Ash lay in one of the ER beds, most of his body covered with acid burns. I cast Clean on him to strip away the corrosive residue, then continued the healing process. These burns needed more than one or two spells. A commotion rose in the hall, and the door burst open. Two fighters with wand-rifles stalked in, Oos right on their heels.
“Who is the lightning guy?” one of them asked, eyes scanning the room.
“What’s the problem?” I asked without stopping the spellcasting on Ash.
“We need your help outside.”
I shook my head. “No. Those people need my help.”
“What do you an no?” he shouted, his voice rising. He stepped closer, puffing up his chest. “Do you know who I am?”
Here we go again.
“No, and it doesn’t matter. I’m a healer; my place is here.” I kept my eyes on Ash and cast another Healing Touch.
The angry man bristled and made a move toward , but the other caught his shoulder and held him back. “Excuse Lord Su Jook. But we really need your help. A swarm is heading for the outpost, and if we don’t stop it, you’ll have many more injured and dead.”
I exchanged a look with Oos. She t my eyes and gave a slow, tight nod.
“I need to finish with my patient,” I said, forcing calm into my tone.
“No ti,” the angry one snapped. “The swarm will be here any mont.”
I sighed, cast the last spell, stood, and followed them out of the healing hall.
“You’ll regret the way you spoke to ,” the angry one hissed from behind . “Trash commons need to know their place.”
I’d had enough of this noble bullshit. I cast Explosive Diarrhea at him. He yelped, doubled over, and an awful sll filled the hall.
I froze for half a second. Oos’s face went white. A nurse gagged. Oops. I should have done it outside.
When we got outside, I gulped a fresh breath of air. Definitely do it outside next ti.
The nice one pointed at the sky. A big black blob was moving fast toward the outpost. I couldn’t make out the creatures from this distance, not even with my high Perception, but there were a lot of them. The black cloud stretched wide, blotting out the horizon.
I kicked off the ground and flew toward it, shaping an action plan as I climbed. The blob was massive, far too large to take out with lightning alone. But I had learned sothing back in Marita, fighting the yellow slaver.
When I was close enough, I threw both hands forward and commanded the wind. A vortex spun into life, swelling with each heartbeat, sucking mana straight out of . The pull grew stronger, dragging the swarm, until one by one the fliers vanished inside. My reserves ran low. I didn’t bother to check since I could feel it. I switched to maintenance, holding the vortex steady through my link with the wind, letting it whirl on without feeding it more mana while I actively regenerated. With my spirals and the world’s mana, I recovered about a thousand mana per minute.
Ten long minutes passed while I dragged in mana as fast as possible. I scanned the edges, ensuring no fliers had slipped free. Once I was certain, I thrust my hands forward again and unleashed concentrated red lightning.
The stink hit instantly. Charred bug flesh, ozone, and a cloying sweet sll that made dizzy. I cast Neutralize Poison on myself, and the nausea eased. The lightning roared, flashing through the vortex, until lightheadedness set in and forced to stop. I told the Wind to ease off, and the vortex unraveled.
A rain of giant roasted bugs pelted down to the ground. So staggered into the air again, and I cut them down with smaller bursts of regular lightning, well within my regeneration rate.
It took about fifteen minutes before no bugs stirred. I let out a heavy breath. My mana channels scread from the strain, my arms still trembling from the dense outflow, but I was also proud of myself. That was hard, but I had done it. I almost dusted my shoulders, but rembering the injured waiting for , I sobered and flew back.
When I landed, everyone near the healing hall stared at with their mouths hanging open. The nasty noble t my eyes, gave a small eep, and looked away. I walked back inside and returned to healing Ash, who by then had regained consciousness. He gave a weak smile, and I could tell he was glad to see .
I worked for three days straight, healing and regenerating, until I could hardly stand from exhaustion. During that ti, I felt through the bond that Rue was fighting, and a couple of tis I sensed him getting hurt. I didn’t feel the pain itself, only the jolt of his ntal and emotional reaction to it, and every ti I almost jumped up to rush to his side. The only thing that kept in place was the wave of relief that always followed. I knew they had potions, but it was still hard to keep my worry under control. He was part of my soul, after all.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
On the evening of the third day, Rue padded into the healing hall, Mahya right behind him. He pressed his head against my arm, tail giving a slow wag. I scratched his ears and diagnosed him. He was fine, thanks the Spirits.
Mahya planted herself at the foot of the bed I was working on, arms crossed tight. “You need to rest.”
“I’m fine,” I said, though my legs wobbled as I stood.
Her eyes narrowed. “Right. Tell that lie to sobody else.”
Rue huffed through his nose and nudged again, harder this ti.
“All right, all right,” I said, holding up my hands. “I’ll rest.”
Neither of them looked convinced, but they left and went to rest themselves.
Ten hours later, they returned, this ti with Al in tow. “We’re headed back out,” Mahya said.
“I have brewed enough potions to last the Cleaners for a while,” Al said, handing a box filled with potion balls. “Mana potions. Please rember to take them as needed.”
“I will,” I said.
Rue licked my cheek, then turned for the door, Mahya and Al following after him.
