Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

sounded as puzzled as he looked. T can't remember where we were. I can't remember how these snakes attacked Terry. Don't snakes need warm weather? How did this happen, and what's wrong with me?'
    'It doesn't matter right now. What matters is getting these teeth out of Terry's leg and getting him to the inn where someone who knows what they're doing can help him.' Someone with healing skills, more than medical skills. If they were in the vicinity where she had been held as a child, then it stood to reason that someone knew how to treat a mage wound.

    She closed her eyes to block out the sight of Terry's gray face and Gerald's anxious one. Deep inside, where that wealth of knowledge lay, she found her calm center. She could almost hear the whisper of her aunts' voices, directing her as the information flooded her mind. The curved fangs had a barb at the tip.
    Severed head that now does bite, fangs be removed with heat and light. Draw the poison that would remain, holding the harm, stop the pain.
    'There might be someone much better at taking these out,' Lara said. 'We can get you to the inn fast and the couple that owns it might be able to find someone for us who has dealt with this before.'
    Terry shook his head. T can't stand it, Lara. If you don't take them out now, I'm going to rip them out. I really can't stand it.'
    She nodded her understanding and reached beneath her jacket for the knife on her tool belt. 'Let's get it done then.
    Gerald, get in the back seat on the other side and hold Terry's shoulders.' More than anything, she didn't want Gerald positioned where some of the tainted blood might spatter on him. The tiny microorganisms were dangerous to everyone.
    Gerald obeyed her without question and Lara studied the first snake head. The hybrid was part plant, part living animal, and all frightening. It was meant to take over a person, no matter what the species, and bring them under the dark mage's control. It hadn't been just Carpathians and humans he had tortured, but his own people as well. No one was safe, not even his own family, as Lara could attest to.
    She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, slamming the door on memories that were too painful, too frightening to remember when she had such a complex task before her. She had rarely used her healing abilities on anyone else in the last few years. In her childhood, she'd made the mistake several times, traveling with gypsies. She'd knit broken bones.
    Healed a wound from a blade that would have killed a man. Removed harmful bacteria from children's lungs. At first people would be grateful, but inevitably they would come to fear her.
    Never show that you are different. You must blend in wherever you are. Learn the language and the customs. Dress the way they dress. Speak as they speak. Cloak who and what you are and never trust anyone.
    She liked Gerald and Terry - very much. They'd worked together for several years, and she'd been careful never to intrude on either of them or to show them that she was different in any way. That had been a difficult lesson she'd learned repeatedly, every time she was kicked out of the family taking care of her.
    'Lara.'
    Terry's pleading voice forced her thoughts to the task at hand. She steadied herself and gave him a reassuring nod.
    They were used to her being the leader in caving, and it was natural to look to her now. She took another breath and let it out, pushing down the revulsion that was welling up.
    The words to the healing chant rose out of that same bank of knowledge and she repeated them under her breath as she slid the razor-sharp knife beneath Terry's skin and found the barb.
    Kunasz, nelkul sivdobbanas, nelkul fesztelen loyly. Ot elidamet andam szabadon elidadert. O jela sialem jorem ot ainamet es sone ot elidadet. O jela sialem pukta kin minden szelemeket helso. Pajnak o susu hanyet es o nyelv nyalamet sivadaba. Vii o vermin sone o verid andam.
    The ancient Carpathian language came easily; it was one she'd known since childhood. She might be rusty, having never used it other that to murmur to herself before she fell asleep, but the words, spoken in a chant were always soothing to her.
    As she whispered the healing words, she blocked Terry's pain. The tooth was wicked and nasty. It curved into the skin, growing wider, digging deep, and at the end was a small barb, curving in the opposite direction. She had to slit the skin carefully to allow the points on either side to become loose enough to slide out