Chapter 32

The squishy mossy ground shriveled under the Lord Commander's perfectly polished brown leather boots as he clasped his hands behind his back and surveyed the injured Lycans. Every being gives off its own illumination, but there were no humans in this old world save the Immortal. So, when he crossed the dark-haired woman with no light about her at all who tended to the wounded, he came to stand behind her to investigate this strange creature.

That prickly feeling returned on her back and made Mory's head snap around to see who was standing there. From his too-clean boots to the snooty way he carried himself, she recognized his sense authority and importance immediately. "Something on your mind, sir?"

Two arms clad in the finest fabric and leather the kingdom had to offer folded over his chest. "I'm Lord Commander of His Majesty's Army." Though his angular nose wrinkled at her, when he spotted the blood on her clothing, concern softened his face as he motioned to her pants leg. "And you appear to be injured, my lady."

She sighed as she glanced down from the arm she bandaged to see her calf. "I'm no lady. My name is Captain Morana Osulf, sir, and I'm just fine. Thank you for your concern."

Her head fell from side to side as she examined her work, then she nodded at Sharon. "Alright. You're all good, honey." A group of nearly ten awaited her, and she looked over her shoulder to Agamori. "Is there something you need from me?" A finger gun pointed at the line. "Because, as you can see, I'm kind of busy right now with all these nice folks."

Between her lazy accent and her smart mouth, he figured she must be the person Daniel sent him for, and he rolled his eyes just a little. But as he studied the care she put into her work as she moved from patient to patient without hesitation, he nodded his approval. "There's a place in our kingdom for witches with skills such as yours if you're interested in employment." He leaned forward just a bit and his condescending eyebrow rose to tease her. "Captain Osulf."

"Pssh." A blast of her breath blew her dirty hair from her face. "Well, for your information, I'm not a witch." A finger shot up over a shoulder and wagged the air. "As a matter of fact, I don't know what the hell I am anymore." Her thumb pointed over her to the stack of dead bodies. "Until that son of a bitch shot me with the arrow, I thought I might be dreaming this whole thing up."

He tugged at the knees of his pants and squatted behind her with his chin on his fist as he watched her clean a wound. "Well, whatever you are, His Majesty would be pleased to have another Healer in his command. I take it you have sufficient experience."

"Mmm-hmm." With her teeth, she opened an ampule of saline and dumped it across the boy's arm. "You could say that." A puffy stack of cotton shook under her fingers as she pulled some loose and dabbed the wound. "You could also say that this nurse spent eight years in the Army at the front lines of combat during the war and received three special commendations for my dedication to my patients during that time, if you want to jot that down, sir.” While she waited for him to reply, her chin rested on her shoulder as her eyes shot back at him. “Does that sound sufficient to you, Lord Commander?"

It wasn't often that Agamori found himself impressed with anything or anybody, but he laid his hand on her shoulder and gave it a pat. "It does, Captain. It does. I think you'd do quite well in our service, and we would be honored to have you." While he stood to rise over her, he dusted off the palms of his hands. "Find me when you're finished here, and we'll escort you home."

She wasn’t sure if it was the right place to start, but it was something familiar and useful, and she nodded as her fingers bent to the next in line. "Yes, sir. I'll do that, thank you for the invitation."

The pile of goblin bodies was stacked, and when Agamori came to Teddy's side, he crossed his arms to look at it. "Aren't you finished yet? These creatures smell awful, and I'd like to get home before dinner."

A hot wind blew all around them and lifted Agamori's smooth white hair from his shoulder as beads of sweat covered his brow. A soulless blackness covered the place where Teddy's green eyes once sat, and like he blew out the candles on his birthday cake when he pursed his lips together, the pyre of rotting bodies was incinerated instantly.

A canteen of water met the firebreather's chest, and Agamori nodded back to the nurse he met. "I believe a found the person Daniel sent us for. Even if she isn't, she's a competent nurse and will be returning to the castle with us while the others escort the Lycans north."

After he shoved his canteen into his saddlebag, Teddy tucked his dark curly hair behind his ear. It was a rare word to hear in the Realm, even among refugees from Earth. "A nurse?" His eyes squinted as he leaned back to get a look at her. "She doesn't look familiar to me. I got the impression from Daniel's message that she would. You didn't happen to catch her name, did you?"

The Lord Commander peeked back over his shoulder and found her sweeping off the bottom of her pants as she stood. "Captain Morana Osulf."

A flutter came to his chest, and Teddy slapped his palm to his commander's wrist. "Did you say Osulf?" A shaking finger rose to the Lord Commander's nose. "Are you sure that's what she said?"

He yanked his arm free and poked his finger into Teddy's chest. "Have you ever known me to be unsure of anything, ever?"

"Oh, for Pete's sake." The back of his hand pushed Agamori aside, and he rushed across the grass between them. "Excuse me, ma'am. Did you say your name is Mrs. Osulf?"

"That's right, it is." She yanked the strap of her bag back together and spun around to look at him. But as soon as she saw his face, her pack fell to the ground, and her hand clutched the space she was shot. "Teddy? You're Teddy, aren't you? You have to be." Her fingers shook as they reached out to his face, and she smiled. "Haldir has your picture on his nightstand; I'd know you and your sister anywhere. I'm" — her hand flung away from her as her shoulders pitched upward — "well, I guess I'm your mother or something."

His arms opened wide to her, and his pointy tooth dug into his lip. "Well, shit, come here and give me a hug then, little Momma. Welcome to the family."

She squished him under her arms around him, and he pushed himself free of her and dipped his knees to see her face. While he rubbed the smudge of dirt from her cheek, he narrowed his eyes to her. "Just what in the hell happened that you're here and my father isn't?"

The bottom of her shirt was blood-stained, and he gave her a quick look-see to make sure that was it. "What happened to you, darlin?"

"I got shot." Her fingers patted at her chest, and she smirked as she looked down at herself. "I died in his arms. Then Michael came…"

"Ha." Teddy laughed out his hand waved between them. "Say no more. I got my own Haldir and Michael tale that starts out much the same way."

He slipped his hand through the handle of her duffel, and his other pulled her into his chest as he led her to the horses. "We can trade war stories on the way back home."