Chapter 19: Their Lives in Your Hands
“Hi Ana!”
“Good evening, Deirdra. My darling Louisa has finished her tasks in record time, so I am here to ask what we should do next. Did you have that discussion with the Grim Reaper?”
“Yes. As you might have guessed, it’s going to involve another ghost baby – but a rather special one.”
“A baby? But Louisa is so young – hardly more than a child herself. I very much doubt whether she feels ready to settle down yet.”
“Well, she doesn’t have to rush into it – and she might want to think it over rather carefully. You remember you used a potion to cause that last death? Your Louisa’s going to have to do something very similar.”
“Deirdra! That potion was poisonous! Are you asking me to
kill her?”
“No, but it
is going to be dangerous. Grim had a fair idea of what you put into that mixture and I went back to the vault and checked your notes, just to make sure. A ghost potion with some… interesting additions. Your however-many-greats-it-is-granddaughter can’t reproduce its effects by herself: she's already a ghost. Besides, some of those ingredients were pretty exotic – and nasty. Even a ghost couldn’t survive that. What you’re going to have to do is to split the formula: we've written down the details. Essentially, you'll be making a potion with most of the poisons for Louisa and a ghost potion plus a few of the milder poisons to be taken by a human –”
“So now you’re asking me to poison her boyfriend as well?”
“Ana, you didn’t let me finish. You need to add protective ingredients to both potions. I think your family may be able to help you find them. You know ambrosia?”
“The food of life? Yes, Victoria learnt to make it – we still have some in a food replicator.”
“This is similar. You need a death flower, a deathfish, a life fruit and a heart-cut soulpeace gem for each of them. And a flame fruit for Louisa’s potion. And then you’ll have to make an antidote for each of them to take after the baby’s conceived – Grim suggests you use your favourite tonic, with the same added ingredients.”
“Very well, Deirdra. I believe I may be able to make the potions – but how can I ask Louisa and Tavares to take them?”
“Louisa, dear, have you ever thought about having a family?”
“A family? You know me, Greats. You
know I always wanted to be a rock star. Now I’ve finished my tasks, I want to join the music career, not settle down with a husband and kids. I thought we’d already got a full set of ghosts anyway. Unless…
“Greats! Are you telling me I have to have a baby with an
old age ghost?”
“No. This child would need to have a human father. Does Tavares want children?”
“Ermmm… we’ve never really discussed it. Do I have to have a human baby, then?”
“Not exactly. The situation is somewhat complicated. I need to talk this over with both of you but I wanted to ask you first. Are you willing to do this?”
“Well, I wasn’t planning to be a mum for a long time yet, if at all – but I suppose there are plenty of us in the house to help look after a baby... OK, Greats. I’ll do it, for you.”
“You dear child. Thank you.”
Ana’s next step was to gather the special ingredients for the potions.
She discovered that Christabel had found several soulpeace gems when she was breaking space rocks. Louisa sent them away to be cut. Joseph provided the fruit and the deathfish. Victoria, Tina-Patricia and Robert Andrew had increased the family’s supply of death flowers from a single plant grown by Vernon. All Ana had to do was pick up some of the extra flowers that had been left on the lawn.
Now to make the potions – not a simple task to start with and made no easier by the knowledge that even a minor error could cause the death of Louisa or Tavares.
“…and so that is what you would have to do. I believe the potions to be unpleasant but not fatal. Provided you both take the antidote within an hour or two, you should be unharmed. However, I will quite understand if you prefer not to take the risk. I am asking such a lot of you both. I suggest you talk it over and then sleep on the idea.”
“Lou, do you trust her? I know she was the greatest doctor we’ve ever had in Twinbrook but this sounds stupidly dangerous.”
“Yes... I think so. She’s very old and wise. Probably older and wiser than anyone else in the world – and she loves me. She wouldn’t ask us if there was any choice – and I don’t think she’d have said anything at all unless she really thought it would work.”
“OK. You trust her… and I trust you. Let’s try it. Now, before we change our minds.”
“Ooh, I feel really weird.”
“Me too.”
“Well, we still seem to be alive…”
“Apart from both being ghosts.”
“Now for the fun part!”
They both heard the chimes.
“OK, we’d better take the antidotes now.”
“Tavares, you’re smoking!”
“Well, you always said I was hot, babe.”
“I love you. Fancy a second round?”
