Avondale (9 page)

His hands burned as he slid down the rope. The side of the wall was too far for his feet to reach and slow his descent. He didn’t have time to slow down anyway. He slipped down the rope and hit the ground hard, pain shooting up through his feet as he collapsed onto his backside. His tailbone sent a wave of pain crashing up his back and he shouted as he rolled instinctively onto his stomach.

The Graypee’s roared in response. They saw Tiberius as competition for the food that had somehow fallen out of the sky and they were loathe to give it up. He struggled to his feet, his tailbone aching in awful pain, but the sight of the huge lizard creatures so close got Tiberius moving. He took hold of the whip and pulled it free of the simple thong with a jerk. His hand wrapped around the handle and the oiled leather coils dropped to the ground. He raised his arm quickly, then brought it back down again. The whip cracked loudly; the sound bouncing off the stone wall made it seem even louder.

The Graypee’s flinched at the sound, but didn’t turn back. Tiberius moved between his friend and the large creatures that were slinking closer and closer to his inert form. With a practiced movement he brought the whip sailing up over his shoulder, it cracked again as it swung back out in front of him. He let the cracker on the end of the whip slap the ground as it violently changed directions again. This time when the whip popped, dirt flew up into the air.

“Get out of here!” Tiberius shouted.

The pack of Graypee’s growled menacingly. Tiberius knew was going to have to do more than scare them to drive them away from his friend. He dashed forward, the whip wrapping around his body, then uncoiling again as he spun. He flicked the whip back, then spun it above his head before snapping it back down. The cracker slapped across the snout of the nearest Graypee, popping the reptilian creature hard enough to break the skin of most animals. The scaly hide of the Graypee didn’t split, but the creature howled in pain, rearing back away from Tiberius.

For just a moment the creatures hesitated, giving Tiberius just enough time to make his move. He turned and sprinted for the spear. It wasn’t far away, and he snatched it up off the ground, whirling around before jamming the butt of the weapon into the ground and falling to his knees. One of the Graypee’s had given chase and was leaping toward Tiberius. He raised the spear to meet the creature’s charge. It impaled itself on the long weapon and toppled onto its side, shaking and howling as it died.

Tiberius had hoped to use the weapon to fend off the other creatures, but he knew there was no way he could pull the spear free. With its specially made barbed head, the spear would have to be cut out of the Graypee. He jumped over the creature’s body and snapped the whip as he landed, the crack of the leather made the rest of the Graypees hesitate once again.

“Get out of here!” Tiberius roared, running toward the massive creatures again.

He capitalized on his shout with another crack of the whip. It was enough to spook the Graypees, and they turned and dashed back down the mountainside. Tiberius breathed a ragged sigh of relief, but then sprinted back to his friend. He knelt in the dust beside Rafe, whose eyes were open. He was struggling to breathe.

“Hey, you’re okay,” Tiberius said optimistically. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Rafe’s eyes were open wide and his mouth opened and closed several times before words came out.

“What happened?”

“You fell. I had to drive off the Graypee’s. They thought you were dessert.”

“Don’t joke.”

“No, it’s okay,” Tiberius said. “They’re gone. I even killed one. Can you believe it?”

“Ti, I can’t move.”

“Just give it a minute, you’ll be fine.”

“No, I can’t move,” Rafe said as tears rolled down his cheeks. “I can hardly breathe.”

“You fell from the wall,” Tiberius said. “It just knocked the breath out of you.”

“Listen to me,” Rafe wheezed. “I can’t feel any pain. I can’t move my arms or legs. I feel like there’s a huge stone on my chest. I’m dying.”

“No,” Tiberius said. “You can’t.”

“Tell Olyva…”

His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. It was taking all his strength just to breathe. Tiberius felt a sense of despair. Rafe’s back was broken, and even if they could somehow lift him back up on the wall without killing him, he would never be a warrior again. He would be a cripple, needing someone to wait on him hand and foot for the rest of his life. Tears filled Tiberius’ eyes. It wasn’t fair. Rafe, his best friend, the strongest, most adventuresome person Tiberius had ever known, was going to die.

Then an idea struck him. He had practiced the spell for mending bones. He was suddenly terrified. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t just let his friend die. But if he healed him, if he used magic, his friend would know—perhaps everyone would know—that Tiberius was a wizard. He might not even be able to save Rafe. He didn’t want to chance being caught, but he refused to let his friend die.

He wracked his brain to remember what the book said about the advanced healing spells.

This spell will heal broken bones if cast correctly, but unlike the previous spells which consisted of one focal point, Acies Intrinsecus and the spells that follow, all involve various stages of healing and focus.

Tiberius took a deep breath, then he began to chant the spell. It was the fourth spell in his book, and it was much longer than the others. He’d practiced it over and over alone in his room, but now with his heart racing and his friend gasping for breath, he felt a pressure and fear he’d never experienced before.

“Acies Intrinsecus Accipio Ceptum Sarcio Adiflictus Ossis,” he chanted.

Immediately he felt the magic around him swirling. The power of the spell was much greater than it had been in his room. He felt like he was in the middle of a terrific storm. The magic buffeted his body and his hands were already shaking with fear. He focused his mind on his friend, closing his eyes and chanting the spell out loud, over and over. He did his best to ignore Rafe’s eyes, open so wide he could see the whites of his eyes all around the irises.

