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Chapter Twenty-Three
Tamsin
Devon swings by to check on me at some point around midday. “What time did you end up leaving last night?” he asks.
I look up from the microscope. “Sometime after two.” I shrug.
His eyes widen. “And back at seven? I saw you walking in.”
“All us doctors are the obsessive type, aren’t we?” I cast him a smile.
“Especially when it’s our own family we’re trying to help,” Devon says. “Actually, if it’s not too much of an imposition, I’d love to have you look at one of my patients. He’s got some sort of rare disease we’re trying to figure out a cure for, and I think having a hematologist take another look at his blood could give us the answers we need.”
“Of course,” I say. “It’s not an imposition at all—are you kidding? Letting me work here, not to mention using the townhouse next door.”
“Fantastic.” He beams and leads me down the hall to another patient room.
The man lying on the bed there is hooked up to a number of monitors, including some special equipment I haven’t seen before. After observing it for a moment, I realize it’s not monitoring normal bodily functions. It’s monitoring magical energies. I stand over the screen and watch the readings in fascination.
“Ah, yes,” Devon says. “That’s some of our newer technology. Are you familiar with the old model?”
I shake my head. “I haven’t stayed connected with the supernatural world for the last couple of decades. I had no idea things like this existed.”
Devon doesn’t pry, he just smiles and says, “That’s just the tip of the iceberg. I can show you more later.”
I feel a flutter of shame that I don’t know about this technology, but also a thrill of excitement at the offer to find out more. Devon briefs me on the patient lying before us, his symptoms, medical history, and what they’ve tried thus far to cure him. Then we head into the adjacent connected room, which is laid out almost exactly the same as Luciana’s room. I sit down at the microscope and examine the patient’s blood cells for several minutes.
“He’s got a really strange mutation of the cells,” I say when I finally straighten and turn to Devon. “Some of his blood cells have a strange sickle shape to them, but not quite the same in appearance as sickle cell anemia.”
“Yes, we noticed that, too.” Devon nods.
“But also, there’s a slight deterioration to his normal-looking red blood cells. See how they have almost a frayed-edge appearance?”
Devon takes my place at the microscope and his eyes widen. “No, we missed that.”
“It’s incredibly faint,” I say. “I’ve seen it before a handful of times, and those patients had the same symptoms you listed. A colleague of mine has been working on a treatment. I’ll get you in touch with her.” I jot down contact information on a piece of paper and hand it to Devon.
“Great. I’m eager to try something new, we’re running out of options,” Devon says.
We head back out into the hall toward Luciana’s room.
“You know,” Devon says, “I could really use someone with your talents. If you ever want a job, you know where to find me.” He smiles and heads off down the hall to check on other patients.
I feel a flutter in my stomach. There’s this whole new horizon before me that I didn’t even know existed until yesterday. Science and magic combined? It’s an exciting challenge, something that could take my career to the next level. And at one of the top supernatural hospitals in the world, right here in Scotland.
What if I could have my dream career and be close to home? Do the healing I should have done long ago and stay with the ones I love. See if Blake and I really could have a future together.
It’s an idea that both thrills and terrifies me. And I definitely don’t have time for my head to be in the clouds. I take a deep breath as I enter Luciana’s room and snap my attention back to the task at hand. Nothing else matters until my sister is cured.
I get back to work examining the latest cell sample. Right before Devon popped in, I’d tried yet another variation of a chemical compound to eliminate the demonic cells in Luciana’s body. It’s my twenty-second variation since I arrived in Scotland a few days ago, not to mention my previous attempts at the lab in Costa Rica.
The latest variation shows some reduction in the demonic cells, but not enough for a full recovery. I let out a growl of frustration. No matter what I try, it’s never quite enough. The demonic cells diminish a bit in response to my compound, but still maintain dominance over the other cells. I can’t get more than about a thirty percent reduction in the unwanted cells. It’s this immovable line I can’t get past, no matter what I try.
My magic flares up around me, and I smack my hands down on the table. It’s been increasing in intensity all morning, even though Blake is gone. I don’t understand why it keeps intensifying. I just can’t seem to catch a break.
But I’ve sent Blake away, so there’s nothing to be done for it but press on. It’s not at crucial levels yet. I can still work, it’s just there, buzzing inside me, like I’ve swallowed a storm. I clearly just need to work faster. I’d meant what I said to Blake… I feel like I’m on the verge of a breakthrough. There’s some missing puzzle piece about to fall into place. I have to push through.
So, I take another breath to calm myself, and I start variation twenty-three.
