by Leah Silver
“I came as quickly as I could,” Ed said as he pulled his hood down, then removed his long gloves, setting them on the small table by the door as if he lived here, too. What was happening to my life? “Merry. It’s good to see you again. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
He didn’t wait for me to answer, instead pushing past me. “Where is she?”
“Upstairs, in the bathroom,” Levi answered for me.
“I need her lying down. The sooner we can get started, the better.”
“Whoa. Everyone hold your winged horses. What makes you think I’m going to let you lay a hand on my daughter? The only wizard who ever touched her has been dead quite a long time. I don’t know you from Bael. How do I know you won’t hurt her? How do I know you aren’t part of some plot that gave her the disease?” I was close to screaming. I was right in his face, pounding my finger on his chest, but he stood firm, letting me blast him, but also not backing down one bit.
“Levi, you gave me your card and acted all cryptic the other day. You saw this coming, didn’t you? You’re part of it, aren’t you?” My panic was affecting my better judgment. The logical side of me knew it, but for the moment, the emotional side was queen.
Levi looked hurt. “Merry, no. I had no idea this would happen. I do think we’re all in danger. Certain members of the council come off a bit … untrustworthy. That one you set off, namely. I thought he might come after you. Nothing more than that. I’m not involved in this. Frankly, I’m a little hurt you’d think so.”
“I don’t know you from Adam, Levi. Why wouldn’t I think you did this? You mentioned Sara the other day.”
He winced. “I suppose that is a bit incriminating, but I still had nothing to do with this. Ed and the others were told about Sara, too.”
Ed interrupted, his face calm and relaxed behind his white beard. “I hate to interrupt this argument, but Sara will die if I don’t do this. Soon. The longer we debate about it out here, the less time she has. If I can get her into suspension early, we might be able to save her when we find the cure.”
“What’s this we shit?” I said as Ed turned and went up the stairs. I stayed right on his heels the whole way.
“Mom?” Sara stood at the top, her skin even more ashen than it was moments ago. Her eyes darted to Ed, who was closest to her, and back to me. Two men in our home at once was not a rarity—it had never happened. I was sure she saw the anger and panic on my own face, and didn’t know what to make of this new man.
“It’s all right, Sara. I’m here to help. My name is Ed.”
“A wizard? You called a wizard?” She looked at me, totally ignoring Ed.
“I called no one. Your friend Levi did that,” I answered.
“He can help you,” Levi explained.
“Help me how?”
“I can stop the progression of the disease until we can find a cure.”
Sara’s eyes narrowed, and I couldn’t help but beam a little. I taught her well. “Like, how?”
“Well, I’ll put you in a sort of trance,” Ed answered.
“Trance, like Sleeping Beauty?”
He smiled and nodded. “Yes, a bit like Sleeping Beauty. It will stop everything. Your thirst, all bodily functions, even breathing, because oxygen will likely help the disease progress.”
“You’re going to kill her?” I demanded, bordering on hysterical.
Levi’s heavy hand on my shoulder did nothing to comfort me this time, and I pushed it away. “No. Levi, I can’t allow this.”
“Kill her now, or kill her later,” Ed said, apparently trying to keep the mood light and failing spectacularly.
I climbed one step so I was closer to him, right in his face. Well, as much as I could be, given the fact he was on a higher step than I was. “If you think for one second I’m going to just sit back and let this happen, you’re dumber than a damned troll.”
“Merry, be reasonable,” Levi pleaded.
I whirled on him. “Reasonable? Levi, there is no reasonable when it comes to a mother’s child. You will not kill her, and neither will this disease. I will find a way without the both of you.”
“If I might interject,” Sara said, her voice small and quiet. “I’m not feeling well. I think I’m going to go lay down. Mom, would you come with me?”
“Of course,” I said, shoving my way past Ed probably quite a lot harder than I needed to. His chest was solid as I made contact with my shoulder and pushed him against the wall. But he said nothing. He didn’t get snotty with me like I probably would have if some crazy person had accosted me that way. He just let me by without comment.
In Sara’s room, she collapsed on the bed. “This is moving fast. I can feel it. Let him work. Seems to me it’s my only shot.”
The fear in her eyes made my heart race. “It’s not your only shot. I will figure something out.”
“With what time, Mom?” She coughed, and black spittle gathered at the edges of her lips. The black spots had joined together on her chest, and were climbing her body, getting close to her neck.
I nodded and kissed her on the forehead before rushing from the room. “Ed,” I yelled, and he was at my side in a moment. I stood aside to let him in the room, and he knelt by Sara’s bedside.
“I don’t know what this will feel like for you, Sara. I have no idea if you will be able to hear or feel anything. But I promise I will wake you up again.”
She looked at him through narrowed eyes. “Honey, I’m not Sleeping Beauty. And you’re not my prince.”
A half smile peeked out from behind his beard. “You can say that again.”
After that, no more words passed between them. He pulled some different-colored candles out of his robe, then lit them with a wave of his hand.
I went around to the other side of the bed and took her hand. “I’m right here, baby. I’ll be here the whole time. I won’t leave you.”
