A nurse had seen Bob and had given him to Keir to take home. She’d warned him he’d be banned if he brought the cat back—what a bee-otch. I really had a lot of respect for the profession, but anyone who could take one look at Bob and not melt, well, that was a person I didn’t want to know.
My fever spiked again at midnight. D-Day. It rose to 104.2. The nurse pushed IV paracetamol to bring it down, but it held steady. That’s when they brought the cooling blanket in. Thank heavens I’d been passed out the first time they’d used it because this felt like actual torture.
A blonde nurse came in wearing a surgical mask, a cap, and a gown. Did they think I was contagious?
“I’m going to take you for a treatment, Ms. Everlee. Doctor’s orders.” She yanked up the rails on my bed, unhooked the IV bag from the pole, and hung it on a hook at the top of the hospital bed. The earlier nurse had put me back on oxygen. This one took it off.
“What kind of treatment?” I asked.
“It’s something that will help manage your pain,” she said.
My fevered brain registered something was wrong—off—about the nurse. But I couldn’t figure out what it was. Even so, I wanted pain relief. Every muscle, every nerve fiber, even my hair hurt.
When we got on the elevator, she took down her mask. She had scars on her face that I recognized, but I wondered if my fever was sending my brain bad signals. I narrowed my gaze at her.
“I know you.”
“Yes, Iris, you do, and we don’t have much time.”
“You’re Blondie the Boss Bitch.” Of course, I still might have been experiencing a fevered delusion. I mean, just because the first time had been real doesn’t mean this time was.
The woman smiled. “Yes. And I’m going to help you.”
“Oh, okay.” The idea of help was grand. I just wished she’d hurry up and do whatever she was going to do. Hell, I think I would’ve taken a knock in the head at this point. I started perspiring profusely as if all the liquid was leaving my body. “Sweaty,” I said. “Drenched.”
“Your fever’s breaking,” she explained.
“That’s nice.” I gave her a lazy smile. “Where are we going?”
“I can’t let you turn to dust in a hospital bed. There would be too many questions.”
I nodded. “That makes sense.” I reached out and stroked her hand. “Ouch.” The contact had been like raking my fingers over hot coals or acid. In other words, it burned. Keir had said he believed in me. Linda, maybe she believed in me. Bob, he was my cuddly, yummy-num-num. I craned my head back so I could look at Blondie.
“Do you think I’m going to die?” I asked her.
She smiled down at me as she shoved the bed out of the elevator and into a carport. “I’m counting on it.”
I blinked. “What?” My limbs felt numb, and my eyes felt heavy. “Did you do something to me?”
“Just added propofol and fentanyl in your paracetamol.” She winked. “It’ll paralyze you for a short time and keep you nice and docile, so I can transfer you to a safe spot, but it’ll wear off soon enough.”
“Safe for who?”
“For me, of course.” She gestured with her hand for someone to come over. And two someones, both men, unhooked me from the IV and moved me out of bed. They shoved my useless body into the back of a cargo van.
I was scared, angry, and my veins were on fire. Also, the stupid hospital gown I was in was up around my waist. “Will someone at least cover my ass?”
“Drive,” Blondie said to one of her henchmen. She threw a blanket over me. “Don’t worry, Iris. This will all be over for you soon.”
I concentrated on moving my fingers. If I could move even one, I told myself, then I would find a way out of this. I knew my chances of surviving, let alone escaping, were slim, but little victories might keep me from losing my mind. “Why are you doing this? You’re a druid. I thought you were on my side?”
One of the men chuckled. That was never good.
“I’m going to share you with my cabal. Your Earth magic is something we haven’t seen in—well, ever. How someone so wild in her terra-craft managed to tear apart a rock troll...that’s going to be the stuff of legends, honey.”
“Cabal? You are really going all in on the movie villain stereotype.” My pinky finger twitched. I celebrated on the inside because the outside of me was still ninety-nine-point-nine percent not functional. “And don’t call me honey, honey,” I added, just because I hated it when people I didn’t know—especially assholes who drugged and kidnapped me—called me things like honey, sugar, sweetie, or darling. Friends or family, totally cool. Strangers and psychopathic druids could suck it.
And oh my, gosh! My big toe wiggled.
The sweat was dripping off me now. The carpet under me was soaked. This didn’t feel like a normal fever breaking. “What’s wrong with me?” My tongue was so dry it kept sticking to the roof of my mouth. “I need water,” I croaked.
“She’s accelerating,” Blondie said. “Drive faster.”
My other fingers started to move. They were stiff, but the movement was progressing. I wasn’t sure what I would accomplish with one toe and five fingers, but I needed the win. The skin on my face and arms began to tighten down as if squeezing my bones. I wasn’t panicking, and I didn’t know why. Was I frightened? Totally. Did I want to die? No way. But instead of out of my head scared, I was super chill. What is it the blond nutjob had said? Propofol and fentanyl in your paracetamol.
Oh, right. Fentanyl. My guess was I was high enough to take the edge off but not so high as to be unaware of what was happening to me. Deep down, I really wished she’d given me a much bigger dose. “Water,” I said again.
“You’re starting to mummify.” Blondie smiled. “Did you know that the human body is made up of sixty percent water?”
