Cursed With Power

by Lindsey Richardson

  It was a small white room with shelves covering the empty walls. In one corner was a dull bag, which Grefin ordered me to grab. I picked it up and unzipped it while Grefin started searching the shelves. He brought me a handful of containers full with liquids, others filled with plants. Lastly, he placed a small dagger and a needle with string. I placed all of the materials in the bag careful, not asking any questions. I raised my brow at the dagger, but Grefin held up his hand and explained it was only in case he needed to make an incision. I gawked at the thought.

  As soon as we left the room, Grefin took the bag from me and ran down the stairs. I gathered my dress together and trotted after him, though I was cautious not to fall. Once we reached the bottom the maid was waiting for us with another woman much taller and fit than her. I assumed the woman was the healer, though she looked as if she had been interrupted. There were swirled white markings on her face. Light blue dots surrounded both of her eyes, and even her thick coarse hair could not hide the black paint lines across her neck.

  “Those markings…”

  She stopped me. “I was performing a ritual to the gods. It is believed that someday they will return to the world of humans before our end.”

  I merely nodded, though I was taken aback by her strong belief. While I had never seen such markings before, I was more interested in knowing what “end” she was suggesting. Whatever her beliefs, she and Grefin were all Alaire had.

  Grefin cleared his throat. “This is Daciana, our healer. She’s been with my family since she was a girl, and she has worked on Alaire before. It’s getting late, so without any further delay, let’s leave.”

  He jotted to the door as the maid opened it for him and he stepped outside. Daciana frowned at me, but ran after Grefin. In a matter of seconds, I joined them outside of the manor.

  An older man stood by the doorway with the white stallion I recognized to be Vinur. Delighted to see something familiar, I ran to him.

  “Vinur!” I cried.

  The horse whinnied, bobbing his head at the sound of my voice. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my head against him. While I held onto him, it felt like for the first time the world would be right again. Then the man holding a rope around Vinur’s neck tapped me on the shoulder, and I released the horse. Looking at him, the man handed me the cross necklace. Having nowhere else to place it, I took it and clipped it around my neck.

  Grefin decided it would be best if he and I rode on Vinur, while Daciana waited for the servant to bring out another horse. He assured me it would be most beneficial for him to see Alaire first. I agreed with him, though my eyes were focused on the sun that would soon set in a few hours.

  “You ride?” Grefin suddenly asked me.

  While Adam and Dyanna had taken the time to teach me years ago, I doubted my ability to steer Vinur through the field.

  At my hesitation, Grefin mounted the horse and then offered his hand to me.

  “Get on,” he said, “time is essential now.”

  I took his hand and jumped up, eventually sitting on the horse properly. As soon as my hands wrapped around Grefin’s waist, he tapped Vinur with his legs, and the horse trotted full speed ahead. I closed my eyes and clung to Grefin, fearing the horse was traveling too fast and Grefin might lose control. All I heard was the sound of Vinur’s hooves scrapping against the dirt.

  The ride was much shorter than the distance I had traveled by foot. Once I felt confident enough to open my eyes again, I noticed the sun was setting. Grefin warned me that we had reached the field, and Vinur staggered left and right in hesitation. Daciana’s horse had caught up to us, and she merely nodded with a grim face when I glanced back at her. Meanwhile, Grefin yelled at the horse, and at last he listened to the commands.

  As we traveled through the field, Vinur’s speed slowed down significantly. Grefin and Daciana shouted Alaire’s name while I turned my head in every direction, searching for my companion. Each time someone stopped yelling, the field returned to utter silence save for the horse’s hooves moving about.

  “Let me off the horse,” I wailed, tapping Grefin on the shoulder.

  He held back the rope, forcing Vinur to stop, and I jumped off.

  “I’ll search this way,” he said, pointing to the left as I advanced forward.

  I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted for Alaire while I moved through the destroyed wheat. Though I was certain he could hear us, he never once cried back. My eyes were focused on the ground, glancing left and right.

