Read Online Exodus of the Xandim (GOLLANCZ S.F.) by Maggie Furey - Free Book Online Page B

Two of them, it was clear, had dragging, damaged wings; another was bleeding from a jagged tear in his scalp, and yet
another needed help from his comrades to walk.
    Kea beckoned to them. ‘Are any of you fit to fly?’ Parea and Incondor’s friend Milvus were the first to step forward. ‘Then return to Aerillia as fast as you can, and
fetch help,’ the winged girl told them. ‘We’ll try to keep Incondor alive until you get back.’
    Sick with dismay, Yinze dropped to the ground beside Kea. While they had been working on the harp they had become adept at melding their two very different sorts of power, and now, as she laid
her hand gently on the winged man’s breast, he put his own hand over hers, lending her his energy and magic to help hold his enemy to life. Nearby, the harp lay on the ground, as mangled and
shattered as Incondor’s wings, and the Wizard felt a stab of anger at the waste, the destruction. Surely this disaster must spell the end for all his hopes and plans?
    Queen Pandion looked down at Incondor, her expression very grave. The healers had cleaned him up as best they could, and straightened his broken limbs, holding them in place
with casts of stiffened rawhide, but even Yinze, who knew little about healing, was sure that even if the winged man survived, he would be hopelessly crippled and would never fly again. He felt
sick and sorry and, even though he had not initiated the confrontation, his stomach was knotted with guilt.
    ‘Come,’ the Queen said, and motioned the Wizard and Kea from the room. The corridors of the palace were hushed and empty around the sickroom, apart from the swift, padding tread of
the healers going back and forth. Pandion led the way into another chamber, where food and liafa were set out on a table. Outside, the sun had set, and the room was growing dark. ‘Sit,’
she said wearily. ‘Rest. Neither of you have eaten anything all day.’
    Gratefully, Yinze sank down onto a stool, and took a sip of liafa sweetened with honey, wincing at the sting from his bruised mouth where Incondor had hit him. The hot liquid was both comforting
and reviving, but his stomach still revolted at the thought of food.
    ‘Have the healers looked at you, Yinze?’ Pandion asked.
    ‘It’s not important,’ he mumbled.
    ‘It is important. Get those scrapes and bruises treated, Wizard. Cyran would never forgive me if I sent you home in that state. I already feel guilty that one of my own subjects should
have caused such damage.’
    ‘Your Majesty, I’m sorry,’ Yinze blurted. ‘I’m just so dreadfully sorry. All these months of keeping the peace with Incondor, then I failed the final
test.’
    ‘That you are sorry says a great deal for your character, but as far as I am concerned, you have absolutely no reason to feel guilty,’ Pandion said firmly. ‘I have spoken to
your bearers, and Kea, and Incondor’s companions. It seems clear to me that the blame lies with him. He initiated the confrontation. He struck the first blow, his friends threatened
Kea’s life, and he stole and destroyed your harp, almost destroying himself in the process.’
    Her eyes went once again to Yinze’s battered face. ‘I will speak with Archwizard Cyran, and make it clear that no blame is attached to you for this regrettable incident.
Nevertheless, I feel that you should return home as soon as possible. Our physicians have suggested that I send Incondor with you, to see what the healers of Tyrineld can salvage, for his injuries
are beyond our skills.’
    ‘So they think he’ll live?’ Relief washed over the Wizard.
    ‘Our healers believe they can hold him to life – but he will be terribly crippled. But the Wizards, with their Earth magic, are far more adept at healing than we. Perhaps the damage
can at least be minimised.’
    The terrible fear that Incondor would die, that had haunted him over the last few hours, finally subsided, leaving Yinze weak and shaking. When the Queen spoke