Chapter Nine
Aldain had Malcolm taken to the infirmary set up exclusively for dragon shifters. The medical staff working there were shifters or mates of shifters. Aldain, Tori, and Carrie sat in the waiting room. Aldain was pacing back and forth as he tried to make sense of everything that had happened. He had no knowledge of any kind of poison that worked against a dragon. He hoped the doctor here had some ideas—he hated seeing his best friend and second in command suffering the way he was.
The doctor walked into the waiting room and found Carrie. She badly wanted to be with Malcolm, but they’d made her wait in the waiting room. The doctor had worry written all over his face. He ran his fingers through his hair.
“I don’t know what we’re dealing with. This isn’t anything I have come across before. I tried to have the poison cultured, but as soon as the air hits it, it evaporates into nothing. The one thing I am sure of is that it’s spreading throughout his body, and we can’t seem to stop it.” Carrie almost fainted as she realized the implications of what the doctor said. Malcolm was going to die if they couldn’t stop the course of the poison.
As she stood there, trying to think of something she might be able to do, a way to help save her mate, her hands started heating up. Whenever someone in need of healing was near her, the palms of her hands would turn blood red and they would get extremely hot. Tori noticed the change in Carrie’s hands. She had seen it happen often enough. Carrie was an excellent healer—she just had people keep quiet about it. People were inclined to think her ability was something evil rather than good.
Tori took Carrie aside and whispered, “Carrie, I see what’s happening to your hands. I’m sure if you put your mind to it, you can heal Malcolm. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. You at least must try. From what the doctor is saying, there isn’t much chance for Malcolm to survive this.”
Carrie would try anything to save Malcolm. The thought of trying to heal him did cross her mind, but despite the many people she had helped, she still had doubts about the strength of her ability. But Tori was right—she had nothing to lose. She asked the doctor if she could be alone with Malcolm for a while.
The doctor brought Carrie back to the I.C.U. Carrie almost sobbed when she saw all the machines and tubes hooked to Malcolm. His skin had a gray tinge to it, and his lips were blue. His fever was dangerously high, and he seemed to be delirious. When Carrie touched him, he didn’t acknowledge her. She looked at his neck. The bites were infected and red, and she could see red lines spreading from his neck to his chest.
Carrie started to sob. She brought Malcolm’s hand to her heart. “Malcolm, my love, if you can hear me, you have to fight. Fight and come back to me. I can’t live without you. You’re the light of my life. Help me make you whole again.” She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, the tears falling from her cheeks onto his hand.
From the far recesses of Malcolm’s mind, he was aware of his mate’s sorrow. Instinctively he wanted to comfort her. His body just wouldn’t let him.
Carrie touched the bites on Malcolm’s neck. She concentrated on them and the energy surrounding her. She drew in the energy, feeling it coursing through her body. She circulated it through her body and channeled it through her fingers into the bites. She directed the energy into his body, filling it, then, as she drew it out, she had the energy attach the poison to it as she released it throughout the room. She was expending so much energy, her body started to weaken and a slight sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead.
Malcolm became aware of little balls of light coursing through his body. He saw the poison attach itself to the light and saw it leave with them. As this was happening, he started to feel better. His mind was clearing, and his body wasn’t aching as bad. He didn’t know what was happening, but he started to concentrate on those little balls of light, asking them to please take the poison with them.
Carrie was determined to continue until she knew there was no poison left. She could tell there wasn’t a place in his body the poison hadn’t attacked. She amped up her energy intake, taking more in and forcing it into Malcolm’s body, demanding the energy flow to attach the poison to it as it was flowing out. Carrie looked at the machines hooked up to Malcolm. She could tell his fever was starting to lower. His color was getting better, and his lips were no longer blue. The healing was working, but it was taking its toll on Carrie.
The energy Carrie was releasing was immense, and it was draining her. Her legs were getting weak, but she knew it wouldn’t be much longer until all the poison was gone. She had to last long enough to totally cleanse him. After what seemed like hours, Carrie could tell the energy leaving Malcolm’s body was clean. The poison was gone, and she could tell by looking at him that he was doing much better.
