by Ciara Graves
“None taken. Mind grabbing that other bag by the door?”
She did as I asked while Orion joined me at the worktable. I expected him to tell me this was a horrible idea, taking the unstable half-goblin to his town. He hummed quietly to himself as he gathered more ingredients, then said he was going to check the garden for more of the herbs I’d need. I watched him go, wondering what the old goblin was up to.
“You think they’ll have spare boots in Timber Falls? And new clothes?” Iona asked as she dropped the empty leather satchel at my feet.
“I’m sure we can find you something. You sure you’re up for this?”
“Aiden, if you ask me that every five minutes, you’re going to be talking with a fat lip the rest of the day,” she warned with a completely straight face.
I couldn’t tell if she was kidding or not. “Right, sorry. Habit.”
“No problem. I’m not exactly used to having someone looking out for me like this. Jeric used to give me shit for it, too.” She cleared her throat roughly as she picked up a vial filled with crushed beetles. “You need this, too?”
“Wouldn’t hurt.” I rustled through the dried herbs hanging over my head and cut down some sprigs. “Didn’t the other guards look out for you? Sort of like a family?”
“You met some of them. You tell me if any of them would’ve cared for me.”
“But Jeric did—”
The glass she’d been holding shattered. She breathed heavily through her nose, glaring at the floor.
“Iona, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’ll wait for you outside.” She hurried out the door just as Orion was walking back in.
“Well, looks like things are going well,” he teased as he handed over the fresh herbs.
“I don’t know what to say to her. She’s not like any other woman I’ve met.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “She needs time. She just lost the man she loves and blames herself for his death. Survivor’s guilt.”
“Think she wishes I would’ve let her die.”
“She probably will for a while. You just have to make sure she doesn’t succumb to those feelings.”
I closed both satchels and set them by the front door. I walked into the backroom to grab a fresh shirt and my boots. “And how am I supposed to do that? She could kick my ass with one hand tied behind her back.” I sat on the edge of the bed.
Orion chuckled as he stood in the doorway. “I’d pay to see that.”
“Thanks, really.”
“She’s in a difficult situation. Someone’s framed her for the murder of the king. She probably believes she’s alone.”
I sighed as I tugged on my second boot then yanked my jeans down over it. “I’m just a healer.”
“And? You perform miracles all the time. Don’t argue with me on that point.”
“Part of my job. Dealing with politics? Murders? This isn’t my area of expertise. Why do you care so much about her anyway? She should be on the run,” I whispered as I peered out the front window. Iona waited by the truck for us. “It’s what I’d be doing.”
“No, her place is in Charus,” he said with a firm nod. “That half-goblin has a great future ahead of her.”
“And how would you know that? Something you’re not telling me?”
I meant it as a joke, but when Orion didn’t crack a smile, I frowned. Some goblins were known to have the sight, but if he had it, he never shared that information.
“We all have our secrets,” he replied. “I’ve told you plenty of times you are far more than just a healer. In time, you’ll understand that.”
He walked outside to join Iona by the truck.
Halfway there, he was overtaken by a coughing fit.
Iona helped him stay upright, but he waved her off with a smile.
I wondered if he was still spitting up blood, even after the tonic I’d given him. Once I saw to the kids in Timber Falls, I’d have to mix him up something different. Stronger. I had a feeling we were going to need Orion for whatever might come next.
I parked the truck, and the three of us piled out. Iona helped me with the leather satchels as I rushed toward the clinic. A group of concerned goblins was crowded around outside. They let us through. I assessed Felicity and the six other goblin kids huddled on cots. Their grey skin was pale and covered in sweat. Many had rashes running down their arms and up their necks to their cheeks.
“Do they all have fevers?” I asked, falling into healer mode.
“Yes, nothing seems to bring them down,” Matilda told me. Teresa was there, too, talking quietly to a mother holding her young son.
“What’s wrong with them?” Iona asked quietly.
The stern guard who had woken up in my cabin this morning was gone, replaced by a very worried half-goblin. The way she stared at the kids had me wondering if she’d lost a sibling when she was younger and neglected to tell us. Or worse, had she had a kid of her own at some point? She looked about my age. Figured it was possible.
“I’m not sure yet,” I said as I rushed to drag out everything I brought with me. “I thought it was the pox, but this is different.”
“Can you help them?”
“It’s what I do.”
“I’ll help you if I can. Least I can do, since you saved my life.”
I handed her the dried herbs, followed by a mortar and pestle. “Crush these as fine as you can. Once you finish with those, there’s more in the bag there.”
She did as I asked and set to work. I started with Felicity, taking her temperature, and seeing how bad the rash was. Her skin was cracked in some places, and she could hardly move, she was in so much pain. It seemed to be in her joints, too. I gave her the fever reducer, followed by some soothing ointments to help with the rawness of her skin. Her pulse was fast, but her breathing sounded fine. The rest of the kids were the same.
