"This is all my fault." Cassandra stared at the floor.
"How do you figure that?" asked Ezekiel.
"Isn't it obvious?" The pretty redhead all but wrung her hands. "The statue was just a statue until I touched it. Look." She fished the gold chain out of her pocket. "Something about me brought it to life."
"That's not your fault," said Eve reassuringly.
"Actually, it is her fault," said Jenkins on the speaker.
Cassandra burst into tears and ran out of the room. They were gathered in the hospital lounge and Jenkins was more acerbic than usual when they called him and refused to return to the annex until they knew how Jake was doing. Eve glared at the phone. "Jenkins!"
"I'll get Cassandra." Ezekiel hurried after the girl.
"What?" Jenkins glared at his phone. "Cassandra brought the dragon to life, didn't she?"
"You make it sound like she did it on purpose!" Eve was thoroughly exasperated as Cassandra walked back, Ezekiel patting her on the shoulder.
"I didn't say she did it on purpose." They heard rustling as Jenkins turned pages on a book. "But this is no time to beat about the bush. This is serious."
"We're not playing around here, Jenkins. Wait a minute." The doctor was approaching and Eve said, "I'm going to put you on hold."
"Put me on hold! I have never…" Jenkins' voice was abruptly cut off as Eve pressed a button and stood up to speak to the doctor. "How's our friend, Doctor…"
"Carrington." He motioned to the chairs. "I think you should sit down."
Eve felt a chill but kept her voice calm. "You heard the man. Jones, have a seat. You too, Cassandra." She looked steadily at the doctor. "I prefer to stand."
He shrugged. "As you wish. I'm afraid there isn't much hope. Your friend was obviously bitten by a poisonous animal, but we can't identify the poison. I've never seen anything like it, and with the herpetarium at the zoo…"
"Herpetarium?" Ezekiel frowned.
Eve gave him a stern look. "Snakes, Jones."
Carrington nodded. "Very good. I'm familiar not only with the poisonous snakes at the zoo, but a number of other venomous animals-it's a specialty of mine, but your friend seems to be suffering from a poison I've never seen. If we can't identify it in time…" He paused, then went on very quietly. "He may not live."
"Oh, my God." Cassandra buried her face in her hands.
Eve said strongly, "Thank you, doctor. Can we see him?"
"Just for a moment. We've treated his symptoms but he's very weak and in considerable pain. He needs to rest. And if he has any family, they should be notified."
