With All My Soul
Page 67
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Once hed withdrawn the needle and a drop of blood had welled out of her arm, he frowned and sat on the edge of the coffee table. I was supposed to clean the injection site first. Damn it!
Better late than never, Tod said. What do you need?
Cotton swabs and alcohol should do it. And a Band-Aid.
Ill get them! Em stood and raced for the bathroom.
But that wont kill any germs I just injected her with, Nash continued.
Tod put one hand on his shoulder. Any human doctor can treat an infection. The same cannot be said for crimson creeper venom.
I gathered the used syringe and wrappers and threw them in the trash while Sophie put Harmonys stuff back in her purse. Luca slid the coffee table into place, and Nash cleaned the site of Sabines injection with a belated dose of alcohol, then covered it with a bandage from the box Emma gave him. Then he sat on the coffee table and stared at her while she slept, periodically checking on her swollen wrist and ankles.
The rest of us gathered around the peninsula in the kitchen, speaking in hushed voices.
So, how did you find her? I poured myself a mug of coffee, which had already gone cold. She was just...lying there?
Tod nodded. On the ground, out in the open, about three hundred feet from the hospital. In our world, that would have been the hospital parking lot. Avari must have told everyone not to touch her, because she was all alone, completely unscathed, except for the creeper vines.
What the hell does that mean? Sophie demanded in a fierce whisper, with a glance back at Nash, like she didnt want to further upset him. I was impressed. Why take Sabine, then let us have her back? Why poison her, but not kill her?
Its a warning, I said. It has to be.
Warning us of what? Luca said in a whisper of his own. That he wants to mess with us? That he can kill us anytime he wants? If thats the message, wouldnt actually killing Sabine have said it more clearly?
I could only shrug. I dont know.
And didnt you say he could have killed you and Tod right before you crossed over? Em said. But he didnt?
Because he doesnt want me dead, I tried to explain. Well, no deader than I already am. He wants to... I didnt know how to say the rest of it, and I didnt really want to hear it, even from my own mouth.
He wants to take his time with her, Tod said, and hearing it in his voice wasnt much better. He wants to take her apart at his leisure before eventually discarding her body and continuing with just her soul. He has eternity, remember? Thats a lot of time to kill, which means he has more patience than we do. And he knows how to make his toys last.
That may be the creepiest thing Ive ever heard, Luca whispered. And thats coming from someone who sees dead people on a daily basis.
Agreed, I said, and Tod gave my hand a sympathetic squeeze.
Hey, you guys, theres something in her pocket, Nash called from the living room. We all turned as he stepped into the kitchen. I just noticed it sticking out. He unfolded the piece of paper and spread it out on the island in front of us.
It was a note. One line.
Tag. Youre it.
Chapter Sixteen
How is she? I sat on the edge of my desk, and Nash answered without looking up. Without letting go of the fingers sticking out of Sabines cast.
About the same. A little less swollen. Hed rolled my desk chair next to her bedmy bed, technicallymore than an hour ago and hadnt moved since. But shes not waking up, and I cant figure that out. When you got pricked, you didnt lose consciousness.
Yeah, but she got at least three times the venom I got. I shrugged, aiming for casual with the gesture. As if I wasnt almost as worried as he was. Im sure shell be fine. Shell wake up soon. I hope. And you know what? The fact that shes not moving is kind of a blessing. With the dose of venom she got, if shed been up moving around like I was after I got pricked Id had no idea what creeper venom could do, at the time her heart wouldve beat faster, pumping poison all over her body. Another casual shrug. Instead, it looks pretty localized, and Id call that a stroke of good luck.
Unless... I frowned at the thought drawing into focus. Unless it wasnt the creeper venom, but something Avari did that rendered Sabine unconscious. In which case, hed actually saved her life. Or at least prolonged it.
My private frown deepened, but Nash didnt notice. He was watching Sabine again.
Why would Avari do that? Why would he poison her, then make sure she lasted long enough to... To what?
Normally Id guess that he wanted to extend her suffering, but she was unconscious. How much pain could she possibly feel?
Was he trying to make sure shed last long enough to be found?
Suddenly Sabines lack of consciousness scared me almost as much as her swollen skin and the thin puss oozing from every pinprick hole in her arm and legs. What the hell was Avari up to?
Yeah, Im trying to look at the bright side, Nash said, clearly oblivious to the turn my own thoughts had taken. Shes due for another shot in a couple of hours, and after that, she should get better pretty quickly. If she hasnt woken up by then, though, I claim the right to completely freak out.
