The healer struggled to find words that even he could believe.
"It feels..." he said slowly, "...as though something inside the child is devouring every trace of spiritual energy we send into his body."
The words had scarcely left his mouth when Cooper's entire body suddenly became rigid.
His tiny fingers loosened involuntarily, allowing the worn stuffed wolf to slip from his grasp onto the mattress as every muscle in his frail body locked painfully into place. At the very same instant, the heart monitor erupted into a series of shrill alarms that shattered the silence inside the examination room.
"Chief Physician!"
Before anyone could react, violent convulsions tore through Cooper's body. Foam gathered at the corners of his mouth as his breathing became increasingly erratic, each desperate breath sounding weaker than the last.
The calm order that had governed the medical wing only moments before instantly transformed into controlled urgency.
"Hold him carefully."
