Chapter 26
The door opened slowly to reveal Eleanor’s ashen face. “Come in, Meredith,” she said with a sigh.
Meredith stepped over the threshold nervously, her eyes darting to where Dr. Sparling sat on the couch. For some reason, the power wafting off of the doctor seemed to have receded to the point where Meredith wouldn’t have known Dr. Sparling was a magician. Was Dr. Sparling able to mask herself somehow? Did she know that Meredith could sense her? Meredith’s reeling thoughts combined with the lingering effects of the alcohol made her almost senseless. She took a deep breath through her nose and forced herself to speak coherently.
“Hi, Dr. Sparling. I came to see Eleanor because of Miguel,” she lied. Before Dr. Sparling could respond, Meredith asked, “Is it true that Miguel died because of his growth?”
Dr. Sparling nodded solemnly.
Meredith forced tears into her eyes, mustering up what she hoped was a convincing performance. “I am so sorry. I really thought we’d be okay. Am I going to die, too?”
“Well--” Dr. Sparling began.
“I’ll come with you right now to the hospital. You can do the surgery right away.” The sooner Meredith could convince Dr. Sparling to leave, the sooner Eleanor would be safe. Dr. Sparling already knew that Meredith was a magician--that was a lost cause. But Eleanor… Eleanor had to stay hidden. “Please,” she pleaded.
“Meredith,” Eleanor said in a low, discouraging voice.
“No, Eleanor. Miguel is dead! I don’t want to die, too. I need to go back to the hospital.” Meredith searched Eleanor’s eyes, willing the older woman to understand what she was doing.
Eleanor frowned and shook her head. “I can’t let you do that, Meredith.”
“That’s all right, we can take care of it right here,” Dr. Sparling interjected with a menacing tone.
Meredith’s gaze flew to the young doctor, who had risen from the couch and was now clasping a small, gleaming dagger in her right hand. Meredith recognized it as the one that had killed Miguel. “What are you doing?” Meredith gasped, looking back at Eleanor in alarm.
“Don’t worry about Eleanor,” Dr. Sparling said in a smooth, confident voice. “She won’t remember a thing.”
Eleanor’s expression hardened as she realized who Dr. Sparling was. “You knew,” she said to Meredith.
Meredith nodded, fixing her gaze on the knife at Dr. Sparling’s side.
“Knew what? Oh, you sly devil. Were you hiding in the bushes the other night?” Dr. Sparling smiled maliciously. “I was surprised to find Miguel alone. I thought for sure you two would be shacking up together. I guess I was right, after all. However did you manage to elude me?” Her eyes went to Eleanor appraisingly. “You must have had help.”
Eleanor didn’t flinch as she returned Dr. Sparling’s gaze.
After a moment, Dr. Sparling let out a throaty laugh. “Aleric always thought that he didn’t get everyone. I can’t wait to tell him that he was right.”
Meredith’s eyes widened incredulously, her mind racing. Aleric was still alive? Then why had all the magic been released back into the earth?
Some of her thoughts must have played across her face, because Dr. Sparling said, “You thought he was dead already? Ha! Hardly.” She took a large step to close the distance between them.
“Well, if he is still alive, he can’t have transferred much power to you, can he?” Eleanor asked with a flick of her wrist. The knife flew out of Dr. Sparling’s hand and clattered against the wall.
Meredith, who had felt Dr. Sparling’s power and knew better, didn’t have a chance to correct Eleanor before Dr. Sparling attacked.
Long, white-hot streaks of lightning shot out of Dr. Sparling’s fingertips, aimed straight for Eleanor’s heart. The energy lit up the room and almost blinded Meredith. She watched in fear and fascination as Eleanor blocked the streaks of lightning with magic of her own, causing a shower of sparks to rain down into the room.
“Get out of here,” Eleanor cried to Meredith. The words sounded like they were torn harshly from her throat as she focused on fending off Dr. Sparling’s attack.
Meredith ducked down behind the couch and out of sight, thinking furiously. She had to help Eleanor somehow. Dr. Sparling was too strong. She peeked around the armrest and saw that the corner of Dr. Sparling’s coat was on fire, but the doctor didn’t notice as she focused on her own magic.
The flames quickly spread, and Dr. Sparling cut off her attack as the fire licked at her skin. She staggered backwards and cried out in pain, bumping against the wall and lighting the lace curtains on fire. Suddenly, a blue light flooded over the doctor and smothered the flames. Once the flames were nothing more than a smoldering memory, Dr. Sparling glared at Eleanor with renewed vigor.
