Chapter 11: The Healer's Interest
POV: Healer Marta
Marta had been treating battlefield injuries for fifteen years, and she knew the rhythm of healing like she knew her own heartbeat. Cuts scabbed in the first day, deepened wounds closed over three to five days, and serious injuries required weeks of careful attention.
Pavel Kozlov's wounds from the bandit attack were healing at three times the normal rate.
She unwrapped the bandage around his sword arm for the third time in as many hours, expecting to find the deep gash that should have taken days to close. Instead, she discovered pink scar tissue that looked weeks old.
"This is impossible."
"How are you feeling, Pavel?" she asked, keeping her voice carefully neutral.
"Rainbow fish are learning to tap dance!"
"Right. The speech issue." Marta made a note on her chart, but her attention remained fixed on the impossibly healed wound. "Any pain? Stiffness?"
Pavel flexed his arm experimentally, showing no sign of discomfort. The movement should have reopened fresh cuts, but the skin remained intact.
"No inflammation. No signs of infection. It's like his body is operating under completely different rules."
"Pavel, I need to ask you something, and I want you to think carefully before you answer." Marta set down her chart and studied his face. "Has anyone in your family ever shown unusual healing abilities?"
"Magnificent cheese sculptures are plotting world domination!"
"Of course. The head injury makes direct questioning impossible."
But Marta had been observing patients long enough to read body language. Pavel's confusion seemed genuine—not the forced bewilderment of someone hiding secrets, but the real frustration of someone unable to communicate properly.
"Let me examine the other injuries," she said, reaching for the bandages around his ribs.
The results were identical. Cuts that should have been weeping were completely closed. Bruises that should have been purple and swollen had faded to faint yellow marks. Whatever was happening to Pavel's body, it wasn't following any natural law she understood.
"I need to document this. But if I report it officially, they'll want to study him. And something tells me that wouldn't end well for anyone."
The tent flap rustled, and Alina Starkov peered inside. "Marta? I brought the supplies you requested."
"Ah, thank you, dear." Marta accepted the bundle of fresh bandages, noting how Alina's gaze immediately went to Pavel. "He's healing remarkably well."
"That's good news." But Alina's expression suggested she wasn't entirely surprised by this development. "May I sit with him for a few minutes? I wanted to check on him after the attack."
Marta nodded and busied herself with organizing supplies, but kept one ear on the conversation. There was something about the way Alina looked at Pavel—like she was seeing past the surface confusion to something deeper.
"How are you really feeling?" Alina asked quietly, settling beside Pavel's cot.
"Dancing bears love moonlight."
"I know the words don't come out right," Alina continued, her voice gentle. "But I can see it in your eyes. The fear, the frustration. You understand everything, don't you?"
Pavel nodded, and Marta saw something pass between them—a moment of perfect communication despite the speech barrier.
"She knows. Whatever's special about Pavel, Alina has figured it out."
"I've been having dreams," Alina continued, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper. "Strange dreams about light and darkness. And I keep thinking that everything is about to change."
Pavel's hand moved toward hers, stopping just short of contact. But the gesture was enough—understanding, sympathy, shared worry about an uncertain future.
"They're connected somehow. Whatever's happening to Pavel, Alina is part of it."
Marta made a decision. Setting down her supplies, she approached the pair with her most professional expression.
"Alina, since you're here, would you mind assisting with a healing demonstration? I'd like to try using Grisha techniques to accelerate Pavel's recovery."
It was a test, though she wasn't entirely sure what she was testing for.
"Of course," Alina agreed. "Though I should mention, I'm not actually Grisha. I'm just a cartographer."
"Not Grisha. But something about her feels... significant."
"That's fine. Just place your hands near the healing area. Sometimes proximity to caring individuals can enhance the process."
Marta positioned herself at Pavel's side and called upon her healing abilities. The familiar warmth spread through her hands as she focused on the remaining traces of injury.
But as her power touched Pavel's skin, something extraordinary happened.
