Part 13 (1/2)

”Oh dear,” she said. ”I feel awful again today.”

”Stick out your tongue,” Deem said. Virginia complied and stuck it out it was black.

”I think you've been bit again,” Deem said. ”Can I check your arms and your neck?”

”Certainly dear,” Virginia said, putting her book down. ”Margie should get the house sprayed. This is really quite annoying.”

Deem checked her aunt's arms and found nothing. When she rolled to one side so Deem could check the back of her neck, she found the blister in the same place as the day before, right under the hairline. It was an angry red and the size of a half dollar.

”Roll back,” Deem instructed. ”I have a remedy I want you to try,” Deem said. ”It's a folk cure, but I think it'll help.” She showed Virginia the tin.

”How does it work?” Virginia asked.

”I'll hold this over your face,” Deem said, ”and you breathe through it for a few minutes. That's all.”

”Alright,” Virginia said. ”Seems strange, but sometimes the old cures are better than the new ones.”

Deem placed the tin squarely against Virginia's nose and then dropped into the River. She saw the wet linen drop around Virginia's nose and mouth, and saw her aunt begin to breathe through the cloth. Deem held the tin in place for a couple of minutes. When she felt it had been enough, she dropped out of the flow and removed the tin from Virginia's nose.

”Let's check that blister again,” Deem said. Virginia rolled over.

”Did I ever tell you about the time your Uncle Wayne tried to drink Mormon tea?” Virginia said as Deem examined her. The blister was gone.

”No, I don't recall,” Deem said. ”You can roll back, it's gone. Stick out your tongue again, would you?”

Virginia rolled back into position and stuck out her tongue. It was normal.

Worked! Deem thought. Thank you, Eliza!

”He'd picked the wrong bush in the desert,” Virginia said, ”and it nearly killed him. They pumped his stomach at the hospital. Mormon tea is supposed to settle your stomach. I don't know why he couldn't just use a Tums.”

”Uncle Wayne was always trying new things,” Deem said. ”One of the reasons I like him so much.”

Virginia turned wistful for a moment. ”Yeah, he kept me on my toes,” she said. ”He thought the world of you, you know.”

Deem smiled.

”And so do I,” Virginia said, pus.h.i.+ng the covers aside to get out of bed. ”I feel so much better, I think I'll make breakfast for everyone. What do you say?”

”I think that's a great idea,” Deem said.

”Any requests?” Virginia asked.

”Pancakes,” Deem answered.

”Pancakes it is,” Virginia said, grabbing her robe and heading to the bathroom.

Deem walked back upstairs and hid the tin in her dresser drawer. My first object, she thought. I should find somewhere safe to store it. Nothing in this room is safe from my mother.

She fell back on the bed and let her eyes close. It was a relief to be free of the skinrunner. After a few minutes, she heard Virginia calling from the kitchen. She rose up out of bed and walked downstairs.

”Will you get your mother up?” Virginia said as she rounded the corner into the kitchen. ”These pancakes are ready!”

”Sure,” Deem said, turning and walking back out of the kitchen. She walked past the guest room on the ground floor and to the closed door of the master bedroom. She knocked.

”Mom?” she said. ”You awake? Aunt Virginia's made breakfast.”

”Come in,” she heard through the door. Deem opened the door and walked into her mother's bedroom. She could tell instantly that something was wrong.

”I don't want any breakfast,” her mother said from the bed. Deem walked to her. She looked weak a lot like Virginia had looked.

Oh no, Deem thought. The skinwalker hit her, too.

”Stick out your tongue, mom,” Deem said. Her mother stuck out her tongue, and as Deem expected, it was black.

”You've been bitten by the same bug,” Deem said. ”You've probably got a blister on your arms or neck.”

Margie turned her arms over and the blister was obvious, right in the crease of her left elbow. Margie poked at it with her right hand. ”There's something hard inside,” she said, looking up at Deem.

”We'll fix you right up,” Deem said. ”I've got the cure. I'll be right back. Don't move.”

Deem left her mother and ran back upstairs to her room. She dug in her dresser drawer until she found the tin, took it to her bathroom for a quick re-wetting, and ran back downstairs.

”This may seem odd,” Deem said as she walked into her mother's bedroom, ”but it worked for me, and it worked for Aunt Virginia. She was in bed like you this morning with a bite on her neck, but after this she bounced out of bed and made breakfast. So it works.”

Margie looked at the tin skeptically. ”This isn't one of your...things, is it?”

”No,” Deem said, knowing her mother would reject it if she thought it had anything to do with the River. ”It's just an old folk remedy. Like Echinacea. You like Echinacea, right?”

”Yes,” Margie said. ”Oh, alright.”

”I'm just gonna place this over your face for a minute,” Deem said. ”All you need to do is breathe, OK?”

”Alright,” Margie said.

Deem dropped into the River. She saw the tin transform into the linen and fall around Margie's face. She saw the cloth suck slightly into Margie's mouth and nose as she breathed. Deem held the tin in place for a few minutes. If she knew I was in the River, she'd be p.i.s.sed, Deem thought. Normally I wouldn't around her, but this is for her own good. After a while she dropped out of the flow and removed the tin.

”Let's check that bite,” Deem said.

Margie raised her left arm. The blister was still there.

”Hmm,” Deem said, puzzled. ”Let's try it again.”

Margie closed her eyes and Deem placed the tin over her nose once again, repeating the process. As the linen fell into place Deem studied it closely. The two tiny black beads that were woven into the fabric were gone.

Doses, Deem thought. Each bead was a dose. I used it up on myself and Virginia.