A piece of the burning curtains behind Dr. Sparling dropped to the floor, flickering as the carpet caught fire. Smoke filled the room as the fire grew and continued to spread. Meredith heard a choking sound and looked up at Eleanor in horror as the nurse clutched at her throat, unable to breathe.
Dr. Sparling chuckled maliciously. “Is that really the best you can do? I am so pleased that I will be the one of Aleric’s children to eradicate you, not that you would have ever been much of a problem.”
Children? Shit. Meredith cursed inwardly. If there was more than one protégé, then they were in more trouble than they thought. But she’d have to worry about that later--right now, Dr. Sparling was winning.
Meredith looked around the room frantically, desperate for something to do. The opposite half of the room was completely engulfed in flames. Several feet away, Meredith spotted the knife that had dropped to the floor. She crawled toward it as fast as she could, her eyes stinging and throat burning from the smoke.
As her fingers closed around the knife, Meredith looked up again at the battle between Eleanor and Dr. Sparling. Meredith was slightly behind the doctor and could see Eleanor’s face. The color had drained away from Eleanor’s features and her eyes were quickly losing focus.
Meredith turned and crawled toward Dr. Sparling, careful not to catch her attention. Flames licked at the bottom of her feet, and Meredith did her best to ignore the heat. Once she was within reach, Meredith came up onto her knees behind Dr. Sparling and thrust the dagger toward the doctor’s back as hard as she could, aiming for the second heart.
At the last second, Dr. Sparling twisted away, having seen the movement out of the corner of her eye. Now the doctor’s attention was focused completely on Meredith, her cold gaze settling over her like a shroud. The icy blue eyes flashed, and Meredith felt explosions of pain from all over her body. She crumpled to the floor, unable to think of anything besides the agony that seemed to come from everywhere.
Meredith tasted blood in her mouth as she tried to gain control of her own senses. She looked up at Dr. Sparling, who stood over her with a grim expression. Behind the doctor, Eleanor had dropped to the floor, passed out from lack of oxygen. Meredith was at Dr. Sparling’s mercy.
Dr. Sparling crouched down and leaned so close to Meredith’s face that their noses almost touched. “I could have made it painless for you, you know, but I don’t take it kindly when people try to stab me in the back.” She reached down and removed the knife that was still clutched in Meredith’s hand, looking at it contemplatively. “With my own knife, even. Tsk, tsk.”
The pain intensified, and Meredith squeezed her eyes shut to try to block out the sensations. It felt as though every nerve in her body was being electrocuted. She prayed for relief, any kind of relief, even if that meant death. At least she couldn’t feel anything if she were dead.
After what seemed like an eternity, the pain receded, just enough so Meredith could think straight. Her cheek was pressed against the floor, and she cracked an eye open to try to figure out why the pain was going away. She could see under the couch to where Eleanor lay on the other side. The nurse’s eyes were open. Eleanor pressed a finger to her lips, and Meredith realized that Eleanor m
ust have been diverting some of the pain.
Dr. Sparling lifted up Meredith’s shirt, pressing down with her fingertips to find the right place to sink in the knife. Meredith panicked and, acting on instinct, lashed out as hard as she could at the hand that held the knife. She heard the snap of bone as the knife fell with a dull thud onto the carpet a few feet away.
Dr. Sparling cradled her broken wrist and looked at Meredith murderously. “You think I need a knife to do you harm?” she asked with a cruel laugh. Her eyes flicked to Meredith’s exposed stomach, and a deep slash appeared in the skin, welling up hot blood that flooded over Meredith’s skin and onto the floor.
Meredith stared at her wound in shock, vaguely realizing that losing so much blood would kill her in a matter of minutes. The irony wasn’t lost on her; though she had been wishing for death moments before, now that it was a real possibility, she wanted desperately to live. She pressed a hand over the gaping hole, trying futilely to stem the flow and buy herself some time.
In a taunting voice, Dr. Sparling began, “You really--”, but she was cut off by Eleanor’s wiry arm wrapping around her throat and pulling her to the floor.
Meredith could feel the heat of the flames at her back as she watched the struggle between Eleanor and Dr. Sparling. From the looks of it, they were both fighting with magic, but whatever they were doing must have been internal, because Meredith couldn’t really see much. Eleanor and the doctor seemed to be pretty well matched, and Meredith realized she needed to help.
