Jason spoke up before he had a chance to make a decision, and he couldn’t say he was sorry. “That’s about enough from the lot of you.” He left his corner at last and walked forward with authority before pointing at Mila, but looking at Sybil. “I know what me own eyes saw earlier at the Tree, so I’ve no choice but to give some credence to the lass.”
Tal agreed. There was no disputing Mila’s healing abilities anymore. When she’d knelt beneath the Sacred Tree and touched it—well, it was like nothing he’d experienced before. He’d seen dozens … no,
hundreds
of Guilders lay their hands on the Tree—whether seeking guidance, praying, or just in reverence. But he’d never seen the Tree actually choose to
bond
with a crafter before. Her hands had just sunk into the limb in a glow of blue power, and warmth had flowed in a wide circle around the trunk. They’d been nearly too awestruck to notice when it had started to go wrong and it was only Mila’s sharp gasp of pain that had brought them out of their stupor in time.
Dareen moaned just then and a rumbling came from beneath Tal’s feet. He wouldn’t normally notice the fine trembling of the floor or the swaying of the delicate china cups on their hooks under the cabinets because it was so faint. But combined with the possibility that a dirtdog had contracted
Tin Czerwona
, it spoke volumes. Once the disease began to progress, it would be dangerous to stay here, since even without magic, the very ground would react and try to bury them alive. Jason’s face took on a new panic. He dropped to his knees beside the couch and yanked up the sleeve of her crimson cloak, baring skin for the room to see. Her alchemist birthmark, the same comb pattern as Alexy wore on his bicep, was swollen and glowing a deep rust-red. Jason dropped the sleeve abruptly and rubbed his hands on his pants with wide eyes. He turned his head again to Sybil, his words flat and final. “That tears it. Get out of me house.”
“Jason, you don’t understand what’s happening here. She’s—” Sybil pointed at Mila, her face already speaking the accusation that hadn’t yet hit air.
The Fomorian stood firm. He clenched his dark fists and Tal watched as flames began to lick the air around his skin. But this was real … not mere decoration. “Me da’s away, and me mum’s in no state to speak. Until one returns to claim it, I declare familial right of this house. I claim the magic it contains and I revoke your welcome and your power here.
Get out.
”
Sybil’s voice raised in a panic that was suddenly very real. Having Jason revoke her welcome had made her forever powerless in this place. It was an enchantment on every home by the kings to keep the peace, and didn’t rely on an individual family’s magic ability to maintain it. “You’re siding with a
Parask
, Jason. It’s
forbidden,
and dangerous! You don’t know what you’re doing. The legends speak of—”
“The
legends.
” Jason sneered and snorted loudly. “Those old legends are a flippin’ joke. I’ve learned too much in the overworld to be frightened like a child. Frankly, I don’t care one dosh if Mila’s a soul-conjurer, an African witch doctor shaking gourds, or a naked mole rat in disguise. She’s offerin’ to help and, in fact, has offered nothing
but
kindness and charity so far. ’Tis only
your
words which concern me, Mrs. Onan. While I appreciate that you brought Mum to find help—which is the only reason I’m giving you fair warning, I say again … get out of me house before I
put
you out.”
Then Sybil turned to Tal, her voice so weedling and needy it made him cringe. They’d done something to her, the
Children
. This tactic was beneath the woman he knew. “Tal, talk some sense into your friend. You wouldn’t let him harm me, would you?”
Actually, he wouldn’t, but he couldn’t let her know that—couldn’t let her try to use him as leverage. The ground rumbled again as Dareen moaned and twisted in growing delirium. He had no doubt Mila couldn’t craft under this tension. Other than combat spells, he doubted he could, either. “I’d do as he orders, Mom. Having us
both
put out won’t help your friend Dareen.”
Her face moved through a dozen emotions before settling into a cold, distant expression that was unlike anything he’d seen her wear before. He needed to find out what they’d done to her, and how to bring her back to the mother he knew.
Soon, but not this moment.
“Very well,” she said at length. “I’ll go. But we
will
be back to cleanse this place of the Parask scum, so be warned.”
Mila let out a rude noise by vibrating her outstretched tongue, without even turning her head to acknowledge the words. It made Jason smile, which was apparently the last straw for Sybil. She turned and stomped down the stairs. She probably would have slammed the door if there was one. Jason moved to the window and after a moment the tension in his shoulders eased. He flicked his wrist with a flourish and Tal felt a pressure against his ears as the house’s protection barrier covered over the open spaces. Only those invited would be able to pass, which was probably a good thing … especially if she decided to make good on her threat. Jason turned to him with raised brows and a shake of his head. “Your mum’s gone crackers. You know that—right, mate?”
