“Here is good,” said Charlotte from twenty feet in the air. “Julian needs to see my brother. Thanks for the ride!”
The spriggan gently lowered them both to the ground. Keir rushed to Charlotte first, but she directed him to Julian’s ankle.
“I’m here for the wedding,” said the spriggan as Keir examined Julian’s range of movement and pain level.
“It’s tomorrow,” said Alison. “At the town hall.”
“Very good,” said the spriggan. “I’ll plant right here.” Keir had to look up from Julian’s ankle to see what was going on. The spriggan stood in a patch of grass near the market squareand extended roots down. Then he stood in place, looking for all intents and purposes like an ordinary tree. An ordinary tree with a face.
“What a town!” cried Alison’s mother, hiccoughing.
“Mum, how many pints have you had?” said Alison, leading her mother back inside.
“The ankle isn’t broken,” said Keir. “But it’ll take a bit of time to heal. You’d do best with a crutch. I have one at the house.”
“But I’m needed on my feet. There are wedding cakes to make,” said Julian.
Keir looked at Charlotte. What was she playing at this time? “What happened to Mrs. Knox?”
“She was called away on an urgent message from her sister. Julian has agreed to help me. Don’t worry. We can do it.”
The last time Keir had spoken to Charlotte about Julian, they were completely at odds, and she was furious about it. He must have missed something, but that wasn’t a rare occurrence on its own.
“Isn’t there something you can do?” asked Charlotte. “Some magic?”
Keir sighed. Alison wasn’t nearby, and she’d never tried direct healing magic before anyway. Keir himself had, but it been the disaster that had resulted in the vine that nearly swallowed the town.
He knew what he would have said a year ago before he’d met Alison.Absolutely not. It’s far too dangerous, and it probably won’t work anyway.
But he’d felt the magic when Alison wielded it. He had even wielded it himself to save his own life at Winwold College. He didn’t fully understand it, and maybe he never would, but he had felt its limits. Felt the will that had denied him before. Whatever force lay beneath it, it could be bargained with. Persuaded.
Idris had told him it was a negotiation, but Keir hadn’t understood what he was offering in the bargain. But as he looked at his sister, he knew what he needed to offer it.
It was a part of himself that he offered. A vulnerable, humble part of himself that understood that there were things in this world beyond explanation, and that if those things would take what they needed from him, he might be given something in return.
Keir turned to Julian’s ankle. It was a simple sprain; one of the outer ligaments was likely pulled, maybe even torn very slightly. It would heal on its own within a few weeks.
Or it could heal right this moment. It wasn’t complex. The ligament just needed to stitch itself back together, like pulling together threads to sew a wound shut. Keir visualize sewing it shut with an invisible needle.
“Is it working?” asked Charlotte.
“Shh,” said Keir. “Let me concentrate.”
He felt in his chest for the place the magic came from. It was harder to find without Alison nearby, but just the thought of her led him to it. He imagined pulling the magic from that place and threading it onto a needle.
When he pulled, the magic resisted slightly. He pulled back quickly, feeling the panic come over him. Was he doing the wrong thing again? Would this backfire and end up hurting them all?
He felt Alison approaching without even turning to see her, the magic in him sensing the magic in her.
“Keir’s trying to heal Julian’s ankle,” explained Charlotte, seeing Alison’s confusion. “With magic.”
Alison was surprised. “Do you need my help?” she asked.
“Maybe,” said Keir. “I know what needs to be done. But I’m not sure how to ‘negotiate,’ as Idris calls it.”
“Open yourself to it,” said Alison. “Let it feel your fear and doubt. Don’t try to hide it. It’s okay to be afraid. Let yourself feel it, and then move on to making it better.”
Keir was afraid, but he trusted Alison more than anything in the world. He tried again, feeling for the magic within him. There it was, stronger now with Alison near him. He pulled on it again, just a thread. He felt the resistance and the fear it caused him. He sent the fear into the magic.
