“Robbo,” Ondine says gently, holding his hands in her own. “It’s Ondine, can you hear me?”

Robbo is still. I want his eyes to flutter open, to hear and see him take a sudden, sharp breath, but he lies there, not moving.

Rufus bends over Robbo’s body, peering at his wound. He touches Robbo’s side and says, “It hasn’t gone all the way through. If I pull this out of him and we stop the bleeding, he might have a chance.”

“Don’t pull it out!” Ondine says sharply. “Wait until I can make a poultice.”

I think what Rufus says. “How are you going to make a poultice here?”

“I’ve got gauze,” she says, to my amazement. “And a few other things, but I’ll need more. Just give me a second,” she says, closing her eyes. She tips her head back and then says, “Mugwort, buckhorn, lamb’s cress, betony, chamomile, crab apple. Tell me Canadians - these things all grow here, right?”

Rufus and I look at each other, then shrug and say “No idea,” at the same time.

“Wait – is the botanical garden still here?” I ask him.

“Probably,” he says, giving a half-shrug.

I say to Ondine, “It’s kind of like a botanical garden in miniature, at the southeastern edge of the lake. All of the plants are labelled. I’ll check it out.”

“Excellent. But there’s more.” Ondine tips her head back again. After a few seconds she says, “Chervil, fennel and nettle. Can you remember all of that?”

I nod but at the same time Rufus says, “I’ll go. You stay here with Robbo.”

“No I’ll go – you rest,” I say.

“Actually, I could use a bit of time by myself,” Rufus says sadly. “Plus, I’m way faster than you.”

He disappears into the darkness and I watch as Ondine pulls a small metal container out of her pocket. She dips her finger inside, then rubs some of its contents on the skin around Robbo’s wound.

“Do you think I did this?” I ask her sadly. “Churning up the water like that – what if it made this fly up and hit Robbo?”

“You can’t think like that. You were trying to save the town – save the Sentinels.”

"I didn’t save all of them.” The horrible memory of Saphrine disappearing into the leviathan’s mouth makes me shudder. “What is that?”

“It’s a healing balm. It helps prevent bruises too.”

“I didn’t even know there was such a thing.”

“Comfrey, arnica, lavender, rosemary and bergamot – they all work like a charm. To be honest, you’re so clumsy I made it thinking you’d be the one I’d use it on.”

“You made it?”

I can’t see Ondine’s face, but she nods her head once.

“The plants Rufus is getting – how do you know they’ll work?”

Ondine slowly fixes the lid back on the metal pot, sits down on the ground beside Robbo, and takes his hands again. She takes off the thin sweatshirt she’s wearing and lays it over his torso, avoiding the wound site. “I have certain knowledge, I guess you could call it.”

She pauses and I take my shirt off and lay it across Robbo’s thighs, even though it’s so damp with sweat I worry it might do more harm than good.

“You know I told you Jenny spoke to me through her journal, when I first went to Ballaig?”

“Yes.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Well since we met her in person – if that’s what you can call it – she talks to me, inside my head.”

“Really? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well first of all, it’s weird and I don’t really like talking about it, even with you, despite everything you know about me. And secondly, I haven’t been sure if I can trust the voice.”

“You mean you weren’t sure whether it was Jenny?”

“Exactly. I spent a long time thinking Jenny was – or could very likely be – a mass killer, and I hated her for it. I was ashamed of her. And there’s always been the possibility that whoever spoke to me through the book was a dark spirit, only pretending to be Jenny.”

“But now you’re sure it’s her?”

“Any spirit worth the name could mimic her voice – I know that. But it’s the feeling I get when I hear her voice – it’s just like I felt when I was with her that day on Hallowtide. It's like a warm glow.” She snorts and says, “Believe me, I know how corny that sounds.”

“I know what you mean. That describes how I felt when my dad came to pick us up at the airport and I saw him again for the first time in five years. And this morning, when I got home and Lina was sitting at the table. A warm glow because I’m with my kin.”

“Exactly,” she says, her voice catching. “My kin.”

She sniffles and I watch as two tears slowly roll down her cheeks. “So Jenny told you what to use to heal Robbo’s wound?”

