In Search of Healing

by Katie Holmburg

  She flinched when she remembered the tree. Something was wrong with that tree. Feeling like she was slogging through mud, she tried to recall what had happened next. She had called for Lirim, Lirim had touched the tree, and instant pain.

  She finally managed to force her eyes open, wincing at the bright light. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust and focus. When she could finally see through the tears, she discovered that she was in the HSI headquarters. Try as hard as she might, she could not make the connection between the tree and pain and how she got here.

  Right then, her bladder chose to make its presence known. Wincing, she managed to lever herself up into a sitting position. She was surprised to find herself alone in the infirmary. Had she and Lirim somehow been attacked and that was why she was in the infirmary? If that was the case, whatever had happened was over if she was here.

  Making it to her feet, she grabbed one of the thin hospital blankets and wrapped it around herself for modesty. While hospital gowns were convenient for the healers, they sure were drafty. She managed to shuffle over to the bathroom, every inch of her aching.

  She finished her business and washed her hands, then leaned heavily against the bathroom counter, looking in the mirror. She scowled at her reflection. She looked like death warmed over. Her face was pale and there were circles under her eyes. There was also a smudge of blood under her nose where she’d obviously had a nosebleed.

  Her movements slow and uncoordinated, she washed off the blood, wondering what in the world had happened. Finally satisfied that she had managed to get it all, she wondered if her shaking legs would support her long enough to return to the bed. She had just decided to try when she heard Lirim calling her name.

  There was a panicky note to his voice that she didn’t like. Although her throat protested, she raised her voice and called back to him. He was at the door in seconds and called through the thin wood, “Aletta, are you in there?”

  Pulling the blanket more firmly around herself, she sighed. “Yeah, I’m in here. You can open the door; I’m decent.”

  He pushed the door open hesitantly, relief lighting up his face at seeing her upright and conscious. When she didn’t say anything, he asked, “Are you okay?”

  She frowned, pride warring with necessity. Necessity won. She admitted grudgingly, “My legs don’t seem to want to support my weight. I don’t think I can make it back to the bed alone.”

  Before the last word was fully out, Lirim scooped her up and carried her back over to the bed. She blushed furiously and protested, “Lirim, put me down! You could’ve just offered me your arm.”

  Settling her gently on the bed, he offered her a small smile. “This was quicker.”

  Seeing the strain behind the smile, she allowed her protest to fall away. “Turn around.” He did as she asked and she settled herself back into the bed, making sure that she was completely covered. “You can turn back around now. Is there any way you can make this more upright?”

  Lirim came over and fiddled with the bed until she was comfortably reclined in a sitting position. Once he was certain that it was arranged to her satisfaction, he pulled up a chair next to the bed. Looking at his drawn face, she asked quietly, “What happened?

  He frowned, scooting fractionally closer to the bed. “I’m not sure. When I touched the tree, you started seizing. You had several seizures. Thankfully, the healers were able to get there almost immediately or things might’ve been much worse. You’re going to have to rest for a few days so the healing can fully finish and you won’t be able to use magical healing for a while, but overall we got off lightly.”

  She turned this information over for a few minutes before sighing and asking, “How bad was it?”

  His face, which had just started to relax, tensed up again. He said simply, “Bad. It took a team of healers to repair the damage. You’ve been out about six hours, give or take.”

  Her hands fisted in the blanket. Her voice strained, she forced out, “Have I compromised the investigation?”

  Lirim looked at her startled, like this was the last question that he’d expected. He blurted out, “Why would you think that?”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “I’m going to be down for the next few days. We might lose all chance of finding the culprit at the theater.”

  He relaxed back into the chair. “Not at all. As a matter of fact, I was just making a quick phone call when you woke up. Turns out you were right. Something was off about John Stern.”

  Relieved that she hadn’t blown the entire case, she asked, “What did you find out?”

  “He’s dead.”

  Shock coursing through her, she exclaimed, “What?!”

  Lirim nodded, “He’s dead, has been for about three months now.”

