Beyond Nothing

Chapter Three

Kea wakes early. His feathers twitch, spiking, and he smooths them with his arm. He sits with his legs stretched in front of him, one wing curled around so he can organize each feather into its exact place.

He reminds me of the pigeons sitting on my windowsill and preening. Every feather must be perfect, shining in the weak sunlight that filters through the leaves.

He sees me watching him, but doesn't react, continuing to pull the glossy feathers through his fingers. 'How's your leg?'

Whatever he gave me began to wear off in the early morning, and the dull, throbbing pain returned. Blood has clotted around the wound, cementing my jeans to my skin. 'It's okay,' I tell him, 'Not as bad as yesterday.'

He nods, and switches wings. 'You think you can walk?'

'I... don't think so.' I hide my face, shaking my hair forward.

Sighing, he moves over to kneel beside me. I stretch out my leg, and he tries to pull at the fabric of my jeans. When I wince, he stops, and pulls out his knife instead.

'Keep still,' he tells me, and begins to slice at the fabric. The metal of the knife is cold against my skin as he cuts away the lower part, pulling it loose. This provokes a flash of burning pain, and I gasp, biting my lip.

He glances at my expression, pausing in his work. 'Want another painkiller? I don't have many, so you're going to have to make them last at least three days, but one now should be alright.'

I shake my head. I don't want to waste them – I'm going to need them later, especially if I have to walk.

He continues, and I try not to let the pain show on my face. Soon, the strip of fabric lies in a twisted pile on the mossy ground, crusted with blood. He pulls a face when he sees my wound. 'This isn't pretty.'

'I know.'

He pulls a cloth from where it was knotted round his belt, and flies back up into the canopy of leaves. When he returns a minute later, the cloth is soaked in golden oil.

Although I'm not sure my open wound should be exposed to this strange liquid, he seems to think it's fine, so I go along with it. 'Where do you get that stuff from?' I ask.

He brushes it gently over my skin, and the shell of blood begins to soften. 'These are Aur trees. They produce this liquid, and use it to lure small animals into their grasp. They store it in bulbs among the branches, and it's easy for me to fly up and collect some. Don't worry, it won't harm you – it's little more than water, albeit with color and a mild numbing effect.'

He's right about the numbing – although my leg still throbs and burns, it is not as strong as before. The pain is no longer a whirling, raging storm, now just a rainy day.

Eventually, the blood is gone, soaking into the cloth and turning it a pale pinkish red. The mess of skin and flesh is exposed, shining under flashes of pale sunlight. Three deep cuts expose the bone, a flash of white, surrounded by a multitude of smaller lacerations.

Kea pales at the sight of bone, drawing back. 'There's nothing I can do about this. You're just going to have to wait until we get to Avet and find a healer. I can bandage it, and give you more painkillers for the journey, but that won't help much.'

I cough, shaking my hair out of my eyes. 'That's alright. It's the best you can do.'

He doesn't reply, wringing the cloth out and wrapping it back around his belt. He pulls another of those square white patches from his bag, handing it to me. 'Here. Use it when you need it. Just pull the tab to activate it, and place it on the inside of your wrist.'