10: His Holy Bones Read Online Free PDF Page A

She trotted to John’s side.
    “Did he say how things were going in the south?” John asked.
    “Good. The gaun’im who support the Payshmura are sending their armies north to fight us here at Vundomu. With them out of the way, Sabir expects to take Umbhra’ibaye by the end of next week.”
    “Oh.” John expected to feel much more elated at the prospect of taking Umbhra’ibaye. But it was already too late to save Laurie. It was far too late to stop the Rifter from crossing to Basawar. Sabir and his plans seemed almost pointless now.
    But they weren’t, John reminded himself. The Payshmura had to be defeated and the issusha’im had to be freed. Those things mattered. They just didn’t feel so important to John right now.
    John glanced to Ravishan. He lay on his side, in the same position he’d been in for four days now. He looked thinner, paler.
    “How long can he go without food or water?” John asked.
    “Without food, he will survive for a while,” Ji said. “Tanash got a little water down his throat a few hours ago.”
    A little water, that was all. The thought slowly sank into John. How long could he live on just a little water?
    “He’ll wake up soon, won’t he?” John asked.
    “I don’t know,” Ji said. She didn’t meet John’s gaze. A sharp pain cut through John’s chest. He stepped closer to Ravishan’s cot, but Ji cut him off before he could sink down to Ravishan’s side.
    “I need your help,” Ji said. “Your blood is powerful enough to feed several large spells, ones that would incapacitate someone else.”
    “Healing spells?” John asked.
    “Maybe later,” Ji replied. “But first I have to set wards. We need to protect Vundomu against Payshmura spells. The southern armies will have ushman’im mystics riding with them.” Ji glanced to Ravishan.
    “The best thing you can do for him now is to make Vundomu a safe place for his recovery,” Ji said.
    John brushed a lock of Ravishan’s hair back from his face. Ravishan’s skin felt so warm and delicate. He looked like he might just be sleeping, as if he would wake up any moment. John stared down at him, wishing he would open his eyes. All of this work and exhaustion would have a point if he would just open his eyes.
    Ji bumped her head against John’s leg.
    “Sorry,” John said. His voice broke a little as he spoke.
    “I know you don’t want to leave him, Jahn,” Ji said quietly. “But there is nothing more either of us can do for him now and Vundomu must be secured.”
    “Of course,” John replied. Ji was right. He had to pull himself together. He couldn’t help Ravishan, but there were other people in the world and they needed his protection.
    John found Wah’roa and explained that Ji would need to raise wards to protect them against Payshmura mystics. Wah’roa considered the idea of Eastern magics in his temple and then directed them to a courtyard that was just outside the holy grounds of the temple itself. A stone wall protected it from casual observation and Ji approved of the stone used to pave the courtyard.
    Tanash and Kansa joined them and Wah’roa took his leave to attend to the evening prayers. Both Tanash and Kansa brought large glass jars with them. They set the jars down next to John and then began to help Ji carve and scratch dozens of complex, spiraling symbols into the stones of the courtyard floor.
    “Do you need my blood?” John asked.
    “Not yet,” Ji responded. “But you could be of help…if you think you have the control to inscribe this big central stone without cracking it.”
    John considered the dull gray flagstone and then nodded his assent. Ji traced the complex sign she needed etched into the face of the stone. John carefully carved the graceful lines as if he were drawing his fingers through soft mud instead of brittle sandstone. The pure beauty of latticed minerals occupied his thoughts with a blameless purpose that he hadn’t felt in days. He could have lost himself in the work,