Chapter 30 #2
After the man took off his jacket, he swaggered over in all-black attire. “Salem Lockwood?”
“That’s me.”
“I’m Adam.” He extended his right hand, an odd gesture for immortals. Another scar marked the inside of his forearm. “Sorry. Old habits are hard to break.” After a tight smile, he peered inside the room. “That her?”
“Come this way.”
Milly was moving the waste and equipment out of the way—all except the heart monitor.
Adam rubbed his stubbly chin. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She needs your help, and that’s all that matters.”
The Mage pushed up his shirt sleeves. There were scars on his right inner forearm. Salem was nervous about trusting a stranger, but Lucian had vouched for him.
Adam gestured to the machine. “You need to take all that shit off her, and unless you want the equipment damaged, I’d roll that thing outta here too. Better safe than sorry.”
After removing the adhesives from the electrodes, Milly unplugged the machine and rolled it into the hallway while Salem stopped the IV drip for sedation.
He glanced over his shoulder at the Mage. “What about the oxygen mask?”
Adam rubbed the back of his neck. “As long as it’s not connected to anything electric, it’s fine, but keep the tank away. Better to not take chances. Feel me?”
To be on the safe side, Salem removed the mask and tilted her head back to open her airway. Then he stood opposite the Mage with Quinn between them.
“So what’s your plan?” the Healer asked.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’ll start with her chest. Push your healing light into her once. Then do the same on her stomach, each limb, her head, and repeat the process once more.”
Adam’s eyebrows arched. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ve never given that much power to anyone.”
Salem raised the side bed rail. “You will today. I’m asking that you never speak of this to anyone, no matter what happens. Don’t ask about it, don’t speculate or talk to people to get their opinion. I need your word you’ll forget this ever happened. If not…”
The Mage flicked his eyes up. “If you’re thinking of sending a Vampire to erase my memories, think again.
My Creator’s an important figure, and if he found out anyone scrubbed me, he’d unleash the hounds of hell.
You have my word, and if that’s not enough, we’ve got problems. I’m only here to help, and if this makes her better, that’s all that matters. ”
Salem squeezed the rail when he realized this moment would change everything for better or for worse. He bent over, took her hand, and placed a kiss to her delicate fingers while pushing all his love into her. Then he stepped back and clutched the locket around his neck.
The Mage placed his hands on her chest, then cast a glance at Salem. “I just hope I don’t pass out. This takes a lot out of me.”
“Well, you’re in the right place then.”
He gave a mirthless laugh before concentrating.
Salem had never witnessed a Mage Healer using their magic before.
Their rare gift allowed them to heal anyone, aside from humans, which was especially useful for Breeds who might otherwise succumb to their injuries.
But their magic didn’t work on reversing the effects of poison or dehydration, for example, so because limitations existed, he wasn’t certain if this would work.
Maybe that other Mage had special gifts that Pyro didn’t know about.
An audible pop sounded, followed by a flash of light that made Salem wince. Adam exhaled sharply, his shoulders sagging. Then he moved to Quinn’s right leg, and another loud pop of electricity preceded a flash of light.
Salem focused on Quinn’s face to see if her eyelids fluttered or lips moved. Between each treatment, he checked her pulse with a stethoscope. Coming out of sedation would take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. Tak filled the doorway and became a barrier to keep everyone out.
The Mage backed up, exhausted and breathing heavily.
“You need to keep going,” Salem commanded. “She’ll be waking up soon, and I don’t want her to feel any of this.”
He held up his hand. “Give me a second. If I pass out, it’ll be for nothing.” Despite his pallor and trembling hands, the Mage pressed on, starting the process over on her chest.
With every snap, Quinn’s body convulsed, which made Salem’s heart ricochet in his chest. Her pulse had quickened, as did her breathing. When Adam crossed over to do the final arm, Quinn began shaking.
“What’s happening?”
Salem sprang into action. “Help me roll her onto her side! She’s having a seizure.”
They turned her. Salem secured her head while her body convulsed. “Come on. Stay with me. Stay with me.”
Her eyes rolled to the side. There was nothing he could do but let her ride it out and protect her from hitting her head on the rail or falling. When her body finally relaxed, he suctioned her mouth and checked her breathing.
His blood chilled.
Salem searched for a pulse but couldn’t find it. “Move!” He lowered the rail, turned her onto her back, and began chest compressions. After thirty, he administered two breaths and checked for a pulse.
