Spellkeeper

by Courtney Privett

  Radella's face pinched as tears gathered in her eyes. «Will Daddy die, too?»

  «I don't know, honey. I don't know.» Benny tucked Radella's head against her chest, rocked her side to side, and sobbed. Crying was all she could do not to scream.

  28

  Tessen

  The gentle rock of the ship did nothing to alleviate Tessen's pain, but the warmth of Serida along his side did. So did whatever medication the orcan physician kept him dosed with. Insect hallucinations swarmed the walls when he took it, and he still felt pain, but the calming affect made it so he didn't care. He lay in the infirmary bed in sublime agony, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

  I don't like your mind when you drink that potion, Serida said, nuzzling his left hand. She was careful to only stay on his left and not move the bed any more than the waves already did.

  “Would you rather I lift the veil and experience the pain of snapping my leg in half in its full splendor?” Tessen mumbled. He slowly raised his hand from the sheets, then laid it on her side. It took too much effort to pet her, so simply touching her would have to do.

  No. I don't want you to be broken.

  “I am, though. I know it bothers you, but you just need to be patient and wait for me to heal. It's going to take a while.”

  Your bones escaped your scales. Can that ever heal?

  “First of all, I don't have scales. You have scales. I have skin. Second—or third, because I don't remember what points I've already made—damn it. I don't know if I have any more points.”

  A sigh and a monotonous voice dragged down the air of the infirmary. “Boy, I don't know if you're hallucinating or if you're talking to that gorgeous little beast. Maybe you need another dose of sleep elixir.”

  “That makes the hallucinations worse, Doc,” Tessen said. He slowly opened his eyes and watched the middle-aged orc cross the room to touch the back of her hand to Radamar's ashen forehead. The elf was still alive, but the physician kept him in a deep sleep to make it easier for her to open him back up and remove more of his organs. At least, that's what Tessen thought she was doing. His confusion over Radamar's treatment may have only been a product of the nightmares and hallucinations. “Doc, Doc, do you have a name, or are you just Doc?”

  Doc rubbed her upper lip, then left Radamar to approach the right side of Tessen's bed. “My name is Kozgi Painbringer, and now you know why no one calls me anything but Doc.”

  “Doctor Painbringer is perfect,” Tessen said. “So ominous.”

  Doc scowled as she picked at the dressing on Tessen's shoulder. “You're a mouthy little shit when you're drugged up and in pain. No matter. It's common, especially among your kind.”

  “Humans?”

  “Men.” Doc removed the last of the dressing, then bent close to examine the wound. “This should heal up okay now that I've cleaned all the splinters out. I've put a high enough dose of infection-killing elixir in you to kill off anything that might fester.”

  “And my leg?” Tessen asked.

  She ran her tongue along the points of her tusks, then shook her head. “Tessen, I saved your leg, but I'm not sure I should have. I put everything back in place as well as I could, but I don't think it will heal right. When it heals as best as it will, I'll help you fit a brace and cane because you're going to limp now. And it will likely always pain you. I considered amputating below the knee to save you from that, but neither you nor your wife would let me, and I didn't have time to argue when Radamar was in need of saving.”

  “I don't remember that.” Tessen winced as she dabbed alcohol-soaked gauze over the puncture wound at the front of his shoulder. “We probably thought you'd kill me if you did that.”

  “I'm a shaman, Tessen. I can do things most physicians can't. My patients are more likely to survive than not.” Doc's nose wrinkled and she dropped the stained gauze into a dish. “I have cut babies from their mothers when both would otherwise die, and the mother survives to birth more children. Amputations are easier than that, and there is a sailor on board who creates these wonderfully innovative prosthetics in her free time. She's missing a leg herself. Still an option for you if it comes to that.”

  Tessen's shoulder strained as he tilted his head toward Radamar. “And him?”

