Sepia Blue- Nameless: A Sepia Blue Novel- Book 4 Orlando Sanchez (good books for high schoolers txt) 📖

use your sword,” Mercy said, resting a hand on my forearm. “The anchors do not preclude the use of your sword. In fact, they make it nearly impossible for the Jade Demon to manifest.”

“Which means I can use Perdition?”

“Precisely.”

“Calisto said not to use Perdition.”

“Is that what you will say when you stand over her lifeless body?”

“Shit, what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Have you ever fought the Unholy?”

“On more than one occasion, yes,” Mercy said. “My skills now are to preserve life, not destroy it. That, and maintaining this Keep is my purpose.”

“Calisto wanted me to stay here, behind the circle.”

“What circle?” Mercy said, looking around. “You mean the one that’s been disabled?”

“Well, yes, that one.”

“Do you know how to cast a ward circle?” Mercy asked.

“No, it’s not something I ever learned.”

“Calisto wanted you to remain in the safety of the circle,” Mercy said, looking into the distance. “That safety is gone. I will stay here and repair the wards. Until the wards are restored, we are all in danger from what comes.”

“Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”

“Not in the least,” Mercy said, placing a hand on my shoulder and pointing to where Calisto and the other two people were engaging the Unholy. “Calisto will never admit it, but you can help her here. Stop thinking and start doing. Go. I will make sure the Keep’s defenses do not fail.”

Part of me knew she was right. This was who I was. I couldn’t just stand by and let Calisto put herself in danger. I needed to help her. I turned to thank Mercy but she had moved to the ward circle and began creating symbols from golden energy.

I reached inside me for the power of Perdition. The anchors around my wrists felt heavy, but not so heavy that I couldn’t manage the weight. I needed to do this without unleashing the power of the Jade Demon. The anchors were supposed to stop that, but I remembered my glowing green eye.

Why hadn’t the anchors stopped that from happening? I felt the cold presence of Perdition deep within, coiled and waiting. I grabbed hold of the sensation and felt it wash over me. The cold raced up my spine and lodged itself at the base of my neck with an unrelenting grip.

Green and black smoke raced down my arm, coalescing at my hand as Perdition formed. Power, incredible power, exploded within me as more roars and howls filled the Park.

This party was just getting started and I was going to be the guest of honor.

I ran past the now dormant ward circle faster than I had ever moved before. Calisto glanced at me and shook her head before I joined the fray.

It was too late.

TWENTY-ONE

“I’m afraid we may have treated him too late, Director,” the Doctor said. “We performed the recall procedure successfully, but he hasn’t regained consciousness.”

Rafael peered at the Doctor’s name card. It read: Doctor Gahlif Reyan Huu. The doctor was a tall man with a wild mane of hair and a full beard. He had an air of urgency and calm mixed together to produce an atmosphere of uneasy ease.

“Doctor Huu,” Rafael said calmly. “I understand you’ve done this procedure before?”

“Several times,” Huu replied, “but never on a patient this far along. We can make him comfortable, but you should prepare for the worst. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Rafael said. “Can I see him?”

“Of course,” Huu replied. “Nurse Stern will take you to his room.”

A nurse glided over to where Rafael stood and motioned with a hand. She was a short squat woman who moved with the practiced grace of a brawler. As they headed down the corridor, other nurses gave her a wide berth or paused while she walked past them. Whether it was out of respect or fear, Rafael had no way of knowing. He figured it was a mix of both.

“This way, Director,” she said, heading down the final corridor. “He is a few rooms over.”

“Were you part of the procedure team?” Rafael asked.

“Yes, sir,” the nurse answered. “I was the primary, assisting the doctor.”

“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?” Rafael asked, refusing to believe Gan, his friend was gone. “Anything?”

The nurse looked around as they reached Gan’s room. She stopped at the door and stepped close to Rafael.

“There is one thing,” she said, glancing to the side quickly. “Everything was progressing smoothly when we started the recall.”

“Until it wasn’t?” Rafael asked. “Did something go wrong?”

“The recall procedure, once started can’t be stopped,” the nurse said. “That’s why we have several med teams on hand, in case of emergencies.”

“What was the emergency?”

The nurse hesitated. Rafael was certain she’d been given instructions not to divulge what happened to Gan, but he needed to know all of the details if he was going to be able to help his friend.

“I don’t think—” the nurse started but then shook her head.

“What’s your name?” Rafael asked, looking at her name tag. “Nurse Stern?”

“Deborah,” she answered. “Deborah Stern.”

“How long have you been a nurse with the Order?”

Rafael knew the answer, the same way he knew her name was Deborah. It was his job as Director to know these things. He’d also made it a point to gather as much information as he could about every member of the medical team performing the recall procedure. Deborah, Deb to her friends, had been a nurse for twenty-two years with the Order. She was one of the best, if not the best nurse on the staff.

“Twenty-two years,” Deb answered. “All of them with the Order, but in several departments. I’m in neurological now.”

“Makes sense, especially with your degree in ward-related injuries,” Rafael said. “You were the ideal nurse for the recall procedure.”

Deborah raised an eyebrow and nodded.

“No one is supposed to know about my ward studies,” she said. “It makes the doctors nervous.”

“My impression is that most nurses know more than the doctors they’re assisting,” Rafael said, conspiratorially. “Besides, as Director, I’m supposed to know these things.”

“You’d be the first.”

“Can