Page 13 of Magic and Medicine

‘What matters need addressing today? Any news from Tomasz or Adam? Did the wolves extend my request to the owner of the Anchor? I would hate to drop in unannounced, but I will if my hand is forced.’

‘Yes, an invitation came earlier, very polite and well written, if I do say so myself. The owner of the Anchor not only invited you but also mentioned some special event to be held in your honour.’

That was most inconvenient, and I sighed, getting more than I expected. Not only would the underbelly of the Tricity area know that the Forest Lord visited the local mobster, but they would also assume we are on friendly terms. That was the problem with hastily executed plans, but looking at my assistant, I realised it wasn’t the only one.

‘Anything else?’

‘The young wolf, the injured one, came earlier, saying Sara had some trouble at work. One of Nadolny’s bouncers took in an injured girl, and then he overheard the nurses saying she was reckless because the man almost hit her. The pup was concerned, so he said he would keep an eye on her.’

My hand clenched around the cup with a force that shattered the ceramic into pieces, splashing hot tea onto the floor, but I barely felt it. I knew where she worked and that unpleasant patients caused problems now and then, but the thought that someone might hurt Sara, my Sara, made my voice savage.

‘Find out who he is and make him disappear.’ I heard myself saying, and despite my usual care with local politics, I didn’t care how this person disappeared. He dared to threaten my woman, and I was not in the mood to let it slide. My woman, that thought drove away the remnants of sleep as I wondered at the strange idea. The voice in my head tried to reason with my feelings, but I shook it off, getting dressed. I had to be ready before the Coven Mistress arrived and in apparel that would still be suitable for that den of iniquity, the Anchor. That required I abandon my usual style. I mentioned it to Michal, and after he dived into my closet, I accepted the clothes he prepared. Still, I almost snapped at him when he came and ruffled my hair.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ I asked quietly, looking in the mirror.

‘The newest trend on the internet. Now you look like one of those fantasy book boys my daughter loves so much. All hot, bothered and roughened. You are only missing wings.’ He answered with a smirk. I was lost for words, but my expression showed the full extent of my discontent. Still, the person looking back at me from the mirror appeared much younger and ruggedly handsome. My hair was naturally wavy, but now it was artfully laying in random directions as if I’d just left my lover’s bed. Somehow, my thoughts drifted to the doctor, imagining her hand causing this silky mess, and I had to chastise myself again before I could focus on the problem.

‘Tell the men to be ready, choose the best fighters and… give them the benefit of your hair expertise. All weapons must be concealed, but don’t let them come unarmed. I don’t know what Nadolny has prepared or whether he is working with our enemy. Oh, and let the Coven Mistress in as soon as she arrives,’ I said, dismissing him to focus on strengthening the wards around my property. It was always better to be prepared if the witcheswerecoming.

Chapter eight

The Emergency Department was as hectic as ever, but its chaotic nature centred me, and thoughts of my recent troubles disappeared. You have no time to brood over a new, magical reality when patients are shouting, crying, and bleeding for attention, or you are in your latest battle with a bureaucracy seemingly designed to make you grey at thirty. Still, the hospital didn’t feel the same anymore; its corridors filled with the shadows that had plagued me since childhood.

I tried not to act skittish, but the telltale sign of the imminent death of the patient we were resuscitating left me distracted, and when a wailing voice echoed in the corridor outside, I nearly dropped the ultrasound probe.

If this kept up, it wouldn’t be long before someone noticed me staring at things that weren’t there, or worse, saw me treating a patient I knew had died differently than others. Surprisingly, thinking about Leszek’s gifts stopped me from worrying about the surrounding strangeness, making it easier to accept that weird occurrences were a regular part of my new life. He was also the only person I knew who could tell me what these shadows were and what seeing them meant for me.

When I overheard two nurses whispering in a corner, looking around furtively, my internal alarm screamed at me to investigate.

‘Did you see those Russian goons? They were so suspicious, and saying those bites were from a dog? Who did they think they were fooling? Idiots. Do you think they have a fighting ring? Maybe they have bears or something?’ Ewa always had a theory about everything, and almost everything led to the conclusion the government was misleading us.

‘What Russians?’ I asked, goading her into sharing the latest conspiracy, hoping for some light entertainment despite my foreboding.

‘Limb injuries, Sara. Your junior took care of it as there was nothing that serious we needed to concern your ladyship about.’ A grin and a wink offset her teasing. ‘Your new intern handled it well, but it was weird. Those men, all dressed in black like gangsters out of the movies, came with a skinny guy with a weird tattoo that spoke Polish, claiming that there was a mishap with a guard dog because, yeah, a dog has the strength to break the femoral bone of a grown man. I don’t think so, but that’s what they said before ortho took them to theatre.’

She dragged over the work tablet and typed something quickly. ‘Look, do you think a dog did that?’

The pictorial record taken before the surgery showed the full extent of the damage. I felt a chill run down my spine, remembering the young man who had been an overgrown wolf before his transformation. Fuck, I need to talk to Leszek. We can’t have someone running around biting people. I covered my dread with a pleasant smile, joking about Himalayan mountain dogs and other large breeds.

I left to find somewhere quiet to call Leszek when the doors to our staff room opened, and a handsome male face smiled in my direction.

‘Sara, could you help me with something if you’re free?’

The voice belonged to the new intern, a heartthrob that the nurses gushed over. Even the older, married psychoanalyst always smiled whenever he walked into the room, and I had to admit that he was pretty, if a little too meek for my tastes. Noticing my interest, he continued. ‘We have a young lady who requests a female doctor, and unfortunately, you’re the only one on shift. I’m afraid it’s a Chippendale lineup out there.’

The phone call would have to wait. As he mentioned, there was an overabundance of men on shift today, but that happened sometimes. In this department, requests for female doctors meant one of two things: domestic violence or sexual assault. This always brought flashbacks I didn’t want to remember. I’m notorious for falling for the wrong men. Handsome devils who like violence a bit too much, and it was only a matter of time before one of my powerful, domineering boyfriends hit me. The memory flooded me of the stunned betrayal I felt when a man I thought I loved so carelessly hurt me because I preferred studying for my anatomy exam rather than attending one of his flashy parties. Good old uni times. Still, I was raised by spirited women who taught me no one could lay a hand on me and walk away without consequences, so I grabbed the pan soaking in the sink and smacked him with it before kicking him out of my life. I might have nursed my black eye for a week, but it was worth it. Thankfully, I was not raised to be a victim, but how many women had the example of my grandma, a war orphan who built a life for herself or my mother who continued her pregnancy despite a broken spine and a husband killed in the motorbike crash that almost claimed her life?

I shook my head to banish those thoughts. The helplessness of these situations always brought out the worst in me, and facing a crisis where I couldn’t help except to collect evidence set me on edge. Training this week will be interesting, I thought. My weekly Krav Maga practice sometimes became the only outlet for the violence I wanted to use on the culprit after hearing of their brutality.

‘I wish these were medieval times.’

‘What?’ my junior asked, hearing my murmur.

‘Nothing, I just need to remove my shining armour and stop charging on an empty field,’ I said, chuckling slightly, observing his confused expression. I couldn’t change the world. Kosovo taught me that much, yet I had this stupid need to try every now and again.

‘We love you, Sara. You’re a great boss, but you are so weird sometimes,’ he said, shaking his head, and I laughed harder, observing another shadow. A slim silhouette of a man whose gaunt face looked at me without recognition hung in the air before slowly disappearing into the wall.

‘You don’t know how right you are.’ I said, determined to talk with Leszek later. If there was any way he could help me control what I was seeing, I would beg him to help, even if this cost me an arm and a leg.

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