Hearthglen

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “I’ll pay whatever it is; just heal her,” Sean said tightly.

  “Very well,” the healer replied as the golden energy seeped into Ida’s head.

  Sean could feel it, like a gentle violin playing a soft lullaby. As he watched, he could see the energy mix with his and Ida’s, as it seemed to help stabilize her. Brain hemorrhage, he suddenly knew, that was the problem. The healer is helping reduce the swelling and reducing the hematomas.

  The healer’s energy vanished as if cut by a knife, and the man let out a tired breath. “My, she was certainly unwell. If she hadn’t been part Dwarf, I wonder if she would have even survived long enough for her to reach me.”

  Sean’s eye twitched at the man’s second referral to Ida’s heritage, but he let it go. “She’ll be okay?”

  “I’d suggest letting her sleep for a few days to let her body heal naturally, but the danger caused by her head injury is past. My assistant will arrange payment with you for my service. If you will excuse me.” The man left abruptly, his face a bit drawn.

  Sean watched him go, seeing the energy the man had possessed when he had come in was all but gone now. “Thank you, doc.”

  Ida stirred, and Sean’s eyes went back to her instantly. “What? Where? Sean?”

  “Hey, you... how are you feeling?”

  “Tired and hurt. Where are we?”

  “A healer. Do you recall what happened?”

  Ida’s brow furrowed, “I was cleaning their storage shed. I don’t think anyone else had in years from the look of all the dust. I was just getting to the end and looking forward to going home, and then…” She trailed off as if trying to remember.

  “A metallic squeal,” Sean prompted.

  “Right. There was a noise, and then the top shelving in the back came down at me. I tried to shield myself but… I don’t remember. How did you know?”

  “Venn came and got me, told me about the accident. I ran to get you, and was taking you home. You were rambling about wanting to be part of the family and Ryann telling you to wait, but then you cut off and seemed to be getting worse, even with my healing. I brought you here.”

  Ida’s cheeks had gone red when he mentioned being part of the family, then her face fell as she caught up to what he was saying. “You brought me to a healer?”

  “Yes.”

  “They cost so much, though…”

  “Doesn’t matter. I had to make sure you were okay,” Sean said. “We’ll pay the bill, don’t worry.”

  A knock on the door brought their attention to the receptionist as she stepped into the room. “You can rest here for a bit if you need to. I’m just wanting to let you know the cost for the healer’s services.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Since it was a life-threatening injury that cost him all of his energy for the day, the bill is five gold. If need be, we can come to an Agreement for paying over time.”

  Sean snorted, “I see. Yes, that will be required.”

  “Please see me in the front and we’ll make the arrangements,” the receptionist said before closing the door.

  “Sean…” Ida said, her lips trembling, “I’m so sorry.”

  “Shh, we’ll figure it out. You being okay is the most important thing right now. Just rest here for a bit. I’m going to go handle the Agreement.”

  Fiona, Myna, and Ryann entered the healer’s shop as Sean was about to go back to Ida. “Is she okay, dear?” Fiona asked.

  “She had a head injury. The healer has gotten her out of danger, he says. I was making arrangements to pay the bill. How did you find me?”

  “We are Life Bonded,” Myna said. “We’ll always be able to find you, as you can us.”

  “I’ll get Ida,” Sean said.

  Going back to Ida’s room, he found her lying there with tear stains marking her cheeks, even though no tears were visible. “The others are here. Are you okay for going home?”

  Ida nodded her head, shutting her eyes. “Yes.” She shifted to stand, and Sean stopped her. “What?” she looked at him questioningly.

  “Doc said you should rest,” Sean said softly, scooping her up into a princess carry again. “I’ll carry you home.”

  Tucking her face into his chest, Ida’s cheeks burned. “I can walk, Sean.”

  “Probably, but your head has been injured, even if the knot is smaller than it was. I’ll feel better getting you home this way.”

  “But what about the others?” Ida murmured.

  “What about them?” Sean asked as he carried her from the room.

  “Ida, are you okay?” Fiona asked when they entered the front room.

  “I’ll be fine now,” Ida replied, keeping her face turned to Sean’s chest.

  “Should we get a carriage?” Ryann asked, her eyes were concerned, but also narrow.

  “I can get her home,” Sean said.

  “We know you can,” Myna said, glancing at Ryann and then back to Sean. “What did the healer cost?”

  “Five gold,” Sean replied. “I’ll be paying them back a large silver a tenday until it’s paid off.”

  Fiona looked a little uncertain, but nodded. “If it was needed, then it was needed. Ida’s life is worth more than a few golds.”

  Ryann looked a little abashed at Fiona’s words. “Of course. I’ll take point.”

  Carrying Ida, Sean followed Ryann, with Fiona and Myna walking beside him when they reached the street. Ida explained how her day had gone until the accident.

