This short story takes place during You Changed Too. You can read the first chapter here!
“He’s still there.”
Candace was staring out of the clinic at a Rectifier. He’d been standing in place for almost an hour, just looking in at them without moving.
“What do you think he’s up to?” asked Daisy, tidying the clinic.
“I dunno, but I don’t like it,” replied Candace. “I think they’re up to something.”
Daisy came and stood by Candace, holding her hand. “What’re they gonna do?”
Candace looked down at her. “I dunno. Mess up the clinic? Harass our patients?”
Daisy smiled. “I don’t think they’d do that.”
Candace shook her head. “I’ve been here longer than you, honey. Trust me, we don’t want them making trouble for us.”
Daisy nodded. “I’m not saying you don’t know better than me. But they’ve been staring in at us since we opened. It’s been a couple months. If they were gonna do something, wouldn’t they have done it by now?”
Candace’s eyes were tired. “We had only a few patients when we first opened. Now we have half our beds full. We’re becoming a threat. And they only looked in as they passed before. This one’s just standing there. I don’t like it.”
Daisy frowned. “I guess you’re right. But what can we do? It’s not like we can go to Rectifier headquarters and complain.”
Candace pursed her lips. “Yeah. But I still don’t like it.”
Daisy smiled reassuringly. “I don’t like it either. But we both know you gotta live with things you don’t like.”
Candace chuckled. “Fair enough.”
“We’ll be fine,” said Daisy. “Even if they do something, they can’t stop us. We’re unstoppable.”
Candace smiled. “We are unstoppable.”
Daisy grinned. “That’s the spirit.”
“Help,” moaned a young human man as he sped in the door.
Daisy rushed toward him. “What’s wrong?”
The man frowned, biting his lip. “I don’t know, but my stomach is burning. It feels like I ate lava.”
Daisy scowled. “Lie down. I’m gonna help.” She stood over the man and began the Chant. White and pink light moved from her hands into the man’s torso, and he slowly relaxed.
“Oh, thank you,” he said, his voice more calm.
“Is it better?” asked Daisy. “Any more pain?”
“A little,” said the man, “but much less.”
Daisy nodded. “Okay, hold tight.” She performed the Chant again, and more light passed into him. “Better?”
He sighed in relief. “Yeah. No more pain. You’re a lifesaver. I thought I was dying.”
Daisy smiled. “Good. If you wanna lie here a while and see if it comes back, feel free. But you’re also good to go if you need to leave.”
He nodded. “I really do feel better. I gotta get back to work, so I’m gonna go.”
“Just come back if it starts up again,” Daisy said.
“I will,” he said, standing to leave. “I appreciate it.”
“Of course,” replied Daisy.
“Oh gods,” said an elven woman, entering the clinic as the man left. “Please help.”
“Come on over here,” instructed Daisy. “Just lie down, and I’ll help.”
“Please help,” said a newtkin boy, coming in close behind the elven woman. “My tummy.”
Daisy furrowed her brow. She turned to the elven woman. “What hurts?”
“My stomach,” she said, writhing in pain.
Daisy frowned. “Candace, take care of her while I heal the kid. I’ll be right over.”
Candace nodded and went to the woman’s side. “I’m gonna give you a tonic. It should soothe your stomach until Daisy can get here.”
“Oh please hurry,” moaned the elf. “It burns so bad.”
Daisy set her jaw and began with the Chant on the newtkin boy. Again, the familiar white and pink light flew into his chest, and he slowly relaxed. She hurried over to the elven woman and did the same, and she also settled into the bed. Daisy walked back over to the boy. “Any more pain?”
“I’m okay,” said the boy, but his voice was tense.
Daisy scowled. “Don’t try to be a hero. I’m here to help. Does it hurt at all?”
“A little.”
Daisy smiled. “I know you’re strong, and I’m proud of you, especially since I know you’re trying to make sure I can help other people, but it’s good to be honest. Thank you for telling me. Give me one moment here.” She recited the Chant and watched the light work into the boy. “How’s that?”
The boy smiled. “Much better.”
“All the way better?”
He nodded. “All the way better.”
Daisy smiled. “Good. Now, a man was just in here with the same thing, and I’d like to ask you some questions. Can you stay for just a minute?”
“Okay,” said the boy, settling into the bed.
“Thanks,” said Daisy. She walked over to the elven woman. “Any residual pain?”
The woman shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Daisy raised an eyebrow. “Actually fine? Or just less pain?”
The woman laughed lightly. “I’m better. Whatever she gave me tasted weird, but it settled my stomach a fair amount before you got to me.”
Daisy smiled at Candace, who was smiling at the efficacy of her tonic. “Good. So, you’re the third person to come in with the same stomach pain in the last few minutes. Do you have any idea what might have caused it?”
The woman shook her head. “It was business as usual. I work at a little candle shop over in the southwest part of town. It’s been a very normal day.”
Daisy nodded. “Did you have any bad interactions with anybody?”
The woman furrowed her brow. “No. Why?”
