“That dragon probably attacked because of me,” Zollin admitted. “It’s the not the first time we’ve run into each other. What do you mean Lady Roleena got the worst of it?”
“Shattered her leg when one of the blocks fell from the rigging. It’s a shame, really. The surgeon had to amputate. Not sure if she’ll make it or not.”
Zollin’s blood ran cold.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
“She’s below, in the sick bay. The healer didn’t want her moved.”
“Show me,” Zollin said.
“Alright,” the sailor said, “this way.”
He led Zollin to the stairwell opposite the entrance to the passenger deck. Zollin looked up at the command deck as they passed it, noticing the captain’s unveiled look of disgust. He ignored it and followed the sailor down into the dark interior of the ship. They moved past several storerooms and finally came to a closed door that Zollin knew was the sick bay. The smell was horrid-a mixture of human waste and putrefied flesh that made Zollin want to vomit.
“She’s inside,” the sailor said. “The surgeon should be with her.”
It was hot on the cargo deck, which was below the water line and had very little ventilation. Zollin opened the door, breathing though his mouth to avoid the horrid stench of the sick bay. The room was quiet and dim, with only a single lantern giving any light to the room. The healer was asleep on a small bunk, and on a table stained with blood lay Lady Roleena. She was naked, with only a thin sheet covering her body. Zollin approached her side, feeling sick at the sight of her. Her skin was very white and covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Her lips were almost completely blue and the stump of her left leg, which ended right above the knee, was bleeding through the bandage and staining the sheet.
Zollin let his magic flow into her and was appalled to discover her organs shutting down. The shock of the amputation had been too much for her and her mind had retreated from the pain. His first order of business was to stop the bleeding in her leg. He knew he could re-attach the limb, although it would take a great deal of time.
“Healer!” he said sharply. “Wake up!”
The older sailor stirred and looked up.
“What?” he asked irritably. “You aren’t supposed to be in here.”
“What did you do with her leg?” Zollin asked.
“We threw it overboard,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Damn!” Zollin said. “I could have saved her leg. Now she’ll be crippled.”
“She won’t live, I’m afraid,” the healer said. “I had to amputate, there was no other way to save her life, but she fought us every step of the way. She has a strong constitution, but I wasn’t able to stop the bleeding in time, I’m afraid.”
“That much is obvious,” Zollin said angrily. “I need water, wine, and food. Send for Eustice-he’s in my cabin but he doesn’t speak. Tell him what I need. He’ll see to it.”
“What are you planning to do?” the healer asked.
“Save her life,” Zollin said. “Now, do what I tell you.”
“I don’t think she needs your sorcery,” he said.
“Shut up and get out,” Zollin said angrily.
The ship’s healer looked stern, but he did as he was told. It took nearly an hour to stop the bleeding. Zollin took his time mending the nerve endings and reforming the bone. By the time he stopped, he had mended the end of Roleena’s leg so that there was no scar, and he hoped no pain. She was still unconscious, so he took some time to eat the food Eustice had prepared him. He drank some wine for its rejuvenating effects, but he mostly drank water. His body was still sore, as if he’d worked strenuously for days without rest, but his magic seemed as strong as ever.
His next task was to increase Roleena’s blood supply. He didn’t create blood for her-instead, he sped up her body’s natural blood making process. Then he coaxed her organs back to health. There was nothing specifically wrong with them, other than a lack of oxygen from the blood loss. Finally, he gently nudged her mind. It took several moments, but finally she woke up.
“How are you feeling?” he asked her.
“I had the worst dream,” she said.
“It wasn’t a dream.”
Her face grew stern and her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t speak. Instead, she sat up on the table, holding the sheet up to cover her body.
“What did you do to me?” she asked.
“You were injured,” he explained. “Your leg was shattered and the ship’s healer amputated.”
“No,” she said simply, as if her denial could change reality.
She reached a shaking hand down and pulled back the bloody sheet. The end of her leg was smooth skin.
“You did this to me,” she said, almost hissing.
“Yes, I did all I could to fix the damage. You lost a lot of blood.”
He was caught completely off guard by the slap, which landed hard across his jaw, making his
eyes water and his ear ring a little. He staggered a few steps, looking up in surprise and trying to dampen his anger.
“I’ll kill you,” she hissed. “I’ll take everything you love and make you watch it die. You’ll beg me to end it, but I won’t. I’ll make you suffer.”
“You’ve lost your mind,” Zollin said, backing away.
“I curse you.” She spat the words as if they were bile. “I curse you and your descendants to the fifth generation.”
“You’re insane,” Zollin said as he backed slowly away from her. “I helped you. You were dying.”
“I’ll kill you, Zollin Quinnson,” she screamed as he left the sick bay, her voice echoing through the dark cargo hold of the ship. “I’ll kill you and everything you love.”
Her voice echoed in his mind long after he left her in the bowels of the ship.
Chapter 11
Brianna couldn’t help but love the feeling of flying with her pride of dragons. They were playful and fun. She would sometimes leap from one dragon to another, flipping and gliding through the air as effortlessly as a leaf floating on a gust of wind. Selix-the biggest dragon-and Ferno had little trouble carrying Brianna. She was lighter than most humans her size anyway, but they were large, and incredibly strong creatures. Gyia could carry her for short distances, but Tig and Torc, even though they were the size of large horses, could not handle her weight. Instead, the two smaller dragons spun and frolicked through the air with her.
They had left the mountains and flown mostly at night. Brianna could see at night almost as well as she could in the daylight, but the dark skies helped hide her pride. She didn’t want to frighten anyone or cause her pride to be injured by fearful humans. Their scales were hardening more and more every day, even though they were avoiding sunlight and sleeping through most of the days. Still, a well-aimed arrow or spear could penetrate their skin, which meant they were vulnerable, so she used caution despite her overwhelming desire to find Zollin again.
The second day of their journey she had left her pride and used the gold she had collected deep in the mountain to purchase clothes and food. She now had thick woolen clothes to keep her warm high in the air, and she was eating fruits and vegetables again, which she relished after weeks of eating nothing but meat.
They didn’t hurry, and it took three days to reach Felson. They watched the city from high in the air. Her dragons were curious and they flooded her mind with questions. They had seen small villages on their journey, but Felson was the first community of real size. Felson was a central city in Yelsia, and although the city had no walls or keep, it did have a very tall watchtower, and an entire legion of cavalry was stationed just outside the city. There was also a ring of tents, wagons, makeshift shelters, and huts that had been erected by refugees from many of the northern villages who had been forced to flee their homes by the large black dragon Bartoom, before the mighty beast had abandoned Brianna and flown south to answer the magical call ringing in its head.