When I opened my eyes again, the world was white. Replacing the filtered light of the forest was a harsh glare of institutional lamps. Someone was holding my wrist with cool fingers.
I blinked and moaned softly as the pain that had been held at bay rolled back over me. My head was pounding.
A warm and compassionate face filled my line of vision. She was dressed in pink hospital scrubs, and she was smiling.
“Hi, there,” she murmured, just loud enough for me to hear her without hurting my head any more than it was. “Welcome back. Are you in pain?”
I opened my mouth to speak but found my throat was so dry I could only rasp. “Yes, a little.”
“Well, let’s get you some water, okay, and maybe something nice for that head. No need for anyone to suffer.” She was cheerful without being obnoxious. I heard the clink of ice and then she was holding a cup to my lips. “Can you get this down?”
I gulped the water awkwardly, feeling the relief of it spill over my lips and down my throat. She took the cup away, and then I saw her inject something into a clear tube above my head. I realized that the tube must be attached to me. I moved my hand and could feel the discomfort of the intravenous line.
“There.” There was a squeak of something being opened, then the sound of metal upon metal, and I assumed that she had discarded the syringe. “That should help a lot.”
I could speak a little more clearly now. “Where am I?”
“Lake County Memorial Hospital. Do you remember how you got here?”
I frowned, and a vague pain moved through me again. It was softened now somehow; the medicine was doing its job.
“You had quite the adventure, I understand. Lots of rumors flying around about what happened out there in the woods by Lake Rosu.”
It came back to me in full force then. I tried to sit up, looking about wildly. “Michael?”
“Is that your boyfriend? Well, don’t worry. He’s fine. He was here all night. We just now convinced him to have that cut on his face seen by our plastic surgery resident. It’s not an emergency, but since it’s on his face…” Her words trailed off as tears began to flow down my cheeks. “Now, sweetie, none of that. It’s okay. Everyone is fine. I know you’ve been through a terrible time, but it’s over now.”
She bustled around my bed a few minutes more in silence. I drew a shuddering breath.
“You said—all night? What time is it? How long was I out?”
“It’s nearly noon. Thursday. You started to come around in the ER, but you were kind of out of control—yelling about all sorts of things, thrashing around—so they knocked you out again. Safer for you that way, and you missed the worst of getting stitched up and so on.”
I raised my hand to my neck to feel the bandages. “No, don’t touch those. They’re going to be tender for a bit. But you’re fine. You can relax. It’s going to be all right.”
I closed my eyes. I could hear similar comforting thoughts in her mind, so I knew she wasn’t lying to me.
“Nell?” I asked, with my eyes still shut.
There was a surge of conflicted emotion in this woman’s mind. “Nell… is somewhere safe. A place where she can’t hurt herself or others. She’s fine.” There was indecision, then resolution. “You shouldn’t think… well, Nell is a sick person. Her mother was a sick person. What they did… that’s not what all witches are about.”
I sucked in air and opened my eyes wide. She was looking out the window thoughtfully, fingering a charm that hung from her neck.
“It’s all about elemental magic. White magic. Doing good. The vow is that it must hurt none. What Nell did—it was as far away from that as it could be.” Her attention seemed to snap back suddenly. “I just thought you should know that. You shouldn’t be frightened.”
I wasn’t. This woman—I assumed she was a nurse—was as comforting as my own mother.
And that made me wonder where my parents were. “Are my mom and dad here?” I croaked, still trying to find my voice.
“Your dad was here all night, too, and he just left a little while ago to collect your mother at the airport. They’ll be back shortly.” She smoothed the sheet at the foot of the bed. “That medicine should be kicking in by now. Why don’t you rest until your family arrives?”
“I don’t want to be unconscious again—I want to see them…” I protested weakly.
“What I gave you was only a mild pain med. It won’t knock you out; it will just let you sleep naturally. You need that now.” She stroked my foot softly. “Go to sleep…”
My mother’s voice awakened me next. It wasn’t her spoken words; it was the soft hysteria of her thoughts.
My baby, so vulnerable lying there in that bed… oh, her poor neck… shouldn’t have gone away. It wouldn’t have happened…
I pulled myself up out of the bliss of sleep and opened my eyes. “Mom?”
“Tasmyn!” Gentle hands touched my cheeks, and I could hear the tears in her voice.
“Mom, it’s okay. I’m all right. And it’s not your fault. Don’t think that.”
She laughed through her sniffles. “Someone’s cheating.”
I blinked. “Sorry. S’hard to block when my head doesn’t feel like my own.”
“That’s fine. I was just teasing you.”
I could focus on both of them now. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I’m sorry I got hurt. And that you had to cut your trip short, Mom.”
She ran her hand up and down my arm in comfort. “Don’t worry about that now. We’ll talk when you’re feeling better. Just rest for now.”
