“Lord Purcell would speak with you, my lady.” Marcus bowed and excused himself to attend important matters in the courtyard.
Purcell looked for Keverin while Jessica stepped over the girl’s legs to approach him. He couldn’t see him anywhere. “How’s Kev?”
Jessica’s face crumpled, and tears welled up. Purcell stepped forward and clasped her in his arms to comfort her. She cried almost silently and beat her fists on his armour. He held tight so that she could let it out.
“He’s dying,” Jessica mumbled with her cheek pressed against his armoured body.
Oh by the God, not Keverin too.
“I’m so sorry. I thought he stopped the bleeding.”
Jessica pushed Purcell away a little, he didn’t resist. “He did, but he has a fever. I think he lost too much blood. There’s nothing I can do.”
“What about your healers, surely there’s something...” Purcell trailed off as she shook her head.
“We always relied on Darius for healing. He’s dead, and Renard is... I don’t know, but he is not himself.”
Purcell looked around at the wounded. He could see dozens from Elvissa within just a few yards of him, and he knew there must be others. He should have brought healers with him! Why hadn’t he thought to bring some?
“Is Keverin awake, can I see him?”
Jessica wiped her eyes on a piece of bandage and nodded. “You can see him, but he’s been unconscious since they brought him in.”
There was no point. He needed to know who was to command, with Kev dying childless, the question was ultimately the king’s to answer, but they were at war. Something had to be done now, not in a season or more.
“I’m sorry to ask, but I have to. Did he name an heir?”
She shook her head. “Marcus commands all our forces while Keverin is—recovering.”
That at least was something. “That’s fine. I need to talk to him about the defence. I don’t know what we can do about the sorcerers, but we have to try.”
“They can’t get in now—surely?”
Purcell shook his head. “Not easily. Maybe not at all, but they can still attack using magic. I’d better go see Marcus. I’m sorry about Keverin, truly sorry.”
Purcell left Jessica staring at nothing. He hoped she would be all right. When Kevlarin died in a stupid riding accident she had been devastated, but she’d had Keverin to comfort her. Now with Keverin dying, she didn’t even have grandchildren to ease the blow. He thanked the God for Isolde and their children. He never wanted to be alone like Jessica would soon be.
* * *
Julia awoke to find herself covered by blankets on the floor of the great hall. She stared up at the huge chandelier in puzzlement. What was going on? There was a man asleep next to her on the right. She stared at him silently. He was dead.
To her left a man was whimpering in pain. “They not be taking me hand, they not be taking me hand,” he mumbled over and over.
Julia tried to sit up and help him. “Hnnn!” She slumped back as the pain pounded her down. She barely stayed conscious as she fought against the black tide. It receded reluctantly. “Somebody...” she called weakly. “What’s happening? It hurts.”
Jessica knelt by her side. “Shushhhh Julia. We’ll get it out of you don’t worry.”
Julia groaned as she remembered the courtyard. “I’m a killer. Oh God I’ve killed people—lots of people.”
Jessica wiped the sweat from her brow, and stroked her hair soothingly.
“Shushhhh Julia. You did what you had to do. You saved us all.”
“Keverin... is he... I had to leave him. I’m sorry... sorry Jessica. The enemy were in the gate, I had to try.”
Jessica started crying. Julia looked over the distraught woman’s shoulder at a man in armour. She knew his face, but she couldn’t remember his name.
“Lord Keverin is dying, lady. He lost too much blood. Our mages are dead or dying. They can’t heal him.”
Julia felt sick. The pain was a throbbing fire in her chest. All she wanted to do was go to sleep. Trying to think was difficult. What was that about mages? How could they heal? Magic was only for killing wasn’t it?
“Magic is only for killing people,” she whispered wearily.
The guardsman looked shocked. “Darius healed many people. All healers used to be mages. Now, only strong ones can do it.”
“How did they?”
