Draggah (41 page)

“
I have some Kymis,
”
Lexi said. 
“
It
’
s mixed with something a little stronger.  Maybe it will take the edge off.
”

She helped Rafe drink from the small animal skin.  Normally the Kymis went down smooth with just a hint of heat.  This time it burned all the way down Rafe
’
s throat.  He coughed a little.

“
What
’
s in that?
”

“
I don
’
t know,
”
Lexi said. 
“
But Filsa said you might need it.
”

“
She
’
s right,
”
Rafe said, taking another drink.

The pain didn
’
t stop, but the more Rafe drank, the less he cared.  After a long wait, Tiberius came out of the trance he seemed to go into whenever he was casting a healing spell.

“
I could use a drink of that,
”
he said.

“
Did you heal him?
”
Rafe asked.

“
He
’
ll live, I think,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
He lost a lot of blood.
”

“
You can
’
t conjure up more?
”

“
No,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
So try not to get wounded any worse than you have to.
”

“
Hey, I thought I did pretty well tonight.
”

“
Your face doesn
’
t agree,
”
Lexi said.

“
You fought well, but it
’
s obvious that something is broken in your face,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
Your cheekbone maybe.
”

“
It hurts around my eye,
”
Rafe said.

“
Can you heal him?
”
Lexi asked Tiberius.

“
I think so,
”
Ti said. 
“
And then I want to sleep for a week.
”

“
I
’
m sure Olyva will thank you,
”
Lexi said. 
“
He looks like a mule kicked him in the head.
”

“
I
’
m getting pretty tired of having to fix you up,
”
Tiberius told Rafe.

“
Not as tired as I am of getting hurt.
”

Tiberius settled in next to Rafe, who took one last pull from the spiked Kymis.  Then he lay back and closed his good eye.  Tiberius began to chant a spell and at first nothing seemed to be happening.  Then slowly, Rafe felt the pressure in his face ease a bit.  The throbbing pain lessened, although his eye still hurt.  He felt a numbness spring up deep in the side of his head.  It slowly spread all around his eye and he couldn
’
t stop opening his mouth.  He moved his jaw from side to side, marveling that his cheekbone and the area around his eye didn
’
t hurt anymore.

When Tiberius groaned in pain, Rafe opened his good eye.  His friend was kneeling over him, sweat beading on his face, and his shoulders shook slightly.  Lexi stood over them both, looking worried.  Then the pain in Rafe
’
s eye began to soften.  It went from deep stabbing pains to a dull ache.  If that had been all Tiberius was able to do, Rafe would have been thrilled, but Tiberius kept at his work, his mouth moving silently as he chanted the words of his spell over and over again.  Finally, Rafe felt his eyelid open.  His sight was still blurred in his right eye.

He blinked, and the movement felt stiff at first.  There was still a lot of puffiness around his eye, but it slowly dissipated.  Finally the blinking felt more like normal and his vision cleared.  Tiberius let out a long slow breath.

“
Are you okay?
”
Lexi asked.

“
His eye was ruined,
”
Tiberius said, his voice weak and shaky.

Rafe sat up and touched the side of his face.  Everything felt normal and nothing hurt.  Lexi handed Tiberius the nearly empty skin of Kymis.  He drank it eagerly.

“
The bones around your eye were shattered,
”
Tiberius told Rafe. 
“
The eye itself was ruptured.
”

“
But you fixed it?
”
Rafe asked, touching his cheekbone again.

“
Yes,
”
Tiberius said.

“
What would I do without you?
”
Rafe said.

“
I don
’
t know, but I
’
m beginning to wonder if maybe I should find out before you kill me.
”

“
Hey, I was fighting that Tuscogee for you,
”
Rafe said feinting outrage.

“
I could have taken him,
”
Tiberius said.

Rafe laughed and Lexi helped Tiberius to his feet.  They looked back to the camp and started moving toward the sounds of celebration.

“
You better go join the others,
”
Tiberius said. 
“
They
’
ll want to congratulate you.
”

“
Thanks for this,
”
Rafe said touching his eye. 
“
Are you going to be okay?
”

“
I
’
m just tired, that
’
s all,
”
Tiberius said.

“
Come on, I
’
ll keep you company while you sleep,
”
Lexi said.

