“What am I supposed to tell her?”
“If she asks any questions, just tell her you don’t know. ‘No one ever tells you anything,’ right?”
Elijah closed his eyes for a moment then locked his gaze on Josh’s. “This time, I wish you hadn’t told me.”
“I’m going to tell Dad everything, but he’s not going to be himself for the next few days or maybe even weeks.”
“Is Liz going to die?”
He considered lying, but that wouldn’t help Elijah deal with Liz’s death when it happened. It would only make it easier for Josh. “It’s not looking good.”
Elijah’s eyes filled with tears. He wrapped his arms around Josh’s waist and trembled. “Maybe you can help her…you know…with magic?”
“If someone really did pour acid on her, then yeah…I might be able to help. But Vince's pretty sure someone cursed her. And magic doesn’t work against a curse.”
When Josh got to the hospital, Vince was already there, pacing in front of the nurses’ station. He whirled around and grabbed Josh’s arm then tugged him down the hall. “We need to talk.”
“I know you told me to stay away, but I need to see Liz before…before it’s too late.”
“I’ve already done a sweep of the hospital. We’re the only mages here. I think you can save Liz.”
“Her burns weren’t caused by magic?”
“Oh, they’re definitely the result of a curse. You won’t be able to heal her burns, but it’s the secondary infection that’s killing her.” Vince slipped his hands inside his shirt collar and pulled a silver chain over his head, revealing a blue gemstone about the size of the tip of his thumb.
“Is that a sapphire?” It was polished but not faceted. Josh was no jewelry expert but he guessed it was at least fifty carats.
“It’s a star sapphire. Elemental mages use gemstones to focus and magnify their powers. If you use it, you’ll be able to heal her without killing yourself.”
“What do you mean ‘without killing myself?’”
“The amount of energy required to heal someone that close to death would most likely kill any mage that tried.”
“I don’t understand. I was completely drained of energy when I zapped an oak tree and it didn’t kill me.”
“I’m sure you felt as if you were completely drained, but trust me, you weren’t. It’s like running to the point of exhaustion. Your body forces you to quit before your heart gives out. It takes an extreme amount of willpower to sacrifice all of one’s magical energy to the point of death, but it’s possible. I watched a father sacrifice himself to save his child’s life.” Vince shifted his gaze to the ceiling, obviously reliving the incident.
“If the stone can heal Liz, why haven’t you already done it?”
“Did you listen to anything I said? I’m not an elemental mage. I can’t use the sapphire. Healing her would kill me. But even if it wouldn’t, I’d need someone to distract the medical staff so I could get into her room.”
“If she’s dying, why do they care?”
“They won’t give up as long as there’s brain activity.” Vince placed the chain over Josh’s neck. “I wish I could give you some advice on how to use this, but it didn’t come with an instruction manual.”
“Where did you get it?”
“I stole it.”
“What?” Josh grabbed the chain to remove it. He didn’t want to get thrown into jail on top of everything else.
Vince put his hand over the sapphire and pressed it against Josh’s chest. “It’s a family heirloom, handed down from the founder of the Cumberland mages. It is always given to the oldest child. It would have been mine, eventually. I took it from the safe and hid it the night I decided to warn Grandfather of Mother’s plan to kill him.”
“Does she know you stole it?”
“This,” he tapped the stone then tucked it inside Josh’s shirt, “is why she tortured me before setting the castle on fire. I refused to tell her where I’d hidden it. It’s also one of the reasons I’ve remained in hiding all these years.”
Josh arched his eyebrows.
“She’s not the only one that wants it.”
“Great. So now I’m an even bigger target.”
“No one needs to know you have it. Not yet.”
A blue light shone through the fabric of Josh’s shirt. “It’s going to be hard to hide if it keeps glowing like a beacon.”
Vince's eyes widened. He licked his lips then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’ve never seen it do that.”
“Do you think regular people can see it?”
“They’ll be able to see the stone, but not the glow. That’s pure magic.”
“Okay. So how do I do this?”
“I’m not a healer, but the way it’s supposed to work is you picture healthy tissue as you scan the body. Picture the healing process in your mind and focus the energy on the infection.”
Vince followed Josh to the nurses station. Two nurses were sitting behind the u-shaped counter, typing. Josh rested his palms on the counter and leaned closer. “Excuse me, I’m here to see Liz Abrim.”
“I’m sorry. Family only.” The nurse that spoke didn’t look up. She didn’t stop typing either.
“I’m her son.” It was the first time he’d ever identified himself as such. When introductions were required, he always referred to Liz as his father’s wife, instead of his step-mother.
The nurse looked up from her computer screen. “Oh. You must be Josh. I’ll tell your father you’re here. Liz is in room 701.”
Dad looked as if he’d aged twenty years as he stripped out of the medical scrubs just inside the door of Liz’s room. He tossed the scrubs into a red plastic bin before exiting.
“Josh.” Dad wrapped his arms around Josh then buried his face in his shoulder. His tears soaked through Josh’s shirt. “You came.”
“Of course I came. How is she?”
“Not good.”
“Can I see her?”
