The Healer and the Warrior

by Bekah Clark

  “What is it?” he asked me in a voice so full of tenderness.

  “Your eyes.”

  A smile flickered in those beautiful emerald orbs. “What about them?”

  “I just realized before we met, I had a dream about them. I couldn’t see your face, just your eyes. I don’t understand. I’m a healer, not a foreteller.”

  He said nothing for a long time, just tracing the bones of my cheeks and the line of my jaw with the softest touch. Finally, he uttered tenderly, “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know enough about healers to tell you what that means. I do know this, Zianya—I waited my whole life to meet you.”

  As my fingers tenderly caressed his cheek, my eyes searched his warm gaze. A feeling of completeness filled my heart, as if I had finally found the other half of my soul. Leaning down, he kissed me again, and molten fire ran though me. I trembled in his arms and hooked a leg around his hip. A spark flickered in his eyes before his lips crashed against mine, and we fervently made love once more.

  After we had finished gathering some plants, had some lunch, and rode back to the fort, it was late afternoon. When we trotted inside the gates, I could see various men still practicing with their blades. It reminded me that while I was welcome here, there was danger all around, and Torric was going off to meet it. Alone.

  I clutched his arm. “If anything happens, send for me. I’ll heal you, no matter how terrible it is.”

  He nipped my ear, amusement in his voice as he said, “Hush, lass. I’ll be fine.”

  I reached up to his cheek and stroked his face tenderly. “You better be.”

  He smiled. “Now, what are we going to do with all these plants we gathered?”

  “I need a room with some hooks from the rafters so I can dry them. If we’re going to be here for a while, I may as well make some things that the fort can use.”

  A half hour later, I had my own room with a large oak table. With all the hooks on the rafters, part of me wondered if a healer once used this very room. Torric had brought in my boxes so that I could go through what I had. I started by separating what we had gathered that day. He left for a meeting with Keig, and I sang to myself as I worked.

  There was a tentative knock at the door. “Come in,” I called out with a cheerful voice.

  A girl just a few inches taller than me walked in slowly. Her hair was long and pale, and her eyes were a deep blue. Spots muddled her skin and yet, despite that, she was beautiful.

  I smiled up at her. “Can I help you with something?”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but then dropped her eyes. It was apparent that she was nervous from the tremble in her hands and the fear in her face. Putting down the flowers I was separating, I moved around the table and walked over to her. Gently, I took her hand. “Please, tell me.”

  “My face. I, well…I was wondering if you could heal my face.”

  I frowned. She was so timid, and I wondered how much of a teasing she had received because of her one little flaw. Girls could be especially cruel to one another.

  Softly, I squeezed her hand and smiled. “I have a salve you can have that, with regular use, will keep your skin clear.” I paused— once I was gone, who would make the salve? “Would you like to learn how to make it?”

  “Learn?”

  I nodded. “Yes. First, I should ask you—can you read and write?”

  “I can.”

  “Good. And your name?”

  “Kayla.”

  I grinned at her and she gave me a tentative little smile. “If I teach you, it won’t be easy. You’ll have to write down each formula I give you and repeat it to me because while we speak the same language, I can’t write it. One more thing…do you know how to identify most plants?”

  “My father was a farmer. I grew up learning a few things about herbs and plants.”

  “Excellent. First things first,” I went through my box and pulled out the salve. “This is made from a couple of roots and several flowers. It’s the first thing I will teach you to make.”

  For the next couple of hours, I spoke with Kayla, getting a feeling for what she knew. I was grateful that she actually understood the key differences between plants. I was also grateful Torric had packed an old book my grandmother had with drawings of the plants I used most in my work. I decided I would give the book to Kayla and let her write the names on each page so she could study it.

  We separated each plant we had into bundles of like kind and tied them up to hang and dry. I was testing Kayla to see if she knew the name of each plant and how to write the name in her written tongue when there was a knock at the door. We looked up from the book we were studying. I could feel the girl tense beside me. I’d have to work on her self-esteem before I left. I doubted I’d be able to help her completely, but if I could set her on the right path and give her a new job with a purpose, she could possibly rise on her own.

