A ghostly version of Semyon Gray stepped out of the air.
"I spoke to the administration. You are free to enter," he said. "But you'll have to find another way home. I have other business to attend to in another part of the city."
After he left, Aurie could barely convince her feet to move forward.
"Aurie," said Pi from beside her. "We should go in. Waiting out here isn't going to change anything. Whatever has happened, has happened. You did your best."
Aurie's reply was lost to a racket of noise from the alleyway next to the hospital. Drawn by the ruckus, the sisters went to investigate.
An orderly was throwing long metal rods with wires attached to them into a dumpster. It took Aurie about three blinks to realize it was the scaffolding they used to keep Emily from floating away.
"No!" Aurie screamed, and went running towards the doors, blowing past security before they could even get up from their chairs.
She dodged around gurneys and carts full of dinner trays, sneakers squeaking at each footfall. The line for the elevator made her veer into the stairwell.
By the time she reached the Children's Floor for the Irrevocably Cursed, Magically Ailing, and Supernatural Virology, Aurie was out of breath. Shouts rose up from the bottom of the stairwell, combined with Pi trying to explain to security who she was, but Aurie didn't care.
She ran straight to room 438. There was no sign that said "WARNING. No perfumes, magical ointments, or any alchemy reagents within thirty feet." A faded square with four empty screw holes was still on the wall.
The special bed, the scaffolding, all of Emily's stuffed animals, and the wind dancer figurine were gone as if she'd never been there. A standard-issue medical bed with remote control tilt sat in its place.
It was too soon for Emily to have been discharged if she'd been healed. There was only one explanation. One Aurie didn't even want to contemplate.
But she had to know for certain. She kept the knot in her chest from unraveling until she knew for sure.
An orderly she didn't recognize was mopping the nearby hall. Aurie hurried over and tugged on his sleeve. The kid pulled his headphones off.
"Yeah?"
"Room 438. Where's the girl who was in there?" she asked desperately.
He shrugged. "438? Room's empty? I think she died or something. Happens all the time here."
Boom. One massive heartbeat in her ears. Then she could hear nothing. Just a faint buzzing as the world pulled away from her.
Emily. She was too late. Too late to save Elegant Emily, who liked to make up stories about having superhero powers, and actually liked the hospital food, and always kept a brave face when they were taking blood samples.
There might have been angry shouts behind her. Security had finally caught up, followed by Pi. The commotion drew the floor nurses, and somewhere in there, she thought she heard Dr. Fairlight's name. But none of it really registered.
Not until a security guard yanked on her arm, followed by the nurses shouting something at them. It wasn't until Dr. Fairlight put her face right up in front of Aurie's that she actually become aware.
"Aurie. Aurie," said Dr. Fairlight, shaking her.
"I was too late, Dr. Fairlight. I was too late," said Aurie.
The doctor wrinkled her face, then glanced down the hall as she started to comprehend.
"Oh no. Aurie, no. It's not too late. It's not too late. Emily's alive," she said.
"But I saw her scaffolding in the trash, and her room's empty?" asked Aurie.
A relieved smile broke across Dr. Fairlight's face, bunching the wrinkles around her mouth. "She's responded spectacularly well to a special treatment. A mysterious benefactor donated a minor artifact to the hospital. It saved her life. She was really down to the hours."
"Where is she?" asked Aurie, not capable of believing it until she saw Emily.
"With her doing so well, they moved her to the observation floor. They'll discharge her by the weekend if she shows no signs of relapse," said Dr. Fairlight.
The security guards left once they realized she was allowed back into Golden Willow. Dr. Fairlight led Aurie to the lower floor. She felt like she was made of glass and could break into a million pieces at the slightest touch.
When they reached the observation floor, Dr. Fairlight led her to an older well-dressed couple standing in the hallway, which confused Aurie, since she thought she was going straight to Emily's room.
"Mr. and Mrs. Calloway. This is the girl I was telling you about, Aurelia Silverthorne," said Dr. Fairlight.
The Calloways latched onto her as if she were their savior, patting her back and squeezing her arms.
"Oh thank you, Aurelia. Thank you for saving our daughter," said Mrs. Calloway. "Can I give you a hug?"
Aurie was stunned. She didn't think anyone would know about the Rod. "Sure. But I didn't do anything."
Dr. Fairlight chuckled. "Our Aurelia is very modest. If it weren't for your lichwood tea, Emily would have never survived long enough to make it to the final cure."
Relief that the secret hadn't been exposed left Aurie feeling a little wobbly. Far too much had happened in a short time.
"With your permission, I'd like to see Emily. It's why I came," said Aurie.
The Calloways moved out of her way. Mr. Calloway put his hand on her shoulder like they were old friends.
