“Yes,” I said, placing the mug on the shelf above Ilyan’s feet. “It smells a bit funny at first, but the taste is nice.”
“Well, I am glad it didn’t kill you,” Thom said gruffly before leaning against the side of Ilyan’s bunk. He narrowed his eyes at me and I jumped a bit. I knew that look; I had grown up with that look. It was the look every kid had given me when they were trying to figure out what was wrong with me.
“What?” I asked, feeling uncomfortable.
“You are very interesting,” he said. I waited a moment for him to elaborate, but he never did.
“I’m aware,” I said before turning away.
“Nothing like your Father. There is a lot of bitterness in your heart.”
“Well that’s what happens when said Father abandons you, I suppose.”
“Not all fathers abandon their children on purpose. Your Father didn’t abandon you,” Thom spat. I jumped a bit at his bitterness.
“Well he certainly wasn’t there.” My hackles were up, his tone setting me on the defensive.
“Sain only left you to do what was best for you.”
“Oh, how would you know? You’re not a dad.”
“Not anymore.” Thom whispered.
He didn’t need to say any more. I could see the pain in his eyes. I hurt for him.
I kept my glance off to the side, not wanting to make eye contact. I stared into the nothingness of the cavern, contemplating where to go, or what to do. But ultimately, I didn’t want to be anywhere else. I didn’t want to leave Ilyan’s side.
“Did you know I lived with my Father for two hundred years before I left?” I heard his feet shuffle, but I still didn’t look at him.
“No.”
“Yes, I had seen many of my siblings go off and fight against Ilyan, leave to fight against my Father, go back and forth until they would find their death. But I stayed on my Father’s side. I trusted him beyond anything. I didn’t see a reason not to. I knew he was right. He was my Father.”
I looked toward Thom, surprised to hear him say so much.
“Your Father showed me how wrong I was. That’s why I helped him escape. I would have never pegged Ilyan for a good guy until the day I met him. I watched him heal Sain without question, and he held me like a brother…”
He stopped for a moment, his eyes lingering on Ilyan. I followed his gaze, almost hoping Ilyan would be sitting there listening.
“I’m glad to return the favor,” Thom said, more to Ilyan then to me, before placing his palm against Ilyan’s forehead.
“He’s going to be alright then?”
“You can check for yourself, Siln?.” He waved his hand over Ilyan’s body as if in invitation, but I shook my head no.
“I don’t know how.” Thom’s face was pure shock for a moment before turning into an awkward looking smile. “We mostly focused on defensive magic.” I answered his unasked question, but Thom didn’t seem to notice.
“Place your hand on his cheek then,” Thom said as he gestured over Ilyan’s body.
“Excuse me?” I didn’t know what Thom was getting at, but I didn’t want to learn healing magic on Ilyan. I shook my head, hoping to get my point across.
“Most powerful, my ass.” Thom grumbled as he roughly pulled my hand out of the warm fur I had curled myself into. He stretched my hand away from me to rest on Ilyan’s cheek. I was forced to shuffle forward to keep from falling on top of Ilyan.
“You do know something about human anatomy, correct?”
“Yes,” I raised an eyebrow at him, worried about where this was going.
“Good. Now, push your magic into him.” This I had done before, so I obeyed, looking to Thom, for instruction about what to do next.
“Think of his body as a body.”
I stared at him.
“You know,” he continued, irritated, “with a heart, and lungs, and bones, and muscles. Now, use your magic to find his heart.”
I looked at Thom for a minute, waiting for him to elaborate, but not expecting him too. When it became obvious that he wasn’t going to help me anymore I pushed my magic through Ilyan, trying to focus on where it was in relationship to his body. I felt my magic flow through him slowly, nothing really defined. Discouraged, I pulled my magic away. I could make giant gashes in rock walls now, but healing was probably not going to happen. I began to shake my head and move away, but Thom’s hands moved over mine, keeping them in place.
“You have to actually try, Siln?.” His voice was stern. I looked away from him, closing my eyes in an attempt to focus.
Okay, so in Thom’s world I wasn’t trying. I cinched my eyes together more and tried harder. I pushed more magic into Ilyan and let it flow right to the spot where I hoped his heart would be. It took me a minute, but before long, I could feel it. My eyes snapped open, Thom’s eyes shining at my obvious success even though he did not smile in encouragement.
“Now, close your eyes,” he instructed, “and use the interior eye of your magic to see his heart.”
My lip curled in disgust, this was pushing an envelope. Why would I want to see a beating heart inside someone’s body? My stomach turned at the thought.