The Forsaken (The Chosen Series Book 2), Patricia Bell [e textbook reader .txt] 📗

the edge of the desk for Daniel to wipe his bleeding face.

Just the touch of the tissue made his nerve endings scream out in pain. The gash on his cheek was deep. He stared at the ring on his father's hand. The sign of the High Prophet. Passed down for over a century and it was destined to be his one day. But he wanted no part of it.

“That looks deep,” his father said, pointing to Daniel’s face. He picked up the phone and dialed. In seconds he was speaking. “Send Agatha in,” he said and hung up.

Agatha was an older woman his father had hired long ago to cook for his family. Was his father ordering food at such a time as this?

“Son, I am sorry that you had to see me discipline that girl, but she has committed a grave sin. She is a murderer. The first in our community to ever kill another. Her actions have cost the lives of two of our own . . .”

His father’s voice became a drone in the back of Daniel’s head as he tried to connect the pieces of his father’s puzzling words. She had killed two people? How had she done that? Why had his father never mentioned it before? No one, ever, in the history of The Chosen had killed someone.

“. . . so, when I saw you down there, I feared for your life. She is demon-possessed.”

The door to the office opened. Daniel turned to see Agatha standing in the doorway.

“I thought I told you to always knock.” His father’s voice boomed at the woman.

But it seemed to bother her none. “You call for me?” she asked in her deep German accent.

“Yes. Come in. Agatha, my son has had an accident. He has cut his cheek. I want you to stitch it up for him.”

“But sir,” Agatha slapped her hands to her chest. “I am no doctor. I am only a cook.”

“Oh, come now. Do you not sew up that stuffed chicken you make? This is no different.”

Her hands transferred to her mouth and then she looked to Daniel.

“Let me take a look.” She gently removed Daniel’s hand from where it covered the gaping wound.

“Is very deep. I think you should call a doctor.” She nodded to the High Prophet.

“Can you stitch it or not, Agatha?”

Agatha shook her head no but then nodded. “I will try.”

Chapter 24 ― Rachel

Being confined to her bed, Rachel was going stir crazy. Even going to see Dr. Paine would be better than lying in her bed all day.

It was a bit strange, and she would never admit it out loud, but she missed her sessions with the doctor. The woman was kind and tender. Rachel liked her. She’d been so grateful the woman had come to see her once, but she didn’t expect her back again. It was much too far out of her way to make house calls.

The fact that she wasn’t allowed to leave her bed for anything more than using the restroom was stressful. Well except that she had plenty of time for reading and that had helped her reading skills tremendously.

Shelly had come in every couple of hours to check her blood pressure. It had already been elevated once in the day. Shelly had warned her if it spiked again, they would be going back to the hospital.

Tears flooded her eyes. Her head tightened as if it were about to explode. Her entire body felt indescribably horrible. It was coming on again, and she wasn’t sure what scared her more, the fact that her blood pressure was spiking again or that if Shelly knew, she would take her to the hospital.

But she had to protect the baby. “Shelly?” she called, her voice weakened to a whisper.

She couldn’t seem to raise the energy to call out. What had she done? Why had she been so foolish? And Jacob, he wasn’t even around to help her through it.

“Shelly?” she called a little louder.

Lenny came into the room, carrying his transformer robots. “Mom is in the kitchen. You want me to get her?”

“Yes, please.” Her voice barely rose above a whisper.

“Okay,” Lenny said and zoomed out of the room holding his robots high in the air. “Moo-oom! Rachel wants you!” he yelled as he ran off in the other direction.

“Coming!” Shelly yelled back.

A few seconds later, Shelly was standing over Rachel, a kitchen towel in her hands. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good. Is it happening again?” she asked, drying her hands on the towel.

Rachel nodded, trying to hold back the tears. Ever since she’d been pregnant, she’d been an emotional wreck. Just the sight of her own swollen body had made her cry. She’d never shed so many tears in all her life, then again, she’d never been through so much pain before either.

“Okay. Let me take your blood pressure.” Shelly reached over to the side table, grabbed the cuff, and placed it on Rachel’s forearm.

Within seconds Shelly was on the phone with the hospital. “Yes, this is Shelly Newton. I am here with a patient of Doctor Wells’. He said to come in if her blood pressure spikes twice in one day. Can you send an ambulance, or . . .”

“NO!” Rachel yelled with as much force as she could manage. “No ambulance.”

Shelly turned to face her.

“Please.” Her eyes pleaded for Shelly to agree.

“Okay, no ambulance. I will bring her in myself.” Shelly hung up and helped Rachel out of bed.

“Lenny!” she called as she assisted Rachel with getting her shoes on.

“Yeah, Mom?” Lenny came back into the room, holding the same two toys.

“Get dressed. We’re taking Rachel to the hospital.”

“Awe, Mom. I was watching—”

“Now, Lenny. This is an emergency. And turn off that television.”

“Okay.” Lenny held a hand up. “Fine.” He walked out the door.

“That kid.” She sighed. “Come on, sweetie. Can you walk?”

Rachel slid off the side of the bed. Her head pulsed, and her heart pounded wildly in her chest. Her