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"We could show you after we visit the lab," Neil suggested.
Kendrick nodded. "Sounds good."
After an extremely satisfying breakfast, they made their way back down to Level One and headed to the lab. To her surprise, Kendrick used his hand to open the door. He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "I had Broderick add me last night."
Ellie pulled out the samples she had of Clara's blood and stepped back as Rheia slowly began going through the samples. Ellie waited patiently for her to examine them all. Ellie had seen something on the slides she couldn't explain. Every time she returned for a second or even third look, she felt like she was trying to convince herself something was there.
Chewing on her thumb, she watched Rheia for any type of reaction. When the other doctor started to frown, Ellie felt a surge of excitement. Rheia turned to Kendrick. "Can you take a look?" she asked.
Kendrick looked between her and Ellie. Quietly, he made his way to the stool Rheia had been using. Being tall enough to simply look down into the eyepiece, he pushed it aside. He looked for a solid minute, then raised his head. "Nigel, Neil come here." The twins practically snapped to attention and rushed to his side.
"Nigel stand on my left, Neil on my right. Place your dominant hand on my arm and release your power slowly." Kendrick waited until the twins had placed a hand on either arm before peering into the microscope once more.
This time, he only needed a few seconds before he stepped back, cursing furiously under his breath. The twins moved as the older witch began to pace the floor between them. He stopped suddenly and spun on his heel to look at her. "You knew?"
Ellie shook her head. "I guessed. Before I heard you talking about shadows last night, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, the virus wasn't behaving normally. It's why I wanted Rheia, then you to come down and look. I wasn't sure of what I was seeing."
Grant wrapped and arm around her waist. "What? What did you see?"
Kendrick growled fierce enough to make any shifter proud. He waved his hand, and the entire room seemed to shrink for a moment before her ears popped. He had soundproofed the room. "There's magic in the virus. It's so faint, barely a glimmer, but it's there. Even I almost missed it. If I hadn't had the twins running equal amounts of earth magic through me to magnify my own gift, I might have second-guessed my eyes as well." The look he gave Ellie was one of admiration. "Very well done, doctor."
Anne gasped and collapsed into an empty chair. "It was deliberate?"
Ellie clutched at her chest. "Gods why?"
Grant snarled. "When I find out who did this, I will rip out their throat!"
Kendrick held up his hand. "We don't know for sure, so let's remain calm." He turned to the twins. "I will need your help." He reached for his pouch and began pulling out equipment.
Ellie stared. "How are you doing that?" He had pulled a freaking table out of his pouch!
Kendrick held up his bag. "This is called the Bag of Wishes; it holds whatever I need, no matter the size, and it never fills."
It didn't take long for Kendrick to set up his own testing station, the twins helping him every step of the way. When they were done, they stepped back, and Kendrick began to explain.
"The reason I needed a boost of your magic is because you're both extremely powerful earth magic users, and I am of fire. Earth magic tends to deal more with living things. Your magic is like mine in that it's more elemental and less about learning arcane spells. The virus itself is organic, but the magic in it is not. That's what we are testing for." He held up an orange-red stone plate that looked like it had been sliced out of a huge rock and polished. "This is carnelian, a fire stone." He held up another plate; this one was a milky green color. "Jade, earth stone." He put those two down and picked up three more. One was a brilliant yellow, the second a royal blue, and the last one was clear as glass. "Citrine for air, lapis lazuli for water, and quartz crystal is neutral." The twins nodded as their hands reached out. Kendrick put the plates down and stepped between them and the twins. "You'll get to play with them in a moment; I'll need your power to charge them." He pointed to the table. "The first test will take the longest, five to seven days, but it will identify which element of magic is in the virus, and from there we can test even further."
"What good will that do?" Grant asked.
Kendrick frowned. "I'm not sure how to explain this to a non-magic user." He tapped the table as he thought. "If you were given three substances to blow a hole in a wall, but they appeared to be identical and you had only one shot to complete your mission, how would you know which one to use?"
Grant thought about it a moment. "I'd smell them to see which one held any trace of explosives."
"Right. Would you try burning them?"
"No, that might ignite the material." Grant stopped. "I get it. In trying to treat the virus without knowing what the magic is, you could make it worse."
Kendrick nodded. "Exactly. If we identify which element we're dealing with, I'll know which tests are safe to use."
Ellie chewed on her lip. "What do we do in the meantime?"
Kendrick looked at her, Rheia, and Anne. "You keep the children alive. Use whatever you know of human medicine and treat the sickness. I'll worry about the magic."
"What do we tell the others?" Rheia asked.
"Leave that to me. Once everyone is together at lunch, I'll soundproof the room and let everyone know." He pinned the twins with a meaningful stare. "You cannot say anything to anyone, including your unit leaders. This cannot leave the room."
Nigel and Neil nodded. "We don't blab."
