Annie's Song(36)

She let out a gasp, clutched Eric’s arm. Something dark and slimy slid out between Claire’s grey lips. As soon as it hit the light it writhed, twisting in on itself.

Marcus laid his hand on Claire’s throat. Gold light spread up and over her face. It touched the slime—and Claire started to convulse.

“Mom!” Eric held on to Zach. His sobs tore Annie apart. Moving in, she eased him out of Eric’s grip and wrapped both arms around him, careful of his wounds, ignoring the flare of pain from her burns.

More slime spilled out of Claire’s mouth. Every muscle in her body clenched, so hard Annie expected to hear bones break. The slime coiled around itself, flinching away from the gold light of Marcus’ healing.

Even with her power scraped dry, Annie felt the malevolence of the spell. Whoever attached it to that knife meant to kill, slow and ugly. Zach shook against her, and she held on tighter.

The spell fought to hang on to its victim, and Claire suffered for that battle.

Marcus kept her from tumbling off the bed, but he didn’t, couldn’t, interfere. This battle had to be won alone.

Slowly, meticulously, gold light surrounded the ugly spell, kept tightening the circle until the slime had no escape. Annie watched in fascinated horror as the slime turned inward. Like the mythological snake that ate itself, the slime disappeared into a gaping black maw until the last bit let out a final defiant twitch and winked out of sight.

“Mom.” Zach pulled free and worked his way along the bed until he sat next to Claire. “Please, Mom—wake up.” He brushed soaked hair off her forehead, the normally vibrant red brown dull and flat. “You have to wake up.” He took her limp hand, rubbing her fingers. “She’s ice cold, Marcus.”

Still kneeling on the bed, Marcus cradled her face, whispered ancient words that sent tingling heat across Annie’s wounds.

“Come back to us, Claire.” He brushed his lips over hers, looked into the wide, unblinking eyes. “I know you can hear me. Come on back to us, sweet.”

Nothing happened.

Annie lowered her head, choking back a sob, and felt Eric’s hands on her shoulders. She turned into his embrace, grief ripping at her. “Eric . . .”

“Mom?”

Zach’s whisper swung her around. He gripped Claire’s hand—and the same blue light that had flared across his tattoo surrounded both of them. A clean, sharp blue light. Even more shocking was Marcus’ gold weaving through it. He stood next to Zach, gripping his shoulder.

Her gaze moved to Zach’s tattoo. Light shimmered across it, the flaming sword and wings almost alive on his pale skin. And then her heart jerked in her chest as Claire blinked.

“Zach.” If everyone hadn’t been holding their breath, she never would have heard the hollowed out whisper.

“I’m here, Mom. Don’t try to move, okay? Just rest.” Annie heard the tears in his voice. Her own eyes stung, her throat tight. She wanted to run over and examine every inch of her friend, but this was Zach’s moment. Hers would come.

“All right.” Claire slowly closed her fingers over his hand. With a choking sound he lowered his head. “Hush. It’s over, sweetheart.”

“Welcome back, sweet.” Marcus brushed her cheek. “You had me worried for a bit. I thought I had lost you.”

“Almost did.” She closed her eyes. “Sweet heaven. Tired.” Her raw voice told everyone that.

“Get some sleep, Mom.” Zach watched her, waiting for what they all hoped to see; the soft, even breathing of healing sleep. Once she drifted off, he pushed to his feet, and to Annie’s surprise threw himself at Marcus. “Thank you.”

The poor sod looked stunned. Then he did something that endeared him to her forever. He wrapped his arms around Zach and just held him.

“I love her as well.”

“I know.” Sniffling, Zach looked at him. He was leaner, with narrower shoulders, but damn if he wasn’t almost eye level with the Jinn. “I’m working on getting past it.”

Marcus’ laughter burst through the room. “I believe we can find common ground, you and I.”

“Later,” Annie said. She moved to them, and raised her eyebrows as she glared at Marcus. “If you didn’t notice, you have two patients here, from a recent encounter with a fire elemental.”

“I did, and was waiting for permission.”

Annie snorted. “Like that’s ever stopped you before. No,” she backed out of reach. “Zach first. And you two.” She turned to Michelle and Penn, who stood near the head of the bed. “Thank you, for being my backup, for getting the spell to Marcus.”