The Key

by Felicia Rogers

  “I see.” The lady flashed her a disapproving glare.

  Ignoring the look, Maddie asked, “What do you think is wrong with her?”

  “We won’t know until we run some tests.”

  Her heart broke into so many pieces, they could probably hear them falling all over the massive building. “Please don’t let anything happen to her. She’s all I have left.”

  The lady patted her hand and offered reassuring words before leaving Maddie alone.

  ****

  After the family dinner, Chase raced to his room and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Maddie’s number, but there was no answer. He frowned, puzzled. They had made plans to talk on the phone, so why wasn’t she answering?

  His chest tightened and his throat constricted. Something wasn’t right. But he didn’t feel like he was changing. No, the feeling was different.

  Downstairs, he grabbed his truck keys and raced outside. He would call his parents after he got there.

  He pulled up in front of Maddie’s house and honked his horn, expecting to see her bubbly self bound down the steps any minute, but he saw nothing. Long seconds passed. She didn’t appear.

  Chase left the warmth of the truck, walked to the front door, and knocked. Minutes ticked by and he pressed the doorbell. When there was still no answer, he strolled around the house and peered in the windows. If Mrs. Casey-Brennan had any close neighbors, he might have been confused with a peeping Tom. But even with all his nosiness, he found nothing. The house remained deathly quiet.

  Back in the truck, he dug out his cell phone and called home. His pulse echoed in his ears and his breaths were shallow. Dad answered on the first ring.

  “Chase, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Has Maddie called?”

  “No. And where are you? We went up to your room and you were gone.”

  “I called her and she didn’t answer. Now no one is home and I’m afraid something is wrong.”

  “Why don’t you come back here and we’ll try to find her.”

  The will to fight drained out of him. Help; that was exactly what he needed. He murmured, “Okay.”

  The undercarriage of the truck bounced along the rutted driveway. On the highway, he attempted to focus on Maddie’s feelings, but he got nothing.

  Chase entered his house to find Dad on the phone. He lifted his finger and Chase waited.

  “Okay. Yeah. Thanks for returning my call.” He talked a moment more then hung up, his brows drawn together.

  “What is it?” Chase asked, fear knotting his gut.

  “Now, don’t get upset, but Maddie’s at the hospital.”

  Instant nominee for the most useless advice in history. Chase fell back into a chair. “At the hospital? But how? Why? What happened?”

  “I don’t know. All I know is that 911 received an emergency call for an ambulance at the home of Draoi Casey-Brennan.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s all the police department knows. The only way to know more is to go to the hospital. Let me get ready, and we’ll go together.”

  “You’re going with me?”

  “Yes.” And Dad ran up the stairs without looking back.

  They traveled in the family car. Sick to his stomach, Chase was in no condition to drive. He clenched his fists in his lap while random thoughts about what might have happened rushed through his mind. Who had called the ambulance, Maddie or Draoi? Was the reason he couldn’t sense Maddie because she was injured? The unanswered questions were driving him crazy.

  By the time they arrived at the hospital, Chase was ready to crawl out of his skin. They strode into the emergency room and he grabbed the first person he saw.

  “Where is she?”

  The startled nurse jumped. “Excuse me?”

  Dad placed a restraining hand on his forearm. “Forgive us. We’re looking for Madelyn Clevenger.”

  “One moment, please.” The nurse clicked a mouse beside the terminal. “Sorry, we’ve no one by that name.”

  Chase slammed his palms on the counter. The nurse jumped again. “We know she’s here! She arrived in an ambulance. Now, where is she?”

  “Excuse me, sir, but as I said, there is no patient listed by that name.”

  Dad glared at him and Chase fisted his hands to his sides. “Try Draoi Casey-Brennan.”

  The nurse tapped more keys. “Yes, there is a Mrs. Casey-Brennan in ICU.”

  “Where is that?”

  She gave directions. Chase practically ran to reach the elevator, then stood in front of the closed doors and tapped his foot. “What is taking this thing so long? I could have run up the stairs quicker than this!”

