“What’s going on?” Josephine asked, her eyes moving back and forth behind her lids as if searching for something. Beck pushed his hand back and forth over his buzzed head.
“Nothing. Sleep, Jojo,” he hushed her, then looked at me. “We should bring her to the spring.”
“We can’t. We can barely walk, and it’s storming outside. It may do more harm than good.”
“Then I’ll bring the spring to her,” he said with panic laced in his voice.
“You just used magic. You have nothing right now.”
“We have to do something.”
“We did do something!”
Beck popped to his feet, leaned across the bed, and cracked the window. “Where the fuck is—”
“Mr. Goody,” Mrs. Edwin’s voice spilled from the living room. “Hurry, she’s in here.”
Beck and I looked at each other, then to the door when Mrs. Edwin and Clarence walked in. In his hand, the decanter with our magic seemed to have reduced to half the size, like the few times before.
I leaned over, snatched the bottle from him. “Don’t think I don’t notice,” I said to him, then turned back to Josephine. “Quick, someone grab me some clean water.”
Mrs. Edwin hurried out of the room and returned shortly with a ceramic carafe. I got to work, popping the cork and filling the decanter with water. The liquid swirled with color as I spun it, mixing in the mist. My gaze flicked up to Josephine, who was barely holding on. Once blended, I poured the forest green magic liquid into a cup.
“Beck, hold the back of her head,” I instructed.
Beck climbed into the bed and propped himself up beside Josephine, then lifted her head. “Jojo, you gotta wake up now,” he whispered, moving her hair from her face.
“Becks?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” he said and tapped under her chin. “Open up for me.”
Josephine’s body started to convulse, and my eyes darted over her body, dread pooling into my gut. Mrs. Edwin cried out behind us.
“Beck, she’s seizing, man. Get her on her side,” I said in a panic.
Beck attempted to turn her over, but it wasn’t working. The magic sloshed in the glass as I jumped to my feet and shoved the decanter against Beck’s chest. Beck took it, and her shakes turned violent, her body jerking the entire bed as if possessed. The headboard slammed against the wall, and Beck backed away until his back met the window.
I pushed until she was on her side, trying to be as careful as I could until the seizing stopped.
“My baby!” Mrs. Edwin cried out, and I swiped my forehead across my sleeve, sliding my eyes to Beck’s helpless expression.
Then her seizing stopped. She wasn’t breathing.
My heart pounded as I yanked her onto her back.
“No! Come on, Jojo!” I grabbed the back of her neck, tilted her head back to open her airway. Beside me, Beck took control. Desperate, he ripped off his mask and proceeded to give her CPR.
“Get Mrs. Edwin out of here!” I called out to Goody, not wanting Mrs. Edwin at risk of seeing a Heathen’s face, or witnessing her daughter’s death.
My breath held and my heart waited as I watched tears fall from Beck’s eyes as he tried bringing her back to life, his body shaking.
The cruel silence ticked by, and Beck refused to give up.
I couldn’t watch anymore, and just as I turned away, Jojo gasped.
I snapped my head to the sound, every muscle in my body melting with relief. Beck sat back on his legs, throwing his head back and covering his unmasked face as a cry escaped from him.
“Get yourself together, we’re not done!” I reminded him, keeping my head down to avoid seeing his face as he secured his mask.
