“How dare you?” continued the driver. Then he raised his right arm, unfurling the coachwhip he carried and bringing it down in a long, sweeping stroke that caught Will across the face. He cried out in pain and rolled over, trying to shield his wounded cheek, then felt a second line of fire as the driver whipped his back.
Everyone was yelling, but the driver lashed him once more before the girls finally calmed the enraged man down. “There was a snake, you idiot!” yelled Selene, hanging onto the driver’s arm. “He saved Laina from being bitten.”
Selene continued to berate the driver while the younger girl cried, a reaction to both the shock of seeing the snake and the sudden violence she had witnessed. Will gradually pulled himself together and got to his feet, tears of pain running from his eyes and mixing with the blood of his cut cheek.
“We need to return,” said the driver coldly, taking Laina by the hand and leading the girl away.
Selene stayed still for a moment, then started to follow. “We can’t just leave him here!” she insisted. “He’s hurt.”
“He’s a peasant,” snapped the driver. “If you cared so much, you shouldn’t have left the carriage. Lord Nerrow will have my hide for letting you two slip away.”
Will watched them go, his vision blurry. “It’s all right,” he said. Taking a step forward to follow, the world spun around him, and his right leg collapsed under his weight. Crashing to the ground, he wondered what was wrong with his leg. It was throbbing with pain, but he couldn’t remember the whip striking him there. His heart was racing and beating so hard it felt as though it might burst from his chest. Why can’t I catch my breath?
“Something’s wrong!” said Selene loudly, running back to him.
Will tried to focus his eyes, but nothing seemed to work properly anymore. All he could see were the girl’s blue eyes staring down at him. She looked worried.
He felt cold fingers on his leg. “He’s been bitten.” His vision narrowed to a tunnel and then vanished entirely as his consciousness surrendered to darkness.
Chapter 2
“What happened to his face?” demanded a deep voice that Will didn’t recognize.
“My apologies, milord, I thought he had attacked your daughter,” said the driver apologetically.
Opening his eyes, Will recognized his surroundings; he was home, in bed. The unfamiliar voice had been that of the lord who had come to see his mother. The lord looked distinctly unhappy.
“Do you realize what you’ve done? Do you know who he is?” demanded the lord.
The driver stared at his feet. “Just a peasant boy from the village, milord.”
“He’s Erisa’s son!” shouted the lord. “Her only son. You know why I’m here. Think about that for a moment.”
The driver’s face paled. “Forgive me, milord. I didn’t realize…”
“Get out!” shouted the lord. “I’ll deal with you later.”
In the silence that followed, Will slowly became aware of someone crying in the background. Turning his head, he saw his mother sitting on a small stool at the foot of the bed. The lord was standing over her, his features remorseful.
“Erisa, I’m sorry,” said the lord.
Glancing up, his mother begged, “Can’t you do something? Please, Lord Nerrow, he’s all I have.”
“This is beyond my power, Erisa,” answered Lord Nerrow sadly. “There is no magic that can heal this. If your herbs cannot help…”
“It was an emerald viper,” cried Will’s mother. “Don’t be a fool! If magic cannot help, what good do you think herbs will be?”
“Then his fate is in the gods’ hands,” said Lord Nerrow. “Perhaps it is better this way. Even if he dies, I’ll see to it that you’re taken care of.” He pressed a small leather pouch into Erisa’s hand.
Will’s mother shot to her feet and she flung the pouch against the wall. The seams burst, spilling gold and silver coins across the floor. “I don’t want your money! I never wanted it! I just want my son, healthy and whole.”
“And what kind of life could he have had?” said Lord Nerrow. “Stuck in this filth-ridden village. It’s better this way, for both of us. You’re still young, Erisa. You could find a husband—”
Furious, Erisa turned on the man. “I don’t want a husband! I want my son!” She looked as though she might attack the nobleman then and there, but after a second, she clenched her hands into fists and grew still. “That’s right, though, you have your daughters. You wouldn’t care.”
Lord Nerrow started toward her, but Erisa held up her hand. “Leave. Please leave.”
“Erisa, I never wanted this…”
“Go,” said Will’s mother firmly. “Save me your guilt and pity. You can keep them. I regret the day I ever laid eyes on you.”
“Very well,” said the lord, and then he left the room.
Will’s mother followed him out, and he could hear her parting words from the other room. “Don’t come back here,” she said. “I don’t want to ever see you again.”
He thought he was alone, but a small noise made him refocus his eyes, and he saw the dark-haired girl was beside the bed. Will’s eyes met hers for a moment, and then she leaned over, pressing her lips to his forehead. “Thank you for saving Laina,” she said, and then she was gone.
Darkness swallowed him, and Will slept, grateful for an end to the pain.
***
He awoke in darkness sometime later, vaguely aware that people were talking close by, just outside his room.
“Please, Master Arrogan, if you can help him…”
“You have a lot of nerve calling me here, Erisa,” answered a gruff voice.
Will’s mother didn’t relent. “There was no one else I could turn to. If anyone can save him, it’s you.”
“You know how I feel about this, Erisa. Why should I do anything to help that man? Do you have any idea what his kind have cost me? Why should I help his cursed spawn?” answered the man.
Erisa’s voice was strident. “Please! He’s my son. He’s done you no wrong. Don’t condemn him for the sins of his father.”
“There are no herbs for this, nor alchemy either. The venom will have spread throughout his body by now,” argued the man’s voice.
“I know that,” agreed Will’s mother. “You taught me everything I know of herbs and medicine, but I also know that you can do more. Please, you have to try, Master Arrogan.”
“Silence,” commanded the old man’s voice. “Don’t say that name, and don’t mention other things either. Don’t you realize what will happen if they discover my presence here? You worry for your son, but what of the rest of the village? They’d burn this place to the ground and raze the village if they heard I was here.”
“I don’t care!” declared Erisa. “If you won’t help him, I’ll run into the streets shouting your name. I’ll run all the way to Cerria if I have to, until everyone in the world knows you’re here!”
“Fine,” growled the old man. “That’s enough. There’s no reasoning with you.”