by Chloe Adler
"Jody?" she called out to the pixie nurse in a heap on the other side of the room.
There was no response.
"Can you go check on her?" she asked me.
"What's in that syringe and what are you going to do with him?"
The nurse sighed like I was the most inconvenient person in her world right then. "It's silver. It will subdue him but not kill him. The straightjacket too, it's made with silver thread."
I nodded and ran over to Jody. Her head had obviously hit the wall because there was a lot of blood. That's when I realized that the vampire squad was standing behind me, licking their lips.
"Get away from her," I roared as I turned.
"She's one of us," the squad leader said. "We can help her."
I looked back at broom-nurse, who nodded at me, and I stepped away. Two of the vampires dropped to the floor and started licking up her blood while the third wrapped his mouth around her head wound.
"How is that helping?" I mouthed to the nurse, who held up her hand in response.
The other two, after licking the floor clean, started kissing her in unison. Or what looked like kissing but I assumed wasn't because when they pulled up, her mouth was covered in blood. The squad leader took over at her mouth. How did I know so little about vampires and their ways? I had lived in the same town together with them for my entire life. I felt like a fraud. A self-absorbed fraud. But after a second, anger hit.
"What about this being an equality-sanctioned hospital?" I said to the other nurse.
"The authorities can intervene," was all she said.
Of course they can.
The rest of the hospital's guards had all sheathed their weapons and were filing out. Broom-nurse was standing next to Carter, who was slumped on the floor, drooling. Blood. It wasn't pretty and my heart ached. I wanted to go to him but instead, I walked toward the door.
"Am I free to go?"
"I can't stop you," the nurse said.
I looked down at Carter again, my heart pinging in my chest.
"But don't go too far," she said. "There are only two things that could have caused this," she pointed at Carter, "and witchcraft is one of them."
How could she not know that we had performed a spell? The candles were still in the room, along with the herbs. The only things Sadie had managed to escape with were the grimoire and her athame. I cocked my head at the nurse but instead of speaking, she darted her eyes toward the door. I didn't have to be told twice. Nodding a brusque thank-you, I slipped out as she began moving quickly about the room, removing the incriminating evidence. But why?
Should I leave the hospital? I did not want to go anywhere without finding out what was happening to Carter. My phone buzzed. It was Burgundy.
What's going on???!
I texted her back, being as brief as I could while covering all the drama.
I've been waiting outside the lobby for 30 mins and Sadie isn't answering her phone, she texted back.
Can you come up to the waiting room?
Not without the guard I just had relations with stopping me. Visiting hours are over, she replied.
Crap. I did not want to leave the hallway. To leave Carter. But I didn't seem to have another option. I'll be right down, I responded and walked toward the elevator.
Hitting the button, I waited momentarily as broom-nurse approached me. "Hi, my name is Corinne," she whispered. "You're Chrysothemis?"
"I am," I whispered back, not sure why we were whispering.
"You're going to have to move Carter unless you want him imprisoned."
"Imprisoned?"
"Well, it's a hospital prison, where we put the mad."
I turned to face her. "What does that even mean?"
"No time." She looked back down the hallway. "I can't help you carry him out or I would."
"My friend is waiting downstairs; she can carry him but I don't know how to get her up here."
Corinne nodded. "I'll call Daniel, the guard downstairs, and make up something for him to do so she can sneak up, but . . ." She looked down the hallway again, toward Carter's room.
"But what?"
"The squad won't just let him go."
"Then how the heck are we supposed to--"
"Jody and I can cause a distraction. We'll say we need their help in another room but you're going to need your griffin shifter to come back and take him out the way you all came in."
"How much time do we have?"
"Not much."
Great. Helpful. Not. I texted Burgundy to wait where she could see the guard and quickly relayed the plan. She responded, On board. Then I texted Sadie and asked her to have Jared come fly us out. No reply.
Corinne walked quickly back to the nurse's station and got on the phone, I presumed with Daniel. I waited next to the elevator, pretending I was leaving in case anyone took notice of me. No one seemed to.
"Daniel, the break room on floor ten is out of ice and the ice maker broke. I'd get it myself but I'm dealing with a situation here." She waited, listening to his response, and then said, "Thank you." She hung up.
"How is that going to help? He's on his way up here," I called out to her.
"He'll have to go to the floor above us first to get the ice. Tell your friend to act fast."
I texted Burgundy again, but before she could respond, the elevator pinged and there she was.
"Hi," she said, stepping out. "Let's get him."