  “Come in!”

  Torric’s hulking frame strode in, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he sought my gaze. Kayla gasped beside me. Glancing at her, I saw her cheeks go deep red. I understood where she was coming from—I shared his bed, and the man still could still make me blush. Turning back to him, I lit up with a smile.

  “How’s my little healer doing?” His eyes roamed over me, appraising my body and drawing a fresh splash of red to my cheeks as he smiled at me.

  “Well. Torric, this is Kayla. I’m teaching her to be an herbalist.”

  His smile broadened. “Good. Perhaps when we leave here, she can help.”

  When I faced Kayla, I found her blue eyes were wide as she stared at him with flushed cheeks.

  I smiled brightly. “Yes, I’m sure she’ll be able to.”

  She quickly turned her gaze to me as her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red. I hadn’t thought such a deep red was possible.

  Touching her forearm gently, I smiled before nodding to her. With a deep breath, I started to put things away. She quickly helped me while Torric poked around the room.

  “Got yourself all set up rather quickly, hmm?”

  “Yes. I didn’t realize it was so late until you knocked. I’m starving.”

  As my stomach growled, he grinned. “Good. Keig wants us to join him again.”

  “I can clean up in here,” Kayla said.

  Frowning, I replied, “I can’t just leave you to this.”

  Her face lit up with an adorable grin. “Nonsense. You’re spending all this time teaching me. As the student, this is the least I can do.”

  After expressing my appreciation, we left and headed to the dining area again. This time, there were several men at the various tables, and a couple of them sat at the table with Keig. One was tall, broad. He had a ruddy complexion with thinning hair. The other was short and slender, with long, ink-black locks and olive skin. They turned toward me, and I found myself shrinking back from them and into Torric’s side. He squeezed me closer. Their eyes darted between the two of us and then stared at Torric a moment. They nodded, and the strange fear I had fled from me.

  “Zianya, this is Vonn and Zeer. They do work for me,” Keig said.

  Sliding into the seat Torric held out for me before he joined me, I calmly said, “You mean they spy for you.”

  Both men turned their eyes on me. Once again, I felt that urge to shrink. Instead, I stared back at them levelly. For a time, they simply watched. Then the taller one laughed heartily. The shorter one smiled quietly.

  “I like her, Torric,” the larger man merrily barked, “she’s strong.”

  I tilted my head. “Which one are you?”

  The larger man said, “I’m Vonn, this is Zeer. You’re right. We do a lot of Keig’s spying.”

  My eyes flittered between the two of them. Then I smiled. “On my side of the border, no doubt. This is how you knew about that path, Torric?”

  Torric nodded before adding. “It seems they’re monitoring it now.”

  “Yes,” Vonn said. “They’ve been making trips into our sid
e of the border, too. They carried out that raid, but mostly it’s just scouting.”

  “To what end?” I asked. “Renth has always maintained the border to—as the people on my side put it—keep out evil.”

  The men laughed, and Keig said, “They still think we’re evil, hmm? I wonder what they thought of you.”

  I shrugged. “The people of my village only tolerated me because I could, and did, heal them. However, one of the villages tried to burn me for being a witch.” I glanced over at Torric to see him glowering. I knew it still bothered him. “If Torric hadn’t arrived when he did, I’d be ashes now.”

  “What did you do to have them want to burn you?” Vonn asked quietly.

  “Have red hair,” I said simply.

  “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Keig said.

  I let my eyes rest on Torric again. Anger fought for dominance in his eyes. I could only assume that the discussion brought up a wave of heavy feelings. My hand tenderly ran over his arm and wove my fingers with his. He turned to me and softened. To remind him I was still alive, I squeezed his hand and let warmth lighten my face.

