Mateo came to soon after Maria hit the hay. He gasped for air when he felt something cold on his chest. Krysta was listening to his lungs with her stethoscope.
“Hi, Anthony,” said her sweet voice. “Forgive me. I’m just trying to figure out why your health has plummeted since you reached Stage 2 of the illness.”
Mateo took the stethoscope’s chest piece off him. “It’s cold.”
“Oh, sorry.” Krysta breathed on it to warm it up. She then put it back to his right breast.
“What’s that?” Mateo pointed at the photo of the ultrasound results on his dresser. It had fallen since he jiggled the dresser a little in his sleep.
Krysta picked up the photo and handed it to him. “This is a gift from Maria.”
Mateo clutched it with both hands. Tears shimmered in the corners of his eyes. “Izzy,” he cooed. “Maria, thank you.” He brushed his finger across the image of his unborn child.
Krysta giggled. “She thought the baby would brighten your day.” Her smile faded. “Now, I need to look at your rash.” She started to take the photo out of Mateo’s grasp, but he snatched it away.
“No! She’s my child!” He hugged the ultrasound close to him.
“I know it’s hard, but I need to treat you,” Krysta elucidated.
“Forget it. I won’t let you take her,” Mateo growled back. He sounded like an upset dog.
Krysta was amazed by how much he loved his child. He must have gotten it from his mom. “I’m just going to put the photo on your dresser. I’ll return it after the examination.”
Mateo turned onto his side. Sweat stuck to the few hairs he had on his back. He shook his head to protest. “No, I love her. She’s my baby. Not yours.”
“But, Mateo…”
“Just leave me alone!” he snapped, coughing.
“Okay, okay.” Krysta backed away from him. “I’m just going to hang out in this corner here.” Besides, she needed some time to come up with a diagnosis for Mateo’s plummeting health.
Krysta knew something else was going on. Mateo was fighting a secondary illness, too, which he most likely picked up during his last mission. He had to help a whole village of sickly elves. Krysta guessed that the secondary illness was a lung infection. That was what the elves had.
She felt so guilty, not only with herself but also with the Ranger Union’s rash decision. Mateo was only human, and they were treating him like a slave. Horrendous. What could she do to make it up to him?
Mateo took the mask off. It was hard to see Izzy over it. “Izzy, I’m sorry,” he apologized, “but even in death, I will love you to the moon and back. No, the stars and back.”
Krysta returned to his bed. She began to pick up the mask, but Mateo stopped her.
“It’s okay, Krysta. I’m ready to die.”
“You’re not dying on my account,” Krysta angrily stated. “You’re too young. You’re even younger than me.”
“But I’m ready,” Mateo argued.
“You’re not going to,” Krysta repeated.
Under his covers, Mateo clenched his fist. Fine, if that was the way Krysta wanted to play, then he would starve himself to death, stab himself—whatever he had to do to never wear that stupid mask again.
He slapped it off the bed and told Krysta, “I don’t want you to ever put that mask on me again.”
Mateo opened the small wooden treasure chest on his dresser. Inside was a shiny dagger with a brown handle and a slightly curved blade.
Mateo dragged it out into the real world. He pointed the weapon at his chest. “This is to make up for all my sins.”
Krysta quickly grabbed his wrist. “Mateo, don’t you dare!” A few tears ran down her cheeks. “I know you’re hurting, but killing yourself isn’t going to solve anything.” She snatched the dagger from him.
He reached for it. However, he yelled when his belly flashed. Mateo fell back onto his pillow. The photo of his baby slipped from his grasp, and he slipped into unconsciousness all over again.
Krysta held the dagger in one hand. She clasped Mateo’s shoulder with the other. “Please, Sam and Evie,” she begged, “befriend the basilisk so Keegan can understand how wonderful magical beings are.”
***
The basilisk kept trying to get to Evie, but Sam blocked it. He moved back and forth with the serpent.
“She won’t hurt you,” he told it.
Evie did not think she could if she tried. She crawled away from it and hid behind a tree.
Euphorbia joined Sam. Upset, she tingled rude comments and curses at the basilisk. Sam was glad Evie couldn’t understand fairy lingo. Who knew Euphorbia had such a potty mouth?
She crossed her arms and huffed.
Feeling guilty, the basilisk stuck its head behind Sam.
Evie slowly rose to her feet. She put no weight on her injured knee. She rested her palm on a tree trunk to support her balance.
The basilisk started to slither away.
Sam and Euphorbia leaped in front of it before it could get too far. They pointed at Evie.
The basilisk also huffed.
