“I need rice, warm water and three garlic pods,” said Edwin. He breathed a sigh of relief after he had run the tests on the boy. The child had not been examined by him, had he been, Edwin would have told the mayor that this was a common cold, not the coughing sickness.

Blood root in small quantities was harmless. The worse it could do to the boy was to make him throw up. There was no point in strong herbal or chemical medicine now. Rice and garlic soup would do.

“Do you require chicken too? You are just a charlatan, after all!” Said the mayor, outraged. Edwin turned to look at him, trying to keep calm.

“Garlic has antibacterial and antiviral properties, Mister Monter. It will flush out the toxins and promote sweating. The rice water is for immediate respite. Your son’s stomach has already been unsettled enough by the blood root. There is no point in forcing him to vomit again. He did vomit, did he not?” Asked Edwin, and the mayor nodded.

“He did. But there was no blood in the vomit. That is good, right?” Asked the mayor, concerned for his son.

“Excellent. The boy has common cold. Nothing more. Once he drinks the water with garlic, I will make him ginger honey tea. To both sooth his stomach and help bring down the fever,” said Edwin. The mayor went to get the rice, water, and garlic.

When he came back, Edwin crushed the garlic and mixed it in the water with the rice. He waited for a while and then began taking out the rice and leaving only the garlic behind. The boy looked at him with interest.

“You need to drink this, all of it,” said Edwin, and he placed the spoon with which he had removed the rice inside the bowl with warm water and garlic.

“Do I have to? I don’t like garlic,” said the boy. He made a face at the thought of having to eat garlic and then to have to go around with stinky breath.

“Your fever could break on its own, I suppose. Or just from the tea. But why suffer? You can always brush your teeth afterwards. Besides, garlic is not that bad,” said Edwin as he handed the boy the bowl.

“Even vampires eat it from time to time,” piped in Hadrian from behind Edwin.

The boy began sipping the water, and he looked at Hadrian closely.

“Have you drunken from many people, sir?” Asked the boy, the vampire.

“All kinds. Thin, fat, pretty, ugly, kind, nasty. Sometimes, most times in my case, you can’t choose your food,” said Hadrian with a shrug.

“And have you ever attacked someone to get their blood?” Asked the boy.

“No, most people sell their blood for gold. Why are you interested in this, kiddo?” Asked Hadrian. Normally, the kind of people who asked him about his way of life were the kind he didn’t want asking.

“Can you turn me into a vampire, sir? So, I would never get sick?” Asked the boy, hopefully.

“Out of the question,” said Hadrian, waving his hand before him. “The survival rate for transformations is slim to none. And you will never see the sun again. You will outlive everyone you love. You don’t want this.”

The boy’s head hung low as he drank the last of the water. The garlic pods were still in the bowl, laying at the bottom. Edwin frowned and pointed at them.

“You have to eat them. Come on, it is for your health.”

The boy picked a chunk of garlic and ate it, making a face all the while.

“Done, sir,” said the boy after swallowing.

“All of it, kid,” said Edwin sternly.

Numerous pleading looks later, and the boy had eaten the garlic. The mayor came with ginger, honey, and water and a kettle. Edwin looked at the boy and beckoned him closer.

“Do you want to see how this is made? To help too? First, the ginger is ground,” said Edwin as he took the ginger and the grinder and began rubbing them together.

“Will this taste as bad as the rice-garlic water?” Asked the boy, his eyes hopeful for a negative answer.

“Ginger tea is pleasant. You won’t need to eat the ginger itself, which is not so pleasant. Besides, once the tea is done, we will add honey. You like honey, yes?” Asked Edwin. When the boy nodded, Edwin handed him the grinder and the ginger.

“You try. It is easy,” the boy finished grinding the ginger and the full kettle was given back to the mayor, so he could go make the tea. The boy turned to Edwin and hugged his neck. Edwin chuckled at that and patted his back.

“Mister healer, why did you become a healer?” Asked the boy suddenly.

“My mother is a wood’s witch. She taught me all about herbs and how to cut open someone and operate on them. Granted, before I went to the academy, I was not allowed to so much as hold a scalpel, let alone use one.”

It had always irked Edwin that his mother never let him operate, even on animals when he was young. But he had trusted in her wisdom and hadn’t complained. As his mother always said: First learn the simple solution, then reach out for the scalpel.

“How hard is it to become a healer?” Asked the boy.

“What is your name, kiddo?” Asked Edwin.

“Erin, sir.” Said Erin.

“Well, Erin, usually a healer has to go through eight years of studying. I skipped six and only was in the academy for two. But there is one problem with being a healer. Do you know that healer Donovan didn’t do anything when the coughing sickness spread in town?” Asked Edwin. He needed the boy to realize what he wanted to sign up for.

“Yes. Papa said he was not allowed to act. How come you are?” Asked Erin. He tilted his head to the side and looked Edwin up and down, trying to find something extraordinary about him.

He saw brown, curly hair, with golden flecks. Green eyes with the barest hint of blue in them. And a not overly muscled body frame. He supposed the healer’s skin was a bit too pale, but it was still like his own.

“I am a hedge healer. I don’t have a clinic or nurses, and I am not welcomed anywhere. If you want to really help the people, then you will have to give up your cozy life. Otherwise, you will parrot the, healing is politics and diplomacy, not just healing, mantra like every other healer.”

“I don’t like this mantra. And I have always wanted to travel. And if I can heal myself and not get sick, then, all the better,” said Erin with a bright smile.

Hadrian smiled. This was turning to be interesting. Normal hedge healers would warn people against their way of life, but not Edwin. It appears that his friend really wanted to help those around him. And even with another’s hands, too.