Page 61 of Of Scale and Blood

“And you are...?” the commander said, tone cool.

Kele snapped a little straighter, obviously remembering she was not facing one ofourcommanders, who tended to be a little more lenient when it came to backchat, and saluted. “Kele MacCaa, drakkon rider, and second-in-command, Brown Recon Team.”

Curiosity briefly flashed across the commander’s otherwise stern features. He returned his gaze to mine. “How many drakkon riders do we now have? I was under the impression you were the sole rider.”

“We now have three, but it won’t be enough.”

“You stopped them today.”

“We were lucky, because they weren’t prepared for the additional drakkons. Next time, they will be.”

“The drakkons are larger?—”

“And have no innate means of attack other than tooth and claw, and both of those involve getting far too close to riders armed with weapons that can tear through flesh and stone with equal ease.”

“But you have fire—we saw it in action today.”

I half smiled. “We are also human, Commander, with all the limitations that come with that—something you should be aware of, given you’ve no doubt been dealing with air and earth witches on a regular basis of late.”

Annoyance flashed through his eyes, but he gave it no voice. I suspected the only reason hedidn’treprimand me as he had Kele was because of who I was—the only daughter of Esan’s king.

“Fine. I’ll update the council while we await the arrival of your drakkon.”

“Thank you, Commander.”

He nodded, then turned sharply on his heel and walked back through the half-destroyed pillars and down the hill. I’d expected him to use a quill and tablet, but either he wasn’t carrying one—which would be unusual for any field commander—or he simply wanted to remove himself from the stink of drakkon that permeated our clothes.

Teagin continued her examination of my leg, muttering softly to herself as she gently probed the wound with fingers that were overly warm. It was then that I realized she was more a “diviner” than a healer. Diviners were able to “read” what was happening within the body, providing a clearer picture for those who healed or repaired with magic or knife. Most of them were very skilled herbalists, able to work medical “magic” with many of their potions and salves, but you didn’t often find them working as field medics. That was usually a position taken by “true” healers.

“I’m not sensing any major damage.” She sat back on her heels and studied me. “You were lucky, young woman. A wound like that could have easily sliced through any of the major muscles or arteries in your calf and bled you out. Good job on stabilizing the shaft, too, because that bastard is barbed.”

I frowned. “I can’t remember seeing notches on the other arrows they aimed my way.”

“You probably were too busy fighting or avoiding them to do that,” she said, somewhat dryly. “And the notches aren’t big, but they’ll rip your leg apart if removed the wrong way.”

“Your healers can remove it, though, right?”

“Sure can. I’ll not touch it—the numbing salve you applied will remain active for another four or so hours, but holler if it does start hurting, and I’ll give you a stronger potion.”

“Thank you.”

She nodded. “I’ll just head down the hill and order a stretcher, because you’re not walking on that leg until that arrow is out, I’m afraid.”

Amusement tugged at my lips. “And downhill just happens to be upwind of us. No coincidence, I’m thinking.”

She laughed and patted my knee. “Indeed not.”

Once she’d collected all her gear and the discarded bandage, she rose and moved away.

“The drakkon scent must be pretty odious, given the distance everyone is keeping,” Kele commented, “so why can’t I smell it?”

“Used to it, I suspect.”

“I suspectnot. If that were the case, the odious scent of unwashed bodies during a five-day scouting mission wouldn’t worry me at all.”

I laughed and dragged some trail rations out of my pack. “I can’t disagree with that statement, though I will say that after five days of riding Desta through Mareritten scrub, my nose has generally desensitized itself.”

“Wish mine did,” she grumbled, sitting down beside me. “But maybe the men and women from the Brown Recon Team are more... ambrosial.”

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