Mei Li’s arm was indeed broken. Not badly, just a hairline fracture, and it was quite understandable under the circumstances. Kiyo had lightly touched a tuning fork to her arm in two different places and the tone of the ring was dull, indicating a break in the bone, but it did sound. At least it wasn’t snapped in two. That’s what Mei Li held on to.
Nord drew a talisman directly onto her skin with a steady hand, speaking in his soft voice as he worked. “The impact against the shield was hard enough on your bones, but by forcing the blow upward as you did, you forced the arm to rotate, and that’s what did the most damage. You’ll find that your tendons and muscles are significantly bruised. Please do not use the arm at all for the next week.”
That sounded problematic. Traveling for a week with a bum arm? Mei Li frowned down at it, already trying to figure out how to manage things like tying a belt on. She doubted Kiyo would be willing to help much in that regard.
Well. This would be fun.
As Nord carefully wrapped the arm, Kiyo sat behind him, dabbing ointment on the scorched shoulder. “All said, we actually fared rather well,” Kiyo noted almost rhetorically. “This is a very mild set of injuries considering what we were up against. Blood mages are usually horrible to handle.”
“I think we have Shunlei to thank for that.” Hawes came in closer to sink onto his haunches, looking the dragon over.
Shunlei was not-quite-hovering, holding both bandages and the jar of ointment out as an assistant. He regarded Hawes with some amusement, the hint of it curling up the edges of his mouth. “This is the point I try to make with my fellow dragons. If only we could work in harmony with humanity, we could achieve amazing things.”
Mei Li nodded firmly in support of this. She wanted so dearly to tell him that in the future, they’d have this—the harmony of trust and support. She had to bite her tongue before she blurted out too much.
Fortunately, Melchior said what she thought. “It’s true, we really do complement each other. The blood mage would have been very difficult for any dragon alone to take on—the dragon would have been drained of life and magic quickly. But we would have still been battling that mage if not for your dragon fire suppressing and distracting him. I think that crossing paths with you might well alter the preconceptions we have of dragons. I’ve certainly changed my mind.”
Shunlei beamed at him. “You have?”
“Of course! You’ve been a pleasure to work and travel with. I’m glad Lady Mei called out to you.” Melchior tapped a finger to his chin, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “You said you’ve been challenging dragons as you’ve come across them, subduing them and putting them under contract. How often do you find another dragon?”
“Two or three a month?” Shunlei’s head canted as he thought about it. “But I’m not always in the right areas for it. For the most part, dragons like to stay in the mountains or in the forests. It gives us better perches, for one, and safer places to sleep and hunt. But occasionally I’ll see another down here, in the more civilized areas, causing trouble.”
Hawes and Melchior shared a look. It was probably supposed to come off as solemn, but instead they resembled two little boys plotting mischief.
“I’m game,” Melchior informed his friend hopefully.
“Heavens, man, like I’m going to turn down the challenge,” Hawes snorted. Turning back to Shunlei, he stated firmly, “We’ll help you. We were inclined to help you before, as no one wants the dragons rampaging about, but now? Seeing how well we can cooperate? We’ll definitely help you.”
Shunlei immediately put bandages and ointment down and bounded over to hug both men. Hawes and Melchior spluttered under this hug attack but didn’t refuse it, although the pat on Shunlei’s shoulder looked a bit awkward on Melchior’s part. Their height differences alone made it awkward. Mei Li watched with patent amusement, which she strove not to show by covering her mouth with her hand. “Thank you, a million times, thank you!”
“Well. Least we can do.” Hawes disengaged, bemused at the hug, but not unhappy about it. “Alright, let’s get these two sorted. I see a storm rolling in on the horizon, and I’d rather not be caught out in it. Or stuck in our tents. Never a fun thing, rolling up wet tents.”
Shunlei and Melchior started breaking down the tents while Hawes headed for the horses, getting them saddled. Nord wrapped Mei Li’s arm and then put it in a sling about her neck. She wasn’t at all looking forward to riding and having her arm jostled about. The binding spell on the bandages would help stabilize it, but anything faster than a walk would not be comfortable. Nord, at least, seemed fine, even if his shoulder did irritate him.
