I leave it at that and start walking down the path towards the Lab. I’m already going to be late as it is, there’s no need to make it worse. Pulling the book out of my shoulder bag, I prop it between my arms, reading as I walk, trusting that Damon won’t let me crash face first into anyone.
Last night I stumbled across a nearly blank page directly in the center of the nearly 3 inch thick book. In my tired state, I didn’t think much of it and just went to the next. From the moment my eyes opened this morning, it has been bothering me. On the left page is a drawing of a flower with pure white petals and a bright yellow center labeled as fresma bloom. Directly below, it tells the reader where to find the plant. The right page is completely blank. It’s the only ingredient in this book that doesn’t have a description.
The toe of my boot snags on something, there’s a crack and suddenly I’m stumbling forward, unable to catch myself before I fall. The book lands a few feet in front of me and Damon is kneeling beside me in an instant.
“Are you okay?” he asks, laying his hand on my shoulder.
My ankle throbs, hurting more and more with each breath. “I think I broke my ankle.” I never considered myself fragile before now and I make a silent promise to myself that I will put more calcium in my diet from here on.
Damon’s lips tug down in the corners as he crawls towards my feet. He pulls up the leg of my uniform pants as gently as he can but it still makes me cry out from the pain of it. “It is most definitely broken.”
I whimper. I’ve never broken a bone before. I should have been paying attention where I was walking instead of trying to read a blank page.
He scoops me up, one of his hands behind my back and the other curled up under my knees. He bends down, letting me collect the book off the cobblestone path. “Nothing a good healer can’t take care of,” he tells me as he carries me down the street.
The building he takes me to is four stories high and in the middle of the housing area of the settlement instead of the Market. Full green vines crawl up the exterior and the front door is a vibrant red, the sign above it says THE QUARTER.
He pushes the door open using his back and walks inside, still carrying me. “Is Ivy here? Tell her it’s Damon.” My eyes jerk each direction as I take in the place. It doesn’t look much different than a regular waiting room at a doctor’s office. Dozens of uncomfortable looking chairs fill the small area, newspapers are left abandoned left and right. Some of the patients seem to be in better condition than others. Some of them have no visible illness but there’s pain lingering in their eyes, others cough and sniffle every so often.
“Ivy is with a patient right now, but I will let her know you are hear once she’s done,” a woman in a light gray uniform answers.
He holds me out towards her a few inches. “This is Emmy James. Tell her now and give us a room.”
With a cock of her brow, she looks me over. “Very well, follow me.”
Damon carries me up a narrow flight of stairs, but by the second flight he’s started breathing heavier. I’m a very petite girl, but this is a lot of stairs. “We would have been here all day if Lincoln and Ben hadn’t told them you and Violet have medical priority.”
“Why did they do that?” Violet noticed before I did that Maddox and the Commanders seem to be giving us the special treatment, and have been since the day we arrived. Since she pointed it out, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it because she’s was right. They are allowing us to live here for free, even covering the cost of our food and necessities. Lincoln, one of the Commanders, is training Violet, which I highly doubt is in his job description. Medical priority seems a bit out of place as well. Why would they go through all of the trouble?
“Wait here,” the woman says as she holds a door open for us. “I will go and advise Ivy that you are here.”
Damon gently sits me down on a twin sized bed in the middle of the room. I grit my teeth through the throbbing in my ankle and try to keep the tears at bay. “Who’s Ivy?”
“She’s the Prime of the Healers. Best of the best.”
“I could have waited my turn. There’s no reason for me to go before anyone else.”
He smiles. “You’re nothing but sugar and your sister is nothing but spice. Funny how that works.” He takes the only available seat and crosses his foot over his other knee. “Whether you think you deserve priority or not, doesn’t matter. Those far above us have made that decision for you.”
“Why though? Why are we getting such special treatment?”
The door opens before he responds and a middle aged woman, dressed in the same gray uniform as the last, walks in. She’s very attractive for a woman her age, with dark blonde hair pulled into a tight and perfect bun and light purple irises flecked with golden specks. “I was with a patient, Damon.”
He rises to his feet, shrugging his shoulder. “Ben made it clear that she should receive priority. Were you not notified of this?”
She smiles. “Of course I was. I doubt he would say the same thing right now though, seeing as I am currently with Tessa.”
“Tessa?” I repeat. “Is she okay?” I’ve only met Ben’s mate a few times, but she has always been so nice and welcoming to both me and Violet.
“All things considered,” Ivy answers as she crosses the small room and stands next to my bed. “What is the problem?”
“I tripped and think I broke my ankle,” I explain. “I’m sorry. I don’t need immediate help. I can wait my turn.”
Her hands hover a few inches over my ankles and start to glow a deep purple, just as the Watcher’s did when he healed me. The sensation is warm and not at all uncomfortable. “It’s fine. I’m already here and this will only take a minute.” The glow brightens, the warmth starts to burn and suddenly there’s a snap as my bone pops back into place. Ivy grunts, but over that sound, I hear a second more audible crack. She tilts to her right side, as if trying to put the majority of her weight on that foot. “Damon, chair.”
