Chapter 22A persistent blackbird, perched among the twisted branches of the plum trees, serenaded Taulass with a pretty, yet somehow annoying song, rousing him slowly from his deep, restful sleep. For a few brief moments, in the period between awake and asleep, the birdsong seemed to form part of some twisted dream, in which he thought he was in his bed, safe. Then like a train emerging from a tunnel, reality hit. He sat up in the reclining sun lounger which had acted as his bed for the night. His body still thrummed with dull pain, although it was nothing like what he'd experienced the previous night. Standing up and looking down at his ruined clothing, he ran his hands over his body in an exploratory fashion, checking his wounds had healed. Much to his relief, they had. The Gift was a wo
