by Sophia Sharp
A goodwife? Could she be talking about… Alexander’s healing woman?
“Where is she?” Laura asked. Hope filled her again. “You must know. If you do, you can tell me. You can take me to her!”
The woman smiled, showing a mouth full of yellow, crooked teeth. “Why, my girl,” she said sweetly, “you’re looking right at her.”
Chapter Seventeen
~A Healer’s Price~
Laura had to forcibly close her mouth to stop from gaping. After nearly four hours of fruitless searching, she had stumbled – just by chance, mind you! – on the exact woman she was looking for? And if it wasn’t for the woman’s own pushiness in asking questions she would have never even known it!
“You’re the goodwife?” Laura asked incredulously.
The woman stepped back. “As I told you before, sometimes you can find things you do not realize the true value of. But if you are truly so disbelieving, perhaps it will be better for you to continue thinking of me as a simple shopkeeper, capable of little more than selling people trinkets they may never use…?” She started to turn back.
“I’m sorry,” Laura said, reaching out with her hand. “I didn’t mean to offend you. Please, my friend is very sick. He needs your help!”
“Now he does, does he?” she mused. She paused for a second. “Very well. I always help those who come to me, no matter the condition of their first impression.”
“Thank you,” Laura sighed in relief.
“But I make no promises, girl. I will do what I can, but beyond that… if the sickness you spoke of has taken your friend too far, he may be out of my reach.”
“You must try,” Laura insisted. “You must!”
The woman nodded. “I will do what I can. Tell me, where is your friend now?”
“…outside town,” Laura admitted. “There is an abandoned barn, and we—”
“You set up camp there like two destitute vagabonds,” the woman finished Laura’s sentence. “I take it because you did not seek out an inn, you have no money?” Laura stammered for words, trying to come up with some plausible excuse, but none came. “No,” she admitted shamefully.
“A healing will not come free, you know.”
“Please!” Laura said. “You must see what you can do! There must be some way for me to repay you. You’re right – I don’t have any money. But I can tend your shop, or do work for free, or, or…”
“Spare me,” the woman said, waving Laura away. “When I find some use for you, I will call upon you. That will be the basis of our agreement. I will look at your friend, and make every effort to see him to full health, and in return – in payment – you will answer my call, should I ever need you.”
“Done,” Laura said quickly. “Absolutely. I will do whatever you want.”
The woman raised an eyebrow. “Do not be so quick to volunteer your services, girl, before you know what you are getting into. If you’re not careful, you might find yourself falling down a very long well with no hope of climbing back out.”
“Uh…”
“Advice for the future,” the woman explained, “seeing as how you’ve already made the promise to me. But if I gave you a chance to take it back, would you?”
“No,” Laura answered determinedly.
“Good,” the woman said. “That means your will is strong. As is your concern for your friend. As I said, I will do what I can.”
“Will you come now?” Laura asked. “I can show you where he is, I can lead you there—”
To her surprise, the woman barked another laugh. “My dear girl, as I told you before, I have lived in this town longer than you’ve been alive. I know every nook and cranny to it. I know the barn you speak of – there is only one that fits the description – and I will see myself there.”
“Not now?” Laura asked, disappointment blossoming inside her.
The woman smiled, and reached up to pat Laura’s cheek. “I cannot leave my shop open for thieves to have their way with it while I’m gone, now can I?”
“…I guess not,” Laura admitted.
“So, I will close down shop, and then come. You can do me the favor of going there now and staying out of my way.”
“But…”
“Your friend will need you. See that he is… presentable, for my arrival. As best you can.”
“Alright,” Laura nodded. “I can do that.” She turned away, and started walking down the street.
“Gi-irl,” the woman called after her, after Laura had taken half a dozen steps. Laura turned back. “Yes?” she asked.
“It is considered proper etiquette to exchange names at some point, you know.”
“Oh!” Laura blushed in spite of herself. She had forgotten all about it – or rather, hadn’t considered the need for it, really. “I’m Laura,” she said.
“A pretty name,” the woman smiled.
“And you?” Laura asked.
“You can call me Selaine.”
As soon as Laura was sure she was out of Selaine’s line of sight, she started to run. There were still people on the streets, and some cars whizzed by, so Laura did not go nearly full speed, but she still ran hard enough for people to take notice. She didn’t care. She had found the healing woman; she had done as she promised!
Laura ran back to the barn, but before entering, went to the edge of the woods to check on Gray. She found him in exactly the same spot she had left him last night, keeping watch on the barn. On seeing her, he jumped up happily and ran to her arms. She petted his neck and back, without forming the connection.
“Everything’s going to be alright,” she told him happily. “I’ve found the woman I was looking for.” Suddenly, she wondered whether Gray had gotten himself any food, or had kept watch the entire time. She suspected the latter. “You can go eat, now,” she told him, “there’s no need to keep watch anymore.” Briefly, she formed the connection, and sent him an image of food. Understanding came back to her, with only the barest hint of relief. Laura smiled as she watched him go.
She turned and went back to the barn. She ran inside, and looked to the spot where Alexander lay. To her surprise, he was awake. Leaning back against the barn wall, he looked at her with dark eyes.
