Healing Ties (Ties, Book 2) | ✓

Chapter 55

"I recognise you as well," Reid said to Yore as they walked. "You went missing before Hamish and Simon. Was it something similar?"

"Not really, but that's a long and complicated story," Yore said. "I'm a werewolf, by the way."

"Oh," Reid said. "What is that, exactly?"

"I can transform into a wolf."

Reid nodded, clearly struggling not to get overwhelmed by the absurdity of the situation. "That explains some of the strange wounds on those vampires, then."

"Angering a werewolf pack is always a mistake."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"You're taking this well," Hamish told Reid. "I never knew if you would, with this sort of thing. With having sympathy towards the mages. I could never get you to talk about it."

"Some of us value discretion more than you do," Reid told Hamish. "Not that I was necessarily a sympathiser, but I knew better than to be led into that kind of conversation."

Hamish flashed him a smile. "You know I can be discreet."

Reid scoffed. "Do I?"

"Hey! I am when it counts."

"Sure. Anyway, here we are," Reid said as they arrived at an area where rows of injured humans were laid out on stretchers on the ground. He clicked his fingers at some of the men who were standing around nearby, gawking at the parade of magical beings before them. "Get back to putting the medical tents up. We're all confused, but we need to keep putting one foot in front of the other."

The men snapped into action. They seemed relieved to have been given some sense of direction.

Fanner broke away from Yore's side and walked down the row of injured humans, his fingers tangling in his long, golden hair and worrying at it as he looked over each of them in turn. A group of men with bands on their arms that marked them as medics had come to hover near Reid, watching their group with caution.

"Fanner there's our healer," Hamish explained. "From what I've seen, he's pretty good at what he does."

"He's amazing," Yore said as he watched Fanner crouch to examine a man who was eyeing him with trepidation. Fanner gave the man his sweetest smile and said something to him, and some of the tension eased out of the man's body.

"I thought healers didn't exist anymore?" Reid asked.

Hamish shrugged. "Bet you thought centaurs didn't exist, either."

"Fair."

Without warning, Kit appeared in front of them, startling the medics and causing Reid to reach for his sword. Reid froze for a long moment, hand on the hilt of his sword, and then slowly dropped it back to his side when all Kit did was glare at the medics with arms crossed over their chest.

"I've seen you before," Reid said. "In the vision."

"You have," Kit said, eyes still firmly on the medics.

"You're not dead, then."

Kit spared him a glance. "We've tried it out a couple of times. Being alive is better. Now." They turned their full attention back to the medics. "Some of you are letting thoughts rattle around in your heads about how useful it would be to have a healer. To own one, of course, because the idea of simply working with a mage would never cross your minds. Now you've seen me and you feel guilty because sure, you'll enslave someone, but you're doctors. The idea of mutilating someone is disturbing to you. You're not like those humans."