Dark Healer (An Empire Falls Book 1)

by Harry Leighton

  There was a sudden pulse in his chest and then the world faded out and went black.

  “What just happened?” Trimas said.

  *****

  One thing Marlen didn’t want happening was one of his men getting captured and talking. Yet, anyway. He’d taken steps to that effect. The idea had been quite simple really. He’d added a little of himself to each of his men with the intention of being better able to control them. When exploring the limits of that power he’d discovered that, with some effort, he was able to exert sufficient control to stop their heart. Oh, not by stopping the muscle itself — that would require too much magic, especially remotely. Instead, he was able to use the knowledge he’d built up and fiddle with the control mechanisms for the heart. Leaving the organ perfectly healthy but the host quite dead.

  He’d done it once before, in front of his men, to one that had challenged him. They got the message. He reinforced it by starting the heart again and bringing the man back.

  Oh, he wasn’t a necromancer. That was something completely different and, though fascinated, he had no idea where to start with that, or even if it was something he’d be able to adapt his magic to. No, this was a simple case of reviving someone who hadn’t yet fully departed. Though ‘simple’ was over-stating it in this case. He doubted anyone but him could do it when the heart had been stopped in this way.

  Of course, killing was only part of the equation. He also had to know that one of them needed killing in the first place. That’s where his remote senses came into play. Like when he knew that one of his men had been killed, he’d tinkered very specifically with them to react badly when they’d been captured so that he’d be able to identify when that happened too.

  This was better though. As the man was still living, his distress acted like a beacon to him, something that he could home in on. This time there was no mistaking the location.

  east of the previous trouble, but not far.

  Looked like whoever was after him had chased down one of the survivors and taken him alive.

  That wouldn’t do. At all.

  Marlen set himself and concentrated, summoning his strength. The distance wasn’t trivial and this would take all his resources.

  *****

  “What just happened?” Trimas said, confused, bending over the body.

  “He … died,” Jonas said, standing up and stepping back.

  “What did you do?” Trimas asked.

  “Nothing,” Daeholf said, still crouching at his cousin’s side. “He just died.”

  “Bad heart or something?” Alia suggested. “Stress of capture? We’ve seen that before.”

  “He’s probably got two,” Zedek pointed out gently.

  “Ah. Of course. Ignore me,” Alia said slightly red-faced.

  “I was going to say there was no history of heart trouble in the family but given we don’t know what was done to him that seems a little redundant now,” Daeholf said.

  “We sort of do,” Zedek said, indicating Brig’s full right arm.

  Daeholf stared at him for a moment before he looked back down and cautiously held a hand above Brig’s mouth and nose. “He’s not faking.” He placed both hands on Brig’s chest and started pumping them up and down.

  “What are you doing?” Trimas said.

  “What we used to do when someone had drowned in my old village. It sometimes revived them,” Daeholf replied, continuing to press.

  “You’re doing it wrong,” Jonas said gently, crouching back down and taking over. Between the two of them they carried on for a couple of minutes.

  Jonas stopped. “He’s gone.”

  Daeholf slumped.

  “Are you okay?” Trimas said, putting a hand on Daeholf’s shoulder.

  “I, ah, I don’t know. I didn’t expect this.”

  “Were you close?” Alia said.

  “Yes. No. Well once, maybe.” He got to his feet.

  “What do we do now?” Trimas said.

  “Give me a minute,” Daeholf said, before walking off into the woods.

  Zedek and Trimas both watched him as he left.

  “He’ll be okay,” Jonas said. “I get the impression he’s seen worse.”

  “Yeah,” Trimas said. “Haven’t we all.”

  “Should we dig a grave or something?” Zedek said.

  “You don’t want to cut him up?” Jonas said.

  “That might be … insensitive,” Zedek responded.

  Trimas looked at him in surprise, frowned for a moment before clapping him on the shoulder with a smile.

  “Do we have a shovel?” Alia asked.

  “We don’t,” Jonas said.

  “Neither do we,” Trimas said.

  “Hard way it is then,” Zedek said. “I don’t suppose we could use your axe?” he said to Trimas.

  “We’ve about as much chance of using my axe to dig a hole as we do of using your bow.”

  “Ah. I’ll go find us some sticks then,” Zedek said, walking slowly away, looking at the ground.

  Jonas kicked at the earth. “Ground’s not too hard, shouldn’t take too long.”

  “I’ll look for some stones to lay over the top,” Alia said, heading after Zedek.

  “Guess I’ll start with my hands then,” Trimas said with a sigh. Jonas joined him.

  “He usually take death hard?” Jonas said as they dug.

  “Never easy with family. And I think he’s more angry than sad,” Trimas said.

  “They weren’t that close though from the sound of it.”

  “Maybe not, but I think it may be symbolic.”

  “In what way?”

  “I don’t know. I’m sure he’ll talk about it when he gets back.”

  *****

  It had been a long time since he’d spent long with his family, Daeholf thought as he walked through the woods. Back when he’d still been trying and failing to make a living as a fisherman, something he’d never been much good at. Brig though, despite only having one useful arm, had been a natural and ‘the one-armed fisherman’ had become something of a local legend. Although having now travelled extensively, ‘local legend’ usually meant someone who’d barely been heard of even one village over.

