Free The Healer's Legacy by Sharon Skinner

she needed to check him and the others for wounds.
    She led Trad beside the wall and loosened his girth. After sliding off his saddle and halter, she rubbed feebly at his back with the wet saddle blanket. She stroked his flanks in the darkness, then ran her hands lightly over his chest and down each leg. He had a number of scratches, but none that seemed too deep. But she would have to wait until daylight to perform a more thorough examination.
    Kelmir sat near the mouth of the cave. As she leaned over him a dark shadow swooped in through the cave entrance. Startled, she lost her balance and landed hard on the dirt floor. She heard a small thud and the scrabbling of claws beside her. Vaith. She tried to see into his mind, but the mental effort was too much for her. She reached out her hand and he waddled toward her. His left wing hung awkwardly out to the side. He allowed her to gently search for injuries, but squawked in pain as the tips of her fingers brushed against a rip in the fragile membrane of his wing. The wound was minor and, luckily, a straight tear that would mend well, but it would be a while before Vaith regained his normal grace and speed in the air.
    She turned her attention to Kelmir. The big cat stood still as she sat beside him, running her fingers along his back and legs. He flinched from her touch, but she didn’t feel any broken bones. The shallow cuts and scratches he had could be best cared for by his own ministrations. Kira leaned her back against the wall. The stone was rough and hard and she was cold and wet, but it was a relief to be out of the incessant rain.
    She let herself slide down, curled up on the stony floor, and peered into the depths of the cave. Flashes of lightning illuminated only the first few feet in from the opening, but despite the weight of the looming darkness, she could feel the space open up around her. She wondered if her voice would bounce back at her if she spoke, or if the gloomy corners would gobble up the sound of her words. She remained silent, unwilling to find out.
    A shiver ran through her and she drew up her knees and hugged herself. Outside, the storm still raged. Against the intermittent flashes of light in the sky beyond the mouth of the cave, Kelmir was a shadowy wraith, circling in front of the opening as he prepared to lie down. Kira turned away and closed her eyes. Her head ached and she was cold and sore and tired. Her hunger seemed a distant echo. A buzzing started inside her head and she drifted off, the clicking sound of Kelmir’s sharp claws on the stony floor growing distant and hazy.
     
     
    * * *
    Kira opened her eyes, wincing in pain at the light before quickly shutting them again. Light? She raised a hand to shield her eyes. Pale rays of daylight spilled into the cave. Water still dripped from the rocky overhang, but the dark clouds had lightened to a silvery gray and a pale blue streak of morning sky was visible on the horizon beyond the river.
    Her damp clothes clung to her. She shivered in the cold of the shadowy cave and rolled her neck to ease the stiffness, gasping when a burst of pain shot across the side of her head. Gently, she put her hands to her face. The left side was tender and swollen. She worked her jaw gently back and forth. Nothing broken, but the pain was fresh and raw. She moaned and sat up, testing her joints and muscles in what had become a daily ritual, an intimate survey to see how much damage had been done the day before.
    Kelmir lay just inside the cave mouth. His ears twitched in her direction as she stirred, and he opened one eye to a narrow slit. Trad stood against the opposite wall, sleeping, his breathing slow and steady.
    Kira swallowed hard. Her throat was ragged and her lips burned. How can I be so thirsty after spending hours in the rain? she thought, squinting against the brightness. The rushing river called to her and she pushed herself to her feet. Head throbbing, she staggered out of the cave.
    She caught her