Episode 17: The Life & Exploits of Princess Amodini
Making a decoction was easy. Feeding it to a comatose patient was not.
Vidyuta spent the next two hours in silence, forcing two to three spoonfuls into Veerata’s mouth every ten minutes. It was a grueling task, yet the young doctor remained focussed.
Satya watched him from her spot. Even after relating the incidents that led to the young general’s near-fatal wound, he’d not accepted her suggestion to prepare a poultice that would counteract the magic trapped in the wound.
“I’m certain my treatment will work tonight,” he’d reasoned, “just as it’s worked multiple times in the past. Letting you stay here… taking your help… It’s a huge risk for me. Senapati won’t be happy about it. In any case, it’s not my place to decide. Perhaps we can wait until morning when Senapati wakes up. You can speak to him about the poultice then. If he agrees, we could try it.”
Satya had nodded in silence. No need to infuriate the doctor with further persuasion. Yet, a single thought had lingered in her mind.
Morning might be too late.
Vidyuta’s efforts were futile. The decoction had no effect on the patient whatsoever. The trapped magic could kill him tonight.
And if by some miracle Veerata survives the night what do I say to him? The doctor believed my explanation, but will he? What if he’s suspicious of me? What if he asks Acharya about it?
The midnight gong startled her. She jerked awake and sat up straight.
Was I dozing off?
“I’m so sorry, doctor. I didn’t mean to fall asleep—”
The doctor’s vacant expression stopped her outburst. He looked like a broken man; his brow creased; his sunken eyes fixed on the patient; his shoulders hunched in defeat. Fatigue and lack of sleep had aged him. Two hours of administering the balm and decoction had brought no change in his patient.
The young general’s condition looked worse than before. Despite the constant sweat on his forehead, his fever remained strong. A nervous twitch had replaced the shivers.
“There’s nothing more I can do,” Vidyuta mumbled, overwhelmed. “Except pray. He needs a miracle to save him now.”
Read the rest of the story on My Novel Reader…
Read all episodes on My Novel Reader
One comment on “Secret Healing Magic”