Wings of Deceit

Chapter Thirteen*

While Haera walked the perimeter of the clearing, staring into the darkness of the forest to make sure nothing was lurking there, Larc and I double-checked to make sure we were on top of solid ground and not more tunnels that could crumble away. It made me feel a little uneasy that we wouldn't be protected by a barrier tonight, we would have to rely on our own wits to keep us alive.

We formed a circle with our cloaks — a defensive strategy used so that everyone would be able to see in one direction to make sure we weren't being ambushed — and started to unpack what we needed for the night. Thankfully, with the summer heat, we didn't need to risk a fire for warmth.

My sister found a stone to sharpen her blades as I dove straight to the salve in my satchel. It was a miracle we hadn't lost any of our belongings during the whole escapade with the blind shadow creature.

"Can you turn around?" I asked Larc as I shuffled over to his side. "I'm going to start healing your wings now if that's okay." They seemed to have stopped bleeding, but that didn't mean they could go without healing.

"Of course." He turned around to give me full access to his back, his muscles rippling under his torn shirt.

Closing my eyes, I pushed my magic into the severed wings, searching for any gaps or tears in the flesh that could be filled in. I found the source of the blood within seconds and made sure that the fresh scab was healed. If it opened again, there was a high chance of infection and that was the last thing we needed.

When I was confident there was nothing else my power could do to aid his pain, I took out the salve and began to rub a generous amount on the most mangled parts. Larc's body tensed as the balm touched his wings.

"Sorry, I should have given you some warning before I put it on." It had only been two days away from Silverwood and I was forgetting my training already. "Did I hurt you?"

"It's okay, it didn't hurt. It was just a sudden jump from feeling the warmth of your magic to the coolness of the salve." He relaxed again, a silent signal for me to continue.

Before long, the task was finished. "How do they feel now?" I asked as I put the remaining salve back into my satchel.

"Better, thank you." The wing that had been torn to shreds lifted for a moment but slumped back down again in defeat. "It's strange. Sometimes it feels like my wings are still there and it hurts so much. I don't know why it's happening."

"That would be phantom pain." I sat down next to him as I offered him my explanation. "I've treated one person who lost his arm after coming back from the front lines and he described the exact same thing. There was nothing I could do to make it go away." Thinking back to our journey so far, it hadn't seemed like Larc had been in a lot of pain. "When has this been happening?"

"Mostly at night when I'm trying to sleep. I can't decide if that's the best time for it to happen or the worst." The Dragon-born needed his rest, but it would also be troublesome if he was in agony while we were trying to get to the mountain. There was no winning in that situation.

Haera placed her blades at her side and began to get the food out.

"You must have healed a lot of people," Larc started. "Your power must be a real asset."

"I'm very grateful I can help everyone in Silverwood, but I haven't healed too many people." I flexed my fingers, attempting to gauge how much magic I had left before I would be exhausted. The blue glow from underneath the bandage wrapped around my blood oath wound was a strange sight to see.

"Silverwood is only a small village and not many people have cause to get hurt. It's really only the hunters that stop by the Temple to get healed when they accidentally get nicked by one of their own weapons or a trap backfires on them."