behind us, so the only thing to do is pull back to town with whoever we can
save. You’re welcome to join us, if you like. We don’t have a court wizard,
and I’m sure the Baron would want to consult with you.”
“Yes, that seems wise,” I agreed. “I can’t keep fending off these attacks
by myself forever. Ah, these are my apprentices, Cerise and Avilla.”
The girls had drifted back over now that the fighting was done. They were
moving a lot more gingerly now, and I wasn’t sure if they’d been running on
adrenaline before or if they were faking it for the captain’s benefit.
At any rate, they both curtsied prettily. The captain looked them both up
and down with a frankness that would have gotten him slapped back in
America, and a hint of a smile crossed his weathered face. “‘Apprentices’, eh?
Yeah, they look pretty magical alright. Don’t worry, girls, I run a tight outfit
here. None of my men are going to bother you, and if one of the refugees gets
stupid just scream and we’ll take care of it.”
Cerise molded herself against my side like we’d been lovers for years,
and nodded gravely. “Thank you, sir.”
Avilla laid a tentative hand on my arm, and looked up at me with
repressed tears in her eyes. “Master Black? The numbness spell is wearing off.
Can you... um... the arrow?”
God, I knew she was acting and I still wanted to sweep her into my arms
and reassure her. But I’d gathered from Cerise that this place was about as
brutal and anti-egalitarian as you’d expect from a preindustrial feudal regime,
so showing too much concern would just draw attention to her.
31
“Of course I’m going to take care of it, silly girl. I certainly don’t want it
to scar. Captain, I assume you don’t intend to move out for a bit?”
He glanced at the sun. “Take another hour or so to finish searching the
ruins. I don’t suppose you could take a look at some of the men too?”
“Certainly,” I assured him. “But that will take time. I can mend most
wounds in a matter of hours, but I can’t do it while walking.”
He studied the little caravan for a moment, and nodded decisively. “Not a
problem, sir. We’ll set you up in the back of one of the big wagons. That’ll
give you room to work, and a bit of shelter from the snow. I just hope the
weather holds.”
I followed his gaze, and found dark clouds on the horizon to the north.
“So do I, captain. So do I.”
In the Norse sagas Ragnarok was supposed to be preceded by the
Fimbulwinter - thirty years of bitter cold, without a single day of warmth. Was
that really what was going to happen, or was Hecate’s choice of words just a
coincidence? Hopefully the latter, because food was one thing I couldn’t just
conjure up.
The wagon wasn’t much to look at. Just a big box on wheels, with a
wooden frame supporting a canvas roof and sides. The front and back had
flaps that could be laced shut, but even so its value as shelter was pretty
modest. It was full of hay bales and barrels of beer when we arrived, but
Captain Rain called over a squad of his troops and had most of the hay cleared
out in a matter of minutes. They left a single layer of bales covering the floor of
the wagon, as well as a couple of barrels, but that gave us plenty of room.
We settled ourselves on the hay with a collective sigh of relief.
“We made it,” Avilla declared.
“I have to say, I thought we were goners for a while there,” Cerise
admitted.
“My list of critical magic items to make is growing a lot faster than I have
time to work on it,” I said. “I hate being caught off guard like that.”
Cerise chuckled. “If that was being caught off guard I can’t wait to see a
fight you’re ready for. You were totally badass cutting your way through the
32
woods, and the way you handled that troll! I got wet just watching it.”
“Gore whore,” Avilla teased. “You’re just a slut for power, aren’t you?”
“You know it, honeydew,” Cerise agreed smugly.
“Well, I’m glad you’re coping so well, but I’m not a pain slut like you.
Daniel, can you please take a look at this?”
I turned to find that she’d drawn the canvas closed, and shrugged her
dress off to bare herself from the waist up. I just about swallowed my tongue.
I’ve never seen such a perfect hourglass figure, and those magnificent breasts
of hers could have belonged to a comic book character. Her golden-brown skin
was smooth and unblemished, her large dark nipples perfectly placed and
exactly symmetrical.
There was a short, wickedly barbed arrow sticking out of one of them,
and a trickle of pale fluid still leaking from the wound. That brought me back
to Earth.
“Of course, Avilla. I do have to touch it, though,” I warned her.
“Just be gentle, please. It’s very sore.”
I nodded, and laid my hand lightly on her breast. Closing my eyes I
reached with my body sense, feeling for the wound. But something wasn’t
right. Not at all. There was flesh under my hand, but it wasn’t remotely human.
There was no meat or blood, just.... I strained, trying to identify it... sugar,
cinnamon, honey, mead, and a host of strange fluids that shimmered with
magic.
“Whoa,” I murmured. “Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what
Avilla is made of. So that’s what Cerise meant by ‘spell-wrought’.”
I opened my eyes to find her looking up at me with fear in her eyes.
“Can your power heal a creature like me?” She asked pleadingly.
I took her face gently between my hands, and looked into her eyes.
“Avilla, you aren’t a ‘creature’. You’re a woman. A remarkably beautiful and
resourceful young woman who just happens to also be a magical creation. But
if the people who live in this land are too ignorant to understand that I’ll be
happy to keep your secret. And yes, I can heal you.”
33
Her smile was bright enough to light the world. But I made a mental note
to find out what her story was soon. If she’d just been transformed somehow
that was one thing, but if there were people in this land who could actually
create sapient beings I needed to know details.
“Thank you,” she breathed. “I didn’t think you’d understand.”
I smiled reassuringly. “I do, sweetie. Cerise, why don’t you hold her
while I do this? As sensitive as she is, I’m afraid it’s going to hurt a bit.”
“Good idea.” The pale, slender witch shot me a grateful look, and
scooted over to sit beside her girlfriend with both arms firmly around her.
“Let’s get this done.”
I put my hand back on her breast, and focused again. It was a bit different
than working on myself, and at first the magic that filled her body seemed to
resist my influence. But then Avilla sighed, forcing herself to relax, and the
resistance dissolved. The tender flesh around the wound throbbed with pain,
but it responded sluggishly to my prodding. In a few minutes I convinced it to
let go of the arrow, so I could remove the barbed point without doing any more
damage. Then I closed the wound, and started a flow of vitality to encourage
healing.
Her body drank it up like a sponge. Suddenly her magic welcomed me