Page 50 of Until the End of Ever
I healed the spine all over again, focusing less on adding lubricant and more on ensuring the bones would set where I’d placed them.
“You’ve been abusing your spine for hundreds of years. You’ll need to see a bone weaver, or even a mortal chiropractor, from time to time,” I said, feeling like she would likely ignore the advice.
“Is this even my body?” Andrea mused, twisting her neck, this way and that, lifting her hands over her head. “Cassi, look!” she screamed at our hostess. “I can do the wave! Let’s go dancing like in the old days.”
And before my baffled eyes, the old woman proceeded to do just that, giving Michael Jackson a run for his money.
“I don’t think I can forgive you for this,” Lucian whispered behind me.
I jumped. For once, I hadn’t noticed him, focused on my work.
“I’m never going to forget that dance. It’ll haunt my nightmares.”
“You just wish you could dance as well as your grandma,” I shot back.
A woman in a butter-yellow sheath approached, clearing her throat. “If you wouldn’t mind. There’s a kink in my neck I never can get rid of.”
“Wait a minute, how about my arm!”
“—my little toe!”
“Myteeth!”
Cassiopea clapped her hands. “That’s quite enough of that. Our generous guest is not to be accosted. She’ll think we have no manners in the underside. She no doubt needs a little rest.”
I smiled at her appreciatively. “I’m fine actually. And frankly, I feel better when people around me aren’t suffering, so if you could form a line?”
The rest of my evening was spent touching dozens of strangers, at their request, plied with wine offered by one or the other of the Saltzin-Regises.
It was rather nice, all things considered. I could count the times when I could justdo my thingwithout anyone questioning my qualifications or a healer sulking about it.
My last patient seemed rather familiar, but I couldn’t place her, until she told Lucian, “I guess I’ll really get to dance with you at the next town meeting if your lady fixes me up!”
“Sessona!” I remembered.
We’d met on my first trip to The Royal Manor with Gideon.
“Aye, sweet cheeks. And you might have mentioned you could sort me out last week; I wouldn’t have been walking all about town with this limp.” She offered me her foot, and I got to work.
It was just a bit of an inflammation due to an old sprain. She favored the other foot out of habit.
“Up in the vale, they don’t like me butting into the field of certified healers.” I shrugged. “I’m not used to just being able to help. I’ll be honest: your limp is habit more than actual pain. You’re going to have to strengthen your muscle in this leg. I can’t do that for you. Swimming helps—running would make it worse.”
“I am over three hundred years old! You think I can swim without expiring on the third lap?”
“Pretty certain you can, yes. You just don’t want to.”
She pouted and grumbled.
Remembering the cupcakes on the side of my kitchen counter, I levitated the basket to me, and handed her one. “For after the first swim, if there’s any aches. I spike the frosting.”
“Wait, you’re giving away my cupcakes?” Lucian protested, affronted.
I rolled my eyes, reminding him, “You still have a batch from this morning.”
“And why didn’t I get cupcakes?” said pretty much everyone. But Andrea started it.
Soon enough, the dozens of cupcakes and cookies I’d made just because Kaelius mentioned he was going to give leftovers away in town tomorrow were distributed amongst the guests. I only just managed to hide a dozen cookies in the basket for Elias.