  “I was kept waiting in the sitting room for an hour, before the elder Dominguez showed up. He was rude and degrading, but he was obviously aware of the magistrate’s ruling. They ordered me to clean their out building, which hadn’t been touched in years. I had to find the butler to get cleaning supplies, which were given grudgingly.”

  Ryann glanced back at Ida, who had finally taken her head away from Sean’s chest. The knot on Ida’s forehead was reducing with each minute, but the injury was still obvious.

  “I cleaned out each shelf completely, one at a time. During the entire thing, I caught sight of Colin watching me from his room off and on. I’m very glad you were there to stop me from being there for months, Sean. The few times I saw him, the raw hatred I could see made me worry. Not from him personally, but from what he might get the staff at the house to do.”

  “He wouldn’t dare, not with the ruling from the magistrate,” Myna said.

  “You’re right. He didn’t do more than glare, and the work was hard, so it took most of my attention. They have a lot of random junk in there, most of it heavy. The dust was thick enough to choke on, so I used one of the rags to cover my face. Venn kept me company. They got into the building without being seen and talked to me.”

  “It was nice to talk with you,” Venn said, appearing beside her.

  “They never offered me anything to eat or drink the entire time,” Ida went on after giving Venn a smile. “Which is good and bad, but I was dealing with it. The accident came when I got to the last shelf. I should have been more careful. I could see signs of stress on the other shelves as I cleaned, but I didn’t think one would collapse on me. Whatever was on that last set of upper shelving was heavy; I know that from when it hit me. I heard the metal squeal, and then the entire thing came down at me.”

  “I was there and didn’t see anything, either,” Venn said. “I hesitated. I didn’t know she was hurt as badly as she was. When she didn’t answer me, I went to get you, sir. I’m sorry for my delay.”

  “You did what you could, Venn,” Sean replied. “She’s fine now, and that’s what matters. Without you coming for me, who knows what might have happened? Something to keep in mind is that brain injuries don’t heal as fast as others, and your energy levels matter more for that kind of injury. Your brain was trying to heal itself, but it wasn’t gaining ground against the damage that had already been done before I got to you.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Quiet, Ida,” Fiona chided her gently. “You are in no way responsibl
e for what happened today.”

  “I cost you so much…”

  Myna reached over and put a finger against Ida’s lips. “Money is not important. It can be gathered. Replacing a friend or family member is much harder.”

  “We should invite Sam and her husband over to dinner so they can see Ida,” Sean said. “The rumors will already be starting and I don’t want them worrying.”

  “It would be a good step,” Fiona nodded. “Venn, let Andrea know, then go and speak with Ida’s mother.”

  “Yes, Fiona,” Venn said before zipping off.

  “Your arms aren’t getting tired?” Ryann asked Sean.

  “I could carry you and Ida and not ever grow tired,” Sean chuckled as he thought back to carrying Fiona and Myna as they fled the Canine Moonbound before.

  “He can,” Myna nodded, a smile on her own lips.

  “I can walk,” Ida said. “Please, Sean, let me walk some.”

  “I don’t—”

  “Sean, even if someone sees her, they’ll chalk it up to the healer,” Fiona cut him off. “She wants to know if she can walk on her own. Keep an arm on her if you want to be safe.”

  “Fine,” Sean said before easing Ida to her feet. “We’ll go slow for a bit. Ry?”

  “I will slow the pace, Sean,” Ryann replied.

  “Thank you, and sorry for running off like I did,” Sean told Ryann.

  “I understand why you did. I was going after you, but Fiona and Myna directed me elsewhere. I would have gone to the Dominguez’s house. I’m glad they told me to follow them instead.”

  “We’ll talk later,” Fiona told Ryann as she smiled fondly at the blonde woman. “Your worry for Sean and Ida was quite touching.”

  Ryann looked back, returning Fiona’s smile. “I’d like that.”

  Sean kept his hand on Ida’s back, ready to grab her if she started to fall. Myna watched them with a small smile, exchanging a look with Fiona that Sean missed, focused as he was on Ida. Fiona gave her a small nod back.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Myna welcomed the Bronzeshields into the house. “Thank you for having us over,” Sam replied with a smile. “It was a little sudden. I’m curious about how Ida’s day went.”

  “Have a seat,” Sean motioned them. “Dinner’s not quite ready yet.”

  “Gladly,” Brendis said, taking his seat.

  “It’s good to see you both,” Fiona said as she came into the room with Ida close behind her.

  “Evening,” Ida said softly.

  “Did you have any trouble at the Dominguez’s?” Sam asked.

  “I ended up having an accident,” Ida said, taking a seat near her parents. Ida explained her day, holding up her hand to forestall their questions when she told them about the accident. “The next thing I knew, Sean was there and I was at a healer.”