  “They have ancient tales of flame-haired witches coming from the West and terrorizing them. Unfortunately, some people still cling to those ways. My great-grandmother had found and healed my great-grandfather. Because of that, he brought her home and made her his wife. When people sought to burn her for being a witch, he told them how she’d healed him and that she had come to Vella with the purpose of healing our people. I don’t know whether you want to say fortunately or not, but not long after, the leader of our village fell deathly ill. My great-grandmother saved him. After that, people softened enough to decide not to burn us. But they never accepted us, either. People who wanted my wares used to come to the back door, wearing hoods to hide who they were.”

  Zeer rolled his eyes, and Vonn said, “Fools.” I was beginning to wonder if Zeer ever spoke. When he still had not said a word by the end of the meal, I was convinced he didn’t. I was curious as to why but never got the chance to ask Torric.

  Chapter Ten

  With Torric gone, I threw myself into training Kayla. Intelligence sparkled behind her blue eyes and for that, I was grateful. We spent our mornings gathering and sorting plants, and she never made a mistake as she separated them into bundles. Filling our afternoons by going over how to make the various potions, salves, lotions, and creams, I was delighted when she remembered the use of each one. However, the truth was, that I was hiding from the fact that I was restless and sleepless each night. Waking up with Torric warm at my side had become a part of me. Working hard helped me to forget that the bed was cold.

  A few days later, the door opened, and a woman walked in. I smiled up at her. “Can I help you?”

  “I came to speak to you about Kayla,” the woman said. She was older, perhaps forty-five, with graying brown hair in a tightly wound bun. Her eyes were hard and deep brown. The deep scowl she wore didn’t help a face that few would find attractive.

  I knew that Keig was supposed to talk to the woman in charge of Kayla, and I suspected this was she.

  “Of course. What would you like to discuss?”

  “I would like you to release Kayla from working with you.” It was strange how her wording indicated a request, but her tone was a demand.

  “Why is that?” I kept my voice neutral. My dealing with people who hated me for no reason my whole life had trained me how to keep my calm.

  She shook her head at me, and her slow, deliberate way of speaking seemed to indicate that I was a simpleton. Irritation radiated in her eyes at my apparent ignorance. “Kayla is a foolish girl. She’ll never understand what she’s doing. She’s a good worker but not very bright.”

  I watched the woman for a long moment, and then I asked softly, “Other than the fact that she’s a simple girl, do you have a reason why you don’t want her to work with me?”

  She scowled at me and her tone allowed for no argument. “She’s simple and is better off in the kitchen, scrubbing dishes, where she can’t hurt anyone. If you really need someone to work with, I can work with you.”

  I walked over to the woman and looked up at her with a smile. “What’s your name?”

  “Ahn.”

  Now that the heart of the matter had shown itself, it was time to stop this. And yet, despite the words which next came from me, I kept my voice low and calm, “Well, Ahn, here’s the issue—you want this job. You think it will bring you prestige, and because of that, you want to have Kayla removed from working with me. But Kayla is exactly the type of person who should be doing this job. She’s kind, sweet, and intelligent. She has a natural affinity for the work, and I’m certain once I have finished training her, she will have the perfect bedside manner. I’ll tell you this, Ahn. I’m going to speak to Keig again. I’m going to explain to him how Kayla is no longer under your guidance because you will be unable to let go of her to do this work. She’s going to be working in the healing hall from now on. When I leave, she’s going to be helping the warriors of this fort.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Who are you to come here and make such judgments?”

  I raised my head, “I’m Zianya, the Healer. I’ve spent my whole life healing and helping people. And while I am sure what you do is valuable to this fort, you have no experience as a healer or an herbalist. I know, because I recently familiarized myself with all the staff at the hall in case there was another I should also train.”

  Her already cold gaze turned absolutely frigid. For a few moments longer, her frozen eyes watched me before she stormed out the door. Outside, I heard a commotion with another woman softly saying sorry. A moment later, Kayla walked in and stared at me with troubled eyes.

