shoulders were torched. Black scaly flesh hung in flaps from the muscle. The illusion of the boy flickered in and out, revealing the scaly black skin of the Watcher underneath.
Katrina rolled to her side. "Cord?" she mumbled. She passed out.
Jacob tried to move. He tried to call the water to his aid, but he was too weak. His whole body was icy cold. He'd lost too much blood.
Malini was in shock. Her hands were charred, covered in black and red blisters. She fell to her knees on the stone floor. The thing in front of her was squinting, searching her face like it was memorizing every feature. Circling one hand in the air in front of her, the Watcher captured her image inside a ring of magic. It glowed purple in the air before collapsing into his hand.
"Until we meet again, Healer," it said. And then it folded into a ripple and disappeared.
Malini's weeping intensified. She was losing it. Jacob need to do something to snap her out of it. Katrina and his Mom were as good as dead and he might pass out at any moment from loss of blood.
"Malini, you've got to call Dr. Silva," he managed. "Call now, before it comes back!"
She turned wild eyes toward him, her entire body trembling.
"Now, Malini!" he commanded with what little of himself he had left. And then he let go of his tenuous grip on consciousness and slipped into the impending darkness.
Chapter 14
The Messenger
The sun on Malini's face woke her up, the bright warmth soaking through her eyelids. She'd made it to the phone and dialed Dr. Silva's number before passing out from fear and exhaustion. The call must have been answered because there was something soft beneath her and the feel of sheets against her skin. She rolled onto her back and opened her eyes.
"Gideon," she said, when she realized it was not the sun at all but the light from an angel that was hitting her face.
"Yes, it is I, Malini."
She looked around at the antiseptic white of the walls and bed linens.
"Am I in the hospital?"
"Yes. The staff here believe you were injured when the Laudner's shop was robbed," he said.
She pulled her arms from under the covers and looked at her smooth, healed skin. "Did it really happen? Did a Watcher come out of Katrina?"
"Yes, Malini. And the rest of it."
"Is Jacob okay? Lillian?"
"Both are recovering well. Jacob needed blood but they've patched him up and he's feeling better today. "
"What about Katrina?"
Gideon's face soured. "The Watcher sustained itself by eating her from the inside out. Of course to the humans here, the condition looks a lot like sepsis, so they're treating her as such. She's in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit. I've been visiting her, but the stuff that's inside her is resistant to my healing. It's pure evil that has tainted her veins."
"So, since I'm not burnt any more, can I go?"
"No, Malini. Dr. Silva has built an illusion around you to make it appear that you are still injured. You will heal slowly over the course of three days. You must stay here during that time."
"Why? Where is Dr. Silva?"
"She would like to visit but it is uncomfortable for her to be in your presence at the moment. And until you learn to control what you are it is possibly dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"You've been called to become a Healer, Malini. A very powerful one by the looks of it. And you must remember that as reformed as we know she is, she lives in the body of a Watcher. Now that your power has awakened, physical contact will result in the burns you experienced."
"So, it's true then. I'm a Healer."
Gideon tilted his head. "Not exactly. Not yet. But you are the seed from which a Healer might grow. Actually, I suspected you were from the start but Abigail wanted to exhaust all other possibilities—"
"You knew? And you didn't tell me?"
"We didn't know for sure and—"
"All this time I've been tortured wondering what I was, if there was even a name for it and you two knew and let me go on like that…" Her voice broke and her vision blurred. She
Katrina rolled to her side. "Cord?" she mumbled. She passed out.
Jacob tried to move. He tried to call the water to his aid, but he was too weak. His whole body was icy cold. He'd lost too much blood.
Malini was in shock. Her hands were charred, covered in black and red blisters. She fell to her knees on the stone floor. The thing in front of her was squinting, searching her face like it was memorizing every feature. Circling one hand in the air in front of her, the Watcher captured her image inside a ring of magic. It glowed purple in the air before collapsing into his hand.
"Until we meet again, Healer," it said. And then it folded into a ripple and disappeared.
Malini's weeping intensified. She was losing it. Jacob need to do something to snap her out of it. Katrina and his Mom were as good as dead and he might pass out at any moment from loss of blood.
"Malini, you've got to call Dr. Silva," he managed. "Call now, before it comes back!"
She turned wild eyes toward him, her entire body trembling.
"Now, Malini!" he commanded with what little of himself he had left. And then he let go of his tenuous grip on consciousness and slipped into the impending darkness.
Chapter 14
The Messenger
The sun on Malini's face woke her up, the bright warmth soaking through her eyelids. She'd made it to the phone and dialed Dr. Silva's number before passing out from fear and exhaustion. The call must have been answered because there was something soft beneath her and the feel of sheets against her skin. She rolled onto her back and opened her eyes.
"Gideon," she said, when she realized it was not the sun at all but the light from an angel that was hitting her face.
"Yes, it is I, Malini."
She looked around at the antiseptic white of the walls and bed linens.
"Am I in the hospital?"
"Yes. The staff here believe you were injured when the Laudner's shop was robbed," he said.
She pulled her arms from under the covers and looked at her smooth, healed skin. "Did it really happen? Did a Watcher come out of Katrina?"
"Yes, Malini. And the rest of it."
"Is Jacob okay? Lillian?"
"Both are recovering well. Jacob needed blood but they've patched him up and he's feeling better today. "
"What about Katrina?"
Gideon's face soured. "The Watcher sustained itself by eating her from the inside out. Of course to the humans here, the condition looks a lot like sepsis, so they're treating her as such. She's in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit. I've been visiting her, but the stuff that's inside her is resistant to my healing. It's pure evil that has tainted her veins."
"So, since I'm not burnt any more, can I go?"
"No, Malini. Dr. Silva has built an illusion around you to make it appear that you are still injured. You will heal slowly over the course of three days. You must stay here during that time."
"Why? Where is Dr. Silva?"
"She would like to visit but it is uncomfortable for her to be in your presence at the moment. And until you learn to control what you are it is possibly dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"You've been called to become a Healer, Malini. A very powerful one by the looks of it. And you must remember that as reformed as we know she is, she lives in the body of a Watcher. Now that your power has awakened, physical contact will result in the burns you experienced."
"So, it's true then. I'm a Healer."
Gideon tilted his head. "Not exactly. Not yet. But you are the seed from which a Healer might grow. Actually, I suspected you were from the start but Abigail wanted to exhaust all other possibilities—"
"You knew? And you didn't tell me?"
"We didn't know for sure and—"
"All this time I've been tortured wondering what I was, if there was even a name for it and you two knew and let me go on like that…" Her voice broke and her vision blurred. She
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