Free Avian (The Dragonrider Chronicles) by Nicole Conway

last year at the prison camp, or maybe it was my training finally starting to sink into my subconscious, but I grabbed Beckah’s hand right away and started dragging her up the stairs as fast as I could.

six
     
    I had never seen so much blood before in my life. It started at the doorway to their bedroom and made a slippery trail all the way to the bed. Mrs. Derrick was lying on her back, clutching her belly in pain, and screaming at the top of her lungs. Sile’s hands were covered in blood, and there was no color at all in his face. He stood there looking absolutely terrified. He appeared too shocked to know what to do, which definitely didn’t make me feel any better. If he was panicking, then I should be petrified.
    “It’s the baby,” Sile stammered. His voice was broken and I could see desperate grief on his face. Not even he was trained for something like this.
    Beckah was pale. She looked like she might collapse at any moment. “We need the doctor!” she managed to cry out.
    Sile grabbed her by the shoulders suddenly, forcing her to look at him. “Go downstairs. Get as many towels as you can.”
    “B-but, Daddy! The doctor!” She started to sob.
    “There’s no time. It takes two hours just to get to the city. She won’t last that long.” He told her firmly. “Go! Do as I tell you!”
    Beckah ran out of the room crying, and I was left standing there staring at Mrs. Derrick as she writhed in pain. When I looked at Sile, I knew something was seriously wrong. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen. Her life was in danger.
    Sile went to her bedside and held her hand, whispering to her softly as she whimpered and sobbed. I could see his hands shaking, and I could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes. It hurt to see him like that, but I didn’t see how I could do anything except get in the way. I had no medical training when it came to things like this.
    From outside, I heard a roar like thunder. The house shuddered under a sudden blast of wind. Too late, I realized what was happening.
    I ran to the window, looking out just in time to see Icarus sailing into the darkness toward the city with Beckah clinging to his back. She was going to get the doctor. For a few seconds, I couldn’t breathe. I watched her disappear into the night with the sounds of Icarus’s wing beats fading in the distance.
    “I have to go after her!” I started for the door. “She doesn’t even have a saddle!”
    Sile caught me by the back of the shirt, yanking me back into the room. “Even if she finds the doctor, he won’t make it here in time!” He yelled right in my face. “I know you can fix this. So do it! Save her!”
    I stared up at him in terror. I had no idea what he was talking about. What could I do? I wasn’t a doctor! I’d only had a little bit of training when it came to treating wounds—and he was the one who had taught me all that stuff in the first place!
    Behind us, Mrs. Derrick screamed in pain again. It made Sile tighten his grip on me.
    “She told me what you’d be able to do,” he growled furiously. “I won’t let my wife die. Heal her!”
    I raised my hands up in surrender. I tried to speak, but all I could do was choke on my words. Sile pushed me toward the bed and grabbed my wrists. He forced me to touch his wife’s face, putting my palms on her forehead. He held me there with all his strength no matter how much I struggled.
    “Do it!” He shouted again, right in my ear.
    Mrs. Derrick looked up at me through her tears. She was trembling, and I could see the pure panic in her eyes. She grabbed my arm and squeezed it hard.
    “P-please,” she sobbed.
    I was at a loss. Sile was looming behind me, ready to rip my head off if I didn’t do something. She was looking up at me pleadingly. And I was just standing there with my hands on her face, trying to figure out what they wanted from me. This woman was going to die right in front of my eyes and they were both acting like I could somehow