Magician's Touch (Deadly Touch book 3) Chapter 8: 8: Relax

Read chapter 8 of Magician's Touch (Deadly Touch book 3) by Deb E Howell on NovelPedia.

Raena supported Jonas as he maneuvered himself onto the bed and lay down before them all. At first, he seemed reluctant to meet an eye in the room, but once his gaze met Llew’s he held it. She placed a hand on his shoulder. Raena lay a blanket across Jonas’s middle, offering him some warmth and dignity. She took a moment to examine his other injuries, rolling him on his side to see the one high at the back of his thigh. Her lips tight, but then she said, “These look clean, at least. We should be able to prevent further infection.” She let him roll to his back. “But this …” Raena pressed her fingers into various points on Jonas’s leg, beginning with his upper calf and pausing above his knee, watching him closely for reaction, then bent over him, hovering her ear over the area she was pressing, her expression grim. “Do some wounds make noise?” Llew asked. “Some forms of gangrene cause a build of of gases beneath the skin. It seems we’ve avoided that, so far.” Jonas pressed his lips together and rolled his shining eyes to the ceiling. All Llew could do was squeeze his shoulder. His opposite hand came up to rest over hers, but he didn’t look at her now. Elka dug through Raena’s bag, bringing out a small brown bottle, grasped awkwardly in her twisted hand. Llew went to reach for it as Elka fumbled, the bottle toppling against the edge of the bed frame, ringing out as glass and metal met before Elka steadied the bottle again, giving Llew a look that suggested she resented Llew’s assumptions. Duly chastised, Llew tucked her hands behind her. Jonas’s breathing and blinking rates increased, and he didn’t seem to know where to look. “Relax,” said Raena. “You won’t have a choice soon,” Elka quipped as she shuffled alongside the bed, approaching Jonas’s head, bottle and rubber hose brandished. Llew picked up Jonas’s hand, clasping it in both of hers. A few weeks ago he’d been the most physically gifted man alive, apart from, perhaps, the Immortal Aris. When she’d met him, Jonas had oozed confidence. And why wouldn’t he? A man whose advantages were many and responsibilities few. And here he was, already stripped of his Syakaran powers, now left to choose between his leg or his life – no choice, in other words. When had he ever been more vulnerable than in this moment? Even as a new-born babe he’d been under the protection of two Syakaran parents. Now? Now, he just had Llew. Her eyes burned at her impotence. Elka opened the bottle and fed a rubber tube into the top. Jonas’s eyes stopped darting about to lock with Llew’s again. That look was filled with so much fear, Llew brushed aside her own feelings in the moment. He wasn’t looking to her to fix him, he was asking her to be there with him. She sent as much reassurance as she could in a smile. Their lives were now in the hands of these two Turhmosian women. Llew had to have faith in them, if for no other reason than to give Jonas peace of mind as he was sedated. Raena pulled a belt from her bag, fed it under Jonas’s thigh, strapped it tight and turned back to dig through her bag again. Elka offered the free end of the tube for Jonas to take into his mouth. “Breathe deep.” Jonas accepted the hose between his lips, nodding his thanks to Elka before looking back up to Llew. His chest began rising and lowering more slowly and his eyelids grew heavy, but he refused to look away from Llew. She returned the steady gaze, having no idea how else she could support him on this journey, even as anxiety writhed in her belly. This was it. He was going to lose a leg, which was meant to allow them to keep moving. She dearly hoped this was the right decision. Jonas seemed to believe so. Llew had to, too. Finally, Jonas stopped fighting and his eyes remained closed. A metallic scraping drew Llew’s attention. Raena had extracted a saw from her bag and lay it on the edge of the bed. What was about to happen became very real. Thankfully, Jonas’s eyes were already closed. “You don’t have to s— stay,” Elka said.