‘That’s my first jobafter I get you a cup of hot brew, some decent lighting in here. Ibrought some light balls that I made for a customer. Too badthey’ll have to miss out. Sit down Miranda, you look a bitpale.’
‘I’m sorry I must havelost more blood than I thought,’ she said, and collapsed on thefloor. He noticed that she was bleeding from the four furrows of anasty looking rake across her back. He quickly laid out the beddingand dragged her across to it. Then he removed his only clean shirtfrom one of the boxes and held it across her back to stop thebleeding, but it was soon saturated.
He examined the woundand saw that it looked deep and nasty. ‘Damn. Mother never showedme how to heal someone, only myself,’ he thought. ‘It looks like itneeds stitches or something to close it up, otherwise she’ll losetoo much blood.’ He replaced the shirt and quickly got Alpha out ofthe body shell and made contact with it. ‘What do I know abouthealing methods?’ Alpha came up with nothing useful. ‘Damn, I thinkshe needs to be stitched up. But how, I don’t have a needle?’
He then thought of thechaos matter and dashed over to his body shell to retrieve it. Hesat the ball of clay-like material on her back next to the woundand imagined her wounds and imagined it flowing into the slasheslike putty sealing up the wounds and then imagined the putty to beher flesh. He looked down and there were no wounds - the chaosmatter had sealed them up as neatly as if it was new flesh. Hewiped blood off her back and covered her with a blanket.
The problem was thatthe chaos matter would only stay in place while he concentrated onit or was in contact with it. So since there was plenty left, heextended it out like a metal wire leash ending with a wristband,which he placed on his wrist. That way the wound seal should remainin place until she could heal it herself. There was only oneproblem, he was tethered to her. If he went too far away he couldtear the wound seal out of her back, and that would probably bevery painful. So he sat beside her, wrapped a blanket around hisshoulders and meditated.
Miranda becameconscious again after about an hour. She felt very weak butotherwise all right. She sat up and noticed a metal wire goingaround to her back, pulled it and realised that it was somehowembedded into her flesh, and then saw it tethered to his wrist.
‘By the Lady what’s hedone to me?’ she wondered. She looked around and saw a dagger onthe floor beside one of the boxes. She used her leg to move it overto her hand, unsheathed it and slid around behind him.
‘Wake up you bastard!’and holding the dagger across his throat kneed him in the back tobreak his trance.
He woke suddenly,feeling a dagger across his throat.
‘Miranda. What have youdone with Miranda?’ he said.
‘I’m here you bastard.What have you done to me? Why have you got me on a leash? Don’t tryany magic or I’ll cut your throat so quickly you’ll drown in yourown blood in seconds.’
‘You were deeplywounded in your back. That’s why you collapsed. I sealed your woundwith chaos matter but it will only stay in place if I concentrateon it or keep it in contact with my body. If you cut my throat thestuff will run out and you’ll probably bleed to death.’
‘I have no healingleft,’ she said. ‘I will need to meditate on the dawn, but I won’twear a leash for anybody.’
‘All right I’ll removeit, but I will have to concentrate on your back all the rest of thenight, and if I fall asleep or lose concentration the wounds willburst open.’
She suddenly realizedthat he might have saved her life and removed the blade from histhroat. ‘I’m sorry. I misjudged your motives. My mother sometimeshad her captives on a leash before they died. I’m not used tohaving someone else take care of me. I shouldn’t have got sodamaged. I have an ability that toughens my skin and reduces thistype of damage, but I thought there was no time. I should haveguessed that the High Wizard of all people would wear protectionagainst most eventualities. Keep the leash intact if you think itis necessary.’ And she moved around in front of him.
‘There is some strangefate at work here. I am here to protect you and yet you save mylife. I will pray to the Lady for guidance. I must sleep to gainsome strength. Tomorrow will be busy.’ She lay back and pulled theblanket over her body and said. ‘Thank you wizard,’ then fellasleep.
Aquitain settled downbeside her. He thought about the incident for quite a while. Shewas a truly feral creature and a product of her strange upbringingwith a nymph as a mother. Had he given her the wrong answer, shewould have cut his throat without a second thought. Had he not beenin his fearless Logicon body, he might have been scared witless anddied. What a strange pair they were. He would have to earn hertrust, as he was sure it wouldn’t be given lightly. He decided thathe might as well get some rest too, and dozed off.
Miranda dreamed she wasstanding among the little people. A great brown bear walked up andstood beside her. She reached over and stroked its shoulder. Itsfur felt rich and luxurious to touch. She liked bears, and this onewas at ease with her and the little people.
The image faded and shesaw herself climb on the bear’s back. She could feel its powerfulmuscles bulge under her legs. She could feel its strength and knewit would fight for her. This image faded and another took itsplace. The bear lay sunbaking on the sand beside a pool. She teasedit a little, trying to get it to have a swim. Then suddenly sheshape changed into a female bear just like it,
