Chapter 12
Tina leaned against Kravek's backpack and put her blood-soaked hand down in her lap. Her stomach grumbled. Working with magic had drained a good deal of her energy. “I need something to eat.”
Kravek glanced at Luna to make sure she wasn't in distress before he retrieved the food Tina had given him. Pulling it out of his backpack, he removed a piece of bread and broke off some of the crust. “Will you be able to get the other shards out?”
“I can, but they shouldn't be nearly as difficult. And there's no immediate risk. Once I've eaten, we can remove them, and I can sear the wounds so she won't keep bleeding once the shards are out.” She started to reach for the piece of crust in Kravek's hand but saw the blood on her own. “Don't suppose you brought a water skin, did you?”
Kravek withdrew a water skin from his backpack. “Soldier's habit.” He pulled the stopper from the water skin and poured out a little water for Tina to wash her hands.
Once the blood was out of Tina's fur, she wiped her hands on a piece of clean bandage and then took the piece of bread Kravek had offered. “Are there any surgeons in the city?”
Kravek looked at the piece of bread from which he'd broken the crust and put it back in the cloth. “Three. They're all former combat surgeons.”
“Benefit of having a lot of ex-military around.” Tina took a bite out of the bread crust.
Kravek looked down at Tina in consideration. “You're not a coward, Tina. I shouldn't have said what I did.”
Tina paused, then lowered the piece of crust from her mouth and folded her hands in her lap. “No, Kravek. You were right. I was being cowardly.” She laid her tail across her lap. “Luna's wounds weren't as serious as they could have been, but I made up this scenario in my head where I would have to try to heal a grievous injury.” Her gaze lowered to the ground. “I was afraid I'd be risking her life. After seeing that dragon's injury, I just... leapt to the worst possible conclusion.”
“Dragon?” Kravek flicked one of his large ears.
“There was a wounded Maldavian near Lazur Thulfa's farm. I went to see if I could save him.” Tina wrapped her fingers around her necklace and rubbed her thumb over the lava-colored crystal it held. “I couldn't, but his Albatross is with me for now. He'd been too badly wounded. It was a stomach wound as well.”
“I'm sorry.” Kravek looked down at Luna. “Will she be all right to move about with pieces of those rocks still in her skin?”
Tina sighed. “No. But once I have my strength back, I'll remove them as well. As hard as it is to believe, wizards aren't all-powerful, Kravek.” She wrinkled her muzzle.
Kravek looked back down at Tina. “I didn't mean--”
Tina held her hand up to stay his statement. “I'm worried too.” She flicked one of her ears when she heard Luna groaning. “Make sure she doesn't try to get up, will you?”
Kravek nodded and moved to Luna's side. As the mink began to stir, he rested his hand on her uninjured shoulder. “Don't get up.”
Luna blinked a few times before her eyes were open. “Kravek? What happened?” She looked around the room. “We're still in the cave.”
Kravek nodded. “Tina was able to keep the rocks from falling on us. You have a few wounds from a rock that shattered too close to you. Just lie still for now.”
Luna closed her eyes and began to tremble. It looked to Tina as though the mink was fighting to keep herself from rising. A thought occurred to her, and Tina rose. She walked to the side of Luna's head and rested one of her hands on the mink's temple. “Shh, it's all right. You're going to be okay.”
Luna was still trembling, and Tina could tell with the way Luna had started growling that keeping her down wasn't going to be easy. Whispering quietly, she called on a small portion of her gift and let it flow into Luna's mind. “Rest now. You need your sleep.”
The growl in Luna's throat slowly abated, and her eyes closed again. Within moments, Luna was asleep once more.
Tina drew her hand away and walked back to seat herself against Kravek's backpack.
Kravek glanced at Tina. “Why did you put her back to sleep?”
Tina looked up at Kravek. “Two reasons. First of all, I don't want to risk getting my arm broken again if I have to dig as deeply as I did before to get shards out of her body. And second... I think she might be claustrophobic.”
“Claus... what?”
