by Amy Neftzger
Brother Michael looked around the orchard as he blotted the wound on his face. Dust was rising up from the skirmishes, and there were pockets of fighting among the trees. The pack of wolves had thinned, but there were still too many to count. It took a few minutes of searching, and Kelsey had to pause to fight off a few wolves during this time, but eventually they spotted Bardou across the orchard at the end of the row of trees where they were standing.
Kelsey took off running, slashing at every blurred patch of fur lunging toward her as she charged over to Bardou. As she approached, Bardou immediately made a leap at Kelsey’s knife hand. His jaws clamped down firmly on Kelsey’s wrist. She resisted the pain from Bardou’s strong jaws as long as she could, but she eventually dropped the knife when she heard and felt one of her bones snap.
Bardou released his grip when the knife fell, but he snapped at Kelsey each time she reached for it, and she retreated. The wolf snarled at her, occasionally snapping his menacing jaws. Kelsey ignored the pain in her hand, as well as the blood dripping from it. All she could focus on was getting to her knife again and picking it up. She felt alone without it, as if she had lost a friend.
She circled around with Bardou, fending off his attacks with swift kicks to deflect his powerful jaws each time the wolf attempted to get near. They were stuck in this threatening stalemate as one of the other Brothers of Discipline stealthily moved in, wielding a sword. He sneaked up behind Bardou, and as he was about to stab the wolf, Kelsey shouted.
“Behind you, Bardou!”
The wolf paused for only a moment to cock his head in an expression of concentration and then rapidly spun around to face his attacker. Both the monk and wolf took a few moments to assess the situation, and it was enough time for Kelsey to run over and snatch her knife from the ground. As Bardou was preparing to spring upon the monk, Kelsey again distracted him with a war cry that got his attention. When he lunged at her, she sliced a piece of the wolf’s flesh near his ear, and he immediately sat down. Instead of running like the others, he began to howl.
Brother Michael was only now arriving on the scene, and when he saw Kelsey’s wounded left hand, he tore another strip of cloth from his shirt. He handed it to Kelsey, and she carefully wrapped her injured hand to stop the bleeding. She knew it was broken because she couldn’t move several of her fingers, and it was the most painful thing she had ever felt.
As Bardou continued to howl, the other wolves stopped fighting and lined up behind him in formation, sitting down in rows. As they sat down, they each began howling along. They didn’t stop the chorus until every member of the pack had retreated from the battle and joined the group sitting in formation behind their leader.
“Are they done fighting?” Kelsey asked when it was finally quiet.
“No,” Bardou said. “But I am.”
“That’s not good enough. This needs to end.”
“You fight well for one who has the seed of doubt.”
“What?” Kelsey asked in confusion.
“The mark on your arm. You have the seed.”
Kelsey looked down at both of her arms and hands. She was cut everywhere, but she didn’t feel most of the pain. The hurt in her hand was too large for her to notice much else. However, amid all the scratches and bite marks, she spotted the place where the flower had burned her. The mark was a single petal again.
“This?” she asked as she held up her right forearm.
“Yes. We call it ‘the seed.’ Most who have the mark become cowardly, and the rest of the pack must destroy that wolf,” Bardou explained.
“No one is going to destroy me,” Kelsey said defiantly. “Especially not you.”
“I don’t want to destroy you.”
“You were going to kill us in order to steal our hope.”
“Yes, but it isn’t for us. We’re nothing more than slaves. We traded our freedom for our lives, and now we owe a debt. Our debt is to be paid with hope.”
Kelsey glanced at Brother Michael. She could barely think because of the pain in her hand, and she also knew she wasn’t the best person to hold discussions with the wolves. There were others – and one in particular – who would be far better at this task.
“Wait here,” Kelsey instructed as she turned away toward the abbey. “We need to finish what we started.”
“The battle?” Bardou asked.
“No,” Kelsey answered over her shoulder, “the negotiation.”
