Kein Lit several of the Lamps as I roused myself from slumber. I winced and tried to sit up, but Bane


    knelt on the bed and pushed me back down. He settled beside me and leaned on the post in the center


    “They have news,” he said softly Looking down, “befortable while they tell it.”


    The Healers could be wordy, I suddenly knew. They loved to talk and rarely got to the point quickly.


    Usually they were faster around Damien’s family, probably out of fear, but today they Looked Like they


    wanted to revel in the telling.


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    Evan sat on the end of the bed near my feet. He stroked the foot lovingly, pulling the nket back and


    fondling my toes. I had such tiny toes, he’d always thought they were cute. He waspletely


    uninterested in the Healers.


    In fact none of the men were interested in the Healers. They put on stoic faces that would not offend


    ourpany. Internally their conversation was about what we needed to do today. Their disinterest


    made it hard for me to pay attention.


    Bane was right, though. These strange men wanted to draw this out. The Healers asked about me and


    my prior healing. They wanted to know how I’d reacted to healing cream, the cream for pain, and


    calming cream. Damien answered all of that politely. Lastly, they asked about the prior pregnancy and


    how the baby came from my body, but Damien wouldn’t budge on that.


    “I will only speak with Nu-reeh’s permission,” he told them stoically. Damien’s refusal to borate


    stymied them for only a moment, before they were back to talking.


    “The fix for the broken bone,” the lead Brother stated triumphantly, “will not hurt a growing child.”


    One of the men held up a small device. It had been the one Damien refused to let them use on me the


    day before.


    Damien tried to look as calm as he could, but he could barely stand the irritation these men caused


    him. Just use it and leave, was his opinion. The sensation was so strong I nearly said it myself.


    “The healing cream is not dangerous and can be used as you wish. We believe you all are acquainted


    with this already,“ the lead Healer announced.


    Yes, that was a good thing. I’d not thought to question it when they used it during thest pregnancy.


    For a moment I felt very lucky Hannah had not been harmed.


    “The heavy ointment that removes pain,” the Healer said slowly, “may cause the ve to Lose the


    child.”


    Now Damien was surprised and looked questioningly over at me. He’d been sorely tempted to put


    some on my chest as I moaned in my sleep Last night. Christof warned him I knew more about


    pregnancy than they did, though. Best not to tempt ill luck, he’d said, and he’d been correct.


    ninjanovel


    “So,” the lead Healer said, “how did you know?” Human intelligence was not respected. Damien knew


    these Healers thought of me as little more than a messy toy, but he told them the truth.


    “Ciara, the female, suspected these things could hurt the growing life,” he said simply. The Healers


    scoffed and ruffled their brows. Certainly Christof, or perhaps Evan, had given me the idea.


    “Humans,” Evan said in a conspiratorial tone, “are quite bright. They are protective of their own young


    even, amazing quality. It is as though this,” he said pointing to me, “is a sentient being


    He was being an asshole and grinned at the Healers maliciously. The idiots had no idea the depth of


    intelligence a human could possess. Damien’s family would educate them, but they didn’t seem


    receptive. Now we just wanted them to get on with their job and leave.


    The Healers missed the sarcasm entirely. They just asked Bane to move me onto a floating table. They


    would heal me, although none of them understood how I’d known the other things could harm my baby.


    Evan’s exnation was evidently not satisfactory.


    Once I was in position the thing was pressed into my tender chest wall. It seemed to be emitting a


    series of waves. My rib felt sharp pain for a moment and then it began to dull. The pain got much


    better, but did not go awaypletely.


    After withdrawing the strange probe the Healers coated the area with the healing cream. The bruising


    lightened and breathing became much easier. Rxing onto the floating table I felt as though I could


    fall to sleep right there.


    The Healers were quite proud of themselves. Once they had thought about birth defects, they had


    thought about other chemicals, like food. They had taken the initiative to start to study the food I ate to


    ensure nothing was harmful. A list of eptable food was given to Damien. He looked it over and


    thanked them politely as he guided them out the door.