His reply came out angry and he realized his fists were clenched in frustration. “That’s not my mom, Jason. That group’s done something to her. Plus, we don’t know that
your
mom hasn’t gone crackers, too. One of us needs to follow her, keep her from reaching the other Children.”
Jason chuckled. “No need, mate. Look outside.” His friend … yes, Tal realized he
did
consider Jason a friend again, curled one side of his mouth in a wry grin.
Tal walked to the window and stared down into the street. Sybil was standing with furrowed brow, tapping her finger on her lip and flicking her eyes around the landscape as though searching for something. “What is she doing? Is she bewitched?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Jason said and returned to the couch to sit on the armrest next to Dareen’s head. “It’s part of the house magic. I’ve never really understood it, but if someone leaves here in anger, they won’t remember why they were angry by the time they reach a block. She’ll wander off and find her group and not have the vaguest notion of where she’s been for the past few hours.” He raised a hand as Tal’s expression darkened, as though anticipating his objection that a memory alteration spell was incredibly illegal. “I know ‘tis not proper. But not me doin’. This is house magic, not a spell. But I must admit it’s been useful for the business. Never an angry customer that leaves our shop.”
And house magic comes from the kings, so there was little Tal could comment about. But he could certainly wonder how it came about.
Jason touched Mila’s arm after a shrug. “You just tell me how much magic you need, or what tools, and I’ll bring ’em to ya.”
She shook her head, obviously frustrated and yes … there was fear in her eyes, too. “Magic won’t help. I can’t use it. No, what I need to know from both of you is how important is she to you?”
Tal was surprised by the question, but when she continued, it became clear.
“See, I’ve searched the whole area for power to use while you guys were arguing.” She looked at him and nodded with little tips of her chin. “You’re right about those cult people, by the way. There’s something really wonky about their life energy. They’re not sick … not precisely, but there’s
something
weird going on. I can’t risk drawing on them for healing energy.” She sighed and looked down at the woman on the couch. “But, unfortunately they account for all the humans I could find and, other than small animals, there’s very little life left in this area … except
us
. So—” She touched Dareen’s forehead and looked up at both of them with pain and worry clear in her eyes. “Which of us wants to volunteer to die to save her life?”
J
ason didn’t hesitate, even though his muscles tensed. Mila hated that she had to ask, but the disease was too far along and she didn’t know what else to do. “If that’s what it takes.” He shrugged and reached down to touch Dareen’s thick long hair with a smile. “She’s me
mum
, after all. I know she’d do the same for me.”
It didn’t surprise her in the least. She’d understood that was his base nature from the moment she met him. “I wish there was another way—”
Tal spoke up, his voice filled with the same frustration she felt. “Can’t you take a little from the both of us? Spread the load so nobody has to
die?
”
She wished she understood the process well enough to explain it. “It doesn’t work that way. I don’t have that good of control over it. You saw what I did to the plant in the kitchen … and you were just
tired
. I don’t know how I affected the hospital patients. I was too afraid to call and ask today. And Jason’s mom is
dying
. I don’t know how bad the damage is inside or what it’s going to take to heal her. Once I pick a subject to draw from and start, that part of my brain shuts off and I just keep pulling until it’s done. I don’t really understand the process.”
Tal knelt down beside her and reached forward to cup her face in his hands. She didn’t know if he could feel her trembling, but she was. She’d never been asked to take on a healing like this … had never contemplated that there’d be a
need
. “If you don’t understand the process, then you don’t
know
it’s impossible. Mila, there’s a time in every crafter’s life when we have to step outside what’s comfortable. We all move from doing what’s simple instinct to gaining control and crafting with
purpose.
” He obviously believed what he was saying and while she
wanted
to think it was possible, she wasn’t really
crafting …
at least as he knew it. She opened her mouth to explain but he shook his head with a small smile. “I know what you’re going to say—that you
aren’t
a crafter, and don’t use magic to do your healings. But I say otherwise. I saw you at the Tree and if that wasn’t magic—” He paused for a moment, obviously trying to come up with an analogy.
