Novels by Mary Adie

Elias entered the room behind Rachael and found Tiffine arranging equipment beside the bed. Her companion was pushing another trolley into place, although both stopped long enough to look at him.“I suppose we should ask which of these he knows how to use,” the other nurse muttered.Tiffine placed a tray on the trolley.“Leave everything there. We wouldn’t want him saying we failed to provide what he needed.”Elias glanced over the equipment before moving towards the bed.“You can move most of this aside. I won’t need it.”Tiffine’s hand paused against the tray.“It’s something minor,” he added.Rachael raised her brows. She hadn’t even brought her beast out yet, and he was already calling its condition minor.For days, she had kept it within her shadow, knowing that bringing it into the human world would put more strain on it. Some of the best specialists in the city had examined it, and none had spoken as casually as he had just done.She looked at the equipment, then back at Elias.

Tiffine remained crouched beside the fox, her hand resting against its back. She looked at Elias, then towards her companion, who was watching her as closely as everyone else.For a while, she couldn’t find anything to say. The fox nudged her fingers, and she lowered her eyes towards it before getting to her feet.“He must have guessed it,” she stammered. “That’s all it was. There’s no way he could have known those things. That's the only explanation.”Her companion glanced at Elias, then nodded fiercely. Almost knocking her head off.“That has to be it. People guess things like that all the time.”“You see what I mean?” Tiffine asked, her voice growing steadier now that someone had agreed with her. “Anyone could have come up with those symptoms.”The man leaning against the counter gave a short laugh.“Or perhaps he’s been looking through records he had no business touching. His brother has been here long enough for him to learn his way around.”“That makes more sense,” someone behin

For a moment, nobody said anything. Elias was still looking at Rachael when a man near the counter burst into laughter, drawing the attention of those standing farther down the hall.“What did you just say?” the man asked, turning towards the person beside him as though he needed someone to confirm what he had heard.“Perhaps the evidence he wants to give her is a lap dance.”The laughter grew louder, and Elias looked towards the man who had spoken. He was leaning against the counter with a broad smile, pleased that everyone had found him so amusing.Elias rested his hand on the counter.“If you’re finished, I was speaking to her.”The man’s smile faltered as Elias turned back towards Rachael. He had spoken without raising his voice, and the people closest to them could still hear him over the laughter.Rachael’s lips pressed together, but she said nothing.Tiffine stepped forward, the smile she had been using for Rachael disappearing as she faced Elias.“I expected you to have some h

Before Elias could answer, Tiffine stepped forward, almost grinning from ear to ear. She dipped her forehead until it almost touched the crowd when she was just before Tiffine before glancing a disdain filled look at Elias again. “Don’t listen to him Miss Rachael. He is just another wannabe, miss. He knows nothing about medicine and definitely cannot heal the beast.”She looked towards the guards, expecting them to continue where they had stopped, but neither moved. One still had his hand around Elias’s arm, although his grip had loosened.“I’ve been trying to get him to leave,” Tiffine continued. “There’s no reason for you to concern yourself with him. We’ll take care of everything.”Rachael looked past her towards Elias. Her eyes moved from his face to his clothes, lingering on the worn sleeves before returning to his face. Elias waited for her to ask him something, but she remained silent.He could already see what she was thinking. Anyone who could heal beasts would have people l

The nurse looked Elias over again, her mouth twisting as though his request had offended her. As she leaned across the counter, his eyes caught the name on her badge, Tiffin.“Do you want to infect them with your poverty and get them killed?” she asked. “Or do you just want to make them as miserable as you are?”Elias kept his hands resting on the counter.“If you’ve run out of tactics, you’d better start walking away,” she continued. “Nobody here has time for whatever you’re trying to do.”She turned towards the nurse beside her, expecting him to leave, but Elias remained where he was.When she looked back, her eyes narrowed.“Are you actually serious?”“Yes, I believe I can heal their beast.”Tiffine stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. The other nurse covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking as she turned towards a member of staff passing behind the counter.“Did you hear that? He says he can heal the beast.”The man stopped and looked at Elias.“You must reall

Daniel stared at Elias, waiting for him to smile or say something that would make the promise sound less impossible.When he did neither, Daniel’s eyes began to fill.“I told you that you shouldn’t be thinking so much,” he said. “You’ve been worrying about everything, and now look at you.”Elias moved his chair closer, but Daniel caught his arm before he could sit.“If we have to go home, we’ll go home. I can rest there.”“You need treatment, Daniel.”“And you need to rest too.” His voice broke as he looked towards the chair beside the bed. “You’ve been sleeping there and still going to work. Please don’t make yourself sick because of me.”Elias looked down at the hand holding his arm. Daniel was trying to pull him back into the chair, his fingers trembling with the effort.“I’m not sick.”“Then why are you saying things like that?”The tears finally slipped down Daniel’s face. He wiped at them quickly, looking away as though he didn’t want Elias to notice.Elias sat on the edge of th