The knife was on the floor under the loveseat at Meredith’s feet. She couldn’t sit up, as the muscles in her abdomen were deeply lacerated and still bleeding profusely. Meredith used her arms instead to drag herself toward the knife, grunting softly with the pain of movement. She inched toward the knife, tears stinging her eyes. The pool of blood around her was growing too large. No one can lose that much blood and survive.
Meredith glanced over at Eleanor and Dr. Sparling. Eleanor was on her back on the floor, Dr. Sparling above her. Meredith needed to move faster. Her fingers closed around the knife for the second time, and she found the cool weight of the weapon soothing. She took a deep breath and steeled herself against the pain, launching herself across the short distance to the doctor, sinking the knife into her back.
The steel slid in remarkably easily, and Dr. Sparling’s warm blood poured out over Meredith’s hand, mingling with her own. The doctor gasped and looked down at the tip of the knife, which protruded from her belly. Underneath her, Eleanor shoved her off of her with both hands.
Meredith released the knife and fell backwards, resting against the front of the loveseat and panting softly.
Dr. Sparling splayed out on the floor, watching incredulously as the shirt around the small glint of steel was quickly being darkened by blood. Eleanor sat on her knees over Dr. Sparling and rolled her over roughly, yanking the blade out of her back. Fierce determination sparked in her eyes.
Meredith’s eyes drooped closed. She was going to lose consciousness any second. She had lost too much blood; she was dying. Meredith barely noticed as something hot and wet was thrust into her hands. Someone was saying her name, but it sounded like they were at the far end of a long tunnel. Meredith forced her eyes to open a crack. Eleanor’s face was inches from hers. “Take this,” she commanded. “You’ll know what to do.”
Dr. Sparling must have stopped masking her power, because Meredith could once again feel it buzzing at her consciousness. She felt the power start to waver, and Meredith was drawn to it uncontrollably, like a ravenous animal to a piece of mouthwatering meat. Without even understanding what she was doing, Meredith began to greedily pull the magic toward herself, into herself. The more magic she consumed, the more she wanted. As it seeped into her being, the pain in her abdomen faded away and was replaced by power. Strength. Euphoria.
More alert now, Meredith looked down at her hands. She held a small, bloody organ that was pulsating in time with her heartbeat. The throbbing was slowing as Meredith continued taking the magic into herself. She was holding Dr. Sparling’s second heart. The doctor herself was lying lifeless on the floor a foot away.
Meredith could feel the moment that Dr. Sparling’s second heart died, and she embraced the last of the magic as it became part of her. She couldn’t have resisted the power if she had wanted to. She was acting on basic instinct alone. The second heart gave one last shudder, and Meredith watched in amazement as the organ hardened and turned into a heavy, translucent stone. It was a thaelis.
Meredith looked down at her midsection, which Eleanor had been frantically healing while Meredith had absorbed the power from Dr. Sparling’s second heart. The cut had been reduced to a fresh scar, dark pink and slightly raised.
“I can’t replace your blood, so you better hope you still have enough,” Eleanor said gruffly.
Meredith nodded. Around them, the flames crackled and roared out of control, flaring up with renewed vigor as someone kicked the front door open. Meredith heard someone call out her name, the sound almost lost over the fire.
“Can you put the flames out?” she asked Eleanor.
“Not in time.” Eleanor grabbed Meredith’s arm and hauled her to her feet. Meredith wobbled unsteadily, dizzy from the loss of blood along with the influx of new power. She took a step, and the floor tilted up from underneath her. She staggered, trying to maintain her footing, but fell to the ground. The smoke was thick and hot, stinging her face and eyes. Her head was spinning, and she felt sick. Her senses were completely muddled.
Eleanor dropped to the floor beside her and grabbed under her arms, half carrying and half dragging her toward the door.
Rob and Nate were standing in the doorway, and relief flooded their faces as they saw Eleanor appear from within the smoke. Their relief turned to horror as they saw Meredith, unable to walk and soaked in her own blood. Rob crossed the room in three long strides and caught Meredith by the shoulders just as Eleanor lost her grip.
“Get her out of here,” Eleanor barked at Nate. He ran to Rob’s aid, grabbing ahold of Meredith’s ankles so they could haul her out of the fire and to safety. With Eleanor close on their heels, they carried Meredith across the street and laid her down gently on the neighbor’s lawn next to where Amelia and Vi had been standing in a worried huddle.