Jason completed the thought, but probably not in the way that Tal might have. “If that wasn’t magic then I’ll be eatin’ me da’s stinky old boot. Not a crafter? Me right eye you’re not. Bleedin’ hell! With branches comin’ to flower all around your head, and grass growin’ up at your feet? If that’s not magic, well—” He squatted down and tucked a finger under Tal’s hands to turn her head. Tal dropped his hands, but took her free hand between his. Jason’s voice was filled with admiration. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you had dirtdog blood. No, ’twas crafting, lass, just of a sort I’ve not seen before. But Tal’s right. You need to learn mastery of it. We’ll do all we can to help. If that means me life in the process, then hell and be done with it. But do at least give it a
go
to stay your hand before I kick off, hey?” He smiled and winked before giving the tip of her nose a pop with his finger.
Branches flowering? Grass growing? “I don’t remember any of that. I didn’t do anything special … I was just—” She nearly screwed up and said
looking
for the egg, but didn’t want to open up another whole discussion when Dareen was quickly failing. The way Tal had reacted, she was pretty sure he hadn’t told anyone about the scroll from Viktor’s. “Anyway, I don’t know if I can, but I’ll
try.
”
“And we’ll do our best to keep your attention focused. Remember,” Tal said as he helped her get up and brought a chair for her to sit on. “Craft with
purpose
. Surround the flow with intent and you won’t get lost in the moment.”
She wanted to protest again that it
wasn’t
magic, but these two men had known magic all their lives … for
centuries
, and swore it was. So what did she know? And, too, their advice wasn’t much different than what Baba had tried to teach her, just using different words. “Think,” Baba had said while tapping her temple. “Use the brain God gave you, yes? Plan the movements … like so—” Mila felt her hand rise, remembering all those lessons; hour after hour of healing the pinpricks on Candy’s arms and legs that Baba had inflicted, struggling to concentrate each time Candy yelped in pain.
Pain … dear mercy, the pain!
Dareen might not be conscious, but her mind was aflame with the onslaught of magical tendrils attacking sensitive nerves. Again Mila heard her grandmother’s soothing voice from deep inside her memories. “Wrap yourself around the pain, Mila. Let it flow through and over you. Find the power … find your source and the healing will push away the pain, yes?”
She felt outward and found life and grabbed hold with her mind. It was pure, clean energy that pushed away Dareen’s pain. She began to concentrate on the healing, moving each new pain as she did. Minutes passed as she tried to unravel the knot of infected tissue, one slimy tendril at a time.
Her throat began to feel dry so she swallowed and was surprised at the burning that followed. It even hurt now when she breathed and she couldn’t seem to summon her voice to speak. She opened her eyes in panic to find Tal wrapped around her, one hand on her forehead pulling her against his chest while he uttered soothing words. “Shh. That’s it. I know it hurts, but try to let it go.”
Had she been screaming? Her throat certainly felt like it. She couldn’t seem to move her body, as though she was still in her healing trance. Yet she was aware … could see and hear things outside of the ritual.
But I haven’t even called on the powers. Haven’t spoken the ritual to start the process.
Yet she could see Jason, bound to her with a glowing white rope as thick around as her wrist. He looked almost serene, but it was obvious the sensation wasn’t completely pleasant.
She smelled flowers suddenly—roses and lilies and then it was like walking through Viktor’s gardens. A riot of colors, smells, and sounds filled her head with life and warmth. “Concentrate on your crafting, Mila. Don’t lose focus.” Tal’s words filtered through the other sensations. Was he experiencing the healing process, too? Could he see and smell the flowers, or was he just guessing and giving her something solid to cling to?
Either way, it
did
help her focus. She looked down again at Dareen. The squirming lines of red and black were no longer hovering on the surface of her skin. They’d burrowed inside and now stood out in sharp relief under her skin like a tattoo, but twisting and moving with purpose.
There was no time to lose.
She bent down to place her hands flat on Dareen’s chest, and Tal moved with her—not obstructing or limiting her movement but instead giving her additional reach and support, taking her weight so she didn’t have to concentrate on keeping her balance. She began to whisper hoarsely as she drew on the power from Jason. “
Vsi srakhy, vsi nervy, vsiu khvorobu
. All the fears, all the nerves, all the illnesses.
Z pasuriv, pazuriv.
Go out, out.
Vse bezsonnia zlo
. I send all away.” When she uttered the last word, something hit her chest hard, like a line-drive baseball. It stole her breath and doubled her over so hard that Tal struggled to keep her from hitting the floor. The virus was reacting to her attack, trying to either push away the healing power or infect her. She tried to remember the right words, but the spells were getting jumbled in her mind. It was all she could do to keep an even flow of power into Dareen. Too much and she might do even more damage, too little and the virus would have time to react, to mutate. Damn it, what were the next words?