Tina gestured to the room around them. “It's a fear of being in a closed space. I guess she was all right inside a larger cave, but this room barely has enough space for the three of us.”
Kravek glanced at the ball of glowing light still levitating above Tina's head, then looked back down at Luna. “How did all of this happen, Tina?”
Tina picked up the piece of bread crust and returned to munching on it. She was quiet for a minute while she finished eating as she considered how to answer. Kravek could apparently see she was thinking because he didn't press the question. Tina wiped her hands and settled them in her lap. “That's a good question, Kravek. It doesn't make any sense.”
“What do you mean?”
Tina rose to her feet and looked at the walls around them. “The cavern collapsed on us as the result of a spell. Those two stone creatures you saw were part of the spell meant to trap anyone who entered the cavern so it could be brought down on top of intruders. But that's the part which doesn't make any sense.”
Tina reached up to adjust her glasses on the bridge of her muzzle but felt they were still missing. Her eyes were tired, and she rubbed them. “I can understand a wizard leaving traps and wards to prevent someone from finding the entrance to his tower. But to leave a spell behind to bring down the cavern his tower was in is a step too far. He'd literally be burying the entrance to his tower under a mountain.”
“What does it mean?” Kravek leaned back from Luna and seated himself again.
“It could mean a lot of things, but the reason which makes the most sense is that he never intended to come back. In which case,” Tina pinched the bridge of her muzzle, “he knew he was going to die when he left. But that just raises more questions. If he wasn't planning to come back, why would he leave behind a spell to kill anyone coming into this cave?”
“Could it have something to do with the story of Kaelus?” Kravek questioned.
Tina shook her head. “The spell would have triggered before he ever placed his tower. I don't think this was a trap set by the Maldavians to keep Kaelus's grave undisturbed. If nothing else, Shahdazhan would not stand for Kaelus's grave being destroyed and his soul released.” She rubbed her face. Rising from the ground, she touched the light over her head. It grew brighter. “It just doesn't make sense.”
Kravek looked at the light. “What are you thinking?”
“I don't know yet.” Tina looked back at Kravek. “Can you see my glasses anywhere? They were thrown off when I activated my armlet, and my eyes aren't good enough to spot them without wearing them.”
Kravek looked around the small cavern. “I'm sorry Tina, but I...” He paused. “Wait. What's that?”
Tina looked back at Kravek. He was close enough she could see where he was pointing, and she turned her head. She moved closer to the wall, and the light glinted off something. Stepping closer, she ran her hand over the wall until it brushed against something jutting from it. She tugged once, but the small piece of metal was lodged in firmly.
Tina sighed. “Those are not easy to make. I must have trapped them in the wall when I fused the rocks together.”
“Can't you magic them out?”
Tina looked back over her shoulder. “You remember what I said about the door to the Stumble Drum and your horns? Think of that happening in here.”
Kravek nodded. “Right. Do you have a spare set?”
“Only one. I probably destroyed this pair when the rocks came together. And it looks as though I'll need to make another
spare set once I return to Kerovnia.” Tina walked back from the wall and seated herself. She looked up at the center of the ceiling.
Kravek looked up when he noticed. “What are you looking at?”
“Nothing, really. I was just thinking about how long we can survive in here before the air runs out.” She rubbed her fingers against her brow. “And about what it's going to take to get us out of here. I'm also thinking about how much magic it's going to take to get the stones out of the rest of Luna's wounds and how much I will be able to endure before it kills me.”
“Can't you just blow a hole to the surface from here or something?”
Tina shook her head. “Far too many risks, and even putting the immediate ones aside, there's too much rock between us and the surface. Even if I could conjure enough magic right now, a lot of it would fall back down on top of us.” She sighed. “On top of that, the longer I take to think about it, the more air we use up.” Turning back to Kravek and Luna, Tina walked to the two of them and climbed up onto Luna's stomach. “This may be pointless if I can't get us out, but at least if we die down here, Luna can do it without those rocks in her body.”