Chapter 11

Ledger held up the staff and concentrated. He began to feed power to the staff so it wouldn’t completely drain and self destruct, then issued the command for the Cone of Cold. Aston staggered back into his seat as a sudden wave of cold washed over the space between the wagon and the ambushers. He watched as the road was coated in frost, all the tree’s along the road suddenly were frozen solid by the expanding cone of deep cold. The wave hit the men blocking the road, they died as they stood, turned into solid human pillars of ice. Ledger cut the spell as fast as he could and waited until the air stopped wavering from the cold.

As he waited, a tree limb snapped and dropped to the road in front of the shivering horses. Despite the effort to avoid hurting them, some of the waves of frozen air had spread and chilled the animals. Aston would need to check them over for any harm. The human pillars started to fall over and crack as they landed. It would be messy as they thawed out in the late afternoon sun. Aston snapped the reins and the horses started forwards once more, though a bit reluctant at first as he had to steer them around the fallen limb. As they came to the broken bodies in the road, they heard a man shout to keep moving. As they continued on, nobody stood up to make themselves a target for whatever it was that had so easily frozen twelve men on the road. Aston could feel at least twice as many minds up in the hills. He could also feel the raw terror radiating like a thick cloud from them. He didn’t relax until he could barely feel them in the distance and they finally faded away.

“Ok, we are clear of them Brena, do we need to stop?” he asked the girl.

“No, keep going, I want us well clear of this place before nightfall.” She looked around the bench at the slowly rising road ahead. “How long before we hit the next mountain pass?”

Aston thought about it as he remembered the map. “I would say about two to three days depending on the weather. If conditions hold like this, two days.” He paused when one of the horses stumbled a little. “Or longer if Gren has gone lame on us.” He stopped the wagon and jumped down, quickly calming the upset horse with a thought. He listened to her and quickly spotted what had gone wrong.

He lifted the left rear hoof and cursed. A bit of shattered bone from one of the frozen corpses had lodged into the inner edge of the hoof and had worked its way into the tender flesh above the hoof. He told Ledger to set the brake, then climbed into the back to gather his tools to treat Gren’s injury. Bone was always bad, it could cause serious infections and cripple an animal in a short time if not caught and treated right away.

“Ladies, I need to get Andrew out of the back for a while. We have an injury that is worse by far than his arm to deal with,” he said as he dropped the tailgate.

“Worse than his arm?” Brena started to bluster when she stopped abruptly when Andrew used his good hand to grab her leg to stop her from doing or saying something that would do greater harm. He had managed to grab her ankle, so she fell back onto him, just missing his injured arm. What wasn’t planned is where his hand ended up as she landed. As she had started to fall back, his arm slid up her leg under her skirt. She squeaked as several fingers slid across and partially into her exposed vagina. She rolled away and glared first at Andrew, then Aston. Her glare turned to face the other two women that had started giggling as they had seen how she had landed. “That wasn’t funny,” she snapped. “Ok you two, let’s get him and the kids out of the way so Aston here can minister to his horses.”

They were able to sit Andrew up and help him slide to the back of the wagon, then assisted him on getting his feet on the ground so they could walk him to a fallen log beside the road. Andrew chuckled, “Why is there always a fallen log by the roadside when you need one?” he asked rhetorically.

“Just sit and stay quiet,” said Adora. “I will stay with you for now.” She sat next to him and held his good arm so he wouldn’t fall over. She could see he was in distress from how pale he had become. “Here, slide down so you are leaning back on the log.” He did as she directed and felt better now that he wasn’t having to struggle to stay upright. He closed his eyes was quickly asleep.

Aston was looking at the damage done by the bone shard and cursed quietly. ‘I need the heavy cleaning and disinfectants for this wound,’ he thought grimly. He looked at Ledger, “I will need a small pan of water brought to a hard boil.” Ledger nodded and went to the cooking gear in the back and soon had a small pot half full of water boiling. Aston saw it and nodded his thanks. He added a few drops from a vial to the water, then a pinch of a course ground black powder to it. He let the mix simmer as the water started coming down from the boil. When he felt it was ready, he opened a large pouch and reached in with a set of tweezers he had first dipped in the hot solution, and pulled out a six-inch square of fine woven cloth. He dropped it in the solution to let it soak, then poured water from the drinking barrel in a small trough. Here he scrubbed his hands using a harsh soap to clean his hands. He wished once more he had had time to do this before he had worked on Andrew’s arm. Without touching anything else, he lifted the cloth from the pot and used it to wipe down the injury. He even wiped the bone shard clean that was sticking out of the hoof. Gren snorted and shuffled her legs a little from the stinging from the solution. He told her to remain calm and not move.

Frayn snorted at her and she huffed back at him but remained still for Aston to work on her leg. With the tweezers, he gentle worked the bone loose enough to pull out. He set it aside, noting it must have come from a shattered arm bone from the shape of it. He was relieved when he saw it wasn’t in very deep, so he wouldn’t need to add any stitches to repair the wound. He dribbled a little of the solution with a small dipper into the cut and covered it with a clean sock. He would check it again that evening. He knew it would drain a bit more, but from the looks of it, it should heal fine in a few days.