I gazed around the room, searching. “Where’s Michael? The nurse said he was okay—that he was here.”
My father answered this time. “He is—both fine and here. He’s down the hall with his parents. They very thoughtfully gave us some time alone with you, but I imagine that Michael is anxious to get back in here. Should I step out and call him?”
I didn’t want to hurt my parents’ feelings, but my need to see Michael was overpowering. I nodded carefully, and my father moved through the door.
“Don’t be alarmed when you see Michael’s face—he’s got stitches, but it looks worse than it is,” my mother assured me.
But nothing could have prepared me for the flood of feeling when Michael walked into my room. His face was the least of my concerns. Instead I focused on his eyes, and at last I felt whole again.
He moved to the side of my bed and took my hand. “Hi,” he breathed. Oh my God, Tasmyn, I didn’t know… I thought… I was so scared. You were so still and so white… I have never been so frightened in my life…
I smiled up at him. “I’m here,” I said. “You don’t have to be scared anymore.”
My parents exchanged knowing looks and slipped from the room. Michael heaved a huge sigh and dropped onto the bed next to me, still clutching my hand.
“I can’t even begin to tell you… I thought, when you went limp on me there in the woods… I thought you were gone. I’ve never seen anyone just… slip away like that.”
“Sorry,” I whispered. I tried to say more, but my throat was dry again. “Water, please?”
“Oh, sure.” He jumped up and found the cup of water the nurse had poured earlier. “Here you go.”
I drank deeply, appreciating the liquid, and then tested my voice again. “Thanks. That’s much better.”
“Yeah, they had you on oxygen for a while, so you’re probably pretty dried out.”
I nodded. “Are you really all right?” I brushed careful fingers over the taped line on his cheek.
“Perfectly fine. The plastic surgeon gave me some cream that should minimize scarring, but I’m not really worried about that. It’ll only add to my manliness, don’t you think?” Michael winked at me.
I wasn’t ready to joke yet. “I’m sorry,” I murmured, tears filling my eyes again. “If I hadn’t been so stupid… so gullible…”
“Hey.” He gripped my hand again, pulling it up to
his lips. “None of that. You were so brave. I’m very proud of you.” He leaned down to brush his lips against my forehead. “But if you ever put yourself in danger again, I am going to be really, really angry.”
“Tell me what happened. How did you find me? How did Cara and Amber get there? And what about Cara’s dad?”
“It was pretty wild,” Michael admitted. “I got the whole story from Amber and Cara after we got here and the doctors got you stabilized. Your dad and I were sitting here with you, and between both of them—oh, and Reverend Pryce—trying to tell us their parts, and then your dad getting phone calls every five minutes from your mom, who was hysterical at the airport in New York, trying to get a flight out… well, let’s just say it took me a while to piece it all together.”
I groaned. “Oh, that must have been… interesting.”
“I was considering swiping some of your pain meds.”
“So, share it. I’ll bet you can be much more succinct.”
“I’ll try. Let’s see. I left school right after English. I knew my mom and dad were working at a house on my way home, so I stopped there for a few minutes, just to see if they needed any help. And then I went right out to the nursery. I guess I had been there about half an hour when Belinda found me. She said that you’d called and you sounded odd. She said you told her I was in trouble, and something about a girl and a clearing.
“I might not be quickest mind around, but that one I could figure out. I bolted right back to the car and broke every speed limit getting to Lake Rosu. I tried to call my parents, but I only got their voice mail.”
I closed my eyes. “I feel like an idiot. I was just so frightened when I heard what Nell was thinking.”
Michael stroked my face gently. “You can explain all that to me later. I know you acted on the best information you had. That’s all you could do.”
I still felt stupid. “And you got to me, and you saved me.”
Michael laughed without much mirth. “I don’t think I saved anyone. I ended up at the wrong end of Nell’s knife, too, remember?”
I frowned, remembering. “So how did Amber and Cara get out there? Did Amber find my note?”
“Yeah. Amber told me that part. She said she looked for you after school and when you didn’t show, she figured something had come up. And then she went to her locker and found your note. That was good thinking on your part.”
“At least I did something half-way right,” I muttered. Michael ignored me and went on.
“Amber panicked, and she looked for anyone who could help her. She just happened to run into Ms. Lacusta, and Amber figured out that if Ms. L was still at the school, she couldn’t be helping Nell out at the clearing. And then get this—our quiet little Amber stopped Ms. Lacusta and demanded to know where Nell was. Ms. Lacusta claimed that she had no idea, and Amber said that you and Michael were in danger. She told her that Nell had tried to kill her—Amber, that is.”
My eyes widened. “Oh,” I breathed. “What did Ms. Lacusta say?”