Chapter
20
Something to Chew On
“Why did the sorcerer call me by Megan’s name?” Nicholas asked. Things had been confusing for Nicholas when he lived outside the castle, where the sorcerer’s spell was stronger, but he had never been more confused than he was at the moment.
The king had taken Nicholas to lunch, and they were now dining alone in the king’s private study. However, Nicholas didn’t feel very hungry. He had too many questions on his mind.
“Because there’s a piece of Megan within you and the sorcerer recognized her,” the king explained as he picked up a roll of bread. He held it gently with the tips of his fingers as he looked over the top of the bread and into Nicholas' hazel eyes. He continued speaking after allowing Nicholas to ponder his words for a few moments. “When you signed the contract to begin lessons on healing, Megan exchanged a piece of her soul for yours. The two of you are connected.”
“How can that be?” Nicholas put his fork down and placed his hands in his lap. It was no use pretending to eat.
“You can’t heal someone else effectively without giving up a piece of yourself. It’s part of the natural law.” The king slowly tore the roll he was holding into two pieces as he spoke. “You can repair someone, but that’s not the same as healing. Healing is much stronger and lasts longer.”
“But I had natural healing ability. Even Megan said as much,” Nicholas protested. “Why did I need a piece of Megan if I already had the talent within myself?” Nicholas gripped his napkin and dried his moist palms with it.
“You had talent, but it needed to be cultivated. The most efficient way to advance your skill was for Megan to become a part of you in order to impart her wisdom. There are some forms of learning that are like this,” he explained. “You didn’t just learn a pattern of actions. The ability is inside you, and you’ll carry that bit of Megan with you forever, just as she’ll always carry a piece of you with her. You’re not the same once you’ve formed a bond like this. It changes you forever, but it makes both of you better.”
Nicholas felt uncomfortable with this knowledge. He didn’t know that he was entering into such an arrangement, but it made him even more uncomfortable that Moss and the king had that knowledge and didn’t share it.
“I wish someone had told me,” Nicholas muttered.
“It was in the contract you signed. Did you read it?”
“No,” Nicholas confessed. He was immediately angry with himself for being so careless.
“Most people don’t, but they also usually don’t find out about the deal they made when they signed the contract. They simply walk away from the training with knowledge that they didn’t have before.”
“Shouldn’t Moss have known that the sorcerer would detect Megan’s soul in me?” Nicholas asked.
“Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be noticed by anyone. It’s such a small piece that it’s usually unperceived. Most other people don’t recognize it when they gain a part of someone else. However, yours is an unusual case, Nicholas. There’s no way any of us could have known about this. The sorcerer is no average person, and there’s something about you that makes you different, as well.”
“When I was in the orphanage, my mentor said that about me,” Nicholas replied. “He said I was different from the others, but he couldn’t explain how, and I don’t understand. I don’t feel different.”
“People, animals, and all living things are drawn to you, more so than to others. You’ve noticed this, haven’t you?”
“Well,
yes.”
“Do you know the root of the word ‘enchantment’?”
“No,” Nicholas admitted. He took a sip of cold water as he waited for the king to continue. The room felt very warm to Nicholas, and his throat also felt dry.
“The word ‘enchant’ means to attract or captivate,” the king continued, “and I think that living things are drawn to you because you’re naturally enchanting. In other words, you have natural charm inside of you that can be developed into a powerful force.”
“Are all sorcerers enchanting? Like the pontiffs?” Nicholas asked, referring to the former guardians of the orphanage where Nicholas had met Maggie, “Because they didn’t seem very enchanting to me.”
“Bad example,” the king replied as he buttered a piece of his roll. “They went astray from their purpose. Some are more enchanting than others, and this affects their power.” The king paused before putting a piece of the roll in his mouth and swallowing it. “Eat something, Nicholas. You need your strength. Training is hard work.”
“What’s a good example?” Nicholas asked as he picked up his fork again. “Are there any good sorcerers that have strong natural enchantment?”
