by Blair Drake
She stared at him in surprise. “I’ve heard whispers there are some people with unbelievable strength, but ye say ye are stronger than a killer eel? That sounds impossible.”
Jasper shrugged uncomfortably. This magical power thing was all so new and unfamiliar, he didn’t know what he was. Once again, he looked to Rylan for guidance.
“Magic manifests itself a little differently in everyone. No two people are alike. Like I said, he comes from a long line of wizards, Willow,” Rylan murmured. “His family is listed in the Book of Griffin.”
“The Book of Griffin?” Willow asked curiously.
“Yes,” Rylan replied. “Along with the other things I’ve mentioned, the book records the history of our family and others similarly affected, all the way back to the thirteenth century.”
“Is that my last name, then? Am I a Griffin?”
Rylan nodded, his expression unreadable. “Yes, you’re a Griffin.”
She stared at him. “Do I have magical powers?”
Rylan held her gaze, his expression somber. “I don’t know. Do ye?”
Willow nodded slowly. “Yes, I think I do. I could never explain it, but now that I know who I am and where I come from, it all makes sense.”
“Are ye… Are ye a healer?” Rylan asked. His voice trembled with excitement.
“I think so. I haven’t named it before, but that’s exactly what I am. I’m a healer. People come to me from across the land to receive my special gift of healing.”
Rylan stared at her in amazement. A moment later, his face broke into a wide smile. “Ye are a healer?” he whispered, as if unable to believe it.
“Yes, Papa. I’m a healer. Just like ye.” Willow turned to Jasper. He caught the sheen of tears in her eyes, but she was smiling, like her father.
“Would ye like me to see to yer arm?” she asked.
Jasper looked down at the oozing wound, the torn and ragged flesh. A fresh wave of pain pulsed through him. He felt dizzy and guessed it was a result of blood loss. It had gushed out of him into the flood waters for a good while. There was no question the wound needed tending. Is Willow up to the job? He looked back to Rylan with the question in his eyes.
“I’m sure she’s as good as she says she is, boy. She comes from good stock.” Rylan chuckled, and Jasper responded with a reluctant grin. He turned his smile on Willow.
“All right, take a look at it. I’d be happy if all you did was relieve the pain. It’s killing me!”
And now that the danger of the river was over, Jasper realized what he said was true. His arm throbbed and burned like it was on fire. The sight of the torn flesh turned his stomach. Back in his world, he’d be rushed to the hospital, given pain relief, anesthetic. Then the doctor would stitch the wound with sterile instruments and douse it with antiseptic: all the things Jasper recognized and trusted.
Here, he had none of that, but he realized he trusted Willow, and he wanted her to treat his wound. He lifted his arm in silent invitation. She moved closer and knelt beside him in the soft grass. Her hands were soft, cool, and soothing on his heated flesh.
“It’s a bad bite,” she murmured and furrows appeared across her brow.
Jasper turned his head away. He didn’t need to watch anymore. The sight of the red and festering laceration turned his stomach. He didn’t need to disgrace himself by vomiting in front of an audience, Willow in particular.
“I’ll need to collect a few herbs and some of this fresh river mud to make a poultice. Otherwise, the poison will flow through yer body, and then ye will be in all sorts of trouble. It’s a shame I didn’t think to bring my bag with me.”
“What bag is that?” Rylan asked, coming up beside them.
“The bag I use to keep all of my lotions and potions. The natives call it my witch doctor’s bag.” She smiled.
Rylan smiled back at her, pride shining in his eyes. “Lucky for ye, I brought mine. I’m not sure how much of the contents will still be usable, given the bag’s been completely soaked through, but ye are welcome to help yerself to anything you think might work.”
Willow thanked him with another generous smile. Rylan walked a short distance away and retrieved it. The bag was made of animal skin and was still dripping wet. He loosened the ties around the top and pulled out small and large tins containing who knew what. Willow took off the lid of each one and sniffed, touched, and rubbed the contents between her fingers, sighing with happiness each time.
