Lies and Prophecy (19 page)

“But nothing,” Michele said. “We're doing it.”

I did my best not to gape. That easily? Then a faint touch brushed my mind: Liesel. I touched back, and her shielded voice whispered in my telepathic ear.
Did you
intend
to blackmail her into this?

What? No!

A ripple of amusement.
No wonder it worked. Kim, you're a part of the Circle—you and Robert both. We pledged to lend you our strength. And Michele holds that sacred.

It filled me with both warmth and unease. I hadn't thought much about that promise. I devoutly hoped I wasn't going to repay their support by bringing the Unseelie down on their heads.

We had other problems to deal with first, though. A new security guard sat at the desk; the man I'd blitzed by was gone. This woman looked at me suspiciously when I asked after Julian's doctor. “Why do you want to see him?”

I deliberately crumpled my face and let some of my emotions leak at her. She had enough sidhe blood to feel my worry if I hit her over the head with it. “His patient's a friend of mine. I want to talk to him, find out how Julian is. When I'll be able to visit him. That kind of thing.” A slight tremble of the lower lip. “Please?”

She favored me for a moment with the requisite hard-eyed security guard look, then relented. “He's in his office right now. Down the hall, turn left, first door on the left.”

I thanked her and hurried off, Circle in tow. “I had no idea you had such drama in you,” Robert murmured in my ear as we went.

“Shut up. I had to get her to listen to me somehow.”

He snickered, and then we were at the door. The name plate read “Dr. Stone.” Not an auspicious name, if we were looking for leniency, but I could hardly ask for a replacement. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I knocked.

I waited so long that I began to wonder if he was even there. But finally a voice, dimly remembered from my time at Julian's bedside, called out. “Come in.”

The rest of the Circle waited outside as Liesel, Robert, and I went in. And there, to my unpleasant surprise, I found that Dr. Stone already had a guest.

“I seem to remember telling you to go home and rest, Kimberly,” Grayson said.

No wonder she wasn't answering her port. Damn it—I hadn't counted on having to get past Grayson. Tears and trembling lips would get me nowhere with her. And unless things had changed since I left, she had the authority to countermand the doctor. Our grand plans might come to a crashing halt right here, before we even had a chance to try them.

Or maybe not. Grayson had wanted me to read Julian, after all. Far from having an enemy in the room, I might just have an ally.

“Dr. Grayson,” I said as calmly as I could. “You're just who I was looking for.” Next to me I felt Robert and Liesel shift in confusion.

“Is that so,” Grayson said. She was still eyeing me skeptically. “For what?”

“We'd like to try a healing circle on Julian.”

“Out of the question,” Stone said. “You're not trained.”

Grayson held up one hand to silence him, and I felt a small surge of triumph. She might be an ally indeed. If I could just convince her. “What were you planning to do? He's right; you aren't trained.”

“I am, a little,” Liesel said. “Not much, I know, but we're not planning anything elaborate. We just want to see what we can do for him. Reassure him, maybe do some blocking, that kind of thing.”

“But you can't lead,” Grayson countered.

“None of them can,” Stone interjected. “How are they planning on shielding themselves? He'll destroy them. His control is
gone
right now. Even my people can't deal with a wilder.”

“I'm leading,” I said.

Stone snorted, but Grayson nodded. “I thought so.”

“What?” The doctor looked appalled.

“Julian won't attack me,” I continued. “He didn't before, when I read him. So I'll lead the circle, and Liesel will guide me in what to do.”

“Dr. Grayson, surely you can't be considering this.”

Grayson turned a look on Stone that suggested she was losing patience with the man. “I can and I am. You have no one here who
is
trained to work on him, and the University will take days to decide whether or not to fly a specialist in. In the meantime, you have an insane wilder on your hands. He's quiet at the moment, but how long before he starts to lash out again? How long can the shields on that room hold up?”

“But you're risking these students' minds if you let them try this!”

“I'll shield them myself before they begin.”

