Below the Peak (Sola)(96)

“Cursed spirits” Nara replied bitterly. She studied the boy. He was young, couldn’t be more than seven years old. His face was thin as the rest of his gangly frame. She had barely felt his weight when she had carried him up the stairs.

Calemir stilled. “Where you in the East forest? Are you hurt” Surely she didn’t take it upon herself and went to seek vendetta on behalf of her long dead horse?

“No” Nara clipped. Sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes dropped at the expanding red stain on the boy’s shirt. She reached the hem of his shirt and dragged it up slowly to assess the wound. Blood trickled from the deep gash on his side. She quickly pressed her hand on it, trying to stop the bleeding. The boy whimpered.

Nara’s face hardened as she pressed on the wound. The blood wormed between the tight space of her hands and his skin, trickling down unto the bedsheets.

“Here” Calemir gave her a piece of towel. She grabbed the cloth and pressed it on the gash.

“Tell me how you came across the spirits if you weren’t in the forest.” Calemir spoke.

“They came out of the forest, chasing the boy.”

Calemir folded his hands across his chest, suspicion evident of his face. “That’s not possible. They have never left the forest.”

“Well, they did” Nara muttered glumly, irritated that he doubted her word. Gentling her voice, she said with increasing concern. “We need to do something. His losing a lot of blood.”

“Father” the boy whimpered. Her eyes flew back to the boy.

“Finn will be here shortly. I’ll order Izza to bring some medicine.” Calemir said, his gaze on the boy.

“What’s Finn going to do?” Nara asked, turning her gaze to Calemir.

“He’s a healer” Calemir held her eyes with his, his features grim. “I must go and check the situation.”

Nara’s lips thinned, worried for his safety. She recalled how the cursed spirits had circled the stranger. Her heart hammered with fear. “It’s dangerous. There were so many of them.”

Calemir’s shoulder tensed, a new urgency in his voice. “Then, I must go now.”

“Be safe.” Nara implored.

Calemir nodded then fled.

Nara turned back to the boy. His bottom lip trembled. His skin had grown horribly grey. Where the heck is Finn? Nara irritably wondered.

Izza padded into the room, carrying a tray.

“I brought some things” setting the tray on the bedside table. There was a small bottle of alcohol and a needle and ball of thread.

“I know how to patch a wound let me help” Izza added.

Nara slowly removed the cloth from the wound.

“Where’s Calemir?” Leena interjected, standing by the door.

Nara glanced at her. “Where is Finn?”

The female elf looked reluctant to say.

“Where is he, do you not see the boy is dying!” Nara snapped. What’s wrong with her? Was she going to keep her mouth and let boy just die because the man that had ordered her wasn’t here?

The warrior elf stared back at her unfazed, not even a flicker of emotion on her face. “He isn’t coming.” Nara’s stomach dropped as her hope for the boy’s survival blackened. She glared at Leena and hissed. “Then get out.”

Nara returned her focus to the boy, holding him down as Izza dabbed the alcohol around the wound. Even in the state of unconscious the boy cried and thrashed. He screamed and sobbed even harder when the needle pierced his flesh and Izza began sewing up the wound. The boy saw and felt nothing but pain.





Chapter Forty-six


Nara sat the armchair in the dark with the two lamps dimly lighting the room. She watched the boy as he slipped between the conscious and unconsciousness. The flickering flames revealed her fear and hope etched on her face. She listened to his short breaths, shuddering his whole body. His eyes twitched behind fluttering closed lids. She was alone in the house, Calemir had yet to return, and Izza had left to be with her young son after doing what she could. Nara had asked if there was another healer that could help apart from Finn. Unfortunately, there wasn’t, Finn was the only healer in Uruloki. She also found out elves with a natural ability to heal were scarce, there were only a few of them and didn’t have a habit of revealing themselves to people.

Nara was dozing off when moans awakened her. Her eyes flew open. She shifted on the sit properly and looked down at the boy, feeling sorry for him. He groaned again before his eyes weakly opened and mumbled unintelligibly. She leaned closer. His hot breath scalded her cheek as he muttered again with difficulty. “Father.”

Nara leaned back slightly. “What father?” she asked softly. Please, Odin let it not be what I’m thinking. She prayed desperately.

“My father” the boy whimpered, his eyes glazing with tiredness. “He…he” he choked with pain. “did you see him?” looking at her with hope. “He was behind me.”

Nara’s heart teared. There had been no man behind the boy except the vile creatures. If he had been with his father, then his father hadn’t made it.

“Shh,” she cooed instead when his face twisted with pain and tears dropped from the corner of his eyes.

“You need to rest,” Nara said softly, putting her hand on his head and brushing his hair gently. “Sleep” she urged when he tried to speak. The excruciating pain from the wound and the potent remedy they had given him to make him fall asleep when he had been thrashing and crying when Izza sewed him up seemed to overwhelm him. Slowly his eyes closed and he fell back into the unconscious. Nara couldn’t tolerate listening to his screams any longer because they hurt to hear. The agony on his face had torn her. Thus she had asked if there was anything they could make him take and sleep and wouldn’t feel a thing as Izza worked on him.