Witches in Training (#2 in the Witches Trilogy) [rewrites ongoing]

Chapter Twenty: The Black Sleep

VINNI

Queen Kyren really didn't appreciate being interrupted, even by her best healer. Rachel had burst in-well, as respectfully as possible, but still bursting in-to tell us that Emory's condition had worsened, and that they were trying every means to heal her, but it wasn't working. When we heard that, even the Queen shut up. We'd all thought Emory was relatively safe, since she hadn't even been cut by the knife. Apparently, we were wrong.

The Queen gets up immediately and sweeps off to the hospital without another word. Rachel looks concerned for a moment, then turns to me and Sarah. "I think you'd better come too. Maybe you know something about dark magic and Animators that we don't." I think it is highly unlikely that I know something Rachel doesn't, but I follow her anyway-albeit doubtfully.

The Queen is already out of sight. Rachel walks briskly, and we soon come across the wrecked ballroom. The healer pauses, perhaps wondering if she'd maybe missed someone who'd gotten injured. "Maybe I should check..." She murmurs. "You stay here. Or go ahead to the hospital wing." She bustles into the ballroom, calling out something I can't make out. Sarah taps her foot impatiently. 

"I'll go find the hospital wing myself." She declares. "Are you coming?"

"I have no idea where it is, and this castle is huge. Go and get lost for all I care, I'll wait for Rachel."

Sarah shrugs. "Suit yourself." 

I decide to go into the ballroom and find that the damage is a lot worse than I orginially thought. There's not a single thing left intact. I feel extremely guilty and hope they can put it all back together with magic. Rachelle was almost definitely here because of me, although no one said it, and to think I've indirectly caused all this, and Emory's injury too...

A sudden thud snaps me out of it. "Stop eye-raping every girl you see." Someone scoffs. "You already have a date."

I turn in the direction of the voice and find two people looking at me-one an average looking fairy with light brown hair, and the other a significantly more gorgeous teenaged boy in a black tuxedo and a silver stud in his right ear, grinning at me. A girl who's about my age is standing beside the second fairy and doing the best she can to not drool over him. I roll my eyes at the obvious amount of flirting the guy is doing and deliberately walk away from him, towards Rachel.

The healer is fixing up a groaning man with an awkwardly angled arm-broken. I wince as Rachel sets it in place as gently as possible and proceeds with the healing. When she's done, everyone sighs in relief. No matter how minor, it's always kind of nerve wrecking to watch a healing.

Rachel nods at me. "Let's go."

As we walk to the hospital wing, I can't help but ask about the arrogant-looking fairy who clearly had his hands in more than one relationship. Rachel scrunches up her nose. "Oh, that's probably Keane, Warren's younger brother. You won't be seeing him anytime soon, so it's best to just ignore him." If I only knew how wrong she was.

We arrived to find a whole bunch of people clustered around Emory's sickbed. Rachel gives a cry of distress and shooes off about half the people. I find Sarah there just fine, apparently not having lost her way in the least, and grinning at me in an I told you so way. I roll my eyes in response to that and swing my eyes to Emory.

I can't stop the gasp.

The dark spot on her neck where the knife came into contact has spread, and spread rapidly, extending to her chin, past her collarbone, and to her shoulders, like a freaky spreading fungus of some sort, only it's spread the exact way ink does on water. "I don't know what it is," Rachel says in distress. "Nothing I've tried works."