Devan Chronicles Series: Books 1-3 (17 page)

“Thank you... feels... better,” Julia said hiccoughing the words as her tears slowed. The guardsman simply looked at her worriedly.

What? Oh!

Julia raised her hands before her eyes and stared in fascination. Tiny lightning bolts were crackling from finger to finger like a miniature storm. She released her link to the magic and watched them wink out.

“Sorry. It hurt you know?”

The man behind her laughed, and the guardsman in front smiled briefly, but he was obviously relieved to see the manifestation of her magic vanish. She watched him finish bandaging her chest and shoulder. She thanked him again when he helped with her gown.

“I’ll need the books on healing if there are any,” Julia said trying to breathe shallow.

“I can’t bring them to you. They’re warded to prevent theft,” Jessica said worriedly.

“I’ll have to go to the library then,” she said struggling to stand.

The world spun about and Julia was abruptly back where she started. Before she could try again and hurt herself, a guardsman stepped forward and lifted her into his arms. It hurt, but she kept quiet.

Jessica was by her side pointing out the quickest route, but the guardsman already knew the way and carried her to the library without fuss. Julia drowsed in his arms, but awoke as the familiar feeling of the library came over her. Julia was beginning to suspect that the entire library was magical in some way because of her reaction upon entering. It always seemed to talk to her.

“Use me, and know power,” it whispered for her ears alone.

Julia shivered as she remembered all the deaths she had caused. She already knew what power was like—she didn’t like it.

The guardsman was looking at her for instructions.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t remember your name.”

“I’m Udall, Lady.”

Oh yes. Now she remembered. Mathius had stuck his boots to the floor on her first day at Athione. He was one of Sergeant Burke’s men.

“Take me down the first row please. I hope you’re not too tired.”

“You’re only a little thing.”

Julia chose the low ranked shelves in the hope that anything she found would be within her capabilities to use. She scanned all the titles, but there didn’t seem to be any that would help. It worried her more than a little. If there were any books on healing within the library, they must be for higher ranked mages. Although she felt strong, she actually ranked lower than Mathius in practical knowledge and experience. Her inability to make wards and shields proved that.

Udall carried her along the next aisle. This time the titles were for mages interested in making material things such as roads and bridges. There were some interesting books here, but nothing that she found sounded even remotely like what she needed to heal Mathius. The ones she needed must be for higher ranked mages. What would she do if she wasn’t strong enough? There was no point in worrying about it. Worrying never helped anything. It wasn’t her fault if they—

She worried.

“Stop here!” Julia said in excitement, and winced when she moved her arm without thought for the consequences.

Udall stopped and Julia read a promising title, but she reluctantly decided it wasn’t what she needed. Forestry and animal care, though dealing with living things, were not the same as healing a man’s wounds.

“Sorry Udall, next aisle please.”

Udall nodded and carried Julia along the last row.

Julia was afraid that this might happen. She had briefly looked at the third shelf during her first visit to the library. It had titles such as:
Higher Principles of Power Transmission
, or
Animation for Sorcerers
. The shelf wasn’t for beginners. Still, she had no alternative but to keep looking. Two thirds of the way down the row Julia found one.

“Take that one down for me would you Jessica?” She said pointing to a large tome bound in black leather. As Jessica did that, Udall continued down the aisle. “Stop. That looks interesting, we better have that.”

Jessica pulled the slim volume down and followed behind as Julia found another. Jessica took that one down as well. In the end, they found only four books in the whole library that might help—all of them on the high ranking shelf. Jessica found places for them to read in comfort. Julia’s arm was throbbing in time with her heartbeat. She thrust the discomfort to one side and tried to concentrate on her reading. When Jessica found an important passage, she read it aloud. Julia listened, but continued her own reading. They didn’t have much time.

Julia discarded the first book almost straight away. It was more to do with diseases than injuries or wounds. The next one was the size of a handbook or diary. As Julia read, she realised that she had found a treasure. The book was hand written in tiny script. Written by a wizard, it detailed his journey through the east—Tanjung and Japura—learning all he could about medical applications of herbs and magic.

