A Shallow Grave

Chapter 14

"It's so good to see you."

Ominis was awake, but could hardly speak. His voice was hoarse, breaking every couple of words. I sat on a stool at the side of his hospital bed, Julian standing behind me with his arms crossed.

"Sebastian was here when I left. Where is he?" I asked, looking around the wing. There was no sign of Sebastian anywhere.

"Nurse Blainey sent him to the dorms," Ominis replied weakly, "He was here when I woke up, so I've been able to see him."

I felt guilty at this. I had stormed off to the Great Hall before Ominis had awoken. I should have been here. After all, this was my fault.

"How are you feeling?" I said, reaching out to hold his hand that was resting by his side.

He gave a small smile.

"Much better now that I know I'm safe."

That's not a guarantee.

Gareth was pacing from either side of the room. The sounds of his footsteps were almost identical to that of a ticking clock. Or maybe I really was losing my mind.

I watched Ominis closely as he carefully picked up a glass of water on the bedside table and took a small sip. When he was done, he placed the glass back on a round coaster.

"Georgiana, Sebastian confided in me about what the two of you did earlier." He said, lowering his already barely audible voice, "There's something I must warn you about. About Sebastian."

My mouth dropped open slightly. I turned back to Julian, his face was pale and facing down. He nodded and began to walk away towards Gareth, who was still seemingly running through the wing at this point.

Once Julian was out of the hearing range, I turned back to Ominis.

"What do I need to know?" I asked him.

I wasn't sure if I even wanted to hear it.

He sighed and let out a small cough before composing himself.

"Sebastian makes things sound easy when they could be impossible. Or dangerous."

I stared at him, not once breaking my gaze.

"Please. He's my best friend, but we all know that nothing more can be done for Anne. If he tries to continue this search for a cure for her please try to stop him. It'll only end up with someone getting hurt."

This was a cry for help. But not for Ominis. For Sebastian, through him.

I nodded at Ominis's words, feeling the tears start to gather in my eyes. I had to tear my eyesight away from him and stare at the floor. A sad attempt to pull myself together that did absolutely nothing.

"Promise me."

I nodded. This was confirmation that my thoughts towards Sebastian's recklessness were correct.

Nurse Blainey appeared at the other side of Ominis's bed. She smiled kindly and looked at me.

"Okay Miss Stone, I think everyone needs to turn in for the night. Mr Gaunt will still be here tomorrow." She said, gesturing towards the exit of the wing.

I rose from the stool. Julian was already standing in the archway, ready to leave. As we walked back towards the Common Room all I could picture was the look on Ominis's face when he spoke about Sebastian. I'd never seen him look so concerned. He always seemed to be the voice of reason, but would go along with Sebastian's plans at times.

He'd finally reached his breaking point.

Once Julian and I were back at the Common Room, I had to take a moment to contemplate the events of the past three hours. Between Sebastian's antics, Ominis's attack and Rookwood's letter, I really didn't know what to do. I had to put a stop to all of it. Before someone ended up dead.