him stop as well.
“You have the Touch,” Axis said. “What did you feel?”
“She”s a strong woman,” said Garth. “Her injuries are very serious, but not
life-threatening. More dangerous for her at the moment is the fact she”s had almost nothing to eat
or drink for some three days, and has had to endure a physically exhausting ride to escape. Her
rape…I don”t know. As ever in these matters, while her physical injuries will heal quickly, who
knows what other scars this Risdon has left. Did you kill him?”
“Yes.”
“In front of her?”
“Yes.”
Garth gave a little smile. “Good. That may help. She needs to know he won”t come after
her again.”
“But she is a strong woman?”
Garth paused, studying Axis closely. “You already know that, Axis.”
“Garth, there is something else. One of the men who oversaw Inardle”s torture and rape
was Lister. He was Inardle”s former lover.”
“Lister is with Armat?”
“Aye.”
Garth muttered a soft curse. “Then Vorstus must be with him as well.”
“He was. Armat apparently murdered him to make a point to Ravenna and Lister.”
“Ravenna is there, too.” Garth rubbed at his forehead, looking devastated. “I think Maxel
knew that, but still…” He drew in a deep breath. “And Lister, Inardle”s former lover, stood there
and allowed her abuse to happen? Let”s hope Inardle chooses better in her future lovers, eh,
Axis?”
Whatever Zeboath had given Inardle revived her a little, and Garth asked Axis to sit
behind her and hold her propped up against his body so that Garth and Zeboath could examine
her more easily.
Axis felt somewhat uncomfortable holding Inardle so close. He was very aware of her,
and he was irritated at himself for feeling this way when they”d ridden for many hours in just as
close contact and it hadn”t bothered him at all.
Garth and Zeboath worked well together. One of the guardsmen had brought over several
large bags of medical supplies, and Zeboath soon made himself at home sorting through their
contents. Garth took some swabs soaked in an antiseptic fluid from Zeboath and wiped away the
blood about the wound on Inardle”s flank and abdomen, brushing away with an irritated hand the
blanket Axis was trying to keep over her breasts.
“The stitching on this…” Garth said, obviously trying very hard to be diplomatic.
“Was very amateurish,” said Zeboath.
“That”s not what you said to me,” Axis snapped.
“Now I am talking to a fellow professional,” Zeboath said, grinning. He sobered, and
addressed Garth again. “Axis did this. When the Lealfast fell down about us, there were so
many…I had no time to attend to Inardle so Axis stitched her. In his defense, Garth, Inardle has
since been through more wars. I doubt anyone”s stitching could have held her together.”
“Well,” said Garth, now threading a needle, “we”ll just have to keep her out of the wars
again for the time being.”
He bent closer to the wound, apologizing to Inardle as the needle slipped under the first
layer of skin and muscle.
She jumped a little from the sting, and a line of frost ran up from her wound and vanished
under the blanket covering her breasts.
Garth stopped, the stitch half completed, staring at the line of frost.
“It is her reaction to pain,” Axis murmured.
“Ah,” Garth said, and his face told what he was too diplomatic to express. Fascinating.
Axis could see that Garth and Zeboath would spend many hours over several mugs of ale
discussing this phenomenon.
Garth managed to overcome his fascination long enough to stitch the wound, then he
turned his attention to Inardle”s left wing, spread out to Axis” side.
He hesitated before touching it, exchanging a glance with Zeboath.
“I”ll mix something up for her,” Zeboath said, then rose and busied himself among one of
the medical packs.
“Zeboath is going to make you an elixir which will deaden the pain,” Garth said to
Inardle. “Even an examination of this will hurt, let alone any attempt we make to fix it.”
“I don”t really want—” Inardle began.
“You will take it,” Garth said. “Among other things, it will help relax the muscles and
tendons in the wing, and neither Zeboath or myself can do anything for you while the wing is so
rigid.”
Zeboath had returned, a small cup in his hand. Garth took it, and held it to Inardle”s
mouth.