  Those were the days. The world seemed both bigger and smaller back then. Smaller as everything you knew was nearby. Bigger as everything outside it was unknown, filled to the extent of your imagination.

  He wasn’t sure his family had ever really been properly cut out for fishing. Oh, his dad had been an eminently practical man, able to turn his hand to most things and had certainly been able to make a passable living from it. But he’d not had the natural seaman’s instinct and hadn’t been able to escape the storm when it caught him.

  Daeholf tried to take over the business but he was only young and had never really paid that much attention to it before. It had been too much work and his thoughts were always of what else there might be. The sea did that to him. That vast expanse seemed to suck in his focus, leaving him to dream. And after it had sucked in his father, those dreams had been grim. It was obvious fairly quickly that he’d not be able to support his mother and sisters that way.

  Brig was from his mother’s side and they seemed to have more of an affinity with the sea. The rest of family had stepped in and tried to help but the community was poor and it was hard. He had been dragging his family back.

  So he did the only thing really open to him. He’d joined the army. Any ideas about slacking or dreaming about the future had soon been beaten out of him. And as a poor failed fisherman from the north, he’d been lumped in with the dregs. But it had become his new home and took him far away from his old one. He sent money home, as much as he’d been able to afford, hoping both that it got there and that it helped. As he’d progressed in the army he’d been able to send more and it had been good to hear from Trimas and Zedek when they visited his old home, as he cowered nearby, that his family were well. He didn’t dare visit them in case of reprisals now, so when the option to
help them out by tracking down Brig had come along he’d seized it with both hands, hoping to extirpate some of his guilt at not having been home for such a long time.

  Enough reminiscing. There were things to do.

  Brig was dead. Having been changed at the hands of the rogue healer. The new arm was why he’d not identified him previously. How someone could do that, he didn’t know, though it was clear who they were dealing with was capable in a new and worrying way.

  More worrying was Brig’s sudden death. From what they’d learned previously from the sorts of alterations that had been made, that shouldn’t have happened.

  Maybe Alia had been right, maybe it had been stress. The alternative, that their target had been able to reach out from afar to kill him, was disturbing.

  He turned back to the others. This time alone had been an indulgence, though he was grateful to the others for letting him collect his thoughts.

  Now there was work to be done. Either directly or indirectly the healer had killed his cousin. He needed to be brought to justice.

  He walked back to the camp and saw three of them digging a grave with Alia stood on watch, wary and holding her bow.

  “I appreciate the thought and I’m grateful for your efforts,” Daeholf said, “but he was a man of the sea.”

  “We’re miles from the sea,” Zedek said as they stopped digging.

  “I know. But I’d like to take him to the nearest town and see if they have a shrine.”

  “Fair enough,” Trimas said, standing up and dusting off his hands. “Wasn’t enjoying digging anyway.”

  “You’ve managed to get Zedek’s knees dirty at least,” Daeholf said with a little smile.

  Zedek stood up, brushed himself off and looked down. “Oh,” he said. “That’s why I don’t do digging.”

  “At least you’re in better humour,” Jonas said, also standing. “Though it’d have been nice to know before we started digging.” He stretched and something in his back clicked. “Ow,” he said.

  Alia made to rush over but stopped herself, though the others noticed the intent.

  “You okay?” she said, trying to sound casual.

  “Fine,” Jonas said, stretching again with another click. “That’s better,” he said, relaxing.

  “You want to get that looked at,” Trimas said with a smile.

  “That or stop digging holes,” Jonas said. He dusted himself off. “Nearest town then?”

  “Nearest town on the way to Marlen,” Daeholf said, his face set.

  *****

  “I guess we’re not going to try capturing any more of them then,” Trimas said, riding next to Daeholf and looking at the canvas-wrapped body strapped across the back of Daeholf’s horse.

  “Doesn’t seem much point really,” Daeholf said.

  “You don’t think it was a coincidence that he died just as we were starting to question him?”

  “Do you?”

  “Not a big believer in coincidence, no. Especially after what we’ve seen going on recently.”

  “Me either.”

  “It’s a horrible thought.”

  “We’re having a lot of them lately.”

  “Do you think we’re in over our heads?”

  “I have no idea. We don’t know what we’re dealing with yet.”

  “That’s not a good sign.”

  “No. But who are we going to call on for help? We’re already travelling with a pair of talented Bounty Hunters.”

  “Point.”

  “What does Zedek think?”

  “Honestly don’t know. I half expected him to want to, um, inspect your cousin but he himself said that would be insensitive.”

  “You two talking about me?” Zedek said, joining them. Alia looked back from where she was riding ahead with Jonas and said something to him, who didn’t react. She turned back to the front.

  “I guess they’re talking about you too,” Daeholf said.

  “So why am I suddenly an object of interest?” Zedek said.

  “You never cease to surprise us,” Trimas said.

  “What did I do now? I thought I was being sensitive?”

