Page 92 of Changeling
Walter moved his touch to Nathan’s back, behind him and out of the way, and held on as Nathan sprang forward. Nathan stabbed the dagger into Leven’s other shoulder, and the spriggan howled at the unexpected attack. Immediately, Wade and Cam started to revive, while Jim and Sasha leapt to their feet.
Nathan yanked his knife free and turned to his brother. He could still feel Walter’s touch on his back, but as he looked at Jim, he saw that Jim didn’t know what to do to finish this, to fix it. Jim looked panicked, and because of that Nathan hoped his brother didn’t realize what he was doing when his hand shot out after Leven and touched the boy’s chest with the flat of his palm. Leven’s body fell wide-eyed to the floor.
Everything went still. The shock of electric blue was still swirling around Jim’s fingers.
He’d stopped Leven’s heart.
Chapter 36
Nathancouldnolongerfeel Walter. His eyes went to Wade and Cam as they sat up, and Cam slowly transformed human again. Wade had seen. She was staring at her brother’s body as Jim gathered the boy into his lap, the body limp and so obviously dead. Sasha stared as he moved to stand beside Nathan.
The same mist as before poured from Leven’s throat, trying to escape, but Jim was ready for it this time. He had no trouble catching the sidhe with his powers and holding it still now that it no longer had a human host protecting it.
“Not so powerful alone, are you?” Jim said coldly at the mist swirling above him. “So now you’re going to listen.Go to the contract holder and tell them you have us waiting and ready to be snatched up. Make sure they know to come for us…or I’ll come foryou.”Then Jim’s fingers curled as if clutching at the spriggan’s invisible throat.
Nathan saw his brother’s blue eyes flash slit amber with power, then the mist flew toward Sasha and vanished just before it struck him. Sasha blinked in awe.
“What did youdo…?” Wade accused, dashing full sprint for her brother in Jim’s arms as she came fully alert and realized Leven wasn’t breathing.
Nathan didn’t want to look. He still couldn’t believe his brother had done that—that he evencoulddo that. Cam moved to stand behind Wade, stunned. Yet Jim remained strangely calm.
“If I can stop his heart…” Jim said, lifting a hand that crackled with electricity again. He looked down at Leven’s open eyes and brought his charged hand to the boy’s chest with a shock. “Then I can start it again.”
The first jolt did not start Leven’s heart, or the second, but the third ended in a great gasp as he was brought back to consciousness. Brought back tolife.
Jim brought Leven back to life.
Wade dove for her brother and clung, the poor boy coughing and sucking in air as he looked around him with wide eyes.
Nathan gasped as if he’d been holding his breath. Each one of them had played a role in bringing the spriggan down, in getting it out of Leven and saving the boy, but Jim had taken the largest risk.
When Nathan looked to his brother and found tears freely streaking down his face, he knew Jim had acted with faith that he really could bring Leven back. Faith wasn’t something they had much of these days, so Nathan decided to consider it a good thing.
“Good job, Jimmy,” he said, blinking back tears of his own.
Jim looked at him…and smiled.
TheytookWadeandLeven to the hospital. Leven turned out to be miraculously unharmed, but Wade had a concussion from her encounter with unconsciousness and was asked to stay the night. They slept in stray hospital chairs in the waiting room, with no one minding their presence enough to kick them out. Leven stayed in Wade’s room, and didn’t say more than a few words to any of them other than, “I’m sorry.”
Nathan couldn’t really sleep, partly from the less than comfortable accommodations, and also because of everything that had happened. He was pleased to see that he was the only one suffering from this affliction, however, and slipped off down a stray hallway as soon as Sasha and Jim were asleep.
He walked and walked, making sure that his general direction was alwaysawayfrom Jim, and once he was certain he was also away from any patrolling nurses or open rooms, he found a window to lean against and whispered, “Walt?”
Walter appeared beside him, flickering only for a moment before he remained solid. “Yes, Nathan? You really should get some rest.”
Nathan frowned but said nothing. He stared at Walter with furrowed brow, waiting for his Spirit Guide to get with the program. He might have dismissed the feeling of being held up by Walter when he fell from the catwalk, but he knew he’d felt Walter’s hand—really felt it.
Eventually, Walter broke eye contact, glancing out the window instead. “I don’t know what to tell you, Nathan. Often I am afforded just as few answers as I am able to give you. I don’t know how I’ve been able to…touch more recently, but I’ve noticed it for some time now.”
“Faust?” Nathan prompted, recalling the moment he’d killed the man. “I wasn’t strong enough to out-muscle him, but somehow I found the strength…almost like someone waspushingmy arm forward.”
Walter’s eyes drifted to the floor.
“I took it for adrenaline then, didn’t even think about it. That was you? The catwalk too?”
“Even before then,” Walter said, “though more subtly until now.”
“And you don’t know why?”
