Chapter 12. Operation
Jacob opened his eyes and groaned, trying to clear his mind. Figures bustled around him, and he blinked several times.
“Be careful. Pull him over here,” Ebony ordered.
There was a shuffling sound, then Matt screamed in pain. Jacob jerked to a sitting position, and gasped when a searing heat forked across his back and legs. He fell, trying to catch his breath.
“Jacob!” Ebony said from somewhere. “Do not move!”
Jacob didn’t want to disobey—he couldn’t. The pain was too great. He hated not seeing where Matt was, though. Unfortunately, when he’d passed out he’d been facing the door, and he was unable to fix his position.
Ebony barked out more orders.
“Grab his arm. Don’t let his head sag. All right, everyone—one, two, three—lift.”
Grunting, then a thump. Matt cried out again.
“This leg is in very bad shape.”
Akeno’s voice. “Will it heal?”
No one responded.
Liquid sloshing into something, more shuffling. Someone started talking, but was shushed. The sound of a heavy bowl dragging across the wooden table. More sloshing. Jacob tried not to concentrate on the pain in his back. He wished he could pass out again. Finally, after five or so minutes, Ebony sighed with relief.
“That should do it,” she said.
Approaching footsteps. “Jacob, I’m sorry,” Ebony said. “We had to fix Matt’s leg first. The bone had splintered through the skin on the back of his leg.” Jacob felt her touch his hair. “We’re going to roll you onto your stomach, then pull you away from the door.”
Hands took Jacob’s arms and legs. He groaned when they dragged him, laid him on his stomach, and turned his head toward the room. His back felt like it was on fire again and he moaned, tears springing to his eyes.
Ebony told Jacob what she was doing as she did it. Cutting away the remaining clothes and cleaning his back and legs, putting Kaede Sap directly on him, no strips of cloth. He would have blushed as she did this if it weren’t for the huge amount of pain she was causing.
“We don’t want to cover it—Kaede Sap heats up when wrapped, and that isn’t good for burns.” She clicked her tongue. “This is one of the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Finally, after ten agonizing minutes, Ebony declared Jacob finished, then put a loose sheet over him and ordered him to sleep, which he gratefully did.
Kilenya Series Books 1, 2, and 3 Page 85