  “That’s the point,” Trimas said.

  “I really don’t understand you all,” Zedek replied.

  “We were half expecting you to want to look inside my cousin,” Daeholf said.

  “That would be wrong. You don’t do that to family,” Zedek said.

  “No.”

  “Do you really think me that much of a monster?”

  “Not at all. Just very practical at times.”

  Zedek sighed. “I admit, I do struggle with the nuances of your culture. But you don’t do that to family.”

  “We’ll make an imperial of you yet,” Trimas said.

  “I bloody hope not,” Zedek said immediately.

  Daeholf laughed.

  Zedek smiled at him. “I got that one right at least.”

  “Were you close to your family?” Daeholf said.

  “That’s a subject for another day and possibly a few drinks,” Zedek said.

  “Fair enough.”

  “Tell us about yours though. We met your mother and she seemed nice,” Zedek said.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Why did you leave?”

  “You know that though.”

  “Well we know the how, but not really the why.”

  “Money.”

  “There’s more to it than that though?”

  “I was a bit of a failure and I was ashamed I couldn’t provide for them.”

  “Now there’s an admission,” Trimas said.

  “True though.”

  They were all silent for a minute.

  “Well that’s ended the conversation,” Trimas said.

  “Tell us a little about your cousin,” Zedek said.

  “He was a good fisherman,” Daeholf said.

  “Even with only one arm?”

  “Never let it stop him. Certainly much better at it than I was.”

  “From the sound of it that wouldn’t have been hard.”

  “No.”

  “So why was he negotiating, away from the sea, still of prime sailing age?”

  “It was a long time since I’d seen him so I don’t know. Maybe it’s something he grew into.”

  “You don’t sound convinced,” Trimas said.

  “He loved the sea.”

  “Maybe something similar to what happened to you…?” Zedek suggested.

  “Maybe. I have another thought though,” Daeholf said.

  “You’re thinking the healer, aren’t you?”

  “Catch me up here,” Trimas said.

  “You think he might have heard of the healer and wondered about doing something about his arm?” Zedek said.

  “It crossed my mind,” Daeholf said.

  “No suggestion of it in the village,” Trimas said.

  “We weren’t looking for it then though,” Zedek said.

  “True,” Trimas said. “Do you think we could look for other people with issues and see if they’ve heard of anything then? Use that as a sort of trail?”

  “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “I do get them occasionally,” Trimas said with mock affront.

  “Let’s keep that one tucked away in case we need it, if the next base turns out to be a dud.”

  “I’ll start working on my next one then,” Trimas said.

  Daeholf looked at him and laughed.

  “Your spirits seem to have improved a little,” Trimas said.

  “Thanks to you two,” Daeholf said sincerely.

  “You’ll fall off your horse if you try to hug us,” Trimas said.

  “Idiot,” Daeholf said, smiling.

  Zedek sighed. “Back on track. What do we do now? We’ve found your cousin.”

  “We have,” Daeholf said, serious again.

  “Are we done then?” Zedek said.

  “No.”

  “Good,” Trimas said.


  “Good?” Zedek said.

  “I don’t like the trail of bodies,” Trimas said.

  “And it’s personal for me now,” Daeholf said.

  “There’s an old adage,” Zedek said. “When seeking revenge, first dig two graves.”

  “We’re going to do this carefully, and with help,” Daeholf said.

  “Good,” Zedek said.

  “Good?” Trimas said.

  “I don’t like the trail of bodies either. And using magic, especially like this, terrifies me,” Zedek said.

  “We’re resolved then?” Daeholf said.

  “We are,” Trimas said. Zedek nodded.

  “What about our companions?” Zedek said.

  “They seem reliable,” Daeholf said.

  “Not what I meant,” Zedek said.

  “I think it’s personal for Jonas too,” Trimas said.

  “Why do you say that?” Daeholf said.

  “He’s got the same ‘man on a mission’ look you have.”

  “Oh. You get any line on why it’s personal for him?”

  “You’ve talked to him more than we have,” Zedek said.

  “There’s something haunting him but he’s not said what. And we all have our demons,” Daeholf said.

  “You’re not wrong,” Zedek said with a shudder.

  “So it’s personal for Jonas too which means we’ll need to keep an eye on him. What about Alia?” Trimas said.

  “What about her? Isn’t she his apprentice? That means she’s with him wherever he goes.”

  “I don’t think she’s invested in this personally in the same way. I think she’s in it because of Jonas,” Zedek said.

  “That’s what I meant,” Daeholf said.

  “I think there’s more though,” Zedek said.

  “How so?” Trimas said.

  “You’ve seen the way she looks at him,” Zedek said.

  “He’s old enough to be her father. Or maybe grandfather,” Trimas said.

  “Not like that,” Zedek said, disgusted. “But father is they key word. I think she looks up to him like that.”

  “There does seem to be more to them than just master and apprentice,” Daeholf said.

  “You think he’s actually her father?” Trimas said.

  “I doubt it,” Daeholf said. “There’s no resemblance and some of their banter when they think we’re not listening does head in rather the wrong direction.”