Pi brought food every once in a while, kissed my cheek, and went back to the reception area. This ti, she had no pearls of wisdom to share, just a smile, a kiss, a pat on the hand, and then back to work. After four days, I was done for and needed sleep ASAP. Once I finished healing the last Cleaner who had taken a poisoned needle to the eye, I gave him water, fed him, and sent him back out to fight. I then cast Clean on the bed and dropped into it like a sack of potatoes.
The hell continued once I woke up. In the evening, they brought in Im. Once I grew his leg back, he went back to working as a Cleaner. The minute he saw , a huge smile spread on his face, and he lifted his leg. “Look. This ti I didn’t lose it!”
I laughed, shook my head, and healed him first.
So people did lose their limbs. If they didn’t bring the limb back, there wasn’t much I could do. I healed the injury and told them I would regrow the limb once the wave was over. But if they did bring it back, I quickly learned an interesting fact. Quite by accident. Well, maybe not an accident, but a Hail Mary attempt that I didn’t think would work, but it did!
If I held the severed limb to the body and cast healing spells on it, it didn’t take and didn’t connect. At first I thought it was my spell failing or maybe that the flesh was too damaged. I tried again and again, pouring more mana in, and still nothing. Frustration built until I almost gave up. Then I got an idea from the healing books I had read.
Instead of working on the flesh, I burned open the mana channel in the body at the site of the injury, and another one in the severed limb. I held them together and created a mana shell to keep both ends in place. After that, I cast Healing Touch, and it worked. The limb didn’t reattach imdiately. It still needed a few healing spells for bone and flesh, plus so reinforcent for the channel, but it did work.
The next ti Oos stuck her head in, I waved her over. “Let all the fighters know that if sobody loses a limb, bring it. I can reattach it.”
She stopped short, staring at with wide eyes. “Truly?”
“Yes.”
Her face lit up, and she rushed forward, throwing her arms around . “You are the best man I know.”
I patted her back, a little awkward with my hands still slick with blood, then pulled away and got back to work.
The next day, Bo was the one checking on while Oos rested. She ca in, balancing a tray with a steaming cup of tea and a flaky pastry, and set it on the table beside . I took the cup, grateful for the short break, and used the mont to clear up sothing that had been bothering .
“How co I’m treating so many people? I know the Cleaners don’t have that many.”
Bo perched on the edge of a chair. “Not all of them are Cleaners. They also bring in everyone who ca for the wave but doesn’t have an Eliminator contract.”
“And Fu is fine with it?” I asked between sips.
She smiled. “He is happy as a fish in water. Half of them have already signed a Cleaners contract. The outpost lord is less happy, but he doesn’t have a choice. They have a problem with healers since the war with House Peln.”
I winced, my shoulders tensing. That war was kinda my fault.
Bo leaned forward, catching my expression, and shook her head firmly. “Do not feel guilty. I know what happened, and it is not your fault. House Peln crossed all the boundaries lately. They raised their prices a few tis since the anomalies started, and if a person can’t pay and needs urgent healing, they make them sign a contract that is almost slavery.” She tapped her fingers against the table, her voice hardening. “Sobody needed to hit their knees and make them bend. So maybe you were the first hit, but Archduke Jook and others were looking for a reason for a long ti.”
I shrugged. In that case, I was totally fine with it, especially the knee bending.
On day eight of the wave, when I was ready to drop again, Al staggered into the hall with Mahya limp in his arms. Her head lolled against his shoulder, blood streaking down her side.
I abandoned my patient mid-spell and rushed over. “What happened?”
Al lowered her carefully onto the nearest bed, his jaw clenched, eyes sharp with fear he was trying hard to hide. “A stampeding herd of heavy essenceborn. Mahya lept among them, using their backs like springboards to slow the stampede. One of them caught her with its horn. She fell, and several trampled over her. I fed her potions, yet her body is too damaged, and the potions could not nd it. She requires your aid at once.”
Diagnose showed that most of the bones in her body were broken, her internal organs were injured, so of them already showing signs of potion healing, and she had a brain bleed. I started with her head, cutting a small hole to drain the blood before closing and healing it. Next ca the organs, then the bones, one after another.
It took more than an hour to finish. I knew how many bones were in the human body—I had learned them all in uni—but only when you heal almost every single one do you truly understand what that number ans.
Finally, I stopped the Anesthesia and let her rest. Only then did I notice the blood on Al’s clothes and Rue’s fur.
“Are you two okay?” I asked.
Rue stayed curled up under the bed, sleeping soundly. Al straightened, though his shoulders sagged from exhaustion, and gave a weary nod. “Yes. I suffered so injuries while retrieving Mahya. But since they were not as severe, potions were enough.”
I frowned, ran a quick Diagnose on him just in case, and cast a couple of Fortify Life Force spells. His body stiffened under the magic, then loosened, and he nodded in thanks.
“You should go rest,” I told him.
He pushed himself up with a groan and headed for the door. Before leaving, he paused, one hand on the fra, and looked back at . “You too.”
“Yeah, I will. Don’t worry.”
I returned to the patient I’d abandoned and finished his healing. The whole ti I thought about sticking to Mahya like glue for a couple of days, while sighing and huffing over her shoulder, to give her a taste of her own dicine. I knew I probably wouldn’t do it, but the thought was enough to lift my mood. By the ti I closed the last wound, I was smiling, already picturing Mahya’s face if I actually did it.
Reviews
All reviews (0)