by J. M. Briggs
31
Return to Ravenslake
She’d lived in Ravenslake for years, but in the early morning hours of the Winter Solstice, it felt dangerously quiet to Nicki. As the group worked their way up the arboretum path towards the dorm parking lot Nicki looked around nervously. Around them, the lampposts of the university campus were glowing softly and illuminating the freshly fallen snow. Above their heads, the inky black night sky was filled with stars.
For a moment she had trouble shaking off the odd realization that they’d gone from England to Oregon in… she frowned and wondered how much time had passed when they were in the water tunnel. It had felt almost instantaneous, but maybe it hadn’t been. Alex shifted in front of her, pulling the backpack off and opening it. A look of relief took over her friend’s face before she swung the backpack up onto her shoulder once again.
They had the Iron Chalice. She almost laughed and jumped around. They’d found a magical item that had become the Holy Grail in human mythology. It had been a long eight days. Nicki nearly tripped as she repeated that in her head. It had only been eight days since they left Portland for Wales. Shaking her head, Nicki focused her gaze on the backpack and Merlin’s protective stance next to Alex.
“I’m parked nearby,” Merlin told them, breaking the silence. “But I can’t take everyone.”
“I’m coming,” Nicki insisted sharply, glaring at the back of Merlin’s head at the very notion that he’d try to stop her.
“Me too,” Bran added with a nod. “I think we all want to be there when Aiden wakes up if possible.”
“My car is in the student lot,” Jenny pointed out with a nod towards the illuminated rows of cars near the dorms. “I can take Lance and someone else.”
“I’ll go with you then,” Bran offered with a small smile to her. “I don’t think Nicki wants to be out of sight of the Chalice.”
Lance chuckled behind her, but Nicki didn’t turn around. To her surprise, Alex slowed down for a moment so they were side by side and snagged her hand. Tightening her fingers around Alex’s, Nicki hoped that her gratitude could be felt. Merlin glanced back at them, his eyes focusing on Alex for a long moment causing him to almost trip.
“Ambrose, pay attention,” Morgana chided with a small chuckle before she looked back at Bran, Lance, and Jenny. “Drive safe; we will see you at the hospital.”
Morgana fell into step beside Merlin as they split off into their two groups. Nicki focused on the back of Morgana’s long dark blue coat as nervous energy and exhaustion warred within her. She saw Morgana turn her head to look back at Alex with a soft worried look. Sighing, Nicki squeezed Alex’s hand a little tighter as the cold chill sank into her. They stepped into another parking lot and Merlin pulled out a key fob. A moment later an SUV nearby was running and, Nicki hoped, with the heater going.
“Are you alright Alex?” Merlin asked in a soft, but urgent voice as they settled in his SUV.
“I’m fine,” Alex assured him, sighing softly and hugging the backpack on her lap. “Just tired.”
“Perhaps this can wait-”
“Merlin,” Morgana interrupted in a warning voice. “They found the Chalice so they could help Aiden: you won’t win this argument.”
Nicki could hear Merlin’s leather driving gloves tighten around the steering wheel as a soft sigh escaped him. Then he nodded and they were moving out of the parking lot as Nicki tried not to vibrate out of her seat. Merlin took them south to highway 20 and Nicki craned her head to look out of the front window. They weren’t far from the hospital and the streets were empty. Christmas lights were strung up across windows and around trees, but Nicki paid them little attention.
Finally, the tall hospital surrounded with warm white lights came into view. She wanted to leap out at once, but Alex gripped her hand. Turning to look at her, Nicki noted that in the lights of the parking lot Alex looked more pale than usual and a little frightened.
Nicki glanced toward Morgana and Merlin before leaning over to whisper, “It’ll be alright. It’ll work.”
