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“Not a guest. This is your home for as long as you can put up with me.”
I pursed my lips. “Lead the way.”
“Bolster your light; we’re going outside.”
“Hmmm, where are you taking me?” I tried to remember the conversations we had over the past few days. What words sparked an idea?
As we left the keep by a side door and hurried under a shoveled alcove, Caedryn spoke. “I know you told me you’re more of a warrior than a healer, but after you told me how you saved the bricklayer, Queen Sorfrona, and Prince Kelyn, I believe you don’t give yourself enough credit.”
We paused in front of a door facing the courtyard. A few guards milled about, but most people with common sense were inside. Caedryn pushed the door open. “This chamber belonged to an apothecary. I had the room cleaned and furnished with beds and linens, herbs and bandages.”
A fire burned in the center of the long room, making the modest space pleasant. At one end, a door opened to a stock room. Herbs hung from the ceiling, and jars with salves lined the shelves. In the main room, four beds lined one wall, separated by curtains tied back and hanging from the ceiling. A desk and a chair occupied one corner along with a shelf filled with parchment and books. I gazed at the spines and ran my fingers over them. Books on anatomy, herbs, and remedies.
A smile crept over my face. “Is this for me? An infirmary?”
Caedryn slumped onto a bed. “You hate it. Drat. I’ll have the room emptied.”
I rushed to his side and sat beside him. “No, I love it.”
He smiled at the floor.
“You!” I shoved him in the arm. “You’re teasing me.”
He laughed. By the Creator, when he laughed his cheeks rounded, and his narrow face softened. His eyes even crinkled. A light came into his otherwise dark pupils.
“So, please don’t be upset,” he said. “I hope you don’t think I’m taking advantage of you either or that I expect you to be the resident physician. We need a healer though, and I thought you could teach me. I’m a tad rusty.”
I gushed. Caedryn was extending an olive branch. “Spread the word. I’ll come to those who are too sick to venture out in the snow. Those who need extended care can sleep here, and I’ll tend them.”
Caedryn rose. “Excellent. Niawen, you’re beaming.”
His response, and his gift, strangely excited me, even though I wasn’t a healer, but I was beyond ecstatic. I jumped up beside him. Caught up in his excitement, I leaned in and pecked him on the cheek.
Confusion passed over his features. “That was unexpected.” He turned and, with decisive steps, slipped out of the room.
As I ran my fingers along one of the curtains, I heard him whistling a cheery tune until he passed out of hearing.
I clasped my hands together. I had purpose. It might not fill the dreaded hole in my heart, but Caedryn’s gift was a welcome distraction. Maybe I could perfect my healing so if I ever saw Catrin again, I would astonish her, but seeing Catrin again was a big if. With time, I had no doubt I’d be as proficient at healing as she was.
I rummaged through the storage room, familiarizing myself with the herbs. Emrys didn’t have much use for these with healing, but what could learning a new skill hurt? I pulled the herbal remedies book off the shelf and curled up before the fire. I considered teaching Lowri how to use herbs. I couldn’t be everywhere at once. Maybe Lowri already knew this stuff. I never thought to ask her.
After some time, I drifted over to the desk and searched for parchment and ink. I wanted to make notes. The humans had remedies for every ailment. I was skeptical over some. Light healed most of the stomachaches, headaches, broken bones, broken hearts, stiff joints, infertility, and more that the book boasted of; light was the ultimate healer, except when it came to creating. The grace of Deian’s light restored, never created. Creation was the Master’s calling.
I yanked open a dusty drawer. Under parchment was an old leather-bound tome at least three inches thick. I heaved the book onto the desk. Raised gold leaf on the cover spelled runic-looking words. I didn’t know what they meant. I opened the book to a random page.
At least the language was in the common tongue, if a bit crude. I deciphered it though. The page was divided into two columns and read like a recipe book. I squinted at the words. The first subtitle said Possession. The text spelled out an incantation, but not before it mentioned pricking your finger and dripping the blood on an item belonging to the person the spell caster wanted to possess.
What in the world?
The next recipe said Cloaking. The next one said Locator Spell. Summoning. Manipulation. And on. I kept flipping the pages. Some basic spells, such as Breath Freshener and Wart Remover, were mixed among others such as Fire Breath. They involved using either blood or herbs or dark energy. Whatever that was. And all involved chanting.
These humans were nuts. Why didn’t Caedryn take the book out of the room? Maybe the tome was from the previous owner, and when Caedryn had the room cleaned, he didn’t touch the books. I shoved the tome back into the drawer. It felt evil. It felt wrong.
Only after I shut the drawer did I realize the leather smelled like a corpse.
FORTY-FIVE
Even though Caedryn sent word to his subjects that a healer was at the citadel, trust was slow in coming. I knocked on door after door, asking if anyone inside needed healing. I was always admitted, but when they saw I carried no bag and no concoctions, they were leery.