  “Alaire! Where are you? I’ve brought help!” I screamed, but my voice cracked each time his name slipped from my lips.

  There was nobody out there with us. Looking at the dried up dirt and dead plants, it was like the field had been deserted for years. I wanted to rush to Grefin and plead with him to bring out his servants to help us with the search.

  Just as I was about to call for him, I heard an “uff,” and my eyes darted in the direction the voice came from. A few feet away from me, a hand was held up in the air, shaking. Instantly, I ran toward it, forgetting any of the doubts I had moments ago.

  I reached him and held onto his hand; it was cold at the touch.

  “Grefin, Daciana, I’ve found him! Come quickly!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

  Returning my attention to Alaire, I flung myself onto him. I attempted to embrace him, caring only that he was alive. However, he grunted, and I backed away to see what was the matter. His appearance had changed entirely since last I saw him. He looked much paler than before and sweat leaked down his neck. While his knee was swollen and his leg looked stiff, there was something else terribly wrong. A red puddle stained through Alaire’s tunic. It dripped down his chest, spreading fast, and it seemed to be a new wound.

  Without waiting for Grefin, I ripped open his tunic. There was a puddle of blood seeping out from his left shoulder. Near his collarbone were what appeared to be red stains.

  “Grefin!” I called, not bothering to take my eyes off of Alaire.

  “Move, let me see him,” Grefin said, already standing beside me.

  He pushed me aside gently, and then he and Daciana knelt beside Alaire to examine him. I stumbled back and watched, feeling helpless. They felt his head and listened to his heartbeat. Leaning in, I listened as they murmured to each other.

  “The wound in his shoulder looks fresh. Did someone attack him?” Grefin asked.

  “It looks like the work of magic, sir,” his healer answered.

  Daciana laid her palm over Alaire’s shoulder. She closed her eyes and waited. Then she opened them and said, “Someone used a spell on him. I can’t determine how far the spell has spread, but he might have been lucky. I’ve seen work like this before; it’s poison.”

  Grefin grabbed his bag from Daciana, who had held onto it this entire time, and began searching through it.

  All the while, I thought back to the battle with Lena and Melodie. Alaire had been the last one to fight Melodie, and he said that she ran away. Might she have performed a fatal spell? If she had, why wouldn’t Alaire have told me about it? I stared at the wound and shuddered.

  “I have a few herbs with me, but we need to examine his humours before we do anything else,” Grefin said. He pulled out a large bottle full with black liquid. He handed it to me, though I remained motionless.

  “Humours?” I asked.

  He nodded. “His bodily fluids can tell us more about his wounds. It also appears that he might have a slight fever, but since we have Daciana we can speed up the process. Now pour this on his wound.”

  “Will it hurt him?” I asked, refusing to hold the bottle.

  “I am going to check his leg while Daciana looks him over. With Alaire in this condition, I need you to act without questioning me,” Grefin replied. He shoved the bottle at me, and I took it.

  My hands shook as Grefin and I switched places so that he was by his legs and I was by Alaire’s chest. Daciana removed her hand, and I watched as the thick substance drippe
d from the bottle and onto his shoulder. I placed the bottle down, but I could feel beads of sweat dripping down the back of my neck.

  Suddenly Alaire cried out in pain; his body jolted.

  I held my hand over my mouth, hoping he would hear my gasp.

  “Sorry, that was my doing,” Grefin said, holding his hands up. “His knee is sprained, and we can’t risk forcing him to walk.”

  “If I’m correct, the spell used on him involves poison. It works slowly through the body, but it doesn’t show any external damagers until later on. This explains why Alaire might not have felt anything until now; it’s often dormant until it breaks through the skin,” Daciana explained.

  I looked from Grefin to Daciana, wondering how they planned on traveling with Alaire. His injuries were gruesome, and I didn’t know how much Daciana was able to do without the materials she needed. Knowing nothing about medical treatment, I remained silent while they conversed.