  Aletta frowned, “Then who was the John Stern that we talked to?”

  “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Though I suspect that we find out who he is, we’ll find out who’s behind the attacks on Canticum.”

  Right then, a gruff voice asked, tiredness lacing it, “Has she woken up yet, Bosk?”

  Aletta called, “Cy?”

  The Lycan entered the infirmary, looking like he’d aged ten years. Relief was clear in his gaze.

  Aletta couldn’t contain her gasp, “What happened to you, Cy? You look awful.”

  The Lycan sighed, snagging a chair and turning it so he straddled it. Crossing his arms, he looked square at her. “You happened. I swear, pack sister, you are going to be the death of me. I’ve aged more in the few months that I’ve known you than I did in the decade before that.”

  Aletta rolled her eyes, “Drama much? I’m going to be just fine, don’t worry.”

  His gaze somber, Cy shook his head, “It’s not drama, little one. We almost lost you today. It was a close call. What happened?”

  Cy was one of the few that knew the truth of her magic. Captain Jones, Lirim, and Aletta had made an executive decision to tell him so that he could watch her back in case Lirim couldn’t be available.

  Knowing how important touch was to Lycans, Aletta reached out and gently took his hand. Her touch seemed to reassure him, and his tension eased minimally. “I was at lessons when I discovered a dark spot in my magic. I don’t know why it’s there. When I called Lirim in, he wasn’t sure what was causing it either. When he touched it, my body started seizing. We don’t know why it happened or what the spot was. I’d never noticed it before. I’m sorry that I worried you guys.”

  Cy settled more on the chair, bracing his free arm on the chair back. He rubbed soothing circles on the back of her hand. “You’d never seen it before?”

  Aletta shook her head. “No. And there was no reason that I should’ve reacted that way. We did nothing dangerous. It’s going to take more research, but I don’t believe that it’s an active threat to me right now.”

  Cy growled quietly, his voice soft as he said, “Don’t believe that it’s dangerous? Not an active threat? And just what are you basing this off of?”

  Aletta offered him a tired smile and shrugged, “I’m flying blind here, Cy. This magic, it’s incredibly diverse. There is no baseline, no normal for this. I’m learning control as fast as I can, but most of what I do right now is intuitive. And I’m guessing that I’m not allowed to check out my magic until medical has given me the all clear either.”

  She glanced at Lirim, who shook his head no. “At this point, I can’t even investigate and see if anything has been changed or damaged by this event. I can tell you that there is no drain. My level is still where it was at this morning, so I’m in no danger of magic depletion.”

  Cy growled again and Aletta tightened her grip on his hand. “I still don’t like this. What about your case? Are you in danger there?”

  Aletta couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face, “This isn’t exactly the safest job in the world, pack brother. You know this. Still, I’m in minimal danger from this new case. Having to do a lot of sewing though, so I might be the one t
o lose it.”

  This got a reluctant chuckle from him. “All right, all right. I’ll let it go this time. But you get even one more scratch and I’m going to put you on den arrest for a month.”

  Aletta went to reply but had to hastily cover a yawn. “Yeah, yeah. Shouldn’t you be headed home to your mate?”

  He let go of her hand and rose, grinning down at her. “You know that she would’ve hung my hide on the wall if I’d come home without waiting for you to wake up, little sister. I’ll let her know that you’re ok this time, but expect a bunch of calls from the pack checking up on you.”

  Aletta grumbled, “If I’d known that saving a kid was going to saddle me with a bunch of mother hens, I never would’ve done it.”

  Cy just laughed and walked out, calling over his shoulder, “You’re lying.”

  Aletta sighed and turned back to Lirim. “He’s right, I still would’ve saved the kid. I would’ve stopped and thought about it for a moment first, though.”

  Lirim smiled at her as he got to his feet, “You would’ve done it regardless; you have a good heart. I need to get going as well, Aunt Awena needs to know that you’re awake. The doctors want to keep you overnight for observation. You’ll probably be on light duty for a couple of days after that for your body to recover as well. Get some rest and I’ll check back in tomorrow.”

