large as possible, but the descent down the stairs required it to expand beyond his ability, and so the top of Carla’s or Charls’s head would bob in or out of sight as they slowly inched down the stairs. Without further detection, the three passed out of the palace and through the gate, then around a corner of the main road in the city, where Alec released his energy out of sight of the palace.
“Extraordinary! We walked right past the guards at the gate,” Charls exclaimed. “What do we do now?”
“We wait for our friends to arrive,” Alec said simply, then he squatted down on his haunches to rest. The trio waited for several minutes until the small squad of soldiers and others came noisily down the street.
Alec stood, and stepped to the center of the street, his hands raised high over his head to draw the attention of the approaching forces. He felt a terrible pain and a blow in the back that pressed him forward, then he heard Carla’s voice scream, and he blacked out.
Chapter 6 – Alec’s Injury
When Alec awoke he was in a narrow bed that was in a gloomy attic. The angled gable roof was only a few feet above his head, and the source of dim light was somewhere off to his left. His chest felt aflame with pain, and it flared to an even more intense level as he tried to take a breath. He moaned, then coughed, then felt spasms of even more pain.
“Here,” a soft voice called, and a small packet was gently pressed between his lips into his cheek. He turned his head to see who was there.
It was an older version of Carla, a woman with the same red hair and high cheek bones, though a wider m outh and thinner lips than Alec had noticed on his young companion. “These herbs will lessen the pain; just let them rest in your cheek.”
Alec gave his head a slight nod to signify he understood, and his hand reached out from underneath his cover, then groped to find hers, and gave a weak squeeze.
“You just rest. You’re safe here for now. Carla will return after sunset. She’ll be so pleased to know you woke up. The girl has sat here by you constantly,” the woman told him.
“Your daughter?” Alec tried to croak a question, but his chest felt pierced with increased pain, and he closed his eyes as a spasm stormed through his torso.
“You can’t try to talk,” the woman brushed her fingers across his forehead. “Stay quiet, rest and heal.”
Alec closed his eyes, and fell back into a drowsy state of anxious sleep, trying to understand what had happened to him. The pack of herbs in his cheek began to act, making his mouth feel numb first, before the pain diminished slightly in his chest.
When he opened his eyes again, the room was dark. He tried to look around and detected two faint gleaming points at some unknown distance. When he blinked, the points were further apart, and then they were eyes in a face, reflecting some small amount of light, and a hand lay gently on his shoulder.
“Alec, stay still. Don’t try to talk,” Carla spoke to him. “You’re very sick, and we can’t bring a doctor to see you. The duke’s patrols are looking all over the city for you and me and Charls and anyone else they think is against them.”
Alec closed his eyes, and tried to ignore the pain he felt with every breath. He wished he knew what had happened to him, but the pain was so severe he couldn’t call upon his Healer energies to diagnose or cure himself. He slowly raised one hand and laid it upon Carla’s, giving a feeble squeeze to show his appreciation. There was so much he wanted to know, but couldn’t ask.
“My mom says thank you for what you’ve done for us, for healing my dad the first time, and for watching out for me. She’s been here watching you almost as much as I have. The soldiers have been here once already searching our house, but they didn’t look up here,” she warned.
“As soon as you’re well enough
“Extraordinary! We walked right past the guards at the gate,” Charls exclaimed. “What do we do now?”
“We wait for our friends to arrive,” Alec said simply, then he squatted down on his haunches to rest. The trio waited for several minutes until the small squad of soldiers and others came noisily down the street.
Alec stood, and stepped to the center of the street, his hands raised high over his head to draw the attention of the approaching forces. He felt a terrible pain and a blow in the back that pressed him forward, then he heard Carla’s voice scream, and he blacked out.
Chapter 6 – Alec’s Injury
When Alec awoke he was in a narrow bed that was in a gloomy attic. The angled gable roof was only a few feet above his head, and the source of dim light was somewhere off to his left. His chest felt aflame with pain, and it flared to an even more intense level as he tried to take a breath. He moaned, then coughed, then felt spasms of even more pain.
“Here,” a soft voice called, and a small packet was gently pressed between his lips into his cheek. He turned his head to see who was there.
It was an older version of Carla, a woman with the same red hair and high cheek bones, though a wider m outh and thinner lips than Alec had noticed on his young companion. “These herbs will lessen the pain; just let them rest in your cheek.”
Alec gave his head a slight nod to signify he understood, and his hand reached out from underneath his cover, then groped to find hers, and gave a weak squeeze.
“You just rest. You’re safe here for now. Carla will return after sunset. She’ll be so pleased to know you woke up. The girl has sat here by you constantly,” the woman told him.
“Your daughter?” Alec tried to croak a question, but his chest felt pierced with increased pain, and he closed his eyes as a spasm stormed through his torso.
“You can’t try to talk,” the woman brushed her fingers across his forehead. “Stay quiet, rest and heal.”
Alec closed his eyes, and fell back into a drowsy state of anxious sleep, trying to understand what had happened to him. The pack of herbs in his cheek began to act, making his mouth feel numb first, before the pain diminished slightly in his chest.
When he opened his eyes again, the room was dark. He tried to look around and detected two faint gleaming points at some unknown distance. When he blinked, the points were further apart, and then they were eyes in a face, reflecting some small amount of light, and a hand lay gently on his shoulder.
“Alec, stay still. Don’t try to talk,” Carla spoke to him. “You’re very sick, and we can’t bring a doctor to see you. The duke’s patrols are looking all over the city for you and me and Charls and anyone else they think is against them.”
Alec closed his eyes, and tried to ignore the pain he felt with every breath. He wished he knew what had happened to him, but the pain was so severe he couldn’t call upon his Healer energies to diagnose or cure himself. He slowly raised one hand and laid it upon Carla’s, giving a feeble squeeze to show his appreciation. There was so much he wanted to know, but couldn’t ask.
“My mom says thank you for what you’ve done for us, for healing my dad the first time, and for watching out for me. She’s been here watching you almost as much as I have. The soldiers have been here once already searching our house, but they didn’t look up here,” she warned.
“As soon as you’re well enough
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