"What if this is all some sort of trick?"

It was a relief to escape into the quiet of the trees. L'iam sat her down and began feeling her broken bone. His expression was grim, and she reached over to touch his furrowed brow with her finger. She smiled when he looked up.

"It is not that bad."

He gave a small laugh. "Only you would think that a broken arm in the midst of being pursued by a group of deadly a.s.sa.s.sins is *not that bad.' Not to mention those who are wounded and our lack of transportation."

She glanced back in the direction of the shanty. "Well, we have five more horses now than we had before. It may not be as much as we hoped, but it is a lot better than I feared."

When she looked back at him, he was studying her thoughtfully.

"What?" she asked.

For a moment it looked as if he was going to change his mind, but then he spoke. "You could probably heal yourself."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

The idea appeared to take hold of him. "You could use your vyala to heal yourself."

Adesina slowly shook her head. "Ravi said that healing was a dangerous art for those who do not know how to do it. He said it can be fatal."

L'iam inclined his head. "Yes, but healing oneself is quite different from healing someone else. It is easier for one's vyala to heal the body in which it resides, rather than doing so to a body unconnected to it."

She still felt uncertain. "I do not even know where to begin."

He gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. "Healing is about harmony. It is finding those places within yourself that are in discord and returning them to a state of peace."

Adesina raised an eyebrow. "How do you know about this? You are not a healer."

He laughed again. "Any L'avan can learn about the gifts of the Serraf, even if they do not possess them. However, it merely remains a theory without the correct abilities."

After a minute of thought, she shrugged. "I suppose it is worth a try."

Her heart began to race as she connected to her vyala. She couldn't decide if it was fear or excitement.

It was almost like when she would use her vyala to study the environment, but her sight was turned inward and glowed a bright yellow. She was hyperaware of the beat of her heart, the flow of her blood, the shift and movement of each muscle. She could see her own body, as if she had stepped outside of it and was looking in.

Bruises had formed underneath her skin, and more would most likely make their appearance within the next few minutes. Her immune system was fighting an illness brought on by fatigue. She probably wouldn't have been aware of it for several more days, until the symptoms began.

Her vyala led her along gently, touching here and reviving there. She finally came to her broken arm, which was a stain of gray in her yellow tinted vision. She wasn't sure what to do next, but her vyala seemed to know without her guidance.

Adesina didn't quite understand how it happened, but her vyala took the two halves of her bone and put them together; reuniting them as if they had never been apart. Her arm felt warm with the rush of energy and the rest of her was left cold by the sudden drain. The pain she had been feeling vanished without a trace.

She looked at L'iam with an expression of amazement on her face, and he smiled.

"Did it work?"

She nodded. "Yes, it worked. I am still not sure how, though."

He didn't appear to be surprised. "It seems your vyala needs less guidance than what is usual for our race in order to accomplish what you wish of it."

Adesina felt a whisper of a hope at his words. "Do you think I would be able to heal my father?"

L'iam thought about it carefully before answering. "I do not know, Adesina. It would be dangerous."

"More dangerous than just letting his wound bleed and fester until we can find a proper healer?" she asked stiffly.

"What about Aleron?"

The young woman shook her head. "He is no more than an apprentice. My father's wound is much too serious."

He sighed, knowing that she was right. They were days away from any sign of civilization, maybe even weeks. Me'shan would not last that long.

"Just consider carefully before making a decision. You would never forgive yourself if something went wrong."

Ravi appeared a few feet away from them. "Ma'eve, you had better come quickly. It is your father."

She did not ask questions, but sprinted back towards the shack. E'nes had Me'shan laid out beside the fire and covered with blankets, but he was still shaking violently. His face was a ghostly white, and he had dark circles underneath his eyes. A sheen of sweat covered his feverish brow, and his breath came in short gasps.

Adesina didn't pause to consider the consequences, but knelt by his side and brought forth her vyala.

His entire form, which should have been yellow in her vision, was overspread with gray and black, indicating multiple injuries. The darkest of all was the wound in his stomach, but there was also a strange shadow over his heart.

She used her power to try and get a feel for what would be needed to heal him, but L'iam was right in warning her about how vastly different it was from healing oneself. His body, while having the same anatomy, was completely different from her own. His spirit and life experience were etched on every aspect of his frame. It was almost like looking at a completely different species. How was she to know what would bring harmony to his being?

Not knowing what else to do, she whispered a prayer she had often heard the other L'avan recite. She repeated it again and again, knowing that if there was a higher power, it was the only thing that could help her in a moment like this.

Vethma Yura, gweith a soma, Zhuma quima yami quiso, Whemi, lo pol be thiryu lazhon.

Be oser polev, Vethma Yura, thasith be, Yami gwe be thiryu vyu.

Gri lith polo vya.

Bana.

As if responding to her murmured words, her vyala suddenly took over. Energy flowed from her body to his, and his chest rose in a deep calming breath.

The power took the form of some sort of small wraith, and it flitted over Me'shan's body, restoring and knitting and reuniting all that had been torn asunder.

The only thing it did not seem to be able to remove the black stains from was his heart. The glowing apparition did not even go near it.

When Adesina's sight returned to normal, she sat back completely exhausted but full of hope. She waited impatiently as her father's eyes slowly fluttered and then opened. He looked at her, a bit dazed at first, and then smiled.

"Ma'eve."

Chapter Fifty-one: Pursuit.

The stares that Adesina received after the miraculous healing of her father were much worse than the ones she had been given before. Each L'avan studied her eyes in confusion, trying to account for the skill they had witnessed. It wasn't long before the words "Threshold Child" had circulated the group in excited whispers. After that, they treated her so deferentially that she eventually had to ask L'iam to intervene.

