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“Just think of it as a cast being poured on the inside of you.” More cold. It was starting to spear through me.

My teeth were gritting from how icy she felt.

She gasped, “Almost there. Almost…” There. One last push.

I was cold all over. Like freezing.

“Okay. Now accept me, just for a second, and it’ll be better.”

I was still fighting against the cold. I couldn’t help it.

“I can’t,” I cried out.

“Just think, ‘Welcome.’ That’s it. That’s all you have to do.”

“I—” Oh, to hell with it. “Welcome.”

Instant regret. It exploded everywhere inside of me. A sudden force yanked on me, pushing, shoving. Hurting me.

Then…

Everything went dark.

I was pushed out of my body.

What was happening?

I felt loose. Free. There was no pain. No coldness anymore. I felt good. Happy. I started to laugh until my body moved. I was watching from the room and—this wasn’t right. My body sat up and moved to the side of the bed. My arms raised and something happened, a humming with light shone on my face. My eyes opened.

Whoa.

It was working. She was healing me.

My foot lifted to the bed. She/my body bent over it, my hand closed around it and the same light and humming sound happened.

She tested out my foot when she was done. Stepping down, standing up and she bounced a little.

She’d fixed me.

This was great.

I was waiting… She was going to pull me back to my body. Right?

“Sabine!”

She barely glanced at me, ignoring me.

Then I felt it.

There was a rippling from under my feet. A pull.

I looked down at it, but it wasn’t coming from my body. I wasn’t being pulled back in.

A darkness was coming. Rising. It was the rippling on the ground, emanating from underneath the door. It was seeping in through the walls.

It was coming.

The power of it hit me in waves, threatening to overtake me.