The Lifesaving Power: Goldenfields and Stronghold Read Online Free PDF Page A

the floor and the approaching attacker. His only hope was to defeat the big man quickly in order to subdue any passion that might build in the crowd if a longer fight ensued. He rushed at the man, using his sword to parry the other’s blade away, then knocked it from his hands. He ducked back as the angry antagonist threw a punch at his head, and then Alec used the hilt of his sword to sharply strike his opponent’s face, after which Alec quickly punched him in the stomach, and stood back three steps as the big man doubled over in pain.
    The man remained bent over for several seconds, then straightened up, blood dripping from his split lip. “You’re better than I expected from a kid. Where’d you learn that?” he said in a more conversational tone than he’d used up to that point.
    “ I fought in Bondell,” Alec said cautiously, refusing to reveal anything about himself or to abandon his pugilistic stance.
    “ You must have done well for yourself to come through and be in Redwater now. Which side did you fight for?” the man asked, stepping back and sitting down now to tend to himself, not evincing any further hostility.
    “ I fought against the usurpers,” Alec admitted, stepping back to tend to the burned man still lying on the floor.
    “ That man there, he was an aide to Elgin,” the battling man said, pointing to Alec’s patient. “He got into a fight because he said the new crown protector who took over Oyster Bay was a fraud, and that the usurpers were right to do what they did, killing the old king and all.
    “ Are you still going to treat him?” Alec’s antagonist asked as he finished his self-treatment and watched Alec.
    “ Not if I don’t get that vinegar,” Alec replied.
    “ Frali, bring the boy his vinegar. Let him care for his enemy,” the man shouted loudly, watching Alec’s face for a reaction.
    Alec looked down at the injured man, and wondered what twist of fate had brought him to heal a man such as this. Would it be right to walk away, and let the man suffer before dying from these injuries, he wondered. He knew the room was watching him, waiting to see if he would stand up and walk away from the wounded villain.
    The girl with the vinegar approached Alec with a stone jar. He stood up, and pulled his sword high, then rammed it back into his scabbard. He pulled out his knife, knelt next to the moaning man, then applied the knife against his stomach, and began cutting his shirt into strips. Alec laid the cloths aside and sprinkled the vinegar over the man’s face on top of the other items he had applied earlier, then bound the cloth strips around his head, leaving his mouth uncovered to breathe.
    Alec laid his hands lightly on the covered face and began to softly pray, first causing the man to pass out, then released his healing powers to restore sight to the damaged eyes and to promote healing in the burnt flesh, and also tried to subtly calm the man’s spirit with his spirit ingenaire powers, looking for a way to ease the anger he found permeating the wounded man.
    Minutes later he stopped his efforts and raised his head, seeing that the room was fuller now than before, but that most people were no longer watching him. The man he had fought was still watching him however, and raised his mug in a toast to Alec as the healing activities ended. “Is there anyone here with this man to care for him?” Alec asked loudly, hoping someone would claim and remove the unconscious patient.
    “ Now what’ll happen to your good works?” the black-haired man asked.
    Alec sighed, as no one rose to take the injured man. “I’ll watch him tonight myself,” he said. He stood and left the inn to go put his horse back in the stable, then persuaded the stable boy to come into the inn with him to carry the man out of the common room and into the hayloft.
    “ Healer, let me give you a hand,” the black-haired man said as he watched Alec and the smaller stablehand struggle to carry the injured