Daisy inhaled deeply. “You’re the third to come in here with the same kind of pain. Generally speaking, there are two kinds of things that require more than just one burst of healing: severe injuries and magically-induced pain. If you didn’t do anything that would severely hurt your stomach, which I think you would know about, it might be that somebody tried to hurt you.”
The woman’s face went white. “Someone’s out to get me?”
Daisy shook her head. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Gimme one minute, and you’re free to go.” She hurried back to the boy. “Did you do anything that might have hurt your stomach?”
The boy shrugged. “I don’t think so.”
“Did you talk to anybody who seemed upset with you?”
The boy looked uncomfortable. “No. I barely talked to anyone today.”
Daisy frowned. “What did you get up to today?”
“I dunno,” said the boy. “I played in my neighborhood. I did some chores for my mom. Nothing special.”
Daisy nodded, her face worried. “What neighborhood do you live in?”
The boy shrugged. “The foreign quarter. Why?”
Daisy narrowed her eyes. “The foreign quarter meaning the district over opposite the lake? Or the foreign quarter like over by the palace?”
The boy laughed easily. “We’re not rich. Opposite the lake.”
Daisy sighed. “Okay. You’re free to go. Just make sure you get plenty of rest, okay?”
The boy hopped off the bed. “You got it.” He ran out of the clinic and into the streets, giving a wide berth to the Rectifier standing outside.
Daisy returned to Candace and the elven woman. “You’re good to go,” she told the woman. “Get some rest if you can.”
The woman nodded. “Thanks for helping me. That really burned my stomach, whatever it was.” She left the clinic.
“What is it?” asked Candace. “You look upset.”
Daisy sighed again. “They’re both from the southwest part of town. I’d bet the first guy was too. We might have more coming.”
As if to prove her point, another two people walked in, clutching their bellies.
“It’s gonna be a long day,” said Candace. “Isn’t it?”
Daisy nodded and breathed deeply. “I think it is.”
—
“Here comes another,” said Candace, administering a tonic to another patient. A human man with a thick beard walked into the clinic holding his belly.
“Right over here,” said Daisy, directing him to a bed.
It was early evening. All day, Daisy and Candace had worked on patients with the same situation–a sudden burning sensation in their stomachs. Through experimentation, they had learned that administering a tonic and then healing them seemed to completely cure the situation, so Daisy conserved her energy rather than healing them twice. Candace’s supply of tonics had diminished, and she’d frequently retreated to her corner to make more when they had a moment’s peace. But those moments had been few and far between–new patients had come in all day, two and three at a time, without ceasing.
Candace administered a tonic and ran off to make more as she had for most of the day, and Daisy began the Chant. She recited the words from memory, from her heart, and waited for the pink and white light to shine. But nothing came. She furrowed her brow, frowning. She began the Chant again, focusing extra hard as she went over the words. Again, nothing happened.
“Candace!” she called. “I need your help!”
Candace dashed over, confusion on her face. “What’s up?”
Daisy sighed, her expression embarrassed. “It happened again.”
Candace raised an eyebrow. “What happened again?”
Daisy whispered so that the man on the bed couldn’t hear her. “I’m out of energy.”
Candace’s eyes flared. “Fuck. That only happened the once during the plague.”
Daisy nodded, biting her lip. “We can’t close the clinic like we did then. I mean, I get that I only have so much in me to do this, but whatever’s happening, we can’t just leave these people in pain.
Candace nodded. “I mean, everybody has limits. It’s okay. I’ll just give out as many tonics as I can, and we’ll get their pain under control. You can heal them tomorrow when you’re restored.”
Daisy shook her head. “What if there’s more then? What if the same thing happens tomorrow? I can’t let them just lie here, their stomachs eating them from the inside out.”
Candace put her hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “Honey, give yourself a break. You’ve healed more than fifty people today. It’s okay.”
Daisy shook her head again, tears welling in her eyes. “Gimme five minutes. I’ll be right back.”
“Daisy, wait,” began Candace.
But Daisy was already leaving the clinic and heading next door to the shrine she’d built. It was unattended, and she knelt before the altar and began to pray.
Idunna, I don’t know what’s going on with this. I’ve never seen an illness like this before. I’ve never seen something spread like this but a plague. But all I know is that every victim of it spent time in the southwest quarter of the city today, and that’s nothing. It’s not enough to go on. But that’s only a secondary concern right now. I’m out of energy. I can’t heal anybody. My limbs ache, my head is spinning, it’s hard to breathe–I’m in pain. But there’s still more of them. I need to help them. I have to. So please, restore me now. Fill me with your power. I don’t need my pain to go away. I just need to take their pain away. If you have to, pass it to me. Let me absorb what they’re feeling. But I need to help them. I need to heal these people. Please, help. I love you.
Daisy felt her body filling up. It seemed like her lungs were filling with pleasantly cool air. She breathed deeply a few times and smiled. Thank you, Idunna. I love you. She hurried back to the clinic.
She came up to the human man she and Candace had just stood before.
“Everything okay?” asked the man through gritted teeth.
