I turned to find Rameer staring at Louise’s limp form.
“Can I help?” he asked, looking somber.
“Get hot water and a washcloth for Teran, please. Bathroom’s right through there. You can find bowls in the kitchen.” I dashed down the steps and into the library, praying that the shadow man was truly gone. There was an apothecary chest with a cabinet below it. I opened the cabinet drawers and sorted through the bottles. Finally, in the corner, I spied a cobalt blue spray bottle labeled “Revival Water” and grabbed it. I also pocketed a bottle of my mother’s Cleanse-All, and headed back to the guest room.
Teran was pressing a hot compress to Louise’s head while Rameer stood back, watching.
“I found the Revival water. I also brought Cleanse-All. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to spray down the room and ourselves.”
“We’ll need to ward the house, heavily, after we’re done here. Dr. Fairsight is coming over as soon as she can. She actually doesn’t live all that far from you, so it shouldn’t be too long. Here, while I warm Louise with the compress, you spray all around the bed, and then her forehead and crown chakra with the water.”
I began to spray the spell-water around Louise and the smell immediately perked me up and seemed to clear away the cobwebs and remaining fear. No wonder my mother made this stuff, I thought, looking at the bottle. I saturated Louise’s hair, hoping she wasn’t allergic to anything in the spray, and then sprayed some on Teran and more on me. Rameer gave me a questioning look and I motioned for him to hold out his wrist. I sprayed some of the water on his arm and he raised it to his nose, then broke out in a smile.
“That’s a powerful mix. Your mother must have been quite the witch,” he said.
I nodded, a pang running through me. “She was. I miss her.”
As Teran pressed the hot compress to Louise’s hands, Louise’s eyes began to flutter. I sprayed her with the Cleanse-All as well, and she blinked away the droplets, but then opened her eyes fully.
“Where— What happened?”
“A shadow man followed you here,” I said.
Teran glanced at me, but said nothing.
“Don’t try to move,” I added. “Just rest. You’ve been unconscious.” I patted her hand, then stood and began to spray the corners of the room and closet with the Cleanse-All. I also opened the curtains to let as much of the remaining afternoon light in as I could.
Rameer motioned to me and I followed him outside the room.
“Thank you,” I said, the moment we were in the hall. “I don’t know what we would have done without you. I’m simply not prepared yet to tackle a shadow man.”
He stared at me, a grave expression on his face. “Where I come from, we call them rijilings. They are from beyond the grave, from the abyss. They roam the earth in search of life force.”
“We call them shadow people, but essentially, yes, that’s what we think they’re after, as well. One came for me when I was a child,” I added.
“I thought you were marked,” Rameer said, “but it’s never polite to discuss without an invitation.”
I jerked my head up. “You can see my mark, too?”
“Yes, I can. You bear two marks—most, even those of witchblood, will not be able to see them. But beings such as myself can see the marks clearly. You bear two. One, you are marked as prey. And two, you bear the mark of protection—a goddess protects you. But the other mark will always attract hunters. And there are many hunters throughout the realms of existence.”
I swallowed, a lump forming in my stomach. Teran had told me I was marked by the shadow man. The mark of the goddess must be from Druantia, given Teran had promised me to her when I was young.
At that moment, a noise from downstairs alerted me. I froze, but then relaxed as Killian’s voice drifted up the stairs.
“January? Where are you?”
“Up here,” I called out.
“Do you want me to leave? I don’t want to make your beau jealous,” Rameer said.
I shook my head. “You saved our lives. Of course I’m not going to ask you to go back into your bottle. By the way, your actual bottle may be delayed—we’re having a massive snowstorm right now and I’m not sure if the mail will be delivered on time.”
“I’m not worried about that,” Rameer said.
I looked up into the massive djinn’s face and his eyes were filled with concern. Right then, I knew that—djinn or not—I could trust him. “Thank you again,” I said, as Killian appeared at the top of the stairs.
He glanced at Rameer, then at me, frowning. “What’s going on? And this is…”
“This is Rameer, the djinn I told you about.”
Killian broke into a wide smile. “So, you’re the one who sealed the drunken ritual?” He held out his hand.
Rameer took his hand, shaking it. “It’s my duty to grant wishes, you know.”
“Rameer saved my life tonight—and Teran’s, and Louise’s life as well.”
Killian’s smile faded away. “What are you talking about?”
I told him what had happened. The news about Rowan being my grandmother seemed better left for a private discussion.
The doorbell rang at that moment, and Killian insisted on getting it. He returned, followed by Dr. Fairsight.
“Hello,” I said, moving forward to shake her hand. “Thank you for braving the storm.”
“I think it’s beginning to let up,” she said. “It’s dicey out there, but I don’t live far, and from what your aunt said on the phone, this is an emergency.”
I led her to Louise’s room. “The shadow man had almost drained her dry,” I said, escorting her in.
Teran was holding Louise’s hand, talking to her softly. She stood as the doctor entered the room. “I’m so glad you could make it. We did what we could. She’s human, which makes it even more imperative that we know what effect the shadow man had on her.”
“If you’d give me a moment with the patient,” Dr. Fairsight said, crossing over to the bed. “Hello, I’m Dr. Fairsight, and I’m going to examine you, with your permission, and see if the shadow man disrupted anything.”
Louise looked at me and I nodded. “It’s fine. She’s a good doctor,” I said.
“All right,” Louise said, her voice faint.
“We’ll be downstairs,” I started to say, but Rameer broke in.
“I’ll wait outside the door in case the rijiling decides to return. Just call if you need me,” he told the doctor.
Touched by his concern, I led the others back to the living room, where I flipped on all the lights. Even though the shadow man had come during the day, I wanted to do my best to illuminate the entire house, so there would be no corner where he or his friends could hide.
“All right, that was unpleasant,” I said. “Teran, did you know I have two marks on me?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Rameer told me. He said he saw them from the first time we met. One’s from the shadow man I saw as a child—apparently, I bear the mark of prey on me, and I don’t have to tell you how that made me feel. The second is the mark of a goddess—which I’m going to assume is Druantia, because he said it appeared to be about the same age as the other mark.”