Free Magic (complete)

Chapter 24

Anders was sore. Sore was an understatement, but it was the only word his brain could come up with. He struggled against the weight of his eyelids; the sharp light of day stung his vision through a window. He stared straight up for a while, as it was the only thing he could do without moving his aching body. The ceiling was that of Whitethorn, the window was wide, so he was on the sea facing side of the keep.

"You're awake?" A woman with a white apron over her royal medic robes walked into his line of vision. A Whitethorn mark on her neck gently glowed green.

"I, yes." He answered. His voice crackled.

"Water, now." The woman lifted a sizeable pitcher and helped pour small amounts down his throat while helping him sit up. She was a water mage, he realized as she helped direct the water down his throat in a trickle that wouldn't drown him. When she decided he had enough, she let him lay back down.

"You'll have questions I suppose." She had a kind face and soft eyes. They reminded him of Ghilda for a moment and he struggled to sit up on his own.

"Where is she?" He managed to sputter.

"Lay DOWN." She pushed him back. "I can tell you it's been four days."

"Four days?" Anders repeated.

"That's what I said." Her patience was running out. "I will summon Magister ga Harleurngin, as he requested me to do. I will not be answering any further questions, I am here for medical purposes and no more."

Anders focused on the parts of his body that could move with more ease than others. His legs were ok, his arms were sore, his fingers were all but useless. He practiced trying to move them, but they weren't cooperating.

The medic returned with broth and helped coax that down his throat too. He managed to get a lot of it spilled down the front of a plain white tunic, which the woman helped him change out of when they were done. Anders wasn't particularly proud of that part.

A knock at the door drew the woman away. Anders got his first look around, the room was small, and there were shelves full of bottles and plants. A few books covered the small wooden table, and the location of two different windows told him he wasn't inside the keep anymore.

"Anders my boy!" Harlow shuffled into the room followed closely by Jak. "I'm so relieved you came around before the tests. I thought I'd have to beg my colleagues to postpone the tests so you could make it."

"Harlow, Jak." Anders croaked. Harlow had his same white and gold coat on, Jak wore a light green tunic and had a leather eye patch.

"Don't let him talk too much Magister." The medic instructed. "I'll leave you to your conversation." She left the room and Jak and Harlow pulled chairs over to the bed.

"Ghilda?" He asked.

"Anders my boy." Harlow grew sad. "I'm afraid she is in no condition to see anyone. She isn't dead, but she is barely with us. If she can be pulled through and recover enough to talk, she will be heavily questioned you understand."

Anders nodded slowly. His heart ached for the friend he had lost, but he knew the moment he stepped onto the roof that part of his life was over.

"Onto brighter news, you stopped the spell." Jak interjected. "The mages have all but recovered. The death toll was only seven. A loss, but not a worse one thanks to you."

"You are in the house of the stable master." Harlow said. "The storm continued rather vigorously after you left it. You couldn't be kept in the keep, you were placed here to ecru minimal damage, though I dare say the horses are none too pleased."