Page 130 of Blood and Moonlight

CHAPTER 52

I aim for the west of the abbey. The guards have been called out, searching for Simon, but they’re still several blocks behind by the time we reach the relative shelter of the orchard wall. We creep along it in the twilight, Simon stumbling on roots that grow out under the barrier, until we come around to the far end of the Selenae Quarter. I choose the alley Athene had taken me to, though it’s not the closest.

The moon has set, and it rained most of the night, so no Selenae are out. The dark streets are difficult to navigate in reverse, but I manage to find the circle sign with the dancing serpent after only one wrong turn. I pound on Athene’s door until she answers, wearing a dressing gown over her nightclothes and pushing loose hair back from her temples. “It’s me,” I gasp. “My friend is hurt.”

She ushers us inside and closes the door, looking us over. “I said you could probably come back one day, but this is rather soon,” she says dryly.

Simon looks back and forth between us. “Who is this, Cat?”

“This is my cousin.” I avoid deeper explanations for now.“She’s a physician.” While I won’t insist or try to force her to treat him, I beg her with my eyes to help.

Athene sighs and extends her arm, indicating I should go to the back of the house.

“Thank you,” I say as I help Simon limp past her and down the passage.

I trip into the sickroom’s moonstone glow, ready to set Simon onto the cot across from Marguerite when I realize the room is empty. Swerving around, I face my cousin. “Where is she?”

Athene’s mouth tightens in anger. “We took her back to the abbey this afternoon.”

“Why?”

“The sisters demanded her return,” she says. “They threatened to go to the provost if we didn’t.”

I grind my teeth. “You mean Sister Berta demanded it.”

Athene shrugs. “They all look the same to me, but the last thing we need now is trouble, though it appears you’ve brought it.” She looks pointedly at Simon.

“His ankle is hurt,” I say, turning back to the cot. “Maybe broken.”

Simon is pale and sweating from the pain. Athene helps me lower him down. “Your Hadrian doesn’t weigh more than a sack of flour,” she mutters. “Has anyone been feeding him?”

My immediate concern is elsewhere. “Will the sisters allow you to continue tending Marguerite over there?”

“Doubtful.” Athene kneels to pull Simon’s boot off. “But I think she’s past the most danger, thanks to you. As long as they keep her abed, she should continue to recover.”

Simon winces as Athene prods his foot. “Do you intend to light a lantern?” he asks. “Or do you physicians work only by feel?”

I sigh. “Add it to the list of things I need to explain to you, but suffice to say both of us can see quite well.”

He yelps as Athene rotates his ankle in a circle. “Quiet, Hadrian,” she scolds. “I’m trying to hear if your bones are intact.” Then she wrinkles her nose. “Where is the smell of blood coming from?”

“That’s me.” I hold up my bandaged hand.

Athene scowls but continues working on Simon, moving the joint back and forth as he struggles to stay silent. “Remind me to teach you that bleeding is more urgent than sprains.”

“Not broken, then?” I ask.

She sets his foot down on the cot. “All the echoes are solid, though there’s displacement from swelling. One ligament was strained beyond its length, but it isn’t torn.”

I gape. “You can tell all that just by listening?”

“And feeling.” Athene stands to pull out a drawer of the cabinet. “I have no doubt you could do it, too, and more, with proper training.”

From what she said about Hira, I know only those with blood magick can become a full physician, but somehow it never occurred to me that it was something I could do. Athene takes out a roll of tightly woven fabric and sits back down. “I’m going to bind this now, Hadrian, to keep the swelling down,” she tells him.

He grits his teeth. “My name is Simon.”

Athene pauses in her actions and looks up at me. “Simon of Mesanus? The venatre?”