"Just relax." The strange Dr. Moon’s voice is filled with her manic cheer as Dr. Reeves cinches the restraint around my wrist again. Leather bites into my skin, where it’s already chafed from before.
"We’re going to test your magic with a special serum." Eliana leans over me, her unnaturally bright eyes boring into mine. Her wide smile is too toothy and predatory to be comforting. "Don’t worry, it won’t kill you."
My stomach drops at her choice of words, even though I’m not surprised. Sure, it won’t kill me. But what about everything else it might do?
Dr. Reeves wraps the blood pressure cuff around my arm. A mechanical whir fills the sterile room as it tightens, and he reads off the machine when it’s done.
"Blood pressure one-forty over ninety." He scribbles on his clipboard. "Pulse elevated at one-ten. Sats 100%."
Then the thermometer over my forehead, with impersonal beeps. "Temperature 97.6."
"You’re a healthy girl," Eliana says happily, stroking my hair with that creepy affection of hers.
I track Dr. Reeves’ movements as he prepares a new IV line. The current one in my arm drips steadily—saline and God knows what else, maybe even drugs keeping me compliant. The sharp smell of alcohol fills my nostrils as he swabs my other arm.
"Hold still." The needle slides in with practiced precision. A few seconds later it’s taped and secure. A small container of iridescent liquid catches my eye. The contents swirl with impossible colors—deep purples bleeding into electric blues and emerald greens. It moves like it’s alive, writhing within its glass prison.
Dr. Reeves connects it to my new IV line, hanging it from the IV pole I already have behind my bed. My breath catches as the first drop enters the tube.
"No dilution?" he asks Eliana, though it seems a little late to be asking.
"No."
"What is that?" I ask, trying not to let my voice shake too much.
"A catalyst for your catalyst." Her grin stretches too wide. "Let’s see what you’re really capable of."
The liquid inches closer to my vein. Each drop sends ripples of color through the line, like oil on water. But alive. Hungry.
Maybe I’m just making it worse for myself, but I don’t think so. I swear that liquid is trying to get into me by any means necessary.
Eliana’s fingers trail through my hair one last time, and it’s nearly impossible to not jerk away from her touch. "See you after your bolus, sweetie."
Dr. Reeves pats my leg, the gesture mechanical and cold. His touch lingers a second too long, like someone mimicking human comfort from a manual.
The door clicks shut behind them. Jim slumps in his chair, eyes closed, but his breathing isn’t deep enough for real sleep. The steady drip of the IV feels like a countdown to doom.
That liquid... God, it writhes in the line, dancing closer with each drop. Purple bleeds into blue, then green, then something that shouldn’t exist in nature. My heart pounds against my ribs as it approaches the junction where tube meets vein.
The first drop hits.
Fire explodes through my arm. I jerk against the restraints, a gasp tearing from my throat.
"Calm down." Jim doesn’t open his eyes. "It’ll be a while."
The burning spreads up my bicep, each heartbeat pushing it further. My fingers spasm. Sweat breaks out across my forehead as wave after wave of heat courses through me.
"Please." My voice cracks. "Make it stop."
Jim doesn’t respond.
The pain builds. And builds. My back arches off the bed as liquid fire races through every vessel, every nerve ending screaming in protest. The restraints bite into my wrists as I thrash, desperate to tear the IV from my arm.
I scream. And scream. And scream, my throat tearing raw. My vision blurs with tears as I writhe against leather straps.
Then... nothing.
The pain vanishes between one breath and the next, leaving me gasping. Tears stream down my face as sobs wrack my body. The sudden absence of agony is almost worse than the burning, leaving me panicked and wondering when it will return.
My chest heaves as I try to catch my breath. The rainbow liquid continues its steady drip, drip, drip into my veins, but I can’t feel it anymore. It’s terrifying.
Purple tendrils snake beneath my skin, following the path of my veins. The color shifts and writhes like a living thing, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. I twist my wrist against the restraint, trying to get a better look. The bruise-like pattern spreads past my elbow now, branching into smaller tributaries.
"Jim?" My voice comes out hoarse from screaming. "What’s happening to me?"
It’s not like he’s my friend or anything, but sometimes he’s willing to have a conversation.
Jim cracks one eye open, glancing at my arm. "Tracking the spread. Shows where it’s working."
Working. The word sends a chill down my spine. What’s it doing? What is it changing inside of me? The ghost of that burning sensation lingers, a phantom ache that makes me want to jump out of my own skin.
I let my head fall back against the pillow, forcing slow breaths through my nose. In and out. In and out. But my heart refuses to slow its frantic rhythm. Each beat feels too hard, too fast, like it might burst from my chest.
The ceiling tiles blur as tears well up again. I blink them away, refusing to give in to the panic clawing at my throat. The restraints feel tighter now, but maybe that’s just my imagination.
"You should rest." Jim’s voice floats through the sterile air. "There’s still a long way to go."
God. I squeeze my eyes shut, but that only makes it worse. Even in the darkness behind my eyelids, I see that rainbow liquid writhing in its container, hungry and alive.
My fingers twitch involuntarily. The purple lines have reached my shoulder now. I can’t see them anymore, but I feel a faint crawling sensation as whatever they gave me works its way through my system. Then again, that might be my imagination, too.