She shook her head. “Nothing comes to mind. Oh, Gods… Oh, this is bad, isn’t it?”
“We don’t know that yet,” I replied before turning back to Rory, keeping the neutral tone I used when treating someone. “Hey, Rory, it’s Rowan. Can you talk to me for a moment, bud?”
“Hurts,” he groaned, barely conscious and unwilling to open his eyes.
“I know,” I said softly. “Did this happen really fast?”
Rory nodded, and I bobbed my head back. Acute stomach pain with sudden onset, dilated pupils, and clammy, greenish-tinged skin. That sounded like food poisoning or poisoning in general.
“Can’t you give him anything for the pain?” Leah stepped closer, rubbing Rory’s back.
“I could, but I’m concerned he’s eaten something to make him like this. He’s showing all the signs of having consumed something he shouldn’t have.”
“But he hasn’t eatenanythingother than chicken nuggets,” Leah insisted. “He raids the pantry every now and again, but…”
Sighing, I knew what had to be done if I was right. “This looks like food poisoning—the serious kind.”
Chills. Nausea. Sweating. It meets all the criteria, Rowan. You have to.
Running over to the cupboard, I grabbed a small bottle and returned to Rory. “Okay, this is going to suck, kid, but you’re going to drink all ofthis. It’s going to make you vomit—a lot. You’ve ingested something that’s hurting you, and we need to get it out of your system, okay?” I spoke clearly, making sure everyone understood what was going on.
“You’re going to make him sick? On purpose?” Donald asked.
Part of me hated having parents in the room while I was treating someone because they worried, rightly so, but that meant I had to explain everything in minute detail. When I was in a rush, that wasn't always feasible.
“It's most likely he's consumed something that has poisoned him, making him really sick. I need to clear his system first, get whatever it is out of him, and see if that improves anything. If it’s a simple poisoning, removing the bad thing from his body will immediately help.”
With my hand behind Rory’s back, I pushed him into a seated position, but Greylen got there before me. He gently maneuvered the confused child and took the bottle from me. “I can do this,” he said, becoming an invaluable extra set of hands.
“Thank you,” I muttered, already turning away to get the rest of my supplies.
“What are you doing?” Leah asked, already so upset.
“I’m guessing whatever he ate is acting like poison. He’s got all the symptoms of someone who’s consumed something toxic, so we need to flush his system—and flush it fast,” I explained, grabbing a bag of saline.
“I thought you didn’t like giving dragons IV fluids,” Leah countered when she noticed the bag in my hand.
“Normally I wouldn’t,” I explained as I started setting up the bag on a pole next to Rory’s bed. “But in this instance, Rory isn’t healing fast enough. Whatever he’s ingested is toxic and sticking around. That’s how poisons work. They bind to the person’s cells. His kidneys can use all the help they can get to remove the substance from his blood and organs.”
Leah started to sob, pressing her hand against her mouth.
“How bad is this?” Grey asked in asoft voice that only I could hear.
“Pretty bad. I have no idea what could make himthissickthisfast. Especially when he was doing so well yesterday. If this were a human toddler, I’d think they got into something, like eating fertilizer or drinking antifreeze. But Rory wouldn’t do that.” I muttered, trying my best so only Grey could hear me.
After using an alcohol wipe to sterilize Rory’s arm, I did my best to insert the IV quickly and painlessly.
“Can you keep hold of him?” I asked.
Grey nodded, already at work.
“I’m going to run and grab some things from the storeroom.”
Darting across the hall, I grabbed several familiar bottles and a mortar and pestle.
“What’s that you’re making?” Leah asked when I returned and got to work crushing the herbs.
“I’ll be honest, I’m going to make a detoxifying tea—and a concentrated version. One for him to drink, one to put in that fluid bag to see if it helps.” I turned to Grey, nodding at the bottle. “Okay, have him drink that.”
