Mutilation Is Off the Table

The infirmary was in a large airy building with bleached wooden floors, white washed walls, and glass panels in the windows. Most of the windows were open, but the lobby where Sera and Three entered was sealed and had the antiseptic smell of a hospital.

Sera was surrounded by a trio of men and women in cream-colored tunics and pants moments after she crossed the threshold. Two of them made soothing noises, while the third one addressed Three, firing off a rapid series of questions about who Sera was and how she'd been injured.

"She is Sister Forty Six of the Third Temple," Three told them, "And there is a Traveler with her. I . . . the Honored Traveler has not shared a name yet."

While the trio of healers were drawing in surprised breaths and looking at Sister Forty-Six in astonishment, Three went on to explain how the wing had been broken, laying claim to full responsibility for the injury. By the time he was done, the healer who'd asked the questions had recovered enough to say, "I see. And you are?"

"Brother Forty-Three of the Third Temple," Three answered. The healer let out a relieved sigh.

"Good, you can choose for her, then," he said. Turning his attention to the others, "Let's get her into an operating room."

"No," Sera said flatly, earning surprised looks from the healers. "Three does not get to make any choices for Sister Forty-Six. Address your questions to us."

The trio of healers traded glances. Finally the man who'd spoken squared his shoulders and faced Sera.

"Honored Traveler," he began, "A woman with an injured wing . . . the pain is so enormous . . ."

"I am well aware of how much this hurts, thank you," Sera interrupted tartly. The healer swallowed hard.

"I . . . yes. You see, the decision . . . " and he floundered, looking around for help. Neither of his two companions would make eye contact, so he drew in a breath and tried again, "Honored Traveler, the removal of a woman's wings . . . a woman without wings . . ."

"Is not a woman," Sera guessed, and the healer nodded, relieved she'd understood.

"Yes. It is not a choice any woman is willing to make. But it must be done. Even if the break is clean and there is no other damage, it will take weeks to heal and that only if the patient can be prevented to from trying to fly, a thing which she will try to do instinctively," the healer said. Sera did not doubt any of that. She'd already caught herself trying to flex her wings once, and she'd had them for barely an hour.

Seeing that she wasn't arguing, the healer went on, "It is very difficult to do, far too often the patient injures herself further when she forgets. In the very rare cases where the patient is disciplined enough to allow herself to heal, even then the wing will remain weak and at risk of breaking again--"

"That is untrue," a new voice contributed, earning herself a glare from the first healer. She nodded to Sera. "I am Doctor Roseleaf, Daughter of Sweetsummer, Daughter of Fireglow."

Sera nodded to her in greeting. "We are Sister Forty-Six, and Sera Conroy."

Doctor Roseleaf did a double take at that introduction, then smiled uncertainly. The other healers glared at her, the speaker saying sharply, "You were not asked to consult here, woman."

He then pointedly turned his back and continued, "As I was saying, the wing will remain weak and at risk of breaking again. To heal the bones will take weeks, and then it will take months more of painful and assiduous work to rebuild the muscles in the wing to allow even the possibility of a flight. It is simply not in the nature of a woman—"

"Doctor Roseleaf, I have heard this man's opinion, what is yours?" Sera interrupted. The other healer spluttered, face turning purple.

"Brother Forty-Three, this is why you must choose for the sister!" He shouted.

"I don't think so. I've already been pushed off one branch today. I don't want the Honored Traveler to toss me off another one," Three replied. That shocked the angry man into silence. "Doctor Roseleaf, please continue."

The woman's eyebrows rose, but she nodded, "Doctor Greenmane is not wrong when he says the healing will take a considerable length of time and rehabilitation will be difficult. Nor in stressing the significant challenge presented by the woman's natural impulse to fly. But the bones of the wing, once healed, are no weaker than any other bone. This has been demonstrated by the successful healing of birds, sheryns, and other winged creatures."

Sera was about to ask what a sheryn was when Doctor Greenmane bellowed, "A woman is not a sheryn!"