Evie gulped when it started to approach her, slowly and calmly. “Nice snake. Nice snake,” she shakily said. She frightfully closed her eyes when the basilisk reached her.
Momentarily, it peered back at Sam and Euphorbia. Eventually, it faced Evie again.
She whimpered.
The basilisk looked at her injured knee. Seeming to sigh, it opened its powerful jaw. A few drops of drool dripped onto Evie’s wound. The blood sizzled and faded into nothingness.
“Huh?” Evie asked, opening her eyes. She clutched her knee, which now looked brand new. At least she would no longer get an earful from her parents when she returned to Paperblank Village.
The basilisk started to leave Evie, only to again be stopped by Sam and Euphorbia. Groaning, it turned back around.
Evie exchanged disgusted looks with it. She did not feel like thanking a monster who had injured her cousin. The little girl shooed the basilisk away and stomped to another tree.
Euphorbia gestured for the serpent to follow her.
Why? it mouthed.
Euphorbia glared, causing it to shudder. She and Sam settled down on a log. Together, they watched the show.
The basilisk approached Evie’s back. It kept a close eye on her as she kneeled and started to play with a few insects on the forest floor.
She rubbed her hands together and tried to conjure up some magic. She listened to nature, like what Mateo told her to do.
Evie blew on her palms. She expected sparkles to escape them, but none did.
The basilisk’s head appeared beside her. Both she and it exchanged glances with one another. Finally, the creature breathed gently on the soil. Instantly, a flower-filled vine lifted from it. The basilisk nodded at Evie.
She still did not trust it and slipped away from the creature. Next, she and it approached a small, rushing stream. Evie stood in the shallow water. She splashed herself in an attempt to keep herself awake. She was beyond tired.
The basilisk took a huge sip and decided to be a little funny. It sprayed a mouthful of water all over Evie.
Gasping, she held her arms out to her sides.
From where they sat, Sam begged, “Come on, Evie,” under his breath. “It just wants to play.”
The side of Evie’s mouth twitched. Her blue eyes studied the basilisk as it slithered in a circle on the forestry path. Before she knew it, the twitch became a smile. Very carefully, she started toward the monster.
It coiled its body. One look at Evie, and it ducked its head into its two tails. The basilisk played a game of peek-a-boo. It revealed its eyes to the little girl several times, then hid them back in its scales.
She gave in to its game. Evie hid behind her hands. She pulled them away from her eyes. “Peek-a-boo!”
The basilisk chuckled deep in its throat. “I’m sorry I hurt your coussssin,” it growled in snake language.
Evie felt its guilt. She climbed over the snake’s tails and settled down in the hole it created with them. She and it stared into each other’s eyes.
Sam hopped up from his log. “That’s it,” he said.
Beside him, Euphorbia twirled in midair.
The basilisk continued to play with Evie. It picked her up by the back of her shirt and tossed her into the sky toward Paperblank’s canopy.
“Whoa!” she yelled. She expected to feel scared, but she did not. In fact, she was happy—the happiest she’d been in forty-eight hours.
Evie landed on the basilisk’s head. She slid down its spine and tail and leaped onto the forest floor. She climbed into a tree that wasn’t far from her and her new friend. It had many low-lying branches. Evie wrapped her knees around one branch, and she hung upside-down.
The basilisk joined her. To get a good look at the girl, it twisted its neck to view her right side up.
Evie bopped its nose with her index finger. “You know, you’re not bad, Mr. Basilisk.”
The basilisk felt free from its enslavement and curse for the first time in forever. Its master could not keep it under his roof forever. The basilisk just wanted to be human again. It pulled Evie down from the branch she hung from and seemed to smile.
She took a deep breath. After a minute of intense thinking, Evie lifted her hand. She set her palm down on the serpent’s nose. It did not pull away or chomp at her.
“Well done, Evie. You are now one with nature.” Sam’s voice startled her. He appeared beside the little girl. Euphorbia rested on his shoulder. He patted the basilisk’s cheek.
Evie gave him a funny look. “Since when do you speak Pinta Ranger, Uncle Sam?”
He shrugged. “Ah, I just thought it sounded cool. See, the basilisk isn’t so bad once you know it. I have to admit, Evie… You have a way with nature.”
“Oh, hush, Sam,” she chuckled. “I’m just trying to lighten a dire situation.”
“And that’s exactly what you must do,” Sam explained. “This is what Mateo has to learn. He has to stop thinking about the negatives of life and focus on the positives.”
The basilisk sniffed Evie’s long, curly blonde hair. Its tails started to wag, much like a dog when it greeted its owner home from work. It set its head down on the forest floor.
“Well, I think you’re ready now,” Sam giggled.