Alex looked over at her as they came to a stop and managed a quick nod. Nicki hesitated to let go of Alex’s hand and instead gave her a smile as they slid out of the SUV on Alex’s side while Morgana watched them. The older mage reached over and set her hand on Alex’s shoulder, squeezing it gently while Alex cradled the backpack. Merlin came around to them as Jenny’s car pulled into a spot only a couple cars down from them. Bran was out of the car first and jogged towards them with a grin on his face. His expression made Alex giggle softly and he grinned triumphantly. Jenny and Lance were a few steps behind him, both shivering slightly in the cold night air and looking nervous.
“Come on,” Morgana said. She guided Alex forward by her shoulder.
Ravenslake Hospital felt far too empty with a vacant front desk, and their footfalls echoing on the tiled floors. Morgana confidently led them deeper into the hospital and up the stairs to the second floor. Around the corner to the right was the Intensive Care Unit, and this time Nicki didn’t feel her stomach aching as they approached.
Everything was quiet and the front desk nurse was over in one of the other rooms just visible through the doorway. Morgana led them towards Aiden’s room; the nurse stationed there looked up in surprise and jumped to her feet. Merlin stepped up in front of the nurse and waved his hand in front of her. Green sparks shimmered around her head and Nicki watched in fascination as the woman’s eyes glazed over. She seemed unsteady on her feet and Merlin gently took her hand and moved her over to the desk. Helping her sit down, Merlin glanced at the computer screens and nodded in satisfaction, waving for them to come forward.
Sliding back the curtain that separated Aiden’s room from the nurse’s little cubby, Merlin waved them inside. Alex finally released her hand and stepped through, wrapping her other arm around the backpack. Nicki followed her inside with Morgana right behind them. Lance and Jenny lingered by the nurse’s station, watching with odd expressions as the nurse ignored them and calmly went to check on another patient. Merlin nodded to himself and Nicki barely held back a nervous giggle.
Walking over to the glass side of Aiden’s ICU room, Nicki made sure that the heavy curtains were pulled shut. Bran switched on a small set of low lights above Aiden’s bed. The television was on some hospital channel with pretty videos and soft music playing. By the large windows and sliding door, out towards the main room were counters stacked with towels, bedding and a tower of latex gloves by a sink. A well-worn copy of the Phantom Tollbooth was on the edge of the counter, and Nicki smiled softly at the sight of Aiden’s childhood favorite.
Then she turned to look at her best friend. He looked like he was sleeping, but his skin was too pale and his face too neutral. There were a bunch of tubes linking up to his IVs, a feeding tube going in through his nose and a ventilator that filled the room with a deep breathing and humming sound. It was disturbing, but Nicki smiled as Alex set the backpack down on one of the chairs and pulled out the Iron Chalice.
Turning on the sink, Alex allowed the tap water to spill into the Chalice as Nicki tried not to shift impatiently. They were all exhausted, but Nicki noticed that it showed far more on Alex. She hadn’t been sleeping and whatever had happened with Arto had knocked her friend for a loop. Still, Alex hadn’t suggested they wait until morning and Nicki felt nothing but gratitude for that. Dark gray magic, the same color as the Chalice, began to shimmer around Alex’s hands and flow into the iron metal. Slowly the Chalice’s surface began to ripple and a soft golden glow spread across its surface.
“What do you think?” Alex asked, looking towards Morgana. “Should we try to make him drink it or put it in the IVs or-”
“Certainly not,” Morgana cut in with a dubious look towards Alex. “He has a ventilator, so we have to be careful in the amount put into his body through his mouth at once.” Morgana looked towards the IVs and shook her head, “And I’m afraid that my medical knowledge is growing more and more out of date so I don
’t want to meddle with his IVs.”
“So…” Alex trailed off looking between the glowing Chalice and Aiden. “Uh…”
Morgana moved over to a rolling cart by the door with a series of drawers. She opened a couple of them and then withdrew a handful of small wrapped sponges that were hooked onto a white stick. She handed them to Nicki with an expectant look before she moved to the doorway. Nicki was stunned for a moment but shook herself gently. She ripped the wrapper off of the first of the sponges as she inspected it with a jolt of understanding. These were perfect for putting in a patient’s mouth to give them some water without interfering with their tubing.
