Page 40 of Norah

He places it on the ground with a grin, and I roll my eyes at him as I wrap my hands around the edges. “I know, I know, you’re super strong. Now I know who has to open all the jars in the house.” I laugh at him and then attempt to lift the rock. Hoisting with all my might, it raises about a foot before I have to drop it. I jump back to keep it from crushing my feet, and feel something sliding under my shoes. What the heck?

It happens all at once, so fast that my brain struggles to register. The rocks under my feet crumble, and the soles of my shoes lose traction. The weight of my body swings away from my sliding feet, and my arms scrabble for balance. I hear Ethan gasp out, “No!” as I pitch backwards into the ravine.

A voice calling, fading, “Norah! No!” Then a jolt, crushing pain, and black.

ETHAN

“Norah! No! Oh baby,no!”

I watch her fall backwards as the weight of the dropped boulder dislodges the stones beneath, dropping her into the ravine below. Heart in my throat, I find a stable spot by the edge and peer down, afraid of what I may see. Fighting my instinct to just leap down after her, I force myself to think calmly.Freaking out won’t help Norah. Think, then act.

She’s lying on her side, looking tiny and helpless, clothing dark against the snow. Think, don’t just act.Be smart.I call down to her, but hear nothing in response. Fear races through my veins. I know she has enhanced healing, that thisshouldn’tkill her, but I need to have Norah in my arms to be sure.

I carefully work my way down the rock face, forcing a calm I don’t feel. Small stones and pebbles scatter and I move, but thankfully, nothing is too significant. Once I get about halfway down, around fifteen feet to go, I decide it’s close enough. Pushing myself away from the side, I drop to the ground and rush to Norah’s side.

There’s blood, some from small cuts on her cheek and chin, the rest in a puddle under her left leg. Bruises mar her delicate face, and my hand goes to it, wanting to smooth away the hurt. Her eyes are closed, so I get close to her ear and speak her name urgently. She doesn’t respond, and my fear intensifies. Doubt worms its way into my consciousness.

Wethinkwe know how a vampire can be killed. But do wereallyknow?What if Roman was wrong?“Norah, wake up for me, OK? I need to make sure you’re alright.” I unzip her jacket and check her abdomen for injuries, but find nothing visibly wrong.Why isn’t she waking up?

“Norah. Time to wake up.” My voice is more urgent now, and I give her shoulder a little shake. “Come on, baby. I need to see your eyes.”

“Ow.” Norah groans, then shifts, wincing. Her eyes open to meet mine, and there’s a confusion swirling within. “What the heck?”

Thank God.“Baby, you fell. Can you tell me where it hurts?” I’m stroking her hair, cheeks, lips, reassuring myself that she’s alive.

Her forehead crinkles, then she moves around a bit, testing her body. “Ohhh… ow.” She tries to sit up, but I hold her still. “My leg,” she groans, “hasdefinitelyfelt better.”Oh shit.I hadn’t noticed before in my panic, but it’s clear that her left leg is badly broken. Norah must see the horror in my expression, because she pats my arm. “It’s OK. It hurts, but it will heal. I’ve had broken bones before.”

“OK… How long do you think it will take?”Fifteen minutes? An hour?

Norah pushes my arms away so she can look at her leg. She winces. “Um… well, I haven’t had an actual bone sticking out before. So I’m not sure. I had a fracture that healed up in about half an hour. This seems like it might take… longer.”

Well, crap.I don’t want Norah to lie here in the snow for an undetermined time before her leg heals. I could carry her out. It wouldn’t take too long, but how much pain would I cause her leg with all the movement? As I wrack my brain for ideas, my frustration continues to rise. Theremustbe a better solution. Therehasto be.

I look down at Norah to see her biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, determined to stay silent through the pain. The wave of frustration and anger that rushes through me is so strong, I can feel my whole body vibrating. It feels…powerful.And suddenly, my body just knows what to do.

I sweep Norah into my arms, trying to keep her as still as possible. She cries out in pain, but muffles it as she pushes her face into my chest. My hand steadies her broken leg, holding it immobile. Then I gather up all the power surging through me, concentrate, and justmove.

I spot a tree in the distance and justwillmyself there. One second we’re in the ravine, the next at the tree.Wow!Focusing on another tree about 200 feet away, I do it again. Zap. No running or leaping, just there. In a flurry of blinks, I take us several miles back to the car.

“What the… how?” Norah’s head is swiveling around, mouth open in shock. Pain takes a backseat to her confusion as she tries to figure out what happened.

I still can’t quite figure it out.I saw my destination, focused on it, and then I was justthere. From tree to tree, hundreds of feet apart. All the way from the ravine to the car in a flash. Holy cow. “I think… I think I just teleported us… is that possible?”

Norah opens and closes her mouth a few times, then speaks. “Well… if I can make people tell the truth… it’s not unreasonable for you to have this ability. Right?” She shifts in my arms and lets out a little yelp of pain.

Her leg.We can talk about teleporting later. Right now, Norah needs to get some place comfortable to heal. So I get her in the car’s backseat, using our coats as pillows to cushion her broken leg. Once she’s all settled, I hop in the front and pull up directions to the nearest hotel. “I’ll find a place to stay and get some rest.”

I turn back to check on Norah as I pull out of the parking lot. She has a tiny smile on her face and she shakes her head at me. “I can’t believe you can teleport. I’msojealous.”

Healing

NORAH

“Are yousureit doesn’t hurt?”

Ethan checks my leg for the tenth time since we checked into our little motel near Woodstock. I’m wearing only a robe, since my clothes are all covered in dirt and blood. I can see the expanse of smooth skin where a bone had poked through just a few hours ago. It’s completely healed, not even a twinge.

But good luck convincing Ethan of that; he keeps running his hand over my leg inspecting it for any lingering injury. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to healing like this. There’s something disconcerting about watching bone move back into place and skin knit back together again. I’m not complaining though, since it saved me from an unpleasant hospital visit and months of recovery time.

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