“What happened?” I ask, maneuvering to the edge of the bed until my legs dangle over the side. “Are you okay?”
She keeps her eyes closed and teeth gritted until Damon shifts the chair next to her and she sits down. “Ben and Lincoln told me that you weren’t familiar with our world. I didn’t understand it until just now. You really don’t know how this works?”
I shake my head, glancing between her and Damon, confused.
“Healers aren’t miracle workers, Emmy. We don’t heal wounds with our magic. It’s like a transfer. We take the ailment from you and bring it into ourselves where our magic then heals us. You had a broken ankle. It’s now healed for you but,” she pauses long enough to pull her pant leg up. One of the bones just above her ankle is clearly broken. It doesn’t protrude out of the skin, but it is definitely close to doing so. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from gagging at the site. “But now my ankle is broken. My body will heal it in the next day or two.”
At her order, Damon leaves the room to hunt down a set of crutches for her, leaving the two of us alone in the room. “I was healed once,” I tell her. “He didn’t act as though he received my wound.”
She shrugs. “Healers aren’t as sensitive to ailments as most. Over the years, we become accustomed to pain. Which healer was it?”
I twist my ankle round and round, but it never catches or aches. “I don’t know his name, but Lincoln called him Watcher.”
Her attention jerks from watching me move my foot around to meet my eyes. “The Watcher healed you? Why?”
“He healed Violet too. She was dying.”
Ivy’s brows draw together and her head tilts to the side. “The Watcher doesn’t heal anyone. Ever.”
Damon comes back, offering Ivy a pair of well used wooden crutches. She takes them from him, but doesn’t stand. “Look at who I found,” Damon says to me.
Tessa enters the room. Her long coppery brown hair is pinned behind her ears, and there’s an honest smile on her face as if she reall
y is happy to see me again. Standing up, I gladly accept her offered hug. “Are you okay? Are you sick?” I pull her to me again in a silent apology. “I told them that I didn’t need to be seen right away.”
“It’s completely fine,” she responds. “And yes, today is a good day. It’s my monthly check up is all.”
I decide not to ask further. Medical issues are a delicate topic and I don’t want to pry into her personal life.
“I hear that Ollie is keeping you busy,” she says faster than I can think up a different topic to talk about. “Perhaps you and Violet can swing by the house and have dinner one night when you have the time? Ben and I would love the company.” She glances to Damon. “You’re welcome too.” Damon smiles and puffs out his chest just a little.
“How about tonight?” She’s right, Ollie has been brutal. He was just told by the Commanders about the upcoming situation with the Aetheries clan, and, after being given the numbers of healing potions needed, has set up a relentless schedule. That I am really late for.
Her face lights up. “Of course. Tonight will be perfect. What do you girls like to eat? I can whip up anything you wish.”
“We aren’t picky. Whatever you decide on, I’m sure will be delicious. I’m really sorry, but I need to get going. Ollie is going to kill me for being late. We’ll be there as early as we can though,” I promise as I head to the door.
Ollie isn’t just mad, he’s fuming. I try to explain myself, but he doesn’t seem to hear me. Just like yesterday, he’s not in the creation and tests rooms. Instead, he, just like every other Alchemist in the Lab, is in the manufacturing room. I don’t know the exact number of healing potions that the Commanders asked for, but Ollie broke it down to 100 a day for who knows how long. It’ll take all of them the entire day to produce that many vials. The stress he’s under shows in his face and the faces of the Alchemists around him. Only the two of us know why there is such a big push to get these brewed. I’m sure that the others will put it together in time, but for now they seemed absorbed in their task.
Reduced back to my assigned job, I am nothing more than a mule for them. Restocking ingredients and cleaning out cauldrons when needed. It’s a tedious task, one that never seems to end, but I do it without complaint.
It’s not until we break for lunch that I finally catch Ollie alone. I pull the book out of my bag, flip to the blank page of the fresma bloom and carry it into Ollie’s small and still cluttered office. “Ollie, do you have a minute?”
He glances up from his soup, eyes me from head to toe. “I’m sorry you were hurt this morning.”
I smile. I truly thought he hadn’t been listening when I told him what happened this morning. “Ivy took care of it for me. I’m okay now. I wanted to ask you about something though.” I enter the room, taking his apology as an invitation to sit across the desk from him. I twist the book around and lay it in front of him. “I was reading last night and came to this page. Why was it never filled out?”
He drinks a few spoonfuls of soup, slurping it down slowly. A few drops drip down onto his dark red beard, which he quickly cleans up with a napkin as though embarrassed. “It’s not filled out because we don’t know what the flower does. Several Alchemists over the years have studied it, but, ultimately, couldn’t determine its properties. It’s possible that the flower holds none that would be beneficial for our purposes. It could just be a pretty plant and nothing more.”
