“Yes and yes,” rasped Jireo. Despite his pain, he smiled at the relief on his friend’s face.
“How bad is it?” asked Alora. “Should we take him straight to the hospital in Montana?”
“No, it’s only my left hand,” he whispered. “Laethan can bind me up. I can still throw a knife with my good hand.”
“He wants to go to Laethan,” Kaevin told Alora.
“I don’t know, Kaevin…” Alora’s voice sounded further way now. “He’s hanging off the roof. How do we get him out of here?”
“This warrior must have an iron belt. If we unclasp it, you can transport all four of us to Laethan. Jireo will be safe, and Laethan will dispose of the body.”
“I don’t really want to touch a dead guy, but you can do it,” said Alora. “I’m glad his face is down; it doesn’t seem so real.”
Kaevin spoke in soothing tones as he tugged on the dead warrior’s body. “Not much longer, Jireo. I only need to unfasten this belt. Ah… The clasp is on the other side.” Jireo felt the body shifting above him as Kaevin jerked. “There—it’s loose.”
“I’m afraid the landing will be rough, Jireo,” said Alora in a worried tone.
Jireo braced himself for the impact, knowing the dead man’s body would fall atop him again. At least his broken wrist wouldn’t be pinned underneath him this time.
“Okay, I’ll hold your hand, and you touch the dead guy. To Laethan?” asked Alora.
“To Laethan. And hurry. After we deliver Jireo, we can surely find some way to turn the tide in this battle.”
*****
“Laethan!” Kaevin called to the healer while rolling the body off Jireo onto the floor. Laethan lifted his hand in acknowledgement, busy with another injury. The large chamber was bustling with activity. Kaevin felt anxious to join the battle. To fight and use his gifting. To feel valuable again.
“Where are we? This doesn’t look like the healing house I remember,” said Alora.
“We moved it to a safer location, far from the square,” Jireo said. “Vindrake would have no qualms about attacking the healing house during a battle. Remember… he set it on fire? And it’s a better chamber—much larger, close to a well.”
Freed from his encumbrance, Jireo struggled to his feet, holding his broken hand gingerly away from his body.
“Ewww… gross.” Alora’s face paled at the sight of Jireo’s skewed wrist. “Jireo, I think you’re going to need surgery. We should probably take you straight to Montana.”
“It’s merely a broken bone. I’m in no danger of dying now that I’m not hanging off that roof. I’ll not be running away from a battle because my hand is hurt. All I need is something to bind it.”
Holding his arm to the side at an awkward angle, Jireo embraced Kaevin. “Thank you for saving me. I hoped you’d somehow know to come.”
Kaevin returned the embrace without spoken word. He missed Jireo more than he realized during his time away. Yet he was distracted by something. Something different. My headache is gone. When did it disappear?
“Alora, does your head hurt?”
Her eyebrows rose. “No, not at all. It must’ve gone away when we got here. I wish we’d known that would happen.”
Laethan arrived before they could further explore the issue.
“Hey Laethan. Are you surprised to see us?” asked Alora.
He raised an eyebrow and nodded toward the far corner of the room. “Your friends arrived first and warned me of your imminent appearance.”
Kaevin was relieved to see Wesley and Beth working alongside one of Laethan’s assistants.
Laethan inspected Jireo’s hand. “Broken wrist. It’ll never heal properly.” He slowly moved the hand, approximating the bones into alignment. Jireo bit his lips, his face ashen, but didn’t make a sound. Laethan issued orders to his assistants, and soon Jireo’s arm and hand were cocooned within a bundle of reeds and bound with cloth.
Meanwhile Laethan squatted to examine the body at their feet. “This fellow’s still alive, although probably not for long.”
“He’s alive?” Alora knelt beside Laethan, peering at the Water Clan warrior who was now face-up on the floor. “He’s just a kid. Kaevin, he looks your age. We should definitely take him back to Montana and save him.”