  Doc sighed, then shrugged. She unrolled a ball of fresh gauze and cut it to fit his shoulder. “I don't know yet. I didn't think he'd live through the day when I took him to surgery, but two days now and he's still alive. Those spikes missed just about everything vital, aside from a section of intestine I had to remove, so if he makes it a week, he's likely to keep living. Reefwalker spikes and intestinal impalements are nasty things, but I have medicine to keep away the infection and he's just as full of that elixir as you are. You two are lucky you're with me and not the responsibility of some elven or human physician. Orcan medicine is far superior to any vulgarity they try to concoct.” She smoothed down the edges of the dressing. The pain of this injury was minor compared to the searing torture of the broken leg. “Captain said I have to do everything I can for him. Her granddaughter already lost her grandfather. That little girl doesn't need to lose her father, too.”

  Tessen stared up at the ceiling. The undulating, dripping spider above him wasn't real, but it was still unnerving. “I hope he lives.”

  “So do I. Poor little elf has clearly been though some shit in his life. He has even more scars than you do, and boy, you've got an awful lot for someone so young.”

  The door opened and closed as Kemi let herself into the infirmary. Relief radiated from her as she saw that Radamar was still breathing, then concern as she made her way to the left side of Tessen's bed.

  “I'd reach for your hand, but I can't seem to figure out how to move,” Tessen said. He tried to smile at her, but it twisted into a grimace.

  The concern intensified as Kemi surveyed Tessen's heavily-wrapped and elevated right leg. Still looking at the leg, she held his hand and leaned over Serida to kiss him. “I'm not going to ask how you're feeling.”

  “Are you all right? Both of you?” Tessen asked.

  Doc moved away from the bed to attend another patient. There were several in the infirmary besides Tessen and Radamar.

  Kemi pressed his hand against the soft curve of her belly. A tiny tingle caressed his palm. “I'm fine, just tired. Is she?”

  “Contently floating as if nothing exists beyond you,” he replied. He closed his eyes and listened. “I hear waves. Actual crashing waves. Is that in my head, or are we near a shore?”

  “Better. We're at our destination.” Kemi walked her free hand down his jawline. “It's interesting to see because you can't see anything. Not from here. It's just cliffs, and the cove looks like a tiny indent into more cliffs, but there are too many shoals and rocks so ships can't get close enough to reveal there's more to it. We have to tender in on the little boats. The crew is working on that now. They're taking in supplies and soon they'll start ferrying the horses.”

  “What about us?”

  “We're going to wait to take you and Radamar, probably a couple days while Doc continues to work her magic on you. Your bones would probably need to be reset again if we tried to transport you now.”

  “I'm sorry,” Tessen whimpered. He wanted to look at her, but his pain was rising.

  “You have nothing to be sorry for.” She stroked his brow and sighed. “It's not as if you chose to break your leg.”

  He squeezed her hand. “I followed Mordegan onto the deck. Didn't even protest, just followed because I was afraid something would happen to you if I didn't help. Now I can't walk and he's dead. All I feel are his family's tears. Those kids and their mom left their dwarven family to be with him and now he's dead. He brought Benny so far to protect her and now he's dead. Ragan will never see him again, either. He's now lost both of his parents. I watched them both die.”

  Kemi kissed his brow. “I knew you wouldn't stay in that cabin just because Benny told you to. You're a protector by nature, and
you feel guilty when someone dies. Something sharp stabs our minds when things like this happen, and we try to force blame onto ourselves when we did nothing wrong. This . . . this is the wild sea, Tessen. Creatures of the deep colliding with creatures of the shore, and both just trying to survive. It happened. It's over. Now we're where we need to be but we need a little more time before we can step on that shore.” She squeezed his hand again and exhaled. “Doc, I think he needs to go back to sleep. It looks like he's doing everything he can to keep from screaming.”

  “Yes, I agree,” Doc said, and Tessen remembered no more.

  PAIN MINGLED WITH MEMORIES and the days stretched into the infinite. Although the medication ensured Tessen was never quite awake, it did nothing to keep the pain of his leg from disturbing his sleep. He could lie still and listen to Kemi's voice between the haggard beats of his heart, but the only comfort she brought him was emotional.

