Free To Be Chosen by John Buttrick Page A

arteries and then draw out the fat using the spell, Storing The Lard,” she explained, although it was not necessary.
    Sherree had read of the procedure the night before and knew what to expect, but listened politely to her mentor. The lead Accomplished had repaired all damage to the patient’s heart an d was working on the blockages.
    The Pentrosan Accomplished equaled her in potential but had four years experience in the guild, giving her seniority. Sherree was an Intern while Barbara held the title of Full Practitioner. The last five days were spent cramming Sherree’s head with new Melodies. She had mastered ten, considered herself familiar with another twenty, and aware of another fifty. This, along with the twenty spells from each guild she mastered to become an Accomplished, gave her a respectable repertoire for a new affiliate.
    “Notice how he trickles potential into the spell,” Barbara was saying. “This is to keep the arteries from collapsing. See how he cuts and cleans out one artery at a time and uses the spell, Mending The Channel, to heal any damage done to the arterial walls,” she added while pressing her nose so close to the glass that it began to fog up. She must have seen the procedure many times yet still seemed captivated by it. “Did you catch how quickly Fransheska redirected the blood flow into the newly healed area?”
    “Yes,” Sherree replied while nodding her head for emphasis.
    She was impressed by the teamwork, how each person knew what to do, and when. She was a little disappointed when Lance finished up using; Stitch The Rip, to close. She had spent a great deal of time searching the Aloe Guild Melody library for one spell that could do both heal and close at once. The diligence gained her knowledge of many types of healing spells, although not the one she sought. “I was hoping he would use one spell to heal and close,” she voiced her disappointment out loud.
    Barbara turned; left eyebrow arched up. “I allow you to watch a procedure a full six months ahead of time and all you can say is; I was hoping to see it done with one spell?”
    The statement sounded awfully ignorant after hearing it from her mentor. Sherree knew there were specific spells for each type of healing like; Cooling The Heat, for first degree burns, Chilling The Singe, for second degree burns, Freezing The Flame, for third, and the list went on and on. “I have seen it done befo re,” she responded defensively.
    Barbara slanted her head to the right and skepticism flashed in her eyes. “When would you have had the opportun ity to see a heart operation?”
    Each affiliation guards its guild specific Melodies with zeal and would under no circumstances, except perhaps the direst, allow a non-member to even glimpse any part of their library, let alone witness a demonstration of that power. Sherree bit her lip, face flushing with heat, realizing it was not a heart operation she witnessed, but a major healing of a different sort, performed by a certain Ducaunan mountaineer. She resented how easily thoughts of Daniel could cause this reaction in her and hoped Barbara would take the blush as embarrassment over the remark.
    Charlene and Joanna, who were still among the Talenteds, had made fun of her about the Potential she, Jerremy, and Samuel had discovered in Bashierwood. Through the years Sherree had managed to deflect the advances of more than a few male Talenteds who had not adjusted to the celibacy rules. She taught them the error of their ways and was so good a teacher in that regard, not even Samuel, whom she thought of as a brother, dared attempt to take advantage of her when they shared a room on the journey to Mount Tannakonna.
    Joanna and Charlene both had formed attachments to various males over the years, although never let those Talenteds know. Sherree always suspected Charlene was fond of Jerremy DeSuan, but doubted her friend ever told the Serinian, who was another person Sherree thought of like a