wanted to clarify what was going on, but Dylan was the priority here. “I promise you I’ll explain it to you, but right now I just need you to trust me. Please. Just stay back.”
I held her gaze for a heartbeat as she narrowed her eyes and rocked back and forth on her heels, clenching her jaw, and I almost believed she was going to ignore me and make a straight line toward Dylan. Instead, she remained right where she was.
I gave her a slight nod and then rushed to the medical cabinet in the corner. I rummaged through it until I found what I was looking for—an air-tight titanium container, a scalpel, and forceps—and returned to Dylan’s side.
Doing it as carefully as I could, I used the scalpel to slit the metal strip away from his skin and then grabbed it with the forceps. I held it in front of a camera perched above the screens for a couple of seconds, and then lowered it into the container. Once I had it sealed, I returned my attention to Dylan. He exhaled softly, relief washing over his face, and I could almost swear that the color of his skin was a brighter shade of blue now.
“Do you know who did this to you, Dylan?” I asked him as I went down on one knee. He shook his head, and suddenly, his entire torso seemed to move abruptly. With his lips pursed tight, he held one hand in front of his face, and I immediately realized what was going to happen. I grabbed a wastebasket and held it in front of him. “Here, buddy, let it out.”
As he threw up into the basket, his tiny hands holding it by the edge, I eyed him carefully. I wasn’t that familiar with sorcery, but this could have been his body purging the remnants of whatever sickness that metallic shard was inflicting on Dylan. I had to keep a close eye on him, but I was pretty certain this was a positive thing.
“What are you doing to him?” Maya had moved closer and now, she pushed me aside with her shoulder and held the basket herself. Locks of her brown hair tumbled down her face, framing all of her worry in a beautiful manner. I probably shouldn’t have been thinking of her beauty when she was like this, but I just couldn’t help it.
“Maya, we’re just trying to—”
“Enough!” she hissed through gritted teeth, shooting me a murderous glare. Not happy with only that, she then looked at the screens, offering some of her anger to the Macros siblings and Aiken. “I have no idea what you have been doing to him while I was gone, but this stops now!”
Well, that’s new, I thought, not sure where all that anger was coming from. Part of it was because she was afraid something might happen to Dylan, which was understandable, but the way she had suddenly grown so suspicious told me there was something else at play here.
“But I’m better, Aunt Maya,” Dylan said, awkwardly lifting his head up from the basket. “They just helped and I—”
“No, Dylan.” She pulled him against her chest as she rose to her feet. Carrying him in her arms, she started walking toward the door. “You don’t have to explain anything. I’ll figure this out.”
Without a word more, she went into the adjoining room and slammed the door shut behind her. I merely stood there, having no idea on how to react. This was a side of her I hadn’t yet seen. She reminded me of those massive creatures from Earth I had read about once—a mother bear protecting her cub.
When she finally returned to the room, her fury was on full display. Her full lips had turned into a thin, white line, and even her hands were balled into fists. More than just a woman, she was a storm.
“When we first came into the hospital,” she started to say, standing no more than a few feet away from me, “he just had a wound. That’s all, no big deal. Kids get bruises and scrapes and scratches all the time. But then he starts hearing voices, he gets a fever that shouldn’t even be possible, and now I leave him alone, only to come back and find you pulling his skin off! What the hell is going on here?”
I wanted to say something, but I was so stunned I couldn’t find the words. Even if I did, I wasn’t sure