Thanks to Jami-Ami and Purple Enigma for the reviews. The song is 'The Noose' by A Perfect Circle.

Chapter 2

Your halo slippin' down
Your halo slippin' down to choke you now

"We found her on the edge of your property, sir," said Henry, "She was walking into your woods."

The vampire laughed, "Are you going to accuse this child of poaching?"

Emily's mouth dropped open, "I am not a child!"

The vampire responded, shocked, "How dare you raise your voice to me? Do you not know who I am?"

She smiled and cocked her head to the side, "No, but I could take a wild guess."

"Does she live in the village, Henry? She speaks strangely." For some reason, he let her snide comment go.

"I do not think so, my lord. If you would like my opinion, I believe she is one of the demon crazed witches plaguing our God-fearing land."

The vampire smiled, "Are you the witch you are accused of being, girl?"

"I have a name," Emily said, "And it isn't girl."

The vampire nodded to Henry who proceeded to untie her. Emily rubbed her wrists, but Henry grabbed one of her hands. He pushed down on her fingers while keeping his vise like grip on her arm. There wasn't enough pressure to break anything, but it still hurt like hell. "Are you a witch?" Henry asked through gritted teeth.

Emily didn't say anything. As far as she'd been taught, the brunt of the witch trials happened in Salem and during the Inquisition, but she didn't know those exact years. After reading The Crucible she wasn't about to say anything about innocence or guilt in magical matters.

"Leave us, Henry," the vampire said suddenly. The pressure in Emily's wrist disappeared immediately and Henry was gone.

"What is your name?" The vampire asked.

"What's yours?"

"Girl, I could hurt you much worse than Henry ever could hope to. Answer me."

Emily rubbed her wrist. Sighing she said, "My name is Emily Braxton. I still don't know who you are."

"You're not the witch that Henry named you," the vampire ignored her concerning his name, "But you are not the average human."

Emily gulped, "Will you please tell me your name?"

"Why are you so persistent?"

"Because I'm sick of being told that I don't need to know certain information, or that all will be revealed in due time! And if you're my enemy, I'd like to know the name of my murderer, but if you turn out to be my ally, I'd like to know what to call you."

"Most people simply call me 'my lord.'"

"Please."

Something in her voice reached him, "Bligh Varick," he said, "Lord Bligh Varick."

"So you really are the lord of the land? I figured you were just on a power trip." Emily leaned her head against the splintery wooden wall.

"My family was granted this land to protected in the 14th century. I do not know what you mean by power trip... What do you mean by power trip?"

Emily rubbed her head, "Um...It means that you use what little power you've been granted by someone else to make everyone else miserable, like Henry."

Bligh Varick walked to the other side of the room, "Henry is my boyhood companion; if he weren't born a commoner he would be my second-in-command. Do not insult him to my face."

"I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot. I'm really a nice person under normal circumstances, and as you can tell, these aren't exactly normal circumstances." She smiled slightly.

"Why were you trespassing on my property?"

"I didn't know that I was on your property," she paused, "I was lost."

"Where were you coming from? There isn't another village for several days walk."

"My—"

They were interrupted as a boy of 12 or so ran in, "My lord, forgive me for intruding but the villagers need your help."

"What is it, Phillip?"

"The inn has caught fire, and it is spreading fast."

Bligh Varick nodded, "I will be there shortly. Run to the Manor and tell the servants to have water sent the village immediately." The boy left. Bligh turned to Emily, "I'm going to lock you up again, don't try to get out." He went to the door.

"Wait!" Emily called. She stood up, "I...I have a talent for healing. I can help the injured in the village and I don't need any supplies." He opened the door, "Please," she said, "I won't run. I have nowhere to go."

He turned around, "If you run, know this, I will hunt you down like a dog. I am lord of the surrounding area; you can't escape my property for atleast three days. Give me your word."

"You have my word that I won't run from you." Emily didn't blink.

Lord Varick nodded. "The fastest way to the village is on horseback; I have a mare that should be a good mount for you."

Emily nodded, not mentioning that she'd never ridden a horse before. "Do you have a cart that you can hitch to one of the horses to transport the wounded and...the dead."

"There are several in the village." She nodded. "Follow me, we aren't very far away."

Emily hung onto her saddle for dear life as they galloped to the village. Though the ride only took fifteen minutes, it seemed like fifteen years. She was grateful to see smoke in the air.

The fire wasn't large, but without the use of a modern fire department it could easily turn deadly. They dismounted a hundred yards from the fire. Bligh Varick pointed in the direction of several people. "Tell them to gather the wounded and that you can help. I will be watching you."

Emily smiled, "I wouldn't expect any less." If there was any organization before Emily arrived, she couldn't tell. Children were crying, adults were trying to see who had made it out of the buildings. One woman stood out from the rest. She was trying to direct people and calm the children. Emily went to her. "Excuse me," she said. The woman ignored her. Emily tried again, this time she tapped on the woman's shoulder. "Excuse me."

The woman whirled around, "Why do you persist in trying to waste my time, child? You are not injured."

"I was told to come here. I can help."

The woman crossed her arms. "How? By passing your smelling salts around trying to revive the dead? These are not ladies who have fainted from stress, girl. These are burned people."

"And if you weren't wasting my time saying that I'm inferior you'd learn that I'm a Healer." Emily stood up a little taller and straightened her shoulders, trying to look important.

