Page 90 of Total Eclipse of the Moon
Antonio walked beside her. "The house belongs to Evie. It's got medical equipment worthy of a top-grade hospital. Convenient, but weird. Wonder how often Evie uses the equipment."
Outside the room, Cora stood with her hands on her hips. She pursed her bright pink lips and gave Madeline a once over. With a dramatic sigh, she put her shoulder under Madeline’s and walked her down a hallway that opened into a warm kitchen with a wooden fire next to an oversized wooden kitchen table. Cora pointed at a chair scooted in at the table, one that looked unforgiving. Gently, Cora positioned her in the chair.
Madeline pushed to stand up. "I should go back to Shane. I need to be there to make sure he survives."
Cora put a firm hand on her shoulder to press her down. "Sit. Let me at least treat and wrap your leg."
"Dom knew you were out here, didn’t he?" she asked in a daze as she sat in the chair.
Cora applied something to her skin that burned but Madeline tried not to move. She tried not to breath in its smell since the stuff reeked of cow manure.
Once done bandaging the stinky concoction into place, Cora moved about the kitchen, heating water and then mixing something in a cup. "Drink."
Madeline sniffed. It smelled sweet with a hint of herbs. "What’s this?"
"Healing potion. It’ll speed up your skin closing."
As the warmth of her first sip passed down her throat to her stomach and a minty, almost sweet taste saturated her mouth, a swell of heat circulated through her. Cora’s teas were always effective and fast. "I need to learn this potion."
"You suck at this kind of thing, no offense." Cora poured herself a cup. "Remember the last time you tried mixing something up? It made your skin turn splotchy orange for a few days."
"That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t learn it."
"True. Maybe I’ll just make you some so you can carry it around if you’re going to hang out with people like this. You feel better yet?"
She rotated her ankle. Felt nothing. A few presses around the poultice and wrap were non-painful. With a nod she stood and tested it. Still some lightheadedness, probably because she couldn’t regenerate blood in a millisecond. But overall excellent. "I’m good. Thank you."
"Great." Cora grabbed her hand and announced, "We’re leaving."
"What?"
"You heard me. We’re blowing this popsicle stand and its crew of monkeys. They got you shot and almost stole all your magic again." She put her hands on her hips. "Let’s not forget they’re happy to watch youdiefor their own gain. Clearly, they’re not safe for you to be around."
"I’m going to lift their curse before I leave." Madeline yanked her hand out of Cora’s grip.
"Nope." Cora shook her head. "You’re done with this foolishness. Look at you. You lost a chunk of your calf and you can barely stand because your magic is so depleted. Yet, do they care? Did they take a minute away from their obsession about themselves to wrap your leg or offer you soda? Did they give you a blanket?"
She nibbled on her lip. A drink did sound good. "Shane got shot in the chest. I barely got nicked. The others almost died in their own ways. They had other things on their minds."
"Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph. You got hurt and saved all their asses, Madeline. When will you get it? You matter. You’re as important, if not more so, than any one of them." She pawed through the contents of the extra-large leather purse slung across her body and, like a proper magical witch, emerged with a small bottle of Coca-Cola. Because everyone with an oversized bag carried around a bottle of soda, right? "Drink. How about when you were on the plane with them? Did they say thank you for saving the day with your dragon? Did they check up on you?" Cora studied her. "That look says no. Assholes. They’re a bunch of users who don’t give two craps about you other than what you can do for them."
"That’s not true." She wrapped a hand around the talisman Shane had draped around her neck that night when everything had been perfect. When she’d dreamed of a future for them with options.
"They don’t deserve you reversing the curse. At least, not right now."
"Stop it, Cora. So, they’re not bleeding-heart tree huggers? I won’t leave now, not with Shane like—"
"That’s your lady parts talking, not your head. I taught you to use your brain. Not your lust."
Madeline crossed her arms and sat back in the chair.
Cora threw up her arms. "How many times have we talked about sex being our weakness? Look at the bigger picture. I wanted you to talk to Shane and move past him and these brothers. Figure out your purpose."
"Part of that is me reversing this curse and giving them back their life."
Cora covered her face. She held out her hands in a sign of surrender. "Stop fighting me, love, for a few minutes and listen. I’m not trying to get you to leave only out of my selfish need to not see you die over this foolishness. Sure, it plays a big part, but this—you living—is so much bigger. This isn’t as simple as martyring yourself to reverse a curse. You’re a protector, but not of nature in general, not like some of us. You’ve been given a gift, a very specific duty to guard a species that is almost extinct."
Images of dragons of all types surrounded her in a sort of 3-D virtual reality imagery. Madeline’s chest hurt to think of these magnificent creatures, some she recognized as friends she’d helped multiple times, as dying because there was no one to safeguard them.
