Page 89 of Oath of Betrayal
Instead of working on his idea, I threw my solution into the pot. ‘Or … you could use me. I’m a conduit, remember?’ His pupils widened, and he shook my hand off his back. ‘You would have to Anchor me to do that, and I can’t allow it,’ he said sharply, but I raised my eyebrow.
‘Ari, when I arrived here, we practised the tethering glyph. Draw it on my palm and let me touch you. You can channel my magic using it, and I will simply be a source of energy; I can be just that, a tool in your hands. That’s why conduit mages are so valuable … We are, in essence, a source of power.’ I smiled when he looked at me with confusion.
‘I hadn’t thought about that, the fire when you Anchored Vahin …’
‘That was Anchoring. I was the channeler while he was the source. We’ll do the opposite. I will beyoursource, and all you have to do is accept my help, create the bloody glyph, and let me touch you. You didn’t have a problem with that before. You wanted my touch. What changed? It feels like you’re rejecting me.’
Alaric’s face went pale. I’d clearly struck a nerve, but my dark fae regained his composure without answering the question. ‘Fine, but I will have to use my blood.’ When I nodded, he pierced his forearm with a dagger and used its tip to draw a complex glyph on my hand. I watched the red runes disappear, almost as if my skin were a sponge absorbing the spell.
‘My turn. All I need is your bare skin to place my hand on, so try to relax … if you can.’ I was still talking when Alaric reachedup and untied his shirt, stripping it off his shoulders without a moment’s hesitation. My breath caught at the sight, my fingers trembling as they made contact with his bare, muscled chest. I watched Alaric trace an incredibly complicated set of sigils over his patient, so fascinated that I forgot where my hand rested.
‘I’m ready.’
That was the only warning I received before he started chanting a cantrip. I felt the pull of his magic and opened myself to it. Being a simple conduit for power was easy. It was so easy, in fact, that the skill could be used against my will if there was a mage strong enough to force the connection.
This time, however, I was willing. The sensation, the feeling of warmth that came with the aether flowing from my body into Alaric’s, gave me an immense sense of satisfaction. I couldn’t really heal others myself, but at least I was able to support a man who could.
As I had nothing else to do but stand there, letting him siphon my aether while Orm’s and Vahin’s Anchors stabilised the flow, I focused on the healing process. It was never too late to learn, and with all of the recent attacks, I hoped to pick up a skill or two.
The world around me was suddenly made from shades of grey as my eyesight adjusted to the aetheric realm. Alaric’s sigils were exquisite. The visible parts were so complex that I didn’t even know where they started, nor did I recognise the patterns.
What I saw when I opened my mind to the veiled world of the aether took my breath away with its beauty. Even Arno, skilled as he had been, couldn’t have created as intricate a design as the one coating the burnt man’s body in otherworldly light.
Alaric kept chanting a spell in his native language. I joined in, repeating the words I remembered, adding my will and power to the healing spell that glowed green over the patient. I saw the aether entering his body, filling every corner and lighting it fromwithin, mending the charred skin and muscles shredded by a raróg’s claws.
What Alaric did was nothing short of miraculous, and I knew it must have cost him dearly because he was taking energy from me faster than I expected. I closed my eyes, feeling the life force of every living being in the room, then further still until the entire building lit up in my mind like a summer bonfire. I siphoned energy from the surrounding area, careful to avoid burdening the injured.
When the pull stopped, I exhaled slowly. Alaric’s hand was on mine, holding it to his chest. His muscles tensed when I tried to pull away, but he let me go and looked at me with a yearning that took my breath away. ‘That was incredible. I felt … you hide an addictive power, Ani. I understand even less why they let you walk away from the university and the king’s service.’
‘They didn’t. I had to fake my death to break free, but even then they kept my geas.’
I looked at the patient. He was still injured, but he was no longer at death’s door. His breath was now even, and I could see freshly closed scars instead of open, weeping wounds. Alaric turned his head, and I saw the amusement on his features as he said, ‘I sometimes forget how resourceful you can be.’ I shrugged, then changed the subject.
‘Your skill is impressive. I don’t think I’ve seen someone so well-versed in high magic … What you did to his body, it feels like you could raise the dead without necromancy.’
‘That’s what a couple of centuries of practice will do. I cannot heal the dead, though. I could raise a soulless corpse with the foul magic in my blood, but I’m unwilling to pay the price for such an act.’ The darkness in Alaric’s gaze as he looked at me was shocking, but it disappeared as he continued, gesturing to the next cot. ‘Are you ready to continue, or do you need a rest?’
Before I could answer, the door to the chamber burst open, revealing Katja and, to my surprise, Bryna. ‘Gods, it stinks worse in here than the garrison’s forge after the apprentice poured molten metal on his leg,’ Bryna commented, wrinkling her nose before Katja elbowed her.
‘You insisted on coming here, so shut your gob and help. We need fresh water and lots of it. Grab your soldier friends and make yourself busy,’ Katja ordered, and the half-orc rolled her eyes.
‘Fine, and good to see you again, Ani. Better late than never. These men need you more than the commander needs you in his bed,’ she remarked, heading back to get some water. I looked at both women, baffled as to why the blacksmith was there.
‘Bryna’s helping the healers?’ I looked at Ari as he ushered me to another cot.
‘She came after the first victims arrived. Quite a few women volunteered to look after the wounded. Bryna decided that since she was the garrison’s favourite blacksmith, she’d also be the soldiers’ lucky charm—an unusually tall lucky charm … with a hefty hammer,’ he said with a smirk.
I turned towards Katija, giving her a tentative smile before speaking. ‘Yes, that’s our Bryn. I’m sorry that I didn’t come earlier. When everything settles down, I need some female company to help deal with the recent overload of males. Lately, circumstances have been, well,difficult.’ Katja rolled her eyes at my attempt at explaining.
‘Yes, I know about your circumstances, all three of them. News spreads like wildfire here, and I’m telling you, this place is even worse when it comes to gossiping than our town square during market day. Let’s help these patients, and you can share all the details later.’
I chuckled, watching Katija take over the care of those with minor burns, leaving the severe injuries to be magically healed.
After finishing up with a second patient, Ari and I found a good rhythm, and I even managed to repeat a few words of Ari’s incantation without prompting. Not that I knew their meaning. But I repeated them anyway, trying to learn from the more experienced mage. We moved from one patient to another, repeating the process until all that was left were the soldiers whom Katija and the other volunteers had already patched up.
I washed my hands and walked out to sit in the fresh air. I hadn’t noticed the passage of time, but the day had turned into evening. As soon as I sat down, the tiredness that always came with using my conduit skills hit me with a vengeance, and I felt my eyes closing.
I was half asleep when Ari walked out and sat next to me. He was quiet for a moment before embracing me and pulling me close. After an entire day of fighting death and pain, sharing the aether with a man whose skin felt like exotic silk made me feel close to him, and I welcomed his touch. With a deep sigh, I lay my head on his shoulder. It felt so right.
