AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kallum scoffs. ‘What will you do? You two can hardly abide to look at her. You had no idea she was suffering outside your little conjures, Dane, and your leaving her without clothes and food, Grey.’
‘What about you?’ I thunder. ‘You sold her to a demon!’
Kallum stalks forward. ‘I killed him before he could touch her,’ he hisses. ‘Do you think I’d let anyone touch her but me?’ He surveys us with a sneer. ‘Or is it us, now that she’s like this? I didn’t break her body. You two did.’
I take a step toward him, my magick rising with my anger.
There’s a knock at the door. ‘It’s Healer Reyn,’ a voice says. ‘I was told I was needed here?’
I let go of the conjure that I was about to throw at Kallum and take a deep breath.
‘Cover her,’ I order, and I wait until Grey puts the coverlet over her before I open the door.
I peer out at a tall, thin, and balding goblin at the threshold dressed in blue healers’ robes. He looks to be in his early fifties. What’s left of his white hair is in a long braid down his back and tied with a ribbon that matches his robes.
‘Did you call for a healer?’ he asks.
I nod. ‘Yes.’
I let him in, noting the pack with its flowered emblem that he carries his medicines in and the faint smell of herbs that clings to him as if he was just brewing a tincture before he was called. I close the door.
‘But before we go any further, you should know that it’s for a human, and we need your silence.’
‘A human?’ He looks confused. ‘All right,’ he says slowly. ‘Let’s see the patient.’
‘Can we be assured that you’ll forget you were here?’ Grey asks, and again, the goblin looks puzzled.
‘Of course,’ he says.
‘And what’s the price of it?’ I ask, rolling my eyes at him impatiently and wishing he’d just tell us what he’s going to charge so we can pay it and he can look at the Harbinger.
‘I wouldn’t charge a fee for such a thing,’ he says, looking a little startled. Then, his eyes narrow. ‘Let me see this human of yours, and after, we’ll talk.’
I glance at Grey more than Kallum, but I see them both nod their assents.
‘Fine,’ I mutter, moving out of the way so that he can see her on the bed.
‘A female?’ He sounds surprised as he approaches and leans over her. ‘And a young one at that. Quite rare these days this far out.’
I wonder what he means, but I don’t interrupt him.
He takes in her wan face and the dried blood around her nose. ‘How long has she been like this?’
‘Since we arrived through the Breach,’ I say. ‘She collapsed as soon as we got here.’
The healer makes a noncommittal sound as he gently removes the blanket covering her. I see Kallum tense as if he believes the goblin is going to launch himself at her, but I realize I feel similarly so.
I take a step forward, just in case.
The healer frowns. ‘She’s covered in bruises, and her ribs appear to be broken.’
He looks up at us all suspiciously, and I can see that he believes we did all this to her. Not only that, he’s angry about it.
I glance at the others, and I can see that, like me, they’re becoming puzzled by the healer’s strange behavior. ‘The injuries were from before we?—’
‘Acquired her?’ he finishes.
I nod, not sure what’s going on here, and he sighs. ‘Unfortunately, I see this quite a bit as a healer. Though usually in the bulls, not the females,’ He shakes his head. ‘The human trade is far too unregulated. Anyone can get their hands on one even if they don’t know the first thing about keeping one healthy.’