The Chalice glowed softly in Alex’s hands and cast a warm golden-orange light through the dark room. She set it down on the rolling tray table by Aiden’s bed and moved up next to him, placing a hand on his head for a moment before collapsing into the second chair. Nicki watched Alex for a moment, just to make sure that she was alright. Then she dunked three of the sponges into the water. A giggle escaped Nicki which made Bran and Alex look over at her while Morgana raised an eyebrow from the doorway.
“Sorry,” Nicki sputtered, shaking her head and moving the sponges against the side of the chalice to help them absorb more water. “It’s just… I put a bunch of sponges in the Holy Grail.”
Alex began to giggle and Bran put a hand over his mouth to muffle his own laughter. Morgana shook her head, glancing between them with an oddly affectionate smile. Merlin stepped into the room a moment later with Jenny and Lance trailing after him nervously. They filled the small room well beyond its usual two-person limit, but everyone quickly quieted. Bran moved to stand beside the bed and after a moment of hesitation set his hand on Aiden’s shoulder.
Everyone else seemed to have decided that she should be the one to do this. Nicki braced herself even as her heart pounded with excitement, and told herself that Aiden was going to wake up now. She pulled out one of the sponges and carefully maneuvered it into Aiden’s mouth, letting the liquid drip onto his tongue. Feeling a bit weird about it, Nicki pressed it up against the roof of his mouth and then his teeth. Nothing happened: she put the sponge back into the water and pulled out another one.
She repeated the process for what seemed like hours, trying to figure out how much a person had to drink for the magic to work. Bran had gulped down the whole thing to heal his leg, but that might not have been necessary. Outside the nurse continued to check on the other patients and when one of Aiden’s machines chirped she glanced inside but didn’t notice them at all. Nicki looked towards Merlin and found the older man wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead and looking worn down. Morgana set the backpack on the floor and pushed Merlin down into the chair with a firm hand on his shoulder.
A soft groan escaped Aiden and Nicki did her best to repress her fast-beating heart. She exhaled slowly and pulled another sponge out of the water with one hand while gently holding his hand with her other. Her thumb brushed over the warm skin of his hand as she slipped the sponge into his mouth around the ventilator. Aiden suddenly shifted on the bed, his legs stretching out. His hand twitched around hers and she looked towards Morgana with wide eyes. The older mage stepped over to the screen by the nurse’s station, her eyes searching it carefully as a slow smile began to appear on her face. She turned back towards Nicki and gestured towards the Chalice with a nod. Then she waved for Lance and Jenny to come over to her.
“We can’t all be in here,” she whispered softly to them. “Doctors and more nurses will arrive.”
“Okay,” Lance whispered back with a nod, putting a hand on Jenny’s back. “We’ll… uh, be in the waiting room I guess.”
Morgana nodded and the pair slipped out past the nurse towards the main doors. Morgana gave Merlin a pointed look and he groaned as he pulled himself out of his chair. Then Morgana hesitated, looking between Nicki, Bran, and Alex before she moved over to the window and pulled back the curtain a tiny amount. Then she slipped out of the room and moved to the window, watching them from outside.
Alex stood up with a soft grunt and walked over to join Bran. She weakly leaned against the railings of the hospital bed but reached down with one hand to take Bran’s. His fingers twitched and tightened around hers. Nicki slipped another sponge into Aiden’s mouth without removing the one still in. She kept her left hand firmly entwined with his right hand the whole time, afraid to let go for even a moment. Nicki waited a few minutes and then slipped one of the sponges out and tossed it into the trash, ripping open another sponge packet and dunking it into the water before putting it into Aiden’s mouth.
There was a sudden cough from Aiden; his whole body was shifting and bouncing on the bed. His breathing changed, becoming faster and uneven. He made an odd choking sound and Nicki reached down to pull out the two sponges. One of the machines beeped and he groaned. Then a pair of familiar brown eyes fluttered open with a soft groan of pain. They softened as they met her eyes, and she could hear a soft sigh of relief from Aiden as a sob of the same escaped her. Squeezing Aiden’s hand, Nicki felt tears slip from her eyes as she smiled like an idiot.