  Aletta groaned, “What about the meeting with the task force?”

  Lirim’s face hardened. “I’ll take care of that, don’t worry about it.”

  Aletta yawned again, “K, goodnight. Sorry for worrying you. Get some sleep.”

  His expression softening, he nodded. Aletta watched him leave before settling back into the bed. She’d only been awake for a little while, but she was already drained. Letting her eyes close, it was only moments before sleep claimed her.

  Fourteen

  When Aletta opened her eyes, daylight was streaming in the infirmary windows and a blue haired pixie was snoring quietly in the chair next to her bed. Chuckling softly, she found the controls to the bed and moved it to a more upright position.

  The mechanical whir disturbed Cass and her eyes shot open. Seeing that Aletta was awake, she squealed and threw herself onto her babbling, “You’re awake! I can’t believe that Cy didn’t tell me about this last night! I had to hear about it this morning through the office grapevine, can you believe that?”

  Aletta gasped out, “Cass... can’t breathe.”

  The pixie jumped back off of the bed and started apologizing profusely. Aletta couldn’t hold back her laughter. “It’s all right, Cass. And I’m just fine, don’t hold it against Cy. Poor guy was a little stressed.”

  Cass propped her hands on her hips. “And why wouldn’t he be? Three grand mal seizures in a row. Three! It’s a miracle that you aren’t dead. If medical didn’t have a teleporter on staff, you would be.”

  Aletta wasn’t surprised that Cass had all the details about what had happened. “It was an accident. I’m sorry for worrying you.” When it came to information gathering, the pixie was second to none, which gave her a second thought. “Hey Cass, can I get a favor?”

  Rolling her eyes, the pixie perched on the edge of the seat. “Crazy field agents, think they’re indestructible. What do you need?”

  Although Cass was pretending to be exasperated, Aletta could see the interested gleam in her eyes. “You know the case I’m on?”

  Cass nodded. “The Canticum investigation. What about it?”

  “Since the healers probably won’t let me go home today?”

  Cass shook her head no and Aletta sighed. “Figured not. Anyway, since I won’t be able to go home today, can you get me copies of all the paperwork and background info? Maybe I can unravel something from that end.”

  Getting to her feet, Cass nodded, and Aletta could tell that she was already mentally compiling what she should bring her. Before she could run off, Aletta added, “And could you get me some coffee? I’m in serious caffeine withdrawal here.”

  A masculine chuckle sounded from the doorway, surprising both of them. Entering the room, Lirim held up a coffee cup for them to see. “No need, already got it covered.”

  Cass grinned and shot him a thumbs up as she strode swiftly from the room. Lirim watched her go before shaking his head and making his way over to the bed. Handing her the coffee, he asked, “Wasn’t her hair pink?”

  Inhaling the coffee aroma, Aletta sighed happily. “That was fuchsia and that was a few weeks ago. It’s been blue for a couple of weeks now, although the teal green highlights are new. Thanks for the coffee.”

  He studied her carefully. “No problem. How are you feeling today?”

  Sipping the coffee, she shrugged, “Like I’ve been run over by a bus. Every muscle is sore, no doubt from the seizures. Other than that, I’m actually feeling pretty good. I only woke up a few minutes ago, so I’m actually feeling rested for once. How about you?”

  “I’m fine. Figured that you’d be awake by now, so I brought these by.” He laid their case files on the table next to her bed.

  He’d probably just cat napped, but Aletta let it go. He wouldn’t appreciate her fussing over him today. Glancing at the clock, she frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the opera right now?”

  “I’m going in this afternoon. I moved the meeting up so I could check in on you.”

  She grinned, “Oh, Wells is just going to love that. Did I hear you correctly last night that Stern is dead?”

  “Yeah, I don’t know much, just that he’s been dead for about three months. I’ll find out more when I meet up with the task force.”