“Just fine,” she replied. “Relax.” She placed her hands on him and began the Chant. She went through it deliberately, really trying to feel every word. She finished and braced herself, unsure of what would happen. Brilliant pink and white light flowed from her hands into the man, and he instantly relaxed. The entire clinic smelled of cherry blossoms.
“Oh good gods,” he said, his voice clear. Thank you. That’s so much better.”
Daisy smiled. “Good. I want you to stay here for a minute, make sure you’re really okay. Gimme five minutes, and I’ll be back.”
“What’s that smell?” he asked. “It’s sweet, kinda floral.”
Daisy’s smile spread further across her face. “It’s my goddess saying hi. She wanted to make sure you were okay.”
The man chuckled. “If you say so.”
“I do,” said Daisy. “Five minutes, okay?”
He nodded. “Okay. I do feel better, though.”
“Listen to the woman,” said Candace, approaching with an armful of tonics. “Five minutes is nothing.”
The man smiled sheepishly and settled into the bed. “Yes, ma’am.”
Another patient came through the door, clutching their belly. It was a slightkin woman with long brown hair in a conservative outfit, complete with a fancy bonnet.
“It hurts so bad,” she moaned.
“Just over here,” said Daisy, leading her to an open bed. “Lemme guess–burning feeling in your stomach, came on suddenly, and you were in the southwest part of town at some point today.”
The slightkin flinched. “How’d you know that?”
Daisy gestured to the clinic. “Everybody here has the same story. There’s been some kind of outbreak we’ve been too busy to figure out. Don’t worry, though. Candace is going to start you with a tonic, and then I’m going to heal you, and you’ll be without pain in a few minutes.”
“Oh bless you,” replied the slightkin woman. “I’ve been fighting it for a few hours, but it’s gotten so bad I realized it would be silly not to come.”
Daisy nodded. “It’s always silly not to ask for help. I’m glad you came.”
“Drink this,” instructed Candace, handing the woman a bottle of the tonic. “It’s not tasty, exactly, but it works best if you down it all in one go.”
The slightkin nodded and gulped down the tonic, wincing at its taste. “You weren’t kidding. That was bitter and honestly pretty gross.”
Candace chuckled. “It’s medicine. It’s not supposed to be tasty. It’s supposed to work.”
Daisy nodded. “Okay, I’m gonna heal you now. Just relax.” She recited the Chant and watched as dazzling pink and white light shot into the woman’s chest. The woman instantly sat up.
“Hot damn!” she cried. “That’s a fierce spell. And this place is free?”
Daisy smiled. “Free as a bird.”
The woman laughed. “Tell you what, I was over at the Rectifiers earlier today, and they wanted an arm and a leg for my headache. I’m new to town, so I didn’t realize they had such high prices. But my headache’s gone now too.”
Candace stared blankly at the woman. “You went to the Rectifiers today?”
The woman nodded. “Yeah, I heard they were the best healers in town. But now I don’t know.”
Candace turned to Daisy. “The Rectifiers are set up in–”
“The southwest part of town,” finished Daisy. “Those fuckers.”
“What?” asked the slightkin woman. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing,” replied Daisy. “Stay here for a few minutes. We need to make sure you’re okay. We’ll be right back, I promise.”
Daisy led Candace to the front of the clinic. “You don’t think they could be making people sick?”
Candace scowled. “Well, the bastard who’s been watching us all day is gone. As soon as you healed that guy after you came back from the shrine, he just left.”
Daisy frowned. “I can’t believe I’m gonna say this, but we need to go talk to the Rectifiers.”
Candace looked furious. “They were trying to overload us. They know one person only has so much energy. They get people seriously sick and turn them away, they have to come to us. Those assholes are trying to run us into the ground, and they don’t care who they hurt.”
Daisy bit her lip. “They have a good strategy. We can’t close up tonight if people keep coming our way.”
Candace smiled dangerously. “What if I gave out tonics to get people’s pain under control, and you went to talk to them now? They wouldn’t expect it.”
Daisy considered. “Do we have enough?”
Candace licked her lips. “I’ll make it work. You know as well as I do that treating symptoms and leaving an illness does very little.”
Daisy nodded. “Okay. Check on the patients we’re holding and send them home if they’re okay. We’re gonna need all the beds we have.”
Candace smiled, her eyes fierce. “Give ‘em hell, honey.”
Daisy chuckled. “I will.”
—
Daisy made it to the southwest part of the city and made a beeline for the Rectifiers’ headquarters. At its door were half a dozen red-robed figures.
“I’m here to speak to whoever’s in charge,” said Daisy firmly.
The red robes looked among one another. One near her spoke. “Do you require healing?”
“No,” said Daisy. “You know why I’m here.”
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
Daisy smiled. “Play dumb all you want. I need to talk to whoever’s in charge.”
“Our leadership is not open for discussions with the public.”
Daisy let her smile fade, revealing a tired and angry expression. “I’m not the public. I’m a fellow healer, which I suspect you know. There’s a plague hitting this part of town right now, and I’ve been taking care of it with my wife by ourselves. I’d like to discuss with the Rectifiers what can be done for our community.”