Ed began to chant and sprinkle things over her. “Mom…”
Her voice was weak and distant sounding, even though she was lying right in front of me. “You have to go. Find the cure. The cause. Stop this. Save us. Save me.”
Her eyes fluttered shut, and her hand went limp in mine.
“Sara?” I asked as I brushed her bangs out of her eyes. She already felt cold. Her chest wasn’t rising and falling. I placed my hand over her heart. Nothing. Ed kept chanting and waving his arms like some kind of idiot. He’d killed her.
I glared as I grabbed for the nearest weapon. It happened to be a pen with a pink feathered plume on the end of it. “You killed her,” I accused.
Levi was at my side in an instant. “No. Let him finish or he will.”
“She is cold. Her heart isn’t beating. She’s dead.”
“He told you that would happen. She’s in suspension.”
“How do we know that? How do we know he can bring her back? Has he brought anyone else back?”
An uneasy look passed over Levi’s face.
“He’s never done this before?” I shouted, going into a rage. “I’ll kill him. Then he can tell me for sure if he found my daughter on the other side of the void.” I raised the pen over my shoulder. Not my best moment, but I was making the most of the materials at hand.
“Calm down, for demons’ sake,” Levi said as he held me tight, both arms around my chest while I fought against him. Ed seemed unaware that his life was in peril. And it was indeed in peril. Despite my situation, Levi would let me go eventually. When he did, I would stab Ed right through the neck. Wizards were fragile creatures. Nothing like vampires or gargoyles. Nothing more than humans with a sprinkling of magic.
Ed finished his so-called work, and the air in the room seemed to clear. He turned to me with a smile that quickly faded when he saw the open rage coming from my direction.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“She’s laboring under the impression that you’ve killed her daughter, seeing as she isn’t breathing and her heart isn’t beating.”
“My dear, you know vampires can’t be killed so easily.”
“I know nothing of your magic. Which is why I didn’t want you touching my daughter in the first place,” I said as I kicked up, catching Levi in the chin with the top of my head. I ignored the sharp pain and took advantage of the short moment when his muscles relaxed from the sudden pain I caused him.
Wriggling free, I ran at Ed. He held up a hand, and I froze in midstride, pen held high over my shoulder, ready to be buried deep in his jugular. I could see it pulsing as he held me there. No amount of struggling made any kind of difference. With seemingly no effort at all, he’d immobilized me completely. I was out of my league. Where was Agatha when I needed her?
“Give me a crossbow and you’re done for, Edthar.” I spat his full name through clenched teeth like an insult.
“Kill me now, and I won’t be able to bring her back.”
“I’m not convinced you can bring her back at all.”
“Shockingly, I gathered that. What with your unbridled rage and all,” he said, making me want to spit at him just to have some way to hurt him. “You are going to have to trust me.”
“I think trust is a bit of an issue for this one,” Levi offered from behind me.
“Why would I do that?” I spat.
“Why would I help you?” Ed fired back.
“You didn’t. You killed her. You’re probably involved in this plot to supposedly take down the vampires. Maybe you want wizards to have their moment in the sun. But that’s ridiculous since vampires aren’t the dominant race at the moment,” I could’ve kept rambling, but Ed held up a finger.
“If I might…” He paused, and I stopped talking. “I came here because I knew I could help. I trust you. I realize you have more at stake here than I do, but I’m just putting that out there. Your daughter is safe. Until we find the cure, the cause, some kind of breakthrough. She’ll be fine.”
I wanted to believe it. I needed to believe it. But her lifeless body marred with black patches, lying right in front of me, made it difficult. So I said nothing. Slowly, I felt the hold on my body release, and my arm came down by my side as I straightened, standing in front of him.
In an instant, my rage turned to deep sorrow. How could this have happened? Here? In the United States? The other three incidents were thousands of miles away. Who brought it here? She’d had no contact with anyone but me for days. Did I bring it here after my council meeting? Had someone planted it on me? Was she contagious?
The questions flooded my mind when I turned and looked at her. I began to shake, and Levi was at my side again. Even Ed closed in on me, offering his arm.
“Why don’t we go sit in the living room and discuss how to move forward?” Levi suggested.
“I’m not leaving her,” I snapped.
“You’re right. My mistake.” His voice was smooth and disarming, as I was sure he meant it to be. “Let’s just get comfortable in here.”
Ed waved his arms like there was a bee flying around his head. Three chairs appeared, forming a sort of triangle in the room. To be honest, I didn’t think her room was big enough, but Ed made it work.
The men escorted me to the closest chair and then took seats on either side.
“What do you think is the best move here?” Levi asked.
“We need to tell the council. And then we need to get the other two together and go. We can’t delay any longer,” Ed answered.
“Where will you go?” I asked absently.
“We’ll likely start with patient zero. Try to find some clues. Similarities,” Levi said.
“Do you think it might be wiser to stay here, since this is the site of the latest attack? The demon responsible may still be close,” Ed suggested.
“Maybe…” Levi seemed to ponder that.
“Attack? You think she was attacked? I thought this was a plague?” I said, the word cutting through the fog that had descended on me.
