Chapter 43
-Ignatius-
Meeting with the final pack went well enough. I was relieved to finally be on the home stretch. I was
rearing to get back to Dorothy and my own home. Elliot and I hadn’t spoken much since the one-sided
conversation in the car.
He clearly still hadn’t forgiven me for bringing up my mother considering we drove the rest of the way in
stony silence until we reached the final pack on our list.
The Drakkon Pack was small, smaller than even that of the Khall, But they held their own kind of
power. The Drakkon was known to stay out of neighboring pack business for the most part. But we had
stepped in to help them before and now they owed us a favor.
Luckily for us, the Drakkon always kept their word and were happy to offer us their support should it be
absolutely
necessary.
Unlike the Bielke, the Drakkon was not interested in resorting to violence unless there was no other
option. But they held at particrly strong grudge against the Tally since they had almost been wiped
out by them once before,
Their eldercouncil was small, consisting of only three members When we were done with our
discussions, the Alpha and Luna invited us to stay as long as we liked. While my father went off to
meet with an old friend of his – I had no idea my father even had any friends-I went to see the single
healer of the Drakkon Pack.
I had had no choice but to disclose information about Dorothy’s strange healing abilities during our
conversation with the elders. For a pack who keeps to themselves, the Drakkon have a way of picking
up information about the going ons of the entire country.
Nob*dy knows how they do it but they do it well. They had asked about Dorothy and whether or not she
would pose as a
threat to them.
I reassured them that was not the case and exined that we weren’t even entirely sure of how her
ability worked or how she got it. The elders had suggested I consult their healer, who hade from a
distant pack long ago and who held a lot of knowledge on the topic of healing.
I didn’t think there was anything this strall town healer could tell me that I didn’t already know, but I had
time to kill and nothing to lose from speaking with her.
The woman lived in a small cabin on the outskirts of the Drakkon territory. She wasn’t difficult to find. I
followed the scent of herbs and potions that surrounded the small home.
Charms and bottles hung from the trees around the cabin and nts had been left to grow wild all
around the area. Curling green vines chang to the wooden frame of the building like the small log cabin
was a part of the woods and had grown from the ground along with the rest of the foliage.
There was dust on the ss of the windows and I couldn’t see through the grime, but aside from the
clinking of wind chimes, light musicing from inside let me know that someone was home.
I walked up to the small door and knocked twice before it creaked open. An old woman stood before
me, although old isn’t an urate enough description. She looked ancient. She was short and stooped,
leaning on a wooden cane with the head of
wolf carved into its handle.
The two beady jeweled eyes of the wooden wolf stared at me along with the woman’s own lidded white
pupils. She could have been blind, but she was looking straight at me.
“Um, hi” I said. “Are you the healer of this pack? I’m Ignatius Armound of the Bielke Pack. I was
wondering if I could ask you some questions?”
She nodded slowly. “Of course. Pleasee in
I had to duck to step through the small doorway. Inside, when standing up straight, my head almost
brushed the ceiling.
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10:46 Fri, Jan 26
More trinkets and other wind chimes dangled from the roof above us and I had to be careful to not
knock my head against
of them.
any
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The old woman motioned for me to sit on one of the weathered pillows on the floor. Dozens are carpets
were crossed over each other, making the entire floor look like a giant patchwork quilt.
She lowered herself down onto another cu shion and began to pour tea from a small porcin mug that
stood on a small
table in front of her.
“So she said with a voice like gravel. “What is it you wanted to know?”
I nodded when she lifted the small canister of sugar and thought over my question. “My mate, Dorothy,
she’s got some kind. of healing ability. She can heal herself like a regr shifter but this is something
different. This is way more powerful”
The old woman kept quiet, stirring sugar into our tea and waiting for me to continue. “A few weeks ago,
we were attacked by a Tally shifter. He injured a friend of mine, Badly. I thought she was going to die.
But Dorothy somehow managed to heal her and now she’s perfectly fine.
The woman’s head jerked up when I said this and she listened attentively as I spoke. “Only, Dorothy
herself ended upatose for two weeks. It seems like she passed some of her own life on to the girl
she saved. Have you heard of anything like that happening before?“
The old healer looked down again and handed me a steaming cup of tea
Your mate. Dorothy, she is from the Bielke Pack?”
Not born into it, no. She was from the Khall Pack before I met her. But she wasn’t originally from there
either.”
I frowned down at my tea. “Dorothy said she saw visions while she had been unconscious. She said
she remembered her pack being attacked. ording to the Khall elders, she was delivered to them as
a baby by a woman who imed to be escaping this attack.”
The old woman leaned back, stroking her wrinkled chin with fingers covered in gold rings. “It’s possible
she could be a descendant of the Sanitatum people.”
The name rang a bell. “That was a name D
The woman nodded
Dorothy gave to herself She said she didn’t know where she had heard it.”
Probably because she never did. The Sanitatum disappeared long ago, barely anyone remembers
them at all. If her pack was attacked it’s very likely someone discovered that the bloodline was still well
and alive and sought to gain the power for themselves Or eradicate it entirely
“What do you know of this power?” I asked earnestly, leaning forwards on my haunches. “Is Dorothy
going to be okay?”
The woman shrugged. “I’m not sure. The Sanitatum bloodline was thought to have died out because of
the effects of their own powers. They used it to heal others, and in turn, they wiped themselves out.”
So if Dorothy just refrains from using her powers, she won’t be hurt by them?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that. Ites naturally, this healing power, it’s an urge she
will not be able to fightt when it ovees her. There are only two ways a Sanitatum wohld live its life.
Give up years of your own and live a short life but save countless others. Or take life from the people
aroural you and prolong your own.”
“Why not both?”
“You can try. But with that amount of energy surging through your b*dy, eventually, something has to
give. This is the curse of the Saratatum”
“That can’t be it!” I mmed my cup down onto the table. “So we just have to ept that she’s
eventually going to die because of this? That’s b ulls hit. I won’t ept that
10:48 Fri, Jan 26
The healer seemed unphased by my outburst. She put her hands around my own shaking ones and
spoke gently. “I don’t have all of the answers for you. This is just what I havee to learn of it.
Perhaps you will find others like Dorothy who might be able to help you.”
She let go and stood up slowly, a hand on her back and leaning heavily on her cane. “After all, if one
Sanitatum is still alive,
there is sure to be more out there.
I got to my feet wearily. “Maybe you’re right. And thank you for your time. I’m sorry I lost my temper
there, I didn’t mean to disrespect you
“Think nothing of it, the woman said, waving her jewelry dded hand. I understand the desperation of
young love. You
do love her don’t you?”
“With all my heart.”