Julia read as quickly as she could, but candlemarks went by before she understood enough to start. She bit her lip in worry. If she did this wrong, she might kill even more people.

“I think I’ve got it,” Julia said hesitantly.

“Will it help him—them?” Jessica said.

“I think so. I need to read it all the way through to be sure. Is there enough time?”

Jessica shook her head. “You need to try it right away.”

“It’s dangerous Jessica. I don’t know if I’m strong enough—even before the arrow. If I try and do something wrong it might kill them.”

“It’s all right. It’s better to try to save someone and fail than not to try at all.”

“Even if it’s Keverin who dies?”

Jessica’s face hardened.

“I’m sorry,” Julia said quickly. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded,
honest!
I don’t want any more deaths on my conscience.”

“I told you before,” Jessica said in a hard voice now. “You did what you had to do. We would all be dead without you.”

Udall nodded gloomily. “She’s right.”

It was a side of Jessica that Julia had never seen. She had always seemed kindly and fun to talk to, but now the mother of a great lord came forth—and she was as hard as steel. Julia looked miserably at her little book. It was easy for other people to justify her actions, they hadn’t been the one to kill so many. Julia bit her lip. She was anxious not to hurt anyone else, but by not acting she would be condemning all the wounded to more pain and perhaps even death.

Julia sighed. “I’ll try.”

Udall replaced the other books in their slots, then came back and sat beside her. “When you are ready, I’ll take you back to the hall.”

Julia raced through the pages snatching desperately at this or that passage. She tried to memorise everything she could. She was near to tears when she realised that she had forgotten the first part already. She flicked back and read through it again. There was a lot to learn in the little book. How could they expect her to operate on someone after reading a book for so short a time?

The biggest trick seemed to be the way of looking at the wound. From what Julia could puzzle out she would need to use her mage-sight to look below the surface of reality. According to the author it was possible to repair even serious injuries in that way, but had Darius worked like that? Julia realised that she could be completely on the wrong track. What if Darius knew this method didn’t work? What if she killed them... what if... No! Darius would have removed the book from the shelves if that had been the case. Surely he would have.

“Has anyone tried to take a book out of here before?” Julia asked her companions.

“No, why do you ask?” Jessica said and Udall shrugged. He didn’t know.

“I need to take this with me. I can’t learn enough in half an hour,” at Jessica’s confused look she tried again. “Half a candlemark I mean. If I take it, at least I can refer to it if I need something.”

“I don’t think you can,” Jessica said worried now. “Darius warded all the books in here.”

“Let’s try.”

Udall lifted Julia into his arms, but as he carried her toward the arch, Julia started to feel a reluctance to take the book. It was wrong to take it. She should put it back in its slot. When they reached the arch, it felt as if she were heading the wrong way. The shelves were the other way and she really should put the book back now. It was wrong to take the book. She should put it back in its slot—she really should. Julia wanted to turn around on the instant. If Udall had not been there, she would have.

It’s all in the mind. You’re not turning back.

The book started to glow blue as they neared the exit. Udall opened the door and the book objected strongly. It began flashing so brightly that the light made shadows leap up against the walls.

Udall looked at her. “Now what?”

With nothing better to try, Julia shook the book vigorously. “Stop that!” She said. Of course it didn’t make any difference. She grasped her magic, and in frustration directed it at the book. “I told you to stop it!”

To Julia’s surprise the book paused as if startled. It flashed its light twice more in apology and then stopped its antics.

Julia looked at her companions in amazement and then back to the book. “Thanks.”

Udall was looking at her strangely. Julia wasn’t surprised. How many people can talk to things and have them answer, even if just by a flash of light? She had become somewhat accustomed to this world and its strangeness, but then something like this happened and she suddenly wondered if it was real after all.

That bloody arrow was real enough. It hurt like blazes.

On the way back to the great hall, Julia read some more of the little book. Some of the things in it were familiar to her but described a little oddly. The animals infesting wounds were obviously germs and microbes. According to her book they could be seen and destroyed if you used the magic like
this
, and then did
that
.