  Grefin turned to me and said, “I need to perform a spell. It will make Alaire unconscious, but it should last long enough so that he can travel without feeling any pain. I promise it won’t hurt him.”

  I glanced down at Alaire, who stared up at me with glassy eyes. Then I looked to Daciana. She rummaged up a beige cloth from Grefin’s bag and began tying it around Alaire’s shoulder, though she was careful not to move his body too much.

  “Do you think he can hear us?” I responded, returning my attention to Grefin.

  “He is in a lot of pain right now. Anything he does could trigger more pain. May I?” he gestured with his hands that he would perform the spell.

  “Wait,” I said.

  Unclipping the necklace from my neck, I took it off and clipped it around his neck. Though his lips started to curve into a smile, he winced once again from the pain. His honey brown eyes only continued to blink at me, as if he was totally unaware of everything else around him.

  “You need to be wearing this. I want Him to watch over you when I cannot,” I said. Though in truth I didn’t know what to think of God, I wanted to believe He existed for Alaire’s sake. No matter the pain my own family had suffered through, perhaps He could make a miracle happen for the only person I had left.

  “Celestria…” Alaire groaned. “Sometimes… Sometimes I wonder if He watches over people like us or simply shakes His head and looks away.”

  “You’re the one wearing that necklace; I thought you had faith,” I responded.

  Grefin whispered, “I’m surprised to hear him speak. I can only imagine the pain he’s feeling right now.”

  I wobbled back and nodded for him to continue through with the spell. Daciana stood up, rubbing her hands together though blood had stained them.

  Grefin held his hands above Alaire’s chest, mumbling the words to himself, and then Alaire’s eyes closed. I felt the side of his neck, and his pulse remained slow but steady. If Alaire was going to live, he needed as much help as he could get. As he was lifted from the ground by Daciana and Grefin, my only focus was on him. Keeping this man alive required my full devotion.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Come to Me First

  Grefin mounted his horse, and then Daciana and I lifted Alaire’s limp body up to him. Since it would be too risky for Grefin to ride while trying to hold onto Alaire, we tied Grefin’s horse up to Vinur. Daciana and I would ride on Vinur in a way we could guide Grefin’s horse. Once everyone was settled into their positions, we began the journey back to Mergental.

  A breeze rustled through the field as the sun beamed down. My hair felt as if it were on fire with how long the sun had been beaming down on it. While we were in a hurry, there were occasional times when we stopped so that Grefin could check on Alaire. My companion remained unconscious the entire time.

  While I felt somewhat reassured that Grefin and Daciana knew what they were doing, I thought of someone else Alaire may want. It was because of him and Roana that I managed to recover from my battle with Aldemund. Who better to bring Alaire back to health than Roana herself? I suggested the idea to Daciana, and she agreed to inform Grefin once we returned, seeing as Grefin’s horse was always behind us.

  ***

  The sun sank below the horizon by the time we arrived at Grefin’s manor. Daciana and I jumped off of our horse and helped lift Alaire. Grefin soon jumped down to carry him with me while Daciana jerked the front door open. The moment it was open Grefin and I rushed in. A maid, who had come to greet us, soon noticed Alaire and called for help.

  Grefin and I stood there, trying to catch our breaths as we waited.

  A man ran in from a room nearby; another came from upstairs. They rushed to us, lifted Alaire as Grefin instructed them to carry him carefully to the closest guest room. Fortunately, there were several guest rooms downstairs. I followed after them, entering into the room and then standing aside to allow Daciana inside.

  For a guest room it was rather large and fancy. The bed was large, and the blankets covering the mattress were dark blue. There was also a chair nearby the bedside, a dresser full of half-opened drawers, and a mirror above the bureau at the left end of the room.

  “Go to my room and fetch me another need, more thread, and I’ll need cold water—the more, the better,” Grefin ordered to his servants.

