Interphase by Kira Wilson, Jonathan Wilson Page B

his eyes fully.
    Looking down, David noticed that he was bare to the waist with bandages wrapped around his chest. With a shock he remembered the fearsome predator in the woods, and stumbling upon Analara. He wondered how long he'd been asleep, and exactly where he was. It was odd. Normally V-Net would have disconnected him if he'd fallen asleep. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Just another mystery of the module.
    While David pondered, the cloth flap that separated his chamber from whatever lay beyond moved aside, and a familiar figure tiptoed in. Analara carried a bowl and a fresh roll of bandages tucked under her arm. The pungent odor of the bowl's contents filled the small room. She smiled brightly when she saw him watching her.
    "I expected you to sleep through the morning," she said, sitting down on the floor beside him. "How do you feel?"
    David rubbed his hand over his bandaged chest. "A little tight here, but fine otherwise." Analara checked the bandage on his leg, her touch cool and soft. "Have I caused much trouble?"
    "No one really knows you're here yet. Sesh and Konnal said they wouldn't report anything until you were better. Do you remember anything from last night?"
    David closed his eyes, grasping at thoughts that slithered away like fish in a stream. "The last thing I really remember is trudging across the plain. My body hurt, and all I wanted to do was stop and sleep."
    Analara made a thoughtful sound and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "After you fainted, we brought you here to Varlath's home. He is the patriarch of my family. I was able to better treat your wounds here. Thankfully, none of them were life-threatening, and no infection had set in."
    "So I passed out for no reason, huh?" David winced. "Boy, don't I feel like a wuss."
    Analara fixed him with a stare. "The bleeding you suffered would have felled most of the warriors in Ilinar. If we hadn't been able to get you back here so quickly, things could have ended differently. Now stop being silly and hold still. I want to change your bandages."
    David did as he was told, sinking back against the soft cushions. Analara's deft fingers untied the knots. He watched her face as she pulled the wrappings away, and he saw her eyes grow wide. "Is something wrong?"
    "No." She stared at his face, and back down at his chest. "Quite the opposite. Look!"
    The blood had been washed away last night. Faint lines no deeper than paper cuts crossed his skin. "These were still open wounds when I cleaned them last night. I've never seen injuries heal that fast."
    David brushed at the lines with his fingertips. So this module allowed long-term injury? Yesterday had been more serious than he first thought. Apparently the Wraith's rapid healing had loaded along with the blade. When he looked up again, Analara's gaze was fixed on him.
    "So you are a sage."
    "A what?"
    "A sage. A will-shaper. They control the forces of nature, and can change the world to their desires."
    David thought about how easily he could bend a module's code to his will. The memory of Jessica's departure flashed in his mind; he chose his next words very carefully. "Something like that. I'm not sure I could properly explain it though."
    "My friend Rupu says that sages are secretive about their abilities. Would you prefer that I not speak of this further?"
    "For now, I think that would be best."
    Nodding, Analara unwrapped the rest of the bandages. With no wounds to clean, she seemed to be at a loss. Shrugging to herself, she washed David's chest anyway. When she finished, he smelled strongly of herbs.
    The front flap rolled up, and this time it was a man who poked his head in. A well-worn smile shone from under a bushy beard, highlighting prominent laugh lines around his eyes. "Well, I see our wayward traveler is awake already. How do you feel, young man?"
    David got to his feet, stepped carefully out of the bowl-shaped bed and bowed. "Much better than I did last night, thanks to you