Free CarnalHealing by Virginia Reede

Leonore.
    “Oh, yes, you would have. I’m giving you a manicure this
afternoon, remember? I would know the moment I touched your hand.”
    “Maybe,” Leonore conceded.
    “Definitely. And don’t try to change the subject. Tell me
everything about him. What does he do for a living? Is he gorgeous? Rich?
Details, sister, I need details!”
    It was impossible to be annoyed with Millie for any length
of time, and Leonore laughed. Or was it Leonore’s own mood that put her in this
irrepressible good humor?
    “I don’t kiss and tell,” she teased, gratified to hear
Ludmilla groan. “But I’ll let you try to drag it out of me later anyway.”
Leonore looked up, realizing she had reached her destination. “Millie, I have
to hang up now. I’ll see you at two.”
    “Okay, but don’t be late. My schedule is packed this
afternoon and, besides, I’m dying to hear everything.” Millie made a kissing
sound and ended the call, and Leonore concentrated on steering her car through
the security gate and into the Mass General parking garage.
    Although she’d managed to sneak out before Jeff woke up,
he’d told her his schedule last night, and she knew he wouldn’t be in the
hospital until late morning. She wanted to see Lucy before he arrived.
    Leonore generally didn’t check up those she anonymously
healed. But something had been nagging at her ever since she awoke, despite her
lovely mood. It was like a sour note in the background of a beautiful symphony.
She had finally identified it as a mild sense of anxiety about the child she
had met the previous morning. She’d been almost home when she found herself
turning her car around and heading back in the direction from which she’d come.
Her route hadn’t taken her directly in front of Jeff’s apartment building, but
she’d still felt a flush rise to her cheeks as she passed his block.
    Her sense of foreboding increased as Leonore got off the
elevator. The quiet sour note had grown into a discordant gong, and
apprehension prickled the back of her neck.
    Something is wrong. Checking the hallway for anyone
who might stop her, she edged quickly into Lucy’s room and closed the door.
    The child’s appearance shocked her. The rosy glow that
Leonore had noticed with such satisfaction less than twenty-four hours before
was gone, replaced by a pallor even more alarming than the original had been.
    “Lucy?” She spoke softly, and the little girl did not stir.
She was entirely too still, and Leonore felt rising panic as she placed her
hand on the small chest, to be replaced by relief when she felt the steady
heartbeat.
    The relief was short-lived, however. Nausea rose in
Leonore’s throat as she perceived the unmistakable sensation of cancer cells.
    Impossible. I know I got all of it yesterday.
    Leonore shook off her own puzzlement deliberately. It didn’t
matter how the cancer had returned—right now, the important thing was to
destroy it. As she had the day before, Leonore began to seek out and destroy
the malignant cells, again carefully avoiding the “soldiers”, easily
identifiable by their wholesome feel.
    It took longer than it had the first time, and Leonore began
to be afraid that Lucy’s parents would show up at any moment and demand an
explanation. Why are these new cancer cells more evil than the old ones? Why
are they even here? Again, she was thankful for the strength imparted by
her recent lovemaking with Jeff. Strong and plentiful as the corrupt cells
were, Leonore’s magic destroyed them easily, seeming to relish each tiny
victory. Pop, pop, pop.
    Finally, Leonore could find no further signs of cancer, and
Lucy was beginning to stir. Not wanting the child to see her again and,
perhaps, mention her to her parents, Leonore went quickly to the door and
opened it. Seeing no one in the hall, she slipped past, leaving it open as she
had found it. She headed toward the elevator.
    She took no more than three steps before stumbling. A
horrible sensation seemed