“Sure. Let’s get you scrubbed up.”
Josh followed the printed instructions above the sink just inside Liz’s room. They had her screened off so he couldn’t see her, but he could hear the whoosh of the ventilator and the quiet beep of her heart monitor. He steeled himself as he washed his hands and forearms.
Dad washed up then handed Josh a hospital gown, hat, mask and gloves. “She’s in a medically induced coma, but the nurses say she can still hear us.”
“Wait.” Josh’s eyes stung with unshed tears. “Give me a minute to pull myself together.”
Josh took three deep breaths and blinked his tears away. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Nothing could have prepared Josh for Liz’s condition. Tubes and wires poked out between the bandages that covered her body.
Dad walked around to the other side of her bed. He waited for Josh to nod then slid two fingers under her left hand—the only part of her upper body that wasn’t bandaged. “Liz? Josh is here.”
Josh cleared his throat twice before he could speak. “Hey, Liz.”
Nothing. She didn’t move, she didn’t blink, she didn’t so much as twitch. Josh looked at Dad. “I hate to ask, but could you give me a minute alone with her?”
“Of course.”
Josh waited for the door to swish shut then stared at Liz. “I wish I knew what the hell I was supposed to do.”
The sapphire grew warm against his chest. He must be on the right track. “I want the infection attacking your body to stop. I want every one of those nasty little bugs to die.”
Gold light poured out of Josh and mixed with the blue, creating the most beautiful shade of turquoise he’d ever seen. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. I wish I could heal all of your injuries.”
The light shimmered and pulsed all around Josh then washed over Liz. The room spun. Josh grabbed the bed rail to keep from falling, but he didn’t have enough strength to hold on. He heard his head smack the floor just before he passed out.
“Josh?”
He groaned.
“He’s coming around.”
Josh blinked his eyes open. A nurse’s face occupied most of his field of vision. Dad hovered close behind her. Josh’s head felt as if someone was trying to split his skull with a hatchet. And he’d never been so exhausted, not even after a race. “What happened?”
The nurse smiled. “You fainted.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. It happens all the time.” She looked over her shoulder at Dad. “Give me a hand and let’s at least get him to the other side of the curtain.”
Dad crouched down and draped Josh’s arm over his shoulder. The nurse wrapped an arm around his waist.
They lowered him into a chair near the door. The nurse patted his knee. “I’ll stay here and help him get out of his scrubs. You go get a wheelchair.”
“I don’t need a wheelchair.” The room was still spinning.
The nurse didn’t argue. She didn’t say anything at all until she’d removed the gown, hat and mask from Josh and tossed them in the red bin. “Are you still dizzy?”
“A little.”
She removed her own mask then raised her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side.
“Okay. A lot. But I don’t need a wheelchair.”
She rolled her eyes as she yanked her gown off and tossed it into the bin, revealing her name tag, Agnes Hayworth, RN. “If you don’t want me to recommend keeping you overnight for observation, you’ll do whatever I tell you to do.”
“Okay. Fine.”
Vince was waiting just outside Liz’s room when Ezra wheeled Josh out. He put a hand on Josh’s shoulder and squeezed. “Is everything all right?”
“I don’t know.” Josh knew he wasn’t just asking about him. He looked over his shoulder at Dad. “Could you get me a glass of orange juice or something?”
“Of course.” Dad patted Josh’s shoulder then strode off down the hall.
Vince moved behind Josh and wheeled him in the opposite direction. “Tell me everything that happened.”
Josh repeated it word for word.
“You felt the power rush out of your body after you said, ‘I wish I could heal all your injuries?’”
“You don’t think I actually healed her burns, do you?”
“You’re an elemental mage. You used a powerful gemstone. I think that’s exactly what you did.” Vince rubbed his forehead. “This is going to be hard to explain.”
“Who says we have to explain anything?” Josh nodded at a priest walking toward them. “Excuse me, Father?”
The priest stopped and dropped to one knee, making himself eye level with Josh. “Yes, my son.”
“My step-mother is in room 701. She’s not expected to live. Can you give her a blessing or something?”
“I wasn’t aware that the patient in room 701 was Catholic.”
“My dad’s Jewish.” Josh had no idea why he said that. It was true, but it wasn’t going to help the situation.
The priest frowned and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t enter a patient’s room unless I’m invited in by either the patient or next of kin.”
The priest hurried away and ducked into room 708, but he’d given Josh an idea.
He looked over his shoulder at Vince. “You know that glamour thing you do to make people see you differently? Can you make them see you as a priest?”
“I can’t change the appearance of my clothing, but who said it has to be a priest that heals her? My grandmother was a born-again, speaking-in-tongues, faith-healing, true believer. She hauled me off to more than one revival.”
“Mages belong to churches?”
“Why wouldn’t they?” Vince turned Josh around and wheeled him back towards room 701. “You’ll need to distract the nurses long enough for me to sneak into Liz’s room.”
“I think I can manage that. Drop me off at the nurses’ station.”
Vince winked at Josh then continued on without him. Josh waited until Vince leaned against the wall next to Liz’s room then nose-dived out of the wheelchair.
