Soul Seeker

19: After Honour

Fell's skin was smooth and taut with muscle, with runic, serpentine tattoos snaking down his right arm and branching across his pectoral. But the left side of his body was covered with terrible dark burn scars. The discolouration travelled across his shoulder, most of his arm, one side of his ribs and stomach, ending at the v-shaped muscle running from his hip to his pelvis. The ruined areas looked barely human. They were old and healed in comparison to the fresh wound across his abdomen which gaped open, showing startlingly red flesh, but that did not stop a knife from twisting into Ciara's heart. She snatched her hands back as if touching the burns would somehow reawaken them.

"Did you know?" she whispered to Sebastian.

"No. Did you?" His eyes were huge.

"No."

What had happened to him?

Sebastian was gazing at Fell in shock.

"We need to do something. Isa?" Ciara heard her voice growing smaller and more childlike.

She ducked out of the cave to see Isa crouched in the snow with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, staring unseeing into the distance while Tonraq rested a tentative hand on her shoulder.

"Isa, we need your help."

No reply.

"Aunt?" Sebastian called. "Aunt, what should we do?"

"I think she's in shock. She feels cold." Tonraq put his arms around Isa. "I'll stay with her and keep a lookout while you two help Fell."

Of course, Tonraq would be useless in the cave, especially if he saw Fell's injuries – he wouldn't be able to keep his cool.

Sebastian seized Ciara's arms for the second time that day. "What do we do?" he demanded.

"I don't know!" she snapped, feeling more than a little shaky. "He's your uncle!"

"Yes, but I don't know how to treat wounds like this! Just because he's my uncle doesn't mean I know what to do!"

"Well, what do you expect me to do? I'm the one that tried to kill him, remember?"

"Just think of something," Sebastian growled.

Ciara had seen Cali treat injuries before. Think, think. She raked curls out of her face. There was only one solution she could think of that might stop Fell from bleeding out.

"I'm going to need warm water, the cleanest piece of cloth you can find, and willow bark. And put... put a knife in the fire." She closed her eyes briefly.

Relieved at being told what to do, Sebastian hastened to obey, and she heard Isa croak that she would collect the bark. Isa seemed unable to look at her brother, let alone go into the cave, and Ciara had a feeling they would get no straight answers out of her for a while. While the Midgarsons prepared what she needed, Ciara leaned over and brushed hair out of Fell's face. His skin was hot and clammy.

"You saved my life. You can't die while I'm trying to save yours. You survive when I try to kill you – you can't die on me just to be difficult."

She was trembling from head to foot when Sebastian returned.

She could not do this. She could not stomach it.

But she had to.

While Tonraq made a willow bark tea over the fire, Ciara bade Sebastian clean Fell's hand. She soaked a rag in hot water and wiped the gash on his stomach.

Fell's tendons stood out and his veins bulged like cords. He moaned.

"Keep... keep going," Ciara gasped. "It's going to hurt him, but we have to clean the wounds."