“You must get that a lot in the ER. In L&D, the baby makes the decisions about who goes first. Still, I thought he might ask for your number before he left.”
“Oh well.” Kizzy tried not to look disappointed. She was second-guessing everything she’d said to him—not only that morning, but tonight too. Why did she mention her future brother-in-law having a god complex? That wasn’t very nice. He might be wondering what she’d say about him behind his back. Not only that, but she had her own god complex to worry about.
“There’s something else I need to talk about, and you’re the only one who would understand.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’m not sure we should talk about it here.”
Her sister glanced around the busy, noisy club. “I doubt anyone could hear us, even if they wanted to. This might be the best place to talk.”
“Okay. Well, it’s about our powers as witches. And because of the spell books, and the fact that we only have one of the three, our power to perform the impossible is limited to one save per day.”
“Uh-huh. I know all that. What are you asking?”
Kizzy sighed. “You’re more psychic than I am. I just wish I knew at the beginning of the day who would be the one to save.”
“I’m not sure I’m much more psychic than you are, but okay. How do you decide now?”
She shrugged. “It’s hit or miss. Sometimes I think I know, and I guess right. And other times, by the end of my shift, I’m kicking myself. Do I save the kid who comes in at eight in the morning, knowing that some brain surgeon or astronaut might show up in three or four hours? Or is the child more important?”
Ruth took a sip of her wine and set it down, looking thoughtful. “I can see where it would be more difficult for you. For me, it’s not that hard, since most deliveries go as expected. If there’s one that’s really struggling and the child shows signs of stress, that’s the one I intervene with. Very rarely do I get two of those per shift, and if I’ve done the spell with the first one…well, the second one is in the hands of the gods and goddesses. Is that what you’re asking? What to do if you’ve already blown your magical load?” She gave her sister a lopsided grin.
Kizzy chuckled. “Yeah, I guess that’s one way to put it. I don’t envy your having to go through hours of pain with a person, but at least that’s expected. When I see a person in excruciating pain, my heart breaks for them.”
“How many cases do you get on an average day?”
Kizzy snorted. “There is no such thing as an average day in a busy city ER. But I guess I can see anywhere from twenty to fifty patients in a shift.”
“Yikes. Fifty? No wonder you’re confused. You have a lot to choose from.”
“Exactly.”
“Why don’t you ask Dad for advice?”
Kizzy rolled her eyes. “He’ll just give me some pat answer like you do your best and that’s all you can do.”
Ruth shrugged. “That sounds about right to me. What is it you would like to do differently? Eliminate the guesswork?”
“Yes. Exactly. Do you think there’s a way you can tell when something major is going to happen, before the patients even show up? Or have a clue as to who’s most deserving of a miracle?”
“So far, I haven’t been able to train my psychic skills to work that way, at least not consistently. I’ve been picking up some weird vibes lately, but I have no idea what it’s related to. At least not yet.”
Kizzy picked up her cocktail napkin and began tearing it. “If only we had the other books. Maybe we’d have complete control over our powers. I know our great-grandma tracked two of them to Boston, which is why we’re here, but one went to South America. How the heck are we supposed to find all three without the ability to pinpoint them? And why can’t we, by the way?”
“Silly woman. They must be protected by wards, just as ours is. I’m not sure I’d want all three. It’s tough, I know. You win some, you lose some. If we won all the time, don’t you know what would happen?”
“Yeah. We’d be found out pretty quickly.”
“Yep. And then what?”
Kizzy sighed. “And then we’d be interrogated, expected to let everyone in on our secrets, other doctors would publish papers throughout the medical community, and we’d probably be kidnapped by the government and forced to work for the Department of Defense.”
Ruth giggled. “You’re so dramatic. I doubt the government would utilize us for slave labor, but letting this stuff fall into the hands of certain unprincipled people could spell disaster. We’re healers. But we could harm, if we wanted to.”
“Are you sure? We’ve never even tried to harm anyone.”
Her sister winced. “I have.”