They went about the tasks of breaking down camp and, despite two injured people, managed it well enough. Shunlei helped Mei Li up onto the horse and swung himself up behind her. Mei Li could manage the reins with one hand well enough, and truly, this arrangement worked better. Even if Shunlei were more comfortable riding now, she wouldn’t want to ride with her injured arm pressed up against his back. No, thanks.
By the time they got back onto the road, the storm was more than just dark clouds in the sky. The air was humid, and a strong wind ruffled their clothes and hair. Shunlei took in a deep breath behind her, head tilted back to scent the air. “I estimate we have a few hours, perhaps as much as four, before we’re hit.”
“I trust your nose. Hawes!” Mei Li called ahead. “How close is the nearest town?”
“According to my very inaccurate map, about six hours!”
Mei Li made a face. “Hopefully that estimation is off in our favor. And not against.”
They didn’t quite make it. The town was in sight when the heavens opened up and drenched them from head to toe. Even hurrying in didn’t make much difference, and they showed up at the inn’s door—the only inn, as far as Mei Li could tell—looking like drowned rats. The inn keeper clucked over them, gave them a fair price, and got his staff in motion with a clap of the hands to get everyone in and settled, horses included.
Mei Li wanted a bath and was determined to get it. She’d hail one of the female staff, if necessary, to help her back into clothes. With her dry clothes fetched and held carefully away from her sopping wet person, she headed back downstairs and into the back of the inn. In the process, she nearly bumped right into Kiyo, her own dry clothes and towels in her arms.
“Oh good,” Kiyo stated, moving aside to give her room to enter. “This will make things easier. I intended to fetch you if you weren’t down in the next minute.”
Mei Li blinked at her. Come again? “You were.”
“Absolutely. You’ll need help in and out of the clothes. Maybe with your hair.” Kiyo eyed her sideways as she slid the bathing room door shut. “Have you ever washed hair one-handed before?”
“No. I’ve, ah, never injured an arm before.”
“It’s quite the trick. Takes practice. I’d best do it.”
She absolutely had not anticipated that Kiyo would willingly pitch in and help her. But Mei Li had no intention of arguing against it, either. “Thank you in advance.”
“Clothes first.” Kiyo came at her with a determined expression.
Having someone else unclothe her was strange, but Mei Li appreciated the help. She settled into the bath carefully. The wooden sides were taller than usual, and the tile floor a bit slippery from previous use. Snagging one of the smaller wooden buckets, she balanced a thick towel on it for padding before letting her injured arm rest on it. Mei Li didn’t want to disturb the bandage or healing talismans wrapped around her arm, so she tried to keep it as dry as possible.
Kiyo was brisk and efficient as she shampooed Mei Li’s hair. The massage against her scalp felt good, and Mei Li relaxed into it with a sigh. It had been years since anyone had washed her hair.
“Did you call out to him to make a point?”
Mei Li blinked. Ran that sentence through her head twice. Nope, still didn’t make sense. “I’m sorry?”
“Shunlei. When you called to h
im for help with Red Lantern. Did you do that to make a point?”
“Just how conniving do you think I am?” Mei Li asked in bemusement. “No, I called to him because I needed aerial support to make the full seal. And I knew he’d help us.”
“Because of the other dragon that rescued you.” Kiyo said this with complete neutrality.
“Him, and my master. My master taught me the most about dragons.”
“Hmm.” Kiyo tipped Mei Li’s head back so she could rinse, then grabbed the nearby hair oil to run it through the thick, black strands. “He’s more polite than I expected.”
Oh ho ho. Was Kiyo finally thawing toward Shunlei? She’d treated him with a sort of icy civility. Was that her version of caution? “Yes, his politeness caught me a bit by surprise too.” On their first meeting, anyway.
“Do you think he’ll stay with us long? Surely he has his own agenda.”
