Chapter 2

Gasping, Kyminn braced himself against a tree and thinned his shields a bit, probing into the ravine, seeking…there! The spring rains had swelled the river and undercut the bank. The resulting slide had swept tons of mud, trees and stone into the ravine. Tangled, buried in the mud was the bloody outline of a horse.

Kyminn tightened his shields against the pain pouring from the injured animal and started picking his way down the bank, looking for the rider. Unlike most tales, which seemed to have stray or wild horses conveniently at hand, Kyminn was aware reality was quite, quite different.

A horse, even an old, broken down nag, was an extremely valuable piece of property. For most farmers, horses – or similar draft beasts – were the difference between survival and starvation. Even an animal too old to work had value. Horsemeat wasn't most people's preferred meal, but no one was foolish enough to waste several hundredweight of meat. That meant that somewhere, there was a rider for this horse, one Kyminn's Gift would not show him.

It took several minutes for Kyminn to dig down to the rider. Both he and his horse were alive, but their injuries were severe. The rider had a twisted shoulder that told Kyminn the joint was separated, if not broken. Cuts and bruises abounded but little blood. Of most concern was the injuries Kyminn couldn't see – the leg and pelvis pinned under the horse.

Feet scrabbled as the horse tried to get to its – his – feet. As he did so, fresh blood stained the cruel tangle of debris. Kyminn automatically reached out with his Mindspeech to hold the horse's mind, to keep him still.

Nothing.

The silence was a jolt. As Kyminn reached out with his mind a second time, he froze at the brilliant sapphire eye that met his own.

The Companion bunched up his muscles again, trying to rise to his feet.

"Stop!" It was a scream.

Blue eyes met green.

"I know you're not a horse. I know you can understand me. You can't move. Your Herald is pinned and we have to be careful or we could kill him trying to save him. And you…" Kyminn looked at the shattered branch piercing the Companion's chest, "You're trapped too."

Kyminn didn't need Mindspeech to understand the fear, pain and urgency rolling off the Companion. He reached out again with his mind, this time his Healing gift. He carefully explored the brutal injury to the Companion's chest and battered body. He blanched at what he Saw.

"You are…very badly injured," he said, fighting to keep his tone level. "When you fell, a broken timber pierced your off shoulder and exited through your chest wall. It missed your heart, barely. But it has torn several blood vessels. If you move too quickly, you will die. In addition, your off fore leg is shattered, both in the cannon and radius. Frankly", he said bleakly, "If you were a horse, I don't know that I could save you."

The Companion pivoted his head to look for his Herald. The look in the Companion's eyes was clearly a question, and a demand.

"I think we can save him. And I will do my best to save you both. I promise."

A once white head, now filthy and red, gave a slow nod of acknowledgement.

Kyminn took a deep breath, thinned his shields and reached. There. Just so. Blocking the pain, stopping the worst of the bleeding, re-routing blood flow to crushed muscles and organs. It would have to do for now.

Eyes open, he reached again, this time it was easy, a feather light touch to a familiar mind and a dark shape circled out of the forest, settling gracefully on a nearby stone. A caw, a flip of the wings and a cock of the head drew a wan smile from Kyminn. He gently stroked the crow's head with one finger.

"This is Kel. She's a friend of mine. She's not a pet, she comes and goes as she pleases. But often it pleases her to spend time with me and, from time to time, do things for me. In return I make sure she always has enough to eat and a safe, warm place to rest."

Kyminn gently rested his hand on Kel's breast and spoke clearly and carefully. As he did, he built a picture in the bird's mind of what he wanted her to do.

"Go HERE (and he pictured the Healer's building in Oakden.) Strike THIS, THIS and THIS (three bells, one white, one blue, one green.) Strike until She comes (a picture of Anya, his grandmother.)

"Then go HERE (the Guard station, familiar to the bird from other emergencies) and strike THIS, THIS and THIS again. (Three bells again, blue, white and green.) Lead them here.

