Heart of Retribution

START OF A BOND

Several minutes later, they arrived at a small house. The healer helped him lean on the wall while she opened the door. His head felt so light that he could hardly stay on his feet. She came back toward him and led him inside the house.

It looked exactly how he imagined a healer’s house would look: plants and strange-looking roots lined the ledges of the windows, the space was cluttered with jars and vials filled with items he couldn’t even begin to classify, and the place had a fresh smell—like waking up in a forest on the first day of spring.

“Let’s get you to the bed,” she prompted.

She took him to her room and eased him onto the soft bed. He felt so drained. Against Amon, he had recklessly used up every ounce of mana within his bones to call forth a punishment that was forbidden. Now he was paying the price. He still had no idea how he ended up in the farmlands of a border village, but he thanked whatever forces had left him there. He would most likely have been killed if he had been found on the battlefield.

“Thank you for helping me,” he started, looking up at her as he lay helpless on the bed. “I owe you a great debt. What do I call you?” he asked her.

The healer looked at him with a playful smile.

“You’re only now remembering your manners? Your mother would be disappointed if she saw you being so rude to people who most definitely saved your life.”

The mention of his mother triggered an ache within him that spread through his veins. Anger boiled under his skin, but he quickly smothered it.

She was indeed someone who had saved his life, and she had no idea what had happened to his mother. Instead of lashing out, he forced a small smile and said

“She would.”

Looking slightly confused at the range of emotions he just displayed, the healer simply continued.

“Anyways, my name is Mel. As you can tell, I’m the healer for this village and your savior. I do have a partner, but she’s not currently around. Now, what’s your name?”

Elis looked at her for a while.

“Mel,” he said simply. “That’s a nice name. Where are you fro—”

“I asked you a question,” she interrupted.

Elis closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

“I’m Elis,” he said finally. He could have lied, but he simply didn’t feel like it.

“Well then, Elis, what or who exactly are you? You have a fancy sword, but you don’t really look like any soldier I’ve ever seen. And there’s the whole matter with Amon. Did you actually kill him?”

“Do I have to answer those questions?”

“You should,” she replied.

“Look, I’m not dangerous—to you—and I’m really grateful for your help. But all I’d like to do now is leave as soon as I’m able to function properly. So, I would be extremely grateful if you tried what you mentioned earlier about helping me get back to traveling condition.”

Mel watched him rant and wordlessly turned away when he finished. Elis wondered what she was up to, but she came back shortly after with what looked to be runes.

“You’re a mage?” Elis asked incredulously. “Why is a mage acting as a healer in a village during wartime?”

She moved to place the runes just above his head.

“This Mage doesn’t like violence. Wherever there’s conflict, I flee. Now stay still, this might tickle a bit. Also, I'll need you to take off your shirt.”

“What? Why? Renewal spells don't require any skin to skin contact.”

“Oh, you're an expert in mage craft eh? Maybe you should try healing yourself”

Checkmate. Elis couldn't do the spell himself. He conceded and took off his shirt. She watched him intently as he did.

“Good boy,” she said.

Mel began to incite what Elis recognized as a renewal spell used for severe injuries. It took a lot of mana and focus to pull off. Elis had been told by his masters that only mages with calmness in their souls could manage it. He himself had never bothered to learn such complicated spells. There was nothing calm within him.

Very quickly after she had started, his head began to clear, and his joints didn’t feel so weak anymore. She kept on going until he was finally able to sit up. He felt good—not quite as strong, but decent enough.

Mel stopped the incantation and breathed in deeply. Her face looked tired, but she sprang up to her feet and beamed anyway.

“Well then, you should be feeling more or less like your old self now.”

Elis sat up and got to his feet. He flexed his arms, testing out his muscles. Mel eyed him again, but this time, instead of confronting her, he moved closer and looked her straight in the eye. She didn’t expect the gesture, so she moved back a bit. Elis raised his brow and studied her face.

“Again, thank you for your help. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repay you.” he said

Mel regained her composure and placed a hand on his chest, smiling slyly.

“Since you’re feeling okay, I have a few ideas,” she said.

Just then, they heard a loud knock—more like a bang—on the door. Mel frowned deeply and turned to leave the room, heading for the door.

“Stay here,” she said.

Elis gripped the hilt of his sword and moved to the entrance of the room, straining his ears to listen.

“We can’t find the man,” a voice Elis didn’t recognize said not bothering with any greeting. “You said he was too weak to move around freely.”

“Yes, I said that,” Mel replied. “If he’s missing, he can’t have gone far. He’ll definitely still be around the village.”

“Okay,” the voice said. “If you see or hear anything, let us know.”

“All right then. I’m sure you’ll find him soon.”

Shortly after, Mel came back to the room looking slightly panicked.

“You seem to have terrible luck. That was one of the soldiers. The old man must have decided to turn you in.”

“I won’t stay long enough for them to find me. What route can I take to avoid detection?”

“That’ll be tricky, considering you don’t know your way around. This village is rather big, and you could easily run into one of the Yelish soldiers. Fortunately for you, I’m going your way.”

“What do you mean?” Elis asked, but she was already moving, collecting some random items and throwing them in a bag she had picked up.

“Try and pay attention. Your presence here caused quite a stir, and a lot of people who saw you brought in are suspicious. They all hate Amon, but their current situation doesn’t allow them to show that hate. They value the current state of things as well as their lives, so turning you in is the safest thing to do.”

Elis snorted but understood them. They were only trying to protect themselves and their families.

“Okay then. I guess we’re leaving together.”