Read The Circle Eight: Tobias for Free Online

 
    “That makes sense.” She returned to her task, using tweezers to extract the bits and pieces from Will’s skin. It was work that required a deft hand and infinite patience. Her hand, arm and shoulder cramped but she worked until all the pieces were gone.  
    “I reckon he’s pretty bad off.” Tobias sounded as though he was gargling gravel.  
    “The skull is damaged but it’s not through the bone completely. He lost a bit of his scalp and hair, too, along with part of his ear. I’m going to stitch what I can, but I’m afraid the real damage might be inside his skull.” Rebecca had read what she could about injuries to the head and there was still so much unknown in the medical world, much less by a healer with no formal medical training.  
    “I don’t know what that means. You can see inside his skull?” Tobias pushed off the wall and edged closer, peering over her shoulder.  
    “No but I have read quite a lot about injuries to the head. The human brain is delicate. If he survives the injuries, we wait to see if he wakes up.” She threaded a needle and began stitching. The detailed work calmed her, gave her a sense of purpose.  
    He didn’t speak for a few minutes while she worked. It was a surprisingly comfortable silence as though Will being injured had stolen Tobias’s fierceness. His contentiousness had been tucked away but she didn’t fool herself into thinking it was gone for good.  
    “He might not wake up? Ever?” Tobias whispered.  
    Rebecca stopped, her hand in mid-motion. “No, he might not. It’s not definite, nothing is. We won’t know anything for a few days.” She resumed working, closing the wounds with neat, even stitches the doctor would compliment her on. “Can you please get some clean hot water? I need to wash my hands and my instruments.”  
    Tobias picked up the basin without a word and left the room. Rebecca set the filthy bandages on the floor and studied Will’s face. He was pale, but not overly so. His breathing was steady and even, as was his heart. Anything could happen in the next few days but she was cautiously optimistic he would survive. Will was a strong young man. He had well-formed muscles and was obviously healthy prior to being injured.  
    She rarely prayed anymore and kept her mind focused on what she could do rather than on what she wished for. Healing people had given her that ability. Yet she would be praying for Will because appealing to the Almighty wasn’t amiss when things were at their most dire.  
    Tobias returned with the steaming water. She washed her hands, then dried them with a clean cloth. Then as she had done a thousand times, she cleaned the instruments, then set then on the same cloth.  
    “You’re better at this than you were.”  
    She gave him a wry smile. “I’ve had five years to practice.”  
    “Fix him, Becca. Please.” His gaze locked on hers and she found herself drowning in the dark irises.  
    She’d never heard him speak so plaintively and she hadn’t expected the word “please” to cross his lips either. Rebecca couldn’t recall ever hearing him use it before. “I will do everything in my power, Tobias. I promise.”  
    He nodded, his lips tightened into a white line. She turned back to Will and wrapped his head with clean bandages as gently as she could.  
    “We will need clean sheets after I finish bandaging him. I found that cleanliness helps the healing process and Doctor Radicy agrees. He is more fastidious than I am so I’m always trying to live up to his standards.” She gestured to the pile of dirty bandages on the floor. “These should be boiled so they can be used again.”  
    Tobias didn’t speak or respond and she wondered if he would balk at being ordered around by a woman. He scooped up the pile and left the room with a stomping stride. She focused on rechecking Will’s condition.  
    He needed her more than anyone else right now. Tobias would have to find his own peace. She