Power Quest: The Rebellion of Terrakia - Andrew Koenig (guided reading books txt) 📗

            “His body is in shock.  He has no idea what’s happening.”  Alanis pointed out as she pulled to cork from the phial with an audible pop.  Using her free hand, she cupped the man’s jaw and forced her slender fingers between his teeth until there was enough space for her to place the phial in his mouth.  As the red liquid slid into his mouth, Alanis gently tilted his head back, forcing it down his throat.

            The man was still for a moment and the only sound in the room was Amanda’s labored breathing.  She dared to look up at Alanis and smile, but as she did, the man’s body immediately began to convulse.  Amanda screamed and leapt back as the emerald aura disappeared from her hands.  Blood spat from the man’s stomach onto the cot he lay in.  Alanis pinned the man to the cot by his shoulders, and, composing herself, Amanda returned to his side and cast her healing spell again.

            The congregation looked on as the two healers calmed the man from his frenzy.  Slowly, the man’s convulsions ceased; he slowly unclenched his fists and his jaw and, with a tentative gasp, let out a sigh before taking a deep breath.  Underneath the crimson tatters that was his tunic, Amanda could see that the wound had stopped bleeding and closed itself.  She took a labored breath and stopped her spell.  She placed her hands on her hips and attempted to catch her breath.

            “Well done, Amanda.”  Alanis smiled, her lips pursing against her teeth in a small grin.  “You did well controlling your healing spell.”  She opened a small drawer and pulled out a clean wrapping of white bandages.

            “Thank you!”  Amanda smiled, turning to the congregation behind her.  To her disappointment, the congregation had parted, either returning to their prayers or returning to their humdrum daily activities.  “If you’d like, I can bandage the patient.  I’d appreciate the practice.”

            Alanis nodded and handed her the bandages.  “Thank you for your help, Amanda.  You’re becoming a great healer.”  Amanda thanked her and removed the patient’s jacket and tunic.  He laid still on the cot, his eyes shut and breaths slow.  His brown, cotton pants were stained a dark crimson.  With tender movements, Amanda placed a few drops of healing salve on the man’s wound, then began wrapping the clean bandages around his stomach, gently moving him in order to get the bandages underneath him.

            There was a groan as the man’s eyes groggily opened and his whole body jolted for a moment.  “Where am I?”  He demanded, his eyes darting all around the Room of Healing, taking in the cream colored curtains that separated him from the rest of the world.

            Placing her hand on his arm, Amanda spoke her softest.  “You’re okay, now.  You’re in the Temple of the Divines.”  The man took a deep breath and nodded.  His wet, walnut eyes looked up at Amanda with confusion painted on his ruffled brows.  “What’s your name, sir?  And what happened to you, if you don’t mind me asking.”

            “My name’s Kamal.”  He muttered, gently rubbing his temple.  “I was on my way home after a hunt.”  He paused and looked up at Amanda.  “I’m a hunter.  Anyway, I was on my way home, and I had a sack of small hares and squirrels that I had trapped.  I think I had gotten to the marketplace when one of the Imperial guards stopped me.  He claimed I had stolen goods in my sack, which was a lie, and tried to steal my bag.”

            Amanda listened with apprehension, twirling a blonde streak of hair between her fingers as she bit her lower lip.  Kamal continued his story.  “I wrestled him for my bag, and another guard showed up with these… Piercing green eyes.  He ripped the short bow off my back and beat me over the head with it, then I think he stabbed me with his lance…”  Kamal trailed off and clutched his stomach gently.  “I’m sorry, I think that’s when I passed out…”

            “It’s okay, Kamal, it happens to the best of us.”  Amanda comforted, placing a dampened, cold washcloth on his forehead.  Water dripped into his curly, black hair, but Kamal didn’t seem to care.  “Do you have anybody that we can get in contact with, to let them know what happened?”

            Kamal nodded and sighed.  “My wife, Migle.  She’s probably wondering where I am right now…”  Giving him a gentle smile, Amanda patted his arm and returned to the alchemy room.  She grabbed an inkwell, a quill, and a scrap piece of parchment, then sat down and began writing a letter to Migle.  Amanda shuddered as she wrote the letter, imagining her father in Kamal’s place.  How could the guards be so cruel to someone who simply wanted to provide for their family?  She signed the letter with a quivering hand, then dropped the quill in the inkwell with a gasp.  Staring at what she had written, Amanda fought back bitter tears and placed the letter in an envelope, which she sealed with wax and a searing hot stamp bearing the symbol of Merinas at the Temple of Divinity: an angel with wings outspread.

            Amanda left the Temple of Divinity just as the sun was beginning to descend.  She waved farewell to Alanis, who simply nodded and continued her chores.  Amanda then opened the great oak doors to escape from the suffocating atmosphere of the temple.  People were bustling about and carts clattered over the cobblestone streets, the sounds creating a tapestry of noise that penetrated Amanda’s ears.  Looking down at the bottom of the marble steps, Amanda spied Floyde, biting into an apple tart that was covered in powdered sugar and honey.

            “I hope you brought me one!”  Amanda chuckled as she bounced down the steps towards Floyde.  He glanced at Amanda with a start and chuckled as well.

            “I’m afraid I only got one for myself, but if you’d like I’ll share.”  He smiled and offered her half of the tart pastry.

