Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [144]
‘I can still see her,’ Everett said as they closed the lid on the vat.
‘Just make sure the numbers read as if she’s still there. We want to avoid alarms for as long as possible.’
‘But I can see her here on the gurney. You said she’d be glamoured—invisible.’ Everett spoke softly while he recalibrated the readout parameters of the tank.
‘It’s okay. The glamour won’t work for us.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because we know she’s there and we are stuck in that knowing.’
Everett rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Then how can we tell if the others can’t see it?’
‘We can’t.’
‘What?’
‘No way to tell, but I suspect we’ll find out soon enough. They wouldn’t let us wheel her out of here, would they?’
He shook his head. ‘Not likely.’
Rosette pressed her energy against Grayson’s skin, feeling the hair rise on the back of his neck.
He smiled. ‘I think we’re good to go.’
Everett moved to one end of the gurney and pushed it into the aisle. The med student opposite them followed their progress, his hand coming up. ‘Excuse me?’
Rosette wanted to growl.
‘If you’re finished with that gurney, I could use it. We’re taking this one to transplant.’
Everett and Grayson froze.
It’s working!
Maudi, stop gloating and do something about him.
Like what? I can’t keep the glamour up and deal with him at the same time.
I think you’re going to have to. Everett’s about to pop.
He did look uneasy. Rosette turned her energy away from the glamour and focused on the med student. He was reaching for the gurney. On reflex she sent a blast of energy to stop his hand just before it touched the surface—a surface occupied by her corpse. Too much. He was knocked back, folded over at the waist, knees buckling. The instrument tray jumped out of his hand and clattered to the floor. The sound broke the icy silence of the ward, turning heads.
Fellow students came running. ‘What happened? What’s going on?’ they asked.
Everett pushed the gurney towards Grayson, indicating for him to move it aside. ‘He just collapsed,’ Everett said. ‘Ring the ER, stat.’
One student reached for their pager screen, but the supervising tech shook his head. ‘It’s faster to take him there ourselves. Quick. The gurney.’
Maudi, do something!
I did.
Do something else!
She sent a revival spell to the collapsed student, though that also appeared to be too much. His head came up like a shot just before the tech had reached the gurney. Rosette would have screamed if she could. Her glamour slipped and she bolstered it back up. The student was on his feet, his face blank, mouth open.
‘What are you playing at?’ Grayson whispered.
She knew he was speaking to her. I’m trying to get us out of here. The look on his face didn’t change. He couldn’t hear her response.
Everett took the lead, making a show of guiding the gurney towards the station. No one paid attention. They were all focused on the med student, who was articulating his strange experience. Apparently it wasn’t at all unpleasant and he felt completely revived. As they chatted in the background, Grayson and Everett slipped out of the cryo ward and headed for the elevators. When the doors closed on the lift, they turned to each other, sweat dripping down their faces.
Rosette hovered, reading the intensity in their expressions. They glanced at the security camera before turning as one to read the elevator numbers lighting up in descending order.
That was close, Maudi.
Wasn’t it!
Will they set off an alarm when they see you’re gone?
Not until they wake up.
Wake up? You knocked them out? When?
Right after the doors swung shut.
Why?
Seemed like the best idea at the time.
EARTH—TIME: FORWARD
CHAPTER 32
Teg rubbed his forehead, pushing a lock of hair out of his eyes. His feelings were becoming unmanageable, and Kreshkali’s actions were doing nothing to reassure him—not that