Chapter 29: The Healer
Burning flames, and the scorching heat. Down in his back. Hot against his face. Bright, blooming light of the Lightmaster in his veins couldn’t stop him from feeling it as tongues of it lashed at the Necromancer’s horde. Leaving the Skeletons rotting and senseless in the din. Forcing the giant beasts back and back again.
In the thick of it was that same man. Young and godless, accompanied by that crazy woman who Marcus couldn’t help but stare at. She didn’t even look him in the eye back in that lane. But that, he could understand. What he couldn’t quite wrap his head around was who in the Lord’s name was that man.
A Priest wasn’t supposed to know how to set the whole cave ablaze.
Marcus felt his chest with his left hand. Dented hard from the middle, bits of it scratching against his gauntleted fingers, then down his waist where the straps of his chest piece were bound clumsily to keep the plates of his legs fixed.
It almost seemed like that beast hadn’t dismembered his waist clean from his body. Yet, the pain was still there, a ghostly thing lingering in the back of his mind, the sight of blood gushing out from the bowels of his gut, the stench of his own life seeping slowly away… All fresh and there, but that man fixed him back. Stitched his legs right into his waist like he was patching a surface wound. Painfully professional and calm. Had him get back to the chaos when Marcus tried to thank him.
How?
A Skeleton Soldier came at him with the tip of its rusted spear held straight. Two men broke out from his back and lunged in, Ethan parrying the spear with the side of his axe and Parrek carving the foul beast’s skull with one smooth cleave of his sword. They both turned worryingly to face him.
Marcus blinked at them.
Parrek wasn’t having any of it. “We should gather the men around you. Gather them fast. They’re making us look bad over there. Look! The Undead bastards are about to reach the Necromancer!”
“It’s that Mage,” Ethan said, black eyes beyond the visor narrowing at the burning storm. “Why is he running out in the front and what is that spell? The air’s burning. I can feel it in my face.”
“Might be one of Altar’s men,” Parrek grunted. “Those bastards don’t like losing.”
“They wouldn’t send one of their own to death,” Ethan shook his head. “That man… I don’t know what he is, but—“