Eye of the Storm

hurt.’
    Tor snorted. ‘As a weather weaver you can use hagstones for healing. You could help him, Erin.’
    ‘How?’ asked Erin quickly.
    ‘Find a healing stone among the pile of hagstones over there.’ Tor looked across the clearing to where there was the pile of stones that Erin and Chloe had used to make the weather-weaving circle the night before. ‘A healing stone has many holes in it.’
    Erin quickly fetched a stone with five small holes. ‘Won’t my magic be too weak?’ she said uncertainly.
    ‘No. Just as with the seeing stones, the power for healing comes from the stone itself. You can free its power as you free a seeing stone’s power. Hold it in your hands and let your mind empty. As the magic flows from you to the stone, imagine it healing wounds, making injuries better.’ Tor moved closer to Erin, who had knelt down on the floor. ‘The more vividly you can imagine the healing, the stronger the stone’s healing powers will be.’
    Determination flooded through Erin. She wasn’t going to let Tor down. Looking at the stone, she allowed her mind to empty. She let her magic begin to flow into the stone, freeing its power…
    ‘Hi!’
    Erin jumped, dropping the stone as Chloe came flying into the clearing.
    ‘Chloe!’ exclaimed Erin. ‘I was concentrating! I’m trying to use a healing stone.’
    ‘Sorry,’ Chloe apologized.

    Erin forced a smile. ‘It’s OK. I didn’t mean to snap. I just really want to learn to heal so I can help Kestrel.’
    ‘That would be brilliant.’ Chloe moved over to Mistral. ‘I’ll watch from over here.’
    But as Erin picked the stone up and started trying to concentrate again she was aware of Chloe stroking Mistral and whispering to him. Every time she tried to empty her mind and focus on the stone the noises would drag her back.
    ‘I can’t concentrate!’ she said, frustration making her voice cross. She threw a sharp look at Chloe. ‘Can you be quiet?’
    Chloe looked taken aback.
    ‘Perhaps you could go with Mistral to see if you can find an animal who is injured, Chloe,’ suggested Tor softly. ‘Then when Erin does free the stone’s power, she can use it.’
    ‘Sure.’ Chloe shrugged.
    Mistral and Chloe set off together through the trees. Tor breathed gently on Erin’s skin. She smiled quickly at him. ‘OK, I’ll try again.’ She cleared her mind and felt magic flow from her fingers into the stone. Over and over again she thought healing thoughts. The stone grew warm then cold. She glanced at Tor hopefully. ‘It’s gone cold. I think it might have worked.’
    Just then Chloe returned. She had a young mistle thrush nestling in her hands. ‘I’ve found a bird that’s hurt its wing.’
    Tor pushed Erin gently with his nose. ‘Try the stone, Erin. Hold it close to the thrush’s wing.’
    Erin looked at the young bird with its brown feathers and pale, speckled chest. ‘Hey, there,’ she said soothingly. The bird opened its mouth and chirruped.
    Erin gently touched the stone to the bird’s injured wing. She felt the stone grow warm. The bird shifted slightly.
    ‘Has it worked?’ Chloe whispered.
    ‘I don’t know,’ admitted Erin.
    Chloe put the thrush on the ground. It lifted its wings up and tried to flap, but it couldn’t quite lift its injured wing high enough.
    ‘Oh,’ said Erin in disappointment.
    ‘It’s looking lots better though,’ said Chloe. ‘It couldn’t move its wing at all when I found it.’ She looked impressed. ‘That’s really cool, Erin!’
    ‘Not cool enough,’ sighed Erin.
    ‘You just need to practise some more,’ Tor reassured her. ‘When the stone has been used once you must then use your magic to call forth its powers again.’
    Erin spent the rest of the evening trying to make the stone powerful enough to heal properly. Chloe got bored with hanging around and set off to find more animals to be helped. By the end of the evening Erin had got the stone working well enough to heal the thrush, a stoat with a damaged tail, a rabbit with a large cut and an owl who also had an injured wing.
    ‘Can I go and try on Kestrel?’ Erin said eagerly.
    ‘Tomorrow,’ Tor told her. He saw her face fall. ‘I know you want to go now, but it is late and it will be better to wait until you have practised using this magic more.’

    A thought struck Erin. ‘I wonder what Jackie will say if I do it though? How can I explain it?’
    ‘Maybe it would be best if you simply quickened the healing process