Chapter Forty-Five
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GRACE WAS FASCINATED with the idea of Monica having a bionic leg as they ate their meal.
Angel woke from her nap in the great room and galloped into the room, meowing at the top of her lungs.
She launched herself at Cam. The knight cursed beneath his breath when the feline’s claws dug into his thigh.
“Sin!” he complained as he picked the little monster up.
“It’s not my fault Angel needs to eat fifty times a day,” Sinai said in exasperation. The feline was passed down to her and she stuffed some pork into Angel’s mouth to shut her up.
Monica’s spirits lifted a bit at the sight of their pet, but Grace could tell she was depressed. She mulled about her new sister’s missing limb when they cleaned up the table, then headed to the great room.
“Is something wrong, little sister?” Ramiel asked Grace when he noticed how quiet she was.
“I’m fine,” the kid said. “I’m just thinking.”
Queegly shook his head when one of the other knights was about to grill her. He sensed the teen’s special talent to fix things was in motion. Zoe gave him an enquiring look, but he shrugged to indicate he hadn’t had a vision yet.
“You two are definitely going to bond, right?” Oak said to the newbies. “We can all see how you feel about each other.”
“You can’t rush these things,” Grace said. “Some people need more time to make a decision that will affect their lives for eternity.”
“I would rather wait a couple of days before I make up my mind,” Monica confessed, glad someone wasn’t expecting her to bond with her knight immediately.
Queegly’s intuition was in overdrive by now. Grace had just used her ability to see the present to manipulate Monica. He knew she had a plan and didn’t call her out on it. Besides, her skill was their secret.
Qiana got up to visit the bathroom a while later. Grace was waiting for her in the hallway outside her bedroom when she was done. Tor had taken the newbies to their storage rooms to choose clothes for their closets. “Hey, Qi, can I talk to you for a minute?” the teen asked.
“Of course, short stuff,” the doc said.
“Let’s go to the lake,” Grace suggested.
Kochab sensed his mate leaving the base through the back door and hurried to catch up to them. “Where are you two ladies going?” he asked.
“To the lake,” his mate said, hooking her arm through his. “Grace wants to speak to me in private.”
“It’s okay, Koach,” the teen said. “You can come, too.”
They walked the short distance to the lake, then sat at one of the picnic tables. “What’s on your mind, kiddo?” the surgeon asked.
“It’s about Mon,” Grace said. “I have an idea of how to fix her leg.”
“This should be good,” Kochab predicted in anticipation. Their littlest sister often came up with innovative ideas.
“Hear me out before you shoot me down,” Grace said. Qi nodded, but she already looked doubtful. “Sin can duplicate pretty much anything now, can’t she?” the kid said and they nodded. “We’ve eaten the meat she creates and it tastes exactly like normal food.”
“Yeah,” Qiana said. “I’m not sure what that has to do with Monica’s severed leg, though.”
Grace knew they wouldn’t like her plan, but she thought it was brilliant. “I think Sin will be able to duplicate Mon’s right leg just below her knee, but reverse it, so it becomes a left leg. I think you could sever the ends of her stump and the new leg, then use your power to attach it to her.”
Qiana was utterly speechless for a few seconds. “Even if Sin could duplicate a left leg for Mon, I have no way of knowing if I can attach the limb to her,” she said. “I’ve never tried to reattach a severed limb before.”
“That’s why I want you to practice on me,” Grace said, then braced herself for the fallout.
“Absolutely not!” the trauma surgeon denied in an implacable tone. “It goes against my ethics to cause unnecessary harm to someone, especially to someone I love.”
“Aww, I love you, too, doc,” the kid said, putting her fists beneath her chin like she always did when she was moved by something. “I still want you to do it,” she added.
Kochab had a disturbed look on his handsome face, but at least he hadn’t discounted the idea. “Practice on me,” he said, shocking his mate.
“I’m not going to let someone cut one of your limbs off!” Qiana said, face turning red with impending rage.
“Besides, Qi will feel your agony if the anesthetic doesn’t work properly, which will distract her from her job too much, Koach,” Grace reminded him. “I’m the only one who doesn’t have a mate. It’s only logical for Qi to use me as her lab rat.”
“I’m not doing it,” the doc said mulishly.
“Not even if it means Monica will finally be whole again?” the kid asked, allowing her eyes to mist over. “Just think of how happy she’ll be to be able to walk on two legs. She never even got that chance. She was just a baby when some evil person took her mom and her leg away from her.”
Grace was worried she’d laid it on a bit too thick, but her sister now looked less doubtful. Her analytical scientific side was probably mulling over whether this could actually work. “Why don’t you sleep on it and let me know your decision tomorrow?” she suggested.
“We’re not going to talk about this idiotic plan with anyone else,” Qi said, rising to her feet. “I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
Kochab got up and squeezed Grace’s tiny shoulder to offer her some support before loping after his mate.
“She’ll do the operation,” Grace murmured confidently. Her instincts told her this would work and she’d never been wrong so far.
