Chapter Thirty-Six

  Alex woke to a brutal headache and an unfamiliar view. She was lying on the couch, looking up at the water-stained ceiling.

  She heard noises in the kitchen, and after straining to lift her neck, found that her mother was there, placing noodles into a steaming pot.

  "Alexandria, sweetie, you're awake," said her mother.

  Alex groaned as she sat up, holding her hand to her temples to ward away the migraine.

  "Awake, but wishing I wasn't," said Alex, squinting. "How are you feeling?"

  Her mother paused as she leaned against the counter for support. "Like I ran a hundred consecutive marathons without stopping and now I finally get to eat."

  "What about your head?"

  Her mother placed her hand on top of her head. The hair had grown thin and stringy.

  "Better, but I don't know how." She squinted at Alex. "Did you do something while I slept? Is that what the mirror and the notebook full of strange diagrams meant?"

  "It was," said Alex. "I might have removed your tumor, but you're going to have to get it checked out at the hospital when you're feeling better."

  "Removed the tumor? I don't understand."

  "Don't worry about the details, Mom. But it was something I learned at the Halls," said Alex.

  "But where is it? The tumor?" asked her mother, glancing around as if she expected to see it on the counter.

  Alex had no intention of telling her mom where the tumor was if she could help it.

  "Gone, and that's all that matters," said Alex.

  Her mother made her way to the couch, using the furniture to keep steady. She sat by Alex, stroking her hand as she looked her in the eyes.

  "I don't know how you did what you did. It feels like a miracle to me, but I think it shows that you deserve to be at that school. Whatever happened to make you leave, you forget about it. Go back, take up where you stopped. If you can do that, if you can fix me, then you can do anything."

  Her mother's eyes glistened.

  "Don't worry, Mom," she said. "I'm headed back to school as soon as I feel better."

  A relieved smile broke across her mother's face. "Oh good."

  She searched her face for a moment before glancing back to the kitchen.

  "God, I'm hungry."

  "Go eat, Mom," said Alex. "I need to pack."

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  Alex stumbled into her room and started throwing her stuff in her backpack, including her notebook of spell notes. She felt bad that she was withholding information from her mother: that the tumor resided in her head and that she was only going back to school to have it removed. If she could have continued in Gamemakers Online, she would have, but there was no way to gain twenty levels in the final month before the end of the year.

  That night, her mother ate three plates of pasta and drank the rest of the orange juice. By the time she was heading to bed, the red rings around her eyes had disappeared and she was able to walk without trembling.

  The morning of the next day, after hugging her mom for what seemed like twenty minutes, she hiked to the bus stop because Frank was at work. The initial headache from the tumor transfer was gone, but she felt like there was a pressure behind her eyes that wasn't there before.

  When she arrived at Golden Willow, Dr. Fairlight seemed surprised to meet her. The doctor had long blonde hair and kind eyes that reminded her of Frank.

  "If I didn't deal with strange ailments on a regular basis I might have thought you were lying to me, but here you are," said Dr. Fairlight, clutching a clipboard against her chest. "Though for your sake, I wish it was a prank."

  After the scans, both medical and magical, Dr. Fairlight returned with a set of X-rays and her blood test results.

  "I'm sorry I don't have good news for you, but you are correct, you have a brain tumor. Based on the blood work, it hasn't metastasized, but the location is problematic," said Dr. Fairlight.

  "Location?" asked Alex as worry tugged on her heart. "Where's it at?"

  Dr. Fairlight jabbed her finger onto the X-ray where the blob of white rested at the base of her skull. "See this area? That's the part of the brain that helps control the use of magic. Think of it as a muscle for the faez conduit."

  The doctor searched her face, eyes scanning for understanding.

  "And?" asked Alex.

  "The good news is the tumor is removable. But the bad news is that you'll likely never use magic again. Messing with that part of the brain can cause unforeseen complications. We could cut it out, but that pent-up faez would try to go somewhere, resulting in messy events that I'd prefer not to speculate about."

  Alex couldn't breathe. It felt like a rope had been wrapped around her chest and cinched until it was biting into her flesh. It wasn't the result she was expecting.

  "What about treatments? Can it be reduced first and then cut out later when it's not a danger?" she asked.

  The tightness in Dr. Fairlight's face gave Alex the answer. "I'm sorry. That region of the brain is extremely problematic. The existence of faez complicates any treatments. We can try, but it'll take a long time, maybe years to work through it."

  "Years," she said. "But I don't have years. I'm not going to be able to stay in my hall past the school year. I'm not going to pass."

  Dr. Fairlight sucked a breath through her clenched teeth. "I'm sorry, Alexandria. That is bad news. If you're not a student and you don't have health insurance, I'm afraid I can't help you. We could do the procedure and remove the tumor now before your coverage lapses, but that would have to be up to you."

  The air seemed to be sucked out of the room. Alex gripped the counter with her right hand, holding steady. Neither option was remotely palatable. She'd just figured out she could do major magic and now she had to give it up to live?

  "When do I have to start if I'm going to have the tumor cut out? Do I have time to decide?" she asked.

  Dr. Fairlight's lips tugged downward. "I'm afraid you have to start right away. We have to take extensive scans of your brain to map the area we have to cut during the surgery. And the recovery won't be easy. We'll have to keep you here for a few weeks afterwards."

  Alex looked out the window at the buildings and trees across the parking lot. It was springtime in the city of sorcery, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

  "I see."

  "Shall I call a nurse to get you started?" asked Dr. Fairlight.

  "No," said Alex, shaking her head. "No thank you. I should go."

  "You should go?" asked the doctor incredulously.

  Alex looked up into Dr. Fairlight's face. The woman's forehead was hunched.

  "I need to pass my classes," said Alex.

  Dr. Fairlight blinked slowly before adding a nod. "I see. Are you sure?"

  "No," said Alex with a laugh. "But I've made my choice. Now I need to carry it through."

  "Good luck," said Dr. Fairlight, not looking like she believed her.

  Alex left the hospital room. "Luck's never had anything to do with it."