“That is all answered,” said Teraj, letting go my face, and smiling. “I hear him waking. now Be brave, Elsha, and let me see that lion’s heart of yours.”

14 Secret Powers

14

Secret Powers

MY LION’S HEART had never been so sorely tried as it was in the following days. Daily, my lord’s condition worsened. He vomited constantly, and often it was blood. He was in a great deal of pain, and even in his sleep he moaned and tossed, tormented. Teraj gave him herbal medicines to ease the pain, but the Firelord could not keep them down. His face became an awful grey, and his eyes were hollow and dull. All his years fell on him at once, his hair turned white almost overnight, and he looked, suddenly, incredibly old. He shivered constantly, and his flesh felt like ice.

Teraj made a bed for him on the floor close by the fire, wrapped him in the thickest furs and woollen blankets, and placed warmed stones at his feet. He sat with him nearly all the time, or lay beside him, talking quietly or praying, and always his hands smoothed back the Firelord’s hair or massaged his brow or stroked his wrists. There was so much tenderness in Teraj, it made my heart ache to see it. And healing came from his hands, powerfully. Under his touch my lord’s pain eased, within moments his face became peaceful and smiling, and he slept like a child.

When Teraj was not with my lord, I was. I sang to him, since that pleased him, and at last I could do what I had always longed to do, and had never dared: I touched his hair and hands, fed him, washed his face for him, and showed him small tokens of my love. He said, when he was almost asleep one day, that my hands had healing in them, and eased his pain as much as Teraj’s did. Teraj heard, and smiled. But the Firelord squeezed my fingers, and slept for a long time without pain.

While Teraj and I looked after the Firelord, Shimer cooked our meals and cleaned the house, and did the washing for us. He was a treasure to watch. Even the smallest things he did required the most intense concentration, and he did everything slowly, with great care. If people had not come often to help, it would have taken him a whole day to shake the mats and sweep the floor, and to grind flour for bread. All the time he talked, laughing quietly, sometimes singing. I thought he talked to himself, but I listened one day and realised he was talking to God. And sometimes he lifted his head, intent, listening, as if he heard answers. I mentioned it to Teraj, and Teraj did not think it strange.