Page 48 of Queen of Darkness
“This is gonna work,” I assured them all, starting to feel a little lightheaded as the third bag filled.
“I know,” Aaron said, stroking my forehead. “We’ll get through it.”
As we moved to the fourth bag, my vision started to gray over. My limbs felt weak and heavy. I doubted I could get up from the couch at this point. Not that I intended to. We were going to keep this up.
“Now,” Aaron said, his voice distant.
Purple light flared in the dim room, forcing my eyes closed.
“Jo?”
I stirred weakly, trying to confirm that I was still there, but my body wasn’t responding. Even my thoughts felt sluggish. Detached. What had I even been trying to say? The violet light grew brighter even behind my eyelids.
“She’s fading,” a female voice said. “We should stop.”
“No!” a male voice barked. “She said to keep going. We keep going.”
Where’s Aaron going? What is he doing? I should probably ask him. He’ll tell me. He’ll tell me …
“She’s going to die if we keep this up. She can’t take much more. Even with my magic.”
“You don’t stop. We see this through. It’s what she would want,” Aaron barked authoritatively.
“Six,” a female voice said from somewhere far away.
The purple light was fading now. Growing darker. Whatever light was on, someone must have turned it off. That must be it. They wanted to go to sleep.
Sleep sounds nice. I could use some sleep now. Deep sleep. Restful. I’m so tired.
My head slumped.
“Jo!” someone shouted, but I shut it out. I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep.
“Jo? Jo? Can you hear me?” a male voice called. “Shit. She’s not responding. What do we do?”
“Seven,” a female voice said mechanically.
“Keep going. We’re almost there.”
“And she’s almost gone.”
“She’ll make it,” the strong male voice replied. “Keep using your magic.”
“I am.”
The voices continued to talk in my dreams as I faded away. Finally, I could rest.
“Jo? She’s got no pulse.”
“Give it to her.”
Give what? I don’t need anything. Just let me sleep.
I chased the darkness, letting it close over me, welcoming it with a warm smile. Just a short nap, that’s all I needed.
Then, I knew nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Four
