Taste of Darkness
Page 85

I smiled at his confidence. “You’d make a good ambassador.”
He ducked his head. “Well...I spent a lot of time with them. I am a bit worried how the warriors will do fighting beside Prince Ryne’s army. It was only a few months ago they hated us and wished to slaughter us all.”
“Lovely,” Quain said with a queasy squint.
“That’s an excellent point, Danny. Why did he come to help us?” I asked. “His tribe was safe and healthy in Alga.”
“I convinced them that if we didn’t stop Tohon and his army of the dead, our tribe wouldn’t be safe for long. I also think Noak and the warriors were bored. Their two tribes had to play nice in order to survive and, although Noak won’t admit it, he likes Kerrick.”
“Nice job, Danny. With the addition of Noak’s warriors and the monastery women, Prince Ryne’s army is going to be quite dangerous.”
“If the enemy ever attacks us,” Loren muttered.
“We shouldn’t wait. Going on the offensive is not a bad thing,” Odd said, speaking up for the first time since Danny had arrived. “Look what happened to the High Priestess’s army. We waited and waited and waited for Tohon to engage us in battle, giving him plenty of time to set his trap. Plus Prince Ryne said the dead were on the move again.”
“And Tohon has to know the tribesmen are here,” Danny said. “The warriors didn’t bother to hide their presence and they sounded like a herd of lost cows in the woods.”
That was the second time Danny mentioned Tohon. I opened my mouth to inform him about Tohon’s frozen state, but another thought popped. “Did they scare the farmers and villagers? It must have been mass panic.”
Danny straightened. “No. Once we crossed the Nine Mountains, we didn’t see a soul.”
Odd cursed.
“Wait, it makes sense,” Loren said. “Cellina tried that backdoor sneak and probably scared everyone away.”
“That was closer to Zabin. Maybe she’s trying the same move again, but this time going farther to the north,” I said.
Loren rubbed a hand over his short hair. “That’s pretty far. It’ll take a long time and they’d be cut off from their main army and supplies.”
“With Prince Ryne only harrying patrols and small platoons along Vyg’s border, they’ve had plenty of time to travel circles around us,” Odd grumbled.
I stood. “Once he’s done talking to Noak, I’ll tell Ryne and let him figure it out. He may already be aware of the situation.” I swept a hand out, indicating the rows of cots. “Danny, do you want to check patients with me?”
He shot to his feet. “Of course!”
Quain groaned. “I don’t think I can handle another healer.” He poked a finger at Danny. “Just don’t be all nurturing and smother us with concern. We get enough of that with Avry.”
“Don’t worry, Quain. If you do something stupid, I’ll let you suffer. Pain is an excellent teacher, and even you can be trained to avoid acting dumb in the future.”
“Nice!” Loren high-fived Danny.
As Danny and I walked over to the patients, I asked, “Where did you learn that?”
“Noak. They’re not big on coddling their people. If a tribesman could heal on his own, Noak believed he should and that I should save my energy for a more injured patient.”
That sounded familiar. I glanced at Ryne and Noak. They appeared to be deep in discussion, but Noak caught me staring. An icy finger slid down my spine. That was the third time that had happened. Was it my imagination? Or was it his ice magic? A strange uneasiness swirled inside me as if Noak could read my thoughts and emotions. What had he meant that I was bound to Kerrick?
Too many questions without answers. And the thought of asking Noak... Not palatable. I returned my focus to Danny.
After I introduced him to my staff, they stared at him in wonder.
“Another healer? Why, that’s wonderful!” Ginger said.
“You’ll be such a big help, especially when Avry decides to dash off on some crazy mission again,” Christina teased.
I showed Danny where we kept the supplies and explained how we decided on the type of care—magic or medicine or both. We stopped at the first patient, Private Caleb.
“Tell me what you find,” I said to Danny.
Danny touched the young man’s hand. “His left wrist is broken and he has a stab wound on his upper right thigh.”
Suddenly lightheaded, I grabbed the edge of a cot to keep from toppling. Yes, I’d known he had healing powers, but just like Danny had said before, I didn’t truly believe until now. Relief bubbled up from deep inside me and I felt lighter. No longer was I the only healer in the Fifteen Realms; the pressure eased just enough for me to draw a breath without that tight band of worry constricting me.
Not that the worry would ever leave me. Danny was only thirteen years old and I would make sure we didn’t heap lots of pressure and responsibility on his thin shoulders like Flea. Understanding hit me hard, and I groped for the cot’s edge again.
Poor Flea. He’d been grappling with this new power, trying to understand it and there I was, pressuring him to experiment to use a magic he didn’t even understand. No wonder he’d refused. I’d been such an idiot.
“Avry, are you all right?” Danny asked.
I straightened. “Yes, fine. Let’s continue.”
Danny touched each patient, accurately reporting illnesses, fractures, and injuries. Then I led him to the cavern with the plague victims.