“Who are you?” he demanded harshly. “What is this place? What have you done with me?”
“Alexander, it’s me…” Laura started, but he lunged at her. Rather, he tried to. As soon as he pushed himself up, he lost his footing and stumbled forward, landing heavily on his stomach.
Laura ran to him. The poison must have gotten even worse for him not to recognize her, much less try to attack her. She reached down to help him up, but he rolled away with a scowl. His face was drenched with sweat.
“What have you done to my body?” he demanded again. Laura thought it a wonder that his speech wasn’t slurred. “It is weakened!”
“I have done nothing,” she told him soothingly. “I’m here to help you. Don’t you recognize me? I’m Laura, we journeyed together. You fought for me?”
“Journeyed? I do not believe your lies. Why would I have fought for you?”
“There was a pack of Vassiz who came after us. They tried to take me from you, and you fought against them.”
Alexander gasped. “I am a loyal member of the Vassiz. Others would not attack me! I can see through your lies, witch!” He tried to get up, but stumbled and fell back. “You do not frighten me!” he said defiantly, but his voice shook.
“I do not mean to frighten you,” Laura said gently. “Please, try to remember. You met me in the woods, together with a… friend… of mine. Logan. And you came with another woman. Madison.”
“Madison?” Alexander’s eyes lit up with recognition. “I… I know that name.”
“Yes,” Laura said, edging herself closer to him. “I met when you were with her.”
“Where is she now?” Alexander demanded.
“She is coming,” Laura said. “She is on her way. She… told me so.”
“You… wil
l bring her?” he asked uncertainly. “…here?”
“Yes,” Laura nodded. “She is coming. She will be here soon.” Laura moved closer to Logan, and reached out with her hand tentatively. “I mean you no harm, truly.” Her hand reached his shoulder – his good shoulder – and she put it there reassuringly. “You see? I have been taking care of you.”
“…taking care of me?” Alexander asked. “Why?”
“You have fallen ill,” Laura explained. “In the fight, you took an arrow to your shoulder. It was poisoned.”
“Poisoned…?” Alexander looked to his shoulder, and suddenly recognition dawned on his face. “Oh! No, no…” he backed away from Laura again, staring at his shoulder with dread. “It cannot be… no, no…” His scrambling became frantic, and he moved further and further away until his back hit the far wall. “No, no, no…” he kept repeating, staring at his shoulder with downright fear, now. “Who did this?” he demanded loudly. “WHO DID THIS?!” He was breathing hard, now.
Laura got up and stepped towards Alexander. He shied away from her so much that she decided not to come any closer. “A woman with a bow,” Laura said as gently as she could. “It was meant for me, but… she missed. You were hit instead.”
“I took this arrow for you?” His breaths became harder, more ragged. “Why…?” Quickly, those breaths turned to gasps, and he scanned the entire space in front of him with great apprehension, as if he were expecting an attacker to jump out at him unexpectedly. With one hand, he reached up to touch his shoulder, and on contact, let out a single low, pained howl. His eyes rolled up, and he fell back.
Laura was beside him in an instant, and caught him before he fell. With great relief, she saw that he was still breathing. But the breaths were still short; still ragged. Again, she noticed how much heat his body was radiating. She lay him down gently, and reached out tentatively to put a hand on his forehead. She winced and pulled away immediately. It was hotter than she could have imagined – hot like a cooking element turned up to full blast. She was amazed he had gotten up, much less spoken coherently.
But it looked like his memories of the last few days had disappeared. She wondered how far back he remembered. He seemed to even question who he was, but at least he recognized Madison…
Laura blinked, and was surprised to feel her eyes moist. Suddenly, she realized she was on the edge of tears. Madison had caused all this, had caused everything, and it all started with her inexplicable attitude. From ditching Alexander to taking Logan away, Madison was the one at fault for all of this. If she hadn’t acted like such a… a… a bitch! … maybe all this could have been avoided. Logan would still be here, and he would know what to do.
At that thought, all the penned up emotions Laura had been keeping down crashed down into her. She wished desperately she was back home, in the safety of her friends and family. She wished none of this had ever happened, wished that she wasn’t being chased by hundreds, if not thousands, of the most powerful beings to walk to earth. A new sense of hopelessness spread over her now, and it had nothing to do with Alexander’s condition. Even if he did recover, what would they do? All her options pointed only to more running. Would she never be able to live a normal life? She felt like she was sinking deeper and deeper into a thick pit of tar, with no hope of ever getting out. All her options felt hopeless, and she felt powerless – completely weak and vulnerable. She bit the bottom of her lip to stop it from trembling.
Something nudged at her hip, and she looked back. Gray was there, looking at her with… concern. She picked him up and hugged him close. The tears never came. She had him, she realized, and she would never let go. He licked her face gently, and she smiled and scrubbed his head. And inadvertently, she realized she made the connection.
Stranger!
An image of an old woman flashed in Laura’s mind. Selaine! She was here! “Thank you,” she whispered to Gray, putting him down, and ran to the door.