“I think his agenda is taming the dragons and making better strides with humanity. I doubt he’ll leave us anytime soon.” Mei Li was sure of that, in fact. The records stated that Shunlei stayed with the first three groups of Tomes and their helpers until finally taking a break from it.
“So, you believe he’ll stay with us.”
“I do.”
Kiyo hummed again, not arguing, and finally released her hair. “And what about you? How long will you stay?”
The question was likely meant to be casual, but Mei Li didn’t hear it that way. It felt anything but. She was fairly itching with urgency, knowing Zaffi was close to breaking out of his seal in her present time, as well as a host of other problems she may or may not know how to defeat. She’d initially thought this trip would be quick—a week or two at most. Grab the records lost in the shipwreck and get back home before anyone knew she was gone.
The moment she’d appeared in this time and realized how far in the past she was, her mind had struggled to accept that she wouldn’t be here for a few weeks. Zaffi hadn’t even risen yet! It would be years before he did so. She still had that urgency burning in her to get things done, to wrap it up so she could go back home to her own time. It left her antsy in the worst ways. Being injured now didn’t help.
Mei Li forced a steady stream of air out of her nose, forcing herself to calm. No use in rushing. Time wasn’t moving forward in the future, after all. Not really. She had to keep reminding herself of that. “As long as I need to. I think I’ll be with you for quite some time. This isn’t a situation I can easily walk away from.”
That satisfied Kiyo, for some reason. She gracefully entered the bath and started soaping up her own hair.
“How did you come to join the party?” Mei Li asked. She knew the woman stayed for two decades, but none of the records mentioned a motivation.
Kiyo tilted her head for a moment to look at her before resuming scrubbing at her hair. “I think the family expectation for me was that after I graduated, I would quietly go home and use my training to help the family business. But I wanted to accomplish something. Do something completely on my own merits. Hawes knew one of my teachers, and when he came looking for help, I was introduced to him as a possible candidate. I fairly leapt at the chance.”
Mei Li understood that feeling, in a sense. She liked being able to accomplish things. It seemed that, at heart, she and Kiyo were not so different after all. “And Nord?”
“Nord and I studied together. When Hawes accepted me, I asked if I could invite Nord as well. I was half-surprised he accepted, as he’s rather a homebody most days. But I think he, too, wanted to really stretch his wings. And he enjoys the magical challenges.”
“And it was only the two of you who accepted?”
“No, there was another. But he didn’t last long, perhaps two weeks? Then he decided it was too much for him. He didn’t like the uncertainty of it all, and how much we have to make up as we go along. He left. It’s why Hawes latched onto you and Shunlei so quickly. If you have any skill and are willing, he’ll draft you in.”
Mei Li snorted. “I got that sense, yes.”
Well, this was nice, having Kiyo act so friendly. Had she worked through matters enough to accept Mei Li? It looked that way. Mei Li heaved a secret breath of relief. She really didn’t need antagonism on her own team. She was too alone in this world as it was.
Neither of them lingered long, as their stomachs were rumbling. They’d skipped lunch in the hopes of getting under shelter before the storm hit. When Kiyo got out, Mei Li did as well, out of necessity. Kiyo wasn’t exactly nurturing while putting Mei Li back into clothes, but she did get the job done, and Mei Li appreciated it.
They exited, handing wet clothes over to the laundress on site for washing, then rejoined the men at the dining area. Mei Li settled on a cushion near Shunlei, her mouth watering from the tempting display of food on the table. Shunlei handed her a spoon instead of hashi and encouraged her by saying, “Anything you want to eat, tell me. I’ll put it on the spoon for you.”
He really was a sweetheart. The long span of time he lived had not changed that. “I will, thank you.”
Shunlei’s eyes flicked up to Mei Li’s hair and lingered there. Kiyo had thrown it up for her into a messy knot with hair sticks holding it into place. It was a damp knot sitting on Mei Li’s head and nothing more. “And after this, I will comb your hair out for you.”
“Are you looking for a way to return the preening session?” she teased. She also found this offer amusing, as he’d apparently ignored his own hair. Even now it lay in damp tangles around his shoulders.
