Watt-Evans, Lawrence - Annals of the Chosen 01 (72 page)

"Seer,
get
the
Beauty!"
the
Leader
shouted.
"Speaker,
get in
here!"

"Where
does
it
hurt?"
Breaker
asked.
"Do
you
know
what
happened?"

"My
arm,"
she
said.
Then
her
eyes
focused.
"Who
are
you?"

"My
name
is
...
is
Erren,"
Breaker
said.
"I'm
here
to help."

Then
Merrilin
was
there,
and
started
to
scoop
up
her
daughter,
but
Breaker
held
her
back.

"I
think
her
arm
is
broken,"
he
said.
"Move
her
very carefully—we
don't
want
to
shift
the
pieces."
He
had
known a
man
with
a
twisted
arm
once,
back
in
Mad
Oak,
an
old man
who
had
broken
his
arm
falling
out
of
a
tree
as
a
boy;
the
break
had
healed,
but
healed
crooked,
and
Elder
Priestess
had
said
it
was
because
he
had
moved
his
arm
wrong, trying
to
stop
the
pain,
and
moved
the
broken
ends
out
of
line.
Breaker
did
not
want
this
girl—Kilila,
was
it?—to
grow
up
similarly
crippled.

Merrilin
sobbed,
and
nodded,
and
together
the
two
of them
carefully
lifted
Kilila
to
a
sitting
position.

"It's
all
wet,"
she
said,
with
surprise.
"My
skirt
is
wet."

"We
know,"
Merrilin
said.
"That's
why
we
were
moving everything
upstairs,
remember?
The
Wizard
Lord
is
flooding everything—he's
gone
mad."

"The
Wizard
Lord?"
The
girl
began
crying.
"My
arm hurts
so
much!"

Then
with
a
splash
Sezen
was
standing
there
beside
them
with
a
baby
in
his
arms,
asking,
"Is
she
all
right?"
The
baby had
stopped
screaming,
and
was
whimpering
quietly
as
he clutched
at
his
father's
shirt.

"We
think
her
arm
is
broken,"
Breaker
replied.

Breaker
thought
the
expression
of
helplessness
on Sezen's
face
was
somehow
more
dismaying
than
Kilila's
obvious
agony.

Then
there
was
more
splashing,
and
the
Beauty
was
beside
them,
her
face
and
figure
still
hidden
in
cloak
and
scarf as
she
knelt
by
the
girl.
Breaker
heard
her
sharp
intake
of
breath
as
she
felt
the
broken
bone.

"The
break
is
high
on
her
arm,
but
it
feels
clean,
and
young
bones
heal
well,"
the
Beauty
said;
Sezen
started
at
the sound
of
her
voice,
its
purity
and
musicality,
and
little
Garant
stopped
sniffling,
his
eyes
widening.

"Sword,
if
you're
done
there,
I
could
use
a
hand,"
the Leader
called.

"What?"
Breaker
looked
up.

The
Leader
was
at
the
top
of
the
stair,
leaning
over.
Now he
pointed
up.

"I
think
you
might
be
able
to
cut
away
the
burning
thatch
with
that
blade
of
yours,
and
we
can
keep
this
place
from
burning
down."

"Oh!"
Breaker
started
to
rise,
then
realized
he
was
still holding
Kilila's
shoulder.
Carefully,
he
moved
aside
and
let the
Beauty
take
his
place.

Then
he
stood
and
hurried
up
the
stairs.