Chapter Twenty-One #5
Jake stunned, asked, “What? Da? But he’s…where is he?” He jumped off his horse and raced to the circle, pushing everyone aside as Jamie shouted to him.
Jamie followed. “He was bleeding heavily when I last saw him. He couldn’t get up, but I saw his eyes open and close.”
He dismounted and pushed his way into the circle. Uncle Brodie was already kneeling beside Alex, whose eyes remained closed.
“Papa?” Jamie leaned closer to him, searching for any signs of life.
His heart was beating hard in his chest, yet his limbs felt almost numb, and he could not find any beats of life in his arm or his wrist. His face was so pale, that alone frightened him.
Jamie’s mind clouded again as he tried to reason through all that had transpired.
This could not be happening. Could not. He should be going after Gracie, but she’d probably run off to hide.
The threat had lessened now that the baron was dead and his men were gone.
Loki rode up from the outside, staring down at Alex with a strange look on his face.
“Loki, see if you can find Gracie. She was on horseback headed west.”
Loki simply nodded and rode off.
Jamie grabbed his sire’s arm and shook it, attempting to get a reaction. Alex’s eyes fluttered open and then shut again. “Papa!” Jamie lifted his head and shouted, “Someone bring Aunt Caralyn.”
“Robbie’s already gone for her,” Uncle Brodie said. “He’s barely alive.”
Connor moved next to Jake. “Papa?”
Jamie put his hand up on his sire’s neck, searching for a sign that he still lived. “I feel it. He’s still alive. Papa!”
Alex’s eyes opened and he glanced at Jamie. “My thanks,” he said in a weak voice, “your actions saved me. Take me inside…Maddie.”
“He’s alive. I heard him, Jamie. He’ll come back.” Connor’s voice was full of hope.
Jamie wished he had the same hope inside him right now.
Caralyn arrived moments later on foot, Maddie by her side. Jamie bolted up before they reached the circle, hoping to lessen the pain of what his mother was about to see. He grasped her shoulder. “Mama, remember how strong Da is.”
“Is he dead? He looks dead… Nay, Alex, please, nay…our time is not done yet.” Maddie’s fist went into her mouth and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Help me, Jamie, Jake. My knees. Help me get down, I must be close to him, please, please.” Jake came over to help console his mother.
Jamie did as she asked as more and more people gathered around.
Magnus had stepped away from their group to give instructions on cleaning the area up, gathering the dead, and looking for wounded men.
There was a dampened mood, and many of the warriors surrounded their fallen laird at a distance.
Some had even dropped to their knees to pray.
“Alex?” Maddie brushed his long locks away from his face and kissed his forehead. “Alex, come back to me, please.” Her voice had broken into sobs. Jamie watched as his sire reached for her hand and squeezed it, though it was obvious he had no strength.
“Fine…, Maddie. I’ll be fine. Do not…worry.” His eyes closed again.
Jake asked, “Aunt Caralyn?”
She looked at Uncle Robbie and Uncle Brodie and shook her head. “I…‘tis naught I can… Healing a belly wound is beyond my abilities. I’m sorry.”
Maddie screamed and rested her head on her husband’s chest.
Jamie whispered, “How long before he’s dead?”
“Not long,” Caralyn said. “Mayhap a day.”
They finally get Alex to Jennie…
As soon as Jamie arrived inside the Cameron gates, Aunt Jennie flew out to Alex’s side, oblivious to everyone but Alex and Maddie in the cart. Alex and Jennie held a special relationship, and they were all witnesses to it.
“Alex. Please, Alex. Wake up, open your eyes for me.” She jiggled his shoulder but he did not move. “Alex!”
“Maddie, how long has he been like this? When was the last time he opened his eyes?”
“It has been a couple of hours. I tried to keep him awake, Jennie, but he kept falling asleep.”
“Alex,” she shouted in his face. “You listen to me. You shall not give up. Do you hear me?” She poked her finger into his chest, tears beginning to clog her voice.
“‘Tis too early for you, you need to stay here. You have not even met your first grandson yet. How could you think about leaving all of us? Your lads still need you and so do your lassies. Do you not want to meet your grandson, the future laird of your clan?”
She gave a few curt instructions to those around her to get him into the keep. Jamie helped his mother out of the cart.
“Alex, I’m warning you. Wake up.”
He stirred and opened his eyes. “Mayhap I’d prefer a grandlassie first.”
Jennie laughed and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Alex. Do not go, please? Aye, you may have a granddaughter if the heavens abide your wishes.”