32
Intensive Care
Somehow there was no rush of doctors or nurses: whatever Merlin had done seemed to stick. Aiden was looking up at Nicki with dazed, but open eyes. Beside her on the tray table, the Chalice’s glow was dimming and Alex felt her knees tremble in raw relief. A warm arm wrapped around her waist to help keep her upright.
“Easy,” Bran said softly. “It’s okay; he’s okay.”
Alex tore her eyes away from Aiden as Nicki carefully slipped another sponge into his mouth while she whispered something to him. Alex turned and looked up at Bran. His green eyes were watery as he looked at Aiden before he turned and looked down at her.
“Thank you,” he whispered in a voice thick with emotion. “It’s amazing to be able to stand.”
“I wouldn’t know right now,” Alex giggled, feeling a little faint and unsteady. “I mean... shit.”
Bran chuckled and the sound caught Aiden’s attention. He turned towards them slowly, still clinging to Nicki’s hand. His brown eyes focused on them and even around the tube in his mouth he smiled slightly. There was confusion on his face and he looked ready to fall back to sleep.
“Easy man,” Bran told him, patting his shoulder. “You’re safe; everyone’s safe.”
Aiden’s brow furrowed and his eyes cleared a bit more as he looked right at Alex. Already some of the color was returning to his cheeks, making him look more like himself. Alex shifted uneasily under the gaze, wondering just how much Aiden remembered. She didn’t want to put him into shock. Then Aiden’s hand which she’d almost forgotten she was holding tightened almost painfully around her own.
“I’m okay,” Alex whimpered as a rush of tears blinded her and her throat tried to close up. “You saved me,” she whispered. Bran’s arm came up around her shoulder and he hugged her gently. “You saved me.”
Aiden’s grip loosened and he managed a tiny nod right before several of the machines started beeping. There was a sudden rush of footfalls outside and Alex reached forward with her free hand to grab the Chalice. Less than half an inch of water at the bottom sloshed around. Alex was about to move to dump it into the sink regardless of what a waste that would be when the curtain was pulled back and the night nurse was suddenly staring at them all in absolute shock. She gulped it down quickly and shuddered as it slipped down her throat.
“Oh, my!” The nurse murmured as she looked at Aiden and around at them. It took her a moment to recover, but she straightened up and firmly said, “I’m afraid I need you to wait outside. I’ve summoned a doctor who needs to check him.”
Alex nodded and moved away from Aiden’s bedside. Bran gently pulled Nicki away from Aiden and they stepped out of the small room just as another nurse rushed inside. They avoided colliding with any of the staff rushing to Aiden’s room and joined the others. Leaning back against the main desk, Alex watched eagerly through the open curtai
n as Aiden nodded at one of the doctors. A nurse checked the machines around him for a moment before the doctor began listening to Aiden’s chest with a stethoscope.
They watched for some time as Aiden was checked over. His face was tired but animated as he answered questions and spoke to the doctors. A frown crossed his face at one point and he peered out of the window for a moment, his eyes landing on Alex. Straightening up, she forced a smile and nodded to Aiden. She wondered how much of that night he remembered. Aiden’s expression certainly suggested that he remembered at least part of it.
Noise from the hallway as the staircase door was pushed open with a bang drew her attention. The Bosco family was rushing down the hallway right towards the ICU and Alex relaxed in relief. Aiden’s mother Shannon looked grayer than the last time Alex had seen her with her long light brown hair in wild disarray. Professor Bosco’s usual clean-shaven face had gray and black stubble on it and he was dressed in sweats, something Alex never seen him wear before. Aisling looked the most alert and at ease, her smiling preteen face looking at Alex and the others with a strange look of comprehension. At that moment Alex wondered if their grandfather hadn’t been right when he said that Aisling’s brush with death thanks to cancer hadn’t made the girl more sensitive to the truth.