Come on, Mila!
Finally she let out a growl and opened her eyes. “Oh, screw the spells. You’re going
down,
virus.”
She started to send more energy in, cutting off each new path of the tendrils before they could get a foothold. But as the illness redoubled, she found the flow of magic to be fading. There was no
time
for that to happen. Another sharp blow came, but this time to her forehead. She heard Tal’s voice as if from a great distance, but she couldn’t hear all the words over the roar of the power in her head.
“Master … craft. Give … purpose.” But she was so close. Just a little bit more energy and she’d have it beat.
“Too close. Have to … keep going.”
A rush of wind and sound arrived in a burst of light that cut off all sensation. Tal’s voice emerged from the brilliant void and she realized he’d found a way to mentally connect to her.
“Let Jason go, Mila. He’s barely breathing. Control the power and cut the line. I’m here now. I’m with you and we’ll finish healing her together.”
Jason? Who … what? But then she remembered, and knew her fear about killing someone had been well-founded. But Tal had reached her and she could think now. Again she was transported outside her own body to watch the scene from above. Jason unconscious on the floor, Dareen arched on the couch, her mouth open in a silent scream, and Tal … dear Tal, who was holding her so tight his muscles were ropes under taut skin. His lips were pressed to the side of her head, his eyes shut. When she concentrated she could feel the sensation, as faint and pleasant as a dream. She grabbed onto the new line of power, letting loose the other.
The power was a pure white needle of flame that burned through the foul bands of
Tin Czerwona,
creeping like an evil kudzu vine inside Dareen.
And then it was done. As quickly as the battle began, the last root of the virus was destroyed, right at the base of her neck, the infection point. It told her more clearly than anything that this illness was no accident. What she couldn’t figure out was
why
. What was Vegre’s goal in infecting random people? What tied Dareen and Suzanne together?
Before she let loose of the flow of power from Tal, she carefully scanned Dareen one more time, looking for any hint of the illness. But it was gone, dissolved away, leaving only pure tissue and blood.
Then her sight took her to the others. Jason was starting to revive, but he was very weak—lower even than Tal had been in her kitchen. But Tal had little to spare himself, having given his all to save his friend’s mother.
That left only her. Normally, she would have called on her own life first, but Baba had always said it was better for the power to come from other family members. Once she got older, it made sense in the same way that doctors look first to the family for blood or organ donations.
But there was nothing stopping her from giving Jason a little boost from her reserves. She was full to brimming with the aftermath of the healing, so she connected to them both once more, long enough to fill their reserves until they were all equally tired, but functional.
A quarter tank of fuel each. Enough to make it until we can eat and rest.
By the time she opened her eyes, still cradled in Tal’s arms, Jason was up and at his mother’s side. There were bags under his eyes as though he hadn’t slept for a few days, but from the relief, and
joy
on his face, she doubted he cared. There was nothing quite like the aftermath of a healing, when everyone
knew
the patient would recover.
“Ah, Jason me boy.” Dareen placed a gentle hand on his cheek, making him beam. “I knew ya’d find some way to make it right.”
He smiled but shook his head. “‘Twasn’t me, Mum. Not one dosh. This was Mila’s doin’. She’s a—” He paused and Mila caught her breath. Would he start the argument all over again? But apparently, once was enough for him. “She’s a friend of Tal’s and a bit of a doctor, she is.”
Yet her relief at Dareen’s smile and nod was mingled with guilt.
What would Baba say to me being ashamed of who … of what I am?
She shook her head and gently pulled out of Tal’s grasp, even as he tightened to keep her close. “I’m sorry, Jason. But I just can’t. I appreciate you wanting to keep me safe, but I’m proud of who I am.” Dareen’s brows raised and she looked at her questioningly. “I hope you won’t be offended, ma’am, but I’m apparently from the Parask guild. I didn’t know it until recently, but … well, there you go. I’m a soul-conjurer and I used my talent to heal your illness.”
Jason bit at his lower lip and Tal let out a small sound that she knew accompanied a wince. Dareen held one dark hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. Her voice was muffled from behind her hand until she finally remembered to remove it. “So, there
are
conjurers left in the world. Bless me soul. I thought the hunt was just a way to keep the group busy so we wouldn’t ask questions.”
“The
hunt?
” That was never a good term for a large group of
anything
to use. Things tended to end badly.
But Dareen ignored her question. She grabbed onto Jason’s arm, nearly pulling him down on top of her. “I must see King Kessrick right away. Help me up so I can get out of this robe, lad.”