The Deadly Magician (The Memory Stones Series Book 2) Page 9

  The man gave a hollow groan as his response, and Theus felt compassion for all that the man had lost, and the pain he must have suffered. He set his bag down, pulled out the jar of the first ointment he needed to apply, and opened it.

  Theus took some of the ointment, placed it in both hands, and grasped the badly burned arm, running his hands up and down from the fingerless hand to the shoulder, smearing the cream over the rough flesh. He dipped his fingers into the jar again, then took a deep breath before dabbing the ointment gently around the perimeter of the man’s face, followed by gently rubbing and spreading it around, including upon the hairless scalp that wasn’t resting on the pillow. Nearly half of his supply was gone, and he knew he’d have to make a second dose just to finish Ruune, not to mention what he would need to apply to Weese. He continued to spread the medicine across the expanses of the scarred chest and torso of the man, before he ran out of what he had prepared. He closed up the empty jar, while he placed the two jars of lotion he would need for the next two applications on the floor beneath the bed.

  “I’ll be back later today, or maybe tomorrow, and we’ll finish this up,” he told his voiceless patient. “I hope we’re going to make things much better for you. Much, much better,” he emphasized.

  Theus picked up his bag and left the hospice. Torella was sitting on the ground, leaning against the building, but sprang to her feet immediately. “Did you see him? Did you treat him? Is he better?”

  “I saw him,” Theus said heavily. “I treated him with what I had, which wasn’t enough; I’ll need to make more to finish healing his wounds. And I don’t know how well I can help his worst wounds. It’s,” he stopped talking, at a loss for words to describe.

  “I know; I understand,” Torella surprised him by taking his hand in her smaller one. “Thank you,” she told him. “Let’s go to the markets now,” she released his hand and led the way through the palace to the front, and then out the gate and into the city.

  They proceeded to visit four markets to find all that Theus wanted, including the market by the waterfront where Theus had found the sea-based items he required. He was cautiously on the lookout for trouble, as he recollected the drunken sailors Molly and he had encountered earlier, but Torella and he entered no taverns and finished their trip without incident.

  When they got back to the kitchen in the palace, Theus set to work producing more of the ointment needed for the first round of treatment for the burn victims. Torella brought him a bowl of stew from the stove top, and the two of them ate together while Theus continued to work in the late afternoon.

  Why is it so important to you that I treat Ruune?” Theus asked after a stretch of silence during their time together.

  “Ruune is my betrothed,” Torella said softly. “Or he was. I hope he will be again, after you bring him back to me.”

  “I’ll do the best I can. I’m really going to try,” Theus answered, surprised by the girl’s answer.

  “Thank you,” she said simply.

  Two hours later he was finished creating the new batch of the first medication that he would administer to the patients in the three-step process he planned to use. Torella stood hopefully by, her eyes showing tiredness from the long period of waiting.

  “Let’s go to the hospice,” Theus told her, as he held a jar of ointment in each hand.

  The girl led him through the palace, and Theus found that some spots were beginning to look familiar, a sign that perhaps he was beginning to remember the layout of the routes he traveled. When they reached the hospice, Torella again decided to wait outside. “I just can’t bear to see him like that,” she explained tearfully.

  Theus entered the hospice building once again, and finished rubbing his ointment upon the untreated burnt portions of Ruune’s body. Afterwards, he crossed to the other side of the hospice building to see Weese.

  “I was here with Letta yesterday, and she told me to give you some medical treatment to improve your condition,” Theus told the man when he walked up to Weese’s bed.

  “The best thing you could do is to help me take the long sleep and be done with all of this pain,” the man answered grumpily.

  Theus opened his jar, and rubbed some of the ointment on Weese’s shoulder, before the man knew what was happening.

  “It’s chilly,” he complained. “But,” he began, then paused. “It feels like its tingling, like something is happening.”

  “I have to put this on you today. It won’t do much,” Theus said. “Then I’ll put a different lotion on you tomorrow, and that will start to show some results. Then, on the third day, I’ll apply the final potion, and after that we just wait a few days for everything to work as best it can.”

  “We’ll see,” Weese said skeptically, but he remained silent as Theus spread the first ointment upon his face and arms and body.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow,” Theus promised when he was finished.

  “I hope you bring me hope,” Weese said.

  “I’ll try,” Theus promised, and then he was on his way back to meet Torella.

  “Now, could you show me where the North Hall is?” Theus asked.

  Torella executed a double take, looking at him, then jerking her head to look at him again.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “I have a room there, but I’ve never been to it. I’d like to know the way to go there so I can get some sleep tonight,” Theus explained. “Is that a problem?”

  “No, it just happens to be my home too,” Torella answered. “I thought maybe you knew that somehow, though I know that doesn’t make any sense,” she was flustered, Theus could tell.

  They walked in silence for several seconds, before Torella spoke again.

  “So you still have to mix up the batches of the medicine that you have to give them the next step?” she asked.

  “Yes, I’ll do that tomorrow, and then put it on them,” Theus confirmed.

  “This is the north hall,” Torella told him as they walked past a building. “Here’s the front door,” she motioned.

