The Magician's Apprentice

Evie's Decision

Skai was absolutely seething.

As he watched Evie peacefully sleep away in her mystery coma, a series of thoughts and memories ran through his head, like a loop of film in an old-fashioned movie.

Jasmine...words couldn't express on how much he missed her. The reason why she was gone...

Skai tightened his hands into white fists and his jaws clenched together as he remembered that night. Poor Jasmine...she was already going through so much. Then that sadistic Son-Of-A-Bitch had to...the fact that it was right in front of him...

"Damn him to Hell," Skai breathed, his already clenched fists trembling with utmost rage.

"Are you talking about Stephen?"

Skai looked up from Evie's hospital bed to see Dr. Palmer, who was giving him a sympathetic look.

"Ah, no," Skai said, giving his head a quick shake and unclenching his sore hands. "I was thinking of someone else."

"Hah," Dr. Palmer said, also looking at Evie. "Wouldn't be surprised if you were talking about him."

"Why is that?" Skai asked, ignoring the deep crescents in his palms where his fingernails had dug into them.

"Oh, Stephen and I have a long history," she said, chuckling in an exhausted sort of way.

Knowing better than to ask what it was, Skai instead smiled dryly and said, "I'm not surprised to hear it."

"Oh, you have no idea," Dr. Palmer said, tiredly dropping into a chair near Evie's bedside. "Every time he drops by here, he has another different story. Getting stabbed by a psycho with dark magic, bringing in his injured mentor here...just when I thought I saw it all, Evie came here..." As she spoke, there was a distant and faraway look in her eyes.

"Do you believe him?"

Dr. Palmer blinked and the look vanished from her eyes. "Do I believe him?" she asked, and Skai nodded.

"I didn't at first," she said. "I thought he finally lost it and joined a cult. But after what he's shown me...well, I honestly don't know what to think." Her attention turned back to Evie and said, "I was startled to see Evie with him, given their past...which I shouldn't have mentioned. Anyway, what surprises me more is how concerned Stephen is with her."

"What do you mean?" Skai asked.

"Well," Dr. Palmer said, "like I mentioned before, Stephen once brought his old mentor here after a serious fight."

"So?"

"Skai...she died. I think Stephen still blames himself for it."

Skai froze, slowly beginning to understand what she was telling him. "You think he's experiencing it all over again?"

"Not for the first time," Dr. Palmer said sadly, straightening Evie's blankets. "When he brought Evie here with hypothermia and a dislocated rib...it's been years since I've seen him that angry with himself."

For the first time since Skai had met Strange, he felt a flicker of pity. He understood the feeling of someone you care about being hurt, and being unable to help. He had experienced the exact thing with Jasmine.

"Look, I know you two don't get along," Dr. Palmer said, clipping one of plastic things onto Evie's index finger, "but you and Stephen are all that Evie has."

This surprised Skai. Giving the doctor a look of mild surprise he asked, "Really? What about her family?"

Dr. Palmer paused from adjusting the chords to Evie's heart monitor and bit her lip. "I don't think I'm at liberty to tell you this...but both of Evie's parents are dead."