Chương 11: Life and Limb

Thomas sobbed with his head in his hands. He sounded like he was trying to speak, but nonsensical sounds came out instead. There was a small river of tears running down his chin and dripping to the floor; nothing Aaron wasn't used to, though. But still, he felt bad for him. He hated seeing people like this.

"Can I have a look?" Aaron asked.

"Sure," the man replied quietly as he sniffed to clear his nose. The man rolled up his trouser leg. The skin on his foot was more dusky compared to the pink, healthy areas above. The difference was subtle, yet any lay eye would know something was wrong. He clenched his toes in pain as he slumped the foot to a better position where Aaron could see. His knee was tightly bandaged in fresh clean cloth.

There wasn't a hint of blood seeping through but there was a red indent on his calf below where the previous bandages were too tight. Aaron mentally rolled his eyes at the shoddy work. Aaron placed his hand over the foot, it was cold and dry. The man hissed in a breath but didn't move to stop him. He felt around looking for a pulse in his leg, to no avail. This was concerning.

"Wiggle your toes." The man clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. His toes flapped up and down slowly. Thomas gritted his teeth as Aaron inspected the area again. He hated hurting people, but sometimes it was a necessary part of healing. There was a tattoo of a dagger dripping with blood on the side of his leg. He couldn't help but look at it, it was the symbol of the mafia. He stopped himself as soon as he realised he was staring, Thomas must have caught him.

"It's not what you think. I only do this because I have to, don't judge me." He squared up his chest and scowled at Aaron. Aaron was no stranger to conflict. People showed their worst selves when in pain.

"Why would I judge you?" He hadn't noticed when Thomas was sobbing, but his accent was refined and proper like a noble. It was odd for the mafia.

"I do what I have to. The gifted think they are above us all, but you don't know what it's like to truly be desperate.." As a healer, it wasn't his place to pry or judge. Neither did he really care about the background of his patients, even if they were criminals.

"I don't care if you're a gangster. It's not a healer's job to decide who deserves help and who doesn't. I just want to help you. Will you let me?"

"Well, I guess you're one of the good ones," Thomas muttered.

"Fine. Go ahead." He folded his arms and huffed. This wasn't the first time he'd dealt with someone who disliked the gifted. Based on how some of his peers behaved, could he really blame them? Aaron closed his eyes and placed his hand on the injured foot. Through his True Sight, he could feel the limb clearly in his mind. Each structure was visible in great detail. The layers of skin, muscle and bone were layered in a formation, perfectly complementing each other.

Learning about it in a book really didn't do it justice! Strong, pipe-like tendons ran down from the bottom of the muscle and clasped onto the bone of each toe. The muscle padding the bottom of the foot was thick and powerful from years of cushioning each footstep. The anatomy was magnificent. Aaron condensed his mana around the wound. There was scarring deep into the joint where a knife had pierced it, the magic must have somewhat helped. But something was amiss. Aaron focused around the scarring.

The main vessel which carried blood to the foot had been punctured by the knife. It was sealed shut by a rigid plug of congealed blood. Conventional spirit Healing would normally be able to heal a wound like this, but it was far too slow. It would take a few days for the plug to clear once his spirit was balanced. And by then, the leg would be rotten and dead from the lack of blood flow. Aaron lifted his hand away and looked up at Thomas. He had scrunched up the bedsheet tightly in his fists.

"It's true isn't it?" Aaron's face must have given it away. The desperation in Thomas' face made Aaron's heart swell in his chest. I can help this man, but it could cost me my job and chance at healing Tim if Master Addison finds out, he thought. For a moment, he felt like cutting his losses and leaving - it would be the most sensible course of action - but that wasn't who he was. Helping him was the right thing to do. Maybe he could still go back to Master Addison and explain the situation.

Perhaps he would agree that using his new magic was in Thomas' best interest. A sinking feeling filled Aaron's stomach. He remembered Addison's eyes. The fear. The distrust. But also, the knowledge of what Aaron was capable of. Addison knew that he could help people, yet chose to push him aside anyway. The method itself was the problem, but perhaps the results would speak for him. Proof that he could use his powers to heal people in a safe and controlled manner. Even then, Aaron feared he was deluding himself.

There was still one option. A way to heal Thomas' foot without attracting Master Addison's ere.

"I can help you," Aaron said sharply, sternly locking eyes with Thomas, "But you must make me a promise."

"I'll do anything!" Thomas pleaded, "I need this." The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Aaron locked eyes with Thomas. He needed to feel how serious he was about this.

"You must never speak of this to anyone. No one can know that I healed you, and Master Addison can never see you walking." The man furrowed his brow.

"Why the secrecy? What are you going to do?"

"Nothing dangerous, but my master is set in his ways and would be upset that I went against his wishes. I want to try a different spell that I think will work better." Aaron felt some guilt in the back of his mind for telling a half-truth. He hid it and smiled. This was for the best.

"Okay, fine. I'll move to the other side of town, I'll never come back to this hospital again. You have my word." Thomas relaxed his legs out in front of him as if inviting Aaron to try his spell. Aaron crouched down next to him at the bedside and placed his hand on his injured leg again. He could feel the tissue in the foot beginning to suffocate and decay. Closing his eyes for focus, he pictured the damaged blood vessel in his mind's eye.

