Eban

26 - Callum

Something had broken the day Ash died.

At first, Callum had thought it was something in the camp. Everyone was quieter, waiting with bated breaths to see whether they would be Lord Foxby as well as Aislinn.

Later, when they sent the cart bearing Ash's body on its long journey back to Tir Brenin and Rhona had put her arm around him, he realised that he was the one who had broken.

He could not feel anything. The beating sun made no difference to him when he worked the fields. The bruises he sustained during the drills Lord Sangster insisted on holding barely registered in his mind. Food had no taste. Even the stench of the latrine pits had no impact.

When Elaine appeared, he thought she would be able to fix him. While she saw his pain, she was too preoccupied with Healing Lord Foxby to have the energy to Heal him. That was okay though, because Nathan was her Ash. She had to save Nathan.

Only one of them could break at a time.

Callum spent most of his days alone, where he could, only seeking out company during the evening meals. There were enough of them then, that he did not feel the pressure to make conversation. There were enough of them then for the stories to swirl around him, giving him something to latch onto that was not the darkness in his head.

Something of the blackness lifted when Nathan started walking around the camp again. Callum was not alone in finding comfort in Foxby's recovery – something in the air itself seemed to relax when Nathan came out of his tent the first time. Nathan was pale, drawn and distant, but he was alive.

With Nathan's recovery came the rumours. People said that Foxby had been drugged before the ride that became an ambush. Drugged with something that had slowed his Manipulation so that he could not sense the attackers until it was too late, and so he could not through defensive shields around the princess – or himself – until it was too late. Others said it was not just Nathan who had been drugged – all the mages had. It was true that Manipulators and Healers had been struggling to perform simple magical tasks in the days following the attack. Rhona had complained bitterly about her failure to help the princess and Lord Foxby. Callum believed her, but he had felt no diminishing of his Wild magic. Had he avoided the drug?

"You felt no effect?" Elaine asked sharply when he mentioned it to her during the evening meal. She glanced around at the others. "What about you Keir, Rhona? Did you notice any change to your Wild magic?"

Keir frowned. "Can't say I did, but then I don't know if I was paying much attention."

"There was no effect," Rhona said, her eyes widening. "I remember speaking to the horses to calm them so we could bring Lord Foxby back. I could do nothing to Heal him, but I could do that."

Elaine nodded slowly; her eyes were distant as she focused on something beyond them.

"You know what it is, don't you?" Callum said. He had never met a mage so relaxed in her power as Elaine. She used her Healing in ways he had never seen a Healer do before. He had seen her reach out as she passed soldiers returning from drills; one touch and their fresh bruises were as faded as the ones received a week past. She would reach out to soldiers in the night, whispering words illuminated with bright blue-white sparks that settled the restless dreamers and allowed them to rest. Callum had seen her amongst the horses, Healing battle wounds and common illnesses as easily as if they were humans. He had never known a Healer to be able to do that. Rhona had told him it was because Elaine had Wild magic too, but Callum was sure there was more to it than that. Rhona had both gifts, but she had never Healed any animal he was aware of.