HEIRS OF THE HIDDEN FLAME

NATHAN'S SOLUTION

“No, he needs to prove himself; how am I sure that he could treat my grandfather? I don’t want to take any chances,” Emily complained, gazing at Nathan with distrust in her eyes.

Nathan moved closer to Emily, gazing into her eyes. “As you wish,” he said calmly.

Suddenly, Emily started to lose control over her body as she moved away from Nathan. She tried to scream but realized that she couldn’t say anything as her lips were also sealed. Nathan was the one who cast the spell over her; he used his mind and hands to cast the spell; he was controlling her like a marionette.

Gwen noticed that Emily was not talking and was moving back as she wondered what was going on. She looked at Nathan and noticed the hand signs he was making as she realized that Nathan was the one controlling her.

“What are you doing to my sister? Let her..." Before she could finish her statement, Nathan cut her off.

“Look, this is for you and your family’s own good. Your sister is only going to get in the way of your grandfather’s treatment; let’s not pay her any mind. I will free her from my control once I am done curing your grandfather, but after I am done curing him, I will need a favor from the Smith family. Is that okay?” Nathan had a lot of determination in his eyes.

“Okay, I will grant you that; get on with the treatment,” she responded. Although she was concerned for her sister’s wellbeing, she knew that Emily was hindering the process as she let Nathan get on with the treatment.

“I want you to promise me that you will grant me a favor from the Smith family, and it would be anything I want, no questions asked." Nathan wanted to make sure that he was getting her word and not just her replying to him out of desperation to save her grandfather.

“I promise you, I will grant you any favor you ask for; you just have to save my grandfather’s life,” she answered with a lot of assurance in her tone. Nathan was glad that he got her word.

He went over to the bed and started looking at the old man from head to toe, as he was first doing a visual scan of what might be wrong with him. Nathan examined his body as he noticed that the blood flow in Old Smith’s body was strange and realized that he had been poisoned.

He turned to look at Gwen. “He has been poisoned,” he said calmly. Her eyes and mouth opened wide; she was thunderstruck by the information.

“What! How is that even possible?” She asked in a rumbling tone as her voice echoed throughout the ward.

“I don’t know, but the old man’s strength won’t be able to support him in any radical treatment; if I try anything, he might die,” he answered. He was certain that the man could not survive a form of normal treatment that could be used to remove the poison from his system.

“Oh my God! What can you do to save him? Please do anything; don’t let my grandfather  die."Gwen begged with a lot of desperation as tears welled up in her eyes.

Nathan started thinking of the possible things he could do to save the old man’s life when an idea came to his mind that he could cast a semi-immortal spell that could save his life and remove the poison from his system. He really wanted to save her grandfather because he needed the favor from them. He wanted to use that to get to the bottom of who killed his parents.

“Move back,” he told Gwen, and she shifted back from the bed. He didn’t want to let her know about the spell that he wanted to cast to save his life, but he knew she would know that he was casting a spell.

Nathan started waving hand signs and saying enchantment words as a white ray of light started to shine on old man Smith’s body. Everything was visible to Gwen as her mouth was wide open. She was stunned by what Nathan was doing. Nathan cast another spell that placed a circle around the body of the old man. He wanted to protect his soul and didn’t want him to become completely immortal; he just wanted him to be semi-immortal so that he would be able to live and kill the poison in his body.

After he was done with the spell, old man Smith was no longer in pain, as he was relaxed on the bed. Gwen’s eyes sparkled with hope, seeing that her grandfather was no longer in extreme pain.

“Wow, is he out of danger now?” She asked curiously.

“Yes, your grandfather is going to be fine now; the poison will die soon,” he answered. The white ray of light was still shining on his body, and the circle was still around his body. Nathan turned to look at Emily as he undone the spell that he had cast to control her.

Although she was under that spell, she was aware of everything that was going on and how Nathan had saved her grandfather’s life, so she didn’t want to complain about what Nathan had done to her.

“No one should destroy the formation on your grandfather in half an hour; by then he will be completely healed, and everything will be normal,” he said in a rumbling tone, making sure that Gwen and Emily heard him clearly.

Gwen and Emily were happy to hear that as they stood at the side of the bed looking at the magical formation, something they had never seen before in their lives.

Gwen wondered what type of Doctor Nathan was and whether he was a sorcerer with the type of magic that he possessed.

“I need to use the restroom; I will be back; make sure no one comes near the formation,” Nathan warned as he went out of the ward.

***

Suddenly, a large group of doctors, all dressed in white lab coats, entered the ward, led by Chief Doctor Floyd Hamilton, the most experienced physician in the hospital and the top doctor in all of Beloberg.

They approached Gwen and Emily, and Floyd Hamilton introduced himself to them as the chief doctor, explaining that he had come to save their grandfather's life.

Emily was impressed by Floyd's medical skills and reputation as the best doctor in the hospital.

"Please, start examining my grandfather," she pleaded.

Floyd walked over to Mr. Smith's bed, and the other doctors surrounded it. Floyd noticed the peculiar ray of light and circle around him and asked, "What is this magical formation around him? Who cast such a spell?"

He raised his hand, ready to disrupt the formation, when Gwen quickly grabbed his hand and exclaimed, "Stop!"

"Don't disrupt the formation. The doctor I brought, Nathan, has already completed my grandpa's treatment and advised us not to disturb the formation," Gwen explained.

Floyd responded, "This thing is useless. It won't save your grandfather's life. Nathan is deceiving you."

Gwen firmly defended Nathan, saying, "I'm telling you not to scatter the formation. Nathan is the most qualified doctor and magician I've ever met. He knows what he's doing. He's an expert at it." She firmly believed that Nathan had already saved her grandfather's life, and there was nothing Floyd could do.

Floyd questioned, "If he's such a powerful mage, why would he need doctors like us? Can he also treat himself?" He was frustrated by Gwen's comments and doubted the magical formation's effectiveness in saving Old Man Smith's life.