Rylan made himself comfortable on the grass a short distance away and looked on with a fond expression on his face. Jasper wondered what all the fuss was about. At last, Willow found what she was looking for and turned her attention to him.
“This might sting a little, but I promise it will draw out the poison. Until we do that, yer arm’s not going to heal, and the pain will continue.”
He nodded and bravely held her gaze, determined not to flinch. He was a seventeen-year-old boy. He wasn’t going to cry over a little pain and especially not in front of a girl he wanted to impress. And then she touched the wound with the goo from Rylan’s bag.
“Shit!” The expletive fell out of his mouth before he could stop it. Willow stared at him in shock. Jasper’s cheeks flamed with embarrassment.
“I-I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I didn’t mean to swear.”
“It’s fine,” she replied. “I warned ye it might sting.”
Jasper shot her a rueful grin. “Yes, you did.” In fact, his arm was on fire. It felt almost as bad as when the eel sank its sharp teeth into him.
As if she could read his mind, Willow shot him an understanding look. “The pain should ease in a moment.” Her voice soothed him, as did the gentle touch of her fingers on his skin. Leaning back, he made himself more comfortable against the grass and closed his eyes.
A cool hand brushed a hank of hair off his face. His eyes flew open. Willow had moved closer. Their gazes locked and held. She was so close he saw the tiny flecks of gold in her tawny brown eyes. His heart catapulted into a gallop. His hands tightened into fists. An answering flare of emotion brightened her eyes.
Her hand drifted down his injured arm and then lower, across his chest. His clothes were torn and still damp from the river, but it felt like steam was rising off them as heat trailed in the wake of her touch.
“How does his wound look, Willow?”
Rylan’s casual question startled them both. Jasper jerked guiltily, and Willow sprang back. A red flush stained her cheeks. Jasper’s breath came fast. His chest rose and fell in time with the beating of his heart. He stared at Willow and noticed she also struggled to get her emotions under control.
“It… It’s nasty, Papa, like ye said. I’m hopeful the herbs I’ve applied to it will be enough to draw out the poison. Only time will tell.”
“Did ye wrap the wound to seal it from the elements?”
“Not yet, Papa. I need to find something suitable to use.”
“I noticed a stand of banana trees not far from here. They’re just what ye need. If we’re lucky, they might also be bearing ripe fruit. I don’t know about the two of ye, but I could do with a bite to eat.”
“Thank ye, Papa. That would be lovely,” Willow replied, her gaze still on Jasper.
At the thought of food, Jasper’s belly rumbled. Now that the stress of the river crossing was behind them, he realized how hungry he was. He hadn’t eaten anything since the night before.
He looked up at the sky and felt a familiar sense of urgency. The hot sun had made it at least halfway across the blue expanse. They needed to get much further on their way if they were to make the cave before the full moon.
He sat up. Already his arm felt better. It seemed Willow was every bit as good a healer as her father. He flicked her a glance.
“Does it still hurt?” she asked.
“Not much. You did a good job.”
She blushed at his compliment but gave him a satisfied smile. “Good. I’m glad my first attempt at healing someone with a killer
eel bite has been successful. Do ye have killer eels where ye are from?”
He shook his head. “No. We have other poisonous animals, though. People can die from snake bites.”
She stared at him, her eyes wide. “So even on other planets, and after all those centuries, people still die from the same kinds of things we do.”
“Well, there is anti-venom which can be administered in the case of a snake bite, but it has to be given very soon after the bite. If the victim doesn’t reach the hospital in time, they’ll die.”
She looked at him with an expression filled with curiosity. Her eyes were bright and interested. “What other things do people die from in yer world?”
He thought about all the ways people met their death on Earth in the twenty-first century: car accidents, cancer, heart disease, strokes. The list went on and on. Being a healer in her own world, he understood her curiosity but decided to keep his answer vague. Though she was certainly bright enough to understand, they just didn’t have the time to get into an in-depth discussion about the health problems suffered by the people of his world or how the medical profession dealt with them.