As the magic grew in intensity, he began to feel his friend’s body. He could feel the magic billowing over and under Rafe’s inert form. Then the magic penetrated and even though Tiberius’ eyes were closed, he could see a bright flash of light as the magic he was conjuring united with the divine spark inside of Rafe. His friend couldn’t feel the injuries that had occurred in the fall, but Tiberius suddenly could. The pain in his back erupted so savagely that Tiberius’ body arched, and he almost screamed in pain, as the muscles in his back spasmed. He could feel the broken vertebrae and the bisected spinal column.

He was so shocked that he almost faltered in his chant of the spell. The feeling dimmed and the magic seemed to pull away from Rafe, but Tiberius redoubled his efforts and thrust his mind furiously into his friend. He directed the magic into the broken sections of Rafe’s back. It was hard to concentrate on such small fractures deep within the multitude of organs, blood vessels, muscles, and tissue, almost as if he were trying to read tiny writing. He wanted to back off, relax his efforts, but forced himself not to give up. He remembered what the book had said about the advanced spells.

There is of course danger in these spells, like in all magic. If the wizard is not mentally strong enough to control the magical power, it can wreak havoc in the subject’s body, causing more damage or healing in an abnormal way and thereby crippling the subject.

Tiberius was swiftly growing tired. He’d never had much stamina, but he could sense the bones fusing back together. Little sparks of light popped in his mind’s eye as the individual strands that made up Rafe’s spinal column joined back together. Tiberius didn’t understand all that was happening. He could feel Rafe’s body—all the muscles, bones, blood, and organs functioning in his body, like the cacophony of an angry mob all around him—but he made himself focus on directing the magic. It was his only task, move the magic, even though it was like trying to funnel a river into a thin hollow reed. Still, he didn’t give up, his head ached, and eyes felt as if they were going to pop out of his skull. It was getting harder to breathe, and the pain in his back was difficult to ignore. Then, suddenly, it all began to ease. The magic he’d been wrestling with so furiously, suddenly began to flow more easily. The bones were solid again, the spinal column intact.

Tiberius slowly sat back on his heels and opened his eyes. Rafe was staring at him, his eyes still opened wide, but his head turned toward him.

“Can you,” Tiberius said, between gasping breaths, “move?”

“What did you do?” Rafe said.

“Can you move?” Tiberius asked again.

“Yeah, I think so.”

Tiberius stood up on shaky legs. He’d just cast his first real spell, and it had been more difficult than he ever imagined. It reminded him of the first time he’d sat on a horse. The beast had been so big, so powerful, that he knew it could fling him off or run away and there would be nothing he could do to stop it. Instead, the horse had obeyed his commands and taken him around the field where Tiberius’ brothers were riding. It had been exhilarating and frightening, and just like that first horseback ride, Tiberius knew he wanted to do more magic. He had barely controlled the powerful magic, and somehow it had done what he wanted it to; it had obeyed him.

Tiberius pulled his friend up and they stood staring at each other.

“Are you okay?” Tiberius asked.

“Yes,” Rafe said. “Are you a wizard?”

Before Tiberius could answer, a howling scream erupted behind them, and Rafe shoved Tiberius to one side as he dove in the opposite direction. Tiberius landed hard on his left arm, felt it pop and a stabbing pain made him cry out. He also saw the flash of gray, scaly skin streak past, and then rolling to his knees stood up to see the pack of Graypee’s rushing toward him.

He was still unsure about what had happened to him. He remembered falling; it had been the scariest moment of his life. He had knocked the Graypee back from the wall, but then gravity seemed to take hold of him. For one long instant, he had struggled to regain his balance, but then he was falling and there was no way to stop it.

He hit the ground so hard he passed out. When he came to, his head ached terribly and he felt as there was a huge boulder on his chest. It took all his strength just to breathe. He tried to roll over, but couldn’t move. He wanted to lift his head up, but he couldn’t. He tried to raise his hand, but his arm refused to move. Nothing hurt but his head, and yet he knew he was badly injured. His senses came back to him slowly. At first his only thought had been to breathe, but then the reality of what had happened hit him. It was more painful than the fall. His back was broken. It was the only explanation for why he couldn’t move. He closed his eyes and did his best to stay alive, although he guessed that soon the Graypee’s would begin to feed on him. That thought was terrifying, but he hoped that he wouldn’t feel much of it. He considered briefly just giving up and dying. He could have just stopped struggling to breathe, but his time as a soldier had reinforced his own survival instincts until quitting wasn’t an option.

Then he’d heard the unmistakable cracks of Tiberius’ whip. His eyes had flooded with tears as he realized that his best friend was fighting for him, even though he knew it was too late for Tiberius to actually help him. He felt guilty that his friend would probably die for him. Tiberius was not a warrior. He was damn good with that whip, but a whip wouldn’t fend off the Graypees forever.

There was a bloodcurdling roar, and the sounds of one of the Graypees gurgling and dying, then Tiberius was looking down at him. Rafe wanted to ask questions, but he had to focus on breathing. He had to close his eyes when Tiberius started chanting. It was strange, the words foreign but familiar at the same time. Then he felt something happening inside him. His arms and legs began to tingle, as if they were asleep. Then a terrible ache pulsed to life, only to fade almost as quickly as it appeared. His breathing became much easier, and then he could move again. Relief flooded over him so strongly that tears once again stung his eyes.