“Why don't you lead?”

“Don't be an idiot,” Grayson snapped. “I lack talent at this kind of thing, and more importantly, Julian Fiain doesn't trust me. Not to the degree necessary for this. Kimberly, on the other hand, is a close friend of his, and has already proved she can touch his mind without danger. That will count for more than my marginal skill at mind-healing ever could.”

“But—” the doctor began again.

“No. I've decided. They may try their Circle, provided I shield them first and am present in the room for the duration.” Grayson's tone left no room for argument. The doctor looked mad enough to chew nails, but he didn't say anything. I felt a brief flash of pity for him; the man's authority had been trampled a lot lately. It would take a saint to endure that and not feel slighted.

But I cared far more for Julian's condition than for his feelings.

“Please reserve one of the ritual theatres for them,” Grayson said. “We'll be down there in half an hour.”

Stone reluctantly nodded his consent.

“Come with me,” the professor said, standing. “We have to prepare.”

~

The hospital's supply room was stocked with more ritual tools than I'd ever imagined in one place. Smokeless candles, that wouldn't endanger patients with breathing difficulties. Athames and larger sorcerer's swords, of an “industrial” type anybody could use, though not as effectively as a personal blade. Wands, cups, and pentacles, similarly made. Staves, cauldrons, and bigger pentacles, for group use. Herbs by the dozen. Crystals. Bells and brooms. Mirrors.

Robert's eyes gleamed, but our purpose kept his mind on track and his long fingers out of the drawers. The rest of the Circle filed in behind us, looking awed by the arsenal.

“First we talk,” Grayson said, stopping Liesel as she headed for a cabinet. “Then you outfit yourselves.”

Liesel reversed direction to rejoin the group. I didn't blame her. There was safety in numbers, when Grayson's attention was on you.

The professor pinned my roommate with her eyes. “Tell me
precisely
what you plan to do.”

Liesel shifted uneasily. She'd never faced Grayson before, and clearly wasn't enjoying the experience. But she was confident enough in her own abilities not to be cowed. “I can't say for sure until we see him. Pain-blocking, certainly. And reassuring him with the presence of friends. We might also try to veil key memories, if it would help.” She shrugged. “That's all I can plan now. The rest will have to wait.”

I held my breath, but Grayson didn't seem to be changing her mind. “All right. And the rest of you are here for power, I suppose?” They all nodded. “Good. Healing works better from circles than it does from individuals. I advise you to stay well back and leave the primary work to these three, but don't hesitate to step in and support them. From what I've seen, they'll need it.” Comforting of her. But then again, Grayson wasn't in the business of being comforting. She was concerned with keeping us alive and sane.

“I'll put shields on you now,” she continued. “If he turns against you, they won't protect you entirely, but they should hold well enough until I can do something else. I doubt it will come to that, though.”

“Should we keep up our own shields?” Michele asked.

“Absolutely. Layer them over mine, so he senses yours first. Every little bit will help, if there's trouble. And trouble can come in different forms, remember. He may not attack, but you don't want to be dragged in by his madness, either.”

I tried not to let my fear show. I remembered that madness all too well.

And now I was going back to face it a second time.

Grayson began to shield everyone. I watched with interest, despite my nervousness. She was drawing on some sort of power reservoir, of course, which was why she could cover eight people without needing a ritual to raise the energy. The protections she was putting up weren't ordinary shields, either. They weren't the active combat structures Julian had described to me, but they weren't daily wear. Grayson constructed them too quickly for me to pick up all the details, unfortunately. Maybe I should take a class from her—if she had one lighter than Combat Shielding.

But even that one hadn't helped Julian.

I banished such thoughts. The last thing I needed was to hamstring my own concentration with extraneous thoughts. What mattered right now was helping Julian, not brooding over what had harmed him.

Grayson shielded me last. The protection felt like a warm blanket, until I probed it; then it came across more like armor plating. Armor sounded like a good idea.