Ondine nods. “She told me she thought I’d be able to find those plants here. I’ll make a healing poultice, one of you can yank this piece of wood out of Robbo’s side, and we’ll hope for the best.”

“Poor Robbo,” I say.

“Poor, brave Robbo.”

“I wish I hadn’t told Rufus he could stay and fight.”

“He’d have stayed anyway. You know Robbo.”

“Well, kind of,” I say, and we both laugh. He's the most enigmatic person I've ever met.

“You’re pretty brave yourself, Thom. Especially considering you didn’t even know you’d been handed such a huge responsibility.”

“Well, you know what they say – great power carries with it great responsibility.”

Ondine snorts again, and I take the chance to ask her a burning question. “So do you still think Jenny is a mass killer?”

“Wow, Thom, just go for the jugular why don’t you!” Ondine blurts out. Then, looking down at Robbo she says, “Sorry Robbo – that was in poor taste.”

“Ignore the question if you’re not ready to answer it yet.”

Ondine takes a deep breath. “No, it’s fine. I owe you an answer. Yes, I still think Jenny is a mass killer. But no, I don’t think she killed everyone in the village with malicious intent.”

I nod once, like I understand what she’s telling me, and then the penny drops and suddenly I do understand what she’s telling me. “Were they mercy killings?”

“I need to hear it directly from Jenny – we ran out of time that day on Hallowtide, if you remember – but yes I think they were mercy killings.” She pauses for a moment. “Did you know there was an outbreak of plague in Glasgow in 1900?”

“Really? As late as that?”

Ondine nods. “It spread quickly, killing sixteen people. Recently I found evidence that at least two of the infected people travelled north along the west coast, to visit family. You’ll never guess their destination.”

“Ballaig?”

She nods. “My guess is some of the villagers showed symptoms. With her knowledge, Jenny would have known what it was, and that it would spread quickly through the village. Maybe the villagers were already showing symptoms. It’s a terrible way to die.”

“What do you think she did?”

“Something that’s taboo in the modern western world. I think she used plants to ease their passing from this world into the next.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to remember my mother’s final days. On more than one occasion she called out in distress, asking for someone to end her pain.

A cold breeze announces the return of Rufus, whose hands are full of greenery. “They had everything you need,” he says.

“Thank you Rufus. In an ideal world I’d dry these and grind them up, but there isn’t time. I’ll just have to -.”

Rufus rubs his hands together, warming the air between us, and within seconds his palms are full of dried herbs and plants. Ondine dips the balm-soaked gauze into his hands, pressing and holding until the poultice is saturated with the healing plants.

“I’d say it’s ready,” she says. “Can you get that piece of wood out of him?”

Rufus places one foot on Robbo’s chest – gently, then grips either side of the jagged wooden shard. With one mighty tug he pulls it out, and then Ondine quickly packs the wound with the poultice. She leans low over Robbo’s chest, chanting words I don’t understand.

I don’t know what to do, so I close my eyes and visualize the wound healing over, colour returning to Robbo’s cheeks as his chest rises and falls. Several long minutes pass, and nothing changes. Even though I know it’s irrational, I’m so worried about Robbo that I consider opening my eyes and demanding that Rufus tell me why the protective powers he gave Robbo didn’t work.

But the air around us shifts and the I feel the ground vibrate, and I open my eyes to see Jason running towards us. Lina is hot on his heels.

“Why are you still here?” I shout, my anger and frustration finding a vent. “You were supposed to be long gone!”

“Don’t worry – Dad and the professors have left. Jason was supposed to go with them, but he refused.”

Jason gives Lina a look of pure adoration, which warms my heart. “Robbo’s hurt. Ondine and Rufus are trying to heal him.”

“Poor brave man,” Lina breathes, bending over him to inspect the wound. Jason runs up the side of Robbo’s body, leaps onto his chest, and lays both front paws on Robbo’s heart.

Half a minute later, Robbo’s eyes open. Jason dips his head down and gives Robbo’s cheek a quick lick as Lina says, “Jason, you little canine defibrillator! You're a miracle worker!”