Magician's Touch (Deadly Touch book 3) Chapter 33: 33: Promise

Read chapter 33 of Magician's Touch (Deadly Touch book 3) by Deb E Howell on NovelPedia.

If Llew had thought sitting at the base of an Ajnai, having blood drawn from her arm and injected into Jonas’s one syringe at a time had been mind-numbing, she had not been prepared for the Gravinator. Elka and Lyneth had come outside with Rowan to assess what they had to work with versus the ideal setup as far as Elka could recall from the medical journals. The doctor in Hinden had provided neither written nor drawn instructions. Luckily, Elka had a good memory, though that only went so far when the patient receiving the blood was expected to be bed-bound and only need a relatively small amount of blood – not the continuous supply Jonas needed. And, unfortunately, Elka both stumbled over some words and lacked the dexterity to draw what was in her head. But Lyneth and Rowan had a lot of patience for her, and between them they worked something out. Chairs were brought out and stabilized on the uneven ground – one for Llew to sit on and one to clamp the Gravinator to – and soon blood flowed directly from Llew to Jonas without interruption. As Jonas had already received a number of syringefuls of blood, it wasn’t long before he felt able to be up and about, and with Rowan yet to be ready to process Llew’s blood, Llew also had some hours free. The first thing Llew did was draw Jonas into a hug and they simply stood wrapped in each others’ arms for several minutes while most everyone else settled to tasks around the farm. Rasps, hoof clippers and knives had been procured in Hinden, so several of their herd could have hoof trims at the same time, though it would still take days to get around them all. Llew had lost count, but between two Turhmos troops, Alvaro’s horse, Rowan and Elka’s carriage horses, and Merrid and Ard’s own carthorse, there were certainly more than the farm could sustain for any length of time. A practical matter to be considered later. Right now, Llew stood in Jonas’s arms and she would enjoy it. A voice rose in song from the farmhouse. Lyneth, Llew thought, joined by an off-key Elka, and punctuated by giggles. Llew smiled, holding onto the joy in the knowledge those two young women might never have met if it hadn’t been for Llew and Jonas’s misfortunes. Jonas shifted his chin. “I think my ma used to sing that one.” Their embrace stilled as they listened. “Mmm.” The sound from the back of Jonas’s throat vibrated through his chest and Llew. She almost purred back. “Makes me wonder where it came from, if it’s sung in both Quaver and Turhmos.” “Makes me wonder whatever really divided them. I don’t know many Quavens, but from what I know of Turhmos and Cheer, it seems like people are people everywhere. All the kids I grew up with wanted was to be able to play, eat enough, and sleep warm and dry. Merrid and Ard seemed pretty content being here, with a good home and plenty of food. They grew things and made things. And they were …” Ah. Darn. There it was again. The hot eyes, the pain deep in the throat. They had been lovely people who didn’t deserve to die just because they had been nice to Llew. And Llew couldn’t help the passing thought that if she’d never entered their lives, Merrid and Ard would still be here. Still farming, gardening, cooking, mending. Still contented. Jonas squeezed his arms tighter briefly, and leaned back, hobbling a little on his foot, and managed to keep his hands on her shoulders feeling like a soothing contact, even though he did also need to hold on to maintain his balance as he had yet to fit his prosthetic. “They were good people – the best – who deserved better. And a part o’ me wants to throw the blame square at Aris’s feet, but I ain’t entirely sure about that. I mean, growin’ up, I was Jonas the Syakaran, right? And before I knew anythin’ else about my fellow soldiers, we were friends simply ’cause we all hated Turhmos. Hated … Aenuks.” That discomfited scowl pinched Jonas’s face, as it always seemed to when his past with Aenuks came up, and he wobbled on his foot, like he’d wanted