  I sighed. “Did you hear all of that?”

  “Y-yes. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to listen in.”

  Her cheeks turned a deep red and I smiled. “I meant what I said. You have a natural instinct for this.”

  “Are you really going to talk to Keig again?”

  “I am. Why?”

  She paused a moment before saying, “Because I’m sure Ahn’s on her way there right now.”

  “Let her. You and I have work to do. When we break for lunch, I’ll talk with Keig.”

  We left and headed out to the hills under the watchful eyes of a couple of guards, gathering what we needed as we went. Kayla was far more relaxed than I had seen in all our time together. I had a feeling Ahn simply didn’t like Kayla. But I thought she was easy to get along with and was quick of mind. I watched as she gathered only the plants we needed for the day.

  We made our way back, and when we got into the fort, I found Keig waiting near the door, Ahn right behind him with a cruel smile.

  I gave Kayla a quick wink. “Get these prepared for me?”

  She warily peeked at Ahn before she nodded and trotted off.

  I walked over and smiled up at Keig. Glancing at Ahn, I noticed her sneer spreading as a dark gleam twinkled in her eyes. Ignoring her, I turned back to Keig. Quietly, I asked, “Can I help you?”

  “Ahn told me that Kayla isn’t up to working for you, and that she would—”

  “That she would be a more appropriate choice?” I chewed my bottom lip for a moment before I evenly asked, “Keig, if there were an invasion, would you want me to tell you how to defend this fort?”

  Behind him, Ahn lost her smirk as Keig looked at me thoughtfully. He replied, “I’d hope you’d be smart enough to stay out of it.”

  “Exactly. When it comes to the healing arts, I’ve trained my entire life, and there’s one thing I know, and that’s who would make a good herbalist. This woman wants to take a position that I’m not offering her, and she’s willing to say or do anything to get it. Meanwhile, Kayla has a giving spirit and a desire to help for the sake of helping. She may not have the powers of a healer, but she has the true spirit of one. Not to mention she has a natural affinity for plants and potions. Did you know she was raised on a far
m and has some training with plants?”

  Ahn pushed around him and spit out, “You wouldn’t even give me a chance.”

  “No. I wouldn’t. Nor do I have to. The knowledge is mine to give or not give as I see fit. I choose who my student is and who is not.” Serenely, I said, “And a mean bitch who wants to learn because she thinks it will give her a better position is not someone I want to train. I could tell the moment I spoke with you that you don’t like Kayla. Anything that girl was given, you would want, and it has nothing to do with your skills or even hers. She’s smart and understands what I’m teaching her. She is my chosen student.”

  Keig stared at me for a long time, his eyes assessing. Finally, he said, “Who am I to second-guess a well-trained healer? If she believes Kayla should be our herbalist, she must know what she’s talking about.”

  Ahn bit out, “But that job should be mine! I’ve worked hard here for years. That little girl has only been here a few months.”

  I let my eyes meet Ahn’s. It took a lot for me to not let the smile that flitted across my lips burst forth. Keig looked at her with a frown. Suddenly, Ahn realized she’d exposed herself. Fearful eyes flickered to Keig and then back to me. When she spoke, her voice shook just a little. “I need to get back to work.”

  And with that, she walked away.

  My eyes met Keig’s. For a moment, we just stared at one another. Then he shook as a laugh burst from him. His laugh was infectious, and soon I was laughing, too.

  “So how often does she bring you into her troubles?”

  His eyebrows shot up and humor lit his eyes. “She’s been complaining about Kayla since she came here. She’s complained about other girls as well.”

  “Were they pretty?”

  He frowned. “As a matter of fact, they were.”

  I shrugged. “Some women can be petty about things like that. Ahn strikes me as someone bitter who likes to use her power against those whom she views as a threat.”

  His skepticism at my assertion was rather obvious. “How can you be sure? You barely know her.”