Page 34 of Shattered Magic
“No one has spoken to me. It’s in my insurance file, my medical histories, and I am pretty sure it is on the bracelet on my fucking wrist.”
The medical staff looked stunned, and in her swollen skin on her wrist, there was the icon of the dwarf nation, even clear to Vega’s blurry eyes.
Vega pointed at her neck with sausage fingers. “Oh, and the mark on my neck.”
One of the nurses muttered, “I thought it was a partner tattoo.”
The doctor growled. “Not on the right side. Partners go on the left for every registered species.”
Vega muttered, “Student?”
The doctor shook his head. “No, just an idiot who doesn’t realize that three percent of the dwarf community is of average size.”
Eon asked, “What happens to that three percent?”
A new voice spoke from the doorway. “Adoptive parents are found in the average human community where the children thrive. When they are teens, they are put back in touch with their community. Vega was one of the few we could not find a placement for.”
Vega’s blurry eyes made out the distinctive shape of the village elder. She looked at her, and through her raw voice, she said, “Get out, Elder.”
There was a harumph, and the elder ignored her and walked into the room to stand next to her. “So, they tried a hypnotic.”
Vega kept her mouth shut, and the doctor chipped in, “Yes, ma’am. We had no idea that she was dwarf-born.”
Vega turned her head and said to the medical staff, “You do not have my permission to speak about any medical issues to anyone here but me. Fuck it, I am getting out of here.”
The doctor said, “That will be against medical advice.”
“What? You haven’t given me the plague yet? Is that next on the dance card?” She pulled off her mask and fought for air again. She put the mask back on and said, “Have the paperwork for me in an hour.”
The doctor stared at her. “You really need to have more tests run.”
“Listen, the entire building is full of things that are poison to me. I don’t want to be here. I also don’t want visitors that aren’t Eon.”
A low rumble from the door said, “Not even me?”
“Fuck off, Arkus. Don’t think that I don’t know that it is you who shorted me out for a day and a half.”
He walked in and gripped her hand. She yelped and flinched. He asked, “What did they do to you?”
The elder said, “They gave her a hypnotic. We don’t do well with them.”
She looked to the side, and everyone was busy staring at Arkus.
That was it. She wrenched her arm away, climbed over the railing, and as a last act, she pulled off her mask and removed the IV. Everyone watched her as she staggered for the door.
There was a roaring in her ears as she pulled the door open, and when it closed behind her and she was looking for the elevator, her absence seemed to have spurred them to action.
Arkus picked her up and carried her back to the bed. He continued to hold her, and to her surprise, the elder was stripping the bed.
Eon brought bedding in from somewhere, and the elder moved rapidly around the bed. When it was made, Arkus settled her and kissed her softly. “What happened to your everborn skills?”
She spoke in a strangled tone. “They attached to you and left when you did.”
The elder asked, “So, you knew you were a dwarf-born human, and you were going to jump?”
“Sure. I mean. If you hand me my phone, you can see how much my community wanted me to.”
“A few of our more zealous members mention contacting you.”