  “Thank you,” Theus murmured to her as he stopped and looked at the building, studying it. He looked forward to spending the night sleeping there.

  “Okay, now show me the way back to the kitchen, so that I can memorize it before I try to come home tonight,” he told her.

  “Why don’t you just let me walk you back after dinner?” Torella offered.

  “That’s nice of you,” Theus said sincerely, “but I have to stay late, to meet Gance the dog handler, to give him his wife’s medicine, so I’ll be late.”

  “I’ll wait,” Torella told him. “Let’s not fight about it. I’m just so happy that you’re doing all of this.”

  When they arrived back at the kitchen, waves of food trays were being sent to a banquet in one of the meeting halls, while other meals were going to various destination. Theus and Torella split apart to help with chores; Theus with dishwashing, and Torella with delivery.

  “Are you healing my friend?” Letta came up to Theus and asked.

  “I applied the first dose today,” he confirmed.

  “And how quickly will we see results?” Letta wanted to know.

  “Not before the third part of the application. It may be five or six days before we know if this works,” he warned.

  “That’s if you don’t join the army or the palace guard first,” Letta suggested.

  “I don’t understand,” Theus said.

  “Molly has quite a story about you beating four men in a tavern, using just a stick,” Letta studied him closely as she spoke. “Molly isn’t one to make things up, you know.”

  “Oh, that,” Theus said flatly. He didn’t want people to know too much about him or pay too much attention to him. He wanted to remain unknown until the time came to escape from slavery.

  “What are you that you know how to brawl and how to heal?” Letta asked. “What kind of surprises do you have hidden?”

  “I’m not that special,” Theus differed.
“You know me for what I am here,” he told her.

  “I do, and I’m going to keep using you for all you’ve got, don’t worry. And I’m not going to use you badly either, my young mystery,” she said with a hint of affection.

  “Clean those dishes and then get some sleep,” she patted his shoulder, then left him to go oversee other operations.

  Theus finished his work with the dish-washing team over an hour later, and discovered that Torella was sitting by his medical supply counter, waiting for him.

  “You will not believe the things that Molly is saying about you!” Torella whispered eagerly as soon as he joined her.

  “Is she telling people I fought in a tavern?” Theus asked.

  “No, she’s saying it wasn’t a fight, because the other men didn’t stand a chance against you!” Torella answered. “What a crazy story.

  “It’s not true, is it?” she asked a moment later, when Theus didn’t deny it.

  “It is true,” he answered. “We saw the men starting to mistreat the waitress, and I made them stop. They were all so drunk they could hardly stand on their feet. It wasn’t much of a fight, I’ll tell you.”

  “Have you been in other fights like that? You don’t seem like a fighter?” the girl asked. Her chin was resting prettily in her hand as she leaned on the counter, studying him.

  “I haven’t been in many fights,” Theus answered. “I practiced with the staff, but never really used it.” He paused as he thought of the practice sessions he had shared with Coriae.

  “What about you? Have you been in many fights?” he tried to change the subject.

  “I’m small enough that folks don’t think of fighting me,” she said in a practical tone. “And then Ruune started watching out for me, and that scared people off if they thought of fighting.”

  “Is Ruune a good fighter?” Theus asked.

  “He is. He fought to protect me one time when one of the waiters was getting too friendly with me,” she told Theus, “and then I found out he was sweet on me, and we just became a couple.”

  The pair chatted, each revealing some things about themselves, until the kitchen’s exterior door opened, and Gance and the four dogs entered the kitchen.

  “These are for Losa,” Theus said, as he handed over the three jars of medicine. “She’ll be fine when she takes one each day.”

  “She’s so much better already!” the man said joyfully. “You’ve saved our lives! How can I repay you?”

  Theus shook off the talk of repayment, and soon the dogs and the man were gone.

  “So, are you ready to go home now?” Torella asked.

  “I am,” Theus said with satisfaction. He would finally be able to have a bed to sleep in, one that he could call his own. It was a small achievement, but he wanted to accomplish it.

  He walked with Torella through the night time palace halls. As they moved along one passageway they passed a great deal of music and laughter.

  “There must be a ball going on in there. They usually hold those in the other end of the palace,” she commented. They walked on without stopping, and soon exited the palace, to return to the outdoors.

  “Look at those stars overhead,” Torella said wistfully. “Wouldn’t it be something to be as free as the stars?”

  “It’s better than being a slave,” Theus agreed.

  “That’s right, you’ve been free,” Torella answered.

  “Well, here we are,” she said then as they came to a dimly lit doorway, the entrance to the north hall.

  “Thank you for the guidance,” Theus told her as he held the door open. They both went to the staircase, and both walked out through the third floor door.

  “Are you on this floor?” Torella asked.

  “Yes,” Theus affirmed, as they walked down the hall together. “I’m in room five.”

  Torella grabbed his arm and halted him. “I’m in room six; we’re neighbors!”

  “You don’t snore loudly, do you?” Theus asked with a laugh.

