Chapter 179: A Divine Touch [9] (1/2)

Orban grabbed Ju Feng's robe and jerked him close. The dwarf growled in anger. His voice was so thick, Ju Feng barely understood him.

”He's dying. Dying in agony. Can't even pray!”

”Let me look at him.”

Ju Feng worked Orban's fingers loose from his robe and knelt next to Abron. The runecaster opened his eyes and looked at Ju Feng. For a breath, there was no recognition in his eyes.

”Abron, your son is here.”

Ju Feng said as Orban's hands lay slackly in his lap. Ju Feng lifted one and placed it in Abron's. Garn drew in a breath and gasped. Pain clouded his vision. Orban held his hand and leaned in close, whispering something to his father. Abron moaned softly and moved his head from side to side. Orban looked up at Ju Feng imploringly.

”Abron, do you hear me?”

Ju Feng said. He placed his left hand on the dwarf's forehead. He'd expected the cold, but it still made him gasp with its intensity. His heart stuttered in his chest. Inside and out, Abron's body was broken. It was surely a divine luck that he still drew breath at all.

”I don't have any more healing draughts. Can you call on your god to heal your wounds?”

Abron moved his head from side to side again. A cough shook his body, wracking the already devastated frame. Abron cried out in anguish.

”Leave me. Leave it be!”

”He's out of his head. Doesn't know what he's saying.”

Ju Feng leaned over Abron and squeezed the juice of the herbal plant into his mouth before guiding it down his throat. Then, he put both hands on his chest. Energy tingled at his fingertips, indicating Abron responded to the plant.

”Help him.”

He told Orban as he continued.

”Say the words in the Dwarvish tongue.”

”It's too late. He's going.”

Or ban replied, looking at his father gravely.

”He's not gone yet!  Ive seen this before. He needs to hear his son's voice. If he knows he's not alone, he'll come back. He just needs to move beyond the pain and remember who he is.”

Orban scrubbed a hand across his wet eyes and nodded. He began speaking softly in Dwarvish. The words turned into a rhythmic chant, the sounds rumbling from the dwarf's chest, rolling out smoothly on the air. Ju Feng closed his eyes and let himself be lulled by the soothing words, though he couldn't understand the words.

Energy, life—it all comes from nature around us. His grandparents and mother, back at home, had told him this, though he'd never truly understood what they meant. The power provided strength, balance, and peace. He'd never understood because he'd never thought the teaching applied to him. In his mind, the spellscar eclipsed everything, tainted all that he touched, the power that slept inside him.

”Look at the plants, Ju Feng. The peace they radiate can help you gain enlightenmenr?”

Zhang Li Qiang—his grandfather's words. It appeared to have been eternity since he had seen him. Same for his grandmother and mother. Ruen tried to refocus his concentration, but Abron's broken body faded, and an image of Chang Chang replaced it. She smiled at him while flames licked at her flesh. The memory of the dream slammed into him, and Ju Feng's resolve wavered. Power surged and died.

”You've always let the darkness hold you back.”

His grandfather's voice cut at him. How can I not? Ju Feng thought. It breaks down my body, piece by piece, bone by bone. No one should hold death in his hands. How could he have a peace of mind, knowing what was coming for him?

Ju Feng looked down and saw Abron's eyes open and fixed upon him. Something—a light, a spark of life—kindled in the dwarf's eyes.

”I feel it,” he rasped. ”So warm …”