River

Gregor

“Where are they now?” I ask Wolk as I leave the house and start walking down towards Under-the-hill.

“David and Ben have arrived at the worksite, and are starting work with the rest of the crew. Stu is observing from the other end of the dock. Mason is still in the grove just north of town.”

I am watching as I approach. David doesn’t look particularly well. “How is he?”

“There appears to be an infection starting in at least one of his wounds. The knife was … not sterile.”

Ugh. That’s disgusting but not terribly surprising. Who knows what other mischief Mason has gotten up to with his knife.

When I get to the dock, the crew pauses in their work. “Welcome back, Gregor,” Geoffrey says.

“Thanks for handling the crew while I was away,” I tell him. I know he has done a competent job in my absence. “The pilings look great, everything is lined up just the way we discussed.”

I move over to the edge of the dock as we are talking, taking a closer look. The first row of pilings is ready, the second row has started to be placed. This row is more difficult, as the driver needs to be moved closer to the edge of the river in order for the hammer to reach the logs being driven into the silt.

I’m trying to think of what to do about David and Ben. I know I have to make sure that one of them has an excuse to leave the dock and fulfill Mason’s instructions to spy on me.

This is so weird.

David looks sweaty and flushed. “He has started to develop a fever from the growing infection.”

Well, I guess I should put my newfound skills to the test. I step over to him, and without being able to think of any way to do this in a manner that doesn’t seem awkward, I just place my hand on his shoulder.

After a moment, Wolk confirms that it seems to be helping. Great. I leave my hand there, and David looks at me, perplexed and somewhat alarmed. He tries to shrug my hand off his shoulder, uncomfortable to have me clasping him, so I just grip him harder and refuse to let go. I know this seems like extremely peculiar behavior, but I want to make sure that if I can help him with my touch, I hang on long enough for it to work. “He wonders if you somehow know what Mason has told him to do, if that is why you are gripping him in this way.”

I quickly think of some excuse. “Say, David,” I tell him, still keeping my hand on him, “I’d like you to take care of getting some supplies from the mercantile up in town for me. We are going to need some tools, nails and hammers and such for when the pilings are set and it is time to start installing the actual dock. We should replace some of these ropes as well, they are looking a little worn. We’ll probably need to order some more lumber from the sawmill too. I’ll make you a list. It will probably take you all day.”

He looks surprised and relieved to realize that I am giving him the perfect excuse to be up in town all day, so that he can spy on my house. I can also see the bafflement in his eyes as the spreading warmth and healing from my touch starts to lessen his unwell feeling, reduce his fever, improve the pain from his wounds. I don’t take my hand off of him just yet, leaving it on long enough to start seeming very awkward and strange, before Wolk finally tells me that he believes that is sufficient to prevent the infection from spreading, at least for now.

No wonder everyone always thinks I am such an odd fellow. My behavior certainly doesn’t discourage this idea.

Oh well. When I turn away to go into the little office that I keep at the site, to get a list ready for David, I see he and Ben looking at each other significantly, acknowledging that the way I have arranged it, David will be the one on duty today for Mason’s filthy scheme. You are welcome, gentlemen, I think wryly, for being such a cooperative victim.

“David is relieved that you have arranged things to make it so much easier to victimize you. He is also surprised to be suddenly feeling much better physically.”

“And Ben?”

“He is enormously conflicted. He hates the situation in which he finds himself.”

I sigh and start writing out the list of supplies. I’ll have to let things develop as they will. I know Wolk is on high alert and will tell me every single thing as it occurs. I glance over at him, keeping to his man form until I tell him otherwise, and he nods solemnly at me.

Rosy’s

I am aghast. I don’t fully understand exactly what is happening, but I know that Gregor is making arrangements to foil a plot against the safety of my beloved. I have to assume that his Guardian, whose form is now changed from a wolf to a man, has warned him. I imagine that the plot probably involves Mason, the beast who had harmed Rosalind for so many months.

I expand the breadth of my observations. Like most Guardians, I usually only attend to the thoughts and actions of my own beloved. In our unique situation, I have begun observing her husband as well, particularly since I discovered that he is a Seer, and that his communication with his Guardian is therefore being hidden from me.

But I start looking more widely, searching throughout the region, trying to discover what is happening. Gregor was quite clear when he spoke to Moses - he does not intend to warn Rosalind about what is going on. He does not want for her to be scared. I also do not wish for her to be frightened, but even more I do not wish for her to be unsafe. I am not convinced that it is fair to her to leave her ignorant of the developing situation. I cannot speak to her, cannot warn her, cannot help her. But I can watch, and I can whisper. Occasionally humans feel an instinct which comes from a message their Guardian is trying to send. Perhaps this is the way in which I can help her, if it seems that she needs to be alerted to danger.

It is challenging, to try to split my attention in this way, but I find that when I make a concerted effort, I am able to absorb information from many different sources at once. I start with Gregor, observing as he interacts with the crew at the dock. When he seizes hold of the shoulder of one of the men, and refuses to let go for an unseemly length of time, I know that something unusual is happening. I delve into the mind of the man, David, and see everything that I need to know.

He was stabbed last night by Mason, threatened, and instructed to surveil my beloved in her home. He is to report back to Mason, so that a plan can be made to harm Rosalind.

It is the stuff of nightmares. Literally. Still, Rosalind’s subconscious will occasionally dredge up a horrifying memory of the repeated assaults against her by Mason, and she will watch it play out in her dreams. When this happens, Gregor is always there in moments, obviously being alerted by his Guardian, even if he has to rush from another part of the house in the night. He will hold her, soothe her until she falls back to sleep, and usually in the morning she has no memory that it happened.

As I watch David’s thoughts unfold, I realize what Gregor is doing by refusing to unhand the other man. He is healing him. I have suspected that Gregor, and even the other little Seer who was in the home for the last few days, both have the ability to heal with their touch. I had certainly witnessed this occurring months ago, when Gregor healed Rosalind, long before I realized what was happening. And it also seemed to be happening with Dalila.

Now that I am aware of the situation, I can understand. A healing energy flows from Gregor’s hand against the other man’s shoulder, and begins to reduce the infection, inflammation, and pain from the knife wounds he had suffered. The man is uneasy, feeling somewhat violated by Gregor’s refusal to unhand him, but at the same time feels an intense relief at the reduction in his discomfort. He is baffled and disconcerted by what is happening.

Despite it all, the man, David, is planning his actions for the rest of the day. He is fully committed to conducting the surveillance that has been demanded of him. He is afraid of Mason, afraid of the threats that were made to notify the authorities that David had been involved in Mason’s schemes in the past. He will simply comply. I have no doubt that soon I will see David near the house, watching and preparing a report for Mason.

I expand my observations further. David’s ruminations lead me to his friend Ben’s mind, and I delve into his thoughts as well. Ben’s motivations appear to be different. Ben is more afraid of losing his love, Samuel, by disclosure of Ben’s involvement with Mason, than he is of danger to himself. This is interesting, I think, to be learning more about the people in the area.

Perhaps I should make this more habitual, observe more than the immediate surroundings of my own beloved. If nothing else, I realize, it is almost entertaining.