“That’s how Devlin is spinning it. But no, based on the placement, the chaos it’s creating with just four cases, I think it’s carefully planned attacks. Biological warfare on your kind,” Ed answered.
“Biological warfare,” I repeated carefully, not sure I fully understood it.
Someone’s phone chimed while I tried to digest Ed’s assertion.
“The council is holding an emergency meeting in twenty minutes.” He rose from his seat. “We should go.”
“Forgive me if I don’t see you out,” I said, keeping my eyes on Sara.
“You’re coming with us,” Ed said, and I didn’t miss the glare that passed from Levi to Ed.
“What?” Ed asked.
“Timing, Ed. Learn some timing,” Levi said under his breath.
I stood and approached Ed slowly, deliberately, glaring at him as I closed the distance between us. “Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t give two pixie shits about the council or their role in this so-called plague. I am first and foremost a mother. Her mother.” I jabbed my finger in Sara’s direction as tears welled angrily in my eyes.
“That’s why you need to come with us. So you can save her.” Carefully, he put both hands on my arms in a small attempt to comfort me.
Save her. How? I was a demon hunter, not some doctor who knew anything about what was going on here.
“I’m not—” I muttered. “She needs me here.”
Levi walked up behind Ed, and looked at me, his eyes swimming with concern as silent tears spilled over onto my cheeks. “She needs you to win this thing. She said so herself.”
Stop this. Save us. Save me. Her voice echoed in my mind.
Save me. It repeated over and over with every beat of my heart. Each time, it dried another tear, steeled my resolve, and made me just a little bit stronger.
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s go save her.”
Let the games begin
We arrived about five minutes early, but the council had already assembled. We were the last to take our seats. Oscar and Ike nodded solemnly to me when I sat down, but I just looked at them. I didn’t have the capacity for common pleasantries. My baby was alone in our home, vulnerable. Every ounce of my existence screamed to get back to her. Somehow, I managed to slowly sit down, as if nothing were wrong. My hand shook a bit when I rested it on the table, so I concealed it in my lap, hoping no one saw.
“We will save her. I promise.” Ike’s gruff voice and warm breath on my neck startled me, but I didn’t pull away. I didn’t respond at all. I just looked straight ahead, knowing if I acknowledged him, if I acknowledged the fact I needed his help, I might lose it.
The grand pooh-bah sat directly in front of me, looking at me without emotion. Such a dragon. The only emotion he ever felt was anger, and he was well in control of that. Tempest, on the other hand, was wracked with concern, and was that fear I saw coursing over her in waves? She wrung her hands, but hid them under the table, just as I had done, when she saw me looking at her.
“Where are we at?” the grand pooh-bah asked, forgoing any formal greeting.
“Merry’s daughter is the latest victim. I’ve placed her in a state of suspension. When we find the cause, and subsequently the cure, we should be able to save her,” Ed explained.
The pooh-bah nodded. “Where can we go from here? How do you plan to find the cause?”
“I thought we should go to Europe, to patient zero’s home, look for clues, but Levi made the suggestion that we stay here, where the evidence is still fresh. Perhaps the culprit is still hanging around,” Ed said. “Ike can help us sniff out the one responsible.”
Ike nodded.
“Not a bad thought.” The pooh-bah turned to me. “Did your daughter have contact with anyone recently? Within the last day or so?”
I shook my head.
“Merry…” His voice changed from authoritative to sympathetic, and the tone struck a nerve. “We need you here with us. I know this is difficult, but if you want to save her, you need to give us as much information as you can.”
Tempest looked at me with knowing eyes. “I will sit with her while you search. I will make sure she is comfortable; that her dreams are light and filled with love.”
A weight lifted off me in that instant, and I wanted to cry. I wanted to run to her and throw my arms around her. But I could do none of those things. “Thank you, Tempest.” There should’ve been more words. More to explain how she’d set my mind at ease.
“It’s nothing at all. I know you would do the same for me.” She said it with such confidence, but I still wasn’t convinced. She had so many children. How could I possibly offer to help her with each of them?
You already have. You saved three of them from that horrible demon. Don’t you remember?
I hadn’t remembered. Not until she reminded me. It was so long ago, in my early days of hunting. She’d called me in a panic, saying three of her wilder children had fallen in with the wrong crowd. They were in trouble, but she didn’t know how deep it went. She asked me to look into it, mother to mother. Reluctantly, I’d agreed. Generally, I made it a policy to stay out of family stuff. But Tempest was the Fae queen, and she also wasn’t one to overreact. So I thought I’d set her mind at ease, scare her kids straight, and be on my way. No more than a day invested. Or so I thought. Turned out they’d fallen in with one of the most notorious demons of that century. Needless to say, it took more than a day, and quite a few weapons, to extract them.
It was good you called me, I thought to her.
You didn’t even want to go.
You could tell?
She smiled warmly. I can always tell.
I sighed. Well, thank you for taking care of my baby now.
It’s my pleasure.
And I could tell it really was. She’d been given something to do that would help with all of this, instead of just sitting by the sidelines waiting for news.
Tempest? She looked over at me. What if she isn’t dreaming?