Carrie finally released her hand from Malcolm’s neck. She took a step back and collapsed. Just as she did so, Aldain and Tori stepped into the room. Aldain swiftly picked Carrie up, and she looked up at him with a smile on her face.
“It worked. The poison is gone. He’s going to live.” Then she fainted.
Aldain called for a doctor or nurse as he held the unconscious Carrie in his arms. They took her from him and rushed her into an examination room. Tori followed them; she needed to make sure her friend was going to be all right. She knew Carrie sometimes expended more energy than she should when healing and wanted to make sure there weren’t going to be lasting effects.
Aldain stayed with Malcolm. He knew from what the doctor said, his condition was critical. Aldain didn’t see that diagnosis reflected in his friend’s condition. He saw his friend was resting comfortably and was barely feverish. His color was good, and the bite marks were almost gone.
Malcolm’s eyes opened, and he moaned. His head felt like it was going to explode, and the lights in the room were so bright they didn’t help his headache. He asked in a hoarse voice, “Where’s Carrie? Is she all right? I expected to see her here when I opened my eyes.”
Aldain smiled. “She’s fine, my friend. She was the one who healed you. Nothing the doctors did could help. The poison wasn’t anything they were familiar with. It took a lot out of her. She’s resting. I’m sure she’ll be here as soon as she can.”
Aldain found Carrie, Tori, and some medical staff in an examination room close by. Carrie was still unconscious. Tori was explaining to them that Carrie had cured Malcolm but had used so much energy she had sapped everything from herself. Tori said she had seen it before, explaining that Carrie would probably need to sleep a full twenty-four hours. Aldain could see the skepticism on the medical staff’s faces.
He said, “I can tell you are having a hard time believing my mate. To prove she is telling the truth, I suggest you go into Malcolm’s room and see for yourself.” Without a backward glance, the medical staff turned and headed into Malcolm’s room, expecting to see no change in his condition.
Aldain could tell from the expression on Tori’s face she was upset they didn’t believe her. He wrapped her into his arms and said, “I know you’re telling the truth. I saw for myself. When they see him, they will believe you too.”
Suddenly they heard someone exclaim from Malcolm’s room, “Holy shit! He’s better!” This made Aldain laugh.
He and Tori went into Malcolm’s room, where the medical staff were double checking their equipment and talking to Malcolm as they checked him out. As the doctor was checking the bite marks on his neck, Malcolm slapped his hand away.
“I am fine, I tell you. I want to know how Carrie is. Quit wasting time on me and get back and help my mate. She needs you—I don’t.” Malcolm was so upset that smoke came out of his nose.
The doctor looked at Malcolm. “I will send a nurse to check on your mate. I’m not leaving until I can thoroughly check you over. I can wait as long as it takes, so you might as well calm down and let me check you because I’m not leaving until I do.”
Malcolm snorted and waved his hand at the doctor to resume checking him. The doctor was thorough; it seemed to Malcolm to take forever. Finally, the doctor, scratching his head said, “I can’t find a thing wrong with you. There doesn’t seem to be any poison left. Your fever is gone, your color is good, and the bite marks are almost healed. I don’t know how it happened, but you are completely healed. I want to keep you an extra day to make sure there is nothing that we missed. After that, you can go home..”
After the doctor left, Aldain told Malcolm that Carrie had healed him. “I don’t know how she did it. I wasn’t here, but when she was done you were fine.”
“I could hear her crying,” Malcolm said. “I could feel her despair, but I knew she was doing something to help me. I barely remember her telling me to help her fight.”
While Carrie was sleeping, Aldain and Malcolm talked about what had happened with the Cailleach. They both knew now that she was a malevolent being and that she was wrong about Carrie.
Aldain said, “I think I need to talk to Dimitra. She should be told what happened. Maybe she has discovered something. The warning mentioned a serpent, and then Cailleach turned into one. Maybe she has some ideas to get some answers.”