I opened the flap of the hut and looked around the small space.A plump woman in a yellow robe sat on a cushion with her legs crossed and her eyes closed.Something sweet and spicy filled the air.
‘Leave it open and come sit down, Shadow Weaver,’ she said, her eyes still closed.
Shadow Weaver?I left the hut flap open and sat opposite her as instructed, feeling awkward and unsure of what she expected from me.
‘You have an infection in your shoulder, and the wound on your back is deep.’
‘How do you know that?’I asked.Someone very observant could guess my injuries from my stiff movements, but she hadn’t even looked at me yet.
She took a deep breath and opened her dark brown eyes, which matched her curly hair and smooth skin.She smiled at me, revealing large, straight teeth and pink gums.
‘I’m a Wound Weaver.I do some Bone Weaving, too, but I’m limited to small bones.’She tilted her head as if listening to something.‘No broken bones.’
She rose gracefully from the floor and came to stand behind me.‘I’ll help remove your leathers and shirt.’
I was a little embarrassed as I hadn’t washed for days, and I could imagine I didn’t smell pleasant.She removed the wraps Mae had used to bind my wounds, and I waited for her to go in search of creams and tinctures.Instead, she placed her hands over my wounds.Her palms felt cool on my feverish skin.
The Wound Weaver began to chant – not words exactly, more like sounds.Her voice was barely above a whisper, as if singing to herself.Then, I felt the heat spread from her palms.It became so intense I wanted to move away, but I resisted.Just when the heat of her touch became almost unbearable, she removed her palms.
‘How do you feel?’
I moved my shoulder freely for the first time in days, and the deep throbbing in my back was gone.I sighed in relief.
‘Better.’I smiled at her as she sat back down next to me.
She tilted her head again, listening to something I could not hear.‘I couldn’t get all the infection out, so I want to try again tomorrow.’
‘I need to get back to my camp,’ I explained.
‘Then I suggest resting for a few days to help fight the infection.It takes longer, but I can sense you are strong, so I think you will recover well enough.’
‘Thank you.’I dressed and handed her the coins in my pockets, hoping it was enough.
She refused it with a shake of her head.‘I don’t need payment.King Goa provides for all Anatomy Weavers.’She smiled and closed her eyes.
Did that mean all the people of Ephemeros had access to Weavers who could heal them with their hands?How many lives could have been saved if things were the same in Pedion?My father, who’d been so strong and healthy, had died from an infected cut that a Wound Weaver could have healed in minutes.
I walked around the camp until I found Braya.People watched me warily, including the tall woman she was talking to.
The woman Braya stood with was almost as tall as me.She wore leathers and a green shirt that contrasted with her bright-red hair.
‘I need to get back to my camp,’ I said.
Braya’s back was to me, but I suspected by the red-haired woman’s amused expression that she was rolling her eyes again.
‘Should I ask the general if he can find someone else to show me the way out of here?’
Braya spun around and scowled at me.‘I will take you.’She headed to the horses.
We rode together in silence, which I didn’t mind too much.Although my shoulder and back felt better, it was late, and it had been a long time since I had slept, so fatigue tugged at my mind and limbs.Then the rain started.It was only light, but it was chilling, and the parts that weren’t covered by my cloak and the sack grew damp and uncomfortable.
‘We are far enough,’ barked Braya.‘You can take the sack off now.’
I pulled it off and peered through the dark at my riding companion.She looked as miserable as I felt.
‘I’ve never gotten to know someone else with powers before,’ I said.‘Or at least I don’t think I have.’Of course, Cursed women hid their abilities, just like Millie.
‘This place is unbelievable.’She shook her head in the dark.‘Is it true King Hared has been hanging Weavers?’she asked.