“Oh, my God,” Amelia cried, falling to the ground and cupping Meredith’s sooty face in her hands. “Where are you hurt?”
“She’s lost a lot of blood,” Eleanor said curtly. Eleanor closed her eyes and laid a hand on Meredith’s forehead. After a moment, she said, “She’s all right. She is going to need a lot of rest, but she shouldn’t need a transfusion.”
On the ground, Meredith opened her eyes as the world slowly stopped spinning. Five worried faces looked down at her, and she tried to smile reassuringly. Judging by their facial expressions, it must have come across as a grimace.
As her physical pain receded, Meredith’s attention turned to the new sensations she was experiencing as a result of absorbing Dr. Sparling’s power. She didn’t feel like herself at all. Someone else’s essence was coursing through her veins, and it felt foreign and strange. She glanced down at the thaelis that was still clutched in her fist--a hard stone that used to be a living, beating second heart. Her eyes sought out Eleanor’s, desperately hoping for some sort of reassurance.
Eleanor looked at her in understanding. “I know,” she said soothingly. “You’ll get used to it. It just takes a little while.”
Meredith nodded and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. What had she done?
Rob and Amelia carefully checked her over for injuries that Eleanor might have missed while Nate called the fire department.
Once she was sure that Meredith was all right, Vi stared at the house in awe. “What about Dr. Sparling?” she asked.
Eleanor gazed at her house sadly. “It will appear as though she perished in the fire,” she said. Eleanor had lived in that house for the last forty years,
and it was harder than she expected to watch it burn.
Meredith sat up slowly, leaning against her father for support. She was still trying to make sense of what she was feeling. She imagined that it would take a long while before she could get control over the inner turmoil. “Why did you give me the second heart?” she asked suddenly.
Eleanor looked at her levelly. “You knew that she was the protégé--or one of them, at any rate--and you tried to go with her to the hospital.”
“So?”
“You were willing to sacrifice yourself for our cause. I knew that you could handle the power if I gave it to you, and two strong magicians are better than one.” She sighed. “I don’t know if I did you any favors, though.”
“What do you mean?”
Eleanor looked away. “We will talk about it soon. Right now, just try to rest.”
Too tired to argue, Meredith fell silent, staring across the street at Eleanor’s little house.
Vi sat down next to her and returned the thaelis that Meredith had given her.
Meredith looked down at the two thaelises that she held in her hands. They were virtually identical.
Vi leaned a head on her shoulder. “A lot happened in there, huh?”
“You could say that,” Meredith agreed quietly.
Vi was quiet for a few moments as they sat and watched the flames destroy the home. “Funny how it should all begin and end with fire, huh?”
“I don’t think that this is the end,” Meredith disagreed.
“Hmm.” Vi scrutinized Meredith’s face, possibly even seeing a change there. “Do you want to tell me about it?” she asked softly.
Meredith didn’t answer. If Aleric were still alive, and there were God knows how many protégés, then all of the newly emerging magicians were still in danger. They probably wouldn’t even know that they were targets. She would have to put her own issues aside for the time being.
Meredith gave Vi’s hand a reassuring squeeze and then called out to Nate, who was still on the phone with the emergency dispatcher. He came over and squatted down in front of her, handing the phone off to Rob and giving Meredith his full attention.
“You were right,” she said without preamble. “We need to go public. All those magicians need to know who they are. We can’t just let them be picked off one-by-one by Aleric and his cronies. And that’s what will happen if everyone stays in the dark.”
“Okay,” Nate nodded slowly, obviously bursting with questions but restraining himself. “Let’s do it.”
They all looked down the street as the sound of the sirens filled their ears. A bright red fire engine had just turned into view, followed by an ambulance and two police cars. Eleanor frowned at all the blood on Meredith’s clothing. With a flick of her fingertips, the blood disappeared, making Meredith appear filthy but uninjured.
Rob hung up the phone and, keeping one arm around Meredith, put his other arm around Amelia’s shoulders. Having listened to Meredith’s conversation with Nate, Amelia looked over at him and asked, “Do you think our world will ever be the same?”
Rob shrugged, keeping his gaze on his daughter. He didn’t care about the rest of the world at the moment. Something had happened inside that house that had shaken Meredith to the core, and it wasn’t her injury. He cast an accusatory glance in Eleanor’s direction.
She caught his look and said, “She’s going to need you guys.”
Rob glared at her with an expression that assured her that they would be having a serious conversation soon.
