7 The Reluctant Alchemist

Mira tapped her wristwatch and made a quick call to the clinic.

"Hi Carol!" Mira called out, as soon as she heard the familiar greeting. "Got a minute?"

"Hey girl. What's up?"

"I have some blood data from one of my patients that I need to send over to you, can you take a look for me?" Her fingers flickered in quick successions on the virtual air keyboard in front of her.

"No problem. Just make sure you send it through the secure line."

"My computer is recommending a combination of dosages that look like antibiotics and a couple other things. Please fill this prescription for me?" Mira typed out the link to Nellie's data points and then sent it off to the clinic with a quick flourish of her fingers.

"Will do. Oh, I haven't gotten around to sending you the headache medicine yet. I'll just bundle up the prescription you just ordered along with it. It looks like…I can get the entire package drone-delivered within half an hour. You gonna be at home to receive?"

"Yep." Mira thanked Carol and then signed off.

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she saw Zander staring at her through the kitchen window.

Dappled sunlight through the willow branches above shimmered on his luminous white robes, creating swirling light patterns that seemed like a magical light show. His waist-length slate-blue hair danced in the breezy morning air, along with the folds of his soft robes. He looked like an exquisite enchanted being from some ancient fairy tale.

THU-THUUMP!!! Mira's heart skipped a bit. Men should not be this gorgeous.

But at the moment, Zander was looking at HER with his otherworldly silver-blue eyes, as if SHE was the enchanted being from that fairy tale! His beautiful face looked completely stunned, as if he was seeing something that was so crazy amazing that he could hardly believe his eyes.

Was there something wrong with what she was wearing? Mira looked down at her boring white tee shirt and faded blue jeans, and shook her head. It couldn't possibly be her clothes. Maybe it was her hair.

Mira lifted her hands and rubbed her head. She had done nothing to improve her appearance other than drag a brush through her tangled locks to remove the knots that always formed at night when she slept.

She went to the window and opened it, letting in a burst of fresh air from outside. "How's your recharge?" Mira grinned weakly. "Did you refill your batteries?"

"Batteries?" He asked in confusion.

"Never mind. I'm just joking." She scoffed. "Are you feeling ok? You look like you just saw a ghost."

Zander shook his head. "No, I'm actually doing much better, now that I've had a chance to recharge my life source. However, I couldn't help but notice that you were busy in there, doing something amazing." He stared at her with unveiled fascination. "Were you working alchemist magik just now?"

Mira blinked, not knowing what Zander just said. She thought that perhaps he was just joking with her, but the man's beautiful face remained serious.

"Why would you think that?" She probed, trying to figure out what he was alluding to.

He made a few finger motions in the air, as if he was typing on a virtual keyboard. "I saw you moving your hands in the air like this, and I heard you saying out loud, your alchemist magik spells."

Mira's eyes grew larger. How in the world was she supposed to explain all that to him?

Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "I was trying to create a cure for Erick Rashak's poison, but I wasn't saying out loud any magik spells, I was talking to Carol...." She stopped as she saw his incredulous eyes. There was no way she would be able to explain it all to him in a way that made sense. "Never mind."

Zander looked impressed. "So you really are an alchemist who makes healing potions."

Mira wrinkled her nose. "Not exactly."

"But you just said you were creating a cure for the prince's poison."

"Yes, but--"

"So, therefore, you are an alchemist potions master," Zander stated firmly, interrupting her hasty explanation.

"Well, I can't argue with that," Mira laughed. What difference did it make what he called her. In reality, it was the house computer that identified the components needed to cure Erick Rashak's blood poisoning, and it was Caroline, who punched in the codes that Mira sent, to create the prescription, but how could she possibly explain that to someone who had never seen a computer?

Mira had a sudden mad desire to dig out her old Halloween witch costume from many years past. If she was going to be called an alchemist potions master, then she could at least look the part.

But then she realized she already had three characters from Grimms Brothers Fairy Tales currently staying with her. Normal was a good thing to be at this moment.

🌺🌺🌺

It didn't take long before Mira's watch beeped a notification that the drone Carol sent her was outside waiting. She ran out and saw it, hovering above her doorway, waiting for the drop code from her watch.

Mira punched a few codes into her watch and a drop hatch opened up, releasing a small bundle, which she caught with one hand. She tore open the package and found Erick Rashak's prescription, ready to be administered via the drip line.

For a moment, Mira paused at her front door. This was scarier than she cared to admit. Treating a human patient was something that she could do with some ease, but Erick Rashak was a person from a freaking different dimension!

The fact that Nellie was able to identify him as a human variant was one thing, but she was actually trying to create a cure for an alien, no less, based upon a house computer's model of his blood chemistry!

Mira let out a soft cry and covered her eyes with her free hand. It wasn't as if she had much of a choice. The man was so sick that she had to try something. Without a cure, his internal organs would likely shut down soon. Doing nothing was worse than trying this prescription.

With her mind made up, Mira stepped back into the house.

Zander, Daran, and Quill were still outside, sun worshiping.

Meanwhile, Erick Rashak was still on the couch, barely moving. His eyes were closed, but his full lips were still slightly opened from the previous time she had slipped a thermometer into his mouth. His face held a deathly pallor that made her heart quell with distress.

Mira bit her lip and took a deep breath. She hung the bag filled with Erick's medicine onto the IV pole and inserted the spike tubing into it. Then she adjusted the rate and speed of the drip, and sat down on the small round ottoman next to him to begin her vigil.

For the next thirty minutes, as the bag dripped the seconds away, Mira silently prayed hard to any and every god, demi-god, and godling she could think of. She had every intent to do the best she could for Erick, but truth be told, even if he did have a negative reaction, what could she possibly do other than disengage the medicine?

There was no antidote for the antidote! It either worked, or it didn't. There was no second option.

At the end of the drip time, the bag was empty, but there was still no sign of movement from Erick Rashak. His eyes were still closed, and he still looked like death warmed over.

Heaving a big sigh that was both hopeful and at the same time, distressed, Mira slowly began disengaging the medicine bag off the IV stand, and then sat back down to continue monitoring his progress.

She could not make up her mind if she was happy or sad. She needed to give the medicine time to work. There was no such thing as an instant cure, she certainly knew that. It was just that Mira was too greedy. A positive reaction was much better than no reaction at all.

But no reaction at all was certainly far better than a bad reaction!

Think positive, Mira! She mentally told herself. You've done your best, so trust in your instincts.

She leaned forward and cradled her head in the crook of her arms. So many strange things had happened, and it wasn't even noon yet. She was emotionally and physically exhausted.

At the moment when she was on the brink of slipping into dreamland, a rough warm hand slipped into her extended hand and held it in a tender lover's clasp.