1. Cure for a Sickness

Sybil pushed some of the brown and copper strands out of her face and behind her ear as she worked. The ponytail wasn’t really doing its job anymore. She’d been working so many hours now that she didn’t realize how poorly it was holding her hair back. However she didn’t have any help right now, it was just her. Either lucky or unlucky enough to be immune to the sickness that was spreading through her town.

                “Where is it!” She snapped narrowing her aqua colored eyes. She spotted the black jar that she wanted in her pantry and nabbed it, nearly spilling a couple other jars. She quickly went back over to the stove and in the pot there she measured out several teaspoons of the yellow powder. The thin liquid in the simmering pot instantly turned blue, and she sighed a relief happy that it worked.

                The kitchen she was in was a mess of jars, bowls, utensils and paper towels. On the kitchen table she had empty vials set up in a holder. She took the pot of blue liquid over to the table and dumped the contents into a pitcher like item not spilling anything. Then she tossed the pan in the sink and went back to the pantry and reached up on the top shelf. She picked up a long wooden box and went over to the table and opened it. She paused and felt her heart sink, she had one juniper lily left.

                The flower she pulled out of the box looked like it was fresh cut, but she’d had them for years. The flower had white tips and in the center it was a splash of pink and purple. There were only five pedals which meant she could only make five antidotes. She thought she could at least make ten. She felt frustration set in and a sadness. People were dying and modern medicine wasn’t going to cure this illness. Not in the slightest, it wasn’t a normal earthly sickness.

                A few hundred people had died from it already. Only twenty two were sick with it at the moment and being held at a medical building. She practiced alternative medicine, and by that it wasn’t just drink some tea and energy work. She might be like a witch to some, but she didn’t have magic like that. Her talents were earth based, and dealt a lot with plant life. She could heal with touch to some extent but nothing miraculous. Just some cuts and bruises here and there. However what she could concoct from the natural world was pretty damn miraculous and she wasn’t saying that to be full of herself.

                She could make drinks or even injections that would heal the sick. Of course she needed to know what they were sick with, otherwise one potion or antidote might not work. With her talent to read plant life, she just seemed to instantly know what plants and even fungi could be used for. What she was unsure about, she researched and tested first. She was just lucky that those here in her community didn’t shun her or some of the others that had gifts. Some places did, but that was why she was here. Why her family came here, and now all she had was her father who was sick with this illness but had just started.

                Sybil ripped the pedals and put them into five vials. She poured the liquid in over it before a stopper. The blue liquid went violet and had a kind of shimmer to it. She put the rest of the liquid into vials and then a case with individual slots that she could carry it safely. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. Four hours this set had taken. She’d only figured out that the juniper lily cured this illness, not just slowed it down. The flower was rare and didn’t grow here.

                It was nearly six pm now and she grabbed her coat sliding it on. She had the case in her hands and went out the door locking it. Sybil went down a set of stairs rather quickly. Her shoes were worn and made little sound. She had on a nondescript blue t-shirt and a loose pair of athletic pants. She wasn’t exactly worried about appearances right at the moment. She went into the parking lot of her complex and then to a small maroon car. It had definitely seen better days, but it started right up for her and she drove fast the few miles to the hospital and parked haphazardly before running inside with her case.

                “Greyson?” She asked the receptionist who was on the phone. She point down the hall mouthed floor four and Sybil nodded. She went to the elevator and then to the fourth floor. The floor they had the extremely sick, and many with terminal illness. This sickness no one was sure how they got it. It didn’t seem like it was transmissible by air, just if you got their blood into your system. Which many of the patients hadn’t had contact with someone else that was infected, so it was a mystery.

                Sybil had a feeling that all of them had been exposed to some kind of inhuman blood. Particularly that of a demon. Which she couldn’t really start spewing such things? They might accept some of the potion magic she did, didn’t mean that all were believers. She couldn’t see how you couldn’t be with all the different species out there that were known now. Especially with the portal not so far away that could let other things in. A place she was going to need to go to. She didn’t have a choice in her opinion. No one else seemed able to help these people.

                “Sybil!” She came out of the elevator and Greyson looked relieved. He was in his forties and a good doctor, he’d been the one to contact her about helping those here. By then her father had started to show signs of the sickness. She thought it was pneumonia at first with how it looked, but everything she tried failed. Then she’d taken some of his blood and tested it and it showed nothing she’d seen before. Potion magic and chemistry were her forte.

                “I have only five, but an additional five more vials that will slow the progression down. You are putting holy water in their drink? Burning sage as well?” She could smell it and he nodded.

                “Yeah, much to Clive’s displeasure but since it is showing results he’s allowing it. Only five? We have six that have nosebleeds.” He commented and they all knew that once they started nosebleeds or from the ears typically the person had five days and then they died. No one could actually figure out how it killed them. No one had seen it take a person. Just that they all looked hollow and sunken in when it hit.

                 “I’m sorry. I have to go and get more it’s going to take me a few days.” She told him. “How’s my father?” She moved toward his room, she plucked one of the blue vials out. She knew he would refuse the cure when there was those that needed it more. He wasn’t a severe case yet.

                “No nose bleeds. He’s doing a lot better, but your treatments with him seem to have helped. Where do you need to get the ingredient? We can have someone pick it up. I don’t really care what it is. At this point if it had crystal meth in it I’d be okay with it. It works, full recovery just over a week.”

                “You can’t pick it up here.” She told him with a smile. “I have to go to the portal, it’s a special plant that doesn’t grow here but on Brahi.” She told him and he glanced in the box.

                “How long will that take?”