  It was too familiar. He'd been here before, lying in convalescence while she whispered over him. This was different. The world didn't move beneath him as he recovered in Anthora, and the pain of his fractured back had been tolerable as long as he remained still. Before that, on the Hadgar Steppes following the honor fight, the fever had stolen most of his consciousness and memories of pain. There was no fever now. Only constant, unrelenting pain that no orcan medication or careful positioning could relieve. Simple acts like eating or relieving himself left him gasping with tears rolling down his cheeks.

  Kemi and Serida stayed with him through it, and often Iefyr or Benny. Their worry and grief was easier for him to endure now that Radamar had woken. The elf tried to minimize his own pain when he spoke to his family, but his strained and hoarse voice gave him away to them, and Tessen felt his pain nearly as deeply as he felt his own. Every emotion and anguish in the infirmary flowed through Tessen's broken body, and it was a relief when Urzal came to take Radamar to land before him.

  And then, at the end of an eternity compressed into an instant, Tessen found himself looking up at swaying trees beneath a blue sky. He didn't remember being moved from the infirmary so he assumed he'd been sedated.

  “Kemi?” he whispered, and startled himself with the grating rasp of his own voice. He reached to the side and felt grass between his fingers. “Kemi?”

  “I'm here.” Her hand was on his shoulder. “Don't move. You fainted when Doc strapped you to a backboard to move you. We're here now, we're on land. Turn your head to the left and see where we are.”

  Tessen turned his head to see clear water lapping at a sandy beach. The cove was huge, but from the sea beyond, only a narrow inlet between cliffs was visible. The cliffs were deceiving. They were pillars, not plateaus, and sloped into an expanse of flat sand and rocky outcroppings within the shelter of the bay.

  “I like this water,” Tessen murmured.

  “I know you do, but I told you to look left, not right,” Kemi said, touching his cheek. The coolness of her hand was soothing.

  “I don't know the difference right now.”

  He turned his head and marveled at a wood and stone manor set before a dense forest and snow-capped mountains. Six outbuildings were visible between wells and gardens, with what appeared to be a stable and a sheep pasture on the far end of the settlement.

  “Ugh. Sheep. I'm still hallucinating, aren't I?” Tessen mumbled.

  “No.”

  “Berra said all that was here was her outpost.”

  Kemi's laugh was like a ringing bell. “Berra has an extravagant idea of what constitutes a suitable outpost, but she calls it primitive because it doesn't have proper plumbing. Apparently, she found this place thirty years ago and immediately started building on it. Benny never knew about it, though. Berra only came here on her loop northward, which was when Benny was in Jadeshire. We're not the first she's brought here to protect. There are six others, plus their children, and they've been building and working the land.”

  “Who are they?” Tessen savored the sunlight on his face, the grass beneath his fingers, Serida's happy chirps as she chased a chicken into a flowering bush.

  Kemi raised her hands and tapped her fingers together. “Four elves and two humans. Three of the elves are highborn, but all from different realms and she brought them here over the course of about ten years. The fourth elf was one of Berra's sailors who fell in love with one of the aristocrats and decided to stay here with him. The humans are a Satlan brother and sister from the Sandstone Realm who asked Berra for sanctuary while she was docked in Artevis Rock. They ended up pairing off with the elves, and there are several half-elven children here. I'm not sure how many yet, but I think ours will fit in well. Mordegan and Belda's children have already made themselves at home. Sounds like neither they nor Belda got along well with the family they'd been staying with. Bias against half-dwarves, from what I gather. It's just awful that they reunited with their father only to lose him.” A slight smile rose upon her lips as she gazed at the mountains, but the smile was only a mask for the sorrow and worry gnawing at her mind. “This will work, won't it? There is land route to get here, but it's just as hidden as the sea route is. That's the way Berra told Ragan to come. I hope he finds it.”

  “So do I.”

  Doc and Urzal crouched next to Tessen, then slipped their fingers into the loops of the backboard.

  “Where are we going?” Kemi asked.

  They lifted the backboard and walked toward the trees. Tessen's vision grayed as the pain spiked, but he remained conscious through each jarring step.