The red robe who had spoken to her fell silent. After a moment, they stood up straighter. “We’ve heard nothing of a plague.”
Daisy narrowed her eyes. “Maybe it’s only been affecting people who can’t afford your help. I’m just here to talk, professional to professional.”
“A professional is someone who makes money from what they do.”
Daisy chuckled derisively. “I’m not here to argue semantics. I’m here to speak with your leader.”
“Aren’t you worried your absence will mean people go untreated at your clinic?”
Daisy smiled. “I treat diseases, not symptoms, and my wife is more than capable of handling things until I get back. So look, you can stand here and argue with me about the way I’m saying things and deal with me all night, or you can let me talk to your leadership, and I’ll be on my way in just a few minutes.”
The red robes glanced among themselves. “You cannot just go in without being a customer.”
Daisy scowled. “You know, I call them patients. But if you insist.” She pulled the dagger from her hip, rolled up her sleeve and cut a long gash down the outer part of her upper right arm. “Oh dear, I seem to have cut myself quite clumsily. I do so need a healer. Perhaps you can help me. I can pay.”
A few of the red robes cackled. The one who had spoken to her nodded. “Ten crowns.”
Daisy reached into her coinpurse and withdrew ten gleaming gold-pointed coins and handed them over. “Hurry before I get blood on my robe.”
The red robe she’d spoken to led her inside, and she followed close behind. It was her first time seeing the inside of their operation. It was large and spacious, but it seemed to have less beds than her clinic. The red robe took her to a pristine bed near the back of the clinic and left wordlessly. She sat fidgeting for a minute, then let her mind wander.
In the belly of the beast. These bastards are my sworn enemies, and I’m here paying for help I could easily give myself. And for what? To get a chance at being ignored by yet another red-robed bastard? Fuck. It’s my only hope at getting answers. I have to some information, someone to talk to, or I just blew ten crowns on nothing.
A red robe came to her. She thought at first it was the same one who’d brought her here, but this one spoke with a husky female voice.
“Arm wound?” she asked.
Daisy nodded. “I was very clumsy and cut myself, but I was fortunately near here, so I hurried right over.”
The red robe nodded. “Have you been a customer before?”
Daisy managed to not react at the word “customer.” “I have not. But I’ve heard you’re the best.”
The red robe nodded again. “Your robe suggests you are a healer. Are you not?”
Daisy smiled sweetly. “I am, actually. I just happen to be plumb out of luck–I used up all my energy already today. And I am bleeding pretty bad at this point, and I’ve already paid up, so I’d really appreciate it if you could help.”
The red robe picked up a cloth and wiped the blood from her wound. Daisy looked at the gash. It was deeper than she’d meant to go, and it smarted sharply. The red robe knelt and murmured a few words too quietly for Daisy to make out, and she felt her arm tingle as the tissue rapidly reformed and her skin rejoined. She felt whole again, but also energized.
“That should do,” said the red robe.
Daisy smiled. “Thank you. Say, what’s your name?”
The red robe shook her head. “I am merely a Rectifier. I have no proper name beyond my position.”
Daisy nodded. “Sure, that’s mighty noble of you. But the other Rectifiers must call you something. I imagine it would be pretty confusing if every one of you went by ‘Rectifier.’”
The red robe was quiet.
Daisy widened her eyes. “I’d like to know the name of the person who helped me in my time of need.”
The red robe remained silent.
Daisy adopted a sad expression. “I mean, I get it. Devotion to your purpose is sacred. I just–I’d really like to be able to remember you as more than a red robe.”
The red robe’s shoulders slumped. “I once used the name Pamela.”
Daisy smiled. She’s pliable. I can work with that. “Thanks, Pamela. You know, the reason I was all out of energy is that so many people needed my help today that I just ran out. There’s a nasty plague affecting this part of the city, and I’ve been curing people of their stomach pain all day. It’s strange–all of the people who were sick have been in this area. What do you make of that?”
Pamela bowed her head. “I know very little of the outside world. I work mostly here, inside our headquarters.”
Daisy nodded. “You know, sometimes, I feel like I never leave the clinic. It’s just get up, heal people, go to bed. Day in, day out. It can be hard.”
Pamela sighed. “Following one’s purpose can be exhausting, but it is worth the effort.”
Daisy smiled. “And what would you say your purpose is?”
Pamela considered a moment, then sat down on the bed. “To serve St. Candehar. He is the saint who gives us our power, who allows us to help people.”
Daisy nodded, still smiling. “Helping people is important. The thing that bothers me about this plague is that I suspect someone was doing the opposite of helping people. I suspect that someone was hurting people. It breaks my heart. How long have you been a Rectifier, Pamela?”
Pamela sighed again. “Two months.”
Daisy nodded again. “The first few months are tough. Learning to sacrifice your own happiness, trying to retrain your instincts to think never of yourself. Always giving. Always. It isn’t easy helping people for a living.”
Pamela nodded in return. “Why do you think someone was hurting people?”
