Warrior's Soul (Book 3 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 7

Hours passed.

The sun made its way across the sky as the Heat seeped from Leyla's body, but the pain she had been waiting for didn't come. She had no time to be grateful. Days of fighting with little food and sleep were catching up with her. The only thing that kept her from falling to her aching knees was the limp weight on her back.

Kaya was still unconscious, but she had begun moaning in pain a while back. Leyla could feel the little girl's fever through her clothes and pushed herself to move faster.

"There!" The boy who had been leading the way cried out, pointing between the trees. Up ahead, Leyla could see the backs of several mud huts all lined in a row.

"Thank Gaia," Malia panted behind them. 

The rest of the group had fallen behind halfway here, but the boy's stamina was good and Malia had held on. She wiped at the sweat on her face now, before turning to the boy: "I'll go first, Tai. You fall back and keep quiet."

Tai nodded, and Leyla followed the woman who found a path between the huts and led them into the village. Adjusting Kaya's weight, she scanned the small area between the buildings for signs of aggression.

Dressed in loincloths, their bodies caked from head to toe in different coloured clays, the mud people stopped to stare at them with varying looks of suspicion. Wooden sticks held up their hair, woven tree barks were tied around their feet, but Leyla saw no weapons amongst the onlookers.

"Kim Al Sa." Malia spoke in a loud tone. "We come looking for The Sage."

No reaction was forthcoming from those who were gathered, but many of them were now eyeing Leyla's sword warily. Bloody Diya, this was a waste of time! There was only twenty or so huts in the village, it would be faster to try each door...

"You seek the help of the Sage?" A voice rang out from the doorway near the village entrance. Leyla turned to find a man with auburn hair, dressed in a simple tunic and trousers. Despite his dignified demeanour and stubble beard, he didn't look a day over eighteen. Could he really help? They had to hope so since they had no other options. 

"Yes, please! We have a wounded girl," Malia stepped forward, pointing in Leyla's direction. 

The man looked her way, then frowned at the sword on her hip before his eyes landed on Kaya and flared: "Hurry, follow me."

Moving past the hesitant Tai, Leyla followed the man into a spacious mud hut before halting with surprise. There, towards the back of the room, stood another man. Older than the first by perhaps ten years, he wore a long embroidered coat in a rich orange-red colour over simple cream garments. He turned from a shelf of jars as they entered and Leyla was taken aback by the strip of the same orange-red material that had been tied over his eyes. 

"Sage, a little girl in urgent need of care has arrived," the red-haired man said beside her.

The half-smile on the blind Sage's face disappeared as he moved to the centre of the hut where a soft pillow was placed beside clean blankets. "Bring her here, quickly."

Leyla did as instructed, then stepped back to allow Malia and the Sage's aid to move closer.

"Sage, please help us," Malia's voice was hoarse as she looked down at Kaya who had started moaning with the loss of body heat. "She was bitten by a Timsa. We tried to stitch the wounds, but she has a fever and-"

"Quiet," the Sage held up his hand, then touched his fingers to Kaya's wrist. Leyla watched him tip his head ever so slightly, a small line appearing between his brows as focused. Then he nodded: "Waru, prepare hot water, clean cloths and my tools. I will also need Bloodstone powder, Pisla, Ata plant and Mani's tail."

"Yes, Sage." Waru nodded, moving about the room quickly.

"As for the loved ones," the soft smile was back on the Sage's face as he faced their general direction. "I will ask you for some space."

When Malia looked like she was going to protest, Leyla put her hand on the woman's shoulder for a brief moment and shook her head. She didn't know much about healing, but she had become familiar with names of medicines after being in charge of deliveries at the Warrior Kingdom. Bloodstone powder cleaned blood, Pisla was for pain while Ata plants and Mani's tail were used to clear poisons and infection. The Sage might be blind, but he had the medicines Kaya needed.

"Al-alright," Malia agreed, standing up with reluctance.

The Sage only smiled his understanding, then went back to treating his patient.