  Dad stopped beside him. “You need to calm down.”

  “How can I? She must be terrified. Her grandma is all she has. There is no one else.”

  “Did she tell you this?” A vertical crease wrinkled between Dad’s eyebrows.

  Chase paused, thinking back. “Not really. She doesn’t say that much about her family. I know what she said at dinner, that her parents died and that she lives with her grandma. And she never mentions anyone else.”

  Dad shook his head. “But how do you know for sure?”

  “I just do.” There was no other answer. Chase knew in the core of his being, but where the information came from — well, it could be osmosis.

  “You’re linked to her,” Dad whispered, his shoulders drooping.

  Chase blinked. “What?”

  “Are you feeling her feelings, sharing her dreams?”

  He couldn’t deny the way their hearts had beaten in sync. “Yes,” he admitted.

  “The journal explained a similar link between Cian and Arin.”

  “How can something like that even be possible?” He threw out his hands. “Wasn’t Cian a beast all the time? That’s kind of gross.”

  Dad shoved his hands in his pockets. “While you were gallivanting around with Maddie last night—” Chase cocked a brow, daring him to continue the thought “—I found an interesting passage in the family journals. It seems that when a gryphon of either color, black or gray, finds his one true love and that love is reciprocated, then he’s able to take either form at will.”

  It felt like a light bulb lit up inside him. “Are you saying that if a gryphon loves and is loved by a human, then he can change to a human or gryphon and back again?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Kind of like that old saying, ‘love conquers all.’”

  “You could say that in this case, love makes it possible for the couple to be together.”

  “So you’re saying I was right?” asked Chase.

  “Yes, and I’m beginning to see why you feel the way you do. Without her, you can never be permanently human again.”

  Chapter 20

  There were two hundred floor tiles, fifteen wall cracks, twenty-five chairs, three small tables, two soda machines, and no people in the ICU waiting room of Coal Creek Community Hospital. Maddie knew; she’d counted them all.

  No doctors or nurses visited with an update and she grew afraid to leave, even to go to the restroom. She just knew the messenger would come in her absence. Hours passed and she felt like she was going stir crazy.

  Hard, cracked plastic formed her body to itself and she shifted, again and again, looking for comfort. Tears filled her eyes and she swiped the drops away.

  Looking up, she gasped. There he stood, staring at her. Gone was his usual attire. Gone was his attitude of superiority. Dougal sauntered to her side, lifted her hand to his lips, and kissed her palm. “I came as soon as I heard. How are you holding up?”

  Maddie didn’t want to answer. She wanted to shun him. How could he waltz in and ask her questions when there was so much unexplained between them? For example, how he pretended to like her but dated Stephanie? Or their unexpected after-school meeting in the woods, his odd words and subsequent disappearance?

  But in her loneliness, her defenses melted. She needed someone. She didn’t w
ant to depend on him, but he was a familiar face, and he was there. The dam burst and she sobbed uncontrollably. He pulled her into his arms, stroked her back, and murmured soothing words. She relaxed against him. He placed his fingers under her chin and she held her breath as his head began a slow descent.

  ****

  The elevator doors shrieked open. Chase dropped his jaw and wondered if he’d ever be able to pick it up again.

  Maddie and Dougal stood in the middle of the waiting room. His arms were wrapped around her trembling frame and their lips were on the verge of touching. She jerked her head around and her fixed stare meshed with his. Her red-rimmed eyes widened and glowed a brighter shade of jade. Tears dripped off her chin and splashed on the cold tiled floor.

  She leapt from Dougal’s arms and rushed to Chase, throwing herself into his protection. She buried her face against his neck and Chase glared over her shoulder, sending a heated stare at Dougal.

  Hands fisted at his sides, Dougal glared back. His eyes burned a darker bronze, glowed like flares in the ugly fluorescent lighting, and he twisted his lips into a snarl.

  Side by side with the fury, a blaze of victory burned in Chase’s soul. Dougal had tried to kiss Maddie, but the attempt had been futile. Even if he had succeeded in placing his lips to hers, it would have meant nothing. When push came to shove, she had run to him. He’d won.