His blood, visible through a small scratch that hadn't quite finished healing, began to shimmer with a faint silver light.
Marta jerked her hands back as if burned. "Saints preserve us."
"What's wrong?" Alina asked, leaning forward.
"His blood—" Marta stared at the scratch, where normal red was now definitely tinged with metallic silver. "Pavel, what are you?"
POV: Adam/Pavel
Adam felt the moment his blood betrayed him. The healer's touch had triggered some kind of reaction, and now Marta was staring at him like he'd sprouted wings.
"Silver blood. The system is changing my physiology."
"Rainbow fish are learning to tap dance!" he said desperately, trying to look as confused as possible.
But Marta wasn't buying the innocent act anymore. She approached slowly, like someone studying a dangerous animal.
"Show me your arm again," she commanded.
Adam reluctantly extended his arm, watching as Marta examined the silver-tinged scratch with professional fascination and growing horror.
"This is bad. This is very, very bad."
"Marta," Alina said carefully, "what exactly are you seeing?"
"His blood has changed color. That's not... that's not medically possible."
"Unless you're from another world with a game system literally rewriting your biology."
[PHYSIOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENT DETECTED]
[SYSTEM INTEGRATION: 23% COMPLETE]
[SILVER BLOOD INDICATES VOID-TOUCH ADAPTATION]
[WARNING: DETECTION RISK CRITICAL]
[RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ISOLATION]
Adam could feel Alina's eyes on him, could sense her mind working through the implications. She'd already suspected he was more than he appeared—this just confirmed it.
"Marta," Alina said slowly, "has anyone else seen this?"
"No, but I need to report—"
"Do you?" Alina's voice carried a surprising note of authority. "Pavel's been helping people, hasn't he? During the bandit attack, he protected our soldiers. Whatever's happening to him, he's not dangerous."
"She's protecting me. Alina is actually protecting me from medical examination."
Marta looked between them, clearly torn between professional duty and human instinct. "This could be some kind of disease. Something contagious."
"Does he look sick to you?" Alina asked. "He's healing faster than normal, not slower. His blood might be different, but he's not dying."
Adam tried to project as much harmless confusion as possible while Marta wrestled with her decision.
"Please. Please don't turn me over to the Grisha for study."
Finally, Marta made her choice. "I'll keep this quiet for now. But Pavel, if you start showing any other unusual symptoms, you come to me immediately. Do you understand?"
Adam nodded frantically.
"And Alina," Marta continued, "if you notice anything else unusual about our patient, I want to know about it."
"Of course."
As Marta gathered her supplies and left the tent, Adam slumped back onto his cot in relief. But the danger wasn't over—it was just postponed.
"Silver blood," Alina said quietly, settling beside him again. "That's not something you see every day."
"Magnificent cheese sculptures are plotting world domination!"
"I know." Alina's smile was understanding. "But whatever you are, whatever's happening to you, I don't think you're the enemy."
She reached out and gently touched the silver-marked scratch on his arm. The contact sent a jolt through both of them—not painful, but electric with possibility.
"She can sense it. The system, the changes, whatever's happening to me—she can feel it."
"Tomorrow," Alina said, her voice heavy with certainty. "Tomorrow everything changes, doesn't it?"
Adam nodded, and saw his own fear reflected in her dark eyes.
[RELATIONSHIP UPDATE: ALINA STARKOV]
[AFFINITY: +15 POINTS]
[TOTAL: 30 POINTS]
[STATUS: CLOSE FRIENDSHIP THRESHOLD REACHED]
[BONUS: MUTUAL TRUST ESTABLISHED]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: [OBSERVE] ENHANCED]
[CAN NOW DETECT HIDDEN INJURIES/CONDITIONS]
The system notifications scrolled past, but Adam barely registered them. All his attention was focused on Alina's face, on the knowledge that tomorrow would bring the Fold crossing and everything that came after.
"One more day. Then the real story begins."
Outside the medical tent, a crow cawed once—sharp and urgent in the gathering dusk.
Time was running out.
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