Free The Choosing by Jeremy Laszlo, Ronnell Porter Page B

raced to their fallen friend and reached down each grabbing Ashton under an arm drug his limp form through the crowd and rested him in a chair.  Garret shouted for some water, and a moment later the barmaid came hustling to their side with a large mug of clean water.
    Long moments passed as Garret tried unsuccessfully to make Ashton drink the water.  Ashton just sat there propped in the chair, a crooked grin on his face, eyes wide open oblivious to the world outside his own mind.  The injured man had since regained his feet and was towering in front of Ashton with a look of unsurpassed gratitude lighting his face.  The barmaid too was standing nearby incase the boys required anything further.  The bar keep had come around the bar and was standing behind the small crowd, easily looking over their heads at the comatose boy.  Ashton Blinked.  The crowd froze.  His lips settled into a straight line.  The crowd still refused to move; now most of them stared at him with anxious faces their eyes wide.  Ashton took a deep breath and shook his head as if to clear it of some invisible fog.  The crowd roared a cheer like the boy had just slain a dragon.
    The rest of the boy’s evening was filled with people approaching to congratulate Ashton.  It was obvious that this made him more than a little uncomfortable, and often he replied that it was his Goddess that performed the healing, using him as her vessel.  After the common room had cleared out a bit, with locals returning to their homes, and travelers retiring to their rooms, the twins finally had time to ask Ashton the questions they had been dying to ask for the last few hours.  Garret started in on him first with questions about his limitations, could he restore an amputated limb and the such.  These Ashton quickly pronounced were beyond his ability for the time being; however with proper training it was possible he could someday achieve such feats.  As it were however, the miracle he performed here in the inn this evening was pushing his luck, testing his boundaries.  It wasn’t that the power blessed to him was limited, Ashton had explained, it was his ability to control it, his ability to bend it to his will and do his bidding.  The Goddess supplied the power, but it was left to him to wield it properly.  While explaining all this to Garret, Seth sat silently, absorbing the information and had only one question for his friend.
    “What does it feel like?” He had started, then thinking to clarify his question better continued with. “I mean what is it like when your Goddess feeds her power through you.  It almost seemed that you were enjoying yourself while performing, and then when you finished healing the man it was like you were drunk or something?”
    Ashton thought about the question for a moment, pondering the best way to explain it.  Unable to find a perfect comparison, tried to explain as best he could.
    “Well, I guess you could say that it feels wonderful to channel her power.  It is kind of like a drug I guess, you feel it throughout your entire body like it is surging through your blood.  It’s the best feeling you could ever imagine.  For me it is like I can actually feel Lorentia’s love like a physical thing pumping through my body.  It’s hard to explain really.”
    Seth nodded in response taking the answer as it was.  Perhaps if given the chance he could someday ask other magic users if they felt the same way.
    The boys decided to get some rest, so they could get an early start in the morning.  They found their room quickly, and unlocked the door.  They clamored inside, piling all their packs in a corner.  It was a small simple room all made with the same stone as the exterior of the building with a desk and two beds.  Being that it was an interior room there was no window, only a small lamp that hung off a peg in the wall.  Seth was quick to give up his place in a bed for the night, as it was obvious that Ashton was quite