I muttered under my breath, trying to figure out what it could be. Without even thinking, I started asking for herbs and tonics, then laid out how they should be mixed.
I thought it was Teresa doing it all for me, but when I finally looked up, I found Iona at the worktable, hair pulled back in a loose bun, mixing up six vials of the concoction I wanted to try. She handed them to me without a word. She didn’t even look at me, she was so focused.
I gave each sick child the tonic and waited.
“How long ‘til you know if it worked?” Iona whispered as I retreated to the worktable.
“Could be minutes. Could be hours. Depends on if I got it right.”
“You know what this is?”
“Possibly. I saw a case like this a few months back, but it was only one kid. He came down with the same horrible rash and fever. The achy joints came a few days later, though.” I washed out the bowls in the sink nearby. “It took me nearly a week to nail down his symptoms and treat them all effectively. Hopefully this time I’ve caught it faster.”
“But he lived, right?”
“He did, but it was close. Too damned close.”
Her hand rested on my arm with the healer’s mark. “You saved me from Reaper Venom, Aiden. I don’t think you give yourself enough credit.”
“Yeah, I’m told that a lot.”
“Maybe you should start listening.” Her eyes flicked to where her hand rested, and she pulled it back. “One of these days you’ll have to give me the real reason why you didn’t just let me die.”
“It’s not in my nature to let death win.”
“You can keep telling me that, but it’s not the truth. So, clothes,” she said in a rush as if she suddenly wanted to get away from me. “Where might I find those?”
“There’s a general store a few doors down.”
She started to walk away, then cursed. “I don’t have any money on me.”
“Tell them to put it on my tab. It’s fine, really.”
From the way her lip twitched, it made her uncomfortable to keep accepting any more kindness from me. When s
he looked ready to argue, I turned my back on her. That seemed to work better than arguing. A few seconds later, she was gone. Teresa took her place.
“She seems to be doing much better,” she said.
“She’s alive. I’m not sure how, but she is.”
“Take the win, Aiden. I think the kids are coming around, too.”
I turned off the faucet and dried my hands as I turned to face the room. Felicity was smiling at her parents. The rest of the kids were also sitting up and laughing. It had worked that fast with the boy, too.
I sighed in relief. “When Matilda called, I was terrified it was another strain of the pox,” I whispered to Teresa.
“Is there one?”
“Some of the healers are seeing it further south. With so many goblins passing through Charus from Jolian, I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up here.”
“Damn it. Because we don’t have enough issues.”
“It’ll be alright. With any luck, we’ll catch it in time.”
I rested against the worktable and smiled at the recovering kids. I’d stick around for the night to make sure there weren’t any ill effects. Might be good for Iona to be around more goblins, too. With any luck, Matilda or Teresa might get her to open up. She was far from alright, and if she wasn’t going to talk to me about Jeric, she needed to speak with someone else. I debated on telling her about seeing his spirit, but after learning how he died and her part in it, I sensed that would hurt more than help.
Once the kids were free of the fever and up and running around the clinic as if they hadn’t even been sick, Teresa helped me make a second round of the tonic in a larger batch. Just in case. I’d have to reach out to the other healers and see if they were having the same cases in their goblin communities.
A couple of hours after we arrived, I exited the clinic for some fresh air. Teresa said she was going to check on Orion and see about getting some food. I’d stay in the clinic like always, and there were plenty of beds for Iona to do the same. I didn’t see her out on Main Street anywhere and was going to check out the general store when four, black SUVs floored it into town. I jumped back to the sidewalk as they slammed on their brakes in the middle of the road. The goblins stopped and stared until the doors flew open and unloaded their load of royal guards. Twelve swarmed onto the streets. Luckily, none of them were Venkalth. Still, that didn’t mean someone else might not recognize Iona.
“Spread out,” one of the guards shouted. “Search the entire town!”
“Can I help you?” I rushed forward. “What are you doing here?”
The fae was my height, but had a good thirty pounds of muscle over me. A sidearm was strapped to his hip. His hand twitched to it as he gave me a good once-over. “I should ask you the same.”
“I’m a healer. Timber Falls is one of the communities I take care of.”
The other guards spread out and where shoving goblins out of their way. They barged into businesses tossing anyone inside out to the street. I took a step forward to stop it, but the guard grabbed my shoulder, digging his fingers in hard enough to bruise.
“Stay right where you are, healer. We’ve been warned about you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped and shoved at his hand. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Not yet, but you’re under suspicion for harboring a traitor.”
“I’ve done no such thing, and you have no proof.”
A scream came from my right. I whirled around to see Teresa being thrown to the street. Henry shouted at the guard that’d hurled her until a gun was aimed at his face.
More goblins stood beside Henry as more took to the streets.
The guards were outnumbered, but they had the guns. We didn’t.
The door to the clinic opened, and I shouted for them all to get back inside and barricade the door.
“Why?” the guard demanded, his hand on his pistol. “Who’s inside?”
