Read Online Healer's Ruin by Chris O'Mara - Free Book Online Page A

myths and legends, especially pertaining to the golems. The lieutenant seemed convinced that they would encounter those creatures sooner or later. Chalos had also been pressed to tell all he knew about Riln magic, its focus on illusion and its lack of actual offensive power. As if to underline his trust in the healer's knowledge, after one particular discussion Jolm had ordered a scout to climb up to one of the grisly sign-posts and prod it to make sure it was real, and not some Riln trick.
    'I hadn't thought they might be illusions,' said Chalos.
    'That's why you're not an officer!' Jolm had boomed.
    But when scouts returned from the front of the column, or officers approached seeking audience with their leader, Jolm would send Chalos back to the heart of the column. These moments were uniquely humiliating.
    'Done with you, is he?' Samine said, when Chalos returned that afternoon, sidling up next to her on his shadamar.
    'Scoutsword Nukt is making a report,' Chalos said. 'Something about food supplies running low. I don't think its anything to worry about.'
    The Dread Spear laughed.
    'I'm lucky to have you here to keep me informed.'
    'I didn't mean - ' he stammered, blushing. 'I wasn't being arrogant, was I?'
    'A little.'
    He chuckled, hanging his head.
    'I suppose I'm getting used to living like a soldier.'
    'Weak minds always find hierarchies comfortable,' Samine said.
    He looked up at her, seeing the scorn in her eyes. He could understand her annoyance. Jolm had not yet made much use of the Dread Spear's abilities, and this had left her feeling insignificant. Maybe one day I'll be cast to the periphery, he wondered. And she'll be brought into the fold. If that time comes, will I miss feeling important? Or will I be glad of the anonymity?
    'How is your bird?'
    'Still sleeping,' Chalos sighed. He wore Mysa in a pouch strapped to his torso, where she rocked against his kidney. She was a warm bundle, life still coursing through her, but she had not yet awakened. 'I don't know if she'll ever open her eyes again.'
    Samine's expression softened. She reached out and touched his arm.
    'I'm sure she will, Chalos. Sixt has a good feeling.'
    'Oh?'
    'He's perked up a little. I think it's the Riln corpses. Carnage has always been good for his mood. He is a Dread Spear's Accomplice, after all.'
    The iguana peeked out of its pouch, eyeing Chalos with mistrust. It blinked slowly, stony lids sliding over wide eyes.
    'I'm glad,' said Chalos. 'It's not easy being without them, is it?'
    'They give them to us to keep us sane,' said Samine. 'Did you know that? In the early times, when mages began drawing power using mirrors, they would quickly lose the tether of the real world and sink into a solipsism soaked in fantasy and madness. So, the colleges began giving every mage an animal, a companion that was fused to the world of magic. Someone to talk to, a friend that understood the lure of the magical world.' She spread her hands. 'Goodness knows, our own kind don't understand us.'
    That was true. Chalos did not have many friends back home. It had not helped that he had spent so many years of his youth poring over old tomes of magic in attic rooms whilst his peers had gone about their lives, drinking, loving and toiling together. In time, he had got used to it. But hearing Samine's words, the words of someone who had experienced the same social dislocation, brought a pang to his heart. A regret that worked on his resolve like an acid. He smiled sadly at her.
    'Yes, we are shunned. But we have a place in the world now, Samine. We are valued.'
    'By Jolm? You think so?' she said, a cynical smirk at the edge of her lips. 'He's managing you, Chalos. Do you not think it odd that he brought you into the fold when you were at your lowest ebb? He needs you healthy and functioning, for when we find the Gilt Plates. What good are you to him depressed and detached? He fears that you will lose your power, or even your mind, unless he keeps an eagle-eye on