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It didn’t make sense, though. A small village wouldn’t have anyone with mage level power, but no one would qualify for the title of village healer unless they could at least staunch blood loss. She might not be able to heal the leg, but she should at least be able to keep the girl alive until she could be taken to a more powerful healer.
I dropped to my knees on the other side of the girl. Gripping her wrist, I thrust my power into her. My studies hadn’t progressed as far as the level of reconstruction needed for her leg, but I had brute-forced my way through healings before. I would just have to do the same thing here, trusting in the instincts of my power to heal her.
But as soon as my senses reached her leg, the fire of my power quenched, slowing and dimming. I frowned and pushed more power into her, but where my ability should have blazed through her, it instead moved sluggishly, like a fire dimming and flickering from lack of air.
I rocked back on my heels, looking up at the other healer while keeping my hand on the girl’s wrist. Now I understood the healer’s desperation, even though I didn’t understand how a young girl’s body could fight me in such a way. I could barely make headway with all my strength; a regular healer wouldn’t have been able to do anything at all.
All I could do was help her sleep,echoed in my head with the same tinges of horror as when it was first said.
I gritted my teeth. I refused to give up.
Leaning forward, I grabbed her wrist with both hands, pouring power into her. My fire burned and flared, pushing back against the resistance, making slow headway into her leg.
Beads of sweat popped up along my hairline and behind my ears. Gasping for breath, I kept pushing. I could feel the scope of the injury now, and I could already tell that even with the best will in the world, I couldn’t pour enough raw power into her to fix her leg. I was fighting the tide.
I loosened my grip, thinking quickly. I wasn’t a weak local healer, but the same principle applied. I only needed to stem the blood loss and keep her alive until she could reach a stronger healer—or in this case, a team of strong healers. I didn’t have to heal her leg immediately, I just had to stop the bleeding.
Changing focus, I sent my power searching for broken veins, sealing each one as I found it until, at last, I sensed that no more was flowing out of her. With a final burst of effort, I helped her body produce new blood—just enough to stabilize her. As soon as I’d finished, I groaned, letting go of her and collapsing backward.
I lifted a hand to rub my face but stopped when I saw the red coating it. Lowering it again, I looked across at the healer.
Before either of us could speak, a higher, weaker groan sounded. We both turned to see the girl’s eyes fluttering open. Lunging in unison, we reached for her arms, gripping a wrist each. But when the local healer saw I had taken hold of the girl, she released her, leaving the job to me.
Within seconds, the girl was returned to a deep sleep.
“Easier, in the circumstances, than blocking the pain and keeping her calm,” I said in a breathless voice.
The woman nodded, and another woman stepped forward from the crowd. Sinking down to take the girl’s head in gentle hands, she sat and rested it in her lap, heedless of her gown. This woman looked a similar age to the man who had fetched me, and I suspected I had now found the girl’s mother.
I looked from her to the healer, gesturing at the motionless child.
“Why…why is she like that?”
“You haven’t felt it before?” The older healer understood immediately that I wasn’t talking about the injury, but she looked surprised, peering at me in concern. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen. But I started my apprenticeship late. I was only activated a few months ago.” I tried not to look self-conscious at the words.
The woman let out a huff of air. “A new apprentice? Then you have a master nearby? What brought you riding in here alone?” She looked up hopefully, trying to peer through the crowd, although she was still sitting on the ground.
“My master is coming in our cart with the girl’s father.” I glanced at the mother and then away. “But she’s an elements mage. That’s why they sent me on. I wouldn’t usually try a healing like this on my own, but…”
The healer deflated, her shoulders slumping in defeat. After a moment, she took a fortifying breath, her manner turning brisk.
“If you’re a new apprentice, you did well to manage as much as you did. You obviously have strength—which makes sense if your master is a mage. But cross-influenced…” She sighed and shook her head. “Still, we can be grateful for what we have because it’s more than we looked for. This is Marla, Josie’s mother, and I’m Esme. I’m the local healer here. I have rooms nearby, so I’ll put some of this crowd to use and have Josie carried there.”
“I…I’m Delphine,” I said, still reeling from the strangeness of everything.
“We’re mighty glad to meet you, child,” Esme said. “You came along in perfect timing. I just hope you have strength left for what’s next. At least we can do the next part less hurriedly. I have the tools we’ll need in my rooms, and once I’ve caught my breath, I’ll be able to guide you through the process. You won’t have any experience with this, but you’ll only have to provide the strength. I’ll provide the skill. I assume you’ve worked in tandem before?”
I nodded, since that was the way Luna and I worked with Hayes when we learned techniques we hadn’t tried before. But even as I was nodding, I held out my hands to stop her.
“Wait. What are you talking about?” I was still struggling to make sense of the situation.
“How can we?” The mother sobbed. “Oh, how can we?”
“Steady there, Marla.” The healer clapped a hand on her shoulder, her voice at once bracing and gentle. “We thought we were going to lose her altogether. This is better than that.”
“What exactly is better than death?” I projected my voice more forcefully, determined to get an answer.