  “There's a cottage back here,” Urzal said, nodding toward the forest. “Berra found it when she first came to shore here. Abandoned. No one had been there in a long time, and no sign of where they went. She fixed it up and used it to shelter while we built the outpost. The others kept it maintained, and I think one of the elves was using it as a quiet place to escape her kids so she'd already moved some furniture back in. It's a little bit away from everyone else, so Berra thought it would be quieter for him.”

  “Yes, that sounds perfect. He does better when he's near people but not surrounded by them.” Kemi's concern became excitement as they ascended a small hill. “Oh! That's lovely!”

  Tessen didn't get the chance to see what she was looking at. His vision blackened, and when it cleared again he found himself looking up at wooden beams above a soft bed.

  You're safe. Now you can heal. Serida peered over the end of the bed, then plodded to the side to lick Tessen's hand. You hurt too much. It will get better.

  “How much better?” Tessen asked.

  The muffled voices in the other room stopped, and feet scuffed over the stone floor. There appeared to be another room and a kitchen beyond Serida's head, but the only details he could see were stone walls and dust dancing through the light of crackled glass windows. Silver flashed beyond the bedroom's single window as Lenna stalked the outside.

  Doc came into the bedroom first. She set a small crate on the hearth, then turned to watch Kemi. She nodded at Tessen and said, “I labeled everything with instructions, but given your magic-skill and aptitude as an apothecary, I have no doubt you can figure it out and add your own spells and elixirs if he needs them. I want to give him another week before we start dosing him down, and I don't want him moving around until then. I'll bring him some crutches when I think he can use them. I've been able to accelerate his healing to an extent, but with an injury like that . . . it's going to be a while. Be patient. I'll be in a couple times a day to check on him, and come get me if you need anything.”

  Urzal stepped just to the edge of the door. “Iefyr and I went hunting this morning, so we've got a big pot of venison stew simmering over the firepit. One of us will bring you some later. If you're hungry sooner, the girls popped some provisions in your larder when they brought your things in from the Grace.”

  Kemi surprised Urzal with a hug. “Thank you, Urzal. For everything. I just wish we didn't–”

  Urzal pressed a thick finger against Kemi's lips. “Think no
thing of it, lass. Berra always wanted to retire here. She'll be happier once she gets some running water going, but we knew we'd eventually make this our home. 'Course, she'll get bored and feel the need to row one of the skiffs up the coast from time to time. She's a restless one.” She lowered her hand and gestured toward Tessen. “Lass, don't worry about helping out for now. Just take care of him and that baby you're growing. There'll be time to figure out your role in this new mess of ours later.”

  I'm going to have a look around and see what kind of things this place has to eat. I'll get bored if it's only fish and chicken. Squirrels and rabbits would be nice. You should sleep. Serida trilled, then followed Urzal and Doc out of the cottage.

  Tessen reached toward Kemi. “Come here.”

  She wiped away a phantom tear, then took his hand. “Do you need anything?”

  “Just you. You're exhausted. Come lie down with me.”

  “I'm afraid I'll hurt you.”

  “There isn't anything wrong with my left side. Just be careful you don't jar the bed too much getting there.” He waited until she was nestled in the crook of his arm, then kissed her hair. “If I wasn't done with adventuring before, I'm absolutely done now. This is the third time in less than two years that I've been forced into convalescence by injuries. My body's had enough. I'm two months away from nineteen, and I'm already so physically broken that I can no longer be made right. I don't think I can survive another round of this level of pain. I hope this is our safe place, the last place we will ever need. I don't know what to do if it isn't.”

  Kemi breathed deeply and let her hand settle over his heart. “Gentle water and sheltered forest and mountains guarded by wilderness and time. This is where we belong. Well, maybe not this cottage. It's tiny, just this little room and the main one, but we don't need anything less cozy for now. Even with Berra's penchant for the finer things, this transition is not going to be easy. We'll have to learn how to do things that until now have always been done for us. But we're not alone and we're not somewhere that we'll easily be found. The sailors who aren't staying are taking the Grace north tomorrow, so from sea there will be no sign we're here. No more adventures, Tessen. We've found somewhere to call home.”