Now he turned his attention to his other patient. “Brena, take the pot over to Andrew if you would. It is time I clean that mess up properly.” Before she left, he dropped another set of tweezers in the pot to soak. He took the time to scrub up again and had Alba carry the pouch with the sterile wipes. Adora carefully pulled the sock down, being careful as it was stuck to the wound from the blood still seeping from the wound. Aston noted that the stitches had a bit of swelling around the entry wound. The exit side seemed to be clear. He wiped the area down with the fluid and watched for any reaction. He got one, the fluid burned the injury like fire; Andrew was fully awake and cussing now.

“What in blazes is that stuff Aston,” he said through gritted teeth. “It should be used as a weapon or torture device to get answers.” He couldn’t move much as Brena had sat down on his lap and Adora was holding his left arm down. It was well Brena didn’t see where it was she was holding his arm down too.

“This cleans the wound to keep it from souring. I didn’t have a chance to do this right earlier so there still is a risk it might get infected. I have to keep an eye on this for then next week at least.” He looked at Brena and inquired, “Have you any distilled urra and devil black spice in your kit, “I only have a limited supply of either and will be out in about two days treating Andrew and Gren.”

“I have some of the powder, but I’ve never heard of the other,” she said.

Adora spoke up, “I know what it is made from and how, but I don’t have any of the distilleries to make it.” She blushed, “We also don’t have the supply of clean, alcohol-free urine to make it from.”

Alba looked like she would get sick hearing what it was that made a medicine. Aston spoke before she could say anything. “As she said, it had to be the clear urine. Then it is distilled down and the crystals collected. It is then soaked and re-distilled a second time. These crystals are what makes it so effective as a cleaning agent for injuries. Mixed with Devils Black Spice and it prevents infection if further care is taken.”

(To any that are going to complain about the urra crystal, it is my world, my story, my imagination. So hush.)

Adora closed her mouth and sat quietly after that. ‘Here is a man of learning and power,’ she thought. ‘He is not attached but is not going to settle down for some time. I could learn from him maybe, become an apprentice.’ Adora looked Aston up and down, ‘He is well built and strong. I wonder if he as well fitted in the lower half.’ She slapped that thought down hard and went back to what she had been doing in helping hold the injured arm steady for Aston the work on.

Aston covered the stitch’s again and rolled a fresh, clean hoof sock over them. “That should do it for now Andrew.” He smiled and was ready to duck, “You just need to learn how to duck better.”

Andrew let his head fall back to the log and groaned at that remark. “Payback Aston, payback someday for that.” He was smiling so Aston knew Andrew wasn’t too mad at him. “Hey Aston, thanks.” Andrew sat back and looked and Brena who was still sitting on his lap to hold him still. Now he grinned an evil grin, “You can get off now, or you can sit and help in another way.” Brena rolled to the side and gave him a look that was reserved for a man about to die.

“Oh really now,” she said, “As if you could get it up to do anything right now.” Andrew looked down at his lap and sighed.

“Well, I did try, so that should tell you I am not in too bad of shape.”

The rest of the party had started laughing and helped Andrew to his feet. He was still shaky from the blood loss, but he figured he would recover if he could get the arm healed.

Aston waved for the boys to come with him. Once away from the others he asked if they had ever hunted rabbits before. The older boy, Blasco had. “Ok, here is what we are going to do. I can call the rabbits to come and visit. Both of you grab a handy branch to use as a club. We will need at least a dozen to get enough meat for tonight and tomorrow.”

“Ok Mister Aston,” they both said with big grins.

“Just call me Aston,” said Aston. He had a feeling he knew which way this was going to go.

“Oh no Mister Aston, our Mama told us to always be polite if we could with strangers,” said Gil.

Aston’s shoulders sagged, ‘Yep,’ he thought, ‘polite kids are as bad as little hellions.’ “Ok, then. It’s not Mister Aston, its Mister Grey. Aston is my first name.”

“Oh, we’re sorry Mister Grey.”

Aston sighed, “Grab some wood that will make good clubs. I will begin calling the rabbits to us.”

“Hey Blasco, what are you doing,” called a little girls voice. Aston turned to see the daughter, Sofia running towards her brothers. “Can I join in? Can I?” she asked in an excited voice that only little four-year-old girls can manage.

Gil had a grin that spelled trouble, “We are going to smash bunny heads for dinner,” he said, knowing what would happen as he said it.

Her face took on a look of utter horror at his pronouncement. “You can’t hurt bunnies,” she cried. She turned and ran back to her mother to tattle on her brothers. Aston slumped, ‘Here comes trouble,’ he thought, ‘an upset mother.’

Adora walked over, or it looked more like she was being pulled over by the little figure in front of her. She looked at her boys holding wood clubs, then at Aston. “Gathering food for a short stay?” was all she asked.

