Read Online Healer's Touch by Amy Raby - Free Book Online

him. He knew perfectly well this wasn’t called for. Indeed, after sticking to Marius’s side for all four years of his education, Drusus knew everything Marius did. It made him an ideal partner and assistant in the surgery, and in playing that role, Drusus now had cover for his real role, that of Marius’s personal bodyguard. The downside was that Marius couldn’t put anything past the man.
    “Look how skinny he is,” said Marius. “You know if I just cure the fever, Isolda will disappear with him and we’ll never see them again.”
    “Who cares if we never see them again?”
    “I’d rather get a good breakfast into him tomorrow. Into both of them.” He didn’t mention that he planned to come up with some excuse to keep them longer. If he could feed them for a week, so much the better. And he’d really like to find out where that fever had come from.
    Drusus folded his arms.
    “Go,” said Marius. “That’s an order.”
    Drusus sniffed, giving his opinion of this plan with his customary eloquence, and left to fetch the sleeping draught.
    The boy coughed suddenly, and his eyes drifted open. He stared woozily at Marius. “Who’re you?” he croaked.
    “A Healer. Sit up.” He helped the boy struggle upright. “What’s your name?”
    “Rory. Where am I?”
    “At the surgery. You were sick.” The boy was still weak and a little woozy; otherwise he might object more to Marius’s hands on him. Marius was still applying his magic, testing here and there to see if there were any places in Rory’s body where the sickness still lurked. But he couldn’t find any. And the boy’s skin wasn’t hot anymore.
    “Where’s my mom?”
    “She’s run to get something. She’ll be back.”
    Drusus arrived, wearing his disapproving look and carrying a cup of what looked like weak tea.
    “Did you put sugar in it?” asked Marius.
    Drusus shook his head.
    Marius gestured, and Drusus, rolling his eyes, disappeared again.
    “How are you feeling?” asked Marius.
    Rory shrugged. “Cold.”
    Marius gave him back his shirt, and Rory put it on. Then Marius wrapped him in a blanket.
    “What was I sick with?” asked Rory.
    “A fever,” said Marius. “Do you know anyone else who has a fever?”
    Rory suddenly looked cagey, and shook his head.
    Marius sighed inwardly. How old could this child be? He’d guess eight or nine, and already Rory knew not to say anything about his people. “It’s important, so think about it. If I know who’s sick, I can heal them.”
    “I didn’t know I was sick.”
    Looking into those wide, green eyes, Marius could almost believe him.
    Drusus returned, carrying the sugared sleeping draught. Marius took it from him and offered it to Rory. “Drink this. It’s medicine.”
    Rory took it and drank. He made a face, but drained the cup. Marius almost felt guilty.
    Isolda burst into the room with Warder Nonian on her tail. Her eyes lit on Rory, sitting up and looking alert, and her worried face sagged in relief. She sent a grateful smile in Marius’s direction.
    He remembered that smile well.
    “You need an emergency warding?” asked Nonian.
    “Yes, this boy. Also her.” Marius pointed at Isolda.
    “Actually,” stammered Isolda, “we don’t have our papers on hand.”
    Marius snorted. Of course they didn’t have papers on hand. “Payment in coin,” he told Nonian.
    Isolda hung her head. “I don’t have that either. But I could run into town—”
    “I’ll pay it,” said Marius.
    Nonian nodded his acceptance. “Standard wards?” His fingers were already moving over Rory.
    “Yes.” To the untrained eye, warding looked invisible. Fingers moved and nothing seemed to happen, yet in the spirit world, things of great importance happened. Marius had seen this for himself during his magic training, when he’d opened the Rift—or rather, it had been opened for him, by mages more experienced than he—and he’d looked into the spirit world. There he had seen the great unseen