Finding Valor (18 page)

“Okay. Fine.”

Vince was waiting just outside Liz’s room when Ezra wheeled Josh out. He put a hand on Josh’s shoulder and squeezed. “Is everything all right?”

“I don’t know.” Josh knew he wasn’t just asking about him. He looked over his shoulder at Dad. “Could you get me a glass of orange juice or something?”

“Of course.” Dad patted Josh’s shoulder then strode off down the hall.
 

Vince moved behind Josh and wheeled him in the opposite direction. “Tell me everything that happened.”

Josh repeated it word for word.

“You felt the power rush out of your body after you said, ‘I wish I could heal all your injuries?’”

“You don’t think I actually healed her burns, do you?”

“You’re an elemental mage. You used a powerful gemstone. I think that’s exactly what you did.” Vince rubbed his forehead. “This is going to be hard to explain.”

“Who says we have to explain anything?” Josh nodded at a priest walking toward them. “Excuse me, Father?”

The priest stopped and dropped to one knee, making himself eye level with Josh. “Yes, my son.”

“My step-mother is in room 701. She’s not expected to live. Can you give her a blessing or something?”

“I wasn’t aware that the patient in room 701 was Catholic.”

“My dad’s Jewish.” Josh had no idea why he said that. It was true, but it wasn’t going to help the situation.

The priest frowned and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t enter a patient’s room unless I’m invited in by either the patient or next of kin.”

The priest hurried away and ducked into room 708, but he’d given Josh an idea.
 

He looked over his shoulder at Vince. “You know that glamour thing you do to make people see you differently? Can you make them see you as a priest?”

“I can’t change the appearance of my clothing, but who said it has to be a priest that heals her? My grandmother was a born-again, speaking-in-tongues, faith-healing, true believer. She hauled me off to more than one revival.”

“Mages belong to churches?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Vince turned Josh around and wheeled him back towards room 701. “You’ll need to distract the nurses long enough for me to sneak into Liz’s room.”

“I think I can manage that. Drop me off at the nurses’ station.”

Vince winked at Josh then continued on without him. Josh waited until Vince leaned against the wall next to Liz’s room then nose-dived out of the wheelchair.
 

He protected his head, but he had to make it look real so he landed hard on his side. “Ahh…”
 

His cry of pain had the desired effect. The nurses ran out from behind the counter and immediately started assessing him.

Agnes Hayworth, RN barked orders at the other nurses. They scattered to do her bidding…
page a doctor, get a gurney, page Mr. Abrim…

“No! Wait. Don’t page my dad. He’ll think it’s Liz!”

She pressed her lips together then nodded. “all right. Hey, you there.” She pointed at a man pushing a laundry cart down the hall. “Get over here.”

He left his cart and jogged down the hall.

“I need you to deliver a message to Mr. Abrim. Do you know who I’m talking about?”

“Yes, ma’am, I do. He’s real nice.”

“This is his son and he’s just taken his second spill in less than ten minutes. We need to get him admitted.”

“No. I’m fine.” Josh flexed his abs to sit up, but Nurse Hayworth pushed him back down. She was stronger than she looked.

“Oh no you don’t. Not on my watch.”

Josh glanced over at room 701. Vince was gone. “Okay. I’ll lay still until Dad gets here, but you aren’t admitting me.”

“We’ll see.”

“Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! It’s a miracle!”
The heavy door to Liz’s room muffled Vince's shout, but it was still easy to hear every word. It was also easy to tell where the sound was coming from.

Nurse Hayworth’s face blanched then turned beet red. “Someone call security. Stat.”

“Praise the Lord!”

Josh grabbed Nurse Hayworth’s wrist. “Wait. It’s okay. He’s a preacher. I asked him to go pray over Liz.”

“All visitors must check in and follow proper protocol before entering a patient’s room.” She nodded at the other nurse who obeyed without question.
 

“Security to floor 7. Code grey.”

“Repent and rejoice! Rise up, sister, and give thanks! Take up thy bed and walk.”

“You.” Nurse Hayworth stood up and pointed at Josh. “Stay. Put.”

Josh nodded.

