Free Comes a Time for Burning by Steven F. Havill Page A

inflammation as well as numbing discomfort. Heat encourages the chemical reactions of healing, as well as feeling heavenly.” He leaned against the operating table. “I tell you, Lucius, during my own convalescence, I think I should have gone insane without it.” He touched his right eyebrow, over which a scar arched, disappearing up into his hairline. “Fracture of the orbit.” He held up his left thumb. “Fracture of the thumb.” He stretched and touched ribs on his left side. “Multiple fractures.” Finally, he indicated his left hip. “Dislocated. And bruises from head to toe.”
    “My word, man.”
    “Yes. Alvi was a saint during my recovery. And the ice and heat…well, I have no doubts about its use.”
    “You think it can actually make a difference in a difficult case such as your blown-up logger?”
    “Probably not. I know nothing else to do. I
do
know it can do no harm.”
    “Well, there’s that. You know, your surgical skills were legendary at school. I never realized
how
good you must be until I discovered how
abominable
I was.” He grinned. “Although I do a damn good post—as long as the patient doesn’t need to get up and walk away afterward.” He surveyed the room. “I’ll probably be of considerable use here for just that sort of thing. I have a question, however.”
    “Please ask. Anything.”
    “You have nothing to lose with…Mr. Malone, is it? Why not a simple exploratory surgery with him?”
    “For one thing, there is no ‘simple’ surgery involving the brain, Lucius. I’m sure you know that as well as I. That, and I have no suggestion about where to begin. If there’s an obvious wound, then I would know. But there is not. I can’t very well evacuate his entire brain case, chasing shadows.”
    “The explosion was above him?”
    Thomas nodded, and formed an umbrella of his hands over his own head. “Like so.“
    “And yet he didn’t fall.”
    “They wear a climbing belt. Steel core. And most extraordinary. He cut the rope when he saw that the split would crush him.”
    “After the explosion?”
    “Exactly. He had but a fraction of a second to make his decision and act.”
    “My word. And no exploratory, at least at the top of the cranium where the brunt of the explosion was taken? And here I thought you surgeons could find any excuse to use the knife.”
    Thomas laughed ruefully. “What this surgeon has learned is that every time the knife touches the flesh, there is an equal chance of correction or fatality. I would be less than truthful if I were to say my record in the past few months was anything but dismal.”
    Hardy reached out and shook him lightly by the shoulder. “Come, now. Look at the sorts of cases demanding your attention, Thomas. I suspect a goodly number of your patients are the walking dead anyway—finished before they are ever carried across your doorstep. I haven’t seen much of this country in the last hour, but I’ve heard tales and read a good deal. Absolutely fascinating.”
    “My God, Lucius, the life that some of these people lead is simply amazing. We must visit the timber on the very first opportunity. You’ll be astonished. And in addition, they laugh and joke about the dangers, completely heedless. I wish you could have seen Malone’s rescue from the tree tops this morning. Just remarkable. And the first patient on my doorstep this morning? Hand absolutely ruined by a ridiculous
game
. And yet he laughed about it, at first refusing treatment. Finger twisted with painful fractures, dislocated thumb…my God.” He took a deep breath as he saw the grin spread across the other physician’s face.
    “I carry on, don’t I,” Thomas said. “What I need right now, as I told you in our correspondence, is not just another surgeon. You see, I had the rare occasion to work with Alvi’s father for just a few weeks before his untimely death this past autumn. Dr. John Haines? He had lost the sight in one eye, drank too much brandy, but