River, almost two leagues away. I would guess you fell in. Perhaps you hit your head on a rock.”
Trell remembered bitter cold filling his lungs and felt a thrill of recognition. “I was in a river.” Had he almost drowned?
“That’s good. Remember. Did someone attack you?”
Trell clung to the memory of ringing swords, the feeling of being overwhelmed and desperate, yet the memories slipped through his fingers like sand in the desert. “I don’t know. I don’t know!”
“Calm yourself.” Landra’s warm, rough hand covered his. “These holes in your memories might only be temporary. They could come back to you in these next days.”
“Might? Could?”
“I will not coat this with honey. A rock or some other agent inflicted severe damage to your head. I helped with what I could, but I do not know how deep the damage went.”
“How can you not know? Aren’t you a healer?”
“What I know, Trell, is that you live. The Five granted you a second life. Earn it.”
Trell felt his cheeks flush as he recognized all this woman had done for him, all her hard work in keeping him alive. Now he was yelling at her. “I will.” He focused on her narrowed eyes. “Thank you for saving my life.”
Living gave him a chance to recover what he had lost. Trell could not remember anyone who loved him, but he knew they existed. He felt it in his heart, echoes of warm smiles and gentle touches from people who were now little more than ghosts in his head.
Landra brushed his cheek. “You owe nothing to me. To heal is my calling. The woman you should thank is Kara Tanner. She dragged you a considerable distance to bring you here.”
The name Kara seemed familiar. It felt like friend, or sister — a concept independent of any single memory. Who was she?
Landra had said his memories could return. He decided to take her at her word. He was a patient man, or at least he felt like one.
“I am grateful,” Trell said. “Can I meet her?” Had he met her before?
“You should not move about yet. Can this not wait until tomorrow?”
“Please. She may know ... perhaps she knows something that will help me remember.”
“Kara insisted on speaking with you as soon as you waked. You need to rest, but I won’t deny you both.” Landra sighed and rose. “How is the pain?”
“Less.” The inside of Trell’s head pulsed with each breath, like hands pushing at his skull from the inside. “I will live.”
“Good. Call me if the pain returns. You needn’t suffer.”
“I feel fine.” He had taken more than enough from this woman.
Landra slid open a thin panel in the side of the room. “Then relax. I will summon Kara. When I return, you’ll need to sleep again.”
As the panel slid shut, unwelcome silence tested Trell’s fragile calm. Sweat beaded his forehead and his world spun. He had lost so much of himself and had to focus on what he still knew.
He looked fit and strong, so he must exercise regularly. His palms and fingers were calloused, so he must work with his hands. This room was more humid than he liked, so perhaps he hailed from a dry climate. He clung to these revelations. Little things.
The panel of the healing room slid open and a woman with sun-kissed skin and long brown hair entered the room. She had a self-assured stride that was well short of arrogant. Trell knew immediately that this was the brave woman who had saved his life.
She was tall with well-muscled arms and an athletic frame. She wore a gray shirt with lines sewn across it, a pattern unlike any Trell had ever seen, and her pants might have been leather — yet Trell could not even be sure of that. The material hugged her legs, thinner and more flexible than any leather he had ever seen.
Her brown hair fell to the middle of her back, braided and wrapped in bands. Soft cheekbones complemented her slender nose and rounded chin. Her irises were bright, clear, and orange.
It was not a natural color, not even close, but her eyes fit her
Trell remembered bitter cold filling his lungs and felt a thrill of recognition. “I was in a river.” Had he almost drowned?
“That’s good. Remember. Did someone attack you?”
Trell clung to the memory of ringing swords, the feeling of being overwhelmed and desperate, yet the memories slipped through his fingers like sand in the desert. “I don’t know. I don’t know!”
“Calm yourself.” Landra’s warm, rough hand covered his. “These holes in your memories might only be temporary. They could come back to you in these next days.”
“Might? Could?”
“I will not coat this with honey. A rock or some other agent inflicted severe damage to your head. I helped with what I could, but I do not know how deep the damage went.”
“How can you not know? Aren’t you a healer?”
“What I know, Trell, is that you live. The Five granted you a second life. Earn it.”
Trell felt his cheeks flush as he recognized all this woman had done for him, all her hard work in keeping him alive. Now he was yelling at her. “I will.” He focused on her narrowed eyes. “Thank you for saving my life.”
Living gave him a chance to recover what he had lost. Trell could not remember anyone who loved him, but he knew they existed. He felt it in his heart, echoes of warm smiles and gentle touches from people who were now little more than ghosts in his head.
Landra brushed his cheek. “You owe nothing to me. To heal is my calling. The woman you should thank is Kara Tanner. She dragged you a considerable distance to bring you here.”
The name Kara seemed familiar. It felt like friend, or sister — a concept independent of any single memory. Who was she?
Landra had said his memories could return. He decided to take her at her word. He was a patient man, or at least he felt like one.
“I am grateful,” Trell said. “Can I meet her?” Had he met her before?
“You should not move about yet. Can this not wait until tomorrow?”
“Please. She may know ... perhaps she knows something that will help me remember.”
“Kara insisted on speaking with you as soon as you waked. You need to rest, but I won’t deny you both.” Landra sighed and rose. “How is the pain?”
“Less.” The inside of Trell’s head pulsed with each breath, like hands pushing at his skull from the inside. “I will live.”
“Good. Call me if the pain returns. You needn’t suffer.”
“I feel fine.” He had taken more than enough from this woman.
Landra slid open a thin panel in the side of the room. “Then relax. I will summon Kara. When I return, you’ll need to sleep again.”
As the panel slid shut, unwelcome silence tested Trell’s fragile calm. Sweat beaded his forehead and his world spun. He had lost so much of himself and had to focus on what he still knew.
He looked fit and strong, so he must exercise regularly. His palms and fingers were calloused, so he must work with his hands. This room was more humid than he liked, so perhaps he hailed from a dry climate. He clung to these revelations. Little things.
The panel of the healing room slid open and a woman with sun-kissed skin and long brown hair entered the room. She had a self-assured stride that was well short of arrogant. Trell knew immediately that this was the brave woman who had saved his life.
She was tall with well-muscled arms and an athletic frame. She wore a gray shirt with lines sewn across it, a pattern unlike any Trell had ever seen, and her pants might have been leather — yet Trell could not even be sure of that. The material hugged her legs, thinner and more flexible than any leather he had ever seen.
Her brown hair fell to the middle of her back, braided and wrapped in bands. Soft cheekbones complemented her slender nose and rounded chin. Her irises were bright, clear, and orange.
It was not a natural color, not even close, but her eyes fit her
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