System Break

Chapter 123: Life and Death

The tense mood in the cave hung heavily in the air. It was so thick I could hardly breathe so I removed my wooden mask and the cloth one beneath.

I felt like a stab in the heart when I looked at Reyas with my qi sight. Her qi core was empty yes, but there was not one but two. The second qi core twinkled at me and I could only think of one thing it could mean.

"I think she's pregnant," I said. I could see the tiny core now that hers was dim, but it must have been there for a while. There were next to each other and now only the tiny one shone.

The shaman ignored me and Gisael stared.

"Feed her some qi," I said. "She will die without it." I crawled the last to her. Several of her bones were broken and their shape was all wrong. One collarbone pierced her shoulder and the other was dislocated.

"You live," the shaman said and spat. "Good now help."

"If you set the bones I can try and stitch them together," I said.

Gisael fed Reyas a small qi-core. She stabbed it and squeezed, most of it went to Reyas and some to the baby inside her.

The shaman grumbled. "We need to start her heart, clear her air ways and stem the internal bleeding. You weren't a surgeon in the old world were you?"

He sounded lucid and I was glad. "A soldier."

"Of course, what fucking else would they send." He sighed and turned her on her side. He was technically blind, but his qi technique allowed him enough awareness to direct his hands. He reached down her throat and checked for a blockage before he turned her back onto her back.

"Do you know CPR?" he asked. 

"Or course."

"Do it."

It had been awhile since but it what I had to do was clear in my mind and her life depended on it. We worked together and Gisael made room.

She exited the cave and went to check on the two captives.

"Who are you?" the older woman asked.

"Are they dead?" the younger said.

"I am Gisael and yes they are dead."

"Can we enter the shaman's cave?" 

"I do not know. Right now my friend fights for her life and there is not much room. Are either of you a healer?"

The older woman shook her head. "I am the chieftain's wife, and this is my daughter."

"Have you seen a strange bird?"

The women pointed down into the ravine. "The wolf killed it with lightning."

Gisael stared. "I will check. Go to the ledge but do not go in until the shaman summons you."

Gisael climbed down and looked for Demon bird. She found him at the bottom of the ravine and carefully put him in her backpack. Then she climbed back up to the shaman's cave as quickly as she could.

When she returned we were setting and healing her ribs. The shaman could set much faster than I could mend, but that didn't stop me doing my best on each before moving to the next.

I smiled weakly. "Her heart is beating and she's breathing." 

Gisael frown and carefully lowered her pack. She tentatively lifted Demon Bird and laid him down. It was then I realised he was silent.

"What is this?" the shaman asked.

"It was Demon Bird," I said sadly.

"What is he? He is not natural."

I focused on healing Reyas and tried to block the despair of losing my bird from my mind. 

"He is not natural," Gisael said. "But he was welcomed by the forest."

"Take him out," I said sadly.

"No," the shaman said. "It is made from the same material as us. How did it come to be?"

This surprised me. I knew he was strange, but I had no idea he was from a lump like me.

Gisael stared. "When you went to the mine we fought and killed an adventurer. An alpha one like you. It was in the west near where you found Demon Bird. We buried his body for the forest to reclaim."

"Shit," I said. 

The shaman set another bone. While we talked we did not stop working on Reyas and she moaned.

"Give her something for the pain," I said.

"Not yet. She needs to fight for her life still," the shaman said.

It was the second time in two days I wished Kysandre was with us. I concentrated on the collarbone that the shaman just set.

"If Demon Bird is made from a lump like us, can he come back?"

"I've never seen something like this. It is strange to me as well," the shaman said. "If it's not connected to a pod then it cannot come back."

Gisael ran a hand along my shoulders and then reached around with a cloth. I didn't realise I was sweating until she dabbed my forehead. 

"She will live," the shaman said and gave her some black leaf for pain relief. 

I qi stitched the wound on her shoulder before the shaman applied a bandage. Gisael presented another tiny core to me and after a slight nod she popped it in my mouth. I worked on Reyas all night. I could not sleep when there was more stitching I could do. I stitched bones for the first time, skin, muscles, and tendons. 

By stitching her bones it was my hope they would heal much more quickly. My hope that instead of a break it was more like a fracture and instead of a fracture it was more like a hairline fracture. I was still a country mile from the innate skills of a troll, but my healing was coming along slowly but surely. The only issue was some of the practise I would rather do without.

"The sun breaks," Gisael said with worry in her voice. "You need rest."

I smiled wearily. "Did you sleep?" I was so focused on Reyas I didn't notice if she napped or not.

She nodded. "I rested. I will watch her and your bird."

Demon bird lay in the corner. He'd been dead for half a day and I held no hope for him. I thought of Dark Bear and felt his connection. He was sad and did not know why. I stood and took a walk outside for some fresh air.

"Don't fret Dark Bear she will live," I said and stretched. I peered at the women who peered at me. They were freezing. "Get inside and get warm you idiots," I said.

I suddenly became angry at the fake shaman. The captives nearly froze to death outside his cave because of their respect for him. Respect for a fraud. And then my heart caught in my throat. He did save Reyas. I don't think we could have done it without him.

"Fucking fraud," I said, spat and then sighed. I cursed him but I was glad he was here.

The purple clouds gathered overhead, and they were darker than I'd ever seen. I saw lightning jump between them and shivered. 

Gisael joined me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She handed me my wooden antler mask and said, "Do you want to travel to the cache to rest in peace?"

I looked back at the cave with my qi-sight and counted the cores. There were five including the baby inside Reyas. 

"Okay," I said. I was beyond tired and although I didn't want to leave Reyas it would be nice to be away from the strangers. Gisael entered the cave and returned with our packs. I donned my mask and we left.