  “You’ll never know,” Torella said primly, then laughed. They walked the length of the dark hall, until Torella stopped. “This is my room, at least for a while. Yours is the next door down.”

  Theus felt Torella’s small hand grab his, then shake it gently. “Thank you for helping Ruune. Someday, when he’s better and healthy and working, he and I will be married, then I’ll move out of here to live with him, and you can have my room! You can make it your doctor office!” she laughed.

  Theus laughed with her, then watched her dim shape enter the room and close the door behind. She had come out of her shell, and was open with him. He found that he liked her – she would be good to have as a neighbor and friend. She was different from Coriae in so many ways, but yet a reminder of why he loved Coriae – the possibilities of conversation and laughter and romance.

  And then he went to his own room. Inside was completely dark, until he opened the curtain, and let the faint moonlight and star light offer some illumination. He stripped off his shirt, pleased to think that he would be able to wear something clean in the morning for a change. And then he was lying on the hard, thin mattress of his bed, pleased to have a place of his own for the first time in several days, and he fell asleep.

  Chapter 6

  Theus awoke in the darkness. He heard the sound of gentle knocking on his door.

  “Who is it?” he asked as he swung his feet over the side of the bed and sat up.

  “Theus?” he heard his door open as a feminine voice spoke, then light appeared as a hand-held candle was thrust through the open door. “May I come in?”

  “Who is it?” Theus asked again, groggily.

  “It’s me, Torella, your neighbor,” the voice was impatient with his question.

  “Come in, please,” he replied. He rose to his feet and briefly looked around the room in the light the candle provided. There was his pile of clean clothes that he had left earlier, and a small pile of cloth, the bed coverings that Letta had promised to have delivered. There wasn’t much else.

  Torella appeared, dressed and ready for the day.

  “I thought you might like to walk to the kitchen together this morning,” she told him. “Otherwise, you might get lost,” she said mischievously.

  “Thank you,” he told her. “I just woke up; I’m not ready yet.”

  “I can wait a few minutes,” she told him. “Let me go get a candle for you. It looks like you don’t have one.”

  “I don’t,” he agreed, and watched her slip out of the door.

  When she returned a moment later, with candles in each hand, she asked, “do you know where the wash rooms are? Would you like for me to show you?”

  To his surprise, she led him to the stairs and up a flight to the fourth floor. “The men’s room is up here; we have a woman’s room on our floor. There’s only one other man on our floor, and only three women on the fourth floor, so we separated the wash rooms like this. The washroom is the first door on the right. I’ll meet you back in my room when you’re ready, but don’t be long.”

  Theus complied with Torella’s command, and minutes later knocked on her door, then opened it. The room was feminine with frills and colors.

  “Do you like it?” Torella asked, as she extinguished her candle. “I could decorate your room to look just like it,” she told him impishly.

  “Let’s think about that later, much later,” Theus laughed, and the pair walked through the brightening morning air to the kitchen, where the bakers were already busy at work with the day’s orders.

  “What will you do today?” Torella asked. “Oh, you’ll be healing the burn people, Ruune and Weese. Will that take long? What else will you do? What’s your regular assignment?”

  “Washing dishes?” Theus hazarded a guess. He hadn’t had any inkling of a regular assignment; Letta hadn’t mentioned anything to him.

  “What about you? What do you do?” he asked. “Besides wasting time walking me around town?”

  “I try to avoid
getting pinched and kissed,” she told him, causing him to look at her quizzically.

  “I deliver meals to noblemen who are eating alone in their rooms,” she explained. “They’re always happy to see a pretty girl deliver a meal, but sometimes some of them get too happy.”

  “Do you think I’m pretty?” she surprised him by asking.

  “Yes, certainly,” he answered.

  “I didn’t want to talk to you at first yesterday, because I didn’t want you to think you could get familiar with me,” she confided. “But you’ve turned out to be a good person, and I don’t worry about that now.”

  Theus felt pleased by the girl’s growing confidence in him, and he vowed to himself that he’d continue to earn it while he remained in the palace.

  “Theus?” just then he heard Letta call his name. He turned to see the head of the kitchen approaching.

  “How did you two get along yesterday?” she asked as she reached the spot where Theus and Torella stood.

  “We did pretty well as a team,” Theus answered, as Torella nodded her head.

  “You’re going to treat our friends in the hospice today?” Letta asked. “How long will it take?”

  “No more than an hour or so,” Theus answered. “I have to mix some of it today as well.”

  “Do you need to go to the market to but anything else?” Letta asked.

  “Not unless you want me to treat someone else,” he countered.

  “As of now, I don’t. So why don’t you accompany Torella while she makes her deliveries today – help keep her out of trouble, okay?” Letta assigned him.

  The two looked at each other and laughed.

  “I take it that’s a ‘yes’?” Letta said.

  “Yes,” they each said in unison.

  “Don’t you two get in trouble with each other,” Letta warned.

  “No ma’am,” Torella answered.

  “And you can start early. The armory commander wants breakfast for four delivered for a meeting this morning at his office. Why don’t you all run over there as soon as the food comes off the stove?” Letta ordered.