They used another large blanket to get Alex inside, though he was too pale to Jamie’s liking. At least they had made it. He’d had been petrified he would die on the journey here.
Aunt Jennie could save him, he had faith in her.
An hour later, he was pacing the Cameron great hall when the door flew open with a bang. He rushed over to the door, blurting out the only thing he could think of at the moment. “Did you find her?”
He knew the answer by the look in Aunt Caralyn’s face, wet with tears. Uncle Robbie said, “Nay. We had a possible trail with one other horse, but with all the horses in the area for the war, it was impossible to trail her. She has not come here? We’d hoped she might have ridden in this direction.”
Jamie said, “Nay.” His belly churned so hard he thought he might be ill. Images of the worst possible scenarios flashed through his mind—wild boars, reivers, Simon de La Porte. Nay, he could not let that happen. He had to find his wife.
“I’ll go search outside for her,” Kenzie said. “I’ll not give up until I find her.”
He started to say, “Kenzie, I doubt she’s…” but Loki clasped his shoulder.
“Let him go. ‘Twill give the lad something to do.”
Kenzie dashed out of the hall. As soon as he left, Uncle Robbie asked, “My brother? How is he?”
“Aunt Jennie’s checking him now,” Jamie said, running a hand through his hair. “It does not look good. He’s pale and weak. He only awakened when Aunt Jennie yelled at him. Tell me which trail you followed. I’m going back out after Gracie.”
“I’ll go with you,” Finlay got up from the trestle table and said, “She has to show up somewhere.”
They headed to the chamber when the door flew open a second time.
Aunt Brenna flew past him with a short, “Greetings, all. I must go to my sister’s healing chamber.
” Uncle Quade, Uncle Logan, and Aunt Gwyneth followed.
The Ramsays had arrived. The churning in his belly slowed at their presence.
Aunt Brenna was still renowned as one of the best healers in all the land, and she had taught Aunt Jennie.
The aunts working together gave him new hope, gave them all hope.
Uncle Robbie said, “Nice work, Logan. That was fast.”
Uncle Logan wiped the grime from his face with his plaid. Logan’s gaze searched everyone in the hall, catching the slow but unenthusiastic nods. “He’s still that bad?”
Slow nods followed.
Uncle Robbie said, “Glad to see you came along with my sister, Quade. How are your joints?”
“Riding horseback is easy. I know how she loves her brother, and after we heard how bad he is, I had to come. Fill me in while they work on him.”
Jamie said, “Finlay, I’m going to check with my mother, then we’ll head out.”
His pacing slowed as he approached the room they’d been referring to as the sick chamber. Aedan Cameron stepped out of the chamber as he approached it. “Jamie, go on inside. I must go greet Quade and Logan. Have faith in your aunts. I do.”
Jamie stepped inside the chamber, the smell making him wish to run the other way. He had no idea how healers could do what they did. His mother rushed up to him and grasped his hand.
He whispered, “Any change?”
“Hush, listen to Aunt Brenna for a moment.”
Aunt Brenna and Aunt Jennie peered at the wound on the right side of Alex’s belly.
“Based on the book that Aedan gave me, I think this is his liver,” Jennie said, “and that looks to be where most of the damage is. ‘Twas a clean stab. It did not go through the entire organ to his back.”
Aunt Brenna nodded. “I wonder if he would have enough left to serve him if we were to cut out the small portion that is shredded. ‘Tis a verra large organ, and he would still have most of it. Quade never suffered any lasting effects from the organ I once removed from him. Granted, it was small in comparison, but based on what I’ve learned, the liver does not have an inner cavity the way the heart or the stomach does. Mayhap he can survive with most of it left intact. The rest of it appears to be healthy.”
“I think ‘tis our only chance,” Aunt Jennie said softly. “Otherwise, he will continue to bleed from all those tears. I think we cut here—” she made a motion across the organ, “—and sew him up to stem the bleeding. His outside wound is clean, so we’ll stitch him up. Hopefully, he’ll awaken before the fever sets in.
We must try to get enough fluids in him. ”
“I think we must do this as quickly as possible. I do not like how slow his vessels are beating.”
“Aye, ‘tis Mama’s most basic healing rule. Keep fluids in the body and keep it clean.”
Jamie had heard many of the elders talk of his grandmama and her sire.
They’d been amazing healers. All had admired her sire, but when his mother had grown of age, they’d worked together and done some wonderful things for the clan.
It had been his grandmama that had pushed them to be clean about their wounds.
Though he had no idea why, he had to agree that the cleaner a wound was, the less chance of fever.