Passage - Lois McMaster Bujold [83]
“It’s not a trick question, blight it!” Hod jumped; Dag gentled his tone. “Lakewalkers give each other ground reinforcements all the time—well, often—and they don’t work like that on us. I have to know. Because I’ve a notion, a dream, leastways, that I’d really like to settle down with Fawn someplace and be a medicine maker who heals farmers, but I sure can’t do that if I’ll make all my patients crazy. I’m really hoping you can help me figure it out.”
“Oh,” said Hod. In a voice, absent gods, of Hoddish enlightenment. “Me, help you? Me?” He looked up at Dag and blinked. “Why didn’t you say?”
Why hadn’t he said? Maybe he should go out to that back deck and hit, say, his head against the wall…He glanced up to find Fawn looking at him with her arms crossed and her brows up as if she quite seconded Hod’s question.
Evading answering, Dag went on, “First off, this has to stop. You can’t go on hurting yourself just to get a ground reinforcement.”
Hod looked up in hope. “Would you give me one without me hurting?”
“I don’t think I’d better give you any more at all. I’m not sure if beguilement wears off over time or not, but I’m pretty sure repeating makes it worse.”
“Oh.” Hod gingerly petted his knee and blinked tears. “You gonna make me…wait?”
“If only I had two hurt Hods, I could make one wait and one not, and compare, and then I’d know.”
“Which one would I get to be?”
Dag couldn’t quite figure out an answer to this. He ran his hand through his hair.
Fawn put in, “In a way, you do have another Hod to do the waiting. Cress. If we ever get back to Pearl Bend, say, next spring, you could check up on her.”
“Good point, Spark.”
Hod, too, brightened. He looked at Fawn almost favorably.
“I guess that frees me up to try something else.” Dag squinted into the fire. He hated to interrupt the first voluntary interchange Remo had enjoyed with his boat-mates since the start of this trip, but needs must.
“Fawn, would you go ask Remo to come inside for a moment, please?”
Her brows twitched up, but she nodded and went off. In a few minutes, Remo shouldered through the shadowed supplies into the firelight and lantern glow of the kitchen area, Fawn trailing. He frowned at Hod and looked his question at Dag, What’s this?
“Ah, Remo,” said Dag. “Glad you’re here. Have you been taught how to give minor ground reinforcements, out on patrol?”
“Verel taught all of us who had the knack,” said Remo cautiously. “I’ve never had a chance to try it out for real.”
“Good, then it’s time you had some practice. I would like you to put a reinforcement into Hod’s hurt knee, here.”
Remo stared, shocked. “But he’s a farmer!”
“I thought you wanted to break the rules?”
“Not that one!”
You’re choosy all of a sudden. Dag rubbed his lips, reminded that Remo hadn’t been there to witness Cress. Or Hod’s original injury, either. Dag steeled himself and gave a brisk description of both incidents, finishing, “With Hod beguiled by me already, the last thing I want to do is make it worse. What I don’t know is what would happen if a beguilement was divided amongst two Lakewalkers. I’m hoping—wondering, leastways—if the division might halve the problem.”
Remo’s lip jutted in suspicion. “Are you trying to foist this off on me?”
“No,” said Dag patiently, “I’m trying to solve a groundwork problem. For myself, yes, but if I can solve it for myself, there might be a chance I’d solve it for a lot of other medicine makers as well. It seems worth a shot.”
“I thought you were a patroller.”
“Old habits die hard. Did you think I quit only because I ran mad over a pretty little farmer girl a third my age?” Fawn raised her brows ironically at him; he tipped her a wink. “I’m also becoming—trying to become—a maker.” I’m just not sure of what. “Take a good look at Hod’s knee, down to the ground, and tell me if I’m wrong about that ambition.”
Reluctantly, Remo knelt down next to Dag beside Hod, who gave him a worried smile. He glanced aside at Dag and opened his ground for the first time in days. Dag saw Remo’s wince as the unveiled