Villagers of Soa Pel followed the boy. Whispers traveled through the crowd.

“It’s that kid!”

“I thought he died.” 

“He’s back?”

“Help, please.” Gruff dropped to his knees. The frozen air pierced his throat as he sucked it in. “Help him.” Gruff laid Jonah on the ground and then laid Marcia beside him.

The crowd grew in size, and the people looked at the siblings with fear. “What should we do?” one villager asked.

“We should help, w-what if what Smith said is true?” 

“But what if he is the witch's son?”

“Help me!” Gruff’s booming voice sent the crowd reeling back.

“Move! Let me through.” A woman’s voice cut through the masses, and a petite lady pushed her way to Gruff. She carried a large bag with a red plus on it.

Quickly, the woman got to work examining Jonah. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a spray bottle, making quick work of spraying his wounds and wrapping them in bandages.

“Will he be okay?”

“He will be fine.” The woman looked up at Gruff, and her eyes drifted to his chest. She rushed to his side and cut open his shirt, revealing a deep, penetrating wound going straight through him.

The crowd cried out in horror, and the woman began searching her bag again.

“He’s not human!” someone cried out. 

“I need to treat you quickly,” the woman muttered, but Gruff grabbed her wrist.

“I won’t die from just this. Treat his curses before he dies.”

“Curses?”

“ARGH!” Jonah cried out. Gruff pushed past the lady and connected his magic with Jonah’s lifeline. He forced his power into the pale man, filtering through the hundreds of curses inside Jonah. “I don’t have the confidence to pull them out alone. Especially the ones attached to his spine.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” The woman grabbed Gruff by the shoulder, pulling him away from Jonah. “I need to treat you.”

“I’ve already told you, I’m fine. We need to treat him somehow.”

The woman tilted her head quizzically. “His wounds aren’t that bad.”

A boiling feeling settled in Gruff’s stomach. “Help him!” Pressure shrouded the area as Gruff’s magic leaked out of him. “Now!”

The crowd gasped once more as Gruff’s eyes changed. “No! Smith was right.”

“How could we?” 

“His… His eyes.”

“Dragon eyes? But that day, they were red, not dragon eyes. I was so sure.”

The woman looked deeply into Gruff’s eyes. Then she turned back to Jonah, re-examining him.

A few men in the crowd ran off, and within minutes, they’d returned with a stretcher. Jonah was lifted onto it, and they carried him past the crowd. An older man picked up Marcia, and Gruff followed them through the village.

“I’ll do everything I can with Doc’s help,” the woman promised.