The Forest at the Edge of the World(160)
“Thank you,” Perrin said slowly. “Good work, Brillen.”
“Not nearly as good as you, Captain. Fourteen?! Where did the other two come from?”
“Brillen, there were more than fourteen,” Perrin murmured as the surgeon and assistant helped him into a sitting position so they could secure his wrappings.
“More than fourteen!” Karna exclaimed. “How?”
Perrin tried to shake his head but seemed to forget how to do so halfway there. “I have no idea . . .”
Karna stepped up to help support him as he began to drift forward. The surgeon and his assistant tried to quickly wrap the bandages around his chest and back before he toppled over.
“Lieutenant,” the surgeon said in a low voice as they worked, “I wouldn’t put too much credence in anything he says right now. He’s had an extraordinary night and lost a fair amount of blood. And whenever we plank a man, his mind isn’t right for several hours.”
Karna nodded as he strained to support the deadweight of the captain, who was now drooling on his lieutenant’s shoulder.
Gizzada rushed over to help.
“What do we tell Mrs. Shin?” he whispered to Karna as he propped up one side of the captain. “He won’t be in any condition to go home in the morning. Dawn’s just a few hours away.”
The surgeon scoffed as he negotiated his way around the helpers to wrap the bandage around the swooning captain one more time. “And he wonders why none of us is married.”
He secured the end of the bandage and helped the soldiers lay the captain down again. “Where’s that rector uncle of his? Send for him. He should be able to come up with something believable.”
---
Hogal hadn’t slept all night, which was why he was eagerly watching for the dawn. He was hoping Perrin would show up and tell him everything was fine, so he could put down the long knife. It was still dark outside when he saw several dark smudges he assumed were soldiers converging together in front of the house.
Hogal’s stomach knotted in his throat. Whatever it was, he needed to hear it before Mahrree. He fumbled with the iron bars at the front door, unlatched all three of them, and slipped quietly outside. He trotted down the front stairs, forgetting that he was still wrapped in the thick blanket, and made his way over to the soldiers.
They looked at him in surprise.
“Well?” Hogal breathed in the frigid air. “What news from the forest?”
“No news, sir. Forest is quiet, as always,” a young sergeant said convincingly.
“Nonsense!” Hogal snapped. “Perrin Shin is my nephew! I know there was trouble, and no one’s going to tell his wife about it but me. Understood?”
Later he felt a guilty streak of pride that Relf would have been amazed as each young man jumped automatically to attention.
“You’re Rector Densal, sir? I was sent to retrieve you. I’m pleased to report Captain Shin was most successful, sir,” the sergeant said in formal tone tinged appropriately with awe. “Fourteen Guarders were killed this night.”
Hogal twitched. “Fourteen?”
“Yes, sir. But the captain was also injured.”
Hogal’s shoulders sagged. “Ah, no. He’s not coming home soon then, is he?”
The sergeant shook his head.
Hogal looked back at the house, decided it seemed quiet, then said to the soldiers, “Can one of you bring me to him?”
---
Rector Densal walked quietly into the surgery recovery room and winced when he saw his nephew, his torso bare except for white cloth wrappings around his midsection, lying belly down on a cot.
“Ah, my boy. By the number of bandages, I’m guessing it was pretty severe.”
Perrin squinted open his eyes and tried to smile. “Merely an overly enthusiastic surgeon, Hogal.”
“That and twenty stitches,” the surgeon said, folding his arms. “It was severe, Rector. And he’s in great pain. He just controls it well. We’re getting another batch of snow to pack on his wound again.”
Perrin’s smile faded. “Mahrree! Does she know?”
Hogal sat down on a nearby cot. “No, no she doesn’t. I stayed the night at your house, worried about . . . well, everything. I secured all those windows and doors again. She was still sleeping when I left.”
“But you haven’t slept at all, have you Hogal? I’ve never seen such bags under your eyes.”
“Well, you don’t look so grand yourself, Perrin. But I’ve been up all night before. Part of the calling as a rector. But I’ve never been up all night with one of these,” he said, anxiously pulling out the long knife from under the blanket he still wore as a cloak. “Can’t seem to put it down.”