“I’m so thirsty,” the woman whispered. “So thirsty.”
I offered her water, just a little bit. Sips to start.
Millie and Silas were already in motion. Silas had pushed all the furniture out of the way in the small sitting room, leaving the floor wide open. He made a padded place for her to lay and then helped me move her from the couch.
“Irina,” the woman finally gasped. “My name is Irina.”
“Irina, I’m going to help you have this baby.” I looked at Silas. “Get someone else here to give me a hand. Healers, whatever. Someone must be trained on this island.”
“I’ve got a Healer coming,” Silas said. “But you were the closest option.”
Millie returned, her arms heaped full with more blankets. “I’ve got water boiling, and I’m sterilizing scissors and a knife and whatever else I could find.”
“My grandmother was a Healer,” Silas barked to Millie. “She studied all sorts of medicine, even the human kind. Go out to the shed, maybe she’s got some leftover equipment there. She used to have a whole setup here.”
Millie nodded then disappeared through the back door.
“Irina, when are you due?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she gasped. “I’m a forest dweller.”
I blinked, then looked up to Silas.
“Forest dwellers live in very remote regions of this island. They believe in holistic treatments. It’s a very live-off-the-land lifestyle,” he said. “They exist in tiny communities that don’t have access to the best care.”
“It’s not the baby,” Irina gasped, then screamed louder. “It’s evil. It’s the curse, Silas. The curse.”
“I’m going to put my hands on you; I’m sorry they’re cold,” I said. “I want to feel your stomach.”
“Do whatever you have to do,” Irina gritted out. “Just save my baby.”
I pulled up her shirt slightly and was startled by what I saw. Thick, ugly black lines crisscrossed over her belly. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.
“Silas,” I said in a low voice. “What is this?”
He blinked, then closed his eyes. He just shook his head.
“It’s evil!” Irina yelled. “It’s the curse, I’m telling you.”
“Silas,” I barked. “Whatisthis?”
It looked like the woman had veins thick with mud instead of blood roping through her body. It sure did look evil.
“The curse,” Silas finally said. “The one I warned you about in New York. It’s killing The Isle. Everything it touches dies. We’ve got wards up, but she must’ve crossed the wards.”
“I didn’t cross any wards.” Irina shot a furious glance at Silas. “I’m a dweller of the forest, my heart beats in time with nature. I wouldn’t have wandered into the curse. The curse came to me.”
I studied Silas, trying desperately to understand the nonsense they were spouting. Curses. Magic. Evil. It was hard enough delivering a regular baby without these sorts of complications.
“It’s possible the wards have broken down, and the curse has spread,” Silas admitted. “I’ll investigate later.”
“Okay.” I took a few deep breaths, centered myself, pushing away the things that didn’t make sense and focusing on what I could control. Nothing like getting thrown into the deep end with a medical emergency that might not even be of this world. “Let’s pretend I believe in magic for right now.”
“She doesn’t believe inmagic?” Irina grew more irate as she addressed Silas. “Who is she?”
“Doctor Alessia is your best hope for survival,” Silas said. “I trust her.”
Irina looked at me through wide, reluctant eyes like she really didn’t want to trust me, but would so long as Silas did. His word meant something to her.