  Ignoring Dougal, Chase smoothed Maddie’s long auburn hair. “Are you okay?”

  Choked with emotion, she managed a nod.

  “Take your time.” He led her to a set of chairs, found one that looked like a couch, and sat with her, pinning her body to his side. Her warmth soaked into him, soothing the fretting beast within.

  Dougal remained where she’d left him. He looked different. Instead of his usual black, he wore jeans and a navy blue T-shirt. His coal black hair seemed to have grown longer overnight and now the ends graced the top of his shoulders. But his glare hadn’t changed, and if looks could pin a person to the wall, Chase would have been skewered.

  In his arms, Maddie seemed exhausted and overwhelmed. Again and again he stroked her hair, and her breathing slowed to match.

  “Ch-Chase.” She laid her head against his shoulder. “Th-thank you for coming.”

  He grabbed her hands and squeezed. “Where else would I be?” She didn’t reply. When he realized she wouldn’t, he continued. “I would have been here sooner, but I didn’t know you were here. What happened?”

  Maddie told him about finding Grandma Draoi unresponsive and how she had called the ambulance.

  “How is she now?”

  Her hands rose in frustration. “I don’t know! No one will tell me.”

  Dad piped in. “Perhaps I can find out.”

  “Would you mind?” Maddie asked.

  “No, I wouldn’t. I’ll be right back.”

  He left the three of them and an awkward silence filled his absence.

  “How come you’re here?” Chase asked Dougal when he could stand it no longer. Would Dougal make up a lie and say Maddie invited him? Unless she said it herself, Chase would never believe it. The embrace they had shared must have been forced; he was sure of it.

  Dougal shook himself, a little ripple like shaking off some distant thought. “I happened to be in the hospital and heard someone mention Maddie’s name. I was afraid she was hurt so I came to check.”

  A distant thought. Right. One about a kiss, without a doubt. “Well, now that you know she’s fine, you can leave.”

  “She doesn’t look fine to me.” Dougal crossed his arms over his chest.

  He hadn’t had much to begin with, but with Dougal’s stubbornness, Chase’s patience was wearing thin. Maddie trembled beside him. He wanted to take her into his lap and comfort her as he had done hours before, back at the cave, but Dougal’s presence restrained him. How could he love her the way he ought with that black glare prickling his skin?

  Without warning, Maddie burst out in an agonized wail. Dougal strode over, knelt before her, and placed his hand upon her knee. It would feel so good to break the bones in those fingers. He would start with the ring finger first, making sure to break one tiny bone at a time, then…

  “Maddie,” Dougal said, his voice as smooth as silk, “can I get you anything?”

  “Water,” she choked out.

  Instinct begged Chase to do her bidding. He should be the one to retrieve the water, if that would make her comfortable. But worry gnawed at his gut. If he left, then it wouldn’t take two seconds for Dougal to slide in and assume his place. Let Dougal get the water. He would stay glued to Maddie’s hip and protect her from predators, that one in particular.

  Dougal nodded. “I’ll be right back.” And he left.

  Chase didn’t waste a moment. He tugged Maddie onto his lap and kept stroking her hair. He whispered, “Why didn’t you call me?”

  She used the back of her hand to swipe at her tears. “I was so upset I couldn’t think straight. I even confused the 911 operator. Will you forgive me?”

  “You don’t have to ask. There’s nothing to forgive. I just wondered.” Chase struggled to feel her emotions. But for some reason, he couldn’t. The only one he could decipher was guilt, because it was written all over her face.

  One hand played with the buttons on his shirt. “This is entirely my fault. I should have insisted she come to church with us. Or I should have stayed home with her. She didn’t act like herself.”

  He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes, choosing his words carefully. “Maddie, none of this is your fault. Your grandma wouldn’t want you to blame yourself.”

  Her lashes trembled. “I know, but I should’ve been there. She might die because I wasn’t there for her.” She slid from his lap and strode to the window, wrapping her arms around her body in a hug.