            She thanked him and took a bite, closing her eyes and savoring the tart and sweet flavors permeating her mouth.  “This is delicious!”  She cried in awe, smiling at Floyde.  “Did you get this at The Glowing Elf Trading Post?”

            Floyde shook his head and wiped his hands clean on the side of his pants.  “No, I got it at a small pastry stand in the market.  Oh!  Speaking of the market,” his ash eyes lit up as he spoke, his voice springing to life from its monotonous rest.  “You wouldn’t believe what I saw.”

            Amanda handed the tart back to Floyde and shook her head.  “Could it have been the guard attacking a hunter?”

            “Yeah,” Floyde grunted, finishing what was left of the tart.  “It was pretty brutal…”

            “Did the man even do anything?  Did he-”

            “No.”  Floyde interrupted, placing his hands in the pockets of his black, wool pants.  “The man was trying to purchase some salt from a vendor.  Some guard came out of nowhere and grabbed the man’s bag, then another came, hit him over the head, and a third stabbed him in the stomach…”  He trailed off, staring at the ground as he gritted his teeth.

            “I know, Floyde… It’s… It’s criminal.”  Amanda whispered, placing a hand on the cotton sleeve of his arm.  “It really makes me think…”

            “About?”  Floyde asked, looking at her hand, then to her.  He cocked an eyebrow and gave her a faint half-smile.

            She blushed slightly and folded her arms over her chest.  “About my family.”  Floyde nodded, looked to the ground, and cleared his throat.  “I healed that hunter, you know.”  Amanda muttered.  “His name is Kamal.  He has a wife, Migle.  Probably has kids, too.”

            “Is he going to be okay?”

            Amanda nodded and twisted her hair between her fingers.  “He’ll be fine, but what if I couldn’t have saved him?  What would happen to his wife?  To his family?  Gods, Floyde, what if it had been my family?”

            Floyde placed his arm on Amanda’s shoulder and stared into her eyes, his face sullen.  “I know, Amanda.  It’s scary to think about, but this is the cost of Imperial rule.”

            “I see your point, Floyde.”  Amanda sighed, her eyes locking onto his.  “I’ve thought about the faction some more-”

            “Not here,” Floyde hissed, motioning with his eyes to some guards on the road, their maroon armor clanging as they marched toward the temple.  “If you want to talk more, we should do it at the College.  It’s safe there.”  Amanda nodded and followed Floyde as he weaved in and out of the traffic of the city. 

            Their feet smacked against the cobblestone path and blended in with the smacking of a hundred more; each step further separating the pair from any guards in a sea of similarity.  They made a dash to their right when the road forked, then followed the street all the way to the College of the Arts.  Floyde hurriedly pushed Amanda through the cedar doors and into the main hallway.  Sunlight filtered into the room from a window above the doors, but they were the only two to witness, as all of the other students had already left for their classes.

            “Couldn’t we have stopped by my house first?”  Amanda demanded, crossing her arms.  “I don’t exactly have a change of clothes and I’m still wearing my robes!”  Floyde rose his eyebrows as he glanced down Amanda’s robes.  He hadn’t noticed the small crimson stains on the sleeves and the lower torso.

            With an apology, Floyde motioned to the hallway on their right.  “If you follow that hallway and then follow the first hallway to your left, you’ll see a set of double doors on your right that will lead to a small, indoor sparring room.  There’s a changing room for students there and they do have tunics and pants you could borrow.”

            She rolled her eyes and gave him a sarcastic thanks.  “As I was saying, I’ve been thinking more about the ‘faction’.”

            “And?”  Floyde encouraged, placing his hands in his pockets.  He met Amanda’s eyes and nodded to her, urging her to continue.  Amanda glanced at the floor before continuing.

            “I still have my reservations about the cause itself, but I can see that Zeke’s Empire is a threat to the innocent.  It’s a threat to the hunter…”  Amanda paused and looked at the ground with a sigh.  “And it’s a threat to my family.” 

            Floyde nodded and gave her a grin.  “So you’re ready to join the rebellion?”

            “Gods no!”  Amanda laughed, shaking her head.  “I’m not going to join your rebellion, Floyde.  I don’t believe that the rebellion will defeat Zeke, but I think they could keep the streets safe from the Imperial guards.

            “So…”  Floyde muttered, holding his chin in his hand.  “You want to free Kaneele from Zeke’s rule, but you don’t want to join the rebellion that aims to do just that?”  He gave a condescending chuckle and shook his head.

            Amanda frowned and placed her hands on her hips.  “I don’t want to join a rebellion that wants to try and overthrow Zeke.  Have you or Zak actually considered just how big Zeke’s army must be compared to your own?”

            “We’re small in numbers but we’ve only just begun our mission!  Give it some time and we could muster up a full fighting army to take on Zeke’s!”

            “Not from Kaneele, you couldn’t.”  Amanda corrected, folding her arms.  “Zeke has an entire continent worth of soldiers at his disposal.  You have some angry adults from a single city.  You could possibly free the city with that, but there’s no way you could hold off the tidal wave of Zeke’s forces that would follow.”

            Floyde grinned and nodded his head.  “You’re right.  But we have a plan for that.  We have a plan for an entire, full-scale war