"Dr. Fairlight told me about your situation. If it's alright, we'd like to pay your tuition in the Hundred Halls. It's the least we can do," he said.
Aurie choked. "But that's a lot of money."
He smiled, and Aurie realized how perfect his teeth were, how fine a cut his suit was, and how many gold rings he wore. For all she knew, he was a CEO or major executive.
"Just say yes," he said.
"Yes!" she said, sharing an incredulous look with Pi. Only having to pay for one tuition would be huge. Together they could earn Pi's without killing themselves with extra jobs during the summer.
The Calloways pushed her towards the open door. "Now go see Emily. She's been asking about you."
Emily was on the bed, reading a book called Uprooted. She was still bird-thin. Her aerated bones would probably never truly recover, but she could actually grow up now. Just like she and Pi had after their tragedy.
"Awesome Aurie," said Emily, eyes big and round, glistening with emotion.
"Elegant Emily," said Aurie.
"I'm so glad you got to come back," said Emily. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," said Aurie.
Emily set the book down on her lap. "You know, I'm not going to be a wind dancer now."
"You can be whatever you want to be," said Aurie.
Emily squeezed her eyes shut, her lips tightening as she held tears back. "Thank you, Aurie. Thank you for saving me."
Aurie moved to the bed and put her arms around Emily. Some signal must have been passed, because the Calloways, her sister, and Dr. Fairlight came in. They crowded around her. The press of people gave her the feeling of lying in bed with her parents and Pi, listening to the story about the mischievous piglet. In that moment, she felt so warm and content that she thought she might be the center of the universe.
With nothing holding her back, the tears flowed freely down her face as she laugh-cried. The others joined in until it was one big sobbing mess. Even a few nurses from the floor peeked in, and once they saw the pile of people, they couldn't help but smile and let a few tears fall.
After a time, which seemed like forever and a blink of an eye, it passed. They stayed for an hour chatting. Aurie got caught up on everything that had happened. And Emily pestered her for details about her first year in the Hundred Halls.
Before Dr. Fairlight left, she offered Aurie a summer internship, which of course, she accepted. When it was finally time to leave, due to the end of visiting hours, the Calloways gave Aurie another round of hugs. They gave Pi hugs too, just because she was Aurie's sister.
When they were standing outside, Aurie didn't
want to leave.
"Come on, sis. I need to get some bedsheets before I move into Arcanium. Ashley's going to retrieve my stuff for me once the coast is clear. You can come back and visit Emily again later."
"It's not that," said Aurie, looking at the endless glass walls of the hospital. "I mean, it is, but it isn't. I was just thinking about Mom and Dad."
"Hard not to," said Pi.
Aurie grabbed her sister's hand and entwining their fingers. They started walking away.
"They'd be proud of us. They really would," said Aurie.
"Mostly," said Pi.
"Mostly?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I mean, there was a demon summoning," said Pi.
Aurie chuckled. "That's true."
"And we put a pretty fucked up curse on someone's nutsack," said Pi, as if mentally checking things off a list.
"Yeah, that too. But otherwise, pretty proud," said Aurie.
"And you let me rent my soul to a city fae," Pi said with a grin, clearly taunting.
"Let you? Ha! That was totally on you," said Aurie.
"Don't forget we nearly blew up a subway bathroom," said Pi.
They walked for a while in silence. Pi punched her sister in the arm. "You know what?"
"What?" asked Aurie, suddenly curious.
"I get the top bunk," said Pi.
"Who said we're rooming together?"
"The patron," said Pi.
"I'll play you Five Elements for it when we get back," said Aurie.
"Deal."
"You know what else?"
"What?"
"Dooset daram."
"Dooset daram."
###
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Also by Thomas K. Carpenter
THE DIGITAL SEA TRILOGY
The Digital Sea
The Godhead Machine
Neochrome Aurora
GAMERS TRILOGY
GAMERS
FRAGS
CODERS
ALEXANDRIAN SAGA
Fires of Alexandria
Heirs of Alexandria
Legacy of Alexandria
Warmachines of Alexandria
Empire of Alexandria
Voyage of Alexandria
Goddess of Alexandria
MIRROR SHARDS ANTHOLOGY
Mirror Shards: Volume One
Mirror Shards: Volume Two
THE DASHKOVA MEMOIRS
Revolutionary Magic
A Cauldron of Secrets
Birds of Prophecy
The Franklin Deception
Nightfell Games
The Queen of Dreams
Dragons of Siberia
Shadows of an Empire
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Thomas K. Carpenter resides near St. Louis with his wife Rachel and their two children. When he’s not busy writing his next book, he’s playing soccer in the yard with his kids or getting beat by his wife at cards. He keeps a regular blog and can be found on twitter under @thomaskcarpente.
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Trials of Magic Page 26