Two Measures of Blood

What followed from Belboz's request was impossible for any individual in the room to understand.

Checkers stood stiffly, with the lower corners of her mouth tightening slightly. Checkers asked odd, pointed questions.

"Exactly how would you remove my blood?"

Belboz replied, "I would use magic. I have a couple of vessels that will remove the blood without touching you."

"No," she said flatly.

"It will not hurt, Checkers, and you should be able to recover after a few hours. Your fears are irrational."

"I will not give you permission to do that, Belboz," she said sternly.

"I do not have any good alternatives, Checkers. I could try hunting for another donor, but I do not know if Fred has that long."

Checkers looked at Belboz, and then Astra. Astra spoke to her sharply. "If you are going to let Fred die, could you at least explain?"

Checkers looked at Astra with a blank stare for what seemed like minutes, although it was only ten seconds. Instead of answering directly, Checkers turned to Belboz. "Are there alternatives to use of magic?"

"None that do not involve some danger and certainly some pain. I can cut you and drain the blood directly into the bag, but the blood might get dirty and do more harm than good. I also have another bit of magic that involves jabbing you and sucking the blood out of you...."

"May I see the device?"

Belboz withdrew into a far corner of the lab, and within two minutes, he brought out two bronze needles, with a small, crystal-like cylindrical tube at the top.

Checkers motioned to Belboz to bring the tubes to her.

Checkers examined the tubes, and made another unfathomable request. "You need Astra's blood. I would like to see how this works on her."

Astra shook her head, giving her consent. Belboz passed the needle through a flame in some sort of ceremony and jabbed the needle into Astra's wrist. Astra's fist clenched as a flash of pain ran down her arm. She involuntarily kneeled down and exhaled before slowly rising again. Checkers stared at the tube, observing as if something in the operation was of vital importance.

The first bag was filled within a minute, and Belboz had prepared the table.

"Are you satisfied, Checkers?" asked Belboz.

"Does it have to come from the wrist?" the Glider replied.

"That is most convenient, but it could from anywhere, I suppose."

"I think that that I can use that device, then, provided that I do everything, from burning the needle to sealing the pouch."

"You have never done this before Checkers. Why don't you let me do this?"

"It is my blood, Belboz. If you need it, I would like to give it in my own way."

Checkers finally made an odd observation, addressed to both Belboz and Astra. "I do not know Fred's people. Are we really doing him a favour? According to the beliefs of some groups that I observed, death in battle is one of the highest honours. Are we cheating Fred by trying to save him?"

Astra was near tears, from both the pain in her arm and from what she perceived as an unneeded delay. "No, Checkers. I can tell you that Fred would rather live, all things considered."

Checkers then turned to Belboz. The cool front that she had assumed was starting to slip, just a little. "I ... I just wanted to make sure that we were not acting selfishly. I shall take the sampling device. While you are analyzing it, then I will fill your bags with blood. That should save a little time, and if it is good, you can start doing what you need to do."

Belboz gave Checkers another small, silvery needle, and asked her to jab herself with it. Checkers passed the needle through a fire, and jabbed herself with it. She winced, but handed it back to Belboz.

As the second measure of blood was being drained Belboz had completed his analysis of Checkers' blood.

1. This episode, from Astra's point of view.
2. This episode, from Checker's point of view.
3. The results of Belboz's analysis.

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