  Well, somehow he’d blown that. And he still couldn’t feel her emotions. Chase sat with his elbows on his knees and waited with her.

  Finally Dad arrived. Tension lines tightened the corners of his eyes, and Chase sensed the news wasn’t good.

  Maddie turned from the window, but didn’t speak. Her eyes begged for answers.

  Dad paused beside one of the hard plastic chairs. “Maddie, sit down with me, will you?”

  She obeyed and folded her hands primly in her lap. The pose should have expressed serenity, but her trembling lips proved it was an act.

  “Maddie, your grandmother is in stable condition, but she’s fallen into a coma.”

  “What?”

  “They don’t know what happened yet. They’re still performing tests.” Dad slid an arm across her shoulder and hugged her sideways.

  She nodded, stood from beneath his arm, and returned to the window.

  ****

  “What excuse did you give them?”

  The voice startled him. Dougal whirled and glared at Serena as she slithered from the deepest shadows in the concession room.

  Annoyed, he turned away and dug change from his pocket. “I’m getting Maddie water. Don’t raise your eyebrow at me. This is all your doing. What did you do to Draoi?”

  Serena shrugged, her movements sinuous. “Just a harmlessss herb, my love. Blocking her abilities proved difficult. She was also more resssilient to my persuading than I expected.”

  “Well, all that is just great, isn’t it? Now you’ve landed the old lady in the hospital and given Chase more opportunities to keep Maddie away from me.”

  Her eyes hooded, like a cobra’s. “What of the kissss?”

  He snarked and yanked the bottle of water from the machine. “You know there was no kiss! You know he interrupted my plans. Why must you continue to make me voice my failures?”

  Her shoulders rippled in a shrug. But her eyes gleamed.

  Dougal fought the urge to strangle her. The feelings he had for Maddie continued to grow, despite his best efforts, and he found it hard to think straight. “Sometimes, Serena, I wonder whose side you’re on. You know I must convince the girl to help us. She
must be a willing participant.” And I prefer to have her help us because she loves me.

  “Aye, I know. And she will be. As I have told you before, Chase will be a great motivator. She doesn’t have to love you for it to work.”

  But I want her to. “Are you sure? If we allow them to fall in love, and threatening him doesn’t work, then it’ll be too late.”

  “I know. But trust me, I’m right. I’m always right.”

  Dougal headed back to the waiting room. Serena had better be correct. He’d waited on his family for too long.

  Chapter 21

  Unsurprised by Mr. Donovan’s news, Maddie struggled silently with her fear of loneliness. She found a seat in the corner of the room and cried softly. The hospital minister offered words of comfort. When he left, Mr. Donovan mentioned the ICU’s visiting hours, yet his presence barely registered.

  She bit her lip. Would they stick her in foster care? If she went home, how would she get back to the hospital? What could she do about school? How long would it take for Grandma to recover? Where was Dougal with her water?

  The last thought floated through her mind and as if by magic Dougal appeared at her side. “Sorry it took so long.”

  He offered no excuses and she asked for none, instead taking the bottle and guzzling the cool liquid. “Thank you.”

  Dougal nodded. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Is there anything else you need? A ride home to pick up clothes? Someone to retrieve your schoolwork?”

  As if she’d go to school the next morning directly from the hospital. “Thank you, Dougal, but I’m fine for now.”

  “You’ll let me know, right?” Strange, but he seemed sincere when he asked. Maybe he didn’t prefer Stephanie after all.

  Then again, maybe he did. Maddie swallowed more water. “Sure.”

  “Then I guess I’ll leave. I’ll call later to check on you and see how your grandma fares.”

  “Thanks.”

  Mr. Donovan had left to call home. Chase sat in the corner, rubbed his hands together, and knitted his brow.

  Maybe she should explain. Chase had walked in on what must have looked like a kiss-in-the-making. Still uncertain, she rose on wobbly legs and took the seat next to Chase, laying her hands over his. “I need to say something.”