Ghost of a Chance

“Jessica told me about you,” Kellin said as Alex took another sip. “I must confess, I’m surprised that you didn’t go back to see her yesterday as she instructed. Usually young men find the prospect of her company more than enough inducement for them to visit.”

“Someone shot me yesterday,” Alex said between sips. “It was a busy day.”

Dr. Kellin eyed him as if she wasn’t sure she believed him, then put the monocle back over her eye. She looked him up and down, twisting the monocle as if she were focusing a telescope.

“How did you stop the three that hit you in the back?” she asked.

“Shield runes.”

If Kellin was surprised by this answer she didn’t show it; she just shrugged and put the monocle away.

“If you had seen Jessica yesterday, she’d have tested your blood and seen that the mixture of the nerve tonic was off.”

“Is that why I fainted?” Alex asked.

“No, you fainted because you have a concussion.”

“What?”

“Dr. Bell said you were hit by a blast of magical force that broke your rib,” she said. “It hit your head just as hard. That gave you a concussion.”

“Is that serious?”

“Very,” Kellin said. “Untreated it can cause brain injury and even death.”

“What do I do for that?”

“Death?” Dr. Kellin smirked. “Nothing. To treat the concussion,” she tapped the shot glass of yellow liquid, “keep drinking your medicine.”

As Alex continued to sip the hot liquid, Dr. Kellin went back to her portable chemistry set on Leslie’s desk. She picked up the silver flask that Jessica had given him and opened the top. Taking several bottles from her case, she added drops and splashes to the flask, then capped it again and shook it vigorously.

“I can’t say it will improve the taste,” she said, picking Alex’s coat up off the foot of the couch and slipping the flask back into the inside pocket. “But this will stop the tonic from keeping you up at night.”

Alex finished the shot glass and Dr. Kellin took it. He put his feet on the floor in preparation to stand up, but the doctor put her hand on his forehead.

“Stay there a while,” she said. “You shouldn’t stand until you’ve had a bit more rest. Give your brain a chance to heal.”

Alex nodded and leaned against the back of the couch.

“Where is everyone?” he asked. The last thing he remembered, Iggy, Leslie, and Hannah had still been there.

“Dr. Bell thought that Mrs. Cunningham would be safer at your secretary’s apartment, so he escorted them over there. I expect him back at any moment.”

Alex closed his eyes and laid his head back on the back of the couch. He could hear Dr. Kellin packing up her alchemy equipment and it briefly occurred to him to help, but he didn’t feel like he could lift his head again, much less stand.

A few minutes later a key scraped in the lock and the door opened. Alex looked up to see Iggy enter.

“Excellent,” he said, seeing Alex. “I see Andrea’s got you patched up.”

“Mmm,” Alex mumbled noncommittally.

“He’ll be all right in a few more minutes,” Dr. Kellin said. “Will you see me out?”

“Of course, my dear,” Iggy said.

Alex opened his eyes again and watched Iggy pick up the doctor’s heavy case and offer her his arm.

“Make sure you go see Jessica tomorrow,” she admonished Alex as they passed. “I want her to check you over.”

“Didn’t you just fix the tonic?”

She grinned and winked at him.

“I want her to have the experience,” she said. “It will be good for her. Now don’t forget.”

“No, ma’am,” Alex promised.

Iggy led her out into the hall and Alex could hear the sounds of their shoes on the stairs fade away. A few minutes later, Iggy returned, shutting and locking the door behind him.

“You had me worried, lad,” he said, offering Alex a hand up off the couch. “You’ve gotten into a bad habit of doing that.”

Alex eased himself up off the couch with Iggy’s help and took a deep breath. His rib hurt when he did that, but not as much as before.

“Are you sure Leslie and Hannah are going to be okay?” he asked.

“Of course,” Iggy said. “I gave them my silver pocketwatch so no one can trace Hannah there, and I gave Leslie that .38 you took off the dead man.” He put a reassuring hand on Alex’s shoulder. “They’ll be fine.”

Alex wasn’t sure about Hannah, but he could well believe that Leslie would be fine now that she had a gun.

“We need to trace those keys,” Alex said, remembering what he was doing before he fainted.

Iggy nodded and produced one of Alex’s New York Maps from the first of the three file cabinets on the wall. Alex picked up his coat and found his rune book back in the inside pocket, opposite the flask. He quickly navigated to one of the new finding runes he’d written and tore it out.

“In my office,” he said as Iggy began laying the map out on Leslie’s desk. Alex still wasn’t sure about the finding rune and he wanted to take advantage of the stabilizing rune under his office carpet.

A few moments later, Alex struck the metal match from his desk lighter and ignited the finding rune. It flashed, throwing the key ring off and leaving the orange, glowing rune in its place.