Now Aston felt some relief. “I figure we can stop here for a day or two to give Gren and Andrew a little time to start healing before we push them.”

“I’ll try to explain to the little hellion here that these are dinner bunnies, not pet bunnies,” Adora said giving Sofia a sharp shake to make sure she had the girl’s attention.

Sofia looked at Aston and pouted, “You’re a big meanie, hurting bunnies.” She turned and stomped off towards the wagon.

Blasco looked at his mother, “She will get over it when we have rabbit stew or something like it tonight.” Gil nodded in agreement.

“Just don’t hit each other while hitting the rabbits,” she said to the boys. She smiled at Aston and he shivered, that was the smile of a woman on the biggest hunt of all. The prey being Husband. She turned away and started back towards the wagon, giving her hips more sway than was needed. Aston groaned, ‘This could get ugly,’ he thought.

The first rabbit hopped into view and Blasco swung his rough club down, splattering rabbit brains all over the road around the body. “Not so hard kid, not so hard.” The next one came into view and Gil did more of a swing than a smash. The rabbit hit a tree a few yards away. Aston sagged again, ‘This is going to be a long day,’ he thought. He saw Adora coming back, this time with a bucket from his supplies.

“Put them in here until you are done catching them. We can all work on stripping the meat when you have enough. She set it down and returned to the wagon, again adding as much sway to her solid hips as she could. Aston looked and wondered if she was good in bed, then squashed that thought in a hurry. Now was not the time nor the place for such thoughts. He got busy and called in several more rabbits to keep the boys busy.

At the wagon, Ledger was cleaning the wands and staff and putting them away after giving them a recharge. Alba had climbed up and watched as he worked a bit of his trade. She couldn’t see anything, but she knew he was doing something.

“What are those,” she asked as he finished putting the last wand in the quiver.

Ledger wasn’t sure how to answer, then went with the truth as he knew it. “These are relics from the distant past. When they were made, power was available to everybody, they called it magic then.” He could see she was interested still so he went on. “When the power was lost, so was the knowledge on how to use these and keep them charged.” Now he smiled at her, “It just so happens, I happen to have the ability to enchant things.”

“Enchant things? Like what?” she asked.

“Well, have you ever seen a glowstone?” he asked. He pulled out a pebble and started it glowing. He watched as her eyes grew wide with amazement.

“No, I’ve heard stories about stones that glow or make things hot or cold, but I have never seen one before,” she whispered as he handed the little pebble to her. She held it up and asked, “A candle is hot, why isn’t this hot as a flame.”

Ledger thought about it, “You know something, I have never thought about it like that. I can make a stone glow so bright it does burn, but a simple one like that,” he pointed at the pebble in her hand, “They stay cool unless I make them grow hot.”

Neither had noticed that Sofia had crawled into the back of the wagon to pout over bunnies being killed. She heard them talking so made her way to the front to listen in. She saw the pebble glowing in Alba’s hand and let out a quiet, “Oh, pretty.” She looked around to find something loose and spotted the perfect thing, a horseshoe. She picked it up, and carefully took it back to the front.

Ledger jumped when the little girl yelled, “Hey mister, make this glow pretty too.” She held up the horseshoe for him to see.

Ledger accepted the proffered horseshoe and started to concentrate on it. At first, nothing seemed to happen, then it began to glow, but rather than the white he had tried for, the iron only took on a dull red glow, and he dropped it in a hurry to avoid burning his hands as he felt it heat up. He stopped Sofia from grabbing it as well. The wood floorboards began to smolder a little so he released the energy and the shoe faded back to it normal rusty grey.

“I think we just answered your question, Alba. Wood and stone take very little energy to make light. Iron, on the other hand, resisted the power and I had to push it to make it glow. The result wasn’t just light though, we got a lot of heat as well.” He pauses remembering the cold enchantment on metal. “The same goes for cold. It takes more power to enchant metals.” He pulled the quartz from his pocket and looked it over.” This though, it took an enchantment that wouldn’t take on any lesser material.”

Alba had remained quiet, thinking thoughts that made her blush. ‘Would his children be able to do this,’ she had to wonder. She broke out of that train of thought and stood, “Thank you, Ledger. I’ll go help with skinning the rabbit’s dinner.” She climbed down, resolving that this boy, no, man would not be sleeping alone for as long as she could get away with it.

Andrew looked at Brena as she worked at repairing a small tear in her skirt. She had learned to sew to keep Andrew from thinking her weak and unskilled in the womanly arts. He had sewn his clothes out of necessity while on the road alone. His thoughts were simple, this woman was the most beautiful creature he had ever known and would do whatever it took to see her to the completion of her mission. After that, training in her arts as he would be learning his own. He relaxed and waited, knowing a hot rabbit stew was in the making. He drifted off to sleep again, dreaming of Brena in a black, skintight suit that showed her figure while she performed a dance of death with those attacking her. Fighting alongside her was a woman in gold, wearing a mask that had a creature of some sort painted on it. He could see that both women were older, then the image faded and he drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.