Bridget stuck close to Bas as they were taken into a ward with beds running down either side. Every bed was full with a victim of the Brollachan.
“They aren’t contagious from what we can tell,” the doctor explained. “We just don’t know what we are dealing with, so we thought isolation would be best.”
“This malady is magical in nature,” Charlotte said primly. “We are here to help lift it if we can, but they will still need your help when they wake, doctor. There will be disorientation, weakness, and trauma to contend with.”
Bridget admired how they all seemed to take control of the situation. She knew that the fae dealt with magical problems all the time, but seeing the Ironwoods and Greatdrakes at work as their agents was something to behold. There was a natural authority that the average person just moved into line for.
Bas touched her arm. “Help me check their necks? If you find any that have welts more raised than the others, let me know.”
“You think the size will indicate how strong the connection is?” Bridget asked, and he nodded.
They got to work, making a catalog of the most affected patients to the least. The strange thing was that it had nothing to do with how long the creature had been feeding off them.
“I wonder why that is,” Reeve mused aloud. “Bas?”
“My guess is the state of the mind. How strong it is, how susceptible it is to influence, etc.,” Bas replied.
“Imagination,” Bridget said, and they all turned to look at her. “You said it was hunting me because of my mind, the way I built the library in the astral, and all that. A feast. It could be that the more imagination and stronger their abilities to dream, the more it actually feeds it.”
“I agree with both guesses, though it hardly matters. What does is getting those bloody things out. Bas, let’s start with the least affected, and that way, we can alter the sigils as we go to enhance their power,” Charlotte said and pulled a plastic container from her leather satchel. Inside were square pieces of fabric about the size of Bridget’s palm.
“What are they?” she asked Reeve.
“Charlotte is an incredible magician with sigils. She’s designed and made those adhesive patches to fix the sigils to. I’ve seen her blow up a creature the size of a truck with one of those things. These ones, in particular, are the healing patches. They already have base spells on them when she made them, and adding a sigil will direct the healing towards a goal.”
“Wow,” Bridget breathed. “She’s kind of fucking amazing.”
“Yeah, she is, and she’s my mate,” Reeve said, unable to keep the pride from his voice.
“I love magic,” Bridget whispered, her eyes never leaving Bas as he drew test sigils on paper before Charlotte added her flare to them. Finally, they drew one on one of the patches.
Something was different when Charlotte drew on them. The air charged, and the hair on Bridget’s arms lifted. Bas’s eyes were glowing with power as he added his parts to them.
“Has his eyes been doing that for long?” Reeve asked.
“It’s not a normal thing? He’s done it since I met him.”
Reeve hummed. “No, not normal.”
“Thought it was his dragon peeking out to say hello when he’s doing magic,” Bridget said.Or when he’s really horny.
“Yeah, must be that,” Reeve said unconvincingly. Bridget didn’t get a chance to ask follow-up questions because Charlotte was placing the first patch onto one of the patient’s necks. Bridget stepped forward for a better look.
“How long do you think it will take to work?” she whispered to Bas.
The patient started to shake, and the nurse quickly rolled them onto their side in case they seized. Bridget stared in horror as the red hook under the patch wriggled about like a worm and finally stopped moving. The patient shuddered and inhaled loudly as they woke.
“Holy crap,” Bridget gasped. “It worked.”
“Of course it worked. For how long it lasts is the real question,” Charlotte said.
Reeve poked her in the arm. “Take the win, baby.”
“I am, but I think we need to make it stronger as we go,” she replied.
Bas nodded. “That one wasn’t a strong connection, so it worked easily. The creature will catch on quickly to what we are trying to do and will try to hold on to them tighter. We need to work fast.”
“Maybe get a few of them ready and put them on all at once so the creature doesn’t have a chance to fight it. Take it by surprise,” Bridget suggested.
