Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
Healers don’t get days off
I arrived at the village, having taken the same route as last time.
Though I was less worried about how I’d be received, I still took the precaution of concealing my knife in the back of my pants, just in case.
I didn’t believe for a second that these people were savvy enough to engineer some sort of trap, or that they wanted to.
They needed something from me and I had it, tucked inside a padded satchel that hung from a strap slung across my chest.
A small group greeted me at the edge of the village, where the forest ended and their little civilization began.
Two females and a male led me into the village like they were heading some sort of procession, shooing people out of the way who came out to gawk and shushing the ones that wanted to ask questions.
It was like having a team of short, ineffective bodyguards.
The first time I was here, I was so focused on the hostility that I didn’t notice the actual village.
But this time I had that luxury. I felt safe enough to simply observe.
What I saw was a clean, organized town with a decent layout and buildings made of different materials.
I saw some made of wood, some made of salvaged metal, some of stone and mortar, and most of them were a combination of all of it.
There were some materials I didn’t recognize at all, but every structure had a similar look: hexagonal, with narrow, vertical windows.
The paths—or rather, roads—were fairly narrow, except for the central square, and made of packed stone.
They were smooth enough, and overall, the village was clean and tidy.
My eyes caught on lights, so there had to be a power source somewhere.
Nothing extravagant, just enough for illumination and maybe a few other necessities that made life easier.
I wasn’t seeing people suffering from disease or starvation, unlike most “civilized” locations in the quadrant.
It made me envy this place a little, and the people who lived here.
Maive was doing something right, as all of her people appeared fed and healthy.
Perhaps, with the exception of the patient I was here to see.
The trio of escorts stopped outside a large stone building that sat prominently on the square.
They opened the doors for me to enter, and I did so, striding into a wide, open room.
The ceiling was higher than they needed to be, considering the height of these people.
Pillars held up the story above—I guessed maybe three or four stories total.
This struck me as an all-purpose room for gatherings and such.
It was big enough to hold probably most of the village if they really packed in.
There was some seating, several long tables for dining, and on a bed near one of the windows lay Tregen.
Maive sat on a chair beside him, along with Pasek, whom I’d met, and an older male who was dressed in plain white clothes.
I guessed he was some kind of healer. He appeared tired and dejected.
They all turned and looked at me as I entered. Maive’s relieved expression was all I could see for a moment. The tension in her face smoothed away.
She rose to greet me. “Gilrox. Thank you for coming. You already know Pasek, and this is our healer, Micher.”
Pasek looked exhausted, but hopeful. I didn’t want to see that hope, because I had no idea if this equipment would work.
One glance at Tregen and it was all I could do not to grimace and let out a curse.
He was unconscious, shiny with a veil of sweat that made him look even sicker and a few shades more washed out than he’d been when I pulled him out of that calroid’s grasp.
I nodded to the healer and Pasek, and tried to keep my thoughts to myself.
Again, in addition to having zero stealth, I’d never been good at games of chance.
Everything showed on my face. I must have looked neutral enough, though, because Micher gave me a stricken look, spread his hands, and said, “I’ve done all I can.
The infection is not going away with our treatments. ”
“Well, let’s give Gilrox some space, shall we?” Maive sent both Micher and Pasek a pointed look. “I’ll let you know when there’s an update. In the meantime…” She waved her hands and the two men retreated, leaving me alone with Tregen and Maive.
I took the seat that Pasek had been sitting in and tried to assess what I was dealing with. I had to admit, although I wouldn’t say so to her, he didn’t look good. “What exactly is his status?” I asked.
“We cleaned out the gash the calroid made with its teeth, but despite our medicines, infection took hold.” She pursed her lips. “I should have called for you sooner.”
I did not mention that I was not a servant to be called for. She wouldn’t like that. Instead, I just went with it. “Why didn’t you?”
“I didn’t know if you had anything on your ship that could help.”
I pulled the satchel off my shoulder and set it on my lap. “That’s why you ask.”
“You’ve already saved him once,” she said. “We owe you enough debt.”
I carefully removed the field medic unit from its case. “To my thinking, issues of life and death should not be weighed in terms of debts to be owed. It’s not like I’m going to demand galactic credits from anyone after this.”
I began to set up and calibrate the device, doing a quick scan so it could adjust to Tregen’s physiology and target the infection correctly.
“Forgive my assumption,” Maive said quietly. “I always thought mercenaries expected payment for services performed.”
I didn’t remember this many settings to adjust the last time I’d used it, but then again, that had been on me, and the device wasn’t used to working on a different species. “I’m retired from that life,” I murmured. “And I’ve no idea if this will work, anyway. The infection could be too advanced.”