He could feel the force of the blood behind it pulsing against the blockage. Aaron felt a deep chill fester in his chest. It burned as it passed through his body. He felt his spirit focus in his hands and reach out to the damaged leg, casting his Manipulate skill. Using his mana felt like a chore. It was difficult and slow. Nothing like he was used to after being a healer for three years.

It felt awful to be a novice again, but Aaron knew that he would never get stronger unless he practised a lot and pushed through the difficult phase. He clasped onto the congealed ball and squeezed. He felt his mana pulse through his hands in waves, each one squeezing the clot harder. As the tension rose, blood started to flow around the sides and trickle down the vessel into the foot. As Aaron pushed harder, his hands clasped tighter around Thomas' leg. He let out a stifled yelp.

He felt the spell working, the clot was smaller and starting to crumble apart. Sweat dripped down Aaron's head as he squeezed. He began to tire, his strength was fading. He couldn't allow himself to fail. He wouldn't! He needed to prove to himself that he could use his power for good. The frost in his chest intensified. He compressed the now pea-sized ball of blood fiercely. His hand was cramping and stung with the energy flowing through him.

Pop The pressure finally overcame the integrity of the clot, causing it to shatter and disperse into the blood. Aaron relaxed his hands and sighed a breath of relief. A torrent of blood rushed through the vessel where it had once been dammed and flowed freely through the foot. He felt his tome shifting in his mind's eye. It projected a message straight into his head. [Somatomancy talent unlocked] Flesh Mastery: Rank 1 Flesh mastery… It sounded so visceral. Aaron shuddered at the thought of moving flesh around.

This must be how Necromancers reanimated corpses, not that he had any plans to raise the dead any time soon. The curse had changed him, but he was determined not to become cruel and twisted like the Necromancers of legend. The back of Aaron's hand was soaked after he wiped the sweat off his forehead. He'd used almost all of his mana and was back to the familiar feeling of absolute exhaustion. He couldn't wait to become just a bit more powerful so he didn't have to feel like this all the time.

But still, he was happy to have completed the spell successfully. Thomas wiggled his toes and a grin beamed across his face.

"I can feel it! It worked! My foot is warm!" He leaned forwards on the bed and went to stand up.

"Wooah, not so fast. Take it slow." Aaron reached out his arm for support. Thomas took his hand and stood up carefully. He held on loosely and led Thomas around the room in small circles. It didn't take long before he disregarded Aaron's advice. He tore his hand away and started skipping around the room.

"Enough of this nonsense. Look, I'm fine. Thank you so much!" He skipped over and threw his arms around Aaron in an unwelcomed embrace. Aaron was far too tired to protest. He patted Thomas' shoulder and allowed him to enjoy the moment. It was something to be celebrated after all. He felt the warm swirl of a small spirit coalescence as he absorbed some latent energy in his surroundings. It wasn't just the buff to his spirit, but also the satisfaction of helping Thomas which energised him. He felt much less fatigued.

The hug was almost uncomfortably long when he finally let go.

"No problem," Aaron said. Thomas' body odor made his eyes water slightly. He could tell he hadn't bathed in a couple of days.

"How did you do that? It took the master and five apprentices to heal me earlier, but somehow you can do even better on your own."

"My gift is a little different from traditional healing. They can do things that I can't and I can do things that they can't." Aaron put his hand up against the wall to support his weight slightly, feeling another wave of fatigue.

"Oh, is that so?" Thomas appeared fascinated, which made Aaron feel uneasy.

"Listen Thomas. I need you to remember to keep this a secret. Whilst our powers are different, mine are not considered the…" Aaron paused to think of a more innocuous term as to avoid worrying his patient or drawing suspicion.

"... Gold standard. I could get in serious trouble for overriding the master's decisions if anyone found out." Thomas went silent for a second making Aaron uncomfortable.

"Not the gold standard? Nonsense! You should be doing this for more people. But I gave you my word, the master will not find out!" He let out a deep relieved sigh.

"Thank you."

"No, I should be thanking you," Thomas insisted.

"Farewell and goodnight Thomas," Aaron said as he slowly left the room, breathing just short of a pant. Aaron slumped in an armchair in the breakroom for a moment to catch his breath. Funny it was called a breakroom, as it was more akin to a tastelessly furnished broom closet. In fact, if you closed their eyes, you might think you are in a cupboard, surrounded by the smell of damp, stale mops. For such an esteemed centre of medicine, they could have put more effort into rest spaces for their apprentices.

Reaching over the side of the tattered, off-white arm of the seat, Aaron dragged his bag up the side of the chair. He ruffled through and brought out his tome. Necromancy… he thought, it's just spirit healing with extra steps. He could make it work for him, it didn't have to be all liches and undead armies like the stories. Thomas had been so grateful for his help. How many others would suffer if he didn't master his new power? It would be unethical not to try where traditional methods failed.

Aaron flicked through the pages, studying for any new information. The pages were mostly blank, just like when he had been a novice Spirit Healer. It was harrowing to see all of his progress eliminated. As he turned to the Somatomancy page; its contents made his jaw gape open in shock. There were two entirely new schools of magic!