Today we celebrate the birthday of Meadowlark author, Hannah Jeffers-Huser. As a treat, here's an excerpt from What Lies Beyond, available in the Meadowlark bookstore.
Chapter 2
Halona gave the tall, redheaded young man who stood in the doorway of the village medical hut a scolding look. His left arm was bleeding. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with his good arm as they stared at each other with matching green eyes.
“Evian.”
The name rolled from her tongue, causing her older brother to cringe. She
motioned for him to sit on the cot beside her. He obeyed the small woman’s
orders and flinched when he saw her furious glare up close. She searched around
in the cabinets of the hut before walking to her brother with a basket of
supplies in her pale hands.
“You
and Severin were training again.” It was a statement, not a question. The harsh
tone of her voice made Evian cringe once more.
He
let out a nervous chuckle before speaking. “Yeah. We got a little carried away.
You should see what he looks like.”
“I’m
assuming he doesn’t have a single scratch. You can’t beat him, Evian. He’s a
strong fighter.” She gave her brother a teasing smirk as she began mixing herbs
into a bowl to create a brown paste.
Evian sighed dejectedly before asking, “Where’s Mariana?” He looked around the hut. The clan’s healer was always in the medical hut. She rarely left her apprentice there alone.
“Father
wanted to see her.” Halona began to spread the paste onto the slice in her
brother’s arm. “You need to be more careful. This cut is deeper than the last
one.”
Evian
hissed as the paste left a burning sensation in his flesh. He laughed to hide
his pain from his sister. “I was only sparring with Severin. It’s not like he
would intentionally kill me.”
Halona
shot her brother a serious look. “He could if he wanted too. You’re lucky he’s
more level-headed than the rest of us.”
Evian
hissed as the burning sensation grew. Halona slowly began applying bandages
over the paste as it glowed a pale shade of green.
“Why
does healing magic hurt so much?” Evian frowned once the burning ended.
“Because
you are a wimp,” Halona teased. “You’re all set. Try to be more careful next
time. I didn’t use a lot of magic; it will need more time to heal. Don’t go
getting sliced up by Severin again.”
“It’s
not my fault the man is always training,” Evian groaned. “He needs to loosen
up. He’s just like Pops.”
Halona
rolled her eyes as she began putting the supplies away. Evian stood to help her
put everything back where it belonged. He pulled the bloody sheets from the cot
and tossed them into a basket of dirty laundry in the corner.
“How
is it having the whole medical hut to yourself? You feel like a real healer
yet?” He smiled in Halona’s direction.
She
frowned and put her hands on her hips. “For your information, I am a real
healer!”
Evian
held his hands up in defense to protect himself from the tiny girl’s wrath. “I
didn’t mean to offend you! I was just wondering since you’re still Mariana’s
apprentice.”
Halona
sighed as she put fresh sheets onto the cot. “Sorry, I’ve just been on edge
since I had that meeting with Seyu the other day.”
Evian
nodded. “That’s right. Seyu and his prophecy talk. It’s a bunch of hoo-ha.” He
waved his hands in the air dramatically.
Halona
punched him in his good arm, “Shut up, Moron. I believe in it. I’m supposed to
meet the other Peace Bringer soon.”
“Our
clan is already at peace. The Avory haven’t had an incident with Aria in years.
You can’t bring peace when it already exists.”
Halona
rolled her eyes again. Her brother would never learn. He might not believe in
the Prophecy foretold by her destiny mark, and that was fine. She believed.
Just as their mother had believed.
Once
the sheets were on the cot, she began to complete the list of tasks that
Mariana had given her before she left. Most of them were simple cleaning or
organizing tasks. Others were practicing on healing and magic control. One task
was to remember to eat. Halona was always getting so engrossed in her duties
that she forgot to feed herself. And a given, of course, was to heal any injury
that Evian came in with.
Halona
chuckled as she went to retrieve her lunch from the back room. She inhaled a
small sandwich made of tomato and a slice of lamb before crossing eating and
healing Evian off the list. She decided the cleaning tasks would be next
because the sun had not set yet.
Evian
remained to keep his little sister company.
The
healer, Mariana, returned just as Halona was starting on the windows. Mariana
was much older than Halona. Her blonde hair was aged gray. She was the Avory
clan’s best and only healer. She had taken Halona under her wing years before
as a promise to the girl’s mother.
“Welcome
back.” Halona smiled at the woman.
Mariana
returned the smile. “How was your afternoon, Princess?”
Halona’s
eyes rolled at Mariana’s respectfulness. “How many times do I have to tell you
not to call me that? Mariana, you’re my teacher.”
Mariana
gave the girl a devious smirk. “I am aware. I do it because you hate it.”
Halona
sighed and gave her teacher a small nudge. “You’re mad.”
Mariana
laughed and finished helping the girl with her tasks. Evian tried to help, but
Mariana kept shooing him out of her way with the excuse that it was healer’s
work. She wanted to keep him from touching anything after the broken vial of
potion he had been responsible for the week before. Evian patiently sat on a
cot and waited for his sister to finish her duties for the day.
“Are
you almost done yet?” Evian occasionally whined just to get on Halona’s nerves.
She threw something at him every time he complained. Mariana laughed at the
siblings’ banter. She had helped their mother, Elexia, birth each of her four
children. A sad smile crossed Mariana’s face as she watched the two youngest children
of her best friend.
“You
two are so much like your mother,” she said with a quiet laugh. The duo paused
their bickering to smile and laugh at Mariana. They were always being told that
they were spitting images of their late mother, and they felt honored that she
was remembered so fondly.
It
did not take long for the duo to finish cleaning the hut. Evian slumped against
the far wall and dramatically sighed.
“That
was tiring,” he panted.
Halona
smacked him upside the head with a laugh, “You barely did anything, Stupid.”
Evian
rubbed the back of his head as Mariana began ushering them out the door. “You
two go home. It’s late. I’m sure your father is expecting you. His council
meeting should be over soon.”
The
siblings opened their mouths to retort, but before they could say anything,
Mariana shut the door in their faces. Evian laughed and commented on the older
woman’s impatience. Halona did not respond. She stood next to her brother,
staring off into the distance.
Evian
waved his hand in front of her face to get her attention. She did not budge, so
he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.
“Halona!”
She
snapped out of her trance and shook her head. She gave Evian an apologetic
smile before pointing toward the forest in the direction she had been staring.
“I
saw a few men go that way with weapons. We just went hunting. No one is allowed
to go out on their own.” She started walking in the direction she had pointed.
Evian called after her, telling her that she was probably just crazy, but
Halona knew what she saw. She knew the rules of the village, but her curious
nature was getting the better of her.
Evian
groaned before grabbing her arm to stop her, “If you’re going to follow, we
need to take our own weapons. It could be dangerous.”
She
looked toward the forest and then nodded to her brother. They could sneak back
into their house to retrieve their own weapons without their father knowing.
The weekly council meeting was still in session.
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Great story, Makes me want to read more. Thank you for sharing!
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