Oblivious to the undertones of the exchange, Amelia said, “She’s going to need you, too. Why don’t you come and stay with us?”
“Thank you,” Eleanor murmured.
The fire engine pulled up to the house, and firefighters streamed out, asking questions and shouting orders. Meredith let her parents stand up and do the talking as she sat next to Vi. She had a lot to think about, and a lot to plan for, over the next several days. In this moment, however, she was content to just sit with her friend and watch the spectacle.
“I’m glad you’re here, Vi,” Meredith said feelingly.
Vi turned her face and gave her a wry smile, slinging an arm over Meredith’s shoulder. She was thinking about how close Meredith had come to dying inside that house. Her voice was thick with emotion as she replied, “I’m glad you’re here, too, kid.”
Epilogue
It had been three days since the confrontation at Eleanor’s house, and Meredith was still reeling with the changes within her. She hadn’t had time to think too much about it though, because she had been frantically preparing for the press conference that Nate had arranged. They had all agreed that they needed to have the conference as soon as possible, to reach as many newly emerging magicians as they could before it was too late.
Meredith had spent most of the last three days learning as much as she could from Eleanor so she would be able to perform for the crowd. Aleric already knew that Meredith was a magician, but they hoped that Eleanor’s identity would remain a secret. It didn’t make sense to show all their cards.
Nate had spoken at length with Dr. Wells, hoping to convince her to come on camera to validate their claims. The doctor was still angry over Miguel’s death and reluctant to hear them out, but she had finally agreed to meet with Meredith to see her abilities firsthand.
“So what’d you offer her in exchange for meeting with me?” Meredith asked. She and Nate were on the freeway in Nate’s Ford Explorer, heading to Phoenix Mercy Hospital.
“I told her that the best way to get rid of me was to meet with us and get it over with,” Nate said conversationally. “Practical woman, that Dr. Wells.”
“Vi was sure that Dr. Wells was the protégé,” Meredith mused.
“Why? Because she’s a bitch?”
Meredith chuckled. “It sounds so judgmental when you put it like that. Meanwhile, Dr. Sparling was totally cool. I guess you catch more flies with honey, after all.”
Nate exited the freeway and turned toward the hospital. “Speaking of which, be nice to Dr. Wells, okay? We really need her. People trust doctors.”
“What, you don’t think I’m trustworthy?” Meredith batted her eyelashes at him.
“Hmm, let me think about this. Flighty 23-year-old vet school dropout versus experienced, renowned physician. You’re right, we probably don’t need her.”
“I haven’t dropped out of vet school yet,” Meredith said defensively. “And I might not. I just need a semester off. Believe it or not, I’m dealing with a bunch of stuff right now.”
“Calm down, I’m not criticizing you. I’m just painting a picture of what everyone else is going to see.”
“Thanks, I feel so much better.” Meredith gave him a wry smile and then watched out the window as the hospital came into view. The last time they’d been there, Miguel was with them. The car suddenly felt emptier, and Meredith sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly through her nose.
Nate pulled into the parking lot and searched for a space. “I didn’t tell Dr. Wells much. I had a feeling she wasn’t going to buy the whole ‘magician’ thing over the phone. So you’re going to have to dazzle her with your new skills, okay? But don’t be weird.” He seemed almost nervous, reminding Meredith that even though he had practically begged them to go public, Nate’s career was on the line.
“Okay, Nate. I’ll try not to be ‘weird’,” Meredith agreed with an eye roll. “What does that even mean, anyway? This whole situation is freaking weird. I say, embrace it.”
“Well, I can’t argue with you there.” He pulled into a space and shifted the car into park, unbuckling his seat belt. “Come on. She’s waiting for us in the lobby.”
As they walked into the lobby, Meredith felt a sense of dread at meeting Dr. Wells again. The cold, calculating doctor was not on Meredith’s list of favorite people, even if she wasn’t a protégé.
Dr. Wells was waiting for them near the entrance, and she cast Meredith an impassive expressi
on before focusing her attention on Nate. “I’ve reserved a conference room where we can talk undisturbed,” she said briskly, leading them to the elevators.
Meredith followed behind silently, almost glad that she didn’t have to make small talk with Dr. Wells. The conference room was on the second floor, near the room where Miguel had been staying. They walked past the open doorway of Miguel’s room, and Meredith glanced in, taking in the empty bed and neatly folded blanket. She wondered if Dr. Wells had taken them that way on purpose.