Daisy sighed. “See, I’ve been doing this a few years now. I’ve gotten to know a thing or two about sickness. When a sickness hurts the body, it focuses its attack on one part, but it affects other parts too. The more intense something is, the more of the body it impacts. Take a migraine headache, for instance. It’s intense pain in the head. But it spreads. It makes it hard to see. Hearing becomes painful. The body gets achy. Or a common cold. Terrible affliction of the lungs, but with fever and runny nose and headache and chills. But this plague–it’s just the stomach. Just a terrible, burning pain. Nothing else. Just the most horrible pain in the stomach that won’t go away. I imagine you know what that means?”
Pamela nodded again. “Not a sickness.”
Daisy nodded back. “Not a sickness at all. A curse. I don’t like to think that someone would curse more than fifty people all day long. Why would they do that?”
Pamela looked around, closed the door to Daisy’s room, and lowered her hood. She was a young human woman with curly black hair and dazzling green-brown eyes. She was quite beautiful. But all Daisy really took note of was how sad she was. Pamela looked deeply shaken. “I don’t know.” She looked at Daisy’s face, searching her expression, and Daisy smiled gently back. “Who are you?”
Daisy smiled happily. “My name is Daisy Bloom. I run the Bloom clinic with my wife, Candace. We help people. Sick people and injured people. We try to give them comfort and hope. Helping is about more than healing. We want them to return to health, but also happiness.”
Pamela stared back almost blankly. “You cut yourself on purpose.”
Daisy nodded. “I did. I was five feet from the door, and I took my dagger and dragged it down my arm. I needed to come in and talk to someone. Someone like you, I suspect.”
Pamela winced. “Why? What do you mean?”
Daisy chuckled. “You know why. Someone here, maybe several someones, cursed plenty of people who would have to come to me. It’s just me and Candace over there. We don’t have the magic you have. We don’t have dozens of people to help. A widespread sickness like I described would overload us. We’d lose our reputation as people who could help. People would stop coming to us. They’d have to come to you again. You know this. I can see from your eyes that you knew about this before I told you. And I can also see that it hurts you to face. Did you curse anyone today?”
Pamela quietly cried. “I did one person. An elven woman this morning. And I broke down right away. They sent me back in here. They told me to get my act together, think of St. Candehar. You’re the first person I’ve seen here today. I just stopped crying half an hour ago.”
I’ve got her. Daisy reached out and patted Pamela on the shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. Listen to me. You can make this right. I’m feeling better–thank you again–and you’re going to go to your boss. You’re gonna tell them I was going a little crazy from treating the plague, and I cut myself. I paid for healing, and I told you I was going to close the clinic tomorrow and the next day to recover. And then they’ll stop. Because if the clinic is closed, people won’t trust us anymore. The Rectifiers will have their business again. And they’ll stop cursing people.”
Pamela wiped her tears. “You’d lose your clinic to stop them from cursing people?”
Daisy smiled and shook her head. “Absolutely not. We’ll close down the front of the clinic, and we’ll bring people in through the back. Business as usual, but behind closed doors. We’ll do things that way for a few days. And by the time we open back up, we’ll have people mostly coming through the other way, and it will look like we’ve lost business. And the Rectifiers will stop because they got what they wanted, or so it seems.”
Pamela narrowed her eyes. “That’s sneaky.”
Daisy chuckled. “I wasn’t always a healer, Pamela. I know how to work with people who are stronger than me.”
Pamela smiled. “I wish I’d met you before. I wouldn’t have agreed to curse people if I’d known.”
Daisy smiled back. “Hey, if you’d have said no, they would have punished you. You know that.”
Pamela sighed. “Yeah. I wish–I wish I could leave.”
Daisy smiled. “Come to the clinic. Candace and I will help you leave Capital City. You can use what you know about healing to help people somewhere else. The Rectifiers will never be able to find you again.”
Pamela raised an eyebrow. “You’d do that? I thought you hated the Rectifiers.”
Daisy chuckled. “I know a thing or two about making mistakes and trying to make things right. Let us help you.”
Pamela smiled slightly. “I’ll come by later tonight. I just have to talk to a few people first to get them to stop cursing people.”
Daisy smiled again. “You’re a good person, Pamela. Don’t forget it.”
Pamela nodded and donned her hood again. “Okay. Wish me luck.”
Daisy grinned. “Good luck. See you soon.”
Pamela opened the door and swept down the hallway, and Daisy unrolled her sleeve and slipped out of the Rectifiers’ headquarters. She hurried past the assembled red robes at the door, back through the city, and to the clinic, where she healed a dozen people whose pain had been soothed by Candace’s tonics, and settled in for a long night.
—
It was nearly midnight when the last patient left the clinic. Daisy could feel that she was exhausted once again, and she prayed her thanks to Idunna that her energy had held out until the end of the night. They began to close up the clinic when a red robe approached.
“Fucking gods in heaven,” spat Candace. “When will enough be enough?”
“Hold on,” said Daisy. “It may be the Rectifier I spoke to?”
