Episode 32

The next day I woke up happy. Things had gone well and we could finally close that case soon.

First things first, I made myself coffee and grabbed a smoke. As soon as I was awake enough I called Josephine to let her know how the meeting had gone.

"Jo! I have news and for once, they're good. We're gonna be able to close that fucking case-" I stopped myself.

She was sobbing. "Jo? What happened? It is Erwan?"

In all my years working for her I'd never seen, or rather heard, Jo sob. This must be very bad. "Yes Tina, it's Erwan. He's been taken for surgery last night and only just came back up. He'll make it fine but… Oh Tina his sweet little face, it will be disfigured forever. He won't be able to use his arm well either…"

"I'm on my way. Don't move. I think I have someone who can help."

I called Cecile immediately. The fucking kingdom could wait, this was a child in dire need. He needed help.

"Cecile, you better stop partying right this instant and come join me at the kid's hospital. You promised to help, I need that help now. I can't leave this poor kid like this. Hurry up, I'll fly there."

"No, you'll teleport there," they said from behind my door. I went and opened it, and there they were, all dressed up and serious. Somehow it was a relief to see them here. "Go dress up, fast."

I did, not bothering to pick and choose for once. I grabbed whatever was first on the pile of clean clothes and came out of my bedroom in record speed.

"Perfect, let's go." I took my purse, which Cecile had prepared for me, and off we went.

A half second later we were in front of the children's hospital. We rushed to the desk and asked about Erwan. "Room 12, first floor". We didn't even say thanks, such was our rush.

The single room was as small as the child under the blankets. Bare walls, all white, a bright white light, and Jo in the corner half dozing. Erwan's face was hidden under a thick bandage. His arm was in a cast. He seemed awake and lost. 

"Hello Erwan, remember me?" He perked up. 

"I talked to the frog everyday. It helped. I got a friend to come, thanks to the frog. Thank you, Tina. I didn't want to be all alone."

I choked back tears. "I'm sorry I couldn't come visit yesterday. But look, I brought another friend! And together we will try to help you, okay? Maybe we can make your arm and head better. Can we try?"

The kid's eyes opened wide. "You can try." He looked so serious under the thin hospital blanket I could've cried.

I turned to Cecile. "Do your thing, genie." Cecile did a double take. Had I hit right? Now wasn't the time to mull over it. Cecile got closer to the small bed. "Hello Erwan, I'm Cecile. I'm here to try and help you."

Erwan looked at me and I nodded. He looked back to Cecile and nodded in turn. He was ready.

"Tina, if you will come here, I could use your magic."

I got closer to the bed. My movements seemed to wake Jo up, and she looked at us wide eyed and silent. She frowned but didn't speak. I was grateful for that. Fuck, I hoped this would work.

At Cecile's elbow and on their instruction, I took my wand out. Jo went to the door to check nobody was coming in.

Cecile's hand wrapped around mine, and they closed their eyes. I felt a flow of magic go through my arm, through my wand, into Erwan. I looked him right in the eyes, a smile plastered to my face. Be reassuring Tina. This kid is counting on you.

We remained in place, like an old oil painting, for what seemed like hours but was probably closer to 10 minutes.

Then the magic flow stopped. Cecile's eyes opened, and mine closed. Erwan groaned softly, as if in pain. Jo came back in. "What have you done to him? You said you'd help, not hurt!"

Cecile smiled a reassuring smile. "Did you think boned getting back together would be a painless process?"

My eyes and mouth opened. "You're serious?" The smile turned to me. "Very. This kid's arm was in pieces, Tina. I can direct the magic to make them align and accelerate the healing, but I needed a magic source. I took yours. Now his arm will heal clean and he will be able to use it as before when it's all done."

"What about his face? His head?" Jo asked. "He had pieces of bone in his brain, guys. They couldn't remove them."

Cecile, still very cool and collected, turned directly to Erwan this time. "All the bones are back in place. Now we have to wait until they regrow together. You will be fine, little one. I promise."

The child was falling asleep, but a smile formed on the part of his face we could see. It was a precious sight. I sighed.