Page 156 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
“Lord Saldr is an experienced healer among his people.” Hallie interceded before anyone else could answer. She gave the woman a smile and asked, “Will you please fetch Petra Lieber? She’s a volunteer here, but I don’t see her at the moment.”
“Miss Lieber?”
Hallie nodded. “She’s this man’s fiancée.”
The woman sighed but walked off, grumbling under her breath. Kase held out his hand for Hallie to take, but she shook her head and followed Saldr inside the cell.
Kase stuffed his hands in his pockets to cover his embarrassment at her snub. They hadn’t gotten to finish their conversation. He had no idea what time it was, but the pulsing behind his eyes meant he had a headache coming on. He needed to find the other greenies soon and start their training.
He didn’t know quite what to do, but he knew he didn’t want to leave Hallie, even if Sergeant was now glaring at him.Kase felt a little sorry for the man having to babysit all day, though obviously not enough to return to his tent without complaint. With a quick glance at Sergeant, he went inside the cell.
Kase, Jove, and his mother entered just as Saldr sprinkled some of his magic dust from the pouch he’d taken over Anderson’s prone form. He hummed a little under his breath. The room was cramped, but Kase went to stand next to Hallie.
He looked back at the Yalven emissary and held in his gasp. Glowing symbols materialized in the air and floated above Anderson’s prone form. No one else in the room seemed to react. His mother only looked on with a concerned look. Jove appeared on edge, his eyes inspecting the small cell. His hand was still in a makeshift bandage. Kase looked down at his own sock-wrapped injury.
If their looks didn’t scream they were brothers, the matching injuries now cemented that fact.
Hallie stepped away from Kase to stand beside Saldr. “His soul?”
Saldr pointed to one of the glyphs. “This is the one that concerns me.”
“But how do you repair a soul?”
Both Kase and Jove glanced at one another with confused expressions. No one was actually explaining anything. His mother didn’t seem to notice anything odd at all. Why were they not reacting?
Without asking anyone for permission, Saldr lifted the hanging bedlinen to their right to reveal a sleeping Niels. He gestured for Kase to hold it back.
Kase obeyed, but he felt sick. It’d been only three days, and Niels looked much worse than he had the day he’d collapsed. His skin had a slight yellow sheen, almost like a corpse. If Kasehadn’t noticed the subtle rise and fall of his chest, he would’ve assumed he was dead.
Saldr sprinkled some of his dust over Niels and repeated the humming and strange words. The dust flickered to life and hung in the air, coalescing into symbols.
Sweat glistened on Saldr’s face. He’d been working too hard the last few days, clearly. Kase glanced around for a water pitcher. Nothing. He glanced at his mother, who seemed to know what he was thinking without him having to say it. She peeked her head out the entrance and whispered to someone standing outside. “Would you be a dear and find Lord Saldr some water?”
“I will see he gets something, Lady Shackley,” came Sergeant’s taut voice just outside. It was softer than before. Maybe because Kase’s mother had been through an ordeal—or because Kase had run him ragged in the last hour.
Saldr rubbed his chin as he studied the floating symbols. Hallie leaned in close to the ones above Anderson before looking over at the ones above Niels. “They’re the same.”
The Yalven man nodded before dusting more Zuprium on each. It took a few minutes for this dust to form into more symbols. Kase guessed it was some sort of diagnostic spell, only because it made the most sense. It made him even more curious about the Yalven powers. If Hallie’s could manipulate time…were there any limits on what was possible?
The final symbol snapped into place, flashing once before dimming down. Saldr’s shoulders slumped. “It is as I feared.”
The entrance to the cell opened, and Sergeant allowed the petite form of Petra inside. She carried a small canteen in her trembling hands, her wide eyes fixing on Anderson. “It’s true, then? He’s dead?”
Hallie rushed to her friend, taking her by the arm. “No, he’s…well, I don’t know. That’s what Lord Saldr is trying to determine.”
Taking the canteen from her, Hallie offered it to Saldr, but he put his hand up. His eyes stared at the symbols as if hoping they’d rearrange themselves into something he’d like better, but the lines continued to deepen on the man’s face the longer he looked. Hallie clasped the canteen in her hand as Petra knelt by Anderson’s side.
Right. Hallie had said something about Petra being Anderson’s fiancée.
“What is it, Lord Saldr?” Hallie asked, her voice tired and strained.
Saldr sighed. “It is the same. This one,” he pointed to Anderson, “no longer holds the Essence power. Stradat Loffler must have forced it from him, or he may have given it willingly. I do not know. But his soul is dying. I do not believe he will see another moonrise, but even if he defies the odds, he will live no better than a half-life.”
“I’m not sure I understand.” Jove’s brow furrowed, his good hand playing with his frayed shirt collar. “What do you mean, his soul is dying? Wouldn’t that just make him…you know, dead?”
“On Yalvara, souls are not only our lifeforce. They are also a source of energy, as the Cerls have discovered and utilized in their technology.” Saldr knelt beside Anderson and felt along his wrist as if checking for a pulse. “Therefore, it can be siphoned off and used at will, if one has the knowledge and skill. But if the veil keeping the soul contained is rent, then your body will slowly leak the power over time, which in turn will lead to death.”
Kase’s mouth fell open slightly. Was that why he felt so cold when using the Cerl hover? Or one of their weapons? But the blanket in the hover had made him warm again. It seemed to counteract the cold. He looked at Anderson. Maybe bringing him the blanket would help. But would it heal the tear, or whateverSaldr was spouting on about? Or would it just keep him warm as he died?
