Page 137 of Elven Shadow

She released Rebecca’s arm long enough to plunge both hands into the overstuffed fanny pack around her waist, rooted around in there for another ten seconds that felt like a lifetime, then finally removed her hands and produced a clear glass vial that looked like it had absolutely nothing in it. “I do havethis. And I believe the two of you are already well acquainted.”

Rebecca gawked at the empty vial. “Is that the same—”

“Yep.”

“And you want me to just—”

“Yep.”

“Forget it.” With a grunt of her own, Rebecca took her first step up the stairs but couldn’t go any farther because the old healer still had a grip on her arm; she clearly wasn’t letting up anytime soon.

Rebecca wouldn’t regain all her strength in the next two seconds, either, so they were at an impasse.

“You can’t justforgetaboutit, elf. We already know this shit works. It works especially well for you, ancestors only know why. And as your resident healer, I’m gonna go ahead and order it as your current recovery regimen.”

“You couldn’t even tell me what it’s made of,” Rebecca muttered. “And now you’re trying to get me hooked on some special go-juice you can’t tell me anything about.”

“No, of course not.” Zida scoffed. “Honestly, I have no idea if it’s addictive or what the long-term side effects might be. But it’s the only option you have right now. Listen, they might look like they’re totally thrilled, like it’s all fun and games in there, but the next few days of this are crucial, all right?

“If you’re gonna survive this with a better outcome than Aldous had, you have to oversee the comings and goings in this place like a competent commander. Especially on your first day. Unless, of course, you wanna set a precedent for falling asleep on the job. I guess technically, it’s not as bad as almost getting everyone killed…”

“Dammit, okay,” Rebecca snapped. “Fine. Just…stop talking.”

“As long as you stop arguing with the expert.” Zida tittered. “Which in this scenario would be me, in case you were feeling a little confused. So how about it?”

Rebecca eyed the vial again, then reached achingly toward it, her hand already shaking again.

Zida whisked the thing out of her grip at the last second and leaned toward her. “One more quick word of warning, elf. This stuff doesn’t have what you might call a stacking effect. It’s more like a shovel, really.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning the more of this you take, the deeper the hole you’re digging for yourself.”

“Noted.” Rebecca reached for the vial again, and this time, the healer opened her clawed hand and let Rebecca take it.

This was only a temporary fix. She could deal with that.

Right now, accepting the long-term side effects was an easier pill to swallow than suffering more immediate consequences ofnottaking the risk. Once she could clearly think again, she could form a better plan for a long-term cure.

Zida had to help her remove the vial’s stopper this time too, but then Rebecca took her second dose and felt like she’d just inhaled part of the sun.

They finally reached the second story, though now Rebecca felt like she could have flown up the stairwell. Zida still hovered at her side, though, most likely to keep an eye on her.

But nothing terrible was going to happen now.

Not after another little whiff of that magic air in a bottle.

Rebecca had to focus on one thing at a time, and right now, the present was all she could handle.

She stood in front of the door to what had once been Aldous’s office but was now hers. Then she snorted at herself and lowered her fist poised in front of the wood.

No more knocking for her. Not here.

She twisted the handle instead, and the door swung open to welcome her to her new base of operations.

Rebecca grimaced, her nostrils flaring as she took in the enormous desk in the center of the room, piled high with various computer monitors meant to keep tabs on literally everyone inside the compound at all times—as long as they weren’t in the privacy of their rooms.

The bookshelves against the right-hand wall had been emptied, as if in anger, all the books and notebooks having been swept from their places to lie in scattered piles on the floor.

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