I threw my arms out to block him from getting to the clinic door. “Kids who are sick and need to be left alone.”
“Or the traitor.”
“She’s not in there.”
The guard’s eyes narrowed. “Who said it was a she?”
My jaw dropped open a bit at his stupidity. “You all did the last time you confronted me about harboring criminals.” He took a step toward me, but I didn’t budge. “You’re not getting inside. I’ll not have you terrorizing those kids while they’re on the mend.”
“What are you going to do about it, healer?”
Down the street, Henry was still having a stare-down with the other guard. Teresa was on her knees on the pavement, two guards on either side of her, as if she was a threat.
Orion was amongst the group standing with Henry.
Any second, one of these idiots was going to pull the trigger, and it’d be a blood bath.
“Stand aside,” the guard ordered.
I gritted my teeth as I shook my head. “Not happening.”
“Then I’m going to arrest you for getting in the way. Move it, healer, now. I won’t ask again.” He unholstered his pistol and glared with violet eyes. “I’m waiting.”
Just as I was about to tell him to buzz off, a yelp came from across the street. All the guards spun around, guns aimed.
One of their numbers was on the ground. Blood spattered the concrete around him.
I couldn’t tell what had taken him out.
“Who did it?” the guard shouted as he turned his back to me. “Who?”
“I didn’t see anything,” another guard yelled.
The others nodded in agreement.
The head guard aimed his gun back at me, clenching his jaw furiously. “Where is she?”
I never had a chance to answer when another panicked yell that was quickly cut off.
The other guards hustled around the SUVs blocking their view of the opposite sidewalk.
A body flew over the top of one a second later.
There were gunshots.
Goblins sprinted away with heads ducked low.
A second guard landed atop the SUV, his eyes wide open, a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.
“What is this?” the guard shouted. “Get over there!”
The other guards hesitated but followed his order. More gunshots rang out and then I was ducking for cover.
Bullets struck the clinic walls behind me.
I motioned for those inside to take cover as windows shattered, and screams filled the air.
Out of the twelve guards that had pulled up, I only counted six left standing.
A blur caught my eye, and then a seventh guard was on the ground, his throat slashed. He gurgled as he died.
The guard in front of me shot wildly in that direction. The others closed in ranks around him, forming a line.
Another guard grunted and hit the pavement. A flaming dagger protruded from his heart.
I blinked, confused at the sight, but there wasn’t time to understand what was happening.
A second dagger soared through the air and hit another guard. He crashed into the SUV but was still standing. He yanked the dagger free, only to have another one slam into his forehead.
Three guards remained.
They started to fire again, aiming for the alleyway and the only place someone could be hiding.
When their guns clicked, empty, they started to reach for more magazines.
A mad cackle echoed down the street. “Really? This is all they sent after me? You worthless lot?”
“Come out, bitch,” the head guard yelled as he slid the new magazine home. “We’re supposed to bring you in alive.”
“Oh, yeah? On whose orders?” Iona called back.
“That’s for you to find out.”
The guard motioned the other two forward, opting to stay behind and cover them, it seemed. They appeared apprehensive, but he pointed his gun at them, and they hustled toward the alley.
I crawled a bit further down the sidewalk as my curios
ity got the better of me.
The two guards reached the alley.
A hand reached out and yanked one inside.
The other fae fired his gun and then he too disappeared.
“Damn it,” the head guard cursed as his fingers fidgeted on his gun. “You’re hiding. Just like a coward,” he shouted. “You can’t hide forever! He’ll find you—”
A shot rang out, cutting off his words. He staggered back as the bullet struck his shoulder. While he was still recovering from the hit, a figure blurred down the street and smashed into him. The guard sailed back into the SUV as the gun was yanked from his hand and cast away.
Iona followed up the first strike with another to his face.
He blocked that but missed the kick to his gut. She grabbed him and spun him away from the SUV. She moved too fast for me to keep up with. She ducked around and under the guard’s flailing efforts that seemed graceless compared her.
She attacked with a fury, but it was controlled at the same time.
She flipped the large fae over her back, and he landed hard on the asphalt. He scrambled for the gun on the ground, but she beat him to it, picked it up, then backed away from him, holding it firmly in both hands.
“Pathetic,” she said with a disgusted twitch of her lip.
He stayed on the ground as he sneered. “You won’t get away with this.”
“With what? You and I both know I’m innocent.”
“That’s not what everyone else believes. Right now, you’re the most wanted woman in Charus and Jolian.”
Iona’s eyes narrowed as her finger tightened on the trigger. She opened her mouth—to curse him or ask him questions, I wasn’t sure.
A shot pinged the SUV right next to her.
She fell to one knee and spun at the same time. She fired three times, killing the guard who had emerged from the alley. He never had a chance and collapsed, dead.
The head guard took his chance and threw himself into the nearest SUV.
Iona fired at it as he jerked the wheel and sped down the street and out of Timber Falls.