A light blush lit his cheeks. “Perhaps I am?”
“I will take the offer, thank you.” Could she pinch his cheeks? Mei Li really wanted to pinch his cheeks.
Hawes cleared his throat. “If the two of you are done flirting?”
Shunlei spluttered, words tripping over themselves.
Staring him down, Mei Li drawled, “He’s fun to tease. What is it, Hawes?”
“You fared alright on the ride here, but do you think you can continue to keep up? Should we arrange for you to stay here and heal, perhaps catch up later?”
“I’ll help her,” Shunlei volunteered immediately.
Mei Li shot him a smile. “I think I’ll be fine. And truly, I’d rather stay with the group. There’s no predicting which way you’ll go. It will be difficult to try and catch up later.”
Hawes nodded in satisfaction. “I expected that answer. Alright, we’ll wait the storm out before continuing. I encourage you to rest while you can. We still have that bone demon and a trouble-making water deity to hunt down.”
Mei Li had almost forgotten about those. It would mean a lot of riding in their near future. No wonder Hawes was checking in on her. Sighing, she looked down at her arm, back in its sling, and silently ordered it to heal faster. A week to heal was ridiculous.
She did not have time for a broken arm.
The main room of the inn was lively with people eating dinner, travelers escaping the rain, and a bored musician in the far corner plucking out one song after the next. Most of the instruments weren’t ones she recognized, nor the melody for that matter. It was pleasant on the ear, though. Quick and lively.
They found an out of the way area near the fire, and Shunlei carefully unwound her hair from its messy bun. With comb in hand, he started at the bottom and gently worked his way through the damp strands.
“Thanks for this,” Mei Li told him without turning her head. “Kiyo’s helping me but her methods are…brisk. I was a little afraid of what she’d do to my scalp.”
He chuckled in a low tone. “Quite understandable. And I’m pleased to return the favor. Does your arm hurt?”
“Not badly. The talismans Nord put on it help manage the pain. It’s mostly difficult on my neck, which is taking the weight of the arm.”
“Ahh. I’ve never broken a limb before. But I can see how that would be the case.”
“It’s the first time I’ve broken an arm too.” Mei Li made a face down at her sling. �
�I can’t recommend the experience.”
“I’ve no desire to do it. I’ll trust your word.”
Silence for a moment, comfortable and easy, as Shunlei rhythmically stroked the comb through her hair. He only paused now and again to undo a tangle, his fingers gentle. With the warmth of the fire, and the sweet smell of cedar all around her, Mei Li felt her eyes droop. The atmosphere would lull her into a sleep soon.
“How long do you expect to stay with this group?” Shunlei asked her without segue.
“It’s funny, but Kiyo asked me that earlier. I think I’ll stay with them for some time. There’s a great deal I need to learn, and being with them is the best way to do it. You?”
“You’re the first humans to welcome me into their midst,” Shunlei answered with transparent honesty. “I’ve no desire to leave any time soon. Do you think Hawes and Melchior really meant it when they said they’d help me tame the dragons?”
“I think they did. They’re very keen on you succeeding. And really, you will succeed. It’s best all-around if they help you.”
Shunlei’s hands stilled in her hair. “There’s no doubt in your mind? You’re that confident?”
Tilting her head, she shot him a warm smile over her shoulder. Oh, if only she could tell him. That this wasn’t faith, but knowledge. “You’ll succeed. There’s not a trace of doubt in my mind.”
The expression on his face was incredulity, and hope, and the faintest tinge of a blush on his cheeks. He seemed speechless by her attitude. Incredibly touched by it, too. Mei Li might not be able to tell him everything, but she saw no harm in encouraging him or displaying complete confidence in him. He really had taken on an incredible task. The very least she could do was support him.
Mei Li belatedly added, “I’ll help you too, of course. I don’t think I’ve said that so far. But of course I’ll help you too.”
His eyes were bright, too bright, and he had to clear his throat before he could bring himself to speak. “Thank you. I look forward to your help.”
First of Tomes (The Tomes of Kaleria Book 2) Page 9