  “She is okay, right?” Sam asked Sean, though she had only concern in her eyes as she looked at Ida.

  “The healer declared her fine, and that she should get some rest,” Sean told Sam.

  “How did you get there, and why didn’t you let them take her to a healer?” Brendis grumbled, glaring at Sean.

  “Well, that’s where it gets complicated,” Sean sighed. “I’ll explain it if you’ll Agree to never tell another soul what I’m about to explain.”

  “Agree, father,” Ida said. “What he’s going to tell you is that important.”

  Sam nodded, “I agree to your terms, MacDougal.”

  Brendis glowered, “Fine,” he snapped. “I agree as well.”

  “Venn told us of her accident as soon as they could get to us from the Dominguez’s house. I ran there and took her from them before the butler left to get a healer.”

  “They took that long?” Brendis growled as he got to his feet.

  “Wait,” Ida said, grabbing her father’s empty sleeve. “He isn’t done, father.”

  “They had gotten her out of their shed and into the sitting room by the time I got there,” Sean continued.

  “But you would have had to run like a horse,” Sam said, eyes wide. “That’s a long way from here.”

  “I can run that fast,” Sean agreed.

  “So you took her to the healer,” Brendis said, refusing to be sidetracked.

  “Yes. They wanted to take a carriage, but they didn’t have it ready, so it would have taken longer.”

  “Well, that’s okay then,” Brendis said, settling down some. “They’re paying for the bill, right?”

  “No,” Sean said. “I’m going to.”

  “But she was injured while working for them. It is their duty,” Brendis said.

  “They are right, husband,” Fiona said, patting Sean’s knee. “We’ll contact them tomorrow and let them know the cost.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Sean asked.

  “Because you were wrapped up in making sure Ida was okay. It wasn’t the time to try and get you to see other things.”

  “Should she be up and walking around if she had a brain injury?” Sam asked.

  “She is fully healed,” Sean replied.

  “The healer did that much?”

  “He showed me the way, and helped get it under control,” Sean admitted. “Being Bonded to me gives her a touch of regeneration. It was already healing her by the time I got her to the healer.”

  Sam and Brendis’ jaws dropped. “You gave her the Talent to heal herself?” Sam asked in awe.

  “Yes, though it takes a lot of energy for head injuries,” Sean said. “However, this is something I haven’t told anyone yet, because like Fiona said, I was caught up in making sure Ida was okay. I can heal others now.”

  “Yes. You give us your energy and we heal,” Fiona said.

  “I was able to follow what the healer did,” Sean said.

  Myna gasped, “Flesh Shaping.”

  “Is that what it’s called?” Sean asked.

  Fiona began to laugh, “Why am I even surprised with you anymore?”

  “He can’t… can he?” Ida asked slowly.

  “I want to double check, but I didn’t want to have any of you injured to do it,” Sean said. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Brendis. “Care to be my first patient?”

  Brendis just stared at him like he had two heads. “No one picks up a Talent just by seeing it done, much less seeing it done only once.”

  “I’m different,” Sean shrugged. “Every single Bonded I have has equal access to my Talents and energy. Andrea, our maid, and Chastity, our receptionist, didn’t have any energy for Talents before me, but now they can Shape almost as well as your daughter.”

  “He is telling you the truth in that regard,” Ida said, though even she looked shocked at Sean’s confession. “Just once was enough?”

  “Like with Stoneeyes and Watercaller,” Sean told her.

  “Oh…”

  “You promise not to hurt him?” Sam asked.

  “Samele,” Brendis said, looking very uncertain.

  “I promise not to permanently harm him, and if need be, I’ll Bond him for an hour and fix any damage I cause through my normal Talent,” Sean said.

  Sam held out her hand, cutting Brendis off again. “If he’s right… you could join me at the forge again. I’ve missed those days.”

  Brendis lowered his head, clearly ashamed of his missing arm. “I’m sorry, Sam.”

  “Do you want to try?” Sean asked.

  “Go ahead. I think you’re a few ounces short of a bar, but feel free,” Brendis said.

  Ida and Sam watched Sean with skeptical gazes. Sean took a deep breath as he opened up Mage Sight and reached out with his energy for Brendis. Sean frowned as he watched Brendis’ energy form a shield against him.

  “You need to relax, Brendis,” Sean said. “You’re blocking me from doing anything. I can push through it, but I’d bet that would hurt like hell.”

  Brendis frowned and closed his eyes, trying to relax. Sam leaned over and took his hand, whispering in his ear, “Please, dea
r husband, let him help you if he can.”

  Those words brought down Brendis’ energy and Sean was able to push his energy into Brendis. He directed it all to the stump of an arm that Brendis had, where it gathered but didn’t seem to do anything more.