The Crescent Hour ✓

Chapter 19. Convictions

Tamer kicked the door open and entered the tavern. He brought Clara closer to his chest, making sure her neck wasn’t hurt. She was limp in his arms and something ticked in his mind, compelling him to move her as far away from danger as possible.

Rai dragged an unconscious Enki to the stables, invisible ropes tied around the man’s body to keep him restrained. The tavern owner stopped in front of Tamer as he made a step for the stairs.

“You saved us!” the owner said. “Let me repay you for your kindness.”

“I don’t need anything.” He pushed through the stairs but the man trailed behind him.

“Allow me to show my gratitude. I will offer you the best of the rooms at no charge. Please, accept it!”

Tamer didn’t have the time to argue with him. “Show me.”

The tavern owner led the way. Once had had left, Tamer settled Clara on the bed in a comfortable position and heard footsteps as Eryx approached them.

“Help her, Eryx,” he said.

Eryx came to stand by her bed. “I can’t. She’s going through the initiation.”

“What the hell does that mean?” he snapped.

“It’s the change. When a mage awakens their power, the body needs to adjust. Usually, the symptoms are minor like headaches or nausea and it goes away quickly,” he said. “Clara has a fever because she’s different. She has more power than we all do. When she fortified the walls around the village, she drew more power than her body could cope.”

Tamer draped the covers over Clara. “How can I help her?”

“Let her rest. She’ll be fine in a few hours.” Eryx gripped the shoulder that he had healed moments ago, and made him turn his back on Clara. “I have to heal the villagers and I need you to bring the wounded.”

He sucked in a breath and stomped out of the room before he could change his mind. He met Rai at the bar, the Sweeper in his hands. Rai took off the covering from the massive rifle and swung the belt over his shoulder.

“The village is clear. I’ll take out the creatures outside the borders,” Rai said.

As Rai left, Eryx came downstairs. Tamer followed the healer into the streets until they reached the village hall that now served as a temporary infirmary. Men lay on the benches and the floor with various wounds. A Shima elder clutched his stomach, a Zamari wrapped a cloth round his bleeding arm and a human stared blankly at the bone that peeked out of his knee. Women and older children sat beside them to console them. Two mieras and a nurse scurried back and forth, tending to the wounded.

“I’ll send the nurse to check up on Clara,” Eryx said before rushing into the hall.

He spent the next two hours searching for the injured and helping them get to the hall. He had seen Rai standing in the tower with the bell, rifle aimed at the borders, gunshots ripping through the air like the rumblings of thunder.

Settling the last of the wounded on a stretcher, Tamer observed a miera clean a nasty gash on the man’s foot. She was as efficient as Eryx. A miera couldn’t fix broken bones, realign muscles, mend flesh or cure ailments in a matter of minutes like a healer could. They had no magic to aid them. They had to do it the traditional way.

When the villagers had been healed, he accompanied Eryx back to the tavern. He was exhausted and his temper rose up with each passing moment. He needed to rest before he could snap but before that, they had to make plans for the next seal. They went to his old room and he found Rai taking a nap. Eryx shook him.