Chapter 7
Rolling, forested hills shrouded in fog eventually broke away to open fields of pastel wildflowers, streams, and craggy rock formations.
A waterfall rushed down a distant mountain, mist clouding around it.
Finally having the opportunity to take in the land, it looked crafted from a fairytale.
The beauty here was unmatched, but as I had learned with my herbalist training, the prettiest plants could be the most poisonous.
Beautiful aesthetics were not indicative of safety.
The soft clop of the horses’ hooves on the winding path lulled me into a quiet pensiveness.
Gabriel pulled his horse beside me. “We have a few more hours of riding ahead of us before we get to the castle. Are you and Cora well?”
I nodded. “Yes, thank you. We are taking in the beauty of this place. It is like something out of a lovely dream.”
“I am happy that you find this place to your liking. King Torrish has worked tirelessly to ensure that his realm maintains not only its beauty but also its safety.” The soft smile on his face fell, and his gaze became unfocused.
“Even though there are those in this land who want to throw everything into chaos and lawlessness. That is where the King’s Guard and soldiers come in.
There have been too many militia groups forming that want to destroy everything we have worked so hard to achieve. ”
The concern in his voice made me uneasy. We had entered a land with what appeared to be uprisings so like our own, and that laced me with concern. One inhabitant of this continent had already tried to hurt us. I feared we would be easy targets again.
A piercing scream broke through the trees to our right. I jolted, and Cora stiffened in my arms. It was a scream I recognized immediately, having heard it countless times as an herbalist. It was a scream of desperation.
Gabriel was off his horse before I could process what to do. “Dismount now,” he commanded, taking Cora in his arms and setting her on the ground behind him. The rest of the soldiers formed a circle around us, swords unsheathed, taking in the forest and readied to strike at any sign of a threat.
“Mom?” Cora’s voice wobbled. She hooked her arms around my waist.
“Help! Someone help my son!” a woman pleaded, her voice riddled with fear.
A following crash through the trees raised the hairs on my body.
I peeked my head around Gabriel’s torso, who was shielding us both, to see a figure moving toward us, clutching something to her body.
A seraph breached the tree line, and a child, a few years older than Cora, lay limp in her arms. Her body trembled.
She dropped to her knees at the sight of our group.
“Please! My son!” Her eyes darted around and landed on me.
The terror in her voice and the pleading in her eyes were a beacon, a call to action that I responded to without hesitation.
A mother in need of help from another mother.
I pulled away from Cora, stepped around Gabriel, and ran to her side.
“Rory!” Gabriel yelled. I could hear him running behind me. Whether he was angry or worried, I couldn’t tell. I didn’t care.
I crashed to my knees in front of her, and I turned to the group of soldiers in admonishment, noting their lack of urgency. “The boy needs help! Someone, bring me my satchel.”
The mother laid her ghostly pale child on the ground. A silver dagger was lodged in his side, and blood seeped from a wound, saturating his tunic in crimson. I gasped and looked up at the mother’s tear-soaked face. “How long has he been like this?”
“I don’t know! I found him this way. He was playing in the woods, and when he didn’t come home, I went looking for him. Please! He can’t die,” the woman cried out.
The boy’s pulse was weak but present. If I could get the bleeding to stop, he would stand a chance.
Gabriel stood behind me, hand on his weapon, like this was some sort of trick that would lead to a battle. I looked up at him. “Gabriel, please heal him.”
He knelt beside me, eyes tracing my face. “I can’t, Rory. Not at this level and with that type of dagger.”
“I thought seraphs have healing enchants!” I said frantically. His lack of trying twisted my stomach.
“We do,” he swallowed, “for minor injuries. He needs an actual healer. The closest is several miles away. He’ll never make it. I’m sorry.” He placed his hand on my back.
Stubbornness was both my blessing and my curse. I had never been a woman to accept defeat while there was a heart still beating. I looked into the frantic mother’s rimmed-red eyes and back at Gabriel. “I can help him. I need my satchel!”
Gabriel shouted, “Caleb! Bring the lady her satchel and hurry!”
My eyes flicked to Cora, who stood next to Devoruh and shifted her weight back and forth, chewing on her bottom lip.
Caleb handed me my leather bag, and I tore it open, strewing the contents on the damp ground. “Water! I need water and a bowl or container of some sort,” I shouted to nobody and everybody.
The frantic mother clutched her youngling’s hand, whispering in a hushed voice, rocking back and forth with her eyes clenched. There was hope underneath her pleading. A promise in her unintelligible murmurs.
I grabbed herbs of yarrow, neem, dittany, and horsetail.
Caleb returned with a water skin and a marble bowl, placing them next to me.