  “Will he live?” I asked, gulping.

  Daciana answered for him. “Alaire needs time to heal. My methods will help, but Grefin might still need to use his normal methods as well.”

  “W-what will you do to him?” My heart pounded louder in my chest.

  Taping his temple, Grefin said, “We’ll need coriander to reduce the fever, henbane and hemlock for the aching in his leg, yarrow for the wound, and maybe a touch of mint. Hmm, am I forgetting anything?”

  “I doubt he’s broken any bones, but we do have some supply of comfrey left if need be. What about an antiseptic? Will we need to cup any of his blood?” Daciana chimed in.

  The color in my face drained.

  “Cup… his blood?” I nearly choked on the words.

  “I can use myrrh for an antiseptic, and let’s not forget about vinegar to cleanse his body. As for bloodletting, I would rather use it as a last resort. Fear not, Celestria, I’ll have Daciana use her powers on Alaire long before I cup a drip of blood from his body,” he replied.

  I stared blankly at him, feeling as if my own blood had sunk to the bottom of my body.

  Grefin barked at the servants, “Go on and grab my supplies!”

  They scattered from the room without a second thought. Feeling lightheaded, I sat down in the chair beside the bed. My hands shook as I rested them on the arms of the chair.

  Daciana advanced to the bed and placed her hands over Alaire’s chest. She frowned and then looked to Grefin, shaking her head.

  He knelt down in front of me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Celestria, we’ll have to begin immediately. If you feel uncomfortable watching the procedure you can wait in the hallway. If you choose to stay, I must ask you to move your chair so that we have room.”

  Then he stood up and leaned over the bedside, seemingly lost in thought. I thought about what he said, but I decided I would stay to be certain everything went as planned. With the medical decisions being made between Grefin and Daciana, I feared Alaire was more ill than I would have ever guessed.

  Picking up my chair, I made my way over to sit by the bureau. One of the servants returned with a needle and a bucket of water, handing it over to Grefin and then leaving once more. While Grefin threaded the needle, Daciana ripped away the remainder of Alaire’s tunic. She threw it on the floor, and then she dipped her hands in the bucket on the bed. With her hand formed into a fist, she allowed the water to drip onto Alaire’s chest slowly.

  In a calm voice, Grefin proposed, “Use your powers to remove the poison. Once it’s gone, I’ll sew up his shoulder and apply yarrow.”

  Another servant entered with a small bowl. He left it next to the water bucket, and then stepped outside to gather more materials. I
stood up, rushing after him to help carry whatever else was left. All that he handed me were two bowls, one on top of the other, and then he picked up the remaining two. We carried them into the room silently, leaving them on the floor since there was not enough room on the mattress. I walked around to the other side of the bed to see what was happening.

  “Stay here,” Grefin grumbled, glancing up at the servant momentarily.

  Daciana bent down and picked up one of the bowls. She poured the clear substance over Alaire’s bloody wound, which by now had soaked up the left side of his pillow. Then, Grefin patted the wound, cleaning most of the blood away.

  With the wound partially dry, Daicana picked up another bowl full of green seeds. She poured a small amount of them onto her palms, and then she sprinkled them over Alaire entire body, covering him from his neck down.

  Turning to me, Grefin explained, “The coriander will reduce his fever, and with Daciana’s skills it works faster throughout the entire body.”

  The odor from the seeds was foul, but it didn’t seem to faze Daciana. She closed her eyes once more and moved her hands in a circular motion above Alaire. All the while, she chanted and her eyes moved back and forth. Suddenly there was more color in Alaire’s face, and the rising and downfall of his chest movement began.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, biting my nails.

  “Daciana is relieving him of the poison. Alaire might wake up any minute now, but remain very quiet,” Grefin advised.

  As if on command, Alaire’s eyes fluttered open. His eyes darted around the room, and his breath quickened.

  “Celestria, hold him down!” Grefin cried, holding down Alaire’s body from where he stood.