Lycan Legacy - Paladin: Tales of Luna White - Werewolf Veronica Singer (children's ebooks online txt) 📖

of money we could offer.” He leaned forward and emphasized, “We cure Manny, he’ll be able to help us on the rescue mission. The cure will be payment for the assist, and we don’t have to worry about finding money to pay him.”

“A cure? I doubt it. Metabolic disorders like gout are beyond what I can fix. I don’t even think my dad could help, and he’s a much better healer than me.”

Mike’s face dropped. “Okay. Then I’ll have to get backup from someone else in our group. It might take a few days to set up.”

“Days? Logan doesn’t have days. Even with the moon waxing and all the energy I sent him, he’s getting worse by the hour.”

“Luna, we can’t just jump into a rescue with no preparation. All our plans went out the window when the plane exploded. We need to survey the area, come up with a plan, ensure the hostages are still there—” He shook his head in frustration. “This isn’t like a movie. If we do this wrong, they’ll all die.”

“I’m not going to give up.”

“Neither am I, but jumping in too soon will be a disaster.” He took a deep breath. “Manny said these attacks usually last only a few days. He might be up to assisting by then.”

I waved away the suggestion. “We don’t have days,” I repeated, then continued, “Anyway, I can’t cure him, but he doesn’t have to suffer. I can get rid of the crystals in his joints, get rid of the inflammation, and smooth over and strengthen his bones.” I shrugged my shoulders. “But I can’t cure him, so we can’t use that to bargain for his help.”

Mike crossed his arms, leaned back against the stove, and looked at me through narrowed eyes. “You can cure all of his symptoms, but not the underlying cause of the disease?”

“Well, yes. The repairs are standard. But in five or ten years, he might have another flareup. I can’t let him think he’s cured and then abandon him.”

“Perfect is the enemy of good,” Mike said.

At my puzzled look, he continued, “It’s a Russian proverb. It means you shouldn’t reject something that’s good enough just because it’s imperfect.”

“That’s not how I was trained.”

“We once went on a mission and one of the team broke his arm before the assault. Our medic splinted his arm so he could still hold a rifle. He never recovered full use of his arm.”

“See? He must hate you now.”

“No. He thanked us for letting him help finish the mission. Just like I believe Manny will thank you for letting him help.”

I weighed our need against the risks. “Okay, maybe I can patch Manny up well enough to assist. As long as he accepts the risks and is willing to help.”

“I’m sure he will be.”

“But he still needs to ask me,” I said. “If he resists, there’s nothing I can do for him.”

“If you just offer, I’m certain he’ll jump at the chance,” said Mike.

“Humans avoid confronting magic. Their minds veer away from acknowledging its effects. You saw his reaction to that magic cleaning cloth. He’ll probably ignore the offer or pretend he didn’t hear me.”

“Lie to him,” Mike said.

“I can’t do that.”

“Sure you can. Just like your dad’s patients accept his cures because he’s a doctor and they take place in a hospital. If you frame it right, Manny will agree.”

“I don’t know what to say to convince him.”

Mike hmphed. “That’s because you’re not a good liar. Tell him that your grandmother might have been a witch, you know a home remedy that she used on Grandpa, and it did wonders for him so you think it might work on Manny.”

“How did you know my paternal grandmother was a witch?”

“Everyone’s grandmother is a witch,” said Mike with a smile. At my expression he blurted, “Wait! It’s true? I gotta hear this story.”

“Yes, it’s true. But we don’t have time for my family history.”

I started rummaging around in Manny’s refrigerator and cupboards. “Yeah, there’s some stuff here I can use. Let’s wake him up.”

“I’m not sure I think this’ll work,” said Manny. He was seated in his recliner. Wrapped around his left arm, wrist to shoulder, was an elastic bandage that pressed a poultice to his skin. It stank of tea leaves and crushed habanero peppers. His left leg was similarly bandaged.

The fumes from the peppers were so potent that Manny’s eyes were dripping tears. He looked miserable.

I had activated my gas mask spell, so only the slightest hint of the peppers was coming through. I leaned in and sniffed. “Why not, Manny? It smells right.”

I stood and put my hands on my hips. “You don’t believe my grandmother was a witch?”

“I believe that you believe your abuela was a bruja. I just don’t think this will work. I’ve been to a dozen doctors and the attacks keep coming.”

Mike stepped in and lied for me. “I’ve seen Luna do amazing things with the remedies her grandmother handed down.”

“Okay,” said Manny, “then let’s do this. It can’t hurt, right?”

I sucked air through my teeth. “It will hurt, Manny. The process draws out toxins. It’s not pleasant.” I searched for an equivalent. “It’ll be like fire ants pinching your joints.”

“I don’t remember it hurting,” said Mike.

“She did this to you?” asked Manny.

“Something similar,” I said, “but he was in a hospital and unconscious at the time. So he didn’t feel the pain.”

“And now you can leg-press an SUV?” asked Manny. He laughed. “I don’t care how much it hurts if I get that much improvement.”

“Mike responded exceptionally well to the treatment,” I cautioned. “That was a one-in-a-million outcome. For you, the best we can hope for is to eliminate the pain and swelling.”

“Still worth it. Let’s do this.”

I motioned Mike to step to the other side of the room and made a mental circle around Manny and myself. I stood behind Manny in his recliner and placed one hand on either temple.

I took a deep breath and dove into