Allor and Ova were in one of the worst parts of the former Cult of Ceros. What it didn’t have in the fundamentals of life, it more than made up for with its prime resource: poverty.
Ova moved the remedium over the child’s stomach. She could see it move under the skin. The large piece of metal moved like it was pulled by a magnet in the remedium. Ova removed her knife from her belt. She looked at the mother and father.
“You will need to hold her very tightly. I have to gut her in order to get it out of her.”
A look of terror came to the parents’ faces.
“But that will kill her,” the mother said.
“Not with this,” said Ova, and she held up the remedium. “It heals immediately. I just have to open her up and get it out, then this will fix her right up after it’s out.”
The child was not as scared as her parents.
“This will hurt,” said Ova, looking at the dirty face of the girl.
“I know. But not for long, right?”
“Right,” replied Ova.
“Then I won’t hurt at all anymore?”
“That’s right,” said Ova. She looked over at Allor, who was helping an old man with a twisted leg.
“Need help?” he asked her.
“No. I think I’ve got it.”
She moved the remedium until the metal in the child’s stomach was as close to the skin as possible.
Then she stabbed the child.