Page 47 of The Dark Mage
“Fael.”She shook his shoulders, but he didn’t respond.“Fael!”
She grabbed a linen cloth, wet it, and pressed it to his neck.His lids fluttered open, and he made bleary, unfocused eye contact, groaning with effort.
“Fael,” she pleaded, leaning closer.“Fael, I have to get you somewhere warm.I’m taking you to town.We’re brother and sister heading to family in Ishvaen.Fael, I don’t remember the map—where are we coming from?Help me be believable!”
He was fading, and she hated shaking him and yelling.His face was flushed with heat.She gripped his shoulders hard enough to hurt her fingers—it must have hurt himtoo.
“Lanar.”He coughed, deep and ragged, then groaned.“Lanar lies east ofhere.”
Lanar.She repeated the name in her head as she stowed their gear and shouldered both packs.
“Fael.Fael!”she yelled again into his half-conscious face.“You have to help me.”
It seemed to take every ounce of his will to stand.He wavered, fever gripping him hard, sweat beading on his forehead.Ren’wyn pulled his arm over her shoulder.Fael coughed again—deep and wet—it sounded like it tore his throat apart.
It took two hours to stagger into town.Sicen,she remembered, was the name.Her arms burned, her legs burned, and her head throbbed from the strain of carrying Fael’s heavy, muscular body.For the first time since meeting him, she cursed his relentless exercising.
She half-dragged Fael down the main street of this smaller, dirtier town than Delmor.A grubby tavern was their only option, but Ren’wyn had stopped caring about anything other than getting Fael indoors.She stumbled up the stairs with him staggering alongsideher.
“Please,” she begged the man behind the counter.“Please, my brother is sick.We’ve been traveling from Lanar.Help me.”
“Of course,” a young woman said from behind her.Without missing a beat, she slipped under Fael’s other arm.“I have a single room upstairs.Will you and your brother be alright sharing abed?”
“Yes,” Ren’wyn gasped, relieved for the help.“We’ll be fine.Is there a healer or an apothecary intown?”
“Two doors down,” the young woman answered.“What do youneed?”
“Cloths and hot water,” Ren’wyn said, her voice tight.“And any food you have left from lunch.”
“Done,” said the young woman, and she turned to leave them at the door of theroom.
“I’m good for payment,” Ren’wyn blurted.“Do you want an advance?”
“No,” smiled the woman.“This is my tavern, and I trustyou.”
Ren’wyn surveyed the small, dingy room.At least the sheets were clean.The bed was narrow—it would be a tight squeeze.We’re siblings,she reminded herself.It’s not strange for siblings to share abed.
She laid Fael down gently and removed his shoes and socks.Mari—the tavern owner—returned with linens, boiling water, and, bless her, cold chicken and rolls from lunch.
Fael’s dirty shirt stuck before peeling off.He relaxed as she passed the warm cloth over his skin.After wrapping his torso in a blanket, she struggled to pull his pants off.She rinsed his legs and feet, too worried about his fever to care about his lack of clothing.
He was coughing and shaking, so she rolled him onto his side and pulled the blanket overhim.
“I’ll be back soon,” she whispered.She snagged a roll and a piece of chicken and ran out thedoor.
At the apothecary, she found what she needed: purple avens root for wash, sweet goldenrod and stargrass for tea, and tobacco lobelia to burn.She also bought a small copper brazier and cloth bags for storage.
When Ren’wyn returned, she found the blankets tangled on the dusty floor.Sweat beaded on Fael’s chest.She used the cool water from the basin on the dresser to wipe his brow and neck, then covered him again.
She brewed tea and boiled the avens root.The lobelia leaves went into the copper bowl, and the room filled with the sulfur scent of the match as she lit the brazier.Lobelia smoke curled along the plain wooden walls, and Fael’s coughing and wheezing eased.
He coughed through a few spoonfuls of tea, then Ren’wyn managed to wash his arms and torso with the boiled avens root.Mercifully, he lost consciousness under the threadbare blanket as she wiped down hislegs.
Ren’wyn pulled off her dirty overdress before crawling into bed next to Fael.She tucked the blanket over their shoulders and pulled his fevered body into her embrace.
Exhaustion claimedher.
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