Carfron's been very mellow since I've been doing what he wants. He's on the sofa with his back to me, minding his own business while I lie in bed, twirling his imaginary tile. I hope sleeping with it triggers a dream or something.
I rotate the plaque and study it from every angle. "Yep, rectangle," I mumble. "Flat. White. Cold. Bathroom tile. I don't get it. Should I go down and study the original? Would that be more useful?"
"That is the original," he answers without turning around.
"Well, that was helpful," I mumble, but Carfron doesn't understand sarcasm, so he smiles at me.
It's just a tile. Other than the dead guy who brought it to me, there's nothing interesting about it. I lie on my back and flip it around my fingers. My eyes grow heavy: sleep is just a short distance away.
I jump to my feet. I'm not breathing. I'm underwater. My lungs won't let any air in, and I can't push any air out. I run to Carfron, clutching him as if he could help me, but he just grins. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion. My heart is hammering in my ears. Why can't I breathe?
The ribbons are closer than Albína's door, but I'm woozy and not sure I'll make it to either. I stumble to the wall and pull all three ribbons as I slide to the floor. I roll to my side, trying desperately to drag air into my clogged lungs.
I hear Albína's door open. "Well, where are you?" she asks, making her way into the bathroom. I can't make any noise. I don't have the strength left to kick anything. Everything is turning grey, and white lights are sparkling in the corners of my vision. Sound stops, and the atmosphere grows heavy. Calmness envelopes me. I raise desperate eyes to Carfron, who's standing in front of me.
Searing pain like a lightning bolt shoots through my lungs, forcing a water-filled cough to gush from my mouth. A gurgling burning inhale follows along with more coughs and water.
Albína screams for help while sprinting to my side.
I'm choking. Water and lightning have clogged my lungs, and are burning me alive from the inside out. I look toward Albína but barely see her through the sparkly white lights. She's muttering something, but it's jumbled together.
I cough again then vomit a large amount of water. I inhale deeply. It burns. When I take a second breath, it burns less, and by the fifth breath, my body calms down.
Albína's petting my hair. She's shaking worse than I am.
"I'm sorry," I croak. I've damaged my vocal cords; speaking hurts.
She hugs my head and bursts into tears. "That's okay. You scared me. I'm happy you're alright."
The door flies open, and the room fills with military and medical personnel. The female elf in the front is talking quickly and forcibly removing Albína from me. They have a heated exchange, but then the military leave, and two medical elves step forward.
"Did I just drown?" I ask Carfron.
The two elves checking my vitals stop and stare at me and then at the empty space I'm talking to. They look at each other, and speak rapidly in Naga-Nuru.
"I'm fine," I croak. My voice is stronger, but it's far from normal. "I just want to sit here for a moment."
Jonah's shadow slides through the crack in the door frame and races across the wall. When he rises next to me, I almost lose an elf. She wobbles, but the other elf catches her.
Jonah ignores them as he kneels next to me. I put my hands up. "I'm fine now. I know what happened. I just need to lie down. If you wouldn't mind getting rid of these guys, I'd like to rest.
The elves argue for a minute but give up when Albína and Jonah take my side.
As the door closes, Albína blurts out, "What happened?" She's using her, You're in trouble, tone.
"I don't know." I can tell by her face that's not a good answer, so I add a shoulder shrug. Now she's really mad. "I was lying on the bed, spinning the imaginary tile when suddenly I couldn't breathe."
"Were you eating in bed?" she accuses.
"No. I was lying there, and then I couldn't breathe."
"You were studying the tile?" Jonah asks at the same time.
"What does Carfron have to say about this?" Albína's using that tone again. He's in trouble now. I just wish she could actually do something to him.
"Well, what was that? What happened?" I ask Carfron. This is scarier than the Orb. The Orb made me sick. Carfron just tried to kill me.
He shrugs his shoulders like I just did.
"Did you know what was happening?" I ask him. "I know you had something to do with this. Why didn't you help me? What was the water about?"
Carfron sits back down on the sofa, staring straight ahead. I look at Albína and Jonah, "He may know something, but he's not cooperating."
"What water?" Jonah asks.
"When I could breathe. I was coughing up water."
"You asked if you had drowned," Albína says.
"Yeah, that's what it felt like. Or, I don't know. I've never drowned before. I couldn't breathe. I choked up water. I imagine that's what drowning is, at least according to the movies."
"You felt water coming up from your lungs and through your mouth?" Jonah asks.
"Yeah, it's all over the floor," I say, then realize the water isn't real. "You can't see it? Obviously. Who drowns in bed," I say, asking and answering my own question. I should've figured that out because the amount of water is more than my entire body could hold.
"Let's get you up," he says while he lifts me into his arms. It's so comforting when he carries me.
I sit on the edge of the bed and let Albína tend to me. However, there's nothing to do. I had an imaginary coughing fit, but I let her wash my face and examine my throat. When she's done, she flops in her dining chair.
"You could've sat in your knitting chair. Carfron stays on the couch, and if you get too close, he moves."
"I'm fine here." It's funny that she doesn't like my imaginary friend sneaking up on her. But I don't comment. I just make her aware of where he is and what he's doing.
"Did you have any visions? Did Carfron say anything? Did you hear anything?" Jonah asks.
I smile at him. "I love it when you do that."
He smiles back. "I hoped it would cheer you up."
"No. He doesn't know. And no."
"This is the original," Carfron says, looking at me from the couch and holding up the plaque.
"Oh yeah, and the tile he has is the original."
"Why did he say that?" Jonah asks.
"Because I asked if I should be studying the real one."
"And he said his is the original?"
I stop breathing again, but it's from fear, or maybe rage. My heart is back in my throat. Did the Orb endanger everyone and kill Carfron and Lenox to retrieve a fake plaque? Or worse, did I grab the wrong one?"
"Agatha," Jonah says forcibly as if he's said it a few times. I snap my attention to him. "What did he say?"
"Huh? Nothing? What? Oh," I say, wrenching my attention back to our conversation. I walk over so I can face the front of Carfron. "If that's the original, then what did we retrieve from the Salt Mines?"
"I was not in the Salt Mines," he answers.
"Not we, me and you. Wait. Okay, let me try again." I pause to breathe. Why did the Orb make this so hard? "There's a plaque that looks exactly like your plaque, but everyone can see it. I got it when I went to the Salt Mines. If your plaque is the original, then what's that other plaque?"
"The original."
"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to have Kyrbast make him one of those Demon Ethan bodies, and I'm going to stab it!"
Jonah holds my hand. "You should rest. When the Orb speaks it is a difficult time for you. After you sleep, we should go back to the Temple. Someone should stay with you in case you choke again."
Usually, I like it when Jonah slows things down. But not now. "Real or not, drowning in my bed shook me to my core. I don't want to do that again. I just want to work until we figure this out. Let's just go now."
"I would be more convinced if you had not yawned during your request," Joah says while guiding me back to bed. "You know from the last time how hard this is going to be for you. Get rest while you can. Things change quickly."
"Can you stay?" I ask too desperately, but I wasn't lying when I said I was scared.
"Yes, let me report this latest episode, and then I'll come back. Albína, are you comfortable staying until I return?"
"Sure, as long as Carfron's ghost stays where he's at."