Corey stuffed the last of his clothes into the bag. The sooner they were away from here, the better. As much as he’d love to stay and help these people, Ruddy and Xeke were more important—and he’d made a mess of that already.

  He had been worried about how the mayor would react to their leaving, but Adrian seemed delighted to have them go. In fact, the mayor was being downright generous—their truck had been repaired and the town had even provided supplies for the road.

  “How are we supposed to escape from the DSSA now?” Xeke said. “There’s no way we’ll make it all the way to California without a mentalist to hide us.”

  “My organization has some people in Albuquerque,” Corey said. “People like us. They’ll help.”

  “When are you going to tell us more about your organization?” Ruddy said.

  “When you’ve been trained to deal with being questioned by mentalists,” Corey said.

  There was a knock at the door. Corey opened it to find the kid from the restaurant standing there, holding a paper bag.

  “Hey, Hunter,” Corey said. “How’s the arm?”

  “Good as new, sir,” he said. He held up the bag. “My mom made a bunch of venison jerky for your trip. She said to tell you to keep it dry.”

  Corey took the sack and inhaled. “Smells delicious. Be sure to thank your mom for us. Do you want a Coke or something?”

  “No, sir …” Hunter stood in the doorway and stared at his feet.

  “Is something wrong?” Corey said.

  Hunter looked over his shoulder before he answered. “Uh, well ...”

  “Why don’t you come in?” Corey said.

  He locked the door behind him. “OK. What’s going on?”

  Hunter looked at his shoes again. “The mayor would be mad if he knew I was here.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Who’s gonna tell him? I’m not.” Corey looked at Ruddy and Xeke. “How about you guys? You gonna tell him?”

  They both shook their heads. Ruddy made a key locking motion in front of his lips.

  Hunter took a deep breath. “It’s my friend, Billy. Billy Newbold. He’s really sick. The doctor doesn’t think he’ll last much longer.”

  “What’s wrong with him?” Corey said.

  “Doctor Zimmer tried to help him, but there’s nothing he can do. It’s leukemia.” Hunter’s voice caught in his throat. “I don’t know if there’s anything you can do, even to make him feel better. He’s in a lot of pain. I thought, you know …”

  Corey stood. “Where is he?”

  “At his mom’s apartment,” Hunter said. “I’m supposed to be watching him for her while she’s at work.”

  “Let’s go,” Corey said.

  Xeke zipped his duffel bag. “I’ll go with you.”

  “No, you and Ruddy stay here and finish packing. We’re still leaving tomorrow.”

  The apartment was a tiny combination kitchen and living area with one bedroom. The furniture was old and mismatched, but the place was clean and it felt like a home. Corey took off his gloves and rubbed his hands together. It was nearly as cold inside as it had been outside.

  They had to climb over a small bed in the living room to get to the bedroom. Billy Newbold was asleep in a larger bed with blankets piled on top of him. There was no IV drip, or any of the medical equipment usually associated with hospice care—just a bowl of cold chicken soup and an Advil bottle on the nightstand.

  Corey smiled at Hunter. “It’s better if I’m alone for this,” he said. “Can you watch the door? Don’t let anyone interrupt me.”

  Corey’s smile faded as soon as Hunter left. Healing broken bones and ruptures was one thing. But cancer was almost impossible to cure—he’d heard a story once that a healer had died trying.

  Corey took a deep breath and got comfortable on the chair. As soon as he put his hands on Billy’s head, the wrongness of the disease overwhelmed his senses.

  He wasn’t even sure where to start. It was like standing at the bottom of a mountain with no clear path to the top.

  Eliza always said I was the best, he thought. I guess we’re about to find out.

  Someone shook Corey’s shoulder. He opened his eyes and the world resolved into a blurry image.

  He was on the floor in Billy’s apartment. Ruddy and Xeke were kneeling over him.

  “You gonna be okay?” Xeke said.

  Corey nodded. “Eventually.” His voice was barely a croak.

  Hunter and Billy were standing back, staring at him with wide eyes. “Come here, Billy,” Corey said. He took the boy’s hand. There was no trace of the leukemia.

  “You’re cured,” Corey said.

  Xeke shook his head. “You cured cancer? I thought that was impossible.”

  “So did I.”

  “We still have to … leave in the morning,” Corey said. He needed to make sure Ruddy and Xeke had everything ready, there was packing to do, provisions to …

  He tried to stand up, but even with Ruddy’s help it was too much. Stars encroached from the edges of his vision and the world slipped away again.