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scarred by what he’d seen.
    “Can we go in?” Lev asked, his
breathing a little erratic.
    “Of course.”  The nurse entered, and Lev
and Jimmie followed, struck by all the monitors attached to her.  She seemed so
small and lost, her face pale in contrast to the light green sheets.
    The nurse made a point to scribble a
few notes on Lizzie’s chart and then set it in a plastic holder on the wall
before going back to the door.
    “The doctor will be in here in a
little while to speak with you once he deals with the screaming patient down
the hall.”
    As if on cue, the woman yelled again,
louder this time, something about suing cops.  “I’m sorry.  We’re trying to
deal with that as quickly as possible.  That kind of disruption is hardly good
for any of the patients.”  The nurse gave them an apologetic smile and then
disappeared.
    “I don’t understand,” Lev murmured. 
“She was fine earlier; this came out of nowhere.”
    “Not exactly nowhere.”  The voice
came from behind, and both whirled to find Evan standing there, looking disturbingly
human.
     “You saw this coming,” Jimmie asked,
sitting in the chair beside Lizzie, “and did nothing?”  He took her hand,
wanting to be closer to her.
    “No,” Evan said, stepping over to
read her chart.  He scanned it for a few seconds before putting it back.  “All
the pieces have been there, but until now I never put them together.  And now,
this—this is just starting.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Three
    “What are you talking about?” Lev
demanded, pacing.  No matter where he moved, he glared at Evan as though
somehow his father had betrayed him, which made no sense.  Then again, a lot of
Lev’s behaviors lately hadn’t made much sense.  He’d reverted completely to
emotions to get through everything instead of logic.
    “Elizabeth is being targeted,” Evan
replied calmly.  “That’s why Celia sent for me.  And it’s about to get
infinitely worse.”
    Both Lev and Jimmie glared at him,
Jimmie’s mouth dropping in shock and Lev’s frown deepening sharply.
    “That doesn’t make any sense.”  Lev
thought back to sitting on the couch with Elizabeth as they sat and watched a
movie—the same way they’d done many times before, no hints that something bad
was heading their way.  “I was there when things went down, Evan.  It seemed like
a seizure, something completely medical in nature.”
    “Of course, that’s what you would
see.”  Evan ambled up beside Lev and looked down at Elizabeth, making sure she
was sleeping as comfortably as she could.  He watched the monitors for more
assurance.
    “Meaning?” Lev growled, folding his
arms across his chest as he glared at his father.
    “You’re human now, Lev.  It’s part of
the trade-off.  You stopped sensing any supernatural beings the day you ‘died’
as an angel.”
    Lev’s shoulders sank, and a flush
colored his cheeks.  He clenched his jaw, bucking up for a physical blow.
    “It’s not my fault.”
    “I never said it was,” Evan gave him
a pointed stare.  “I told you it was a trade-off, and you know it.” 
    “So what exactly is targeting her?”
Jimmie interrupted, trying to keep Lev from flying off the handle.
    “They're what we call dybbuks .”
    Lev gave a hard laugh.  “You’re
reaching.  There aren’t any dybbuks here.  You would have sensed them
before now.”
    Evan shook his head.  “Yes, there
are.  A handful of them attacked Celia and Griffin as they headed to the
house.  One of them almost got inside Griffin, and you know what that would
have meant.”
    Lev took a few steps back, reeling
like something had struck him.  His face was ashen, his mouth hanging open in
disbelief.  A group of dybbuks hinted at something far worse to come.
    Jimmie was about to ask another
question when the door swung open and Evan vanished.  Jimmie quickly stood and joined
Lev. 
    The doctor, a woman in her late
thirties,