She whirled around and ran down the hall then yanked open the door to room 701, the other nurse right behind her. “You are not authorized—”

Nurse Hayworth stopped mid-sentence. Silence settled over the entire floor. Liz’s door opened with a slow creak. Nurse Hayworth stepped into the hall. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide as silver dollars. Her jaw hung slack. Her voice was barely a whisper. “Page Dr. O’Donald.”

The elevator dinged. Dad stepped out and ran straight to Liz’s room. The orderly followed, but turned in the opposite direction, towards the nurses’ station. “What’s going on?”

“Code grey, room 701.” The nurse looked at one of the computer screens and frowned. “I have to take care of this. Tell Nurse Hayworth we need someone behind the desk.”
 

She scurried out from behind the desk and ran to room 704. The orderly ducked into Liz’s room…and didn’t come back out. Guilt washed over Josh. What if another patient had an emergency and there was no one behind the desk?

He was still weak and dizzy from healing Liz, but managed to get himself to his feet. The first thing he noticed when he opened the door to Liz’s room was the overflowing red bin full of stained bandages. He peeked around the curtain. Liz was sitting up. The breathing tube was gone. The head of her bed was raised to forty-five degrees. Dad was sitting next to her, gazing at her with an expression of pure awe.

Vince stood in the corner, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He nodded at the door. Josh stepped outside to wait for him. It didn’t take long. Vince grabbed Josh’s upper arm and tugged him towards the elevator. “We need to get out of here before the media gets here.”

“You went a little overboard with all the ‘praise the Lord’ and ‘it’s a miracle’ bull crap, don’t you think? All the churches in the entire state of Colorado are going to be crammed full this Sunday.”

“And you think that’s a bad thing?”

“Everyone’s going to think Liz’s healing was a miracle.”

“Wasn’t that the point? Besides, what makes you think it wasn’t?”

Josh put on the brakes, causing Vince to lose his grip on his arm. He pointed back towards Liz’s room. “I did that. Not God.”

“Careful there, Valor. That reeks of arrogance.”

“I don’t believe this!”

“Where do you think your power comes from?”

“Magic. I inherited it from you.”

“And where did my power come from? Where did we come from? Who created us?”

“Are you trying to tell me that you’re religious?”

“Hardly.” Vince barked out a single syllable laugh. “But everyone has to believe in something. What do you believe in?”

“Myself, magic and love.”
 

Vince thumped Josh on the back. “Well, that’s a start.”

“Just don’t try to convert me.”

“Convert you to what? All I ask is that you keep an open mind. If someone had told you that magic was real six months ago, would you have believed them?”

Josh stopped then turned around and headed back the way they’d come.
 

Vince took off after him and grabbed his elbow. “What are you doing?”

“I never told Dad about magic. He and Liz are going to be in even more danger when this story gets out.”

“So are we.” Vince grabbed Josh’s other arm and gave him a mild shake. “First we avoid the media then we talk to your father.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I warn Dad and Liz about what they’re up against.”

Josh was relieved to find Dad standing just outside the door to room 701. There was only one word for the expression on his face. Shock. “Dad? Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Liz is healed.”

“I know. I need to explain it.”

Dad’s gaze drifted to Vince. “They’re saying you did it.”

Vince shook his head. “I was only trying to get the focus off Josh.”

“Josh?” Dad frowned.

“Can we go somewhere more private?” Josh didn’t want to try to explain magic to Dad in the hall while medical types rushed in and out of Liz’s room.

“Sure.” He led Josh and Vince into a small waiting room and locked the door behind them.
 

Josh shuddered as he took in the intimate grouping of institutional furniture and strategically placed boxes of Kleenex. This must be where they brought distraught family members to give them bad news. “Vince didn’t heal Liz. I did.”

“Is this some kind of joke?”

“Come on, Dad. Do you really think I’d joke about something like this?”

“So you’re what? A faith healer?” Dad slumped down onto the couch.

Josh pushed an armchair over until it was right in front of Dad. He sat down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’m a mage.”

“A what?”

“I can do magic.”

Dad stared at him but his eyes were blank.

“How else do you explain Liz’s miraculous healing?”

Dad frowned then squeezed his eyes shut. He shook his head back and forth but didn’t say anything.

Josh reached out and gripped Dad’s shoulder. “Dad. Look at me. I know it’s hard to believe but it’s the truth.”

