The Thing about Elves Page 10

  She straightened up before she spoke. “I’ll leave Angie for last. Eggther, I believe, is hypothermic only. He’s been pacing since they returned, so I can assume that his temperature is returning to normal. He won’t let me check him.”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Cormac is on a ventilator and I started an IV. His core temperature is now about ninety-five. The only reason we put him on the ventilator is that he was still unconscious when he arrived and seemed to have some problems breathing. I don’t know how much water he had in his lungs, if any. I imagine you’ll want to start him on some antibiotics.”

  “I agree. Let’s do that immediately.” He looked at his sister as steadily as he could. “Now, tell me about Angie.”

  “She’s on a vent and I have her on an IV also. Her core temperature is still only eighty-nine, which is a couple of degrees higher than when she came in. I didn’t know if you wanted me to start the warm compresses to her trunk or not. We had to code her the moment she first came in. I’m not sure why. I don’t know if she was too cold or perhaps she drowned. She did have a lot of water come out of her lungs. I’m really sorry, Ardan. I did what I knew how to do.”

  He patted her hand that she had put on his arm. “I know. Get her on antibiotics as well and I think we’re going to have to be a little more aggressive on the temperature. Heat the antibiotics and the IV to a couple of degrees over room temperature and let’s see if that has any effect. And start warm compresses right away. Do that for about fifteen minutes. Then change her bed and put on warm sheets and blanket. We don’t want to put her into shock. She coded when she was cold?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well…that’s the one good thing that’s happened so far.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Smiling at his sister, he was very thankful for all those years in medical school. “Hypothermia is a totally reversible situation. The one saying is that ‘no one is dead until warm and dead.’ I don’t know why she coded but she’s still in there. We just have to get her back. You need to be ready for her to start shivering, possibly violently, as she heats up. We’ll have to prevent any seizures and keep a really close eye on her. If she seizes at all it could cause some brain damage if we don’t stop it very quickly.”

  “Alright.” Aingeal turned to do the tasks he had given her.

  He grabbed her hand, forcing her to look at him. “And thanks, sis. It’s going to be a long night. I’ll go check Eggther.”

  She slowly smiled. “You do that.”

  He slowly walked toward the waiting room. He could see the small elf pacing back and forth. Once he arrived, he leaned against the door and surveyed the room. Santa and Mrs. Claus were there, as were his parents. Tessa huddled miserably between the two of them. He could tell she had been crying by the slight shakes seen in her shoulders. His mother leaned over and whispered something in her ear which seemed to comfort her.

  “Eggther, I need to examine you.”

  The small elf looked up. “I’ve killed Angie Hudson.”

  “Eggther…,” Ardan got on one knee to look him directly in the eye, “…you’ve done no such thing. She would have been lost to us all if you hadn’t gone in after her. You and the reindeer did everything that you could. How long were you in the water?”

  He looked confused. “I do not know. Time was all weird. It was like it slowed down. I wanted it to slow down and it did.” The elf looked at Ardan. “Does that make sense?”

  Ardan turned to look at his father. “What’s he talking about?”

  “There are elven ways to slow time. However, time can only slow for the ones closest to the event. Meaning that we would never really feel it here because we were so far away from the actual happening.” Bevan came and stood beside them. “Are you saying that you tried to slow down time, Eggther?”

  “I tried. Do not think I was powerful enough. I have caused Angie Hudson great harm. I should have woken you too. I wanted to do so but she would not allow it. She felt that you needed your sleep.”

  “Eggther, I’ve come to find that if Angie wants to do something, nothing will stop her. I just need to get you well or she will never forgive herself when she wakes.”

  “Eggther is fine. Just cold.”

  Ardan touched the small man’s ice cold hand. “You are really cold. I would like to start a heated IV on you with some antibiotics just in case. We don’t want you getting pneumonia or another infection. You should be out of here before this evening.”

  “Eggther, we need you well,” Santa murmured.

  “I will do it.” He hung his head as if ashamed.

  “Everything will be alright. Please don’t worry.”

  His head popped up to stared at him. “Angie Hudson will live?”

  “Angie Hudson will live.”

  * * * *

  The mists swirled around her in waves. Swallowing hard, Angie tried to focus but it was near impossible. She had no idea where she was or how she had gotten here. The last thing she remembered was the ice breaking around her and the horrible cold. Shivering, she rubbed her arms to generate some heat.

  “Hello?” she yelled. “Anyone here?”

  “What is a human woman doing in the hall of the elders?” a voice boomed.

  “Wh—wh—what are you talking about?”

  “Young lady, you have somehow ended up in the Hall of the Elven Elders. Would you like to tell me just how you got here?”

  “Whoa.” Angie sat down hard. Looking behind her in confusion, she was surprised that a chair had miraculously appeared under her. “You got me. The last thing I remember was that I tried to help an elf get out of a frozen lake when the ice broke.”

  “You know of the elves.”

  She chuckled wryly. “I’m in love with one.”