“Who can say? Maybe the books tell the way of it, but if they do, I don’t know it. I can’t read them.”
“Jessica? Jessica!” The grief stricken woman looked up at Julia in a daze. “Please Jessica, I might be able to help Keverin if I can learn what I need quickly. I can’t do it with this damned thing sticking in me,” she said laying a hand next to the arrow.
“Do you think so?” Jessica asked with sudden hope.
There was no chance if she didn’t try, and damn little if she did. All in all, Julia preferred trying to help over listening to the screams. There were some she couldn’t escape—they were in her head, but the ones here in the hall might be silenced if she could learn enough.
“All I can do is try. Now the arrow please, it hurts.”
Jessica brightened. “Yes. The arrow has to come out first. Of course—yes!”
Jessica ran out of Julia’s sight and came back with another helper. He was an older guardsman, perhaps one too old to fight or stand watches on the walls. He quickly helped Julia to sit up. That was agony in itself, but she felt better after. Leaning forward didn’t seem to hurt so much. One of the men pulled her gown down to get at the arrowhead, and mumbled an apology at the liberty of exposing her breasts. Julia would have laughed if it hadn’t hurt so much.
“This will hurt, Lady. Please try not to move.”
He gently grasped the arrowhead and pain crackled through Julia’s chest. A red hot poker of agony lanced through her. “AEiii!”
Julia tried not to move as he asked, but it was no good. She arched her back at the pain. Someone grabbed her flailing arms to prevent her pushing him away.
“AEiii!” Julia screamed at the top of her voice. “AEiii!” She screamed over and over without pause for a breath. Finally the pain ebbed away. Panting and sweating, Julia looked down at her chest to see the arrow still there. Oh Christ what was he playing at! “What are you doing? Get... it... out!” She said through clenched teeth.
“I’m sorry!” The old man seemed close to tears with the pain he had put her through. “Truly m’lady, I am very sorry, but I had to cut the head off first.”
“Oh God. All right.”
“Brace yourself,” the man said before nodding to his companion.
A guardsman behind her yanked the arrow out in one hard pull. This time Julia screamed fit to bring the roof down. Crackles of lightning danced at her fingertips as she involuntarily grabbed for something, anything, to stop the pain.
Darkness sucked her down.
Julia came back from the dark place to feel the man bandaging her chest. Tears streamed over her cheeks, and she sniffled. She wasn’t crying exactly, but her eyes seemed not know that.
“Thank you... feels... better,” Julia said hiccoughing the words as her tears slowed. The guardsman simply looked at her worriedly.
What? Oh!
Julia raised her hands before her eyes and stared in fascination. Tiny lightning bolts were crackling from finger to finger like a miniature storm. She released her link to the magic and watched them wink out.
“Sorry. It hurt you know?”
The man behind her laughed, and the guardsman in front smiled briefly, but he was obviously relieved to see the manifestation of her magic vanish. She watched him finish bandaging her chest and shoulder. She thanked him again when he helped with her gown.
“I’ll need the books on healing if there are any,” Julia said trying to breathe shallow.
“I can’t bring them to you. They’re warded to prevent theft,” Jessica said worriedly.
“I’ll ha
ve to go to the library then,” she said struggling to stand.
The world spun about and Julia was abruptly back where she started. Before she could try again and hurt herself, a guardsman stepped forward and lifted her into his arms. It hurt, but she kept quiet.
Jessica was by her side pointing out the quickest route, but the guardsman already knew the way and carried her to the library without fuss. Julia drowsed in his arms, but awoke as the familiar feeling of the library came over her. Julia was beginning to suspect that the entire library was magical in some way because of her reaction upon entering. It always seemed to talk to her.
“Use me, and know power,” it whispered for her ears alone.
Julia shivered as she remembered all the deaths she had caused. She already knew what power was like—she didn’t like it.
The guardsman was looking at her for instructions.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t remember your name.”
