Page 149 of Elven Shadow

She kept pacing, reminding herself of the value of patience.

But when people quoted the value of patience, it usually wasn’t with their magical potency—not to mention their very life—on the line.

Another wave of infuriating dizziness crashed over her, and she stumbled toward the armchair before dropping into it at the last second before her legs gave out.

The second her ass hit the cushion, the office door burst open with a bang, and Rebecca almost slid out of the armchair onto the floor.

Zida’s clawed hand thumped against the open door first before the rest of the healer stepped into view. “Here I am. At your service. Security just took off with the box of Hector. That’s what you wanted me to tell you, right?”

Rebecca sighed and closed her eyes.

Finally.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

“Well, you’re welcome then. Next time, I’ll bring you the bill. What did you tell him to do with all those body parts, by the way?”

“Whatever he wants,” Rebecca muttered.

“Wow.” Zida shuffled back into the office and chuckled. “That didn’t take long. Already giving commands and letting the competent operatives of the task force do whatever they damn well please. I’d call that a major improvement.”

“Great,” Rebecca said breathlessly as she focused on pushing herself up out of the armchair. “Call it whatever you want.”

The healer seemed particularly chatty now, but Rebecca had no desire to talk to anyone about anything. The coast was clear, and she needed to get the hell out of here.

With a final shove that took more strength than it should have, she pushed herself all the way to her feet and headed for the door, wobbling and swaying and feeling like every step brought her that much closer not to success but to falling flat on her face.

“And what do you thinkyou’redoing?” healer asked.

“I have to get out of here,” she said. “Right now, before I do anything else, I have to fix whatever this is. As soon as I do, I’ll be back on my game.”

“Right as rain and all that, eh?” Zida asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Sure.”

“And you think you’ve justsuddenlystumbled upon the solution to the problem even an old-world healer couldn’t solve?”

Rebecca snorted before her thighs bumped against the edge of the desk, then she steadied herself under another flash of vertigo that made the entire room spin like a giant top. “I don’tthinkI figured it out. I know exactly what I need.”

“Well don’t be greedy,” Zida urged. “Go on. Share with the rest of the class while you’re at it.”

“Wrong class,” Rebecca muttered. Somehow, she reached the old woman and held her hand out again. “I need another vial.”

“Oh, for the love of—” Zida rolled her beady eyes. “Am I living in some kind of waking nightmare? We justhadthis conversation.”

“Well it’s not a conversation anymore,” Rebecca snapped. “Now it’s an order.”

Zida’s toothless mouth gaped open. Then the old woman huffed and scratched with a claw-like nail just beneath her nose. “Didn’t take you long to pull that one, either.”

“I’m serious,” Rebecca warned. “I need it so I can go take care of my little personal health problem. Then I won’t touch the stuff again. You have my word.”

For an agonizingly long moment, during which Rebecca’s body threatened to shut down completely, the healer glowered at her, then finally huffed in frustration. “Just remember I won’t be there this time to rush in and keep you from dropping dead on the spot.”

The closest thing to a smile Rebecca could summon in that moment was a quick twitch of her lips. “Trust me. I’m counting on it.”

Rebecca hurried through the compound, slipping through the hallways, tripping over her own feet, seeing double of everything. She didn’t want to take advantage of Zida’s newest vial until she was sure she could get out of the building and across town to do what had to be done.

A rather large gathering still remained in the common room—Shade’s members celebrating their newest success and getting rid of their old commander and ushering in a new one. Everyone seemed far happier with Rebecca sitting at the top of the pyramid.

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