  “Ah—that explains it then. You are in Nor’ahkeem. Still I don’t quite understand how you ended up here.”

  “Because her parents asked me to bring her here to allow her to chose,” another voice boomed.

  Angie squirmed uncomfortably. “I don’t have any parents.”

  “Everyone has parents, my dear. Yours were special to us.”

  “The only people that I could classify as parents were those of my best friend, Tessa. They took me in when my biological parents could no longer care for me. I believe they even tried to adopt me but it never happened because they and my biological parents died in a car accident.”

  “You can consider the Winstons your true parents, I am sure. They knew all about us, Angie Hudson. And we knew about them.”

  “How about you show yourselves so I can see some of you guys?” Angie peered into the grayness around her. Suddenly, she was surrounded by giants in what appeared to be thrones. All of them looked like renditions of someone in Ardan’s family. There were both male and females, all beautiful and handsome, but each in a fierce way. “Whoa.” Angie had never felt so dwarfed in her life. She knew she was small but this made her feel infinitesimal.

  “Are you impressed with what you see, Miss Hudson?”

  She turned to see a man close to her. The man was almost an exact duplicate of Ardan. “You look like the man I love. How can that be?”

  “That would be understandable. I am his ancestor.”

  “Ah.” She sat there and licked her lips. If she were with the ancestors there would be only one reason. “I’m dead.”

  “Not yet, Angie Hudson. Not yet.”

  “And just what does that mean?” She looked at him, frowning.

  “We can help you on your journey forward or your journey back. It’s yours to choose.”

  “Mine to choose? I don’t understand.”

  “You ended up here because you have fallen in love with an elf. Because of Nor’ahkeem you actually have a choice. Elves have some say over death.”

  “We didn’t say that at all of course. Everyone would want to find us if they knew.” Another elf came forward to stand close to her.

  Angie thought the woman
very beautiful but she reminded her of someone. It took her only a moment to figure out just who. “You remind me of Bevan, Ardan’s father.”

  “That’s because I am his fraternal great-great-great grandmother.”

  “I—I don’t understand this. All of you are here and then you said that my adoptive parents were important to you. How?”

  “They were important because they had accidentally discovered us years before their deaths. They found a Loinnir.”

  “But I thought you were totally undetectable there. Isn’t that what the North Pole is?”

  “That should be true. However, there are some humans that are more intuitive than others. They can just sense our presence.”

  “And even more, some of those who are intuitive have a small drop of elven blood.”

  “How did they find you?” She sighed. “I know so little about my adoptive parents.”

  “Why do you not ask them yourself? Their spirit resides on this plain with us.”

  “Wh—what?”

  “Angie, darling!” A joyous couple ran toward her.

  “Mom? Dad?” She gulped in air. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. Just let us enjoy looking at you.” Mr. Winston beamed as proudly as any biological father at her before he engulfed her in his embrace. “I never told you just how proud we really were of you. Everything just happened so fast.”

  “I know,” she whispered quietly. “I’m so glad that you allowed me into your lives and your home. Tessa has missed you terribly.”

  Her mother sat down beside her. “We were proud to have you as part of our family. We had always wanted more children but were never able to. We are so happy that you chose us as your family. You had such a rough time there for a while. We would be honored to have you change your name to Winston. It is important in the living world to have a sense of family and belonging.”

  Angie lifted her head, tears streaming down. “Really?”

  “Yes…really.” Her mother stroked her hair for a few minutes. “Now it is time for you to make a decision. You must decide if you are going back or staying here with us and the Elders.”

  “I can’t.” She wiped her nose with the back of her hand when miraculously a handkerchief appeared. “I’ve just found you and I don’t understand why you are here. Or even why I am here.”

  “I know.” Her father smiled at here. “We will explain what we can but you don’t have much time in which to decide. If you stay here too long your fate will be chosen for you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “A person…a human person, that is…can only be here for a short time before the pull is too great.”

  “I still don’t understand.”

  “Angie, this is paradise. This is the other lands that are spoken of in the fiction books. We had always hoped it existed but were never sure. Somehow we had managed to show the elves are intention was pure. And because of that, they have allowed us to reside here with them.”

  “I understand what you mean about intention. I really wish I could really prove to Ardan that I truly love him.”

  “He knows dear, he knows.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. But now you have to decide if you want to stay here or go back to him.”

  Suddenly it was all very clear to Angie exactly what she must do.

  * * * *

  Ardan sat by Angie’s bed. There was nothing more that he could do. It had been almost twenty-four hours and she hadn’t stirred at all. He had failed. For the first time in his life he had failed himself and the people he loved. But most of all he had failed Angie Hudson.

  Taking her hand in his, he looked at the small hand. In all the time he had her, he never really looked at her hands. They were tiny, like the rest of her. The nails were trimmed neat. And within those hands were a power he never thought possible. Those hands could heal with just one touch. Why hadn’t he realized how powerful they were from the start?

  He didn’t want to in the beginning, he knew. He tried to deny the hold that she had over him but he couldn’t. And now he would never get the chance to explain to her just how wrong he had been. Caressing her hand gently, he knew that the last sense to leave the body was one’s hearing.

