The Elder Stones Saga Boxset: Books 1-3 by D.K. Holmberg

Author:D.K. Holmberg [Holmberg, D.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2021-05-25T22:00:00+00:00

23

Haern

Pain rolled through Haern, a kind of pain he had never experienced before. It was a throbbing sensation, and he could barely move. Everything seemed to burn, and though he knew it was temporary, that didn’t change how awful it felt.

At least he could breathe.

That was the difference between this poison and the terad. Terad was relatively quick and mostly painless. Though there was an awful sensation of nearly suffocating, it didn’t hurt.

Not like this.

This was as if Galen had lit a fire beneath his skin. Everything hurt, leaving him in agony.

“Enough,” he whispered.

Darren leaned over, pressing his hands on either side of Haern, and a wave of Healing washed through him, dissipating the poison. When he was done, Darren leaned back and glanced over to Galen. “I’m not sure this is the smartest plan.”

“What would he do if you weren’t here?” Galen asked.

They sat in Darren’s home, and Haern rested on the cot, prepared for the possibility that he might fall over. Darren had wanted him to be as safe as possible, placing padding on either side of the cot in case he rolled off during one of their sessions. A fire crackled in the hearth, and Galen sat calmly and casually staring at the fire, paying almost no attention to Haern. Darren hadn’t been able to remain nearly as calm. He watched Haern intently, and when it had looked as if Haern couldn’t tolerate the pain, he had intervened. With this poison, it had happened far more than with the others.

“I imagine he wouldn’t be dealing with srirach if I wasn’t here. There’s no reason for him to use something like this.”

Galen tore his attention from the fire and glanced at Haern. “There are many reasons to use srirach. It’s an awful experience.” Haern nodded. “And it’s one you don’t easily forget. It’s difficult to develop a tolerance to it. Usually it can be done slowly over time, but we don’t have that luxury.”

“Then don’t use it,” Darren said again.

“I don’t think we have a choice. If he’s going to be as prepared as possible for what he might face, he needs to be able to withstand any sort of torment that might come his way. Even if it’s self-inflicted.”

“You say that as if speaking from experience,” Darren said.

“Unfortunately, I have more than a little experience with self-inflicted torment,” Galen said.

Darren watched him before turning his attention back to Haern. “How do you feel?”

“When the fire dissipates, I feel fine.”

“It’s more than fire,” Galen said without looking in his direction. “If the poison lingers, it begins to dissolve the insides.”

“Why do you carry something like that?” Darren asked. He still seemed shocked to know that Galen had spent time studying with Della, and the more time Darren spent around Galen, the more disturbed he seemed by what he knew. Many of Darren’s medicines were familiar to Galen, but he had different uses for them.

“There are some people who deserve a brutal end,” Galen said.

“Isn’t it enough simply to let them die?”

“Most of the time,” Galen said.

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