Page 92 of The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games 1)
I Seek Wise Counsel
It wasn't even seven o'clock in the morning by the time I reached St. John's Hospital, but my body told me I'd packed a week of living into the first hours of the day. My shoulders sagged, and there was an ache deep inside my chest. I didn't have a name for all of my emotions. In nursing school, they teach you to help people in crisis-illness, death, disfigurement, that type of thing. No book ever covered what to do when you find out you are the reincarnated soul of a witch, your neighbor is a blood-drinking immortal, and you have ghosts in your attic. I was in new territory here.
I stepped out of the break room with my stethoscope slung around my neck, knowing that no amount of medicine could cheat death. I've always known this. I've seen dozens of people die during my career. Only, today, a revelation; death was not the end. Death meant change. Death meant forgetting. Death meant moving on.
On the way to see my first patient, I passed room three twelve. The door was open. A teenaged girl sobbed into her hands, her brown hair tangled around her face. I knocked on the open door.
"Everything okay in here?" I asked softly.
She stroked her hair back from her red-rimmed eyes. "My grandmother..." She pointed toward the bed. "She just died. The nurse went to call my mother and make arrangements."
I shifted my focus from the girl to the body. Grandma may have died, but she was still in the room. My jaw dropped. Her soul looked down on me as I stepped, trancelike, to her granddaughter's side.
"Her soul is so bright!" Had I said that out loud?
"What?"
With my hand on the girl's shoulder, I struggled to regain my composure. The ascending light filled the room. Desperately, I wanted to tell this girl that her grandma's soul radiated pure good, warmth, and love. I was struck dumb. Her soul smiled at me, broke apart into a thousand pinpoints of light and circled up through the ceiling. I gripped my chest as a weight, one I'd come to associate with Logan, was lifted from me.
"Miss, are you all right?" the girl asked.
I faced her with tears in my eyes, my jaw working as my brain struggled to find the right words. "Your grandma was a wonderful person. If it gives you any comfort, for as long as I've been nursing, I've never seen a more peaceful death. You can tell... by her body. She was ready, and obviously loved." My voice gave out on the last word.
Eyes wide, she squeezed my hand. "Thank you."
I suddenly felt small and inconsequential in the face of the great and mysterious world around me. For the first time, the part of me that was the witch awakened, stretched her arms toward the sun, and beckoned me forward. Come. Accept my gifts. Know the unknown. Seize your power.
As I retreated from the room and the girl, I really wished the witch would shut the fuck up.
* * * * *
My two patients kept me more than busy. They were both sedated, hooked up to machines that helped them breathe. One was in a diabetic coma, the other recovering from a heart attack. Like any other day, I did my assessments and administered my medications. But unlike yesterday, I knew they wouldn't die. Crap. Whether it was because of Logan, Rick, or my past life, I could sense death like a cold room. Although my diabetic coma patient gave off a chilly breeze, she wasn't there yet. On one hand, this new spidey-sense came in handy as a nurse. On the other, it was creepier than a hillbilly with a chainsaw.
"Are you ready for lunch?" Michelle caught me outside the medication room, a lopsided grin on her face. "I thought we could go check on that neuro patient."
"What neuro patient?"
"You know, the transfer from St. Augustus. Maureen on Neuro wants our professional opinion."
"Can it wait for another day? I really need to talk to you about something."
"Sure." Her expression turned serious. "What's going on?"
"It's a long story. Let me tell Kathleen I'm leaving, and we can go to Valentine's."
She nodded. A few moments later, we headed across the street to our favorite restaurant. I slid into a secluded booth at the back, and Michelle got comfortable across from me. I dove right into the conversation. Hell, I'd burst if I didn't vent to someone.
"Michelle, I need your advice."
"Shoot."
"Let's say you knew two men."
"I like this scenario already." She smiled and opened her menu.
"The first man is sexy beyond belief. Every time you see him your body begs you to throw yourself at him," I said.
"Sounds good to me. What's the catch?"
