Chapter 55: She Belongs Out Here

The large heavy double doors of the clinic swung inward, letting warm air hit my face. It smelled sharply of sanitizer, rubbing alcohol and sweat.

The waiting room was worse than before, even more packed. People covered the floor, filling every cot and spilling into the aisles. A constant chorus of coughing filled the space.

The gray-haired nurse stood near the front counter holding a damp cloth. She looked exhausted as her eyes lifted, spotting the large wooden crate on my shoulder, and she let out a long sigh. She dropped the cloth and rushed over.

"You made it," she said, her raspy voice cracking. She grabbed the edge of the crate to look at the glowing roots. "I thought you two were dead for sure when the storm kicked up even worse. The mudslides took out the whole east road."

"We took the long way," I replied, setting the crate onto the wooden counter. My shoulder throbbed where the wood had dug a deep groove into my skin, but I ignored it. "Where do you need us?"

"Back in the apothecary room," she ordered. "I need a fresh batch of paste right now. The fever is spreading. And fast, I’m doing everything I can..."

Elise didn’t wait for me. She walked straight past the front desk and pushed the backroom door open. I followed her inside. The room looked exactly the same. The heavy iron mortar sat on the wooden table next to the empty glass vat.

I grabbed the iron pestle, it was cold to the touch. Elise stood across from me, holding her hands over the bowl as turquoise light filled the cramped room.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready," she answered.

I pulled a root from the crate, dropped it into the iron bowl, and swung.

The pestle hit the root with a loud crack. Pale vapor hissed upward. Elise caught the toxic gas instantly, letting her magic dissolve it before it reached my face.

We fell back into our routine. I grabbed a root, smashed it, and ground it into a fine paste while Elise kept the air clean. She had just hiked down a mountain in a storm, yet she showed no signs of fatigue, in fact, she looked energized instead.

The pile of glowing paste in the glass vat grew steadily larger by the minute as we continued to work.

"Take a breath," Elise told me quietly.

"I’m fine," I lied, rubbing my arms.

"Your swings are getting sloppy," she noted with a small, soft smile. "We have enough paste to start the first round of doses. Let me take this out front."

I stopped swinging and wiped sweat from my forehead. I scooped the paste into a smaller wooden bowl and handed it to her.

"Go save them," I said.

Elise took the bowl and walked out of the backroom. I followed her into the hallway and leaned against the doorframe to watch.

The waiting room was pure chaos as the older nurse rushed around with a pitcher of hot water.

Elise walked right into the middle of the crowd without hesitation. She knelt next to a young boy on the floor who was coughing violently.

She placed her hand on his chest and a warm green light spread from her palm. The boy stopped coughing instantly as his breathing calmed. Elise mixed a spoonful of paste with a cup of hot water and held it to his mouth. He drank it without fighting, then closed his eyes to rest.

She stood up and moved to an older man shivering under a thin blanket. She worked fast, healing his raw throat with her magic before giving him the bitter medicine. He nodded his thanks.

She moved to a terrified young woman sitting against the wall. Elise spoke to her quietly, holding her hand until the green light flared again and the woman relaxed. Elise handed her the cup.

The villagers stopped fighting the taste once they saw the results. The coughing in the room started to die down.

The older nurse stopped walking. She watched Elise work, then looked back at me.

"She is a natural," the nurse said.

"She really is," I agreed. "I see her coming here often,"

Watching Elise take charge out there made the trip up the mountain worth it. She wasn’t hiding behind anyone anymore.

I walked back into the apothecary room to finish processing the rest of the crate. Working alone was much harder. I pulled my shirt up over my nose and cracked the first root.

The pale gas leaked out. I held my breath, closed my eyes, and waited for the vapor to settle before breathing again.

I ground the root into a paste, scooped it into the vat, and grabbed the next one. I swung again and held my breath again. It was slow work. My lungs ached. My eyes watered from the stray fumes. I preferred having Elise in here with me, but they needed her out front. I kept swinging.

Swing. Hold breath. Grind. Breathe. I didn’t stop until the crate was entirely empty.

I finished grinding the last ten roots, filling the glass vat to the brim. I wiped my face with a towel, pushed the heavy vat onto the metal rolling cart, and wheeled it out into the hallway.

The waiting room was quiet.

Most of the villagers were asleep now that the thick chest congestion was broken.

The medicine worked fast. Elise sat on a wooden stool near the window, holding an empty cup in her hands. The turquoise light under her skin was gone. She looked completely exhausted.

I pushed the cart over to the front desk. The head nurse took the glass vat and inspected the paste.

"This will cover the rest of the week," the nurse said. She reached under the counter and pulled out a small leather pouch. It clinked heavily as she tossed it onto the desk.

"Your payment," the nurse explained. "You earned every single coin. The village owes you two a major debt tonight."

"We were just doing our job," I said, picking up the heavy pouch. The bounty paid well.

I walked over to Elise and held my hand out. She looked up, grabbed my hand, and pulled herself up from the stool.

"Are you ready to go home?" I asked her quietly.

"I think so," she replied. Her voice was very soft. "I don’t think I have any mana left."

"You did great today," I told her, helping her put her damp coat back on.

We walked out of the clinic. The storm had finally broken. The rain stopped completely, leaving a thick fog rolling through the village streets. The air felt incredibly cold, so I wrapped my arm around her shoulder to keep her warm as we walked slowly back toward our house.

The mud was still thick on our boots, leaving a messy trail on the cobblestone. I didn’t care. We finished the job.

"Sam," Elise whispered as we walked.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for taking me with you," she said. "I needed to know I could do this."

"You never have to thank me for that," I replied. "You belong out here just as much as anyone else."

We reached our front porch. The lights inside the house were on. I could hear Katrina laughing through the thick windowpane. The girls were back from their cavern dive, and they sounded happy.

I opened the front door. Warm air rushed out to greet us, carrying the smell of roasted meat. Damara was cooking dinner.