“Yes,” the king replied without hesitation. “Moss and, to a lesser extent, me.”
Nicholas thought briefly about Moss. He wasn’t sure how Moss was a good example, but he meant to ask about it before they were finished with lunch.
“You have a lot of talents, Your Majesty,” Nicholas remarked. He picked up a bit of salad on his fork and tried to eat it. The tartness of the dressing relieved his dry mouth, and he started to feel a little better once he had swallowed a few bites.
“I’ve found that the people who are the best at something are the ones who don’t try to do everything,” the king said. “They do that one thing very well. That’s why I expect you’ll be a much more powerful sorcerer than I am.”
“I hope I don’t disappoint you,” Nicholas replied. “I know there are a lot of people working hard to win the war. They’re fighting the spells of confusion every day, and I wish I could be more useful.” Nicholas took a few bites of pasta. The food was helping. It was calming him.
“You’re doing your job here. You’re doing everything that has been asked of you.”
“But I wish I could go somewhere like Kelsey and be a part of the action. I feel useless staying in the castle when there’s so much to be done.” He took a few more sips of the water and felt a sudden pain in his teeth from the sharpness of the cold.
“Sometimes the most important people on a journey are the ones who stay behind,” the king replied. “We all have work to do, and we shouldn’t envy the tasks of others.”
“It’s easy to say that we shouldn’t envy others, but it’s difficult not to be envious of others when I’m struggling to learn things while other people are out risking their lives. I feel incompetent.”
“You’re anything but incompetent. Your standards for yourself are too high. After all, look at how well your healing ability is progressing.”
“Yes, I feel those lessons are coming along well,” Nicholas remarked.
“You’re doing fine, Nicholas. Extremely well,” the king assured him.
“It’s not the healing,” Nicholas explained, “It’s the other lessons. I’m learning things, but I’m not sure exactly what I’m learning, and I can’t tell if the problem is with me or with Moss.”
“It’s Moss. But that shouldn’t worry you. He’s an unconventional teacher. However, he has knowledge that no one else in the kingdom has.”
“I do think that Moss is very smart,” Nicholas agreed, but then he hesitated before finishing his sentence. He didn’t know how to phrase it delicately, so he finally just blurted it out. “But I think he also may be crazy.”
The king laughed. “Oh, he’s definitely crazy,” he said, then became serious again. “But he’s also powerful.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Nicholas hesitated again, then he spoke his mind. “I don’t feel safe with Moss.”
“If your goal is to be safe, you’ll never get anywhere in life.” The king paused before continuing. “Moss isn’t safe, but his heart is good, and I trust him. He has a lot to teach you if you’re willing to learn.”
“I’m not sure I want to learn everything he has to teach,” Nicholas replied.
“He’s got some less desirable habits, but we all have flaws.” The king waited a moment for Nicholas to respond. When he didn’t, the king continued. “Remember the meaning of the word ‘enchant.’ The very fact that living things are drawn to you means that evil will also be drawn to you. Once it finds you, it will want to be near you, and it may even attempt to destroy you. There is no one in the kingdom who can teach you to protect yourself better than Moss. No one.”
“The lessons are just so strange …”
“I’m monitoring your progress carefully, even when I’m away from the castle. I’m watching over you, and Newton is here to help. Despite his large appetite, he is very useful.”
“I’m seeing that,” Nicholas agreed. Newton had been a good friend, especially in helping Nicholas to navigate his relationship with Moss.
“Never underestimate the power of a good friend, especially when that friend is a gargoyle. They were made to protect us from evil, after all.”
Nicholas nodded. The gargoyle appeared to have more sense than the sorcerer who had brought him to life.
“Continue your lessons and know that you’re safe with us watching over you,” the king assured him.
“Yes, sire,” Nicholas replied politely. “But please, no more scrying to watch the evil sorcerer.”
