Broken Spell (18 page)

Another day, another visit to the hospital. The updates the doctors give us are all starting to sound the same: Boulder is stable, but still critical. Some days he’s slightly better; some days he gets a bit worse. As long as he’s not
much
worse, I’m glad. He just needs a chance.

Jeff sees me and comes in my direction. I’m tall, and he still towers over me. When Jeff puts his hand on my shoulder and asks me to have a private conversation, I’m intrigued.

We go to a corner of the ICU’s waiting room. His wife, Diana, is nowhere to be seen. Odd, because she is always at the hospital. Always. I start to dread the chat.

“How are you, Drake?”

He keeps his hands on my shoulders, his arms outstretched. I’m not sure if I’m supporting him, or if he is steadying me. Probably both.

“I’m well. Any news on Boulder?”

Jeff looks at me with a pained face. “That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

“Please don’t tell me he’s getting worse.”

“Drake, do you know what hospice care is?”

Is that it? That’s not so bad. Why is Jeff so worried? “I’ve heard about it. Are you taking Boulder home? That’s good news, right?”

He hesitates before answering. “It is. Usually. Drake, Boulder’s situation is unchanged. He is not getting better. He…
will not
get better.”

Jeff’s eyes don’t let mine look away. He waits for the message to sink in.

“No. You’re mistaken. If he’s unchanged—”

“No progress, Drake. No mental function. Even if his body recovers, he will be…gone.” Jeff chokes up. “We talked about it a couple of times. He was concerned about football, concussions, and paralysis. He told us—Diana and I—that he’d like us to—”

I press my hand against my head, as if trying to expel the thoughts. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Drake, you deserve to know. Diana and I like you very much. You always were a good influence on Boulder.”

“Don’t do it. There’s still time!”

“It pains me more than anyone else. He’s my son. At the time, Diana and I thought he was being dramatic. We couldn’t fathom that a healthy, strong boy would be in this situation. But now it’s real.” He looks away. “I’m not saying we’re doing it. I just want you to be prepared for when the time comes.”

I shake my head and push Jeff’s hands off of my shoulders. I want to punch something or someone. At the same time, I don’t want my words to hurt Jeff. His pain is immense; I can’t add to it.

“So the hospice care?”

“The doctors have cleared him to be moved. We want him at home. We have the space, the resources. Nurse care every minute of the day, plus hospital equipment. But he’ll be home.”

“You’re not…” I force myself to say it “You’re not taking him so he could…die at home. Are you, Jeff?”

Jeff just stares at me. “We just want him at home, so if the worst happens, he’ll be surrounded by family.”

I feel like screaming. Instead, I say. “Please don’t give up on him, Jeff. A miracle could happen. Please hang on.”

He nods, but his eyes have no sign of hope.

I’m at Drake’s house. The living room feels formal, alien. This time, neither of us suggests going to his bedroom. What a change from a few weeks ago.

“I’m glad you are back to normal again,” Drake says.

I touch my face involuntarily. No more swelling, no more cuts. Once again, my Allure Charm came through. That, and a bunch of Healing potions. Thank you, Goddess.

“It feels okay.”

“Does it still hurt?”

“Not anymore.”

He nods. “Let’s get some air.”

We walk by Greenwood’s shops. A bakery. An art gallery. A tattoo studio. The gray clouds above us promise rain is on its way. People on the street look down and walk fast. By contrast, the cars on the road move at a lazy pace.

Drake is distracted, but after a while his expression goes dark.

I don’t say anything. When an ambulance passes by, its sirens disturbing the peace around us, Drake wakes from his reverie.

He turns to me. “Skye, Boulder is not getting better.” He looks devastated. His eyes are sunken; his voice is low.

“I know.”

“I don’t think the doctors can do much more for him.”

My eyes water. “Oh, Drake. I’m so sorry.”

He looks at me. “But…”

“Yes?”

“But maybe we can do something for him.”

“What do you mean?”

“You saved me, Skye. Twice. You know how to heal people.”

“Oh, Drake. I’d love to. But it’s different. With you, I only stopped your bleeding. I still have no idea how hurt you were. I lucked out. It was an advanced spell for me, but not a powerful one. It could even have backfired.”

“But you can try.”

How do I explain it to him? “It’s not like that. If the Sisters could heal at will, we would be all over hospitals and emergency rooms. I mean, that would be worth breaking the Veil for, I agree. But we can do only minor things. Stop bleeding
s, soothe a burn, that kind of stuff. Even the Sisters who choose to be doctors, even the ones with Healing Charm, they have limited powers. We don’t have the energy to do much more.”

Drake gives me an intense stare. “Mona has the energy.”

It is as if the ground vanishes beneath my feet. “You can’t be serious!”

“I am. It’s a desperate situation, Skye.”

“You would risk your sister’s life for your friend’s? How would that work, Drake?”

“Are you concerned about Mona or the covens?”

“How can you even ask that?”

“It’s a valid question!”

I want to slap him. “Drake, I
betrayed
my coven so Mona could have a normal life. You’re going to make what I did all in vain.
And
ruin her life.”

“If you want to look at it that way, I—”

“It’s the only way to look at it!”

“Really? Because when I look at it in a few—no, many—years from now what I’ll see is something different. I’ll remember that I could’ve helped Boulder and I didn’t! Five, ten, fifty years from now, what’s going to stay with me is that I had a chance to save my friend.”

“It’s a long shot. You’d be risking a lot for an outside chance to save him.”

He puts his hands over mine and says in a calmer tone, “Not if we use Mona’s powers. With her energy and your knowledge, you can do it. At least, you’d have a better chance, right?”

“Drake, it’s too risky! There’s a difference between obsession and righteousness. You’re so blinded by your loyalty to him that you will put Mona in danger.”

