The Clinic

 

Looking closely into his eyes, Alithea could see that the bluing of his eyes was an illusion of brighter light, a blue sparkle that danced on the natural tawny color of his eyes. What had they given him at that school? Suddenly Erthen coughed in her face and she drew back a few inches, noticing again the dust motes in the sunlight that pierced the dark of the cabin tent. The dust was irritating his lungs.

She tore a piece of cloth from her skirt and tied it around Erthen’s mouth. He protested at first but she insisted. Tearing another piece, she tied it around her own mouth, then touched her finger to her lips then touched his lips. Erthen copied her. She made ma, ma, ma sounds and waited for him. After a few tries, he understood the game and made ma, ma sounds, laughing at the vibrations as the sound passed through the cloth.

They came to a stop and Alithea leaned toward the opening to see a makeshift rock, dirt and wood building set into the giant earthen bowl. One of the Fae warriors appeared in the opening and made an odd expression when she saw Alithea and Erthen with cloth face masks. Was that a look of surprise? Fae warriors were so inscrutable, their eyes big but their faces ever still, an impassiveness that made them particularly chilling in battle.

The Fae warrior stepped aside and gestured for them to get out. She led them through a constructed rock opening into a medium sized room with two wooden bench seats, a straw mat on a wooden table in the center of the room and another table against the far wall. Alithea could see some steps leading down to a lower level and the sounds of pain below.

The other Fae and a Person carried in a small chest that had been in the tent cabin with them. Alithea had thought it was another seat, but they set it down, then opened the lid to reveal several surgical instruments, gauze cloth and various small containers. A Fae warrior held a bowl in her hand, put it under a container on the wall and pulled a chain fixed to the container. Water flowed into the bowl.

The Fae warrior reached for Erthen but Alithea swiveled her body away and held the boy closer to her. The Fae warrior tried again but Alithea was insistent and set the boy down on one of the bench seats. The Fae warrior turned to her companion, made some language sound, and turned toward the steps. She motioned with her arm to someone at the bottom of the steps and waited.   

Alithea was shocked at the huddled figure who appeared at the top of the stairs.

//////////////////

Alithea recognized the wiry body as one of the Melangi, a tribe of the people that had migrated to the eastern mountains after the Civil War. These were hardy people and were formidable in battle but kept to themselves, working in small artisan shops they built along the rivers, tending to their flocks in the high meadows.

She recognized him as a boy younger than Drindl but aged beyond his time by physical duress. There were some similarities between Melan, their language and Jadel, the tongue spoken by Alithea. His shoulders were stooped but no broken bones. She did a quick but thorough exam on the lad. The muscles on one side of his spine were thick and ropey, a sign of overexertion. This was not her expertise, but she knew a few simple techniques and had the boy lie on the exam table.

She glanced to the spot where she had left Erthen. He sat with one of the Fae warriors, touching her neck, curious about the two tendrils that a Fae warrior extends to control other creatures. Alithea stepped toward Erthen, anxious that the Fae warrior would extend those tendrils into her son’s brain. The Fae lifted her long hand, made a calming gesture to Alithea and a signal that she should continue with her patient. Still wary, Alithea turned back to the patient.

Lying on his chest she saw how unbalanced his body was, a sign of repeated overwork at one task. After a few simple manipulations, his spine relaxed and his muscles were not so tense. She had him sit up. He opened his mouth and closed his eyes. What was this? Was there something wrong with his teeth? Although the sunlight was nearing this side of the pit wall where the clinic stood, the light in the clinic was poor.

She glanced at the Fae warrior with Erthen, then to the other warrior who held out a small tray with small white squares on it. The Fae warrior lifted one finger and motioned to the tray. Alithea pointed to the patient and the Fae nodded. She lifted a square from the tray and looked at it. It reminded her of energy that the Jade warriors took before battle, but this square had no fine threads. She turned to the Melangi patient and put the square on his tongue, glancing back at the Fae warrior for assurance. She helped the patient stand up and the Fae warrior took him by the arm and led him down the stone steps.

Alithea glanced toward Erthen, then grew startled when she saw the boy lying still in the arms of the Fae warrior. His leg jerked in sleep and she relaxed. Should she tell Fallon that their son had curled up with a Fae mercenary? The sunlight reached the opening in the clinic wall, giving Alithea hope that she could make it through this strange day of new experiences.

The other Fae warrior returned with another patient with a similar crippled stature. The queen did not need Alithea to hand out white squares to these overworked prisoners. Why was she here? An alert dread coiled in the pit of her stomach.