“People die of a lot of things in my world, but probably not the same diseases affecting your people. I’d like to spend more time explaining it to you, but we need to get moving again.”
He half-turned away from her and reached for his backpack, effectively bringing the discussion to an end. Like everything else, the backpack was soaked. He wanted to empty the contents and spread them out on the grass to dry, but they really didn’t have time. He looked around him, suddenly impatient to leave. “Where’s Rylan?”
“I’m here.” Rylan appeared out of nowhere, his arms laden with banana leaves and fruit.
Willow got to her feet. She took two large bunches of golden bananas out of Rylan’s hands. “Thank ye, Papa,” she murmured. “These look delicious.” Rylan set a third bunch on the ground nearby, along with the banana leaves.
“We’ll eat as soon as I’m finished here,” she added. Working quickly and efficiently, she tore the banana leaves into long strips to form bandages and approached Jasper, intent on wrapping them around his wound. He flinched in anticipation but then remembered much of the pain was gone.
Rylan stared into the distance. “As soon as we’ve eaten, we need to get moving. We still have a long way to go.”
Jasper nodded his agreement. “Yes. I was thinking the same thing.”
A few moments later, Willow declared she’d finished her healing efforts, and together they sat down to eat. The bananas were soft and sweet and succulent, and filled the emptiness in Jasper’s stomach. Then it was time to go.
Rylan took the lead and Willow fell in behind. Jasper brought up the rear. They walked on in silence, each occupied with their thoughts. Jasper’s mind kept going back to the eel, and he shuddered in delayed shock at how close he came to death. He wondered idly what would happen if he’d drowned. Would I wake up, safe and sound in my bed at Gray Cliffs Academy, or would it be the end of me in both worlds? He didn’t know, and he sure as hell didn’t want to find out.
They found a spot to make camp in a clearing not far from the river. They’d walked parallel to it for hours through rocky terrain and tall sand dunes and then back to the river marsh again. Jasper’s feet hurt. His back was sore, and the site around his injured arm ached. Willow insisted on checking the wound at least once along the way and pronounced the bite had almost healed, but Jasper’s arm was a little tender just the same.
He found a fallen log and collapsed on it, grateful for a spot to rest. Rylan shrugged his knapsack off and stretched. “Mm, that feels good.”
Jasper merely shook his head, amazed once again by the old man’s stamina. He’d walked every step of the way with them. How does he keep up? Perhaps there was something in Rylan’s magical healing powers giving him supernatural energy. With a sigh, Jasper glanced across at Willow who also looked in much better condition than he was.
“How’s yer arm?” she asked.
Not wanting to appear a wimp, he responded to her question with a dismissive shrug. “It’s fine.”
“Ye are favoring it. Is it hurting?”
“Only a bit. You did a good job of fixing it. You’re a good healer, just like your dad.”
She blushed and a becoming pinkness colored her cheeks. He was reminded how beautiful she was beneath her unkempt hair and rough clothes. Her gaze drifted to her father where he sat quietly on the end of the log. His long gray hair was in a mess with twigs and leaves, and even some dried mud clumped on the strands. His beard was equally out of control, but it was the kindness and sharp intelligence in his eyes that captured Jasper’s attention, and he was reminded of how Rylan had helped him.
“Who did he heal?” Willow asked softly, as if reading his mind.
He turned his gaze full upon her. “Me.”
Her eyes widened in surprise and she chuckled. “You? So tisn’t the first time ye have been in a pickle?”
He grinned. “No. In fact, the day I arrived here I got into a rather nasty fight with someone who was intent on hurting your father. In the process, I suffered a cut to my cheek. It was quite deep. Rylan took me to his home and treated me. The wound healed almost instantly. I realized there was something special about my connection to him. That’s when he brought out the Book of Griffin and told me about the magic.”
Her expression took on a wistful look. “I wish I’d met him earlier. I would love to have grown up in his house. Imagine how fun it could have been and how much I could have learned! I’ve had to teach myself everything I know—sometimes by trial and error. It would have been so much easier to learn from an expert.”