“What on earth would they want with us?” asked Candace. With the busyness of the clinic, Daisy hadn’t had time to explain her interaction with Pamela.
The red robe came to the edge of the clinic. “Daisy?” asked Pamela’s voice.
“Pamela!” cried Daisy. “Come in.”
“What the fuck?” asked Candace. “What is going on?”
Pamela stepped into the clinic, and Daisy closed the front door behind her. Pamela once again removed her hood and turned to Daisy. “I think they bought it. I’m not a good liar, but the head Rectifier went out to speak to the others after we were done talking, so it seemed okay.”
Candace was staring at Pamela, a look of distrust and disgust on her face.
“It’s okay, Candy,” said Daisy. “She’s helping us.”
Candace narrowed her eyes. “A Rectifier? Helping? My ass.”
“I’m leaving them,” explained Pamela. “Daisy said you’d help me flee the city.”
Candace turned to Daisy. “Can you please explain?”
Daisy smiled reassuringly at Candace. “This is Pamela. To get in with the Rectifiers to talk to someone, I had to cut my arm and pay for healing. I got Pamela and talked to her about the stomach ailment. She confirmed it was a curse the Rectifiers were doing to target us, overload us and get people to abandon us. She’s not like them. She wants to help people. So she lied to them and told them we’re overloaded and closing for a few days–we’ll just bring people in through the shrine and fake being closed–and she wants to leave Capital City and heal people somewhere else.”
Candace glared at Pamela. “Why’d you become a Rectifier?”
Pamela sighed. “I wanted to help people. I was raised with St. Candehar, and I thought it was the right way to help people. I didn’t realize until I worked the door and had to turn away so many people who couldn’t pay that, you know, it’s more complicated than that.”
“You know they’ll come looking for you, right?” asked Candace. “And if they suspect that you came here, things will only get worse for us?” She glanced at Daisy to emphasize this point.
Pamela looked like she was struggling to come up with an answer, and Daisy cut in. “We help people, Candy. You and I both made mistakes and tried to make things right. She’s doing the same. At least her intentions were good.”
Candace’s look softened. “Fine.”
Daisy walked over and took her by the hand. “Listen, she’s not like the others.”
“I’m really not!” added Pamela. “I mean, I cursed one person, and I couldn’t handle it, and–”
Candace grew instantly furious. “You cursed one of those people? You inflicted all that pain on them just to make us and the whole city suffer? And now you’re asking for our help? How fucking dare you?”
Daisy squeezed Candace’s hand. “She didn’t ask. I offered to help. She did what she was told, just like we did as Oslo asked, and she knew it was wrong, so she stopped. And I think she deserves to start over.”
Candace grew quiet at the mention of Oslo. “You can trust her. But that doesn’t mean I have to.”
Pamela bit her lip. “Is there any way I can prove I mean to help?”
Candace glared at her for moment. “Yeah, absolutely. Stay for a day. Hide out here and help us heal people. You wanna help people, put your money where your fucking mouth is.”
Pamela grimaced. “If I stay, and they find me, they’ll kill me.”
Candace smiled maliciously. “So you are out for yourself.”
“That’s not fair,” began Daisy.
“I will,” interrupted Pamela. “I’ll stay as long as it takes to prove I want to help.”
“I don’t know if you have that long,” spat Candace.
“Candy!” cried Daisy. “Don’t you trust my judgment?”
Candace looked down at Daisy sharply. “I trust you. Do I trust a Rectifier? Do I trust someone who makes health and wellbeing a privilege? Do I trust someone who would curse a stranger to hurt other people? Absolutely not.”
“Then we’ll just have to see,” said Daisy. “We have to give her a chance.”
Candace leered at Pamela. “And if she’s a spy? If she’s playing you, and she kills us in our sleep?”
Pamela looked hurt, but she said nothing.
“We’ll lock the door, then,” said Daisy. “I am not asking you to blindly trust her. She’ll sleep down here on one of the beds, and we’ll get started healing people in the morning.” She turned to Pamela. “You can’t wear those robes anymore. I don’t know if you know, but most people in the city fear those robes.”
Pamela shrugged. “What should I wear then? I don’t have any other clothes anymore.”
Daisy turned to Candace. “Do you have an outfit she can wear?”
Candace sighed. “I’ll bring down some clothes, which you can have. I sure as shit don’t want them back.”
Pamela nodded, frowning. “Thank you.”
“Be right back,” said Candace, turning to go upstairs. She trooped up the stairs, and when the sound of her footsteps receded, Pamela spoke.
“I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
Daisy shook her head. “Candace is a cautious woman. She forgives, but not easily. She judges based on actions, not intentions. And she doesn’t have any actions from you yet. But don’t worry. I’ll bet that if you help tomorrow, she’ll understand. And either way, I’m getting you on a wagon out of here tomorrow night around this time.”
Pamela sighed. “Where am I even gonna go? I’ve never left Capital City.”
