Araman

~ 22 ~

   The woman holding the riders head burst into tears and the man, Berono, held her hand for support. "We will ease your days anyway we can." Jaya said as he stood and helped Lozni up, then signaled for two men to assist the injured man.

"Let me heal him." Raliena blurted, stepping forwards. She was surprised no one had asked. Perhaps they thought it too presumptuous.

"The damage is too great." Jaya said quietly. "He cannot be healed by an Armon or otherwise."

"But if he is not dead then..."

"Perhaps I should have explained." Lozni said placing a hand on her shoulder gently. "I thought you knew that an Armon's power has its limits. Permanent damage is unfixable."

"I can heal him." Raliena insisted.

"The effort would kill you in the process." Jaya said. "You are too valuable."

"Do not give him false hope. To do so would be cruel." Yaline interrupted, trying to keep her voice low.

"I would not do such a thing." Raliena said indignantly. "I know I can heal him and will do so with or without your consent." She retaliated, frustrated that they were being so argumentative. Though she rarely used her authority in Verxia, she was not used to being questioned by anyone other than Dergen and she had hoped she had escaped that for the moment.

"Let her try." Zinib's voice broke through the muttering of the crowd and he stepped forward. His arms were still crossed and he had the same studying expression he had that morning.

"But, Zinib, it cannot be done." Jaya answered.

"Then there is nothing to lose."

"Only her life." Yaline spat. She had her hand unconsciously on the grip of her sword.

Raliena shook her head and pushed them aside.

"I have spent my life hiding the good my ability can do and I refuse to continue to be ordered around by people who know so little about me."

This made them all sigh in resignation as Raliena knelt beside Berono, who had been propped up against the post of the hoop structure. The woman beside him had calmed slightly and they were comforting each other quietly. She almost didn't want to interrupt them.

"I do not want to be any trouble." The man said to Raliena when he noticed she was beside him.

Raliena smiled kindly at him. "But how will you ever best me at this game if you cannot practice."

The man laughed lightly and the woman with him smiled through her tears.

"I will try to be gentle." Raliena comforted them as she held her palms out for him to take.

The only sound coming from the gathering was their steady breathing and the beating of their hearts that thumped in nervous unison. The tension increased when the man put his free hand into the Armon's and she held it softly.

She looked over to Lozni whose expression mimicked Zinib's, both studied her carefully. She ignored them and closed her eyes and concentrated on the break in the man's spine.

As with healing Kassen, it was easy to find her way around a human body. She quickly found the break and pressed her power to it. It was much quicker as she knew where to look and unlike the illness that had plagued the general, it was in one place.

As she let her ability flood through her, she noticed other ailments in the man, a sensation she had not noticed before. They stood out for her like the sun glinting off ripples water makes in a breeze. Also, unlike when she healed the General, or indeed anything else, she did not feel fatigued from healing his back, so decided to heal the rest of him also; a bruised knee, a torn muscle in his arm, even a cut above his eye.