Now You See Me

Thirty-Nine: In Sickness and In Health

There was a heavy fog lying low over the city – or perhaps that was just my vision blurring from dizziness. Deep shadows dropped over the car as we passed by a huge business tower, and then lifted as we came out from under its shade. I groaned; the temporary coolness had been nice on my skin.

Under my head, Lorien's leg twitched. His hand came to rest on my shoulder, but I'd got to the point where I couldn't fool myself into thinking that it was comforting. I could hear Chris's head thudding on the back passenger window to the rhythm of the road. At least he could keep himself upright; though it did appear that he was faring little better than I was.

"You still with us, Smith?" Leia called back. Her voice was hoarse, buzzing with tiredness. Feila's head twitched over the passenger headrest at the sound, before slumping back into the cushion.

I couldn't make a noise in my parched throat; I touched Lorien's hand instead as confirmation.

"He is still awake," the elf said quietly. He seemed to be the only one who was even close to alert.

"We've only got about six more minutes' driving," the sorceress said. I got the impression that she was talking to keep herself awake as much as she was me. "I'll pull up outside so Lorien and Feila can get you guys through the door and into a bath while I park."

I tried to nod, but the skin of my neck burned at the movement, so I just patted Lorien again to let him know that I'd heard.

Six minutes felt like six million. It was smooth driving, and the traffic was non-existent due to the antisocial hours in which we were travelling, and yet it still managed to stretch on torturously long. It felt almost dream-like when we finally ground to a halt; when we didn't start up again I nearly panicked, thinking for a mad moment that the car had broken down. My head span to the point where I couldn't see as I tried to sit up, Lorien wincing as I used him as a lever. A door slammed; cold air rushed in from behind me. Chris moaned and fidgeted, and then disappeared from the next seat along.

"Come on, Herr Smith," Feila's quiet voice said, and her hands wrapped around my forearms to gently detach me from Lorien. "Leia's gone inside to get a bath started and to let your mother know you're here."

My mind jolted into more clarity at the mention of Mum. I needed to see her; I needed to know she was okay. I was ashamed to say I was equally, if not more, looking forward to the bath. With Feila behind me and Lorien in front, I managed to get out of the car, and tears sprang to my eyes as my bare feet touched the freezing concrete pavement.

Chris was on the steps to the rehab centre, slumped over against the railings. Feila let go of me to coax him awake and pull him in through the front door, while Lorien stayed beside me, displaying his uncanny strength when he pulled me up from collapse three times in the attempt to climb the stairs. Almost as soon as the familiar polished wood and cold tile smell of the hall enveloped me and the front door clicked shut, I heard Mum coming down, feet almost putting holes through the boards with each step. I would have been surprised if anyone in the building remained asleep through her hysterical, high-pitched sobbing, which seemed to echo over all three floors and come back to me multiple times.

"Damien?" she gasped, reaching the bottom and squeaking as her feet hit the tiles. "Damien, sweetheart!"

I stumbled out of Lorien's grip to meet her, and within seconds the ground was spiralling up towards me. Before I hit it she caught me, and we ended up falling together. My head lolled weakly with the rhythm of her sobbing, but she didn't show any signs of wanting to let me go until Leia came down the stairs and intervened.

"Mrs Smith, we need to get him into water," she said, and I heard her footsteps approach at a brisk pace. "I understand you're relieved to see him, but this is going to have to wait."