The Path of Giants, B.T. Narro [the speed reading book .TXT] 📗

beast reverberated through the forest. The Thieves’ Guild and I all stopped what we were doing and turned in the direction of the sound. He was many miles away, but he still felt too close. I was very glad I didn’t need to heal anyone else, because the use of mana could attract Gourfist.

“Jon! Hurry!” Michael screamed as he was running back into the encampment.

He had gone off with Reuben, Charlie, and Aliana to follow Eden and Eslenda, in case Souriff still needed help with Valinox. The panic I heard in his voice put fear into my heart.

“What is it?” I asked as I rushed toward him.

“Just run as fast as you can that way.” Michael pointed, out of breath. “They need your help.”

He was clearly fatigued from sprinting here. I tried to ignore my worry of Gourfist as I took his advice and sprinted. I could hear Michael yelling Leon’s name next, but I couldn’t make out what he said. Too many people were shouting.

Leon was the only other member of our group who had stayed behind with me. He had taken care of the more superficial wounds while I had focused on the more serious ones. It had been decided that Jennava should stay back in Koluk in case Leon was to fall in battle. Someone had to be in charge. We couldn’t risk both of them losing their lives, which reminded me just how dangerous this battle had been.

I ran for a long while until I eventually saw my friends ahead. They were crowded around a tree. I thought it might be Souriff on the ground in the middle of their group, but then I noticed Souriff sitting with her eyes shut as if she was asleep or unconscious. Only Eslenda sat near her.

It turned out to be Eden surrounded by Reuben, Aliana, and Charlie.

“She’s dying, Jon!” Charlie told me with tears. “Hurry.”

“Where’s Valinox?” I had to find out first.

“Just heal her, then I’ll explain!” Charlie said.

“I’m telling you, I don’t know if we should,” Reuben said. “We have to get out of here. I say heal Souriff first.”

“I agree with Reuben,” Aliana told me.

“There isn’t time!” Charlie yelled. “Souriff will heal herself. Meanwhile, Eden’s dying.”

“Gourfist is coming, Charlie!” Reuben told him angrily. “Any use of mana could direct him here.”

Eden looked disfigured, as if her spine was out of place. There was a pool of blood around her head. I bent down and checked her pulse. Charlie was right. She was barely alive.

“Eslenda, is Souriff going to live?” I yelled to her. She was about ten yards away.

“Yes, but we have to get her out of here. Leave the girl and heal me!”

I heard Leon yelling from behind me. “What the hell is going on here?”

Eden needed my attention first. I didn’t know how long we had until Gourfist came, if he was going to come here at all.

Eden’s spine was badly broken, but it was the crack in her skull that was the most worrisome. I repaired it as well as the damage to her brain first.

She started to groan as soon as I was done. Then that groan morphed into a cry of agony. She sounded terrified as she screamed with wide eyes.

“Just relax,” Aliana said somewhat coldly. “Jon’s healing you.”

“Is she going to be all right?” Charlie asked.

I shut out the commotion of my peers as I repaired the extensive damage to her spine and the rest of her body. I was exhausted by the time I was done, but I didn’t hear Gourfist.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” Remi asked Eden.

“You didn’t see everything she did for us, Remi,” Charlie argued on her behalf. “We even watched her nearly kill Valinox. She threw a dagger into his chest using her dteria.”

“Like the way she threw a dagger into my neck, Charlie?”

Eden had her head down. “I’m so sorry, Remi.”

Remi grabbed Eden by her dirty shirt and made a tiny fireball near her face. “I should burn you alive. You were my closest friend, and you would’ve killed me if it wasn’t for Aliana and Jon!”

“Jon, get over here!” Leon yelled as he crouched near Eslenda. “The rest of you, shut the hell up. Gourfist could be coming. Remi, put out that fire. No casting at all after Jon finishes healing. We don’t want Gourfist to feel anything.”

I asked Leon, “Are you sure I should risk it?” Looking at Eslenda, it was quite clear she was just in considerable pain and wasn’t going to die anytime soon.

“Heal Eslenda, and hurry.” He looked up at the sky. “We don’t know how close Gourfist is, but it’s worth risking it so she can help us fight if needed.”

“Not Souriff?”

“You can’t heal a demigod,” Eslenda said. “It won’t work. Hurry and heal me.”

I wondered why I couldn’t heal a demigod and why Eslenda couldn’t heal herself. I decided to ask the latter as I let my mana find out what needed repairing within her body.

“I don’t have the gift,” was all she said.

I healed her quickly. Leon had Souriff on her feet by then, though she was still unconscious. He held her arm around his shoulder.

“Help me with her, Jon. Hell, she’s heavy.”

I took her other arm and supported her from the other side, but I almost dropped her immediately. Leon was right. She was much heavier than she looked. I couldn’t imagine us taking her very far, and we were miles from Koluk.

“Forget it,” Leon said after just a few steps. “Set her down.”

I tried to heal her even though Eslenda said I couldn’t, but it felt like an invisible force was pushing my mana back.

“Why can’t demigods be healed?” I asked the elf.

“Because of their natural resistance to all spells.”

So that was why I couldn’t use Identify on one of Valinox’s spells, most likely. My spell was too weak to get through his natural resistance.

“She will recover on her own,” Eslenda said. “She just needs time. It’s probably better she’s unconscious right