“Ready? Ready for what?” Evie confusingly asked. Sam shoved her right onto the basilisk's head before she could say anymore. “Whoa! Whoa! What are you doing, Uncle Sam?” Evie added.
Sam did not answer. Instead, he slapped the basilisk’s tail.
Evie yelped when it lifted her into the sky. Her head spun because the ascent was so sudden.
The basilisk took Evie to a large tree with an oval-shaped, rounded top and set her down on its highest branch. Beyond the tree’s canopy, Evie witnessed a magnificent view of the Paperblank Forest.
The trees went on for miles. All were different shapes and sizes. She saw a couple of rain clouds in the distance and a flock of birds soaring across the blue sky. She could taste the sweet nectar of the warm morning. Momentarily, Evie thought she had turned into a bee. She examined the different shapes the cumulus clouds made: flowers, animals, magical beings, etc. However, there was one figure that particularly piqued her interest. It looked like a father cuddling a young child. His arms were around her shoulders like a carousel.
Evie held her hand out to the image. “Daddy,” she said. Was the cloud a sign? It sure felt like one.
Evie jumped when she felt the basilisk’s nose touching her shoulder. It grumbled at her. She brushed her hand across its forehead. After a moment of silence, she said, “You’re right.” Evie looked up at the symbolic cloud. “It’s time to talk to my dad.” After such a hectic week, her great-grandfather’s powers were finally starting to weaken. Now was the perfect time to talk to her father.
***
It was a miracle. Krysta had a hard time believing it. Mateo’s vital signs improved as the morning progressed. His breathing rate leveled out a bit, allowing her to switch the oxygen mask with a nasal cannula instead. He stopped slipping in and out of consciousness. It did not mean he was still frail because he was. These were just little steps.
When Maria returned to her room after her nap, she received good news for once. She smiled at the sight of Mateo awake and sitting up. “Mateo!” Instantly, she hurried to his bedside. Yawning, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
Mateo clutched his fiancée’s hand. “Hi, Maria.”
Krysta smiled a little. “It’s incredible. It’s working. He’s showing small signs of recovery.” She paced excitedly in the room. “The hunter’s powers are weakening, Maria, meaning that Evie and Sam befriended the basilisk. Now Keegan can have an easier time accepting him.”
“Did you have a good nap?” Mateo asked Maria.
“I think I can sleep better now,” was all she said.
“Thank you for your gift,” Mateo added. He held the ultrasound results out to her.
She shook her head and pushed them back into his bare chest. “Keep it. You need her more than me.”
Mateo felt a lump in his throat. He gulped it down. His physical health was starting to get better, but his mental health was still all over the place. The forest sickness affected physical health, not mental. He still felt guilty for his actions. The young man tried shaking the negative thoughts off. “I want to try to walk. Por favor,” he whispered.
Maria sat down on his bed. “Walk? Uh, Mateo, one step at a time.”
Mateo flinched a little when Krysta stuck a thermometer under his tongue. Gosh, why were they always so uncomfortable? “I want to help Ben,” he mumbled.
That was when something happened. Maria and Krysta witnessed the phenomenon right when Krysta removed the thermometer from Mateo’s tongue.
His ears changed. They shook a little bit, and then the rounded tips became pointy. Mateo did not feel the transformation.
Amazed, Maria pointed at them. “Mateo, your ears!”
“What about them?” Mateo touched his left ear. He gasped when he felt the pointed tip. He did not know whether to be amazed or appalled.
Krysta’s smile did not leave her face. She showed Mateo the thermometer. “Mateo, I have some good news. Your fever’s gone down to 102°F. Not only that, but you’re starting to become a real fairy.”
“I am? But why?” A huge yawn cut off Mateo’s words. He choked on his spit, coughing. His eyes drooped, and he bent his knees.
Maria patted his cheek. “Not now, babe. You need to get some rest.” A few tears ran down her cheeks, but for once, they were not of despair. They were tears of hope. Maria set the photo—the one that held the picture of their baby—in his lap.
Krysta flipped his covers over his knees. She made sure the cannula was nice and snug in his nostrils. He still could not breathe on his own.
The paramedic begged her partner would continue improving, but nothing was set in stone. There was still a possibility that the hunter would use Keegan to his advantage. If that happened, they would be back where they started, with Mateo in serious condition. The stakes were extremely high currently. Not only that, but Krysta feared for the young man’s mental health. If something was going to kill him, it would be his suicidal thoughts.
On the bright side, Evie and Sam had befriended the basilisk, meaning Step 1 of saving the forest was complete. Now it was time for Step 2–for Evie and Charlotte to confront the possessed Keegan.
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