A Fresh Beginning

Chapter 7

Jim shook Blinky's shoulder but only got a soft moan in response. "Blinky, dad, please wake up. You need to keep talking to me while I stabilize the knife. It needs to stay as still as possible until we can get back to trollmarket and get it out."

With a large effort Blinky opened his eyes and saw Jim's face, blurry but the worry showing clear. Jim turned to Aargh and stated tensely, "I'm going to start cutting up my shirt, but I need you to keep the knife steady. Just try not to let it move too much okay?" Aargh nodded and took over as Jim pulled off his shirt to shred it into long strips.

"You shouldn't be bleeding like this, especially with the knife still in you, but that's probably the poison. Any other symptoms?" Blinky rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision, but it didn't help. "I can't see very well and I'm dizzy. I also have a headache, but strangely the stab wound doesn't hurt." Claire raised an eyebrow, frowning at Jim and Toby. "That's great but aren't wounds supposed to hurt?" Jim nodded and tied another strip onto Blinky, grimacing at the trickles of blood seeping into the fabric.

While Dictatious wasn't often glad for his lack of sight, this was one of the times he was. The green troll wasn't sure how we would function if he could see his brother bleeding out in front of him, surrounded by his panicking friends. Blinky stirred groggily in Aargh's arms as Toby explained to Dictatious what had happened.

"I'm dissapointed but not surprised. Set him down and I'll see what I can do." Dictatious began to work over his brother, but as the minutes dragged by Aargh could see that Blinky was getting worse and worse. The big troll nudged his partner, worried at Blinky's uncharacteristic listlessness, just as Merlin strolled in. "What do we have here? Oh, Blinky's dying? What a shame, if only we had a competent magical healer..."

Dicatatious hissed but continued to work, feeling a surge of panic when his spell failed. Blinky continued to bleed no matter what Dic did, and his strength was fading. "If you have a better idea I'm all ears, but if you only came to laugh then I suggest you leave- before I hang you from the ceiling by your entrails."

Rolling his eyes, Merlin stepped close to Blinky's side and placed his hands near Dictatious's. As his magic joined the blind troll's, Blinky's wound slowly sealed itself, leaving only a bright white scar. Merlin stretched his back and backed away, exhausted but finished. "You're welcome. All it took was knowing the right healing spells to use against blood magic. He will wake soon enough."

Merlin turned to leave, but Dictatious reached out and grabbed his wrist. "No matter how insufferable I find you, I must still thank you for your help." Suddenly smiling, Merlin nodded in agreement, but his eyes were full of arrogance. "You're welcome. But remember, my help isn't always so freely given."

*I hope you all like this, sorry that it took so long. Loving the votes/comments/reads I'm getting :D *