Better late than never, Tod said. What do you need?
Cotton swabs and alcohol should do it. And a Band-Aid.
Ill get them! Em stood and raced for the bathroom.
But that wont kill any germs I just injected her with, Nash continued.
Tod put one hand on his shoulder. Any human doctor can treat an infection. The same cannot be said for crimson creeper venom.
I gathered the used syringe and wrappers and threw them in the trash while Sophie put Harmonys stuff back in her purse. Luca slid the coffee table into place, and Nash cleaned the site of Sabines injection with a belated dose of alcohol, then covered it with a bandage from the box Emma gave him. Then he sat on the coffee table and stared at her while she slept, periodically checking on her swollen wrist and ankles.
The rest of us gathered around the peninsula in the kitchen, speaking in hushed voices.
So, how did you find her? I poured myself a mug of coffee, which had already gone cold. She was just...lying there?
Tod nodded. On the ground, out in the open, about three hundred feet from the hospital. In our world, that would have been the hospital parking lot. Avari must have told everyone not to touch her, because she was all alone, completely unscathed, except for the creeper vines.
What the hell does that mean? Sophie demanded in a fierce whisper, with a glance back at Nash, like she didnt want to further upset him. I was impressed. Why take Sabine, then let us have her back? Why poison her, but not kill her?
Its a warning, I said. It has to be.
Warning us of what? Luca said in a whisper of his own. That he wants to mess with us? That he can kill us anytime he wants? If thats the message, wouldnt actually killing Sabine have said it more clearly?
I could only shrug. I dont know.
And didnt you say he could have killed you and Tod right before you crossed over? Em said. But he didnt?
Because he doesnt want me dead, I tried to explain. Well, no deader than I already am. He wants to... I didnt know how to say the rest of it, and I didnt really want to hear it, even from my own mouth.
He wants to take his time with her, Tod said, and hearing it in his voice wasnt much better. He wants to take her apart at his leisure before eventually discarding her body and continuing with just her soul. He has eternity, remember? Thats a lot of time to kill, which means he has more patience than we do. And he knows how to make his toys last.
That may be the creepiest thing Ive ever heard, Luca whispered. And thats coming from someone who sees dead people on a daily basis.
Agreed, I said, and Tod gave my hand a sympathetic squeeze.
Hey, you guys, theres something in her pocket, Nash called from the living room. We all turned as he stepped into the kitchen. I just noticed it sticking out. He unfolded the piece of paper and spread it out on the island in front of us.
It was a note. One line.
Tag. Youre it.
Chapter Sixteen
How is she? I sat on the edge of my desk, and Nash answered without looking up. Without letting go of the fingers sticking out of Sabines cast.
About the same. A little less swollen. Hed rolled my desk chair next to her bedmy bed, technicallymore than an hour ago and hadnt moved since. But shes not waking up, and I cant figure that out. When you got pricked, you didnt lose consciousness.
Yeah, but she got at least three times the venom I got. I shrugged, aiming for casual with the gesture. As if I wasnt almost as worried as he was. Im sure shell be fine. Shell wake up soon. I hope. And you know what? The fact that shes not moving is kind of a blessing. With the dose of venom she got, if shed been up moving around like I was after I got pricked Id had no idea what creeper venom could do, at the time her heart wouldve beat faster, pumping poison all over her body. Another casual shrug. Instead, it looks pretty localized, and Id call that a stroke of good luck.
Unless... I frowned at the thought drawing into focus. Unless it wasnt the creeper venom, but something Avari did that rendered Sabine unconscious. In which case, hed actually saved her life. Or at least prolonged it.
My private frown deepened, but Nash didnt notice. He was watching Sabine again.
Why would Avari do that? Why would he poison her, then make sure she lasted long enough to... To what?
Normally Id guess that he wanted to extend her suffering, but she was unconscious. How much pain could she possibly feel?
Was he trying to make sure shed last long enough to be found?
Suddenly Sabines lack of consciousness scared me almost as much as her swollen skin and the thin puss oozing from every pinprick hole in her arm and legs. What the hell was Avari up to?
Yeah, Im trying to look at the bright side, Nash said, clearly oblivious to the turn my own thoughts had taken. Shes due for another shot in a couple of hours, and after that, she should get better pretty quickly. If she hasnt woken up by then, though, I claim the right to completely freak out.