With a nod, I move to collect the book from his desk, turning to leave the room.
“Emmy,” he mumbles. “One of the Sages is bringing some of the children by the Lab tomorrow night. I’ve never been very good with kids and I think they would really like you. Would you mind helping me out?”
Twisting around, I turn to face him. The answer is already on the tip of my tongue, but an explanation is much harder to come up with. “That’s sweet, Ollie. Really. I don’t think it’s a good idea though. You’re my mentor and we work together.”
I immediately agree and the excitement of really making myself a part of this clan makes me smile. Perhaps the Sages will know of other people who can use a hand here and there, other ways for me to help other than just in the Lab.
I’ve always firmly believed that busy days are fast days and today has only furthered that belief. Just as on any other day, I find Damon sitting on the front steps of the Lab. The few times I’ve tried to lure him inside have failed. He claims that the building makes him queasy and would rather circle around the exterior for hours on end.
His young face lights up when he sees me and he jumps up, stretching out his stagnant muscles. “You’re done? We finally get to leave?”
“Yes,” I answer while setting a relentless pace. All I’ve been able to think about the past few hours is how badly I need a shower. When Vi and I first saw that they had indoor plumbing and hot water here, we jumped up in glee and did a pathetic excuse for a happy dance. It’s the small things, right?
“We’ll have to figure something out once winter hits. It’ll be far too cold for me to hang out outside.”
I glance over at him. “Winter? When will that be?” I’ve always wanted snow. Growing up in Florida, it was nothing more than a dream. The idea of the crisp and dry air, the sun sparkling off of the freshly fallen snow, it makes me smile. I’ve always wanted to take a winter vacation and build snowmen and have snowball fights. Of course, there’s skiing and tubing…
“In a few months or so,” Damon says flatly. “It gets rough here in the mountains. The sky will go gray and once the snow starts it doesn’t stop. Pensatore has two seasons: winter and spring. There is no in between. It’s either gorgeous or frigid.”
“Sounds amazing,” I mutter, trying to picture all of the green ivy and mountain trees covered in the white, sparkling powder.
His hand rests on the hilt of his sword that hangs off of his waist. It seems to be the more natural position for him and not because he’s sensing some kind of danger. “Some think so.” He shrugs. “I may not get to see it this year.”
“Why is that?”
“With everything going on with Aetheries and Rovente, all the soldiers and guards may be headed out by then. Who knows, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they will wait until after the snow melts.”
My body tenses on its own. Over the past few days I’ve tried to keep my mind occupied enough that I didn’t think about this war that the brothers signed this wonderful settlement up for. I haven’t been here long, but it’s clear that Pensatore is a peaceful clan. The people here seem to be happy with just being happy. Maybe I’m wrong. I haven’t been here long enough to begin to know everything. If they are as peaceful as I think, then why do they even have an army?
Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I turn to him, continuing my march back home. “Have you heard anything new?”
“Not really,” Damon says with a hint of sadness in his voice. It helps to know that I’m not the only one against this upcoming war. “Maddox declared Ben as his second in command.”
“What does that mean?”
Another shrug. “It means that if something happens to Maddox then Ben will become the interim Lord of Pensatore until a time at which the clan can put the position to a vote.”
My stomach drops a bit. Maddox was on my side, he didn’t want anything to do with Seraphina’s offer. Now he’s having to plan out what happens if he gets killed. “So that makes Ben higher ranking than Lincoln and Kaleb?”
“Yup.”
The single Market in the settlement is bustling with people this time of the day. The sun will set in a little more than an hour, and everyone is out buying fresh fruits, veggies, and meats for dinner. I move in a little closer to Damon, not wanting to get lost in the hustle and bustle. Lincoln told me to stay close to him. I may not know the exact reason for this, but I have no desire to try my luck and risk finding out. Violet is scrappy and angry enough to fight back, but I’m not. I’m not like her. If someone found me alone, they would capture me with ease.
Damon must have heard it as well, because he nudges even closer to me and comes to a stop in the middle of the Market. He grips the hilt of his sword a bit tighter, until the knuckles on his fingers turn white.
“Calm down. If they were a threat they wouldn’t have shouted my name,” I tell him. The logic does nothing to settle him.
Seraphina navigates her way through the herd of people, making her way towards us. The Queen of Rovente might be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She’s probably in her upper 30’s, curvy in all the right places, and, with the golden glow of her skin, she is mesmerizing. She must have given into the temptation of this settlement because she’s wearing a billowing deep blue dress with billowing skirts that spread out in each direction. The bodice of the dress is tight – corset underneath tight – and pushing her cleavage up higher than it should be. The same necklace that she wore the first time I met her dangles low, reaching to her sternum. The gold is polished to a high shine and the light within it is pulsing so rapidly that it makes me dizzy.
Enemy Of My Enemy (Price Of Power Book 1) Page 14
