“Ahh, found it,” Jedrek says as he rushes toward the table. He briefly glances at me before looking down at her. “This is going to sting a little.” He turns toward me again, warning me. I tighten my grip on Natalie’s hand. I know that I’ll probably have to hold her down.
“What is that?” I ask as he uncaps the vial.
“It’s an antidote I made once I found out that Dravin and Zahtri were making weapons infused with dark magic. I thought they were going to use it on Ryanne. I promised her I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. I thought I could save her…” he trails off as he bends over Natalie, moving the fabric of her shirt out of the way. Natalie whimpers as the cold air touches her exposed skin.
She turns and looks at Dr. Arden, “Please make it stop,” she cries. I can see the unshed tears in her eyes. She knows that she’s dying because of this wound.
Colton, where’s Natalie? I jump and look around me, searching for Liam. Dr. Arden gives me a quizzical look before he takes the lid off the bottle and places it on the desk behind him. Beside the three of us, the room is empty, but I clearly just heard his voice.
Liam?
Where’s Natalie!
How are you talking to me?
I’m inside of your subconscious. Where is she?
I try to clear my mind. I don’t know if Liam can read my mind, but I need to remain calm. Natalie needs me to remain calm. I tighten my grip again as Dr. Arden lets the antidote fall from the pipette and onto Natalie’s skin. She tries to push away from both of us, but Dr. Arden puts pressure on her shoulders, while I lean against her legs, trying to calm her down. Her screams echo through the deserted hall, alerting everyone to our location.
She’s going to be fine. Do I just think it and he’ll hear it?
Going to be?
The wound instantly starts to fizz. It gathers on her skin until a black liquid starts seeping out beneath it. “Is that normal?”
“That’s the dark magic leaving her body,” he shouts as he puts more pressure on Natalie’s shoulders. I try to tune out the screaming. We’re helping her. She’s going to live because of this. It has to be done.
The black liquid stops flowing out from the wound, and now blood only remains. “I can attempt to staunch the blood flow, but she’s going to need to be healed.”
Liam, get Logan. Tell him to come into the compound and find the lab.
What’s going on Colton? Is Natalie okay? I can hear the panic in Liam’s voice.
She’s going to be; just get Logan.
Natalie stops screaming and turns and looks at me. I try to smile at her and let her know that everything is going to be alright, but I know it comes out wrong. She’s sweating and still looks like death has a grip on her. I lean forward and push her hair off of her damp forehead. She attempts to smile, but it comes out as more of a grimace. She winces as Dr. Arden works on stopping the blood flow until Logan can get here.
“You’re going to be okay, Natalie.” I squeeze her hand. “Logan’s coming to heal you.” She still looks so pale. While Natalie tries to calm her labored breathing, I turn and watch Dr. Arden applies gauze to the wound.
“How? I know that he hit me with dark magic.”
“He had an antidote,” I say as I point to Dr. Arden. Natalie turns and looks at him.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Don’t thank me. I’ve done nothing worth thanking.”
“Despite what you think, you’re a good man, Dr. Arden. I can tell,” Natalie tells him. I know that she’s using her powers to sense his emotions and intentions. “You have a good heart. You were just thrown into bad circumstances. Ryanne understands.”
Dr. Arden applies more pressure to the wound. Natalie winces, but doesn’t say anything. He briefly looks away from the gauze and looks toward Natalie. “I just wish I could have proven myself to her.”
“You have. Don’t worry about that.”
The doors to the lab slam open as Logan rushes into the room. His eyes widen when he looks at Natalie. I step to the side, but keep a hold on Natalie’s hand. Dr. Arden stops applying pressure to the wound and gives Logan some room to work.
With his eyes downcast, I finally get a good look at him. Ryanne does look a lot like him. They share the same dark curly hair, the light eyes. Ryanne’s eyes are slightly larger and her nose is smaller, but it’s obvious he’s her father. I can see the same determination and sadness in both of their eyes. I wonder where Ryanne gets her small stature from. I don’t think her mom was short…
“Thank you, Logan,” Natalie says as she sits up and hugs him.
“Are you okay? Do you feel fine?” he asks her. “Liam is attacking anyone that comes near him because he has no idea what going on with you. He’s worried and taking it out on everyone.”