  Checking his watch, he added, “Which will be meeting in about ten minutes. Take it easy and I’ll be back tonight to drive you home if the healers give you the go ahead.”

  “Be careful, I won’t be there to watch your back.”

  He grinned at her, “Now who’s being a mother hen?”

  She smirked at him, “Have fun with Wells.”

  He mock frowned at her, “Brat.”

  “Hey, you started it. But seriously, be careful.”

  He nodded and left. Aletta carefully maneuvered the tray table so she could work on it. Setting the coffee in a corner so it wouldn’t be in the way, she started sorting the files. It was going to be a long day.

  * . * . *

  Lirim strode swiftly down the hall, leaving the infirmary behind. He’d been pleased to see Aletta sitting up, awake and alert. Her color was much better than it had been the night before and she seemed to have recovered her energy.

  He’d brought her the files so she wouldn’t go stir crazy, but he wasn’t holding out hope that she would discover anything new. He was more interested to see what Watkins and Jones had discovered. This might be the key to discovering who was behind the plot against Canticum. If they discovered who was behind it all, then they could wind up the case and then Aletta could work on figuring out what that blighted tree was.

  He frowned, the picture of her seizing flashing across his mind. There was no reason that simply touching it should have sparked that reaction. After leaving Aletta the night before, he’d gone back to Awena’s. He’d told her everything, including his suspicions that she was not a new magic user.

  That had surprised Awena, but after listening to his reasons, she had to agree with him. That had troubled both of them. If they didn’t know when her magic had manifested, it would be harder to train her. The problem was, no one knew exactly how the Sheridan gift occurred.

  Seeing the conference room door, Lirim pushed aside all thoughts about Aletta and her magic, focusing solely on the case. He shoved the door open and entered, ignoring the startled faces of the other occupants. Striding over to the table, he dumped his files onto the table and sat. “Let’s get started.”

  Martins shrank back in his chair and Wells merely glared at him. However, Watkins and Jones exchanged concerned glances. Watkins was the first to speak, “What about Agent Sheridan? Won’t she be coming?”

&nbs
p; He shook his head, “She is indisposed and unable to make it here today. I’ll relay everything to her once this meeting’s over.”

  Wells snorted, “Her true self finally emerges. What happened, she overslept?”

  Lirim pinned Wells to his chair with his gaze, his eyes dangerously cold and calculating, like a predator’s. He didn’t raise his voice, but the anger in it cut the air. “Agent Sheridan is currently in the infirmary, recovering from a dangerous accident. I don’t care what your issue with my partner is, but if you say one more word against her or conduct yourself in anything but a professional manner, you’ll be removed from this force so fast your head will spin. Also, my entire department and I will lodge a complaint about your behavior with your department. Do I make myself clear?”

  Wells looked around the table for support but was only met by stony gazes. Even Martins refused to meet his eyes. Seething, he spit out, “Clear.”

  Jones spoke up quickly, trying to defuse the situation. “Is she going to be all right?”

  Finally taking his gaze off Wells, Lirim nodded, “She’s expected to make a full recovery, but it’s going to take a few days until she’s back to full strength. Now, what is this about Stern being dead?”

  Watkins frowned, knowing that it had to have been serious if she was recuperating. Magical healing had the ability to take care of most things immediately. However, he didn’t remark on this, much to Lirim’s relief.

  Watkins nodded. “We checked him out. Turns out Stern had just joined the company. He was a carpenter of some renown and hired just for this production, about three months ago. We headed to his listed residence, an apartment building about twenty minutes from the theater. Miriam and I started doing the usual canvas, starting with the landlord. Imagine our surprise when the landlord informed us that John Stern was dead. Had been for about three months.”

  “Did he know how Stern had died?”

  Jones sighed, “As it turns out, Stern was somewhat of a loner, apparently married to his trade. He wasn’t discovered until the neighbors started complaining about the smell. The medical examiner couldn’t pinpoint cause of death and the crime scene was a bust. We’re still looking for next of kin.”