He protected his head, but he had to make it look real so he landed hard on his side. “Ahh…”
His cry of pain had the desired effect. The nurses ran out from behind the counter and immediately started assessing him.
Agnes Hayworth, RN barked orders at the other nurses. They scattered to do her bidding…page a doctor, get a gurney, page Mr. Abrim…
“No! Wait. Don’t page my dad. He’ll think it’s Liz!”
She pressed her lips together then nodded. “all right. Hey, you there.” She pointed at a man pushing a laundry cart down the hall. “Get over here.”
He left his cart and jogged down the hall.
“I need you to deliver a message to Mr. Abrim. Do you know who I’m talking about?”
“Yes, ma’am, I do. He’s real nice.”
“This is his son and he’s just taken his second spill in less than ten minutes. We need to get him admitted.”
“No. I’m fine.” Josh flexed his abs to sit up, but Nurse Hayworth pushed him back down. She was stronger than she looked.
“Oh no you don’t. Not on my watch.”
Josh glanced over at room 701. Vince was gone. “Okay. I’ll lay still until Dad gets here, but you aren’t admitting me.”
“We’ll see.”
“Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! It’s a miracle!” The heavy door to Liz’s room muffled Vince's shout, but it was still easy to hear every word. It was also easy to tell where the sound was coming from.
Nurse Hayworth’s face blanched then turned beet red. “Someone call security. Stat.”
“Praise the Lord!”
Josh grabbed Nurse Hayworth’s wrist. “Wait. It’s okay. He’s a preacher. I asked him to go pray over Liz.”
“All visitors must check in and follow proper protocol before entering a patient’s room.” She nodded at the other nurse who obeyed without question.
“Security to floor 7. Code grey.”
“Repent and rejoice! Rise up, sister, and give thanks! Take up thy bed and walk.”
“You.” Nurse Hayworth stood up and pointed at Josh. “Stay. Put.”
Josh nodded.
She whirled around and ran down the hall then yanked open the door to room 701, the other nurse right behind her. “You are not authorized—”
Nurse Hayworth stopped mid-sentence. Silence settled over the entire floor. Liz’s door opened with a slow creak. Nurse Hayworth stepped into the hall. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide as silver dollars. Her jaw hung slack. Her voice was barely a whisper. “Page Dr. O’Donald.”
The elevator dinged. Dad stepped out and ran straight to Liz’s room. The orderly followed, but turned in the opposite direction, towards the nurses’ station. “What’s going on?”
“Code grey, room 701.” The nurse looked at one of the computer screens and frowned. “I have to take care of this. Tell Nurse Hayworth we need someone behind the desk.”
She scurried out from behind the desk and ran to room 704. The orderly ducked into Liz’s room…and didn’t come back out. Guilt washed over Josh. What if another patient had an emergency and there was no one behind the desk?
He was still weak and dizzy from healing Liz, but managed to get himself to his feet. The first thing he noticed when he opened the door to Liz’s room was the overflowing red bin full of stained bandages. He peeked around the curtain. Liz was sitting up. The breathing tube was gone. The head of her bed was raised to forty-five degrees. Dad was sitting next to her, gazing at her with an expression of pure awe.
Vince stood in the corner, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He nodded at the door. Josh stepped outside to wait for him. It didn’t take long. Vince grabbed Josh’s upper arm and tugged him towards the elevator. “We need to get out of here before the media
gets here.”
“You went a little overboard with all the ‘praise the Lord’ and ‘it’s a miracle’ bull crap, don’t you think? All the churches in the entire state of Colorado are going to be crammed full this Sunday.”
“And you think that’s a bad thing?”
“Everyone’s going to think Liz’s healing was a miracle.”
“Wasn’t that the point? Besides, what makes you think it wasn’t?”
Josh put on the brakes, causing Vince to lose his grip on his arm. He pointed back towards Liz’s room. “I did that. Not God.”
“Careful there, Valor. That reeks of arrogance.”
“I don’t believe this!”
“Where do you think your power comes from?”
“Magic. I inherited it from you.”
“And where did my power come from? Where did we come from? Who created us?”
“Are you trying to tell me that you’re religious?”
“Hardly.” Vince barked out a single syllable laugh. “But everyone has to believe in something. What do you believe in?”
“Myself, magic and love.”
Vince thumped Josh on the back. “Well, that’s a start.”
“Just don’t try to convert me.”
“Convert you to what? All I ask is that you keep an open mind. If someone had told you that magic was real six months ago, would you have believed them?”
Josh stopped then turned around and headed back the way they’d come.
Vince took off after him and grabbed his elbow. “What are you doing?”
“I never told Dad about magic. He and Liz are going to be in even more danger when this story gets out.”
“So are we.” Vince grabbed Josh’s other arm and gave him a mild shake. “First we avoid the media then we talk to your father.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I warn Dad and Liz about what they’re up against.”
Josh was relieved to find Dad standing just outside the door to room 701. There was only one word for the expression on his face. Shock. “Dad? Are you okay?”
He nodded. “Liz is healed.”
“I know. I need to explain it.”
Believe: The Complete Channie Series Page 74