"I see." The woman looked her up and down. "Some of the more injured are being moved over there," she gestured to an almost flat meadow. "Go and try to help them." Emily nodded.

She moved to where the woman pointed. Some people where moaning, others were badly burned, some were unconscious, others were just dead. Emily closed her eyes and concentrated. Healing wasn't something she's learned. She was healing power in a human husk. As far as she was concerned, it wasn't an exact science. Emily's powers began and ended with the body. She had no power over the Earth or space or the seas, but she was one of the most powerful Healers, maybe the most powerful, ever, and she would do the best that she could. She sensed that the worst of the wounded were the ones closest to her; they'd been in the fire the longest.

"H...elp...me," it was a tortured moan from a boy why lay almost at her feet. Emily looked down. His left arm and the left side of his face were badly burned. It wasn't charred like she'd seen in the movies, but he was red, like the skin was boiling off of him. She swallowed hard. After taking a breath to steady herself, she knelt down next to him.

"I'm going to make it better." She put her hands over his burnt arm, not quite touching, and concentrated. She couldn't describe healing to anyone. It was just something she could do. The way it had been explained to her was simple: a Healer heals, end of story. She felt coolness in her hands; this was a rare occasion where the manifested power was cool, not warm. There was only one thought running through her head as she moved her hands over the boys body, 'Don't die.' It became her mantra.

By the time Emily finished with the boy the sun was setting. It had taken well over two hours. There was a little girl lying next to the boy; she was burned, but not half as bad as the boy. Emily used the same procedure over and over again. It didn't matter what the problem was. She put her hands over them and repeated 'Don't die' in her mind. By nightfall she'd healed five people. After the fifth person she stood up and almost fell right back down on her feet. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself and moved to the next person.

He was dead. He was a man of about thirty, and he looked healthy with sandy brown hair and death-blind blue eyes. Emily could tell he'd been dead for a while, atleast a few hours. She checked for a pulse just to make sure; the man was cold. Choking on a sob, Emily sat down. It probably didn't look pretty, and her butt hurt from landing wrong, but she couldn't move. The woman who'd directed Emily to the worst of the injured found her beside the dead man. "You cannot save everyone," she said.

Emily kept starring at his body, past his body. "This is the first real dead body I've every seen."

The woman took a few steps up and knelt beside Emily. "The first one is always the hardest. It cuts the deepest."

"I only saved five people. There were atleast ten here. Five out of ten isn't good enough." She brought her knees to her chest and rested her head on them.

"That's half, girl. I saved another, and there was one other person her, she saved someone too. That is seven out of ten people. If you hadn't have been here, we would have saved two."

"That still doesn't stop me from feeling as if I could have done more."

"That is because there is still more to do. Are you still able to...heal?" The woman said 'heal' like she meant something else. Emily nodded. "There are some others over there. A few wee babies were cut try to help them. Then bandage some of the others." Emily stood up, so did the woman. "I will walk with you." They moved silently across the grass. It some spots it was bloody, others it was extremely dry. "You'll need to change your dress before long."

Emily looked down to see that she was covered in splotches of blood. "I hadn't noticed." 'I'll just make due,' she thought, 'Maybe the blood will wash out.' "What's your name?" Emily asked. "We never introduced ourselves."

"My name is Anna, I am the village healer." She waited for Emily to say something.

"I'm Emily Braxton, I guess I'm a Healer." 'And I'm not from around here.'

"I see. Sarah is holding her baby over there, go assist with the child." Emily nodded and walked away. Sarah's child, Rebecca, was the only baby remotely injured in the fire. Sarah had run out almost immediately after the fire started. Rebecca hadn't gotten injured until her arm was cut when Sarah carried her through the door. "Do you know where her father is?"

Sarah shook her head. "He was caught in the Inn. I haven't a clue where he is."

"If you want, I could hold Rebecca if you want to look for him."

Sarah's eyes widened. "You would do that for me?" She handed the child over. "Oh, thank you so very much."

Emily looked down at Rebecca, "Why don't we go find a place to sit?" she asked the child. Rebecca was silent; Emily took it as a yes. She carried the girl to a less crowded grassy area. After they sat down, Rebecca started to cry. 'Shit.' Rocking the girl on her knee, Emily murmured, "It's okay, baby. It's okay. Mommy's going to be right back, she's just looking for your daddy."

A cry came from the rows of the dead and wounded. "Oh, my dear sweet Joseph! Lord, why do you try me so?"

Emily couldn't be sure, but she thought it sounded like Sarah. "I think your mommy found your daddy." She stood up to get a better look at where Sarah had gone. "Come on, let's go see."

Sarah knelt over the man Emily had failed to save. "Was he your husband?"

Sarah turned to her, wrath in her eyes. "He was my world."

Emily closed her eyes, "I'm sorry."

"Give me my daughter, and leave me be." Emily handed her the girl silently. Rebecca started to cry. "I thank you for healing her, but I have no further use for you."

Emily turned and tried to walk away calmly, before she knew it, she was running. The forest wasn't far. Once she was sheltered by the trees, she collapsed into a sobbing pile. She didn't see Bligh Varick enter; she heard him.

"You promised not to run. I knew you lied."

But I'm more than just a little curious
How you're plannin' to go about makin' your amends
To the dead
To the dead

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