“A while ago you said that the Singularity decision was not yours to make, or mine. You said it was Mona’s.”

“No, in this case, it isn’t. I know what could happen. If we do this, there’s no way of telling if Boulder will get better. The only sure thing is that Mona will be exposed! She cannot control her magic. Worse, it could even backfire.”

“Backfire?”

“It may backfire and damage him or make it impossible for him to recover.” I try to calm down a bit and use a soothing voice. “Of course we know what we’re doing when we use the Craft, but there’s always a chance it can go wrong. Even though it’s second nature for us. And Mona is not trained at all; the risk is huge.”

“You and Mona can do it. You did it to save me and Brianna. Mona controlled her powers then.”

“It was a desperate situation, Drake. We had no choice. You and Brianna would have died. And Mona is not controlling her powers as well now.”

He looks into my eyes. “Boulder needs our help.”

“But Boulder is taken care of; everything modern medicine can do for him will be done.”

“It’s just not enough. We can help, Skye. It’s our duty to help.”

“I love that you think like this. But we also have the duty to protect Mona, don’t we?”

He breaks eye contact with me and takes his hand off mine. “I can’t believe you don’t agree with me. You risked a lot to do the right thing.”

“That’s exactly why we need to protect Mona.”

“I’ve got to go.”

“Drake?”

“I’ll talk to you later. You have your big interview with Connor tomorrow, right?”

“No, that’s in three days.”

“Still, you have to be sharp to lie convincingly.” He leaves me without a goodbye kiss.

I want to go after him, but something glues me to the spot.

***

“I’m glad you came, Pain,” I tell her. “Should I call you Pain?”

She doesn’t smile. Somehow her green lipstick doesn’t clash with the piercings on her lips, or the purple hair with the right side shaved. “My name is Rebecca, but only authority figures call me that. You know, parents and teachers.” She rolls her eyes.

“Pain it is, then,” I say.

A seedling of a smile sprouts. “Cool.” A gust of wind blows her hair over her face, but she doesn’t brush it away.

We’re at the top of the bleachers of the Aqua Theater by Green Lake. It’s yet another cloudy, chilly day, and our privacy is assured here. Only die-hard joggers venture onto the track behind the theater. A man kayaks alone in the lake.

“Do you understand why I called you here by yourself?” I ask.

“So you didn’t want Mona to know?”

“
Kinda. I wanted to give you the option of choosing what you’ll tell Mona. You’re a Knowing now, which is special in itself. But the Sister you’re close with is the Singularity. So you have responsibilities now. You need to understand them.”

Her eyes narrow.

The wind makes me shudder. Sometimes being a goth has its advantages: Pain wears a long black trench coat and black leather gloves. I envy her warm clothes.

“I know you’re best friends,” I say. You care for her, right?”

Her spine becomes straight. “Yeah.”

It’s hard to broach the subject. We’re not close. First, I need to lay the groundwork. “None of us planned this. But now that you know she’s a Sister, you can never—ever—tell anyone about it. You, like us, have to guard it with your life. I know you didn’t ask for it, but that’s how things work.”

Despite my straightforward words, she relaxes and says, “I’m cool with that.”

I smile. “Almost as important: she’s your responsibility now.” I pause to let that sink in. “It’s not much different from what you already do as a friend: support and trust each other, be confidantes, stay together.”

She nods. “Be there for her.”

“Right! But you also need to protect her. You’re equals, but I need you to be kind of a guardian to her. She’s too important. You’ll be like a bodyguard.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sometimes you’ll need to rescue her from herself. Mistakes that we usually let our friends do, bad decisions we see through but say nothing: you must act when these things happen.”

She tilts her head off to one side. “She’ll hate me if I do that.”

“I don’t think so. But even if she does, you must protect her. Do you promise?”

She stares at the lake. I’ve lost my glasses, but I don’t need them to see that Pain’s aura must be deep red. Her affection for Mona is undeniable. I hate to do it, but I’m going to have to address that.

“You’re true friends, Pain. If something happens, you two will overcome it.”

She doesn’t look at me. “It’s not that,” she mumbles.

“You like her, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.” It’s weird seeing this tall, fearsome girl so vulnerable.

“Do you love her?”

Her head snaps back to look at me. Her pale face becomes paler. “What?”

“If I’m mistaken, I apologize. But I know you’re in love. Since you never mentioned it to Mona, I’m guessing she’s the…object of your affection.”

Pain plays with one of her lip piercings. She turns it like a spinning wheel. Her eyes drift to the lake again.

I say, “I’d never intrude like that into your private life, but it’s the Singularity we’re talking about. I need to know. And I need to know that it won’t be a problem.”

“What if it was?”

“Will it be?” The truth is that I’d have to do something to Pain. I don’t want to even think about it, much less voice it.

“No. Never.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She won’t look at me. “Does Mona know?”

“I’m not sure. She may suspect…something.”

Pain searches her trench coat’s pockets and lights up a cigarette.

“Are you…out yet?”

Her eyes still are adrift. “It’s not like that.” She blows a big cloud of smoke. “I’m not sure. I don’t think I like girls. I just love Mona. I just know. You know how it is.” Her sweet voice is such a disconnect from her tough girl image.

Then I get an urge to understand, and something compels me to ask, “How do you know?”

“How?”

“Yes. This is for me. How do you know you love someone?”

“I’d die for her. I’d die without her.”

My chest tightens. Her words stick with me.

We both stare at the lake, our eyes searching for something that might not be there.

“That’s all I needed to hear,” I say. “You’ll do great.”

Drake and I need to talk soon. But for now, I have to focus on tomorrow, and how to beat Connor’s interrogation and the Truth potion.