I snapped out of it, back to the room around us, out of breathing and feeling like I was going to puke my guts out.
“Sharp teeth.Glowing hands.Ugh,” I gagged on nothing, gripping my stomach, “and all wrong.It definitely wasn’t some human.”
“Dammit.”Harkert slammed a fist down onto the table, making Temps jump.I wanted to tell him to knock it off, but I was too out of it, stumbling on my feet.After a moment, he looked over at me, and the anger on his face shifted to concern.“You look like you’re going to fall over.”
“Yeah,” I waved a hand around, getting dizzier by the second, “that’s the plan.”
Before I hit the ground, strong arms caught me, pulling me upright.I couldn’t really focus on anything else that was going on, dimly aware of a conversation being held right above my head.
“Lizzie!”
“We need to get her lying down.I have supplies in my office.Let’s go.”
And then I was moving, the world dark and fuzzy around me.
Ten-Tight Confines & A Bit Of Secret Lore Make For Strange Bedfellows
Caleb
Usingmykey,Iopened up my office two floors down in the faculty building as Lizzie leaned against me, Temperance on her other side.She’d collapsed right after peering into the dead girl’s last moments.I didn’t have enough experience with a morrighan to know if that was common, but Temperance looked horrified.
“Help me lie her down on the couch.”I let my keys dangle from the knob as the two of us walked Lizzie inside, setting her on the slim couch I had in the room, parked against the left wall.“Good.I’ll get my supplies.Close the door so there isn’t excess emotional stimulation.”
Temperance didn’t say anything, just rushed over to the door, yanked out my keys, and shut things up again.It was my job to get Lizzie the tonics she needed to right herself.That vision must have drained so much from her; if she didn’t get regulated soon, she was going to drop into the space between and get stuck there.
“Hang in there, Lizzie.Harkert’s getting stuff for you.”
I glanced over my shoulder as I went to the thick, wooden cabinet behind my desk, pulling open the small doors and drawers to gather up everything I needed.Temperance sat on the couch near Lizzie, holding her hand as she peered down at her unconscious face.I needed to act quickly.
I yanked out the glass vials of bezor and magnesia, sniffing the bit of yarrow root and willowbark I had on hand to ensure it was still fresh.Dumping them all in a mortar that sat on the wood lip of this breakfront cabinet, I ground them with the pestle, using enough force to crush them all down quickly.The mixture began to subtly smoke from the effort put in, and I blindly reached for the moon water I knew was somewhere at my right.
“Come on,” I whispered, finally grasping the bottle and pouring in a hefty amount until the solution was ready.
Bottling it up, I rushed it over to Lizzie.I scooped under her head, angling it back so that I could part her lips with the edge of my hand by pushing down on her chin.She opened, and I delicately poured a few drops of the liquid into her mouth, being sure to let them absorb before I poured more.
“What is that?”Temperance’s voice was so quiet as she spoke, and I looked over at her, still cradling Lizzie’s head.
“It’s a grounding tonic essentially.It’ll draw Lizzie’s consciousness back to her body instead of the in between that’s calling her.A side effect of gazing into a dead person, I’m afraid.”
Her eyes glassy with unshed tears, Temperance squeezed Lizzie’s hand.“How do you know about this?”
“I don’t know as much as I’d like.I’m going off the limited knowledge I have and doing my best.The school taught me a fair bit about magic and spellcraft, but unfortunately, a morrighan is so rare that much of what I learned went used for so long.I’m trying to remember it all.”
I dropped more of the tonic into Lizzie’s mouth, watching the grayish-yellow mixture disappear on her tongue.The room sank into silence as Temperance and I waited.I could hear more rain pattering against my window, the ornate stained glass still quite thin and doing little to dull the noise.Wind howled, and I took off my glasses, setting them down on the coffee table in front of the couch as I adjusted my hold on Lizzie.
Her breath lifted her chest slowly, but it was picking up.Her color was getting better, too.
“Ugh!”Lizzie shot upright on the couch, nearly smashing her face into mine.“The fuck?!Where—Why does my mouth taste like shit?”
“You’re okay!”Temperance launched herself into Lizzie’s arms, a chuckle breaking through a sob.
Leaning back, I shuffled down the couch and then stood, giving the two of them some space.With a smile, I looked on as Temperance took Lizzie’s face in her hands, shaking her head.The tension in my chest lessened, and I let out a sigh as Lizzie finally smiled back at her stepsister.
“Don’t do that to me ever again.I didn’t know what happened.You just dropped.Crumpled up like a flower or something.”
Lizzie chuckled, dropping her forehead to Temperance’s.“I’ll do my best.Did you seriously wake me up with the world’s worst-tasting shot, though?”
“I did not.”Lizzie’s eyes met mine as she looked past Temperance, resting her chin on her stepsister’s shoulder.“It was a grounding tonic on crack, with a little desperation mixed in.”