“Our friend who calls himself Mr. Crane?”
“Yes. I don’t want to scry on him. It makes me nervous.”
“No more scrying on Mr. Crane. It’s too dangerous now that he’s detected Megan within you. We can’t risk him learning anything more.”
Nicholas felt relieved and was able to finish his lunch. He was surprised at how delicious the food became once he got the taste of worrying out of his mouth.
Chapter
21
Conflict Resolution
Roland had been standing watch over Maggie. She was wounded but alive. No one had dared to approach death during the battle, and this had kept Maggie safe. She never went back inside the abbey, mostly because she wanted to be where she could see what was happening. However, she had become too weak to sit up on her own, so she was propped up against the cold stone wall of the abbey. Her head was leaning all the way back against the wall, so that she appeared to be looking up at the sky. Her skin was paler than normal, and she looked weak. Kelsey wondered how much blood her friend had lost.
Kelsey knelt down on the grass. She paused to wipe the back of her good hand across her forehead. Her head still felt warm from the battle, and she could feel a thin layer of gritty dirt and dried blood.
“I hate it when Megan is right!” Kelsey exclaimed. Maggie lifted her head.
“About the wolves?” Roland asked.
“No, about learning to heal,” Kelsey said. She glanced down at her own hand and then turned to Maggie. “I’m not very good at this, so I suppose I should start with you in case I can’t handle healing two wounds in one day.”
“At least you don’t have to translate a message from a bird,” Maggie said with a feeble smile as she raised her head to look at Kelsey. Kelsey smiled back, but she felt sad over what had happened to Maggie. She knew she had to pull herself together and concentrate on the healing. There was still work to be done.
“What’s this?” Roland asked as he examined Kelsey’s forearm with the petal marking. He raised one of his eyebrows and then the other.
“A weed exploded and left this mark,” Kelsey said in a dismissive tone. “It looks just like a flower petal, of all things. What an odd shape for a burn. Why couldn’t it leave a skull or something cool?”
“What kind of weed was it?” Roland asked.
> “Those yellow flowers we see everywhere. They look almost exactly like dandelions.” She pulled her arm out of his grasp. Roland let it gently slip through his paws. He studied Kelsey as she turned to face her friend.
Kelsey gently placed both her hands on the injured leg. She put aside her own pain and focused on making Maggie well again. She recalled the bird she had healed and followed the same instructions, but she put a lot more of her heart into the task. She concentrated on the idea of Maggie being healthy and walking with legs that were strong and fully capable of walking, running and jumping.
This was much more difficult than healing the bird’s swollen tongue, and it took far longer. The results weren’t even as great as Kelsey had hoped, but Kelsey had put a lot more effort into the work. When she was finished, Maggie’s injury was scabbed over with dried blood, and the skin was closing. It would probably leave a scar, but at least Maggie no longer had an open wound. She wouldn’t get an infection or become ill from the injury, and that was important.
“That’s not very pretty,” Kelsey said as she turned her head sideways and stared at her work. She wished she had done a better job. She felt that Maggie deserved more for bravely attempting to negotiate with the wolves, but Kelsey was already tired from the small amount of healing she had done. She wasn’t even sure if she had enough energy to heal herself.
“It’ll work,” Maggie replied in a tired voice. “Some things take time. At least this will take less time than it would if we had left it on its own.” She gave Kelsey a weak but grateful smile as Kelsey stood up. Kelsey staggered momentarily in a wave of dizziness, but then she steadied herself and reached for Maggie with her uninjured hand. She kept her wounded limb pulled tightly into her side and protected.
“Is there another healer here?” Kelsey asked Roland.
“No,” he answered. “The Brothers of Discipline and Sisters of Mercy are farmers. They live simply, and their talents are little more than devotion to hard work.” He looked over both Kelsey’s injured hand and the working one with the mark on the forearm. “There may be a nurse who can set the bones in your broken hand. I’ll inquire about it.”