This wasn’t a random patient like in the ER—this was Quinn, and that made every decision critical. He had no concept of where Adam had gone, no idea what the others were saying or doing. He remained focused, delivering one compression after the next and repeating the process.
The muscles in his arms and shoulders ached, and he was breaking out in a sweat. Minutes passed, but they felt like hours. Milly waited outside. There wasn’t anything she could do at this point since he didn’t trust anyone to take over. The way that woman smoked, she wouldn’t last two minutes.
“Let me in!” Virgil shouted.
Salem glanced across his right shoulder at the doorway. Tak stood with his hands steepled over his mouth. Heads were peering in from every opening, but no one was tall enough to see over his shoulders.
Virgil crawled between his legs. When Tak reached down to snatch the back of his pants, Virgil flipped over like a fish and scurried backward.
Salem leaned over and delivered two breaths before checking her pulse. Still nothing.
“She told me to come!” Virgil’s shoes squeaked on the floor, and a struggle ensued.
Salem resumed his compressions, counting each one before risking a glance at what was unfolding.
Tak held Virgil’s foot and dragged him to the door. Virgil jerked his leg back until his sneaker popped off. Then he clawed his way to the bed. “She’s here.”
“Get him out!” Salem shouted.
Adam moved beside him. “Let me take over. I’ve done this before—I know what I’m doing. You’re going too slow.”
Salem reluctantly backed up, out of breath and shaking as he watched the Healer administer compressions like a professional.
Tak gripped the back of Virgil’s shirt, and it ripped when Virgil tried running. The momentum caused him to swing around and fall to the ground. The shirt pulled over his head as he slipped out of it.
“Well, I can’t do anything about it!” Virgil complained to an empty space by the wall. “How?”
Salem rushed to stop Tak. “Wait! Who are you talking to?”
Virgil climbed to his feet, and with a solemn look, he gestured to the wall. “Quinn’s here.” Then he faced the wall. “Anything you want to say before the light comes? Now’s your chance.”
Pain ripped through Salem’s chest like he’d never known, a crevasse that split his soul in two as the unimaginable fear of losing her became a reality.
“Please don’t leave me,” he begged through an onslaught of tears, exhaustion, and agonizing heartbreak. This was the cruelest fate.
“You need to hurry up,” Virgil told him. “When they come, it happens fast. Say what you need to before she’s gone.”
Salem stared at the emptiness. “I love you, Quinn. I’ll never stop loving you.”
Those were the only words he could manage. His vision blurred, and his breathing deepened with agonizing grief.
“She loves you too,” Virgil said. “Forever. She said you promised to find her, and she’ll be waiting.”
The silence suffocated him like the devil’s grip.
Every moment with Quinn flashed before his eyes until he unleashed a primal roar. It surfaced from the depth of his soul, the part that was now devoid of any light.
Salem raged as he flipped over a table. The instruments and trays clattered onto the floor.
He threw a chair across the room, but nothing made the pain go away.
It cut through him like a shard of broken glass.
When he went for the freestanding cabinet to bring it down, Tak came up from behind and hugged him tight.
“Let her go,” he said, tightening his grip. “Give her spirit peace so she can leave this world. I’ve got you.”
Adam continued with compressions while watching for a signal that Salem wasn’t ready to give. Yet the sound of each compression only reminded him of the life he couldn’t save.
“Stop,” he whispered.
The Mage continued.
“Stop!”
Silence enveloped the room.
Salem fell to his knees and sat on his ankles. “I failed her!” He flattened his hands on the floor and hung his head in shame. “I killed the only woman who ever mattered. She healed me, but I couldn’t do the same for her. Why is this happening?” The tears wouldn’t stop, nor would the rage.
“She says you promised you wouldn’t do this,” Virgil said.
“What?” Salem blinked away tears while staring at the floor. “What did you just say?”
“She says you promised you wouldn’t blame yourself.”
He sat back and wiped his face. “She’s still here? Where?”
Virgil snatched his ripped shirt off the floor and put it on. “Right next to you.”
Salem knew Gravewalkers could see ghosts, but he couldn’t fathom Quinn was beside him when her lifeless body lay on the table. He couldn’t see her, smell her, or touch her.
“You didn’t miss it, did you?” Virgil shifted his gaze around. “Huh.”
Salem rose to his feet. “What’s she saying?”