“I’m Udall, Lady.”
Oh yes. Now she remembered. Mathius had stuck his boots to the floor on her first day at Athione. He was one of Sergeant Burke’s men.
“Take me down the first row please. I hope you’re not too tired.”
“You’re only a little thing.”
Julia chose the low ranked shelves in the hope that anything she found would be within her capabilities to use. She scanned all the titles, but there didn’t seem to be any that would help. It worried her more than a little. If there were any books on healing within the library, they must be for higher ranked mages. Although she felt strong, she actually ranked lower than Mathius in practical knowledge and experience. Her inability to make wards and shields proved that.
Udall carried her along the next aisle. This time the titles were for mages interested in making material things such as roads and bridges. There were some interesting books here, but nothing that she found sounded even remotely like what she needed to heal Mathius. The ones she needed must be for higher ranked mages. What would she do if she wasn’t strong enough? There was no point in worrying about it. Worrying never helped anything. It wasn’t her fault if they—
She worried.
“Stop here!” Julia said in excitement, and winced when she moved her arm without thought for the consequences.
Udall stopped and Julia read a promising title, but she reluctantly decided it wasn’t what she needed. Forestry and animal care, though dealing with living things, were not the same as healing a man’s wounds.
“Sorry Udall, next aisle please.”
Udall nodded and carried Julia along the last row.
Julia was afraid that this might happen. She had briefly looked at the third shelf during her first visit to the library. It had titles such as: Higher Principles of Power Transmission, or Animation for Sorcerers. The shelf wasn’t for beginners. Still, she had no alternative but to keep looking. Two thirds of the way down the row Julia found one.
“Take that one down for me would you Jessica?” She said pointing to a large tome bound in black leather. As Jessica did that, Udall continued down the aisle. “Stop. That looks interesting, we better have that.”
Jessica pulled the slim volume down and followed behind as Julia found another. Jessica took that one down as well. In the end, they found only four books in the whole library that might help—all of them on the high ranking shelf. Jessica found places for them to read in comfort. Julia’s arm was throbbing in time with her heartbeat. She thrust the discomfort to one side and tried to concentrate on her reading. When Jessica found an important passage, she read it aloud. Julia listened, but continued her own reading. They didn’t have much time.
Julia discarded the first book almost straight away. It was more to do with diseases than injuries or wounds. The next one was the size of a handbook or diary. As Julia read, she realised that she had found a treasure. The book was hand written in tiny script. Written by a wizard, it detailed his journey through the east—Tanjung and Japura—learning all he could about medical applications of herbs and magic.
Julia read as quickly as she could, but candlemarks went by before she understood enough to start. She bit her lip in worry. If she did this wrong, she might kill even more people.
“I think I’ve got it,” Julia said hesitantly.
“Will it help him—them?” Jessica said.
“I think so. I need to read it all the way through to be sure. Is there enough time?”
Jessica shook her head. “You need to try it right away.”
“It’s dangerous Jessica. I don’t know if I’m strong enough—even before the arrow. If I try and do something wrong it might kill them.”
“It’s all right. It’s better to try to save someone and fail than not to try at all.”
“Even if it’s Keverin who dies?”
Jessica’s face hardened.
“I’m sorry,” Julia said quickly. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded, honest! I don’t want any more deaths on my conscience.”
“I told you before,” Jessica said in a hard voice now. “You did what you had to do. We would all be dead without you.”
Udall nodded gloomily. “She’s right.”
It was a side of Jessica that Julia had never seen. She had always seemed kindly and fun to talk to, but now the mother of a great lord came forth—and she was as hard as steel. Julia looked miserably at her little book. It was easy for other people to justify her actions, they hadn’t been the one to kill so many. Julia bit her lip. She was anxious not to hurt anyone else, but by not acting she would be condemning all the wounded to more pain and perhaps even death.
Julia sighed. “I’ll try.”