Other things didn’t seem to apply to her world at all. It mentioned aura a great deal. Julia had always scoffed at the idea of people seeing such things as auras around people, but as she read further, she realised that the author meant something entirely different. According to him, it was possible to spot a person with an injury or illness by the colour of their aura when viewing them in a certain way. It talked about the nature of reality, stating that everything was made of energy and that manipulating energy was what a mage did best. If she was right the author was talking about atoms. How could a person in a medieval culture know such things?

Udall carried Julia through one last door, and then toward Keverin where he lay with his men. To her eyes, he was pale, almost translucent.

“No. Mathius first.”

“Lady Julia, I don’t think—”

“I do!” Julia tried to soften that. “Sorry Udall. If I can heal Mathius, which is not certain, he might be able to help me with the others.”

That wasn’t Julia’s real reason though. She felt more responsible for Mathius than she did for Keverin. Keverin hated her and she didn’t much like him either, but Mathius was one of her few friends. When she found him in the courtyard, she had turned him over without thought and driven the wood impaling him further in. She couldn’t get the thought out of her head that if she’d been more careful he wouldn’t be dying.

“If you think it best,” Udall said doubtfully, and looked to Jessica to show him the way.

When Julia finally arrived at his side, Mathius was barely conscious. He was very pale and his eyes looked out from purple coloured caves. He was in great pain. Jessica pulled the blanket down to reveal the wound, and Julia gulped trying not to pass out at the sight of the hole in Mathius’ belly.

“We removed the wood as soon as we could, but he’s bleeding inside,” Jessica said with no emotion in her voice. The noble lady was back—hard as steel. “I think his stomach is punctured.”

Julia winced at the thought of such an injury. A punctured stomach must be excruciating. “Mathius, can you hear me? It’s Julia. I’m going to help you. You’ll be all right, I promise”

Now you’ve done it.

Before Julia scared herself too much, she quickly reached out and covered the gaping wound with her good hand. It barely covered it. Concentrating on her mage-sight, she tried to see Mathius the way the little book described.

She kept slipping into what she thought of as the realm of power at first. A strange place, it was a realm of drifting clouds of energy. Nothing solid here, but strange swirling eddies and currents filled it. There were no boundaries, no walls, no sky, or ground. Nothing but energy existed. It was where she believed her magic came from. It didn’t help her with Mathius. The real world wasn’t present at all. Having an idea, Julia started again. This time she tried to summon the vision slowly. She watched eagerly as the hall faded and was replaced by swirling energy on its way to the realm of power.

That’s it!

Julia held the vision steady. She looked down and recoiled. Mathius, she assumed it was him, had turned into a sickly yellow mass of energy. There was no shape to resemble a person at all. Remembering the book, she looked closer and found streams of red streaking the yellow of his aura. Not knowing what to do next, Julia turned away and studied what she thought must be Udall. There was a tower of white energy radiating strength where he stood in the real world. Looking closer, she saw just a trace of yellow that she assumed was tiredness, but there was none of the red light that so infested Mathius.

Turning back to Mathius, Julia tried to change the red light in his aura into a clean white. It seemed to work at first, but as she completed one area, the red light infested another. Knowing that it had to go, Julia tried to drive it out by main force, but it was no good. Every time she destroyed one stream, another took its place. She needed to find the source. Looking more deeply, Julia tried to trace the red streams to their source. She delved deep into Mathius, as if submerging herself in an ocean of energy. She was tugged this way and that by unseen currents. Some were gentle, but others surged rhythmically, and she had to fight to stay on course. Eventually she found a disgusting pulsating mass deep inside Mathius. It was purplish green in colour with red streams coming out of it. It made her sick just to look at it. She attacked the ghastly thing without mercy using streams of white magic that she willed into existence. Slowly the ugly mass shrank, but it fought her all the way. Angry at the nasty thing’s rebellion, she forced herself to draw harder on her magic and crushed it with one sudden push. The red streams began to wither and fade once separated from their source. Julia helped them along with more white magic.