I let out a sigh of relief as I felt Kallie’s soul flood back into her body, no point of it remaining on the edge of the afterlife. She’d decided to come back.
“It’s working,” I breathed. “Marcus, keep talking.”
He leaned closer, whispering to Kallie things that I couldn’t hear. I didn’t need to listen. If they wanted to be in their own private universe, let them, because all I cared about was if it helped Kallie recover.
As I healed her, I came across a foreign substance in her system. It was the sedative Valen had given her. I dissolved the sedative immediately, and Kallie’s body began writhing in pain.
Fuck. She was still out of it, but the sedative had been acting as an anesthetic. Now she could feel everything. I rushed to heal her further, but there was still so much work to do, and I couldn’t do it in the middle of this shitty alleyway. It’d take too long, and we were exposed out here.
“She’s stable, but it won’t last if I don’t continue my work,” I said in a rush. “We need to get her back to the hotel.”
“I’m getting help from the Associates.” Charlie spoke madly into his phone before he shoved it back in his pocket. “Let’s go.”
Charlie took a pocket mirror out of his jacket and projected it outward, blooming a portal. The hotel was only a few miles away, and Kallie’s body could withstand traveling that short of a distance… I hoped.
Charlie conjured a gurney with his illusion magic, and he hovered Kallie’s body onto it. Oberi changed back into a unicorn, and I hefted myself onto her as Charlie pushed the gurney through the portal. Marcus was still by Kallie’s side, refusing to let go of her hand.
When we got back to the hotel, Mom and Ezekiel were already waiting for us, along with a whole team of Elvish medics. The Associates had clearly worked fast to portal them here. Mybrother appeared horrified when he saw Kallie lying limply on the stretcher.
“Who did this?” he asked hoarsely.
“Doesn’t matter. Help me,” I demanded.
The medics had set up Kallie’s bedroom in the penthouse as a makeshift emergency room, and they hurried to utilize the medical equipment they’d brought. We rushed to get there. Chancey and Ivy were standing in the living room, and their expressions were crestfallen when they saw her. Ivy started sobbing, and Chancey’s expression became gravely wounded as he witnessed Kallie barely hanging on to life.
The medics gave Kallie an oxygen mask, and set her up with an IV and a heart monitor while Mom, Ez, Oberi and I continued to heal her. Charlie stood at the back of the room, and Marcus remained with Kallie, holding her hand as Rishi mewled at his feet.
I was glad for the support, because I was getting tired, and so was Oberi. Mending Kallie’s organs and replacing her blood had worn me out and taken a lot of my strength. Thankfully, Mom was a strong healer and Ez’s magic had been improving, so they were able to mend the rest of Kallie’s injuries without much help from me.
Eventually, we cleared away the bruises from Kallie’s pretty face and restored all of her broken bones. We cleaned the blood off of her and got her into a clean hospital gown.
Unfortunately, there were mental scars we couldn’t heal, and I knew when Kallie woke up she’d have to deal with them. Who knew what Valen had put her through, besides the obvious injuries on her body. The mental torture, and the memory of what happened, was going to be far worse than the physical injuries we’d fixed.
We left Kallie to rest. She still hadn’t woken up, and that was probably for the best. I looked at my Mom and said, “Youguys need to get back to Ilamanthe. It’s not safe for you here in Chicago.”
“Kallie needs us. Until she’s strong enough to go back through a portal across the ocean, we’re staying,” Mom said firmly.
I couldn’t argue. I needed help here.
My brother wavered on his feet. He looked close to passing out. “Do you think she’s going to be all right?”
“She will be,” I said, and I reached out for his arm. My Spirit magic immediately set off alarms when I touched him, and I added, “Your blood sugar is low.”
“I was studying all day, and in med class. I didn’t get a chance to stop for dinner,” Ez mumbled.
“Ez, you need to eat something,” Mom said firmly. “That was a lot of work we just did, and you’re sick, too.”
“I guess so,” Ez mumbled. “No use having two people laid out in a hospital bed. Can’t take care of patients if I don’t take care of myself.”
“That’s right.” Mom looked at me. “Ava, do you mind if we take a break?”
“Go ahead,” I stated. “There’s not much more you can do right now.”
Mom nodded, guiding Ez out of the room. “Be back soon.”
When they had cleared out, I glanced at Marcus. “Get into the bed with her. She needs you to hold her. Touch will stabilize her heartbeat and help her oxygen levels recover.”
Charlie had done the same with me after my spinal injury, and it had really helped. I remembered even now how much better I felt when he’d been lying beside me. Kallie needed that right now.