“All right,” she said. “Get the supplies you need.”

Under Liesel's direction, we dispersed around the room. We all had our athames, but we needed candles and the like. The Circle worked efficiently. I was pleased to see that although we hadn't planned everything in advance, we managed to act smoothly and professionally, as if we actually had a clue what we were doing.

And then we had everything, and it was time to go.

“Follow me,” Grayson said.

A hospital ritual theatre was a strange place, I decided, looking around as we walked in. It was a bizarre mix of the elegant trappings of ceremonial magic and the spartan impersonality of medicine. The candle-holders were plain copper; so was the circle laid into the tile floor. Places like this were why I preferred to work outdoors. But copper held a magical charge well, and tile was infinitely more hygienic than dirt. Hospitals were big on hygiene, even when a patient wasn't physically sick.

A door on the far side opened, and two orderlies wheeled a gurney in. As it neared, I saw Julian beneath the sheet. From a distance, he resembled a corpse. Closer up, his sleep didn't look peaceful, but at least he wasn't tossing and turning. More color had come back into his skin, too. Now he only looked half-dead.

“Lord and Lady,” Michele whispered.

I remembered then that the others hadn't seen him before now. I looked at Julian and saw improvement; they looked and saw only damage. From that perspective, he appeared awful. “He really does need our help,” Geoff murmured.

At least his condition hadn't frightened them off. Indeed, it seemed to strengthen their determination. The blood had drained from Liesel's face; I suspected she'd checked his aura. But she pulled herself together. “All right,” she muttered, straightening her shoulders. “Anybody object if we pray before we start?” Heads shook all around the room, including mine. Having already prayed for Julian's safety once before, I could hardly object to doing it again. We joined hands and let our energies flow together. Even if the Lord and Lady didn't choose to listen to the words Michele murmured, this brief circle helped us mesh with each other. We'd need to be synchronized, for this to work.

Liesel had closed her eyes during the prayer. When she opened them, I saw calm determination there. “Normal circle to get things set up,” she said. “Then let's shift to a triangle-in-pentacle: Robert, Kim, and me in the center, with the other five on the edge. Channel power to Robert. He'll pass it to me, and I'll direct Kim. The rest of you, stay distant enough that Julian won't feel you, at least at first. Sound good?” Murmurs of agreement. “Let's get started.”

Grayson nodded to the orderlies, and they left. I saw that she had control of the shields on Julian; they were massive things, and actively maintained. So were the shields on the room, worked into the tiles. This place was built like the magical equivalent of a nuclear bunker. I remembered the power I'd felt in him before, and appreciated the precautions. Strength like that, uncontrolled, could be disastrous.

But my job was to make sure that didn't happen. And to that end, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the focus Julian had given me. I'd managed to bend the links of the snapped chain back together well enough to hold, and now I put it around my neck. Hopefully he would recognize it—recognize
me
—and not fight.

With the prayer as a warm-up, we moved smoothly through the first steps of the ritual. Grayson's words to me in her office had proved right; apparently all it took to make me get over my Yan-inspired difficulties was a couple of attacks by the Unseelie Court. I still wasn't sure how I'd fare with more advanced magic, but basic circling and shielding, I could do.

Then we were ready, a triangle within a pentacle, and it was time for me to lead.

I reached out hesitantly. Grayson, watching from outside the circle, allowed me to pass through the shields.

Julian's madness brushed the edges of my mind. My shoulders tensed in resistance. Liesel, next to me, turned ghost-white. She was probably reading this much more strongly than I. And yet her determination to help did not waver.

But first I had to contact him.

Julian?
I whispered telepathically.

No verbal answer; I hadn't expected one. He wasn't thinking articulately, bar the occasional screams in his memory. I sensed in him wariness, fear, the tension of a wounded animal at bay. My heart ached. I sent another thought gently his way, an identification of myself.

A pause. He seemed to be considering. And then, slowly, hesitantly, he relaxed his guards and let me in closer.