Once in the conference room, they sat around the table and looked at each other mutely. The room was sparsely furnished; there wasn’t even a picture hanging on the wall to brighten the place up. The chairs were hard plastic, and they screeched against the linoleum every time one of them changed positions.
“Dr. Wells,” Nate began. “First of all, we want to thank you very much for meeting with us today. We know how busy--”
“Cool it with the niceties,” Dr. Wells interrupted. “I’ve heard it all before. I’m here. What do you want?”
Nate cleared his throat. Now that he was face to face with Dr. Wells, he wasn’t really sure where to start with their story.
Meredith had come prepared. She produced a small tea light candle from her pocket and set it on the Formica table between them. “Have a look at that candle, if you please,” she instructed.
Dr. Wells picked up the candle and glanced at it briefly. “What about it?”
“I just want you to be comfortable that it’s a normal candle--no tricks.”
Dr. Wells turned the candle all around in her hands, inspecting it more closely. She even dug into the wax with her fingernail, being absolutely thorough. Meredith wondered if that was her medical training at work. Finally, she set the candle back down on the table. “Okay.”
Meredith nodded. “Thank you.” She rested her hands on the table where Dr. Wells could see them and focused on the candle’s wick. After a moment, a flame sparked to life.
Dr. Wells leaned back in her chair, surprised but skeptical. “Why are you here practicing magic tricks?”
“It’s not a trick,” Nate assured her.
Dr. Wells scoffed. “I don’t have time for this.” She scooted her chair back with a loud screech and stood up.
“Wait,” Meredith pleaded. “Go get something else I can burn. Let me prove that it’s not a trick.”
Dr. Wells gave her a hard stare and then left the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
“Um, does that mean that she’s getting something for me to burn or that she’s not going to give us the time of day?” Meredith asked.
Nate barked out a short laugh. “I have no idea.”
They sat in silence, waiting. After a few minutes Meredith blew out the candle with a quick puff and returned it to her pocket. The room was so quiet that Meredith could hear the clock ticking on the wall. She wondered how long they should wait before they gave up and left. Ten minutes ticked by. She glanced at Nate questioningly, who shrugged. Another ten minutes.
Just as they were getting ready to give up, the door banged open, startling Meredith enough to make her choke on her own saliva. She coughed violently as Dr. Wells came back into the room holding a metal bowl and a paper Dixie cup.
Dr. Wells slammed the bowl down onto the table and tossed the cup inside. “I can’t believe I’m sucking in for this,” she remarked, settling back into her chair with another loud scrape.
Meredith managed to stop coughing and caught her breath. “We weren’t sure if you were coming back.”
“Just get on with it.”
Meredith swallowed and focused her attention on the Dixie cup. It began to smoke a little before blossoming into a steady orange flame. She smiled triumphantly and watched Dr. Wells’s face as she processed the information.
Dr. Wells’s eyes were fixated on the little flame inside the metal bowl. She couldn’t deny what her eyes were telling her, as hard as she found it to believe. She’d picked out the Dixie cup herself; this was no trick. “Why are you showing me this?” Her eyes penetrated Meredith’s, searching for understanding.
Meredith relaxed a little, seeing the open-minded curiosity that was taking root inside Dr. Wells. “Because my growth--my new organ--is what allows me to do that.” She nodded to the little flame that still flickered on the table.
“We have good reason to believe that anyone who has this growth removed will die, and the only way to prevent that is to go public with what we know,” Nate added. He didn’t mention Aleric, not wanting to push his luck with Dr. Wells’s tentative acceptance of their story.
“And you need my help to legitimize your claims,” Dr. Wells surmised with a frown.
Meredith had expected her reluctance, and a shadow of a smile crossed her face. “Yes,” she agreed. She remembered her initial impression of Dr. Wells, that the doctor was focused on her career and building her own notoriety. “In exchange, I am prepared to submit to any testing you want to do, except anything that could injure me or my organ. I would also let you publish the results.”
Dr. Wells was practically salivating. “I would require some testing to be conducted up front to see if we can get a better understanding of how it works. Depending on what I find, I may be willing to come forward to support your claim.”
“The longer we wait to go public, the more people there will be who erroneously remove their growths,” Nate warned. “We can give you a week, but then you would have to stand up with us.”
“I can’t get much done in a week,” Dr. Wells countered.
Nate stood. “Then we’ll go to someone else.”
“No, wait.” Dr. Wells grabbed his arm, looking up at him with a calculating expression. “You have a deal.”