“At least it’s not … bleeding.”
“Do you think yours is bleeding again?” He didn’t answer, so she added, “What would your healer say? Would she have stitched the wound closed?” Sophie knew people also sometimes cauterized wounds, using a piece of metal heated in the fire to burn the wound, creating a scar that would close it up and keep it from bleeding. She shuddered inwardly at the thought of such painful treatment.
“I don’t know … Possibly.”
She tried to sound courageous for him. “If there’s anything you need me to do, I will do it.” She remembered how she had hesitated to pull the arrow from his shoulder. But if Walther had not been there, she was sure she could have done that for Gabe. God would have given her the strength.
She pulled out her wooden cross and clutched it tightly in her hand. She prayed silently for God’s mercy on Gabe, that God would heal him as he had healed those who had touched the hem of Jesus’s garment. If God could heal a man born blind, he could heal Gabe’s fever and wound.
She was still praying when Walther stopped, and they all dismounted for their early afternoon meal. Gabe was the last to dismount, and even though Sophie was helping him, he still stumbled. Sophie put her arms around him and let him lean on her.
Even Walther had a worried look on his face as she kept her arm around Gabe and helped him walk away from the horses and sit on the ground. He closed his eyes and lowered himself the rest of the way down to lie on the grass. “I just need … to lie here … for a little … Not hungry.”
Sophie sank down beside him and stroked his feverish forehead, brushing back his hair.
O God, please help us. Please provide a safe place to stop and a healer who can help Gabe. Help us find the Cottage of the Seven and Dominyk the Wise, and please make him able to help us.
She glanced up at the darkening sky. And please let it not rain on us.
Gabe lay on the ground, grateful for the grass underneath him. He knew he was frightening Sophie, but it couldn’t be helped. If he could just rest for a few moments, he felt he could go on and ride the rest of the day, at least until they found the Cottage of the Seven or a place to camp for the night.
Sophie was beside him again, bathing his face. Her gentle touch and the cold water soothed him. He opened his eyes a tiny slit. She hovered above him, and there seemed to be an aura around her, like an angel illuminated by the cloudy sky behind her.
He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.
Sophie stroked Gabe’s forehead until she realized he was asleep.
“Sophie,” Walther said, nudging her arm as he handed her a strip of dried deer meat. “Eat.”
She took the food he offered and ate while she watched Gabe, not tasting a thing. She sent up desperate prayers with each slight rise and fall of his chest. They let Gabe rest after they finished eating, Walther stretching out on the grass himself. But finally, he got up and started tying his bag to his saddle. “I could ride ahead and try to find this Cottage of the Seven myself. Then I could come back for you and Gabe.”
Sophie bit her lip. She hated to wake Gabe, but the sooner they left, the sooner they would find help for him and a bed in a warm, sheltered house. She was sure it was about to rain, and she couldn’t let Gabe stay out in that.
She touched Gabe’s face, careful to avoid his bruised cheekbone. He didn’t wake. She glanced behind her and saw that Walther had gone to relieve himself behind a tree. She bent down and whispered, “Gabe? Can you travel? Or should we send Walther ahead to find the Cottage of the Seven?” Gabe opened his eyes and stared up at her. He raised his hand and caressed her jawline, sending ripples of warmth all through her. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.
“Can you travel?” There was no real shelter for them here, and if they could only get to the Cottage —
“I can travel. I can do anything for you, Sophie.”
It was the fever talking. He was half out of his mind with pain. That was why he was looking up at her that way, making her heart ache. “Let’s go, then. Before we get drenched.” She got behind his good shoulder and pushed him into a sitting position, then she helped him the rest of the way to his feet. Walther came and helped them both onto Gingerbread’s back.
As they started on their way, Sophie took the reins again and tugged Gabe’s right arm around her, urging him to relax and lean on her for support. He rested his cheek against the top of her head as Gingerbread followed Walther’s horse.