Page 59 of Of Blood and Fire
Which was true but still didn’t mean the odds had fallen in our favor. I whistled Hannity down from the top of the hill and helped her treat Rua before I walked across to Jassy to check Taitia.
Worry etched the young soldier’s features. “I’ve patched her wings and her tail like you showed us, Commander, but I’m not sure I’ve removed all of the remaining metal in that shoulder wound.”
“What does Taitia say?”
She wrinkled her nose. “She says the wing isn’t restricted, but I don’t know... I mean, it went in really deep. Should I seal it? Leave it?”
“It never hurts to seal a wound, but drakkons heal extraordinarily fast, Jassy, so as long as the metal has gone, she shouldn’t have any future problems. Have you felt inside the wound?”
“You mean, shoved my arm into it?”
She looked horrified at the thought, and I had to restrain my laugh “Mind if I climb up and check?”
Jassy nodded, and a heartbeat later, Taitia extended her leg. Once I’d taken off my glove, I rolled up my sleeves and washed down my right hand and arm, then clambered up. The wound was bigger than my fist and deep enough that I couldn’t see much beyond the raw and jagged edges of the entry point.
“Jassy, warn her that I’m going to feel inside the wound.”
“Will it hurt her?” she said, concern now joining the lingering horror.
“As long as I’m careful, it shouldn’t be too bad.”
“Okay.”
I also warncame Kaia’s comment.Is good.
Thanks.I carefully reached in, gently feeling my way along the left side of the wound. It was ragged and trenched, no doubt a result of the double row of spikes that had adorned the bolt’s head, which had obviously been designed to cause as much damage going in as it did if any attempt was made to remove it. Taitia had been lucky, because it appeared to have missed major muscles, ligaments, and veins, trenching instead through flesh and fat.
I was almost shoulder deep when I reached the pointy end of the wound—the bit where the bolt’s sharp tip had finally stopped. I warily stuck a couple of fingers into that deeper bit, and something cold and sharp sliced into flesh. I swore, butdidn’t pull my hand free, instead shifting my fingers around until I found the “shaft” then followed its length until I found the end that still lay embedded in muscle. It was an arrow-shaped shard of metal rather than the bolt’s complete tip, and it was a good six or seven inches long. While it probably wouldn’t cause her immediate problems, long-term it might lead to infection, especially given, as Kele had noted, the riders used shit as a weapon and Vahree only knew what coated their spears.
I felt around to ensure it hadn’t sliced right through whatever muscle held it so tightly, then glanced around at Jassy. “I’ve found a bit of metal right at the very back of the wound—warn her I’m about to remove it.”
Jassy did so, her gaze briefly going glassy. “Right, go.”
I gripped the shard as best I could and then pulled back sharply. The bolt moved fractionally, then stopped; I slid a finger down the shaft again, pushed into the wound, and eased the bit of muscle or ligament or whatever the hell it was caught on over a slight hook in the metal, then drew in a deeper breath and tried again. This time, it came free with a suddenness that had me falling backward. Taitia snapped her head around and stopped me falling. I rubbed her cheek and thanked her, then righted myself and tossed the shard down to Jassy.
“Toss the antiseptic salve and sealer up. I’ll apply them while I’m here.”
She retrieved the tub from her pack and tossed it up. I tugged off the stopper and liberally applied salve into the whole wound, dobbing extra into the smaller trench that had held the shard to ensure there was no chance of infection from either the shard or the blood from my sliced finger.
After sealing the wound, I slithered back down her leg and washed the gunk and blood from my arm and fingers, then rolled my sleeves back down and checked that Cansu, Aarvi, and their kin were okay. Only then did I take off what remained ofmy coat to check my wounds. Golden feathers rained all around me, testament to just how many of the damn things had lodged into skin. Moisture trickled in a dozen different spots, so I directed internal fingers of flame at all of the cuts and abrasions to cauterize and seal, and did my best to ignore the ensuing discomfort.
By the time all that was done, the sun had begun its descent into night. We needed to get moving. Fast.
I grabbed my packs and scrambled up Kaia’s leg, attaching everything back onto the clips before tugging the quill pen and its tablet from my pack.
“Kaia, can you ask Yara what the situation is weather wise back toward the Black Glass Mountains?”
Says storm still there,she replied after a moment.
Thanks.I quickly sent a bare-bones report to Esan, then added,Can the air mages extend the storm to the entirety of the mountains?
The cursor blinked for several seconds before the reply came back.Possibly, but only for an hour or so longer. The Mareritt are now aiming for the upper sections of the wall; the tanks are taking longer to refill than we thought they would, so we’ve resorted to using rain to stop it eating into the stone.
Whatever they can do, for however long they can do it, will help.
I’ll divert one, at the very least.
One lone air mage wouldn’t be able to maintain the full ferocity of the storm for long, but it was better than nothing, I supposed.Thanks.
