The Steele Wolf (Iron Butterfly #2)(22)

“I refuse to stay here.” He moved across the room as far from me as possible.

“No, you’ll sit down and be quiet.” Odin challenged, pushing him back towards me. Odin, though older, was still a large clan warrior and he demanded respect. Forcefully grabbing Fenri's shoulder, he pushed him down on the chair.

“If it weren't for her hare-brained ideas, I wouldn't be crippled,” he breathed angrily through his teeth.

“Nonsense, this could have happened during any hunting trip. And it's not Thalia's fault. Why are you blaming Thalia, when it's Bvork who chose to play dirty? Listen to me, young warrior. It doesn't matter how it happened. What matters is what you are going to do about it.” He spoke slowly and with meaning.

“Do? Are you kidding me?” Fenri spoke with such anger and despair that spit flew from his mouth. “There's nothing I can do. I can't use my hand, old man. I'm crippled.” Standing up, he paced the room. “What honor is there when I can't hunt game or protect and provide for a future wife?” Stopping to stare at me, he went on. “I'm useless.”

I could see that Odin was quite pleased with the fact that he was wearing down Fenri. Watching silently, I listened as the old wise warrior talked down and calmed the injured young man. When Fenri was tired and out of options, Odin went and grabbed a small knife and cut his own palm, letting a small flow of blood ebb onto his hand. Fenri opened his eyes wide in confusion.

“I know that you already made a blood oath about what happened in the pass and you swore to protect Thalia. But I'm surprised that after all you saw, you didn't give her a chance to try and help you.” Fenri's shoulder's dropped in shame.

“I didn't think she would want to help me after the way I talked to her after my fight.” He looked away from me and stared at a far wall.

“I do, Fenri,” I spoke up for the first time. “Or I would like to try, if you will let me.”

A small glimmer of hope shone in his eyes. “You would still help me?” he asked disbelievingly.

Smiling, I nodded.

“But,” interrupted Odin, “you will swear a new blood oath about anything you hear and everything you see happen tonight. Your hand being healed is not worth my goddaughter’s life. You hear me?” Odin threatened, pointing the already bloody knife at Fenri's throat. Fenri swallowed and shook his head.

“Good. Now hurry up before I have to cut my hand open again,” he complained. Fenri eagerly took the knife and made an identical slice on his palm and the two swore an oath in the old language.

When they were done, Odin unwrapped Fenri's hand and I almost vomited at what I saw. His whole hand had turned purple and swollen to twice its normal size. His fingers were bent in unnatural positions. I knew that the human hand consisted of numerous bones, nerves and muscles and that usually an injury like this would make a warrior lame. I could tell that Faraway and I were both to the point of exhaustion but we needed to work fast before anyone saw this.

“How many people have seen your hand like this?” I asked quickly, feeling myself start to second-guess what I was about to do.

“No one. I was afraid that if I went to the healer tent and someone told me that I would never regain the use of it, I would believe them, but it was already obvious I would. I went into the woods and tried to wrap it myself.”

Throwing me a look of relief, Odin nodded encouragingly for me to continue.

“Fenri, I can't take away your pain while I'm doing this. But I will do the best I can to make it like it was before. You have to make sure that you keep it wrapped for the weeks to come. You have to pretend it’s healing slowly; do you understand?”

He nodded. “I think I have some dye that I can use to color my hand and make it looked bruised.”

“We are talking weeks of pretending to not use your hand at all, Fenri. If you mess up, I could be in serious trouble.”

Fenri came and kneeled before me and, taking my hands with his good one, he spoke. “Thalia, if you can heal my hand or even heal it to where it can then heal itself on its own, then that is worth not being able to use it for a few months. I would be eternally grateful to you.” I could see tears of hope form in his eyes.

“Papa Odin, if you have any ale or medicine for pain, please give it to him now. He's gonna need it.”

Odin had both and we gave him pain medicine and got him near drunk. We switched spots on the bench so that Fenri was lying down upon it and I was kneeling. I let myself relax as much as possible before reaching for Faraway. It was starting to come easier to me the more I reached for it. Now that I was calm and numb from the pain, it came almost eagerly.

Closing my eyes and opening my sight, I saw the mangled mess of bones and muscles and nerves, and I began to doubt myself.

Don't doubt. We are here.

We?

I heard it first and then felt a familiar breathy laugh touch my consciousness.

Wolf?

Ja, it seems small one needed my help again. Four feet called me back. The laughing retort came back.

My heart soared with delight. And I could visually see the grey wolf snapping his jaws in wolfish laughter.

I tentatively reached out towards wolf and felt them both in the woods outside of the house. I plucked at their energy and pulled it back to me, and all sense of nervousness fled.

Grasping Fenri's hand gently with a newfound confidence, I carefully worked on maneuvering each bone and set them to reknitting, then restored the nerve endings. I had to take frequent breaks and I stopped when Fenri's pain became too intense. I was so proud of him. He grunted and held in all of the agony, and made very little sound. When my hands started to shake and my sight became blurry, I had to quit for the night.