Page 89 of Keldori By Daybreak

“I hurt you?” Panic, or maybe guilt, coursed through me, turning my fluttering stomach to lead. I tried to sit up, but pain pulsed against my temples, and I fell back against Una’s flank.

“It’s nothing.” He let the cloak fall back over his bandages.

“But how did I make my blades?” I demanded. “I can only change my body when I’m a Nightmare.”

“Ferrin was forcing enough Skal into you to transform you into a rotsbane, so you definitely had enough Skal to alter your anatomy.” He glared at the bone where it rested on the floor. “Still, it’s impressive magick. It’s real bone as far as I can tell. Only the Four Magicians have ever used Skal to create living tissue.”

Ciarán must’ve been forgetting about the time I’d created antibiotic mold to save his life, but I thought better than to remind him.

“He tried to turn me into a rotsbane,” I said blankly.

“I know.” Ciarán’s breathy laugh betrayed his relief.

“How? I’m not a Nightmare.”

“It takes more magick to turn a real person into a rotsbane than a Nightmare,” Ciarán explained, “but remember that’s the reason Magicians had to come to Skalterra in the first place. There was too much Skal in your world. We kept transforming.”

A new concern emerged from my mess of muddled thoughts.

“And what if we make it all the way back to Keldori just to turn into rotsbane as soon as we get there?”

“We’ll control ourselves,” Ciarán said evenly. “It’ll be easier without a madman forcing magick into your system.”

I nodded, but the movement made my head spin.

“Right. Then we should probably warn Iseult and Tiernan that Ferrin’s probably on his way.” I tried to push off of Una, but Ciarán stood first and held his hand up to stop me.

“You sleep. I’ll let them know.”

“I have a concussion. I don’t think I’m supposed to sleep.”

“You’ll be fine for now. You need a proper Ceremender, but I poked around and fixed what I could. I’m no healer, but it’ll hold you over until we get to the citadel.”

“Why do I need a salamander?”

“Ceremender,” he repeated, unlatching the deadbolt on the door. “They’re brain healers. But like I said, once I could get back inside your head, I was able to fix the worst of the damage. So rest. We’ll be on the road soon.”

The heavy door creaked on its rusty hinges as he dragged it open, but Ciarán hesitated before exiting.

“What?” I asked.

He strode back to where he’d been lurking against the wall, shooed Jonquil away and picked up whatever she’d been curled up on. Ciarán threw it at me without looking as he crossed back to the door.

“I did my best. It’s not great, so let’s hope I did a better job fixing your brain than I did your clothes.”

He fled into the hallway, still with his back resolutely to me. I looked down at the blue fabric in my lap only after the door slammed back into place.

The folds of Liam’s Von Leer hoodie unfurled as I lifted it above me. New, jagged rips ran down the length of both sleeves thanks to my bone spikes, but the tears had been repaired with careful—though crooked—lines of thread. Meanwhile, the gaping hole in the center of the chest was finally mended as well, and the circle of fabric that had been roughly sewn into the Von Leer coat of arms looked suspiciously the same color and material as Ciarán’s cloak.

It was Jonquil that sensed something was wrong first.

I awoke to the sound of her angry hiss and opened one eye to see her fur standing on end and her back arched. I frowned, trying to figure out what had her agitated, and then Una gave a low bark from the back of her throat.

“What—” I started, but then Una stood, and I slipped off her flank and onto the stone floor.

My head felt like it might explode from the pressure in my skull when I tried to stand, but I forced myself to my feet and staggered into the hall.

Una charged ahead and came to a stop at an open walkway that looked down into the canyon from the face of the keep. I followed her, trying not to trip over Jonquil as she wove between my ankles, and then paused between two columns to look down at the moonlit moss where I’d fought Iseult.