Magician's Touch (Deadly Touch book 3) Chapter 39: 39: Doctor's Orders

Read chapter 39 of Magician's Touch (Deadly Touch book 3) by Deb E Howell on NovelPedia.

It mattered that he was there. His hand on her thigh broke through the dancing spots of pain that pulsed throughout her body, despite only her hand being in contact with the tree, and that wailing baby that was worst of all; a sound that demanded attention. How could anyone turn from a babe in distress? Llew couldn’t. Even this one that she would never be able to hold, to soothe. That only added insult. Damned Braph. Jonas’s touch gave her a connection to the here and now, tenuous as it may be in the onslaught. That he’d headed into the house and not the privy hadn’t been lost on Llew. Needing to go had obviously been a ruse, an excuse to run away from her pain. But he was back. He was with her now. He said he would bear her pain alongside her. But how much energy would that cost him? How much more blood would he need from her to hear her suffering? It wasn’t just about protecting him from knowing all it was costing her. Pain shared, whether real or emotional, would only come back on her, making her have to bleed more, to touch the Ajnai more, receive the pain from the Taither tree, and the baby tangled up with it. And yet, in that sharing, her pain was ever so slightly lessened. I am coming . We are coming . She hoped the thought would give the baby’s soul some respite. Perhaps it did, as a few minutes later, the wailing seemed to let up a little, though the child still sobbed. And the pain remained. Rowan crouched beside her. “We’ve got enough for another dose.” He eased the Gravinator’s needle from her arm. A final hum of power flowed through Llew and sealed the tiny hole. “Now might be a good time to stretch, take a moment to find comfort before we get back to it. The good thing about isolating the magic compound is that I think we can store it, so we could give some to Jonas tonight, take some more, purify that, let you sleep, and top Jonas up in the morning before you even have to be out here again.” “What if I didn’t sleep?” “I wouldn’t recommend that. People go all sorts of crazy without sleep. We’ve had a few round home. Given what you’re going through, you’re probably halfway there already.” Rowan grinned. “I wouldn’t blame you. It can happen to the best of us. Still, if you want a second informed opinion, ask Elka. I’m quite sure she would agree with me.” “About me being halfway crazy? Or about the sleep?” Rowan just smiled back at her. “I suppose even Braph has to sleep. When he does, so will I.” Llew glanced between Rowan and Jonas, neither of whom looked pleased with her declaration, but neither did they have an argument against it. “Karlani will need sleep, too,” Rowan said. “And I’m sure we don’t want to have to manage a sleep-deprived Syakaran, but I need her speed to spin out the blood while it’s fresh. Take a break now. It’ll be dinner soon. Then we can do another batch, maybe two, before we call it a night. I wouldn’t be comfortable pushing for more than that today.” Llew nodded, despite the tiny flair of anxiety that arose at the thought of stopping while Braph pushed on, but it was enough to assure Rowan he could head back to supervise Karlani’s efforts with the butter churn. Centrifuge. Whatever. Llew released her own arm from the sling keeping her hand pressed to the tree and selfishly reveled in the blessed silence, though both pain and screaming baby echoed throughout her body in ghost form. And she couldn’t shake the knowledge that Braph would keep working. Drilling the tree didn’t hurt him . Plus, he didn’t need the power in the sap just to live. A shaft of despair flared in Llew’s belly. She tried to breathe both the helplessness and hopelessness out of her. She couldn’t afford either. Jonas had to live and to do so he needed that tree, and they needed to fight past Braph to get to it. While that step seemed impossible, they simply couldn’t allow it to be. She placed her hand down where Jonas’s still rested on her thigh, skin on skin, and smiled at him. “You heard him. Time to stretch. Doctor’s ord