Udall replaced the other books in their slots, then came back and sat beside her. “When you are ready, I’ll take you back to the hall.”
Julia raced through the pages snatching desperately at this or that passage. She tried to memorise everything she could. She was near to tears when she realised that she had forgotten the first part already. She flicked back and read through it again. There was a lot to learn in the little book. How could they expect her to operate on someone after reading a book for so short a time?
The biggest trick seemed to be the way of looking at the wound. From what Julia could puzzle out she would need to use her mage-sight to look below the surface of reality. According to the author it was possible to repair even serious injuries in that way, but had Darius worked like that? Julia realised that she could be completely on the wrong track. What if Darius knew this method didn’t work? What if she killed them... what if... No! Darius would have removed the book from the shelves if that had been the case. Surely he would have.
“Has anyone tried to take a book out of here before?” Julia asked her companions.
“No, why do you ask?” Jessica said and Udall shrugged. He didn’t know.
“I need to take this with me. I can’t learn enough in half an hour,” at Jessica’s confused look she tried again. “Half a candlemark I mean. If I take it, at least I can refer to it if I need something.”
“I don’t think you can,” Jessica said worried now. “Darius warded all the books in here.”
“Let’s try.”
Udall lifted Julia into his arms, but as he carried her toward the arch, Julia started to feel a reluctance to take the book. It was wrong to take it. She should put it back in its slot. When they reached the arch, it felt as if she were heading the wrong way. The shelves were the other way and she really should put the book back now. It was wrong to take the book. She should put it back in its slot—she really should. Julia wanted to turn around on the instant. If Udall had not been there, she would have.
It’s all in the mind. You’re not turning back.
The book started to glow blue as they neared the exit. Udall opened the door and the book objected strongly. It began flashing so brightly that the light made shadows leap up against the walls.
Udall looked at her. “Now what?”
With nothing better to try, Jul
ia shook the book vigorously. “Stop that!” She said. Of course it didn’t make any difference. She grasped her magic, and in frustration directed it at the book. “I told you to stop it!”
To Julia’s surprise the book paused as if startled. It flashed its light twice more in apology and then stopped its antics.
Julia looked at her companions in amazement and then back to the book. “Thanks.”
Udall was looking at her strangely. Julia wasn’t surprised. How many people can talk to things and have them answer, even if just by a flash of light? She had become somewhat accustomed to this world and its strangeness, but then something like this happened and she suddenly wondered if it was real after all.
That bloody arrow was real enough. It hurt like blazes.
On the way back to the great hall, Julia read some more of the little book. Some of the things in it were familiar to her but described a little oddly. The animals infesting wounds were obviously germs and microbes. According to her book they could be seen and destroyed if you used the magic like this, and then did that.
Other things didn’t seem to apply to her world at all. It mentioned aura a great deal. Julia had always scoffed at the idea of people seeing such things as auras around people, but as she read further, she realised that the author meant something entirely different. According to him, it was possible to spot a person with an injury or illness by the colour of their aura when viewing them in a certain way. It talked about the nature of reality, stating that everything was made of energy and that manipulating energy was what a mage did best. If she was right the author was talking about atoms. How could a person in a medieval culture know such things?
Udall carried Julia through one last door, and then toward Keverin where he lay with his men. To her eyes, he was pale, almost translucent.
“No. Mathius first.”
“Lady Julia, I don’t think—”
“I do!” Julia tried to soften that. “Sorry Udall. If I can heal Mathius, which is not certain, he might be able to help me with the others.”
That wasn’t Julia’s real reason though. She felt more responsible for Mathius than she did for Keverin. Keverin hated her and she didn’t much like him either, but Mathius was one of her few friends. When she found him in the courtyard, she had turned him over without thought and driven the wood impaling him further in. She couldn’t get the thought out of her head that if she’d been more careful he wouldn’t be dying.
Devan Chronicles Series: Books 1-3 Page 13