I jolted as a soft hand touched my forearm. Everything froze. My breath, my movements, and for one very weird moment, every single thought in my head. It all went still. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched me because they just wanted to.
“Thank you anyway, Gilrox,” she said softly.
If I looked at her, I would completely forget what I was doing, so instead I nodded and shifted forward, dislodging her hand and refocusing everything back on the reason I was there. “I need to see the wound.”
Maive pulled back the sheet covering Tregen and carefully removed the bandage from his side.
The wound was oozing. It smelled, and hadn’t even begun to heal. Still, I’d seen worse. Some of them had made it. I just hoped to the stars she didn’t ask me for the odds of his survival or something impossible like that.
I focused on the device, which had two components: a wand that did the healing, and a small handheld apparatus that monitored its efficacy. I held the wand directly over Tregen’s wound without touching it and light bathed the wound in bright crimson.
Maive leaned forward. “How does it work?”
I tilted the digital display toward her, not that the scrolling symbols and readouts would mean much to her.
It had taken me an embarrassingly long time to figure it out myself.
“All I know is it releases pulses of diterium radiation that put the immune system into healing overdrive. Basically, it speeds up the natural processes while also eradicating bacteria and infection.” I shrugged. “Hopefully.”
It was quiet for a little while. It wasn’t exactly the relaxed, easy quiet that people sometimes enjoyed—or so I’d heard they enjoyed. That wasn’t something I had experienced myself. And it wasn’t to last anyway.
“Well?” Maive shifted on her seat and cleared her throat. “Is it working?”
I shrugged again. “Be patient. It’s not instant.”
“Okay.” She sat back and I leaned forward. The device made a soft whine as it did its work, and I kept a close eye on the readouts. It scanned as it healed, and finally, to my relief, I saw that Tregen’s body was beginning to respond. It was reacting to the pulses.
Maive didn’t miss it either. She leaned forward, her shoulder brushing against mine. “He’s looking a little better.”
I grunted. “We’re lucky the infection didn’t spread throughout his body.
I’ll give him a little more of this and then he’ll just need a lot of rest. This device quickly regenerates the healing process, but at a cost. Rapid healing takes a lot of energy.
Even though he’ll look fine, expect him to be in bed for several day cycles and eating a lot more. ”
She nodded, her eyes bright with tears. “Yes. Oh, Pasek is going to be so relived.”
It wasn’t for show. She needed this youngling to live, and he wasn’t her son or close relation.
He was a person in her village, and that was all it took for him to be precious to her.
It was, in my estimation, a sign of a very good leader.
First, that she was here at all, and second, that she valued each life in her village as dearly as if it were her own.
It was a little humbling, to be honest. I doubted these people realized what a rare leader they had in Maive, and how unfortunately unusual it was to have one who cared for them this much.
I turned off the device when all of the readings showed normal.
Without the bright red light illuminating young Tregen’s torso, the difference in the wound was stark.
Maive dabbed up some of the pus that had been expelled with a wet cloth, revealing healthy skin.
No more sickly, puffy edges. Instead, it was already knitting together, showing healthy, pink flesh. His coloring was improving as well.
I carefully packed the device back into its foam case, fastened the satchel, then rose to leave. “Well, that’s it. Your healer, Micher, should be able to take it from here.” I held up a finger. “Remember what I said about rest and food.”
“I will.” Her voice was soft, and she rose as well. “Thank you again, Gilrox.”
“Stop thanking me.”
I turned away, feeling oddly embarrassed and off-balance and all sorts of awkwardness that I was not familiar with.
And then there was that hand on my arm again.
This time by my bicep. The muscle literally twitched under her touch.
I turned a little too abruptly and looked at her.
She snatched her hand back and blinked, but did not drop her gaze.
No, not Maive. She met my eyes with that open confidence that I found so damnably attractive.
“We are holding our Valrim Village Founding Festival in two weeks,” she said. “I’m inviting you to attend.”
I raised my eyebrows at the “invitation” that sounded more like a royal summons. “You want me to come to your village festival?” Now I knew the village had a name, and I knew what it was. Yet another little stitch tying me to this far too lovely community.
Her own brows rose. “If I didn’t want you to come, I wouldn’t have invited you.”
Ah, but I liked this woman. I snorted out a chuckle.
My first thought was to decline, of course.
I had no intention or interest in going to the Valrim Village Founding Festival, no matter how cute the title sounded, but then, Maive’s mouth curved into a smile that pushed her cheeks into lovely rounds and made her green-gold eyes twinkle, and the words, “Sure, I’ll come to your festival,” just fell out of my mouth.