First Comes The One Who Wanders (11 page)

"I'll keep that in mind the next time an evil magik attacks me," retorted Leilas. "I'll just tell him I can't fight him because I'm supposed to avoid injury."

"This will hurt," the queen warned her daughter as she took the knife from her son.

"It couldn't hurt much worse than it already does," replied Leilas. Still, she closed her eyes and clenched her fists in anticipation. At the queen's silent bidding Joshuas moved behind Leilas ready to catch her if the need arose.

"Brenth," the queen turned to her son, "do you remember that chant I taught you? The one we use if dark magic is involved?"

Brenth's eyes widened as he realized what his mother was implying. His eyes darted to his sister and then back again. "I remember."

"Good. We're going to use it now. I'll need your help because these were very powerful magiks. Between us, maybe we can help relieve the discomfort until we reach Menas where there are stronger healers."

Leilas opened her eyes at her mother's words. "Why would I need a stronger healer? It's just a bite, nothing too serious."

"Didn't Gidron Frey teach you anything at that school?" The queen shook her head in disgust. "I should've paid more attention. Didn't he teach you that you could be killed by another crafter?"

"Of course he did. Only another crafter can kill a crafter. When you're in a fight with a crafter, you're vulnerable. That was one of the first things he taught me." Leilas shrugged. "This crafter didn't kill me, he only wounded me and not too seriously."

"Did he bother to mention that if a dark crafter took a different form and broke the skin, he would leave a poison behind, some manifestation of his darkness?" asked Joshuas.

Leilas hesitated, just a moment too long, and Joshuas had his answer before she gave him hers. "I'm sure he must have, I've just forgotten."

"Pretty important thing to just forget," retorted Joshuas. Joshuas was beginning to dislike Gidron Frey, more and more. He'd never really liked him in the first place. There was always something underneath the surface that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Now he'd put Leilas in a vulnerable, dangerous position by not teaching her the fundamentals of facing dark crafters. Why would he leave out such important teachings?

"How serious is this?" Leilas chose to ignore Joshuas and turned to her mother.

Brenth answered for his mother as gently as he could. "It depends on how you respond to it. It could just kill you, or it could make you go mad, or it could cloud your thoughts until you are lost from this world. Mother and I aren't strong enough healers to determine which path you will likely take. We can only slow the effects until we can reach someone who can. It would have been easier if you'd told us you'd been hurt immediately."

"I didn't want to be a bother." Leilas rubbed her eyes. "It seems like I haven’t done anything right since we decided to leave Dirth. Because of my weakness we couldn’t escape through the Echoes. Because we had to go through town, Jayram was alerted to the fact that we left and followed us using my weakness to trail us. I used enough magic in fighting to alert every dark crafter in the region and now I've put you in danger by becoming a liability." Turning her face from the others in the cave, she continued. "I think you should just leave me here and get yourselves to safety. I should be safe enough here, and if I get better, I'll follow you to Menas."

"Don't be ridiculous," her mother scolded her. "I wouldn't leave you here anymore than you were willing to leave me in Dirth. We'll do our best to slow the poison and then we'll get to Menas as quickly as we can."

"I gave my word that I'd watch over you. I have a duty to stay with you. If you stay, I stay as well," Joshuas sided with her mother.

"Because you gave your word to Master Manchu that you would protect me?"

"I've always kept my word."

Leilas smiled wearily. Joshuas wondered what was going on inside her head and was tempted to probe, but he refrained. He'd learned over the centuries to appreciate the privacy of the mind. It wasn't always pleasant to walk inside another's thoughts. He'd noticed that Leilas didn’t often venture into other's minds, either. Perhaps it was because of the time she'd spent in the Echoes.

"Do what you have to do. I'll try not to be any more trouble on the way to Menas. Once we get there, you won't have to worry about me anymore." She turned to face Joshuas. "And since I won't become a master, I couldn’t possibly be the Chidra and so you're free of your responsibility to look after me."