“Amber said that at first she thought Ms. Lacusta was stunned, but then again, maybe… not so much. Her sense was that she was surprised about some of it, but not about Nell’s intent. She wanted to know details, but Amber told her there wasn’t time. She still needed to find help for us. So she ran out to the parking lot, and she saw Cara, whose father was picking her up.”
Now things were coming together. “Amber figured Cara was someone who could help.”
“Yes. She said she wasn’t sure it was all right to trust Cara, but there was no one else—and since Cara’s dad was there, this time they’d have someone as a witness if something bad truly was going down.”
“Thank God she did trust her. If she hadn’t…” I shuddered, thinking of the possibilities.
“I know. She told Cara you needed help. Cara’s dad told her to get in the car, and I guess Amber filled them in as they drove. She directed them to the lake. And when they saw your mom’s car there—and the Mustang—Amber knew she’d figured right.”
“And meanwhile, you’d already come to rescue me.” I touched his face again. “Thank you.”
“When I got to the lake, I saw your car. And then—there was blood on the door. I almost—Tas, you don’t know. I thought I was too late. I just started running into the woods. I tried to think encouragement to you, because I had to believe you were still alive.
“Then I got closer to the clearing, and I could hear Nell talking, and I heard your voice—I can’t tell you how relieved I was. I watched her, but when I saw the knife, I knew I had to be careful. She had her back to me, though, and I couldn’t see if she had put it down. I moved to a different angle, and that’s when I saw her cut you.” He dropped his head into his hands and was silent.
Reaching up, I ran my hand over his hair. “It’s okay. It turned out all right, remember?”
“But it was too close. I couldn’t see her… then when I did, I didn’t stop to think. I just reacted.”
“You reacted just right. If you hadn’t, she would’ve cut my arms, too. You saved me.”
Michael lifted his eyes to mine. The pain and guilt I saw there, combined with the anguish in his mind, broke my heart. He leaned in to lay his cheek next to mine.
“I could’ve been too late,” he whispered, his voice muffled next to my ear. “If I hadn’t gotten there in time…”
“But you did. Of course you did. You’re my guardian archangel. Michael the Avenger.”
I felt a reluctant smile touch his mouth then, and then he raised his head so that his face was very close to mine. “I’m never letting you get messed up in something like this again. The idea of losing you—I can’t deal with it.” His lips met mine in a soft whisper of a kiss.
“How about we both stay away from life-threatening danger? I can’t handle losing you, either.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He straightened and took my hand again, holding it in both of his. “Speaking of danger, you want to tell me exactly how you ended up out there with Nell? I know you heard something from her, but what made you think I was in danger? That’s still the murky part of the story.”
It didn’t take long to sketch out how I came to be at Lake Rosu. A myriad of expressions crossed Michael’s face as he listened to story, and I heard his thoughts clearly enough to know I was in trouble.
“Why did you even think about going out there by yourself? Do you know what a chance you took?” The anguish was still stronger than the anger. I squirmed uncomfortably.
“I heard what she was thinking, and—I just reacted. I thought you were in danger. I never for a moment thought that Nell was setting me up to be the sacrifice.”
There was a rustling at the door, and Marly leaned into the room. “Tasmyn! Oh, it’s good to see your eyes open!” She moved to my bedside and hugged me carefully. I could see the weariness etched on her normally unlined face. “We’ve been so worried.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, chagrined to be apologizing yet again.
“Don’t be silly. There’s no reason for you to be sorry. You’re a hero, don’t you know?”
I rolled my eyes. “Some hero. I put other innocent people-including your son—in danger, and I needed rescuing. That’s just stupidity.”
Marly looked at her son. “Clearly that’s the head trauma speaking. The Tasmyn I know and love is much smarter than that. She would know that we’re only happy and relieved that she’s all right, that we’re proud of her for being very brave.” Her eyes flashed at me, daring me to contradict her. I blushed and lowered my eyes.
“Your parents are heading back down here,” she announced. “They’ve been so sweet to give you two time together, but your mom is going to self-destruct if she has to be away from you any longer. They’re lovely people, by the way. Such a pleasure to meet them.”
Michael chuckled. “Yeah, most couples introduce their parents to each other over a nice dinner. We do it in the hospital after a crazy witch almost kills us both. We’re defini
tely unique.”
“We bonded,” Marly said smugly. “I’ve already spoken to your mother about coming out to the nursery for coffee one day soon, Tas, and your dad is chomping to come and look over our bushes. But now,” she said, turning to Michael and fastening on him a gaze that brooked no nonsense, “I am taking my son home to get some sleep, and to let you visit with your parents and rest.”
Michael protested, but to no avail. I could see exhaustion lying just below the worry in his eyes, and I joined his mom in insisting he go.
“I promise not to do anything exciting or dangerous while you’re gone,” I teased. “I’ll just sleep and recover.”
He finally left, with the promise to return first thing in the morning. My parents sat next to my bed until sleep claimed me once again.