little more magic, his task was almost complete, but he was almost out of time.
Lusam knew the magic within him would be replaced over time, like a leaking roof would eventually fill a bowl left to catch the rain. Everybody and everything had magic within it, and surrounding it. This was a lesson he had learned many years ago, but until this moment, it had not really meant that much to him. He needed to get some of that magic, and fast. Before his own was completely used up, and both he and Lucy died in the process.
“That’s it! Lucy!” he thought to himself. Lucy was not a magic-user, he knew that from her aura, but she would have a certain amount of magic within her, like all living beings. He just hoped it would be enough to complete his task. The trick would be, not to take it all, and end up killing her that way instead.
He had absolutely no idea how he could use Lucy's store of magic, or even if it was possible to do so. Running out of time, he once again prayed for guidance, before attempting to siphon off some of Lucy's magic into his own store. There seemed to be some kind of natural barrier containing the magic within Lucy, and it took him several minutes to find a way to penetrate the barrier. Once he eventually found a way to get through her barrier, he found it very easy to take her magic into his own reserve. It felt like a cool drink of water quenching his thirst after a long desert crossing. It was only a small amount of magic compared to what he was able to hold, but maybe it would be enough. Working as fast as he dared, he guided the last of the growth to the surface of Lucy's skin, before checking one final time it had all been removed. He removed the force-field inside Lucy's body that had held the growth, and then repaired the cut to her skin. With only seconds to spare, he opened his eyes and allowed himself a small smile. The room spun in front of his eyes, and his vision faded to black, as he felt himself falling. The last thing he heard was Neala calling his name, before the darkness claimed him.
Chapter Nine
Renn watched the agent of Aamon from the shadows, as he had done now for so long. He had been tempted many times to end the life of this necromancer, none more so, than when he had raised the dead body in that back alley with his dark magic, and sent it out into the city to do his evil bidding. The death and destruction it would have caused if Renn had not been there to deal with it, made him even more inclined to end the life of this evil man. Taking a deep breath, he steadied his overwhelming desire to kill him, and reminded himself of why he was here. Why he had spent over a year following this man in the shadows, sleeping rough on the streets and in alleyways, waiting and hoping, that one day he would lead him to the boy-mage known as Lusam, who held so much promise for the land of Afaraon.
Today, as he watched the agent of Aamon, he noticed some strange behaviour he hadn't seen before. He seemed to be walking several paces, then stopping, closing his eyes, using some sort magic spell, then walking again. He repeated this process for several hours, seemingly not concerned at all if anyone saw him or not. Each time he stopped, Renn could see his aura flash brighter with the use of magic. He seemed to be listening to something in the distance, and each time he stopped and closed his eyes, his head would flick slightly from side to side, as if he were trying to catch a distant voice on the breeze. All morning, and into the early afternoon, the agent of Aamon had been slowly making his way towards the east district of the city. Many people passing by had given him strange looks, and a few of the less savoury types had even thrown verbal abuse at him, but he never once seemed to notice any of them. Renn was sure he could have come out of the shadows in plain sight and followed two footsteps behind him, and still not have been seen. It was obvious he had sensed something that Renn could not.
Renn could sense magic in others, but he was no mage. He was a paladin of Aysha, and he gained his power through his devotion to his God. Paladins often wielded weapons of power and sometimes shields, both contained blessings from their God, and the strength of those weapons were directly linked to the strength of their faith. Renn wielded both sword and shield, his devotion and faith were unquestionable.
It was late afternoon when the agent of Aamon suddenly stopped his strange behaviour. He was standing in the middle of the market square with his eyes closed, when to anyone that happened to be looking at him, he seemed to simply wake up from a deep sleep. His eyes snapped open and he looked about at his surroundings, as if he had no idea where he was. He looked up at the sun, as if to judge the time of day, then took another quick look around him, before heading straight for an inn on the opposite side of the market square. Renn guessed whatever he was listening to had stopped, but couldn't be sure. As luck would have it, another inn shared the market square directly opposite the first. Normally, Renn would have to sleep outside whichever inn the agent of Aamon chose to stay at, but today luck was on his side, and he
could find warmth, comfort, and a meal inside the inn opposite, while he watched and waited for his quarry to reappear.
Renn entered the inn via the main entrance facing the market square. His eyes quickly adjusting to the dimly lit interior. The room was larger than he would have guessed from outside. It held maybe a dozen large round tables with stools and benches; which provided seating for the many patrons who currently occupied them. A large fire was set in the hearth at the far end of the room, giving off a pleasant smell of pine from the burning wood. Renn instinctively scanned the room for potential threats, but found none. Most looked like they were traders conducting friendly business over a lunchtime ale or two. The low down rumble of quiet conversation quickly fell silent, as one after another of the patrons noticed the strange man now standing in the room.
Renn knew how threatening he must look standing there in his filthy clothes, with a large shield strapped to his back and a sword at his waist. He nodded a greeting to the men sitting at the closest table, attempting to lessen the now palpable tension filling the air. If he'd not been on his secret mission to follow the agent of Aamon, he would have worn his sigil of Aysha in plain view around his neck. The sigil was instantly recognizable by anyone in the land of Afaraon, and would have clearly marked him as a paladin of Aysha. Paladins were held in extremely high regard throughout the land, as defenders of Afaraon and its people.
He had no doubt his reception here would have been completely different if he had been wearing his sigil in plain sight. However, he could not risk it becoming common knowledge around Helveel, that a paladin of Aysha was within its walls. If the agent of Aamon heard rumours that a paladin might be here in Helveel, all may be lost, and the last year spent following him would have been for nothing.