Joshuas frowned at her dismissal. "We can discuss that in Menas."

"Or not," retorted Leilas quietly as her mother began to wash her wounds.

Joshuas moved behind his young charge and watched helplessly as she bit her lip to keep back the protests of pain. He knew once Daina started probing with the knife he'd be needed to hold Leilas. He'd been in a few other situations where a crafter had suffered such a wound. It hadn't been pleasant. Brenth was busy etching a circle with talc that had mysteriously appeared from somewhere on his person. At each midpoint he drew a small circle and then he placed a smaller circle within the larger circle. That was where they'd place Leilas as the ritual began.

In essence, it was a warding, to keep the evil from consuming its victim, the stronger the healer, the better the warding. With two healers performing the ritual it could be very effective. But Leilas needed more than a warding. He knew that and so did Daina and Brenth. She needed a real healer who could go in and cleanse the evil from her mind and soul. With luck, Deidra still made her home in Menas. She was the most powerful healer in Preterlandis. If luck was against them, she would have gone to her home in the hills. But he'd find her and take Leilas to her, no matter what her condition, provided the poison didn't kill her.

"Are you ready?" asked Daina of them all as she placed the knife against the first of the punctures.

Leilas nodded and closed her eyes. "Whenever you are," she answered her mother's question. Joshuas placed his hands lightly on Leilas' shoulders as his answer. He and Daina had done this before, a very long time ago. That time, they hadn't been able to save their patient.

Looking back on it now, he supposed it was fate. If Peran had lived, Daina would have married him, no matter what her father had dictated. Then Leilas would never have been born and they'd still be waiting for the Chidra. Still, Daina had never forgiven him for letting her lover be hurt after he'd given his word that he'd watch over him. It didn't matter that he'd come to the edge of death himself by giving so much of his energy to Peran. It also didn't matter to her how much Peran's death had affected him as well. She didn't want to know. She needed to blame someone for her lover's death and he'd been elected.

Slowly beginning to chant, Daina drew the edge of the knife against the first puncture, applying enough pressure to open the wound. Leilas moaned and tensed under Joshuas' hands, but otherwise showed no outward sign of pain. Joshuas had to admire her strength. He’d seen stronger men give in to the pain during this procedure.

Crushing a bit of the willowwick in her hand, Queen Daina rubbed the sticky substance in the wound while she continued to chant. Now, she was only cleansing the body. Cleansing the soul would be much harder.

Leilas flinched with the second cut. The queen continued her chanting and cleansing. With the third cut, Leilas went limp. Joshuas caught her as her body slumped back against him. It would be better this way. From within the circle Brenth had traced with his talc, Brenth began to chant as well. Joshuas recognized the words. It was a prayer. As he held his new ward close, he began to chant the words as well, "Creator give me strength to do what I must do, to fight against the pull of my own desires and give me the wisdom to use the power you gave me to do your will." It was a very old prayer, one he'd learned in his childhood, one that seemed especially appropriate. He'd been having trouble with his desires since he'd met Leilas.

It seemed to take forever for the queen to cleanse all the wounds. Joshuas had no idea how long it had really taken. There was no time in this darkened cave. When the queen finished placing the willowwick on the last puncture, she closed her eyes and sank to the ground. Brenth was instantly at her side with water, jerky, and hard tack. "It's the best we have," he apologized as he handed it to her.

"And it tastes wonderful right now," his mother assured him. "I haven't had to do that in thirty seasons. I can tell I'm not as young as I used to be."

"Are you strong enough to go on?" asked Joshuas, moving Leilas to a reclining position against the rock. She groaned a little as he relinquished his hold on her and then fell silent. She hadn't regained consciousness, nor was it likely she would until after the ritual. Between the willowwick and the spell that Daina had been chanting, she'd ensured her daughter wouldn't suffer too much.

"I'll go on, even if I'm not strong enough."

