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unique. Ellie
had never met someone so foreign. Whatever evil he was guilty of in
his life, he signaled an adventure to her, however brief. He
offered her the excitement of one of her stories. The heroes in her
books always faced down mortal enemies and life choices. She always
faced her chores. The difference was profound. It was profound
enough for her to betray one of the Bumbalow’s oldest rules: Never
help a Cooper; they’ll just stab you in the back if you do. She was
willing to take the chance. She was willing to prove she was not
afraid to seek out an adventure.
    Ellie peeked over the edge of the
trench. Neveah had not moved. Her eyes remained closed and her hand
outstretched as she worked her healing craft. Neveah would notice
little beyond the healing she was committed to finishing. Ellie
moved back to the man and tried to figure out how to hide him from
the others. Knowing that the others did not feel craft the same way
she felt it, she decided to take a risk.
    Ellie waved her hand and cloaked the
man in darkness. His body disappeared into the night. She waved
another hand to make him rise off the ground. Her craft complete,
she climbed out of the trench with him in tow. No one looked at her
or the strange darkness trailing after her.
    Ellie hurried through the tall grass
around the edge of her property. She was careful to avoid the
house, where those who were not helping to heal the others were
milling around in a confused dazed. Ellie heard them talking about
the attack and trying to figure out what had happened. She knew
their excitement would keep them from peering off into the dark
long enough to notice the grass moving.
    Even though she knew they were safely
distracted, the adrenaline surged like wildfire in her veins. It
made every step an adventure all on its own. She was overwhelmed
with relief when she reached her shack. Even then, her heart raced
at the idea of what she was doing. She could not account for the
future; she had no way of knowing what would happen next in her
journey. She just knew she was doing something wildly out of
character. She had never done something so bold in her
life.
    Inside her shack, and protected from
the scrutiny of her family, she set the man on her couch and
released the darkness from around him. He did not try to get up or
move to attack her. His eyes remained closed, his face peaceful.
His hand hung over the edge of the sofa without moving to craft
against her. He was unconscious.
    Ellie hovered near the door, terrified
and impressed with herself in the same moment. She was certain he
was going to wake up at any second and kill her. She was not sure
she had the proper craft to defend herself. The fight had proved to
her how little she had focused on dark craft. Her experiments had
always focused on creating and manipulating her environment, never
on hurting. The oversight seemed grave now that she had witnessed a
real attack.
    The darkness gone, Ellie leaned in to
look at him from her place near the door. She did not move closer
to him. She was not ready to take that step without absolute
certainty he was not pretending to be unconscious. She noticed a
wound in his side and blood running down from the back of his head.
He was definitely injured. The wound at his head explained why he
was unconscious. He needed healing craft. Ellie had never healed
someone before but she thought she understood the basics. She had
seen it enough times to know. She had a clear picture in her mind
of what she had to do. She just needed to do it.
    She immediately found the healing
harder than she had thought it would be. It took more focus and
concentration than she had ever spent on craft before. She had to
keep her thoughts locked in place. The minute she lost track of
what she was doing, the craft fell apart. It took her an hour just
to get the bleeding on his side to stop.
    By the end of that hour, she was
mentally drained and uncertain she could continue. She had not even
started on the