Daisy smiled. “I’ve been pretty much everywhere. Eunax is nice. It’s a peaceful place, lots of accepting and decent people. You could live a nice, quiet life there. Strey is exciting, lots of different cultures and opportunities. Afira is kind of a mess right now. There was a ten-year war that ended not that long ago. Lots of people who need helped there. And there’s more of the Myriad to explore, but I imagine elsewhere would be safer.”
Pamela chuckled. “You say that so casually. Like seeing the whole world isn’t a big deal. But yeah, I want to help people who need it. Tell me about Afira.”
“Seeing the whole world as a hobby is one thing, and for work is another. Doing it when you’re running for your life is less cool, I think. Afira . . . hmmm. The elves can be kinda weird about outsiders, though it has gotten better. But the Ronan’el–they’ve been dealt a bad hand. Lots of death, lots of misfortune. If you’re looking to really get into the trenches and help where it’s needed, I’d say the north of Afira is your best bet.”
Pamela’s eyes narrowed. “Running for your life?”
Daisy chuckled. “When you were talking to me earlier, did you get the sense I just always knew what to say to get you to tell me more?”
Pamela nodded uncertainly. “Why?”
Daisy smiled. “Let’s just say that I used to work on the less legal side of things, doing a little less helping. But more to the point, if you tell the Ronan’el that Daisy Bloom sent you, it’ll open some doors.”
Pamela cocked an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”
Daisy grinned. “I may or may not have been involved in ending the war that almost wiped them out.”
Pamela laughed. “I get the sense that just about anything you tell me is going to raise more questions.”
Daisy laughed with her. “I get that a lot. But that doesn’t matter. Just say Daisy sent you, and they’ll be more than happy to work with you.”
Candace came back downstairs, holding a pile of black clothing. “Hope you like black. It’s all I own.” She tossed the clothes to Pamela, who caught them and held them up against herself.
“Looks like they should fit,” she said.
Candace shrugged, indicating that this was of little importance to her. “I’m going to bed. You coming, Daisy?”
Daisy, not honey. She’s still pissed. “I’m coming.” She turned to Pamela. “You need anything else before morning?”
“I’m good,” replied Pamela. “Thank you for the help.”
Daisy smiled. “Thank you for the help. Getting the Rectifiers to stop cursing people is huge. Good night!”
“G’night!” called Pamela as Daisy and Candace went upstairs, Candace making a show of locking the door behind them. They climbed upstairs and were set upon by the cats.
“I know you’re upset,” said Daisy. “I’m sorry. But–”
“Leave it, Daisy. Either she’s still there tomorrow and helps, and I’ll think about forgiving her, or she robs and sabotages the clinic, and I know who she really is.”
Daisy frowned. “Candy, you know people change. Why not her?”
Candace sighed. “Because I also know that not all people change.”
“You’ll see,” said Daisy.
“I hope I do.”
—
It was just before midnight. Daisy and Candace sat with Pamela after a long day’s work in the clinic.
“There were only a few of the cursed stomach folks today,” said Candace slowly. “All of them said they’d been dealing with it since last night. I guess you did come through.” It sounded as if it pained her to acknowledge this.
Pamela nodded meekly. “Thanks for letting me help today.” She fidgeted with the black outfit Candace had given her; it fit well enough, but the absence of the familiar robes seemed to be something Pamela needed time to adjust to.
“I see why the Rectifiers are the go-to in Capital City,” said Daisy cheerfully. “You can really heal, girl.”
Pamela smiled proudly. “I did my best.”
Candace offered another pained admission: “You can do it at least as well as Daisy. But don’t get a big head about it.”
“It felt strange,” said Pamela. “I have never really worked with poor folks. They seem a lot more grateful for the help than I’m used to.”
Candace allowed herself a small smile. “Yeah, well, when you’re not paying through the nose for help, it just hits different.”
Daisy smiled delicately. “I agree–knowing you’re being helped out of the goodness of someone’s heart feels different from handing over a month’s wages for it.”
Pamela nodded, also smiling. “I get it now, I think. I felt better today. Like, my heart was in it. Healing with the Rectifiers felt almost . . . mechanical. But today was so fluid. Every incantation was just natural, like I really understood the words for the first time.”
Daisy grinned. “I’ve been lucky. When I learned Idunna’s Chant, I meant it completely from the first go. I try to feel it more and more every time. My whole soul is in it when I say it now.”
Pamela laughed lightly. “I can’t wait to have that.”
“Where are you going?” asked Candace. “I’m guessing my world traveler wife gave you a rundown of everywhere.”
Pamela chuckled. “She did. I’m off for Afira. I want to help people recover from the war.”
Candace’s face softened, and she smiled fully. “Fine, I’ll fucking admit it. You’re not the evil bastard the rest of the Rectifiers are.”
Pamela grinned wide. “Thanks, Candace. It means a lot to hear that.”
Daisy patted Candace’s hand. “Yeah, thanks, Candy. I appreciate that you gave her a chance.” Candace stuck her tongue out at Daisy.
“Is it almost time?” asked Pamela. “I don’t wanna miss it. I’m ready to get started on my future.”
