Мерседес Лэки - Passages

All told, it was between two and three candlemarks later when Linx woke, this time much more his usual self and much more concerned for his Herald, who had barely moved in all the time since whatever-it-was had happened.

“Now may I look at him?” Miri had every intention of examining Rinton thoroughly anyway, but the Companion’s agreement was immediate. He nodded his head, worry clear in the mind-voice he projected to her.

:He is there, but not-there.:

Shifting carefully, keeping her oilskin cloak as close around her as possible, for the soaked boughs were now letting more and more rain through, she knelt beside Rinton. Placing her fingertips against the Herald’s temples, she closed her eyes and let her awareness sink into him, becoming aware of surface bruising, the aches of lying on hard ground, the minor complaints that most people would barely notice.

She was strongly aware of the silvery barrier that was his mental shielding, firm and solid, with two “cords” that seemed to spin off from it, one down to the earth, as all Heralds were taught, and one that led to the form of the Companion behind him.

Her eyes flew open and she met Linx’s bottomless blue eyes. “Can you help lower his shields, enough that I can see in?” At the Collegium, she had never helped Mindheal anyone who was actively shielded, and she didn’t want to risk either damaging Rinton’s protection or draining her own energy in pushing through it.

A fractional bob of the white head, although those uncanny eyes took on a slightly wary expression.

“Don’t worry, I don’t take in anything while I’m there, not like the Mindspeakers who can learn other’s thoughts if they’re not shielded. It’s like—” she cast her mind around for an example, “—like I’m looking at a page in a book to make sure it hasn’t been torn or damaged, without reading the words on it.”

Linx nodded again, more firmly this time, and she closed her eyes and slipped back into the light trance that allowed her to connect once more with Rinton’s mind.

Now, she could sense the silvery barrier had thinned, and she was able to first blend with it, then pass through it.

Miri barely held back a gasp. The unconscious Herald’s mind was buried deep below an angry red of pain and injury, as though he had instinctively retreated for protection. Focusing on her own anchor to the supportive earth beneath her, she took several careful breaths. Although she had been working in the House of Healing at the Collegium in Haven, this would be the first time she had attempted any sort of Mindhealing without the direct supervision and aid of one of the full Healers.

“He’s so . . . raw . . .” she whispered. The sensation in her own mind was as if she were making delicate contact with badly burned skin, as though something had seared into the Herald’s mind and left singe marks layered over everything there. With gentle care, she began to allow the white-green of Healing to filter through her and into Rinton.

Sometimes, when she Healed, she could quite literally See a picture in her mind of the effects of the injury and the reaction of the body to the Healing, but this was different. Instead, she felt an awareness in her own mind, as a shadow or an echo of what the Herald suffered resonated within her. She began her work with a subtle, broad soothing, like laying cool cloths on a fevered body. Only when the “raw” feeling had diminished, and she sensed that he was no longer in retreat, did she seek out the strongest signals of damage, guiding a stronger flow of Healing energy into those areas.

She had barely calmed the most injured parts of Rinton’s mind when she felt her own focus fading, and slowly she backed out of his mind, one hand dropping to the earth beside her to support her. Her other hand pressed against the bridge of her nose, and she thanked Vkandis that she had thought about the possibility of an overexertion headache.

Half-blindly, Miri shifted to the edge of the overhanging boughs, reached for the now overflowing cups, and poured a few of her herbs into each. She let them sit for a few minutes, until Rinton showed signs of stirring, and brought them with her as she knelt again beside the groggy Herald.

“Ow,” he murmured, and Miri was hard-pressed to restrain an ill-timed giggle at how much he sounded like his Companion.

“Drink,” she whispered, and pushed one cup into his hands, downing the other herself. He blinked owlishly at her for a moment, then the command seemed to register, and he lifted the mug to his lips. His hands trembled a little, and Miri wrapped hers around his, supporting them and tilting the cup so he could drink without spilling.

When he had finished the entire mugful, he leaned back against Linx and made a slight face, raking his fingers through his short brown hair, the damp strands standing straight up over his brow.

“Not as foul as the usual Healer’s stuff,” he muttered faintly, and Miri rolled her eyes.

“We don’t make things taste bad on purpose!” Even though she kept her voice quiet, her reply surprised even herself with its fierceness.

Rinton blinked at her again, then turned to look past her, to the steady gray rain that half-obscured the road beside them.

“It didn’t ease up,” he observed.

“No,” Miri replied. “And there’s nothing quite so cold as a winter rain. We’ll be soaked before we even make the Waystation.”

:We have to get to Haven.: Linx’s voice was firm in both of their minds.

“Of course,” Rinton said, but his words were drowned out by Miri’s decided “Absolutely not.”

Both Herald and Companion turned their heads to stare in astonishment at her. Miri felt something in her quail under their scrutiny, especially the deep blue gaze of the Companion, but she forced herself to sit quietly, without giving in to the childish urge to squirm.

“ You ,” she said, looking straight at Linx, “might have the superb strength and quick recovery of the Companions on your side, but he does not.” She nodded at Rinton. “I can’t say for sure what it is, but his mind has suffered injury, even if he does not notice it or chooses to ignore it. And the worst thing in that case is overexertion. Haven is impossible. It’s going to be dusk soon, and while you can see in the dark even in the rain, my mare cannot. Again, absolutely not.” She folded her arms and summoned as best she could the stern aura of Healer Gelsen. No one ever dared countermand Gelsen’s directives to his patients.

A long silence, with Rinton and his Companion clearly arguing between themselves over Miri’s words.

“But I feel all right,” Rinton began. “Just a headache . . .”

:The worst headache you’ve ever felt?: Linx was projecting into Mirideh’s mind again, and she buried a smile. It seemed he was on her side already, even though he was the one who first said they had to get to Haven. Perhaps she had scared him with her talk of damage in Rinton’s mind. Or perhaps he had learned something from the other Companions in Haven that took the edge off of his urgency. Either way, she knew that what she declared was the absolute truth. Forcing on all the way to Haven was the worst thing possible for someone in Rinton’s state.

“You are outnumbered, Herald,” she said with a slight smile. “If it weren’t for the rain, I wouldn’t even want to move you from this place. But the Waystation will be a far better place for recovery. With a night’s rest, you might be able to manage the rest of the journey tomorrow morning.” Her own nascent headache had eased enough, and she stood, shaking the oiled cloak and draping it on a branch to drip out a little bit while she stowed her mugs and tightened the mare’s saddle girth.