“What are you doing to me?” she said. “There”s more than just the mixture.”
“I am infusing the elixir with a little added help, Inardle,” Garth said. “It will help, not
hurt.”
“Please, Inardle,” Axis murmured, and he felt her relax a little in his arms and accept the
elixir.
While they waited for it to have an effect, Garth and Zeboath attended to some of
Inardle”s lesser wounds and bruises. One or two of the wounds needed a stitch, but most just
needed a clean and, in the case of the bruises, a rub with an unguent and a gentle application of
Garth”s Touch.
“Most of these will have vanished within two days,” Garth said, cleaning Inardle”s face
and running one of his fingers lightly over the bruising there. “Your left arm, though, will take
longer, perhaps a week, as its swelling is related to the severity of the break in your wing.”
Inardle just tipped her head, as if she didn”t care, but Axis felt her tense at the mention of
her wing again.
It was more than possible that Inardle dreaded Garth and Zeboath splinting her wing, but
Axis thought she was likely far more worried about whether or not she”d be able to fly again. In
his former life Axis had known two Icarii who had been wing-crippled in accidents, and who
could no longer fly.
Both had killed themselves within two years of their initial injuries.
Zeboath and Garth had now positioned themselves to either side of Inardle”s broken
wing.
It looked frightful—very swollen, crooked into an unnatural position, the bruising
showing beneath the feathers as great spreading stains of black and red.
“How long ago did this happen?” Garth said.
“Four days,” Axis said.
Garth winced, again sharing a glance with Zeboath.
“Please fix it,” Inardle whispered, and Axis tightened his hold on her a little, leaning his
face against the back of her hair. He wished, quite desperately, that he”d never verbally attacked
her in the pit.
Zeboath helped support the wing while Garth ran his hand very gently over it. At one
point he raised his face and locked eyes with Axis, and Axis knew the news was not going to be
good.
“All the main supporting bones are broken,” said Garth, “although fortunately they”re
broken cleanly. If they”d been smashed…”
“The tendons attaching muscle to bone are also torn, and very badly bruised. The
swelling is bad and I am not sure I can do much while it is so extreme. The bones need to be set,
but…”
“What happens if you delay?” Axis said.
“Setting the bones?” Garth said. “Well, they”re already starting to heal themselves
through calcification. Clots of blood, and bone tissue, have formed about all of the breaks—this
will eventually resolve itself into new bone.”
“So if you don”t splint it now, the bones will start to set themselves into their current
unnatural shape.”
Garth nodded.
“I think that what Garth is trying to say,” Zeboath said, “is that the wing can likely be
healed reasonably successfully if the bones are splinted into their proper position. The tendons
will heal by themselves once the bone has healed. But as the swelling now is so bad, that is going
to be both terribly difficult and terribly painful. If we don”t do it, then…”
“There”s every chance Inardle won”t fly again,” Axis said.
“Set it now,” Inardle said.
“It will hurt,” Garth said, gently. “Very, very badly. What we gave you will not blot out
the pain, and we have nothing else. Inardle, we are going to have to further injure the wing in
order to set those bones, and I am terrified we will cripple you completely.”
“Set it now,” said Inardle. “I cannot bear the thought of not flying again.”
Garth hesitated, exchanging yet another concerned look with Zeboath.
“Set it now,” said Axis. “I know how my father felt without wings. Set it now.”
Inardle twisted her head slightly to be able to look at him. “Thank you.”
Garth looked at Axis and gave a very slight nod, and Axis tightened his hold about
Inardle.
The physician stood up and asked Zeboath to hold out the wing as far as possible, then
Garth stamped down on it with as much force as Armat once had.
CHAPTER TWO
Armat’s Camp, the Central Outlands
They escaped?” Armat stared at the soldier before him.
“We were attacked by a mighty force, my lord,” the soldier stuttered. He was afraid for
his life in bringing this news to the general.
As well he might be, Armat thought. “What mighty force,” he hissed.