Gravity (Dark Anomaly #1) - Marina Simcoe Page 0,47

him to die.

Swaying on his feet, he pressed both hands into the glass above my shoulders.

“What happens next?” I asked, my voice shaking. “How long do we have?”

“Next? Dizziness. Muscle weakness. Lethargy...” He closed his eyes for a moment, obviously struggling to collect his thoughts. “By morning, I’ll be dead.”

“No, you won’t,” I said stubbornly, having no good reason to make this statement other than the denial of the obvious.

“Svetlana...” He shook his head, as if attempting to shake off whatever fog was clouding his awareness.

The gesture cost him his balance. He staggered to the side, then slid down the wall to the floor.

“Careful.” I grabbed him under his arm, steadying him. “Stay sitting, don’t lie down. I’ll be right back.”

I ran to the bathroom, filling the crystal tumbler left from my dinner with water from the tap.

Back in the room, I shoved the glass to Vrateus. “Drink it. The whole thing.”

He obeyed, emptying it in a few big gulps.

“Now come to the bathroom with me.” Both hands under his arms, I tried to pull him up, but he proved to be too large and heavy for me to manhandle. “Help me, please. Can you try to get up?”

With a groan through his clenched teeth, he heaved himself up, letting me lead him to the bathroom. I held him around his waist as he lowered himself in front of the toilet.

“Drink this too.” I gave him another cupful of water. “Then try to make yourself vomit.”

“Vomit?”

“You need to get whatever is left of the poison out of your stomach.”

Kneeling by the toilet, he propped his hands on his thighs. “Leave,” he growled, glancing from under his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes.

“Fine. Just do it, please. And quickly.” I exited the bathroom but didn’t close the door behind me, afraid to leave him completely on his own.

Pacing the glass floor, I nervously clenched and unclenched my fists, thinking through everything I knew about poisoning.

“There is no antidote.”

Recalling his words paralyzed me with fear, bringing my thought process to a halt.

He couldn’t die.

I couldn’t let him die.

He had said he wanted me to live. Well, I wanted him to live, too.

Besides, what would happen to me here, without him? I needed him alive.

Rinse out his stomach. I started to build a list in my mind. Find charcoal. If they don’t have anything like it here, find some hardwood to burn to make some...

That would take way too much time!

I groaned in frustration.

“I’ll be dead by morning.”

Time was something we didn’t have.

There must be something that would neutralize the poison of the mushrooms. If only I knew exactly what type of poison it was. I had no time to do any tests to determine that, either.

Why would Vrateus allow this stuff to be grown here? Without searching for the antidote? He was always so cautious, so smart about everything.

I was angry at him now, which was nothing new. What was unusual was that I felt also terrified for him.

I couldn’t let him die.

As soon as I heard Vrateus finish in the bathroom, I rushed back to him.

Resting his forehead on his hand, he crouched on the floor.

“Come.” I helped him to get up again. I wanted him to move, afraid that if I left him alone, he’d fall asleep...and not wake up again.

Back in the room, however, he sank to the floor again.

“Tell me what I can do.” Grabbing him by the shoulders, I gave him a firm shake as his head started to drop. “Is there anything in the medical kit that would help? Do you even have a medical kit somewhere? How about some charcoal pills? Activated charcoal? Is there anything like that around here?”

With another shake from me, he lifted his head. His gaze focused on me after a moment.

“Svetlana...” he drew out my name, a delirious smile tugging at his lips. “You drive me mad, you know that? And for some reason I love it.”

“Vrateus, where can I get help?” I asked firmly, giving him one last chance to point me in the right direction. Time was running out. I needed to do something. With or without his instructions.

“Help?” He blinked, then tightly shut his eyes before opening them again. “When I die, you must go to Malahki,” he said quickly, as if rushing it out before his mind plunged into a toxic fog. “Malahki is the only one around here who is not interested in either eating or fucking you.” He lifted his hand to my face.