Page 31 of The Demon's Delight
“I’m here,” he said, still sounding breathless. He inhaled deep, and I could actually see him become centered. “I’ve been hurt plenty, but this is something new.” He grinned again, back to himself enough to be thrilled by the prospect of a novel experience, even if it was not a good one. He was truly bizarre, but I admired his pluck.
I handed him the pack strap. “You’ll want to bite down on this.”
“I will?” He looked at the fabric, then back at me before placing it between his teeth. I appreciated the blind trust he was putting in me because this was likely going to hurt.
“On three, okay?”
Seir nodded, and I put my hands on either side of the break, heart bruising my ribs it was pounding so hard. Of all the wounds and illnesses I’d healed, bones broken in this way had always been my least favorite thing to manage. My gift could knit them back together on the inside, repair the muscle and flesh given enough time and energy, but I had to do the hard part by hand first.
“One, two…” I gripped and pulled, twisting the limb and forcing the bone back where it belonged all in one hasty, adrenaline-fueled motion. It used nearly every muscle in my upper body to accomplish, but it seemed to have done the trick. I had yelled with the effort it took, the birds and other small creatures fleeing from the trees at the abrupt sound.
At least down here thereweresuch animals. Perhaps the strangeness was limited to the road itself.
Seir hadn’t even cried out but stared at me with his eyes wide and his chest heaving as I dug around in my pack for some cloth to tie it with.
He spat the strap out, bewildered but not angry. “Three, Hailon. You said onthree.”
“Sorry. Too many experiences with a patient backing out at the last second forced me to adapt a work-around. Telling you that ahead of time would have ruined the element of surprise.” He blinked at me. “How does it feel?”
“I honestly have no idea how to answer that.”
“I’ll heal you up, but we have to get somewhere I can focus first. Don’t go anywhere.”
He chuckled, using his sleeve to blot the sweat from his brow. “I’ll do my best to stay put.”
I stood and turned around, trying to assess where we’d landed. Hopefully there was somewhere we could shelter for the night nearby, somewhere I could work safely… fast.
Trying to keep Seir within sight, I walked in the direction of the sound of water. We’d need to clean ourselves up, in any case, and there might be some fresh berries or maybe even fish. I was not a great hunter, but between the forest and fresh water, there was bound to be something useful.
I walked until the top of Seir’s head was barely visible over the stones and timber as the ground sloped down toward a reasonably sized stream. It was likely the one on the map, the one we thought we’d been following the whole time, but at this point I was unsure about much of anything on the little scrap of parchment.
“That’ll do nicely,” I muttered aloud, carefully stepping over obstacles toward a grouping of large boulders. The largest of them had a natural curve we could easily fit underneath even standing up and a flat area below. If nothing else, we’d be out of the elements should another rainstorm come through.
Making a quick pass, I used my boot to scuff the smaller rocks and sticks out of the way, creating a somewhat smooth floor for us to sit on. We could lean against the wall of rock comfortably, and if I started a fire, the smoke would vent andsome of the heat would still be retained. It was just about as perfect as it was going to get given the circumstances.
I returned to Seir and grabbed both of our packs to take over first. By the time I got back to him again, he was already sitting up on his own and fiddling with the hasty bandage.
“Leave it,” I scolded gently.
His expression was a mix of guilt and chagrin when he looked up at me. “Sorry. Just curious.”
“Think you can make it over there with my help?” I pointed.
The demon was his normal unflappable self. “If you let me lean on you, I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”
Seir looped his tail around my waist, and I ducked under the arm on his injured side, using the strength in my legs to get him vertical. His stomach wound was a bit of a hindrance, but we were able to make slow progress toward the shelter. I watched the bleeding carefully, pleased that it had slowed. I might have time to fix him properly after all.
“Thank you,” he said after we’d successfully lowered him down again.
“I’m going to make a fire before we get started. I never know exactly how much it’s going to take out of me, but bones are difficult. We’ll need to remove… that.” I gestured vaguely to his midsection.
He looked down, hands hovering over the wound. “I’m fine, really. Embarrassed, mostly. It’s my fault we’re in this predicament, after all. If you slide my pack closer, I’ll start assembling supplies while you work on the fire.” He was almost somber, which was more worrisome than the injury itself. I’d never seen him so serious. It made my chest feel tight.
I did as he requested, leaving both packs within his reach as I gathered stones to make a fire ring and enough wood to keep us warm through the night.
The adrenaline kept me moving, busily getting things in order for us to be somewhat secure while I healed him. The rush started to wane as the first sparks took the dried grass I’d use as kindling. My hands gained a tremble, and a cold sweat broke out across my body, leaving me feeling clammy.
“You’re very skilled at that,” Seir complimented quietly. “You’ve prepared us a comfortable dwelling with hardly more than stones and branches. I should make us something to eat.”
