Blood, Honor and Dreams (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #2)

Shade paused again and smiled at Charm. “Are you sure, Charm? What if they realized the same as I have that you could fly straight through the Barrier with this ship. Think about it. I could be the first prisoner to escape,” he whispered. He could feel Charm’s gaze locked on him and didn’t need to see the rogue’s expression to know it was concerned. There were certain prisoners on Sanctuary that would kill for a way out of the Barrier and in the past thousand years no way had been found, until now.

“Fine line between genius and insanity and I’m dancing on the line. That’s what you are so fond of saying right?” Shade asked with a wide grin and chuckled. “How’s my dancing now Charm?” he asked with a smirk.





Chapter 16





Sanctuary





Jala watched in sympathy as the young man writhed on the table. He looked to be near her age and would have been handsome had his features not been twisted with agony.

“This is a bad one, and as you can see the patient is in a good deal of pain. So our first step is to make him more comfortable,” Rose explained as she moved to stand at the front of the table by the young man’s head. With practiced hands she placed fingers on both of his temples and closed her eyes. A warm golden glow enveloped her hands and the man’s face eased, his eyes fluttering and at last closing in an expression of peace.

“What happened to him?” Jala asked, her attention riveted on his mangled leg.

“His horse fell on him at jousting practice this morning. He arrived here moments before you did,” Rose explained and moved back down the table to stand at the man’s hip. Withdrawing a slender knife from her belt she carefully sliced the side of his pants down the injured leg and pulled the fabric back to reveal the extent of the damage. Nodding slowly she looked at Jala and raised an eyebrow. “Feel up to it? This is a big one. You have bruising, abrasions, torn muscles, and shattered bones.” Leaning over, Rose poked at the swollen knee and made a clicking sound with her tongue. “That will be the most difficult part, the knee cap is shattered and joints can be tricky.”

Moving closer, Jala examined the wounds and nodded slowly at Rose. “I can do it,” she replied with only a slight hesitation. “I’m not sure about the joint, but I will examine his other leg first to make sure I know exactly what goes where,” she added with a smile.

“Well, we are fortunate he has two,” Rose said with a chuckle and waved for her to begin.

Carefully Jala laid her hands on the young man’s wounded leg and closed her eyes. Slowly she drew on her power and sent it into his body, mapping the tears and breaks as she found them. Her healing on Finn had been blind fumbling, but over the past few weeks, Rose had taken that fumbling and transformed it into an efficient tool. She had assisted with burns and fractures as well as infections and sickness in the commons. This, however, was the most challenging case she had seen, let alone been asked to heal. Her forehead creased with her concentration as she tallied the total damage. This would be pushing her skills and she knew it.

“You look concerned, Jala. If this is too much, tell me now. Do not let this young man suffer for your pride. If you heal him poorly, he will bear the marks of it for the rest of his life,” Rose warned in a low voice.

She is testing my wisdom as well as my knowledge then, Jala surmised. Opening her eyes slowly she moved her hands from the leg and looked over to see Rose watching her with a knowing smile. Jala suppressed her own smile. The expression on Rose’s face fairly screamed You are out of your league just admit it. Jala looked back down at the young man sleeping so peacefully and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes again, she searched inside herself for the honest truth. Was this out of her league? No, she decided, it hovered near it, but it wasn’t out of her grasp. She could do this, but it would leave her drained. She had come to realize during her training with Rose that it was much easier to damage a body than it was to heal one, at least for her anyway. Rose seemed to find healing as easy as breathing.

Opening her eyes once more, she met Rose’s gaze levelly and placed her hands once more on the wounded man. Inhaling deeply, she called on the magic and sent it into the bone first, calling all of the fragments back together. Piece by piece she fused them as if working an incredibly complex puzzle. She knew all too well from her talks with Rose that if she missed a piece it could breed infection or if she healed it crooked the young man would bear a limp for the rest of his life. Rose stirred beside her, and for a moment her concentration lapsed. With another deep breath, she pushed herself further into the healing trance and let the rest of the world fade. Time lost all meaning for her as she knitted bone and then the rest of the leg piece by tattered piece.

“It’s just bruising now, Jala. You can stop.” Rose’s voice came distantly to her as she was finishing the last of the torn veins. “Jala, can you hear me?” Again the distant call, and a pressure against her arm. Pulling herself back from the trance, Jala became more aware of the discomfort in Rose’s grip and looked down to find the woman squeezing her arm so tight the flesh had gone white. “You have definitely mastered the trance,” Rose said with a shake of her head.

Jala smiled faintly as dizziness washed over her and she closed her eyes again. Her magic was utterly drained and she still had a full day at the Academy ahead. Bracing herself better against the table, she opened her eyes again and watched Rose examine her work with a detached caring. She had no doubts the man was fully healed. Even the bruising would fade soon.

Rose nodded slowly and moved her hand back from the man’s leg and gave Jala a look of respect. “Very well done. I am truly impressed. Are you all right Jala? You didn’t push yourself too far did you?” she asked, concern creeping into her voice.

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