I uncorked and poured the herbs into the bowl, using a rock to crush them finely.
“What’s his name?” I asked the mother, keeping my voice steady as I poured small amounts of water into the bowl to create a paste.
“Bonvis. Please save him, miss.” She ran her hands across his ashen face.
“I am certainly going to try,” I reassured her. “Gabriel, when I say, please remove the dagger.”
He blinked and nodded hesitantly. “Sure.”
The herb paste sat at the ready. I took one steadying breath and said a silent prayer to Airmed to give me a steady hand. “On my count. Three, two, one.”
Gabriel yanked the dagger from Bonvis, and I clapped my hand on the wound, keeping pressure.
A breeze gusted through the forest, caressing my face and cooling my heated body.
I removed my hand and packed the paste in and around the puncture, firmly pressing it down.
There was no air moving in or out of my lungs while I waited to see if the herbs I used, the only ones I had on me, worked.
I had never tried them on such a deep wound.
If I could get the bleeding to clot, then maybe we could get him to a healer, and he would be saved.
“Stay with us, Bonvis,” I whispered. “Don’t give up.”
I slowly lifted my hand. We hung in a moment that would either tear this mother to pieces or gift her more time. We simultaneously drew air into our lungs. A connection—mother to mother.
I let out the shaky breath I was holding. “It stopped.” Her pained eyes met mine, and she released the same shaky breath.
Bonvis’ pulse weakly fluttered under my fingertips.
He was still with us. Still had a chance.
Hope and tears swam between the mother and me.
I couldn’t remember a time when I was more relieved.
Working with herb combinations that were not the normal protocol was risky, but Airmed guided me straight and true.
“The bleeding has stopped, but he will still need to see a healer immediately,” I said to his mother. I turned to Gabriel and asked, “Can we get him the help he needs?”
Gabriel looked at his soldiers, at me, then at the crying mother. “Of course. Norling! Quickly get the youngling and his mother to the nearest healer and then meet us back at the castle.”
I took the shaking mother’s hand into mine. “Bonvis is going to be alright. He’s a strong boy. What’s your name?”
Her bloodshot, brown eyes met mine. “Sorah.”
“Sorah, from one mother to another, I want you to know that you saved him. You didn’t remove the dagger, and that was smart thinking. You did everything right. Now go get him to a healer, and give him some extra sweets while he heals.” I smiled and gave her a wink.
“Thank you,” she whispered and tightly smiled back.
Norling picked up Bonvis and led a weeping Sorah to his awaiting horse.
As they took off down the path at a breakneck pace, I silently thanked Airmed that what I did worked.
I rubbed my hands together, the blood coating them starting to dry, and I stayed rooted on my knees in the dirt, needing a moment to process what had occurred.
Cora approached me quietly. “Mom? Is that boy going to make it?”
“I believe he will, sweet girl.”
“Rory, that was incredible. You are a wonder!” Gabriel exclaimed.
“My training kicked in. That’s all,” I dismissed.
His smile disappeared, replaced with a somber intensity. “I must impress upon you, though, not to run off into dangerous situations. There was no telling if that was a ruse to lure us in to rob or even hurt us.”
I wanted to argue that, as a mother, my intuition screamed at me that it was real.
The genuine fear in her eyes and the boy’s limp body were something I had seen on more than one occasion.
I held my tongue, though. Arguing with him wasn’t wise when he was the one trying to keep Cora and me safe.
I cast my eyes to the ground and nodded, just as any noblewoman would. It made my flesh crawl.
Gabriel helped place the contents of my bag, thrown unceremoniously on the ground, back into it. “Did you happen to hear what that mother was mumbling?” He asked without looking at me.
“I couldn’t make it out, but I would think it was a prayer. I have seen many mothers pray to deities to spare their child or loved one.”
He tightly smiled with an eyebrow raised and pulled me to my feet. Once up, he poured water over my hands to clean them. “Let’s get you back on the horse. I hate to rush, but we don’t want to be caught out here at night.”
I dipped my head and led Cora back to the horse, passing the soldiers who stared at me. I suspected they had never seen human ways of healing before. Cora and I were giving them a lot to talk about.
Gabriel picked up the discarded bloody dagger and stuck it in his saddlebag. “Are you ready?” he asked, tipping his head.
“Yes. I think we have had enough excitement for one day.” I hugged Cora, seated in front of me.
Her dirty, messy hair was a relief. I breathed her in, closing my eyes and thanking Clotha that she was safe in my arms. My heart wept for what Sorah was going through.
Her desperate pleas and screams rattled around in my head.
I hoped that what I did was enough, and what I will continue to do will be enough… for Cora’s safety and my own.