All three of them had a restless night as they contemplated Grace’s risky plan.
Qiana looked a bit haggard at the breakfast table.
Grace was her usual bright and bubbly self, but it was just an act.
Mon and Naz had no idea about the scheme the trio had discussed.
Neither of their mystics seemed to be aware of it either.
Qi and Koach hung back after breakfast when everyone headed to the worksite on the far side of the lake. Amaros teleported them there to save time.
“So?” Grace asked, mentally crossing her fingers. “Are you going to practice on me?”
“No,” Qiana said and the teen’s heart sank. “I’ll trial the procedure on an animal instead.”
Horror filled the youngest cambion. “You can’t do that to a poor innocent animal!” she said in anguish.
“I told you she wouldn’t be happy about this,” Kochab murmured.
“I don’t care,” Qi snapped. “I either try it on an animal, or not at all.”
Grace was nearly in tears, but she nodded miserably. “Okay, but I’m going with you.”
Koach took hold of their hands and teleported them deep into the woods. He vanished and returned a couple of minutes later, holding a squirming rabbit. “Can you hold it still for me, kiddo?” he requested. “I’ll use my sword to sever one of its legs.”
Grace nodded, suppressing a sob as she took hold of the animal. Qiana looked a bit ill, but her expression was determined. “Do it,” she ordered.
Kochab called his sword from the ether and Grace stretched one of the rabbit’s hind legs out. Praying she wouldn’t scream, she held her breath as the weapon whooshed through the air. The rabbit screamed instead of the cambion when blood gushed from its stump.
Qi reached over and took the severed leg from Grace’s badly shaking hands. Holding the severed ends together, her magic suffused the rabbit. Her breath caught when the wound began to heal.
“What happened?” Grace asked in dismay when the magic suddenly stopped working. “What went wrong?” she asked as her tears began to fall.
“The rabbit died from shock,” Kochab said. “But you were right, Gracelyn. My mate can reattach a limb that’s been severed, as long as her patient is alive.”
His tone was proud and triumphant, but his female shook her head. “We don’t know if it will work properly,” she denied. “The rabbit died before the nerves, bones and everything else could finish fusing back together.”
Grace put the deceased animal down gently, mourning the loss of an innocent life. Wiping her tears away on her sleeve, she stared her big sister directly in her eyes. “Try it on me this time,” she said. “I’m not going to die from shock like that poor rabbit just did.”
Qiana was about to refuse, but the teen’s bottom lip quivered. Blowing out a sigh, she knew Grace would never forgive her if she practiced the procedure on another animal.
“You can do it, my beautiful, brilliant mate,” Kochab said. The love and belief in his eyes bolstered her courage.
“I sincerely hope we’re not all going to regret this,” Qi muttered, then held out her hand. “Take us to the infirmary,” she requested. “I’ll need medical equipment if I can’t reattach Grace’s arm with magic.”
Her mate teleported them back to their base and the surgeon gathered everything she needed.
Her first task was to inject local anesthetic into the teen.
Grace had refused to be knocked out for the procedure.
“Lie down on the examination bed,” Qi ordered.
Grace did as she was told, heart hammering too hard and fast. She kept her mouth shut as Qiana prepared her arm.
A tourniquet was tied around her bicep tightly, then the doc nodded at her mate.
Kochab reluctantly called on his sword again. The rabbit’s blood had vanished from the blade and it was pristine once more. “Close your eyes, little sister,” he requested. Grace shut her eyes, then he swung his sword.
A pained noise escaped from the teen as the blade cut through her wrist. The anesthetic had done nothing to numb her bones.
Qiana was holding her hand and her arm. The agony and sensation that her hand was missing only lasted for a moment before vanishing.
She opened her eyes to see a red line on her wrist. Blood stained the plastic sheet the doc had put down, but not much.
“Can you feel your hand?” Qi asked anxiously as she scanned her patient.
“It feels a bit numb,” Grace said, starting to shake from the shock she’d claimed she wouldn’t suffer from. She didn’t think it was from the local anesthetic. She was pretty sure it was due to having her nerves severed.
“Try to move your fingers,” Qiana said, still holding her hand. She felt the muscles in the teen’s fingers and palm moving, then the kid squeezed her hand.
“It worked, doc,” Grace said with a dazzling grin. “I knew you could do it!”
“What the hell are you three idiots doing?” Zoe demanded as Amaros suddenly appeared with his mate. “I just saw a vision of Kochab cutting Grace’s hand off!”
“Don’t be angry with Qi and Koach, mama bear,” Grace said as the surgeon removed the tourniquet and helped her to sit up. “It was my idea,” she said, then explained her plan.
“That was stupid and reckless,” Zo said, shaken by the huge risk her best friend had just taken. She lurched forward and hugged Grace hard. “It was also the bravest thing I’ve ever seen,” she admitted.
“Now we just need to tell Sin, Mon and Nazab about our scheme,” Grace said, desperately hoping her urge to vomit would pass soon.