Rafe nodded at his friends and then went to the celebration.  The Hoskali were dancing and shouting.  People began to cheer as Rafe walked through the crowd.  Food was given to him, and cups of strong drink.  There were even some fermented fruit juices being doled out, which was a rarity among the Hoskali.  The celebration lasted long into the night, but eventually Rafe returned to the big shelter.  Olyva was asleep and looked peaceful curled on the ground.  Rafe didn
’
t like that she refused to at least sleep on a blanket.  She had always been so proper in Avondale.  He
’
d never even seen a hair on her head out of place.  Now she liked to sleep on the ground, with her toes dug into the soft turf.

Rafe walked over to the dying fire.  The nights in the blighted lands were nearly as warm as the days.  Fires weren
’
t needed to stay warm, but the soft glow of the dying flames were comforting to Rafe just the same.  He sat down and stretched his legs out close enough to the fire to feel the warmth.

“
You are a mighty warrior,
”
came a soft voice from behind Rafe.

He turned and found one of Tiberius
’
younger wives coming out of the shelter.

“
How
’
s Ti?
”

“
The Swanee is sleeping,
”
the girl said. 
“
He takes no interest in us.
”

“
That
’
s not true,
”
Rafe said absently. 
“
He
’
s a good man.  He was born to lead.
”

“
That
’
s not what I meant,
”
she said as she began to massage Rafe
’
s shoulders.

Rafe
’
s body tensed.  Normally he didn
’
t mind being touched by beautiful girls, but somehow this time felt different.  Her cool fingers squeezed the muscles in his neck and then slid into the loose garment Rafe was still wearing from the Tuscogee.

“
I think I
’
ll turn in,
”
he said.

“
You could sleep with me,
”
the girl said, as she moved closer, one hand running around his neck and down his chest. 
“
I won
’
t bite, unless you want me to.
”

“
No,
”
Rafe said scrambling to his feet.

He realized that he didn
’
t fear facing wild animals or fighting death duels, but this young girl frightened him.  He felt himself flushing with desire, despite the fact that he didn
’
t want to feel anything for her.  He was afraid of what he might do.  He didn
’
t trust himself to make good choices.  He was drunk from all the drinks the Hoskali had pushed on him, and it appeared as if the young wife of the Swanee had been waiting for him to return.  He couldn
’
t be with her, even if Tiberius wasn
’
t ever going to be with her.  She was officially Tiberius
’
wife and he wouldn
’
t betray his best friend.

If the temptation had come the night before, he might have felt differently, but he wanted to work things out with Olyva.  He wished she would wake up and save him from having to make the right decision.

“
You are a great champion,
”
the girl said, looking up at Rafe with big eyes. 
“
You deserve to be happy.
”

“
This isn
’
t right,
”
Rafe said, taking hold of the girl
’
s shoulders and holding her at arm’s length.

“
It is the way of the Hoskali,
”
she said boldly.

“
You
’
re Ti
’
s wife.
”

“
I am not his Sorwan.  He could give me to you as a reward for your victory in battle.  Do I not please you, Great One?
”

“
Stop this,
”
Rafe said,
“
please.
”

The girl pushed forward and Rafe
’
s resistance broke.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him toward her.  They kissed and Rafe felt every fiber of his being humming with desire.  He wrapped his arms around the girl, pulling her tight against his body.  She seemed eager to please him and Rafe felt his resolve slip away.

“
What the hell are you doing?
”
whispered Lexi furiously.

Rafe opened his eyes and pushed the girl away.  Lexi was crawling out of the tent.

“
I
…
I was just
…”

“
He has chosen me,
”
the girl said defensively. 
“
It is the Hoskali way.
”

“
What about Olyva?
”
Lexi hissed.

“
I didn
’
t mean to do anything,
”
Rafe said, a feeling of shame overwhelming him.

“
The Swanee will give me to him,
”
the girl said, trying to salvage the situation. 
“
I will make him happy.
”

“
You
’
re just a child,
”
Lexi said. 
“
Go fetch water.
”

“
You can
’
t order me around,
”
the girl said.

Lexi
’
s hand whipped out faster than Rafe could follow.  The girl was totally unprepared and would have been knocked senseless if Lexi didn
’
t stop the blow at the last second.