The Law of Isolation by Angela Holder Read Free Book Online Page A

head. With his right, he gripped his knife. Gold light flowed around the knife and pulled the skin of Master Tava’s belly taut. With a smooth motion, he drew the blade across.
    A line of blood welled out. Belatedly, Josiah remembered that they were supposed to be taking care of that, but Sar was already pushing as much blood out of the area as he could. Josiah’s breath stuttered as the donkey drew more strength from him. It had been a while since they’d worked together on something so strenuous. Josiah remembered how much he disliked the sensation of his energy being sucked away without his control.
    Elkan cut deeper. Josiah couldn’t look away. He was both fascinated and disgusted by the red layers of muscle and yellow layers of fat opening beneath Elkan’s knife.
    He tried to reconcile the physical sight of the organs in Master Tava’s abdomen with the sense of them flowing into his mind through the Mother’s power. He thought the purplish mass must be the liver, and those ropy things the intestines, but he wasn’t sure.
    He recognized the bile reservoir when Elkan uncovered it, though. It was just as distended and diseased-looking through his own eyes as through the Mother’s power. Its presence within the healthy body felt horrifying, like a desecration of something holy. He was glad when Elkan made a few tiny slices with his knife, severing it from its connections. Gold light filled the space, healing the cuts even as he made them.
    Elkan withdrew his hand and set the knife aside. He extended his fingers, and the Mother’s power flooded out. The infected organ floated up on a golden cloud and settled into the small metal bowl.
    Josiah’s legs shook. Sweat soaked his tunic. He struggled to breathe deeply enough. He knew Sar wouldn’t draw too far on his reserves of energy, but it felt as if he might. An edge of panic urged Josiah to pull his hand away from Sar’s neck, but he ignored it and gripped the donkey’s mane harder.
    Elkan and Tobi stared into the incision, pouring light from Elkan’s hand into the cavity. Layer by layer, it sealed shut. Last of all, the skin drew closed. The line of the incision passed through the stages of healing, from livid red to soft pink, all the way to a faded white scar.
    That’s enough, Josiah thought, careful to keep the resentful words within his own mind so Sar wouldn’t hear. Wizards usually didn’t heal cuts past the point where they were thoroughly sealed, leaving their patient’s body to do the rest. Anything more was a waste of precious energy. At least, that was what Elkan was constantly telling him.
    Finally Elkan nodded at him, and Sar released his hold on Master Tava. Josiah leaned against the donkey, breathing hard. Master Tava blinked while Elkan wiped smeared blood from his hands with a towel. “That’s all? You’re done?”
    “Yes. Lay still for a moment.” Elkan passed a damp towel to Josiah. Together they cleaned the blood from Master Tava’s belly. “How do you feel?” Elkan helped her sit.
    She drew a cautious breath, then deeper. “Odd. A little sore.”
    Elkan nodded. “That will go away over the next few hours. You should take it easy for the rest of the day, but tomorrow you can go back to your regular work.”
    “Good. I’m so far behind, half of Elathir will be dark this winter if I don’t catch up.” She glanced at the bowl and turned away with a shudder. “That’s it?”
    “Would you like to see?” Elkan reached for the bowl.
    Master Tava held up a hand. “Please, no. I’ll let you wizards deal with it.”
    “As you wish.” Elkan moved the bowl out of Master Tava’s sight. “Josiah, clean up. I’ll be back in a moment.”
    He escorted Master Tava out of the cubical. Josiah collected the dirty towels and wiped up the last scattered droplets of blood. There wasn’t much; Sar had done a good job keeping the blood inside Master Tava’s body. He hauled the basin across the Hall to the drain where the washbasins were