Dad shrugged Josh’s hand off and stood up. “I need to get back to Liz.”

Vince stepped to the side, blocking the door. “Not until you hear us out.”

Dad’s eyes flashed. He wasn’t a violent man. Josh had rarely seen him lose his temper. But it was obvious that he wasn’t going to let anyone keep him away from Liz or make him listen to ‘nonsense.’

Vince flicked his gaze to Josh for a split second then rolled his eyes like a disgruntled teenager and cast a calming spell on Dad.
 

Josh grabbed him and lowered him back to the couch then collapsed in his own chair. He was still drained from healing Liz.

Vince sat down beside Dad. “You need to listen and keep an open mind. We don’t have a lot of time. You, Liz and Josh are in serious danger.”

Dad snapped his head up. “What do you mean?”

“That was no random attack. Your wife was targeted by a tracker—a mage—that’s trying to capture your son.” Vince's voice dropped on the words ‘your son.’

“Why would anyone want to capture Josh?”

“Because he’s my son, too.”

Dad’s sharp intake of air demonstrated how much that comment shocked him. “You’re Vincent Veyjivik?”

“Call me Vince. Vince Javick.”

“He doesn’t like to use his real name.” Josh saw no reason to tell Dad that Vincent wasn’t Vince's real name either. The fewer people that knew about Vengeance Veyjivik, the better.

“Why not?” Dad wasn’t going to make this easy. Josh could almost see the wheels of suspicion turning in Dad’s head.

“We don’t have time for this.” The air in front of Vince's face shimmered as he released the glamour spell.

Dad gasped. His eyes widened into circles as he jerked away from Vince. “What? How?”

“I was cursed, the same as Liz. This is what she would have looked like had she survived without Josh healing her.”

“This has to be a trick.”

“Dad, think about it. Why would I want to trick you?”

“I don’t know. But I can’t believe in magic. I just can’t.”

“Feel my face.” Josh jutted his chin forward. “I haven’t shaved for two days.”

“So?” Dad crossed his arms over his chest.

“I can use magic to get rid of my stubble.”

Dad narrowed his eyes, but he took Josh’s chin between his fingers and thumb. He tilted his head, first to one side, then the other. He ran his other hand over both Josh’s cheeks. “Okay. Do it.”

“You might want to stand back.”

Dad shook his head. “No. No tricks.”

Vince unlocked the door and stepped outside.

Josh waited for the door to click shut then focused on the tingling sensation behind his navel. He thought about his desire to be clean and shaved. An electrical charge rushed over his skin, lifting every hair on his body. He knew he looked as if he’d stuck his finger in a light socket.
 

He cracked his eyelids open to sneak a peek at Dad. He was staring at him, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

“At least close your mouth. This is very messy.”

Dad snapped his mouth shut.

Josh closed his eyes again to help him concentrate. The buzz of energy spiked as the spell exploded the dead skin cells, body oil, facial hair and sweat off his body.
 

He cringed when he opened his eyes and saw the nasty film coating the window in the door.
 

Dad wiped his face with the back of his hand and scowled.

“I told you it was messy.”

“How’d you do that?”

“It’s a cleansing spell—”

“Don’t mess with me, son. I’ve been through too much.” Dad circled Josh then lifted his shirt. “Where is it? You had to have used some sort of dispersion device to create the effect.”

“I’m not messing with you!” Josh shoved his hands in his hair. “How else do you explain Liz’s miraculous healing?”

Vince opened the door and stepped back inside, locking it again. “Maybe he needs another demonstration.”
 

Before Josh realized what was happening, Vince grabbed Dad’s wrist, turned his hand over and sliced his palm with a scalpel.

Dad cried out and jerked his hand away then stepped in front of Josh, protecting him from the crazy man with a knife. “Stay away from my son.”

“Look at your hand. See the blood? Feel the pain?”

“You’re crazy!”

“I’m tired. And we have a long trip ahead of us.” Vince waved his hands around, putting on a show. “Abracadabra, alakazam, you’re healed.”

Dad’s jaw dropped again. He was going to aggravate his TMJ problems if he didn’t stop doing that. He ran his fingers over his newly healed hand. “How?”