“Duh, I had to take life science in school like everyone else.” I’m sure my sarcasm had been impossible to read since my words were raspy and barely audible. The skin on my neck constricted, and it felt like I was wearing a turtleneck five sizes too small for me. Is this what turning to ash was like? All the liquid leaves the body, and the organic parts of you dry up and poof. Dust.
I was still confused by Keir’s boss’s evil behavior, though. I was sure the druids were the good guys, right? But this one had her own cabal. Is that what a druid circle was called? Why didn’t I ask more questions? Maybe because my life had been one reaction after another since this mystical crapshow had started.
Was this it? Was this how it ended? At least, I’d seen everyone I loved and told them how I felt. I’d said goodbye. That meant something, right?
The van jostled to a stop. “We’re here,” one of the dudes said.
“Get her out,” the blonde directed. “Put her on the altar.”
I think the water loss cleared some of the fentanyl from my system because my entire body screamed with pain before I went completely numb. My head cleared enough for me to panic. Linda had warned me about Earth elementals, but the people she said were the most dangerous to me were the Hexenmeister.
Aw, damn it. Boss bitch was a sorcerer. She had to be. Linda had said there was no way to detect one unless they used their borrowed power. Surely, Keir would have known if she was a baddie. Had the blonde druid been hiding her gifts this whole time? Or did she decide that being a druid wasn’t enough, and she wanted a witch’s power for herself. Was I to be her first sacrifice?
The two men carried me log-style to the altar. My leg bone snapped. I heard it. I saw it dangling. But I still couldn’t feel it. The magic flaming through me must have short-circuited my pain receptors. The guys dropped me hard on the stone altar. This one wasn’t white like I’d seen with the druid circle. Instead, this one was yellow marble. I could see some of the runes, but like before, I didn’t know what they meant. If I had do-overs, I’d make Keir teach me everything he knew about this stuff so I wouldn’t be caught unawares again.
The blonde’s cabal, as she called her group, was made up of what seemed like a dozen men and women in red cowls. Were they serious? Did they shop for clothes at Villains R Us?
“Are you sure there’s enough of me to go around? I’m more of a snack than a family dinner kind of meal.” My voice was more of a dry hiss than anything with a tone, so I’m not sure she heard me, but a woman in a red robe laughed.
Blondie stood over me, her arms held out wide. “The time is near. She’s almost dust, my brothers and sisters. After tonight, we shall no longer be protectors of the witches’ powers, we will be the powerful. And with this Earth sacrifice, we will begin the journey to claim our strength for the fight that is yet to come.”
Yet to come? I remembered Linda or Keir or someone talking about a larger threat down the road. Were they the weapons, and I was the ammunition? And were the other members of Blondie’s cabal druids, as well. Keir was so noble and true in his commitment to me, that I hadn’t even imagined that any of the druids could be corrupt.
I wished Keir was here. His evil antlered rabbit form would take these assholes down in a flash. But he wasn’t. It was me. I only had myself to rely on, and myself could have been an extra on any one of the Mummy movies. The Brendan Frasier ones, of course.
I guess the high mineral counts in my bloodwork had all been leading up to this moment. Soon, I would be a magical chum for the circling sorcerers.
If only I had ingredients. I could weave a spell. It might or might not work, but at least I would go out knowing I’d tried.
I wanted to be free of these witch-wannabe jerks, but four days had not been a lot of time to learn how to defend myself. One by one, the Hexenmeister approached. Each one of them placed a single kiss on my forehead. I tried hissing at them, but my lungs were barely functioning. The one who laughed lifted her cowl slightly so I could see her face.
Shock and rage churned inside me. Luanne Danvers. I had liked her, damn it. We were going out for dancing and drinks. No. I couldn’t believe she was one of those hexen-idiots. She gave me a little wink, and if I could have punched her in the face, I would have with pleasure.
I would kill her. I would kill them all for this. The rage sharpened my mind, but it also brought back some of the pain. Good, I thought. The pain lets me know I’m alive.
Did I have herbs and spices? Nope. But I wasn’t entirely without earth ingredients. I called on the calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and whatever other was left in me to do my bidding. I was a witch. I had the spark of tru-craft, not these thieves, and I was not going down without a fight.
I couldn’t vocalize my incantation, so I mouthed it. “Make me whole, muscle to muscle, bone to bone, make my flesh from bits of stone.”
There was no surge of power. Argh. I wanted my body back so I can make these hexen-bitches pay. I mouthed it again. “Make me whole, muscle to muscle, bone to bone, make my flesh from bits of stone.”
Blondie must have seen my lips moving because she leaned down. “No time for last words,” she said. “It’ll be over soon.”
“For you,” I hissed. Oh. Progress. “Make me whole, muscle to muscle, bone to bone, make my flesh from bits of stone.” The energy inside me surged, finally. Triumphantly, I added, “Give me strength to stand alone in this body built of stone. Let me bring my enemies down, especially this stupid blonde clown.”
Blondie blanched as I sat up.
“Strap her down,” she said, staggering away from me. I reached into the soil around me, looking for anything to use as a weapon. Then I found the perfect tool. Wild morning glory, also known as bindweed. Let’s see how she liked being choked out by wild magic.
The ground began to shake as tendrils of thin, thread-like vines erupted from the grass.
The blonde’s shocked expression was almost as good as the screams from her cabal as the weeds did my bidding.
Then she turned and ran.