Page 63 of Magic and Medicine

A moan of pain and scraping sounds caught my attention, and I turned toward it, ready to strike.

‘Sara… he took her, I tried. I really tried…’ A weak voice, barely a whisper, made me turn my head, and the view shattered the last string of my self-control.

Jarek tried crawling toward me, leaving behind a trail of bright red blood, and the next thing I knew, I was kneeling beside him, tearing away clothing to examine him, holding back the sob as I saw the gaping hole in his stomach. Mangled tissue and pulsing blood flow told me the artery was damaged, and I had nothing, not even a scrap of bandage, to stop the bleeding.

His life was leaking on the floor in a bright red stream that was getting weaker with every passing moment, but I wasn’t ready to give up on him.

‘I’m sorry.’ I said, pushing my hand into the gaping hole. If I’d only come sooner, he wouldn’t be in shock. Even now, if I could plug whatever torn artery was bleeding so profusely, I could buy us time. Jarek screamed and thrashed when my fingers roamed over his organs while my magic tried to locate the bleeding site. And I found it. The alloy bullet, deadly to the creatures of the Nether, pierced his aorta. If I removed it, without the shifter healer’s presence, the death would be instantaneous, but he would slowly bleed to death in my embrace if I didn’t. Maybe not so slowly, I thought, looking at his pale face.

Jarek’s hand landed on mine. ‘It’s alright.’ He said, red bubbles foaming at the corner of his mouth. ‘I’m not afraid. I fought them, Sara, but there were too many, and they tricked us.’ He stopped to catch his breath, and I felt Leszek silently behind me.

‘I know you did your best. It is my fault they came here. You fought bravely and with honour. I’m proud of you; your Alpha is proud.’ I said, brushing a stray hair from Jarek’s cheek with my free hand, and he smiled faintly, his eyes drifting in and out of focus.

‘But I still failed… He took her. He took Nina… said you have to come for her. She f…fought, but he knocked her out a…and shot me when I tried to help. I’m sorry, Sara, I’m so sorry…. The boss was right. I was just in the way.’ A grimace of pain twisted his face, but I could barely see it, tears blurring my vision when I bent, kissing his forehead.

‘You were never in the way. You always protected and cared for me. I couldn’t choose a better guardian. Please hold on a little longer. I can fix it… I can’t … I can’t let you go.’ My voice stuttered.

My tears fell on his face, and I shook as my sobs broke free of my control, knowing there was nothing I could do to save him. It felt so wrong; he couldn’t die here, not like this. This remarkable man who helped make my transition bearable, whose company I’d learned to cherish. The wolf who wanted to be a paramedic to help not just his own people now lay here bleeding, and I could not help.

He smiled sadly, reaching for my hand and pulling it from his stomach. ‘I’m done, Sara… I…I know it. I’d stay for you…, my new friends, but… it hurts so much. Please…, will you remember me?’

I couldn’t breathe. Pain tore through my chest as I watched my hand slide from his body, the horror of knowing what the sickening wet sound meant, breaking something inside me. Blood gushed everywhere, and I turned to Leszek. His eyes were dark, like two pools of stagnant water, but he didn’t move when he met my gaze.

‘Do something! For fuck’s sake, do something!’ I shouted, reaching for him. My magic burst out, tethering Jarek’s spirit to his body, while I stared in disbelief at Leszek, shaking his head.

‘I cannot,’

Those words were final, an admittance that not even our combined magic could bring one deserving boy back from the edge of death. The world around me fractured, and I screamed, unwilling to let go. Time slowed, freezing everyone in place, and when I looked at Jarek’s face, he looked so peaceful. His pupils widened, covering the hazelnut rim of his iris, and his lips curled in a fading smile while I held his hand in mine.

‘Free his spirit, child. He suffers more with his spirit tied to a body tainted with death.’ Dola approached me with her scissors. Her wrinkled hand stroked my hair in a motherly gesture, bringing more tears.

‘You know what you must do. Even a Soul Shepherd can’t fight fate. It is his time to go. Give it back to him, Sara, this moment of peace, his last breath. Give him back his honourable death.’ She said, and I looked down. Covered in blood and clenched in my fist, between the whitened knuckles, was the golden thread of Jarek’s life.

I slowly relaxed my hand, watching the thread, as delicate as an autumn spider’s web, lying over my palm as the weaver leaned over and cleaved it in two. Just like that, his breath rattled and stilled, the shadow of his spirit moving away, looking back briefly to offer his boyish smile to me one last time before fading into the aether and, with him, Dola, but not before I felt her touch, the faintest of whispers in my ear.

‘At the moment of his death, he was not alone. That is more than most mortals can wish for….’

Dola’s consolation didn’t ease my pain. If anything, she made it worse as it filled with grief and worry. I had to find Nina before I lost her, too. The mere thought hurt so much that I quickly tore apart the frozen bubble in time, crashing back into reality. In anguish, I fell into Leszek’s embrace, torn apart by my grief.

‘Sara, if I could, I would give all my magic to spare you this, but even I can’t fight fate.’ My fists made no impression as I railed against the injustice and mourned my friend, even as powerful hands gently stroked my hair until I could shoulder the pain and struggle on, knowing there was more to do.

I lifted my head, looking at Adam, ‘Search the place. Tell the men to tear the place apart if needed. Rostov wouldn’t rely on one dying shifter to pass on his message. He wanted me, so there’s no way he wouldn’t ensure I received the information.’

A rough baritone rumbled from the entrance. ‘He did.’

Nadolny walked in. His face, with a deep gash across his cheek, was twisted in rage. Gone was the refined philanthropist, and I realised I looked at the true face of the Gdansk underworld, raging and unforgiving. He passed Leszek a piece of parchment, the dark ink covering its surface smudged and blotchy, written in haste by an uncaring hand.

Temple of Jurata, Old Hel, at midnight of Forefathers. Come earlier or fail to appear, and she will die.

That was all it said. I had a week, but why did Rostov want to wait? I looked at Leszek, who exchanged a look with Nadolny.

‘I came wanting to blame you, but I can see you have suffered your own losses. Still, three of my girls are dead, and two are gone. All of them were the sirens that chose to stay rather than return to their brethren. Can you at least tell me who it is? His men came from the shadows, tearing through my bodyguards like paper, shooting at those who fought back. As soon as they dropped this at my office, they disappeared. I will help you kill him, but I demand honesty.’ He said, and, after gently stroking Jarek’s head one last time, I slowly stood up.

‘I don’t know how much you know, but it’s some arsehole called Rostov who took your sirens, my friend, too. He wants me, so he will get me, and we will settle a score that ends with him dead.’ I said calmly, voice an emotionless monotone. Jarek’s death broke the part of me that was soft and forgiving. Now, all I wanted was vengeance.

Leszek’s head snapped toward me. ‘No, out of the question. Can’t you see what he did here? I will not put you in danger again. No, Sara, just no.’

‘I’m not asking for your permission, but I would be grateful for your and Veronica’s help. I need to learn as much as possible about time-altering spells,’ I said.

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