Claiming The Remnant

Chapter 70

[ Garrett ]

"Ye Gods! Would you leave the child alone. He is not a dog for you to call, he isn't a tool at your beck and call." My voice boomed down the corridor. Something touched my arm. Looking round I found Zach standing next to me.

"Zach." The green haired lad told me with a smug smile. Ah, crap I'd got the wrong end of the stick.

"Why didn't let me know you were there?" Agrevated, I threw my arms up in annoyance.

"Weren't finished." Zach shrugged and grinned stupidly.

"Honestly Zach." Surpressing a chuckle I shook my head. As if he was referencing walking in on Jo and I.

"Must finish." He winked while continuously switching which foot he was standing on. Not even the slightest bit of embarrassment.

"So, what's up?" I prompted when he just stood there. Well, bounced on the spot.

"Um," he now looked embarrassed and rather excited at the same time.

"What's that, behind your back?" For a second Zach looked conflicted but then he revealed a potted plant.

Asperonin and I looked at each other confused.

"Dangerous?" Zach offered Asperonin the plant.

Now I was really confused.

"Lad, you are setting me up to be rather condescending… explain yourself better." Asperonin surprised me; normally he wouldn't have entertained Zach and if he had he most certainly would have been condescending.

"Heal dangerous." He offered up the plant again. Well, it wasn’t offering really, he was practically shoving it in the Healers face.

“Zach, I don’t know what you want.” The patience Asperonin was showing impressed me but while the Healer hadn’t caught Zach’s meaning I had. It took me a split second to decide if I was going to give the guy a hand. Sometimes it was a long road to see eye to eye. We were just starting out and, yes, things had gotten heated but the Healer meant well. He was trying. We were just worn a bit thin at the moment.

“You been spying on us, Zach?” I scratched my head, casually regarding the lad. Zach stopped offering up the plant and looked at me, sly but guilty at the same time.

“Interesting.” Zach replied, trying to convey more information than possible in that one word.

“Next time ask. Sneaking around isn’t helpful - what is it that you said to me? Er, something about there being enough opposition?” He had the sense to look a little ashamed at that.

“Sorry…” It was the word he said but he still wiggled the plant hopefully.

“Alright Zach, I’ll ask.” Pulling on my civility I addressed Asperonin. This interlude had calmed me a bit but in all honesty it had been nice to just express myself. “Zach would like you to try and hurt the plant with your magic. Seems he got the idea from me, when I was questioning your belief that healing magic wasn’t dangerous.”

“Oh.” Asperonin stared at the plant, looking quite uncomfortable. Zach however held it out with nothing short of exuberance. Tentatively he placed his fingers on one broad leaf. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Try for the opposite of whatever it is you… do.” Casually I leant against the stone wall. This was an interesting turn of events. The Head Healer gave a slight nod of acknowledgement before focusing all his attention on the plant.

“Ye God’s!” He gasped, looking like he had tasted something foul. The leaf that he had been gingerly touching had withered. Crinkled, brown and dry it kept shriveling despite Asperonin no longer being in contact with the foliage. The rest of the plant was starting to brown as the original leaf turned black; disintegrating into a black powder.

“Zach - drop it or put it down. Now.” An uneasy feeling had me barking orders when Zach went to touch the dying plant. Without protesting he did as asked.

“Mmm.” Asperonin moaned, a pained noise. “I - I don’t like it. It doesn’t feel right.” He reached for the wall to support himself. Something was wrong. Zach slipped away looking more than a little panicked only to return with a glass of water. With an unfocused gaze the blond man took the glass from Zach’s shaking hand only to drop it. The expected shatter was absent as the glass fell right through the floor and out of the ceiling right into Zach’s awaiting hand.

“Zach - fetch some seeds…” An idea was forming in my head. “Asperonin, stop panicking, focus on something else, breathing, counting, whatever it is that you do to… ah.” Zach was fast. He handed me a pouch of seeds. “Ok, right, here goes nothing. Take this.” I held the pouch by the very top corner while offering it out. Having no idea what was actually going on as well as feeling cautioned by the colour of Asperonin’s eyes being a deep gold rather than the usual bright gold I didn’t want to risk touching him.

“Wh-at?” Asperonin stammered, taking the pouch. There was sweat on his brow. His knees were buckling.

“Whatever you took from the plant, try pushing back into the seeds…” It was the only solution I could think of. With a small grunt the Healer followed my instructions. Instantly the hessian pouch bulged and split as all the seeds germinated at once. Hundreds of lush green shoots spurted everywhere. The sound of them growing was audible. They crackled and groaned, getting longer by the second.

“Peas.” Zach announced, picking a pod from one of the stems. The Healer sagged but with relief.

“It seems you were right, Captain but I don’t think I should like to do that again - ever.” Asperonin looked rather unnerved by the whole experience, whereas Zach was just eating the peas.

“I think a little bit more day drinking is in order.” The pea plants had stopped growing. Deeming it safe enough I started untangling the Healer from the mass of tangled plants.

“I second that.” Asperonin stood on shaky legs.

“Ethyn!” Zach shouted with delight, sinking into the floor, leaving an empty pea pod behind.