Blood in the Fire

Chapter Eleven Heal

Prison Caves — November 2184

Elizabeth

Anton went to take care of the wizard under Luke's grip while I gently pulled Mark's shaking hand away so I could see his wound. It will be okay, I promised. I can heal you.

But when I saw the damage to Mark's skin, it took my breath away. I thought the wizard's spell had simply burned him. His flesh was boiling and pieces of skin were falling off. I looked at his hand and shirt and saw that both were bloodied. Gingerly, I reached for his collar and pulled it away to find the damage was spreading under his shirt.

I'm going to deactivate your nerve endings first, I explained. You're going to feel numb, but it will make the pain go away. Mark nodded, but didn't say anything. His eyes were squeezed shut.

My lips began to whisper the words of the incantation. With my eyes closed, my mind was able to reach out and probe the texture of Mark's wound. I tried to remember what Mom had taught me about field medicine. First, I would have to delve below the skin to find the undamaged nerves. My spell would start there and work its way to the surface.

My eyes were closed, but I felt Luke place a hand on my shoulder. She needs time to work, Anton told him. You and I should stand guard. Luke's thick fingers slipped away. My spell continued to wrap itself into the fiber of Mark's neck and shoulder. With his nerves numbed, I began to scrub away the damaged cells and replace them with new ones.

Liz, we shouldn't waste power on full heals, Anton warned. We might need it later to survive. I shook my head.

He's not an agent, Anton, I objected. He didn't sign up for this like we did. I continued my spell.

Liz! Anton challenged. He was right. If it had been anyone save Mark or Luke, I would have stopped the heal when the danger was passed. 

Let me finish, I commanded. Anton didn't say anything more. Instead, he contacted Tamer and asked my cousin to furnish the unconscious wizards around us with a temporary false memory: one that would explain how they had all ended up injured and knocked out.  By the time Tamer had finished his spell, I had too.

How are you feeling? I asked Mark.

I'm fine Sis, Mark replied. It stopped hurting a while ago. He rubbed the fresh skin where the burn had been.

It might still be a bit tender, I warned. I'm not a medical expert like Mom was.

It's fine, Mark said, shaking his head. I was surprised not to hear any of his internal thoughts when he spoke. It usually took Darks months to learn to control what others heard.

We should keep going, Anton urged. We've got a lot of ground to cover. I nodded and Anton took the lead. I helped Mark up, then motioned with my head for my brothers to follow my boyfriend as I headed up the rear.

We were alert to every sound, sticking close to the wall and close to each other. There's a large opening up ahead with two wizards stationed at each of the three entrances, Anton informed us. Two entrances at present level, one ten feet above.

Room defenses? I asked.

Still getting that information, he replied. He stopped and crouched down against the wall to wait for his spell to finish scanning. The rest of us followed suit.

The room is heavily armed. Three short-range intrusion sensors that trigger room lock-down. Six laser guns, two gas vents, Anton paused for a second and frowned at the screen. Looks like it would take approximately fifteen seconds to turn that room into a vacuum chamber. Five high-voltage—

Wizard at six o'clock, I interrupted. Anton dropped his screen and pulled Mark behind him with one hand, then fired his laser gun with the other. The beam disappeared into the wizard's magical shield. I created the force field around the guard and nodded to Anton to release his gas.

Luke didn't wait for another brawl to start. He lifted his fist and slammed it into the wizard's nose. The guard went down unconscious.

I glanced back at Luke's face in the dim light. His jaw was set and his green eyes were fierce. If our encounter with the wizards had scared him, I couldn't see it in his expression. Rather, he looked like he was ready for a fight.