Daisy nodded. “Let’s go. Here, put this coat on with the hood up. We need to keep your safe until you’re off the Myriad.” She handed a brown cloth hooded jacket to Pamela, who donned it and raised the hood over her head. “See you when I get back,” Daisy told Candace.
“Don’t be too long,” said Candace warmly. “The cats will eat me alive if they don’t have both of their mamas to bug.”
“I’ll be right back,” replied Daisy. She turned to Pamela. “Let’s go.”
They left the shop through the back door and headed out onto the street, taking frequent turns to avoid the places where the Rectifiers often patrolled.
“You seem to have a really good life here,” said Pamela. “I hope I can make the same for myself in Afira.”
Daisy beamed. “It’s been a long, hard road, and there’ve been obstacles you don’t know about along the way, but we’ve gotten to a good place.”
“How long have you and Candace been together?” asked Pamela.
Daisy chuckled. “About five years between our first try and our second try.”
Pamela smiled. “It took two tries?”
Daisy nodded. “We had a good thing when we met back in Strey. But we were in bad places in our lives, and something really awful happened, and we split up. But we met again by chance a couple years ago, and we’d both changed. It was like everything just fit perfectly. We got married last fall, and I’ve honestly never been happier.”
Pamela chuckled. “Was it hard to find each other? Being, you know, a woman with another woman?”
Daisy sighed. “Yes and no. There have been people around us who have taken issue. There have been people who didn’t care. Some people who meet us don’t even realize we’re married. They assume we’re close friends who are both married to guys. It’s kinda only a problem if you let it be, I find.”
Pamela smiled faintly. “I was raised to think it was wrong.”
Daisy nodded. “And now?”
Pamela shrugged. “I mean . . . it’s complicated.”
Daisy raised an eyebrow. “You don’t approve of me and Candace?”
Pamela’s eyes went wide. “No! It’s not that. I mean . . . I think I might like women? Like, I don’t really enjoy being around men.”
Daisy chuckled. “So does seeing me and Candy be happy together change anything for you?”
Pamela laughed. “Yeah, actually. I was also raised to think humans are supposed to be with humans, but you two seem pretty happy, and elves and slightkin are basically opposite ends of the whole world, so, I dunno. You make it work.”
Daisy smiled. “Pamela, I hope that when you get to Afira, you meet a nice Ronan’el girl who makes you plenty happy.”
Even in the low light, Daisy could see Pamela blush. “Oh jeez,” stammered Pamela. “Thanks, I guess.”
They arrived at a wagon parked just outside of town. A familiar newtkin, no longer a young man, but now a grown adult standing before a fine wagon, stood. Daisy chuckled to see him.
“Norman?!” she cried. “Good gods, it’s been a long time.”
Norman, the newtkin who’d carted her from Despair to the edge of the Myriad after her escape from prison, studied her face. “Asp? Is that you?”
Daisy laughed. “It’s Daisy now, but yeah. Wow! How in the gods’ names are you?”
Norman chuckled. “Good, actually. I’ve been doing good. Didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
Daisy shook her head, still laughing. “Same. You know, I really owe you. You saved my hide and got me on the right path.”
Norman gestured to her robes. “I see you are indeed on the right path these days. Who’s your friend?”
Daisy put a hand on Pamela’s back and smiled. “This is my friend Pamela. She’s also getting on the right path. Also bound for Afira. Let’s just hope her journey with you is less eventful than mine was.”
Norman laughed. “Nice to meet you, Pamela. A friend of hers is a friend of mine. All that eventfulness she’s talking about, she talked us out of. I owe her as much as she owes me.”
Pamela raised her eyebrows at Daisy. “How do you know him?”
Daisy chuckled. “He helped me flee from Despair after I broke out of prison.”
Pamela looked stunned. “You really were on the wrong side of the law.”
Daisy smiled. “I tell the truth these days.”
Pamela laughed. “Am I gonna get to hear more crazy stories some day?”
“I’m sure I’ll be headed to Afira again at some point,” replied Daisy. “But until then, write to me. I’d love to hear what you get up to out that way, and I’m always here if there’s anything I can do.”
Pamela grinned. “Thanks for saving me from the Rectifiers.”
Daisy smiled back at her. “Don’t mention it. Just make something good of the opportunity.”
“We should leave if we want to catch the next ship west,” said Norman. “Not to rush your goodbyes.”
“It’s okay,” replied Pamela. “I’m ready.” She climbed into the wagon.
“Good to see you again, Norman,” said Daisy. “Safe travels.”
Norman chuckled. “Good to see you too. Good luck with the healing.” He climbed aboard the wagon and reined his horses onward.
Daisy stood and watched the wagon disappear into the night, and she silently prayed. Idunna, please bless Pamela and Norman with a safe journey, and give her plenty of opportunities to start over in Afira. Thank you for introducing me to her so that we could help the people here in Capital City. I love you.
The wagon was gone, and in a patch of cherry blossom aroma, Daisy began walking back home. Waiting for her were her wife, her cats, and her calling, and she hoped that Pamela could find all that for herself one day.
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