The crow gave a bob of her head, another flip of the wings and launched, beating vigorously back towards the village.

That done, Kyminn began splinting and binding the wounds he could reach, and began clearing the mud and stone from around the crippled pair.

"Kel has helped in emergencies before and this is something we've practiced. The village and guard will know that whatever happened, it needs – or involves – a Herald, a Healer and the Guard. Basically anyone who fits that description is needed. Kel will lead the guard to us but," a pause, "they are a day away. The village will get here first, but not for some hours yet. With luck, they can free your Herald and the Guard can help free you." His voice softened as he gazed somberly at the Companion. "I'm sorry. It's going to be a difficult night. And there are no guarantees for either of you."

"How will the villagers find us?" The croaked question was little more than a whisper.

Kyminn clambered back over the growing mound of excavated debris to the Herald. He carefully tucked his oiled jacket around the injured man. "My grandmother and mother know where I was headed. They know to back track on Kel's path 'as the crow flies' to find our general direction. Once they get closer, I can use wildlife to find them and guide them, and my grandmother and I have worked together enough that her gift will let her find me."

"Derris?" The Herald reached out to touch his Companion's mud-caked shoulder, the only thing he could reach.

"Both you and your Companion are very badly injured." Grimly, honestly, Kyminn described their injuries. "We – all of us – will do our very best for both of you. Just don't give up."

"Fortunately, neither Derris nor I is very good at giving up. One of our character flaws I suppose." The Herald attempted a dry chuckle. " Does your village have a Healer?" There was hope in the question.

Kyminn busied himself with clearing debris and making the Herald as comfortable as he could. He carefully didn't meet the Herald's eyes as he answered. "Yes and no. My grandmother, Anya Bellman, trained at the Healer's Collegium. But you should know that she has a very minor Healing gift. She is very good at using it to diagnose, or to tell if a treatment is working, but it's not strong enough to do very much Healing. She is a good surgeon and bone setter, but doesn't use a Gift to heal."

"I see." The Herald let this wash over him, his face shuttered. "And you?"

Kyminn's answer much more open. "Yes and no." A wry shrug. "I am told my Healing gift is very strong. Unfortunately for you, I can't Heal people. Fortunately for Derris, I can heal animals." Kyminn paused, struck by something.

"That's odd, actually. I was surprised at first when I tried to mindspeak Derris and couldn't reach him. Then I realized he is a Companion and it made sense. I can mindspeak animals…"

The Herald drew in his breath to speak, but Kyminn kept going "But Derris is not a horse."

The Herald let out his breath in a huff. "If only you knew how many times I've said that…" the Herald tried to mask a grimace, struggling to transmute it into a smile. "By the way, young not-Healer, what is your name? I'm Randen. And you've met Derris." There was an undertone that last that Kyminn couldn't quite place. It spoke of a bond more than brother, something for which there were no words.

"I'm Kyminn, Herald Randen, from Oakden. My grandmother, mother and I do for the village people and beasts when it comes to healing and such."

"And you can Heal?"

"Aye, Herald Randen. My gifts may realize that Derris is not a horse and not let me use mindspeech to speak with him, but as far as my gifts are concerned, having a horse's body means I can use my gift on him." A twisted smile. "Good thing too. My Foresight warns me when an animal is about to be badly hurt. Apparently, that includes Companions. That's how I found you."

"Ah," Randen seemed to be husbanding his strength.

Kyminn understood the unspoken question. "If you're wondering why I'm not healing Derris right now Herald, the answer is, I am. If you could See us, you'd See that he and I are linked, and I'm using a trickle of strength to control the pain and bleeding. I can go on like this for quite some time, provided nothing goes wrong. I am trying," and it was quiet, "to keep him alive long enough that we free and save you both. But until help comes, all I can do is try to keep you two alive. And wait."

"And wait." Randen nodded and his hand crept out again, seeking Derris's shoulder like a talisman of hope.