The Rowanwood Curse (Hal Bishop Mysteries Book 1) by Elizabeth O'Connell

Author:Elizabeth O'Connell [O'Connell, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2016-01-23T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Hal hurried forward, dropping down beside me, his face wide-eyed and pale in the lantern light. “Are you hurt?”

I blinked at him, trying to make sense of what had just happened, and drew in a shaky breath. My teeth were chattering badly, and my arm burned like it was on fire; my thoughts were a jumbled mess of fear and confusion, and I simply stared at Hal, unable to speak.

“Is he all right?” Mr. Gilley’s trembling voice came from my other side. “I couldn’t get a clear shot at the thing—I was afraid I’d hit the lad.”

“You did right.” Hal handed Mr. Gilley the lantern and bent over me again, shaking my shoulders gently. “Jem? Can you hear me?”

“How did you do that?” I said hoarsely.

He frowned at me a moment, confused, then shook his head. “The fire spell,” he said. “On the lantern. Never mind that. Are you all right?”

I took another deep breath, trying to calm my jangled nerves. Apart from the pain in my arm and a lingering ache in my chest, I seemed to be in one piece. “I—I think so.”

Hal put an arm behind my shoulders, helping me to sit. He grimaced at the blood on my sleeve, and tied his handkerchief in a makeshift bandage around the bite on my arm. “Can you stand?”

I nodded, and he helped me to my feet, tucking my injured arm into my jacket and my other arm over his shoulders. He turned to Mr. Gilley, who still held the lantern. “I think we’d better get him inside.”

Mr. Gilley nodded, lifting the lantern, and led the way back to the house. By the time we reached it, my arm felt as though it would fall off, and I was shaking so badly that I could hear my teeth clattering. Mrs. Gilley met us at the door, took one look at me, and became in an instant a very formidable nurse. She directed my brother to set me down on a cot, and barked orders at her children to bring cloths and hot water.

Hal set me down as directed, and I lay back against the cot. My head was swimming; every movement sent a spike of pain up my arm. Hal helped me out of my coat and jacket, and when he pushed back the sleeve of my shirt, I had my first clear look at the bite. It was neither deep nor very bloody, but a web of dark lines spread out from it, as though the skin had shattered around the wound.

“What is that?” I sat up, fear licking at the back of my throat. “What’s wrong with my arm?”

“Lie still, Jem.” Hal pushed me back onto the cot, and turned to Mr. Gilley. “The yarbwoman—fetch Mrs. Ogham. Quickly.”

Mr. Gilley nodded, and turned to go, but Mrs. Gilley set down the bowl of water she was carrying and shook her head. “It’s bad enough to have you magicians here—I won’t have that woman in my house.”

“Yes, you will.

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