  “I am so sorry for everything, muileach,” he whispered. “Tha mi duilach. I understand that you are probably in a far better place. I just wish now that I had realized what a jewel I had in my grasp. I was so wrong for pushing you away, for not allowing you in. I don’t know the consequence of us just starting Nor’ahkeem. I just know that I will love you forever. You are my cridhe. Tha gaol agam ort. I beseech Scathach for your very soul.”

  He gulped hard. “Maybe if I tell you about how I envision our life you’ll come back to me. We both love helping people and will continue to do so until we die. And that should be a very long time from now. I kinda thought that we could do some of the Doctors without Borders thing you seem to like so much. Plus, we don’t have to stay here all the time. I know that there are some ancient elven lands in Scotland and other European places for us to visit. I know that you would love to see some of those places.”

  Clutching her hand, he tried hard to keep it together. “And I want children. Lots of children. I want children with you and now…”

  Ardan leaned his head on the bed, clutching her hand and began to sob heartwrenching, deep sobs. They came from the very depths of his soul.

  * * * *

  Angie could feel the tug on her heart. While it was wonderful to be here talking to her parents and learning the secrets of the elves, she knew there were too many things left in the physical world.

  “I love you…all of you…but I really need to get back to Ardan. He will suffer greatly if I don’t. He is so afraid to love anyone and if I leave him now, I don’t think he’d survive it.”

  “I agree. He needs you more than we do.” Her mother gave her a fierce hug. “I know that we will see you again.”

  “Angie, I think we’ve told you everything you need to know. The rest, you’ll have to figure it out for yourself.” Her father gently kissed her on the forehead.

  She smiled at them all and slowly stood. “I must thank you all for allowing me to be here. Even if it was just for a very short while.”

  “You are very welcome. Please give our greetings to everyone.”

  “It will surely amaze them that you were brought here.”

  “I’m sure it will.”

  “Please use the wisdom we have given you wisely. Elven magic is never to be trifled with.”

  “I’m beginning to understand that aspect of my new life. Thank you all again very much. How do I…” Before she could even finish her thought she was shoved back into her physical body.

  And she was cold, so very cold. Groaning slightly, she was slapped with the sound of deep sobbing. Ardan cried so loudly he hadn’t even heard her. Slowly, she lifted her other hand and gently touched his head. “Hey,” she whispered.

  His head jerked up immediately, his face streaked with tears. “Angie?”

  “Hi.” She stared at him. This was the man that she would spend her life with forever. Literally. “You know, I think I need a warm blanket. Or better yet, why don’t you crawl into bed with me?”

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She chuckled quietly. “I’m cold, dammit.”

  Gently, he climbed into bed with her. “I thought I had lost you.”

  “I know.”

  “I…I…”

  Angie placed a finger across his lips. “You don’t have to say a thing. I really do understand.”

  “You don’t understand this.” He took her hand and kissed her fingers. “I love you more than anything. I can’t live without you.”

  She leveled a look at his handsome face. Traces of the tears he had cried for her were still evident there and in his eyes. “I know and I missed you.”

  “Missed me?”

  “I should have woken you up. I
didn’t realize just how dangerous it would be. I just saw you sleeping there so peacefully and I couldn’t bring myself to wake you.”

  “It’s alright. I am just so happy to have you back.” He gently caressed her head and face.

  Angie could see that her return brought a wonderful light to his eyes that she had never seen. “I had to come back.”

  Leaning in Ardan gently kissed her on her lips. “Had to?”

  “Yes…had to,” she leaned in to meet him. “I was in the Hall of the Elven Elders. I saw my parents or rather Tessa’s parents, and met some of your ancestors.”

  He leaned back and looked at her amazed. “The Hall of the Elven Elders?”

  “Yes. They told me I had to make the choice. I could stay with them or come back to you.”

  “That is an amazing gift. I don’t think I have ever known a human to be invited to stay with the Elders.”

  “I was told that it was very special. Tessa’s parents had endeared themselves to your people a long time ago. At least that’s what they told me. That’s probably one of the reasons why always I believed in elves and other things. From the moment I entered their house, it was as if I were in another world. Now, I understand why Tessa’s parents were always talking about elves and the like. But Tessa…Tessa just couldn’t get herself to believe…and I told her so when Jedrick appeared on the scene.”

  He continued to stroke her face and hold her tight. “I should have known that you were more special than what I could see. Elders do not choose their human friends lightly.”

  “I guess not. It was very enlightening while I was there.”

  “It sounds like it.”

  They lay there silently for a moment, each enjoying the other’s company.

  “I want you to marry me.”

  “I—I —“

  “You don’t have to say anything right away. I want you to be happy with your decision. I don’t want you to ever regret being with me.”

  “Ardan Locklin, if you would just let me finish.” She gave him a stern look. “The choice was made the moment I decided to come back.”

  He looked at her amazed. “You chose me over a life in paradise.”