“True,” Jasper replied slowly, “but now that you’ve found each other, it’s never too late. I’m sure there’s still plenty your father can teach you.”
“Ye are right. I can’t believe after all this time I’ve actually found him! And in the thick of the forest, no less! Who would have thought?” She turned and sent another fond smile in Rylan’s direction.
Jasper stared at her profile. The graceful lines of her forehead, nose, chin and neck… Then there was her kindness and gentleness of spirit, the way she adored and respected her father. The way she peppered Jasper with questions like a small child, curious to know more. The way she smiled at him from beneath her lashes, as if unsure of the emotions he set off inside her; perhaps as unsure as he…
Jasper was scared and exhilarated all at once. He wanted to shout her name from the rooftops, proclaim to the world how he felt. On the other hand, he felt the need to be cautious.
They came from different worlds—literally. There was nothing he could do to change that fact. Yet, it didn’t seem to matter. He was falling for her fast and falling hard. He wished there was some way to hold back, but even with his supernatural strength, keeping his feelings in check was beyond him.
The smooth skin of her forehead creased. “Papa?” The concern in her voice caught Jasper’s attention. He turned and looked toward Rylan. The healer half-sat, half-leaned over the log. His face was ghostly gray.
“Hell!” Jasper cursed and raced to him. Rylan’s eyes rolled back in his head. Foamy saliva pooled around his mouth. He made an unintelligible sound of distress.
“Rylan! Rylan! Come on, man, wake up!” Jasper patted him none too gently on the cheek in an effort to gain a response. There was nothing.
Chapter 14
Willow looked terrified. She held a hand up to her mouth. Tears glittered in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “I’m tingling all over, Jasper! It only happens when someone needs my help. What’s happening? I’ve never seen this before!” she gasped. “Please, Jasper! What’s the matter with him? What can I do to help?”
She started pulling out jars and potions from the medical bag, discarding this one and that. Jasper loosened the cloth from around Rylan’s neck and frantically felt for a pulse.
Nothing.
Panic surged throu
gh him. Pulling the healer off the log, he laid him flat on the ground. Positioning his hands in the way he was taught during lifesaving classes, he began to give Rylan cardio pulmonary resuscitation. Willow stopped what she was doing and stared at him, aghast.
“Jasper! What are ye doing?” she cried as he began breathing air into Rylan’s lungs.
“I’m trying to revive him. I think he’s having a heart attack.”
Willow looked bewildered. “A heart attack?”
“Yes.”
“What’s a heart attack?”
“It’s when a blood clot blocks the flow of blood to his heart, and the blood can’t get through. He needs the oxygen in the blood to live.”
Her look of confusion didn’t alter, but her eyes sparked with interest. She rolled up the sleeves of her dress and moved closer. “Tell me more.”
In between breaths and chest compressions, Jasper explained to her how the heart and lungs worked. Willow peppered him with questions. Jasper did his best to answer them, but his attention was on Rylan. Finally, the old healer made a noise—a groan of pain—and Jasper collapsed in relief.
He felt for a pulse in the side of Rylan’s neck and found one. It was weak and erratic, but it was there. He cupped his hand over Rylan’s nose and mouth and felt his warm breath.
He was alive! Jasper yelped in triumph and punched the air.
Willow looked on with interest, a tremulous smile turning up her mouth. “Is he going to be all right, then?”
Jasper grinned happily, exhausted but relieved “Yes. I believe if he can rest and heal, he’s going to be fine.”
“What do ye think caused this…heart attack?”
“I’m not sure, but he’s not a young man anymore. We’ve driven ourselves hard. The river crossing was the worst of it, and then we trudged through the sand dunes for all those hours afterwards. I guess it was too much.”
Willow kneeled down beside her father. His eyes were still closed, but his color had returned, and his breathing was now steady and even. She tenderly swept the sweat-dampened hair from his brow and looked back at Jasper. “Are ye sure he’s going to be all right?”
