Demon Possession (Shadow Quest Book 1)

Chapter 3

What was wrong with him?

Too soon, the color dulled and her head lolled before she slipped into unconsciousness. Sebastian, alarmed more than he should have been, felt for a pulse.

Faint, but still there.

The natural sounds of the ship slammed into him, as his surroundings came back into focus. Some of the crew had already gathered around, apparently repeating questions he hadn't heard them ask. They looked at him expectantly and at her with curiosity.

Lifting her off the ground, Sebastian took note of her weightlessness.

"Back to your posts!" he ordered, and then carried her out of the room without another word.

The crew must have been as shocked as he was to find this tiny creature, because none of them moved at his command. He didn't care. His only focus was getting her to the doctor. So he could find out how she was able to get onto his ship, not so he could see the vivid color of her eyes again.

Racing down the hall, he hardly noticed people stopping to stare at the strange beauty in his arms. The elevator made him impatient, moving slower than he remembered. He should get someone to look at it. Finally, he reached the deck that housed sickbay. A few more passageways, and he was there. The doors parted for him, and he carefully laid her on one of the cots.

From a desk in the corner of the room, Dr. Oshwald looked up. He was a thin, lengthy man from one of the short-lived races.

It seemed to take the doctor a moment to comprehend the sudden disturbance before he rushed to Sebastian's side surveying the situation. His jaw dropped.

"Where...? Who is...?" He studied her as Sebastian had, prickling his ire.

In a pointed voice, Sebastian replied, "I don't know who she is. I just found her hiding in a maintenance compartment. She looks on the brink of death."

Dr. Oshwald went to work with a skillful determination, while Sebastian leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and watched.

The doctor came from a race of healers, their unique gifts worked on most, but not all. Sebastian had no knowledge of the mechanics behind the doctor's invaluable gift. He'd asked him about it once and the doctor had told him that it was like looking inside the body with his mind's eye. Oshwald could search out the problem and then fix it as needed.

That's what he was doing now, searching through the female's body, all the while intermediately checking her vitals in stony silence. Sebastian made his impatience known, and the doctor finally began his healing touch, placing a hand near her heart and the other at the crown of her head.

He stayed like that for a lengthy time. The whole while, she didn't stir, didn't make a sound. The breathing movements of her chest were light and barely noticeable.

A sheen of sweat began to glisten on the doctor's forehead. Finally, he removed his hands and slumped in his chair with obvious exhaustion. With effort, he wiped his forehead before he spoke. "She will live." The words were heavy. "If she'd been brought to me any later, there would have been nothing I could have done for her." Again he paused to catch his breath. "Forgive me. She took much of my energy."

Sebastian waited patiently for him to continue at his own pace.

"I've healed her body, but she has been without nourishment for a long time it seems."

"Are you saying she was in there starving to death?"

The doctor nodded.

"How long?"