Sure enough, in the distance, Laura saw Selaine. She was making her way over, walking with surprising haste for somebody who Laura had once seen use a cane.
“In here!” Laura called, once Selaine was close enough to hear. “He’s in here!”
“I see you, girl,” Selaine grumbled. But despite that, she did appear to start walking faster.
Laura ushered her in, and pointed to Alexander lying against the wall. “He’s gotten worse,” she said worriedly.
“Worse?” Selaine replied. “Worse, how?”
“When I came here, he was delusional. He was up, but didn’t recognize me. He questioned who I was, where he was, what happened to him… and he claimed not to have remembered anything that happened over the last few weeks.”
“Hmm,” Selaine said. “Well, no use in me looking at him from afar. He won’t get spooked if he wakes and sees me, will he?”
“He might,” Laura admitted.
“Then you come with me. Usually, I like to do things by myself, in private, but in this case… well, we’ll see.”
Selaine walked over to Alexander, and dropped to her knees beside him. His face looked gaunt, and Laura realized for the first time that his jaw was clenched. Sweat stained the new shirt Laura had gotten him that morning.
“You take poor care of him,” Selaine said derisively. “His fever is bad, but even so, he needs to be kept warm. Blankets, layers, that sort of thing.” She took a white cloth from her pocket, and used it to wipe the sweat away from his face. Then, she put the back of her hand up to his forehead. After a long second, she sighed and turned to Laura. “His fever if worse than I feared. Tell me, when did this – all of this – happen?”
“Yesterday morning,” Laura said. “He took the wound then, but was able to walk most of the day. Until we got here. That was when the fever got worse.”
“The wound?” Selaine asked suspiciously. “You told me about no wound. You said he was cut. I thought a gnash on the leg, or perhaps… well, never mind. Tell me, where is this wound?”
“His shoulder,” Laura said quickly. “His left shoulder.”
Selaine grunted, and started to pull Alexander’s shirt up from the waist. Then, thinking better of it, she reached into her pocket to pull out a small carving knife. Laura gasped from surprise as she used it to cut a line directly down Alexander’s shirt, from the neck to the navel. Putting the knife away, she pulled one now-torn side of the shirt aside – the one that exposed his right shoulder – and then, taking more care, started to pull aside the other side. On seeing the wound, though, she hissed back.
“What is this?” she exclaimed with clear anger. “This is no ordinary wound! You have misled me!”
“He took an arrow,” Laura said quickly. “Please, don’t be angry.”
“No arrow could do this, girl,” Selaine said. “This is the work of the devil.” The wound had opened up again, and was moist, and very dark. The skin around it that had looked only bruised before was now a ghastly black. “Poison, extracted from the rarest of plants this world has ever known. A plant long extinct. But who would waste it on him, and why, I wonder?” Selaine looked at Laura questioningly for a moment. Then she shook her head. “I will not do you the disservice of asking. You have secrets, I understand, but more than I initially believed. If you were smart, you might tell me, but I will leave that to you.”
Despite herself, Laura sighed. She had no intention of telling Selaine, or anybody else, how that tainted arrow had pierced Alexander’s shoulder.
“Can you fix it?” Laura asked with concern. “You said you will try!”
“Aye,” the woman answered, “I will do my best. But I did not think I would ever see this poison again.”
“…again?” Laura asked. That meant… “You have dealt with it before?”
Absently, Selaine rolled up the sleeve to her right arm. Laura gasped as she saw the upper part of Selaine’s arm. The skin was stained a deep black, and marred with unhealthy yellow areas. It looked like the smoker’s lungs she would see in those commercials ad
vertising the dangers of tobacco.
“It happened to me,” Selaine said simply.
Instantly, a seed of hope blossomed with Laura. Hope that she was desperately missing before. “That means you survived it,” she exclaimed. “It means you know how to save him!”
“Survived… yes. Save him – maybe.” Selaine stood up to eye Laura intently. “Time is short, and he is burning up. His body is strong, but I’m afraid he has already exhausted his last reserve of strength in fighting the poison’s taint. It is probably too much, even for him. I might be able to help, but we can only pray I have come soon enough.”
“You have,” Laura said determinedly. “I know it!”
Selaine looked Laura up and down while pulling her sleeve back down. “You show much concern for his life. He is… a lover?” She shook her head. “No. You do not have the look of a mourning partner. But you did not lie to me either. He is a friend as you said. And you do care for him.”
“Yes!” Laura exclaimed. “Of course I do.”
“Good.” Selaine smiled. “Where you’ll be going, you’ll need to have strength.”
“Where I’m going?” Laura asked. “What do you mean?”
“There is but a single remedy that can cure him of the poison. And it includes a vital ingredient which, unfortunately, I do not have.”
“You don’t?” Laura asked. “Why?”
“It is a fungus – a sort of mushroom – that grows deep underground. Not many know of it. I do. There is a mine here, on the outskirts of town. It was closed down many years ago, but you will need to go there, to find the mushroom for me. Only with it does your friend have a chance to survive.”
Laura gulped, and shivered involuntarily. She remembered her last expedition underground, and was not eager to repeat the experience. Finally, she nodded. “I can do it, if I must.”
