“Are you the healer here?”

Not uncommon words in Raeca’s life, and she stifled both alarm and annoyance when she looked up. Brendis was at her door again, covered in his own blood, unconscious, and mostly carried by another man.

“Bring him to the bed,” she replied and washed her hands of salve before following. Since their first meeting, Brenda’s had been in and out of her home every week or so. Usually he brought her herbs and ingredients from his travels in exchange for a bath and a real bed for the night.

Sometimes, like today, his travels had gotten the best of him.

Races had gotten very used to patching this man up, but there was little more she could do than give him a safe haven while he fought to protect them all.

“He was ambushed,” the man said as he helped her get Brendis’ tunic off. “Assassins. He got a few of them, but no one can take on ten and come out unscathed.”

“I wish I could say this is the first time,” Raeca replied distantly, and cursed when her fingertips came up wet with blood and grease. “Poison. I don’t know poisons.”

“I do,” the man said, and checked the wounds with well-disguised worry. “Tell me you have the power to burn out Tighe?”

One of th most lethal poisons in their world. Raeca knew the name, and enough to be frightened.

“No,” she said tightly, and got to cleaning blood of Brendis’ tanned skin. “The best I can do is try and keep his heart beating. If he lasts the night, he might live.”

“He won’t. Not with this much in his body,” the man cut her off, and looked down at the unconscious warrior under their hands. “Can you use another magic-user for a focus? Borrow power from another?”

“Maybe?” Raeca shoved her fear down into a cold knot in the pit of her stomach. “I’ve never done it. I know Mitso can’t. We tried.”

Tried and failed, and it cost the life of a man they could have saved if she was just a little more powerful. He died, and the only thing Raeca could do was give him the mercy of unconsciousness while his life slipped away.

“Do you know how?”

“No. I’m not a master healer yet.”

A fact that might just cost Brendis his life, curse it all.

“I’ll teach you,” the man sliced through her fear with practiced calm. “Give me your hand and do whatever you normally do with the other.”

Time was of the essence. Brendis was growing terribly still and was ashy under his tan. Raeca did as ordered, and let the man take her hand as she pressed the other to the worst and most dangerous of Brendis’ injuries.

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“You know how to draw power? Like you would from a leyline or a focus?”

That she did know, thank the gods. “Yes.”

“Good. Now, I’m going to throw you a line of power. I’m a dark-path, so you’re going to have to filter the magic through your core before it will work for healing.”

Magic theory. She could work with magic theory. Also, his man, she supposed he was a mage, and a good one to know about Magic’s he couldn’t do himself, was clearly a mastermage.

If she had to learn a whole new magic to save her friend’s life, we’ll, that could be done.

It took them two tries to link up properly. Light-path magic absolutely did not want to be mixed with dark-path. Still, magic answered to will, and Raeca was unwilling to fail now that there was a chance.

When they managed to connect, Raeca felt like she had stepped into the heart of a focus crystal. Power thrummed between them, held in check by the mage, and completely at her disposal.

After that, healing seemed very easy.

Poison flowed through Brendis like a red-black mist that Raeca could only see with the healer’s vision that came with her gift.

With so much power coursing through her, burning the poison out was the work of a thought, and she sent their shared magic into every inch of the warrior, seeking out poison and wound until nothing marred his skin except grease and old scars.

With a final thought, she sent him into a deep sleep.

Much as she liked Brendis, he was not a good patient. It would be better if he slept off the worst of the healing-aftershocks.

Detangling her power from the mage’s was as difficult as linking up had been. Like water, magic liked to stay together once it was mixed.

“Not bad for a first go,” the mage said approvingly when they were finally separated again. Raeca felt like she had been trampled by horses, but he had barely a hair out of place. She tried not to resent him for it. “Not bad at all. He will live? He is not awake.”

“I put him under,” Raeca said tiredly, and got to her feet her hands were covered in blood and poison. She went to wash them at her little basin. It would be no good to spend so much power healing him only to poison herself or someone else because she was careless. “If I hadn’t, he would be up in an hour.”

“He’s always been a difficult patient,” the man laughed with the ring of experience in his voice. He stood and shook out his robes, which were in the desert style and shimmered with golden embroidery against heavy crimson silk. “Thank you. There was nowhere else I could take him.”

“You’re a friend of his?”

“I’ve known him for many years,” the man smiled wryly, and looked up at her with a knowing glint in his eyes. “And yes, I know the what of him. Better than most, in honesty.”

That was not the same thing as being friends, but Raeca didn’t think it would be wise to point that out.

She was a village healer. This man, with his black hair, tawny skin, and expensive clothes, was a mastermage. One so powerful that even a major healing hadn’t left a mark on his power.

The man seemed to follow her thought, maybe was reading them, and sighed as he got to his feet.

“For your trouble,” he said, and pressed a college act gold coin into her hands and curled her fingers around it before she could refuse. “No, take it. I know how he eats.”

That made her laugh, and he winked before turning purposefully for the door. Right at the thread hold, he paused.

“Healer,” he said quietly, and she looked up from where she was setting aside Brendis’ stained clothing. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Raeca gave him a smile. “Anything for our hero.”

The mage smiled back, the barest flash of white teeth against tawny skin, and he was gone in a puff of sulfur-scented smoke.

It wasn’t until he was gone that Raeca realized she had no idea who he was.