Survival Rout by Ana Mardoll

Author:Ana Mardoll
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ana Mardoll

Chapter 19

Aniyah

We stay with the boys until fourth bell, but everything is awkward and awful. Keoki is washed down twice more with healing water from the pool, but I don't return to his side or speak with him again. I'm too aware of Miyuki's bustling presence nearby, directing us as a group and working with xer healing hands.

Instead, I leave his care to Sappho, Hana, and Tony, who together replace his blood-soaked bandages at third bell and keep the fresh ones damp with the magical water we bring in on Handler's cart. Keoki seems uncomfortable on the floor and in too much pain to carry anywhere else, but otherwise stable. He even tries to joke with us, and grins in momentary triumph when he coaxes an eyeroll out of Chloe.

Aside from his jokes, which mostly fall flat, the mood in the cavern is somber. The other boy, Justin, flits in and out of consciousness, moaning weakly and thrashing the leg that isn't wrapped from ankle to thigh. Now that his bones are set and his other wounds bandaged, there isn't much more we can do. Boys hover around him and I manage to coax a sip of water down his throat, but only time will tell if he can be saved.

We do one thing right: we make Miyuki look good. After the bumpy start when Miyuki and I blurted out each other's names, xie swings into command. Xie tells us when to wash the boys, how to bandage them, and when to replace the first batch of stained cloths with fresh ones. For things xie needs help with—like splinting Justin's leg—or when xie absolutely needs xer glasses to see, we're careful to get Handler out of the room first, having him escort Hana and Chloe to the pool for more water.

The purpose of this play is to save Miyuki, but it isn't all an act. Xie focuses xer attention on the boys once they've been made stable, working xer magic to ease their pain. I watch as dark dust pours out from xer fingertips to coat xer hands. The glittering powder soaks into the patients as xie works and, though only I can see the magic, it is undeniably real. Keoki swears his pain drains away at xer touch, and Justin's moans quiet under xer attentions.

For a moment, I'm caught up in my own fiction: I almost believe Miyuki can work miracles, that xer magic can heal them. My eyes know better, though. The dust coating xer hands manipulates muscles and numbs nerves with growing power, but xie can't knit bones back together or close the ragged gashes carved into their skin. We've done all we can for them, and I fear it won't be enough. I ache for these boys to be saved. Keoki is goofy and adorable and, while I don't know Justin, he doesn't deserve to die like this.

My heart weighs heavily in my chest as Handler escorts us back to our grotto at fourth bell. We've

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