“What my friend meant to say was we can’t force you to cancel your contract, Mrs. Watts,” Bran said, leaning forward and flashing his signature, charming smile. He reached inside his coat, pulled out the contract and unrolled it on the coffee table. “You get to decide whether you want to or not.”
She still hesitated. This was taking forever. How in Tartarus had we canceled hundreds of contracts when it took forever to convince one human to make up her mind?
“Mommy!”
Mrs. Watts whipped around as Kim entered the room with the twins. They let go of her hand and ran to their mother. Mrs. Watts fussed over them, touching a cheek here, a nape there, kissing their foreheads.
“Their fevers are gone.” Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her face. “Thank you. Thank you for healing them.”
“My friend healed them, Mrs. Watts, not me,” Kim said.
The woman craned her neck and looked expectantly behind Kim. “Where’s my Michele?”
Kim indicated the hallway. “Izzy’s working on her.”
“Stay here,” Mrs. Watts told the twins, then jumped to her feet and ran from the room. The children followed her anyway. The two year old continued to play with her toys, oblivious to the drama.
“How bad is her daughter?” I asked.
“Bad. Izzy can’t heal her, but you know Izzy. She’ll keep trying, until she exhausts her powers.” Kim brushed something off the arm of the sofa and gingerly sat on the edge. She picked up the contract from the table. “She refused to cancel again?”
Bran nodded and scrubbed his face.
“Does it always take this long to convince them, or is her case just special because of her lost memories?” I asked, not masking my frustration.
“It takes this long,” Kim said.
“It doesn’t always,” Sykes countered. “Do you guys think the lightning cloud demons are going after our humans and reversing their deals?”
“Oh yeah. But why now?” Kim asked. “Why not last month, or when we started after Jarvis Island? Are they after the ones who haven’t canceled or the ones who already did too?”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions yet.” Bran’s expression grew thoughtful. “We need to confirm this first. This is only one case.”
“Two if you include David Lee,” Remy said, entering the room. “Someone needs to talk to Izzy. She’s determined to heal that child when it’s obvious it’s not going to happen. I think we should either call an ambulance or drive Mrs. Watts to the hospital before we check on the others.”
“Call the ambulance,” Bran said and got to his feet. “Where’s her phone?”
I didn’t like the calm way they were taking the woman’s refusal. We were doing the woman a favor. Besides, we had already healed her kids.
“No,” I interjected, getting up.
Everyone turned to look at me.
I stared right back at them. “I don’t know how we’ve done things before, but we are not leaving. Remy, don’t fix her van. We are not doing anything more for her until she cancels that contract.”
Uneasy silence followed my outburst.
“Lil,” Bran warned, closing the gap between us.
“Red, where did that come from?” Sykes asked.
“Yeah, you’re usually the voice of reason,” Kim added. “You and Bleeding Heart Izzy.”
“It’s time we stopped being nice and make them face the consequences of their actions. Izzy already healed three of her children, and you and Remy restored her house. It’s time she did something for us.”
“I’m liking this new you,” Sykes said, smirking.
Bran scowled. “We can’t.”
Sykes squinted at him. “We can’t like the new Lil, or can’t blackmail Mrs. Watts?”
Bran glared at him. “We can’t blackmail or coerce Mrs. Watts. Remember free will? Lil will erase her memory, then we will leave and revisit her some other time.”
“I’m not erasing her memory. Let her have nightmares for all I care.” I teleported to the bedroom before anyone could respond.
Mrs. Watts knelt by the bed, her boys watched from her side, while Izzy worked on Michele. The girl’s eyes were closed, her expression peaceful as though she were asleep. Izzy, on the other hand, was a mess. Sweat dotted her forehead and her hands trembled. I checked her psi energy. It was dimming, which meant she was growing weak.
“We are leaving,” Bran whispered as he walked past me. He put his arms around Izzy and said, “That’s enough, Izzy.”
“No,” she protested. “I healed the others. I can do this.”
“Her situation is different,” he insisted, his voice gentle but firm. “There’s nothing you can do for her.”
“Of course there is,” Izzy snapped.
“You healed her brothers and her little sister, Izzy,” I added. “That’s plenty enough. We need to get out of here and focus on the de…” I remembered Mrs. Watts’ boys.
Bran threw me a warning look, then turned Izzy around. She was shaking so badly, she stumbled. He pulled her into his arms and murmured, “It’s okay. You did your best.”
Watching them reminded me of why I loved Bran. It wasn’t just his looks. It was moments like this, when he showed his loving, caring side. The thought that there were demons trying to stop us from canceling all his contracts filled me with rage.
I picked up the cell phone from the dresser, where Remy had placed it, and thrust it toward Mrs. Watts. “Call for an ambulance to take your daughter to the hospital.”
“Why? Your friend will heal her.”
“No, she will not,” I snapped.
“Why not?” she asked, looking confused.
“Because you are ungrateful,” I snapped.
“Lil!” Bran and Izzy said at the same time.
I ignored them, my gaze not leaving Mrs. Watts. “She’s already healed your other children and she’s so weak she can’t even stand.” I took a step closer and thrust the phone toward her. “Take it and do it. Now.”
“Lil!” Bran barked again.
I ignored him. Mrs. Watts swallowed, glanced at him then me. Something in my expression had her snatching the phone from my hand. She ran out of the room. When I turned around, both Bran and Izzy were staring at me with shocked expressions.
“What?” I asked.
“What’s gotten into you?” Izzy asked.
“Reality.”
“You are being cruel,” Izzy snapped. “Deliberately cruel. That’s so unlike you.”
“Oh, yes, this is so me. The new me.” I refused to look at Bran, but when I turned, I did it so fast the room swam. I thought I heard Bran said something, but I had already teleported.
“You have to cancel it before the paramedics get here, Mrs. Watts,” Kim said as I hovered above them in energized state.
“Will my Michele get better?” Mrs. Watts asked.
“No, she’ll not,” Kim said impatiently. “There’s nothing we can do about your daughter’s cancer.”
I thought of a way to make Mrs. Watts cancel the contract. Through the window, I could see Remy’s psi energy next to the children near the van. Bran and Izzy entered the room, then left. They were probably searching for me.
“So why should I cancel the contract?” Mrs. Watts insisted. “What is the benefit to me?”
“Uh, you’ll get your soul back,” Sykes said. “You know, that thing inside you that makes you human, that makes you have compassion, kindness and—”