"I can help, if you wish."

"Save your energy until I really need it, Joshuas. We don't know how badly she's been affected. Let's see how much the food helps. When I need your help, you'll know."

"You'll let me help."

Daina's weary smiled echoed the one her daughter had given him earlier. "I've forgiven you Joshuas. I've had thirty seasons to think about what happened and to see the events of that day in a much clearer light. I'll do whatever I can to save my daughter. It's ironic that in this instant, our roles are almost reversed. Peran was your adopted son and my lover. Leilas is my daughter and if you let your emotions rule, she'll be your lover."

"Sometimes that gift of yours is decidedly uncomfortable, Daina." Joshuas came and sat by her side. "But you know in this instance I can't allow my emotions to rule. Please don't complicate matters by saying such things to Leilas."

"If that's what you wish. But sometimes, the future isn't as clear as you believe it to be from your romps through the mists. Perhaps your feelings will affect Leilas' choices and the fate of the world, not just your will."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That's for you to discover."

"Menas," said Joshuas in disgust. "Sometimes your kind can be very frustrating."

"We've often said the same of your kind, with your 'it's for you to decide.' Daina finished the last of her meager meal and washed it down with a swig from the water skin. "I'm ready to continue, if you'd carry Leilas to the circle."

Joshuas nodded, picking Leilas up from her spot on the floor and placing her in the middle of the circle, taking care not to disturb the markings Brenth had placed there.

Brenth placed his hand on Joshuas' arm as he was leaving the circle. "I see her in Menas. She'll make it that far."

Taking comfort in this young man's words, Joshuas stepped from the circle and sank cross-legged on the floor. Now came the hardest part, letting someone else do what they had to do and simply waiting until he was needed.

Daina placed her hand upon Leilas’ chest. Brenth placed his hand upon his mother's hand. As Daina began to chant, Brenth began to echo. This canto was in a much older tongue than the last. It had been passed down from generation to generation. For as long as he could remember, Joshuas had heard healers singing this hymn of power. According to some, it came from the old ones, which was what made it so powerful. The words evoked an older, purer force.

Joshuas watched the two Menas carefully. He knew the signs of fatigue. If he let them get too tired as they channeled power, they would end up in worse shape than Leilas. Daina had told him he could help. When he saw either one of them tiring, he would send his energy into them to keep them strong. That was his job. He wished he had some gift of healing, but it hadn't been in his calling. He was a warrior and that was probably all he would ever be.

Brenth began to show signs of fatigue first. Joshuas stepped up behind him and placed his hands on either side of Brenth temples. Then, he added his chant to the one being sung. Brenth's baritone, which had been faltering, rose to its original strength and Joshuas fell silent. He stumbled from the circle and returned to his position on the floor. Daina would need him soon and he needed to muster the energy he had left.

Sitting silently, he tried to block out his anger and frustration. He wouldn't know the extent of the damage to Leilas until Daina was done with the warding. Cursing silently, he blamed himself again for letting this happen. He knew that they'd be attacked. He should've been more diligent. Instead, he'd been reminiscing with Daina, and ignoring Leilas. He'd not handled the situation with Leilas well since he'd offered to protect her. What a job he'd done of that. Here he was, sitting, hoping she didn't die. He'd been hoping she would study under his care so he could train her more completely before she took her place as Chidra.

Of course, after having spent just a little time with her, he wasn't sure that would have been the best course for Leilas, as much as he wanted it to be. She wasn't a warrior. Maybe that was why Gidron hadn't trained her as completely in the art of war as Joshuas thought was appropriate. Perhaps Gidron had seen that her strength was elsewhere. Where, Joshuas wasn't sure. That was something he was going to have to discover, if she survived intact. Joshuas took a deep breath to clear away the fear. If she did, he'd take the time to learn what she needed and wanted. He'd have to put his ambitions for the Chidra aside and find out what was best for her.