"Exactly," Doctor Roseleaf agreed. "If a beast of burden can tolerate the pain and be kept from flying and injuring itself while healing, then surely a woman is capable of the same. Or do you intend to claim that a woman is less intelligent than an animal?"

Doctor Greenmane opened his mouth, expression suggesting he was, indeed, about to make that claim. But his brain managed to catch up with his temper and he snapped his mouth shut. "Removal of the wings has been the recommended practice for the past five centuries."

"Yes, so it has, and that it has taken five hundred years to undo the backward practices adopted under the rule of Edvar the Incompetent does not speak well for our profession," Doctor Roseleaf retorted. She returned her attention to Sera. "The choice is yours. Or rather, it is Sister Forty-Six's choice. But there IS a choice, contrary to common practice."

Doctor Greenmane muttered something rude under his breath as Sera turned her attention inward.

'Sister Forty Six?' she asked. There was no response. Sera prodded the ball of grief that was the other woman. 'Sister Forty-Six, Doctor Greenmane is an idiot, and we are quite capable of controlling ourselves, especially if we work together. But this is your body, and you are only sharing it with me, so it should be your decision.'

Still no response. Sera wasn't even sure if the other woman heard her. After a moment Sera tried, 'If you do not answer then I will have to choose.'

Sister Forty-Six remained silent.

'Fine, I'll do what I think is best,' Sera told her. She shifted her focus back to the others, noting that the two doctors were in a discussion that was just shy of erupting into a shouting match. A ring of onlookers had formed, and two more healers had moved over to stand behind Doctor Roseleaf, looking very much like they intended to be her seconds when the violence started. Most of the onlookers looked more interested in the battling doctors than their patient.

Brother Forty-Three, however, had his attention focused solely on Sera. Something about the way he watched her sent a prickle of warning down her spine. Then he blinked, and whatever it was that has worried her was gone.

"Doctor Roseleaf," Sera interrupted, and the two doctors both broke off to look at her, one inquiringly, the other glowering. "Mutilation is off the table today. Can you set the bones for us?"

The other woman smiled with approval. "I would be delighted. Please come this way, so that I can see what we are working with, and explain exactly what will be involved."

Sera nodded and followed the woman and her two assistants across the lobby and into an examination room. Her head swam a bit and Sera fought to keep her balance and her pace steady, lest someone decide a stumble was a sign she wasn't capable of making decisions. It was a relief to sit down on the examination table in a room and hear the door click shut.

"Now," Doctor Roseleaf said. "There are medications I will give you to help with the pain, but not for a bit longer. I need you lucid enough to understand what needs to happen so you can decide if you still prefer my methods."

Sera nodded her understanding.

"Good. Let's see that wing, then."

****************

Gunnar watched Meirys follow the doctor out of the lobby, trying to reconcile what he'd seen other immortal do with what he expected of her. That she'd given a false name was no surprise. She rarely used her real name any more. The name she'd chosen was a bit odd, usually she selected one that fit with the local culture. But then she was making use of her status as a Traveler here, so choosing a name that would be so very foreign to the locals was probably a wise choice. It would remind anyone who used it that they were not dealing with a mere nun, but with a being of consequence.

Why was she protecting Six though? Gunnar had rifled through Brother Forty-Three's memories, and there was nothing remarkable about the sister. Or rather, nothing that was likely to spark Meirys's interest. She was a mere novice in the temple, and spent most of her time doing menial chores because she could not concentrate on her meditations very long. She was barely literate and her family was poor and unimportant. Brother Forty-Three considered her ugly, silly, and even a little stupid for being so determinedly happy despite her misfortunes.

So why had Meirys chosen this woman's body to inhabit? Why hadn't she destroyed the other woman the moment she took the body? She was not behaving like the most vicious criminal the Immortals had ever spawned.

She was being . . . kind.

And the way she'd ripped into Brother Forty-Three when he insulted Six? Gunnar had wanted to applaud.

Meirys, he was realizing, was far more dangerous than Gunnar had ever imagined.