Quest for the Sun Gem by Belinda Murrell

Author:Belinda Murrell
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Random House Australia
Published: 2009-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

Saira took command. Saxon was sent to fetch wood, stoke up the fire and stable the horses in the barn. Roana was ordered about imperiously and obeyed meekly as she fetched herbs, boiled water and found bandages.

Ethan was ordered to rest in a large soft armchair by the fire and given a cup of some hot, bitter brew to sip. Saira poured a trickle of tincture into Lily’s mouth, then gently examined her from head to toe. She sniffed disdainfully as she removed the travel-stained bandages and threw them into a waste bucket.

Saira paused curiously when she found the beautiful pearl necklace but silently continued her expert examination. She cut away the sleeve of the silk shirt, leaving a small patch around the stub. Saira shook her head ominously as she probed the arrow wound. Lily shuddered but did not wake.

‘The arrow is very deep, but did not come out the other side. It must have been shot at quite close range. It is very lucky that she was wearing the silken shirt of the smugglers,’ Saira commented.

‘What do you mean?’ asked Ethan in confusion.

‘The smugglers wear no armour – it is too hard to move on a boat with heavy chain mail. So they wear light shirts of silk because the silk does not tear, like other cloth, when the arrowhead enters the body. This means it is much easier to remove the barb and fragments of arrow shaft, and for some reason the wound is much less likely to become infected. I have had to remove the odd arrowhead in my time!’ Saira smiled.

Lily’s leg gash was cleaned with boiled herb-scented water. With a needle and silk thread, Saira sewed the jagged lip of the wound together. Roana and Ethan had to turn away from the gruesome sight, feeling sick. Thankfully, Lily remained unconscious.

Finally the wound was smeared with a sweet gooey ointment, and the leg was bound with snowy white bandages.

‘The poppy tincture should be taking effect by now,’ Saira murmured. ‘When Saxon returns I will need your help to hold her down while I remove the arrowhead.’

Roana went pale but simply nodded her assent.

Together Saxon and Roana held Lily’s slight body down on the kitchen table. Saira stirred her slim dagger blade in the boiling water on the stove, then waved it to cool. Carefully and gently she probed the wound with her finger, sliding down the arrow shaft to feel where the head was buried. Lily arched violently against the pain, screaming.

‘Hold her firmly,’ snapped Saira.

Saira carefully twirled the broken arrow stub. Roana and Saxon tried not to look.

‘Good,’ Saira sighed. ‘It is not lodged in the bone. You did well not to pull out the shaft. It makes it much easier to find the head.’

As Lily cried and moaned in her coma, Saira used the dagger to make an incision. Using her fingers and a forceps, she located the arrowhead and pulled with all her might. Nothing happened. Saira tugged and pulled, her face growing red with exertion.

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