Finding Valor (17 page)

~***~

When Josh got home, Mom was waiting for him. She sat on the couch in the living room, red-eyed and surrounded by a mountain of soggy tissues. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Liz.” Mom stretched her arm out, reaching for Josh.
 

He stepped back, not wanting to hear whatever horrible news she had to deliver.
 

“They don’t expect her to make it. If you want to say good-bye, you need to do it tonight.”

“But, Dad said she was stable.” Josh sank to his knees in front of the couch. “I don’t understand.”

“She got an infection.”

“How?” They’d made Dad scrub up like a surgeon before they let him in her room for a lousy fifteen minutes. “Hospital’s are supposed to be sterile.”

“It’s impossible for any place to be completely sterile. It’s likely that the contamination came from Liz herself.”

“What about antibiotics?”

Mom leaned forward and brushed the hair off Josh’s forehead then pressed a kiss to his brow. “I’m sure they’re doing everything they can.”

“Where’s Elijah? I’m sure he’ll want to say good-bye.”

“He’s too young. Her funeral will be traumatic enough.” Mom sighed as she stroked Josh’s cheekbone with her thumb. “You don’t have to go, either. I’m sure your father will understand.”

Josh scrambled to his feet. “I don’t suppose you’d consider asking Mrs. Guffy to babysit so you could come with me?”

Mom shook her head. “It’s nearly two a.m. I don’t want to impose on her.”

“Whatever, Mom.” Josh trudged to the front door then paused as he remembered his urgent mission. He didn’t have time to tell her about magic. But he still needed to warn her. “Listen, Channie’s parents got in over their heads gambling. There’re some really scary criminals looking for them. If they find out that Channie and I are married, they might come after you and Elijah. Be careful.”

“I knew it!” Mom stood up and strode across the room. She shoved Josh aside and relocked the front door then pulled her cell phone out of the side pocket of her robe.
 

Josh grabbed it. “You can’t call the police.”

“The hell I can’t!”

He could take every phone in the house and Mom would just borrow one from a neighbor. “I shouldn’t have told you.”
 

Josh rubbed his temples then froze as he realized he had the power to make her forget. He grabbed Mom’s shoulders and studied her face. “I want you to forget everything I told you about Channie’s parents. But I want the fear you feel right now to remain. I want you to be suspicious of strangers. Don’t trust anyone you don’t know. It’s okay to be paranoid.”

Mom’s eyes glazed over then rolled into the back of her head. Josh caught her then laid her back on the couch. “Mom? Are you okay?”

Nothing. She was as limp as a rag doll.

Shit!
Josh cocked his head to the side and held his ear over her mouth. She was still breathing. He pressed his middle two fingers against her neck. Her pulse was rapid, but strong. He patted her cheek. “Mom. Wake up.”

Her eyelids fluttered open. “Josh?”

He sat back on his heels, weak with relief. “Hey, how do you feel?”
 

“What happened?” Mom groaned and shielded her eyes with her hand.
 

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I…Oh!” Mom’s face paled. “Your father called. It’s Liz.”

“I know. I was just leaving for the hospital when you passed out. I wanted to be sure you were okay first.”

“What’s going on? I feel…frightened.”

“It’s okay to be scared. We don’t know why Liz was attacked. You mentioned taking Elijah to Aunt Mary’s for a few days. Until the police catch the guy that threw acid on her.”

“I said that?” She arched her eyebrows.

“Yeah. Right before you passed out. When was the last time you ate?”

“We went to the Lucky Pie after your race, right?”

“Yeah. Let me get you a glass of orange juice. You need to monitor your blood sugar a little more closely.” Mom was borderline diabetic, so the blood sugar excuse was believable.

“You’re right.” She put a hand over her chest. “I can’t believe I’m feeling so paranoid. I know I’m being ridiculous but I want to wake up Elijah and take him to Mary’s right now.”

“I think that’s a good idea.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. You need to listen to your instincts.”

“My
instincts
are telling me to take you with us.”

“Sorry. That’s not going to happen. Get dressed, pack a bag for you and Elijah. I’ll go wake him up.”

Josh explained everything to Elijah while Mom was packing. “I’m sorry to dump this on you, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Don’t worry about me and Mom. We’ll be okay. You just go get Channie and keep her safe.”

Josh reached out to muss Elijah’s hair, but decided he needed to stop treating him like a baby since he was giving him a man’s responsibility. “Don’t tell Mom anything about magic or trackers or that I left to go find Channie.”

“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.

The sharp odor of ammonia burned his sinuses. He jerked his head to the side, but the smell followed him.

“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.”