"Can you not ask them to stop?" she asked with a strained tone.

A puzzled frown creased his forehead. "Stop what?"

She glanced around and lowered her voice. "They are treating me like some sort of deity."

He smiled, greatly amused. "Surely it is not as bad as that."

"It is," she insisted. "Please tell them to stop."

L'iam, who was sorting through the supplies found in the cellar of the shack and deciding what to take with them, hid another smile by bending over a sack of beans. "What makes you think they will listen to me?"

Adesina sighed in exasperation. "Because you are their prince. They have to listen to you."

He shrugged. "I can make a request that they treat you more normally, but I cannot command them in what they believe."

Knowing she would not get a better answer, she nodded and thanked him reluctantly. He took note of her voice and gave her a questioning gaze.

"Why does it bother you so much? Would you rather they treat you like a traitor?"

"Yes," she answered immediately.

He laughed at her incredulously. "Why?"

"At least then there are no illusions. It does not matter if they think I am a Shimat, because I was. I would much rather work to earn their trust than have them create this false idea of who I am."

The surprise on his face was replaced with respect. He got to his feet and brushed himself off. "You finish up here, and I will go talk to them."

L'iam climbed up the ladder that led out of the cellar, and Adesina continued sorting through the supplies. When she heard footsteps behind her, she expected that L'iam had returned, but she looked up to see Me'shan walking toward her.

He was still very weak and was having trouble summoning his own vyala, but his physical condition was vastly improved. He gave her an uncertain smile and he moved to sit beside her and help her with her task.

"I have not had the chance to thank you."

She fixed her eyes on the medical kit in her hands. "You do not need to thank me."

"I do," he replied gently. "You have saved me twice now, and I am grateful for that."

She shrugged and murmured, "If I had nota" Her voice broke. She took a moment to collect herself and went on more firmly. "It was my fault that you were captured by the Shimat in the first place. I had to make amends."

For a moment he said nothing, considering her words. Finally he put his hand underneath her chin and raised her face to his. "You did not know you were doing wrong. I am just glad that you discovered the truth."

Adesina felt a warm swelling in her heart, and her eyes filled with tears. "I am so sorry."

He got down on his knees and embraced her. "I forgive you, Ma'eve. I would have forgiven you even if you had never come for me."

They still had their arms tightly around each other when E'nes descended the ladder. He saw them and jerked to a stop, embarra.s.sed that he had interrupted them.

Me'shan motioned him forward. "It is all right."

E'nes explained why he had come down. "L'iam wants us to pa.s.s up the supplies we will be taking. He says we will be leaving within the next few minutes."

Adesina nodded and immediately set to work. A couple other L'avan appeared and formed a line in which they could pa.s.s the load along. It only took a few minutes to gather what they could use, and then they all met outside the shanty.

Those who were wounded were given the horses to ride, and Sa'jan's body was also laid across the back of one. The rest of the group walked alongside, moving as quickly as possible. Still not quite certain of their location, they headed north and hoped that they would soon know which way to go in order to meet up with L'era and Aleron.

Adesina walked in-between her father and L'iam at the front of the group. E'nes kept to Me'shan's other side, speaking to him quietly.

Ravi studied the woods around them with an intense look on his feline face. "We are near the campsite, but something is not right. I should be able to hear their movements by now."

Adesina felt her chest constrict in fear. "Perhaps they are still sleeping."

Even she didn't believe the words she spoke.

Several feet ahead of them, the trees opened up to a clearing. The same clearing where they had parted ways the night before. The camp was still set up as it had been when they had left, but it looked as if it had been abandoned. The remains of a fire were apparent, and Adesina stared at it in horror.

"He built a fire and did not even dig a hole to hide some of its light."

It was as if he had flagged down the nearest Shimat patrol and asked them to attack. Deep down she knew what had happened, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it. She took several steps forward, scanning the area for clues. It didn't take long for everything to become abundantly clear.

Aleron was sprawled on the outskirts of the camp, his face covered in blood. Judging from the upset underbrush around his body, it appeared that he had struggled before dying. L'era was only a few feet away, her clothing torn and her throat viciously slashed.

L'iam saw his sister and rushed to her side, a strangled sob ripping the silence of the clearing. He picked up her still form and cradled her close to his chest, weeping uncontrollably.

Adesina walked over to Aleron and knelt down beside him. She wiped the blood and dirt from his face, and gently brushed back a stray curl from his forehead. She didn't notice the tears streaming down her face until she felt one drop on her hand.

"Dear friend," she whispered, "I am so sorry!"

Kendan paced the stone floor of his office. The dead bodies had been removed and the entire room thoroughly cleaned, but he still saw the stain of blood in his mind's eye.

Three Shimat stood in a line, giving him a report about the escaped prisoners, but he barely heard the words coming out of their mouths. Breyen, who was standing next to the desk, noticed his lack of attention and quietly cleared his throat.

"Perhaps it is time we expanded our search."

This brought Kendan to a sudden stop. "What?" he asked harshly.

The arrogant tone in the young man's voice grated on Breyen's nerves. He was the closest advisor to the Sharifal, but he was still required to defer to her nephew when she was away. He couldn't stand the way Kendan pretended to be in charge, when he really had no power at all. Not if Breyen had anything to do with it, anyway.

He gestured to the three men who had been in charge of the search parties. "We have combed the fortress for the prisoners. It is clear that they have slipped past us. We need to send out a search party immediately."