                “I don’t know. I can get the portal from here in about an hour. But I will have to hike to where the plant is. They don’t have cars there. I’d rather not be known by the inhabitants.” He had been following her and touched her shoulder to stop her just before her father’s room.

                “Will you at least let one of the guardians know? It’s not safe over there.”

                “I’d rather just go through. If I see one when I do, then I will.” Which she probably would. They were called guardians for a reason, the cave system to the north of here had several portals in it that lead you to other places not of this world. There was a race that lived mainly on Brahi that roamed the cave system to check for where the portals shifted to, or if they moved. The guardians kept a watch on those coming and going. However it was Brahi’s portal that had the real dangers. The side the guardians came from had some fantastical creatures that were incredibly dangerous. The guardians weren’t to be trifled with either, some type of shifter from what she’d been told. Like a werewolf on steroids. She just knew that they preferred to be called what they did and that was guard. So guardians it was. They didn’t seem to like the term werewolf as others had bad connotations with it.

                “Just be careful. From what I hear they haven’t been letting many even into the caves. There was a group that used to give educational talks about it. Showed some of the caves, just not the rooms with portals. They were told to stop, and that Brahi’s natives are starving. Their winter hasn’t let up it’s been a few years for them. Last year that golem thing killed a lot of people and injured more. They should just destroy that portal.”

                “You can’t just destroy a natural portal. It would rebound and find another way to work. Destroying portals can cause cataclysmic events.” She told him and he rubbed his face.

                “That’s why I leave things like that to you and them.” He pointed down the hall and there were two men there. They were really tall and muscular. Jesus, if one of them came at her she’d be terrified. But looking at them she instantly knew who they were. Guardians, they didn’t seem to label themselves with a given name for their kind. Just as mentioned before they just said they were guarding the portals from the nasty things that tried to come and go. So obviously the rest started calling them that.

                “They are here? Why?” She asked.

                “Showed up a few hours ago. They think the sickness is from one of their more elusive creatures. A very dangerous and hard one to catch.” He gave her a knowing look since she had already stated this to him. “Said they have seen this sickness before. Just not so severe, but seeing we don’t come from there…” Yeah she just bet, after all it was a plant from their land that was a cure. Well she felt it was demonic in nature, and with their creatures she wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

                “Oh, well if it is I hope they find it and get rid of it.” She turned to go into her father’s room. She glanced down the way at the two that were there. She’d never seen them fight or what their other form was, but she heard they could fight really damn well. They were made for it, and whatever they could become wasn’t something to screw with either.

                “Hey dad.” She said with a smile pushing her thoughts about the two men in the hall to the side. She wasn’t going to tell him that she was going through the portal. He wouldn’t want her too, but she had too. He was sick with this illness and she wasn’t going to let him die.

                “Sybil, I was wondering when you were going to show. God when was the last time you slept you look awful. Actually go home and go to bed, you are going to crash. You over work yourself too much.” She shrugged and sat down.

                “I’m fine, there are people dying. You need an antidote. I won’t just go sleep when I know how to cure it.” She handed him the vial and he eyed it.

                “I heard that there are four children sick, two have started to bleed.” She gestured at the vial.

                “I only had enough for five antidotes, or cures. If you want to get technical, but we can’t say it’s not a toxin.” He smiled at her, but still didn’t drink the vial. “It’s only going to slow the progress keep it where it’s at for you, not cure you. I knew you’d be a stubborn old fool about it.” he gave a nod and then drank. She knew he’d be more than upset with her if she lied and tricked him into drinking a cure. She respected his decision, and wouldn’t be selfish and disregard his request.

                “Tastes like limes.” He commented and she shrugged. He eyed her, “You really need to sleep sweetheart.” He moved to get up from where he sat on the bed. She waved him off sitting down in a chair. He could see the dark circles under her eyes, and the way her shoulders slumped with tiredness.

                “I will as soon as I finish making more. I brought what I could right now. The potions only good for so long, but I will need to travel and get some more ingredients. I’m really low.” She told him. “I’ll have to go to the city for it, there’s a store there that has items I need.”

                “Witch craft.” He said wiggling his fingers. “Your mother was good at it, but you’re phenomenal.”

                “I’m not that kind of witch. Not even a witch actually, you know that.” He shrugged.

                “Doesn’t matter, you have a talent that’s amazing. You should show some of the others how to make what you are making so you can relax take a break. You’ve been at it since this started. It’s been a couple months now.” She sighed rather heavily.

                “I would, but they don’t seem to want to take my practice seriously. I’m lacking in some way apparently.” She told him and glanced toward the door. “Just a simple medicine doctor if you would.”

                “The best kind, you save people. You cure people of things modern medicine can’t do. That drugs made from the same plants can’t manage. You might have some magic.” She gave a half smile.

                “Just a special kind as you say.” She moved over to hug him and he hugged her back. “I just wanted to check on you, make sure you got your medicine. Before I headed out. I want to get there and back and then rest like you want me to.”

                “You better, you’ll make yourself sick and then where will we be?” He asked her and she shook her head standing straight.

                “Fine because I can cure the cold or the flu. Virus or not.” He frowned at her.

                “I’m serious Sybil, you take care of yourself no excuses. Getting a goodnight sleep isn’t going to kill anyone.”

                “I’ll get some sleep don’t worry.” She told him. “Love you.” She commented heading out the door. He called after her that he loved her as well. Sybil was going to go get that flower, because she was not going to sit here and watch her father die. Just because he wasn’t showing the final symptoms didn’t mean he wouldn’t. It was only a matter of time and she couldn’t handle losing him. She’d do whatever she had to.