I lowered my voice. "Corinne needs to get the squad out of his room first."
"Hi, Corinne." Burgundy walked over to the girl and smiled. Corinne inclined her head in a stiff nod.
They knew each other?
The door to Carter's room opened down the hallway and everyone piled out at once with a gurney. Carter was on it, completely subdued.
"One sec," Corinne called down the hallway and then motioned for us to duck behind the desk as she jogged toward them. "There's been a report of . . ." I couldn't hear the rest but the goon squad rolled Carter back into the room, and then the two nurses and the vampire squad marched out again and down the hallway toward us and the elevator. It took several minutes for everyone to pile onto two cars and then Burgundy and I took off running.
"I can't reach Sadie," I panted as we closed ourselves within the room.
Burgundy twisted the door handle off, temporarily locking us inside. She leaned out of the hole in the wall and whistled. The same whistle Sadie had used.
I wheeled Carter's gurney to the hole and we waited, but no griffin. After several more minutes Burgundy pulled out her phone and started texting. Then she called. Nothing. No answer.
"What are we going to do? Chuck him out and hope he lands feet first?" I joked.
"That's not a bad idea," Burgundy said.
"Really? It sounds like a bad idea to me."
"Seriously, vampires land on their feet, like cats. I could jump with him in my arms. We're not that far up."
"Nine stories. That's not far?"
"It's farther than I've jumped before but . . ."
"This does not sound good. Where is Jared?"
"I don't know, he usually answers unless he's flying."
"They should be somewhere by now. Our house or Sadie's."
Burgundy shook her head and then stuck it out of the hole again, looking left and right.
Shuffling sounded from the hallway. "Let's get this vampire into lockdown." The leader of the goon squad was back.
"Hell, I wouldn't want to be him. Spending the rest of my days locked up in the loony ward in a straightjacket," a deep voice responded.
The door handle on the other side of the door was turning.
"Why is this locked?" asked the leader.
"It shouldn't be." Jody now, feigning innocence.
"If you girls hadn't run us around for no reason, we'd be off duty, drinking it up at the Pint by now."
"I guess the monitoring equipment malfunctioned," said Corinne.
"Yeah. Right. Sounds like hogwash to m
e," the leader said. "What are you girls up to?"
"Nothing. What do you mean?"
"Don't even try. Open this door or we're going to knock it down."
Keys jangled in and out of the lock.
"What are we going to do?" I asked Burgundy, who was alternately looking out of the hole and at her phone.
She shrugged. "If Jared doesn't get here in the next minute, I'm going to have to jump it."
"Why would you even do that for Carter?"
"Because he's one of my own and if he goes to the mad house, that's where he'll remain until he dies. I can't let that happen to a vampire on my watch. What if it were me?"
I nodded at her and pushed Carter even closer to the hole.
"Time's up," the leader said outside, throwing himself against the door. The noise intensified as he was quickly joined by others.
Burgundy didn't wait. She grabbed Carter's inert form, tossed him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and turned to look at me. "Our house," she mouthed and then she was gone.
The door flew off its hinges and landed with a thud on the floor. The vampire squad, followed by the human guards, all rushed in, guns pointed--at me.
"Where is he?" the squad leader yelled at me.
I shrugged. "He was gone when I got in here. I accidentally locked the door behind me but I think he went out that way." I pointed back toward the door, which one vampire was lifting up. He examined the knob. Luckily, the damaged door looked like the handle had broken off when they'd forced their way in.
A few squad members ran to the hole in the wall and looked out. They must not have seen much because they didn't react. "Too far to jump from here," the nasally one reported, pulling his body back inside. "I don't see anything."
The leader pointed to the other two vampires. "You two go down and check." He turned toward the gun-toting human patrol. "Guards, arrest that witch."
Chapter Twenty-Three
There was no point struggling. I calmly placed my hands behind my back for the handcuff drill, marveling at my newfound expertise. Great. In less than twenty-four hours, I'd gone from a straight-laced priss to a repeat offender.
"Do you need us to tell you why we're hauling your ass in again, miss" the boorish guard asked me.
"I assume it's for performing magic in an equality-sanctioned hospital?"
"That's one count. Plus one count for obstruction of justice and one count for your last warning. That's three counts against you, enough to keep you locked up for quite a while." The guard whistled.
I sat in the back of the squad car, fuming. I could not afford to be in lockdown. I had to help Carter. I couldn't deny how much I cared about him, even after all the lying. I'd never heard of vampire madness before but if I could save Julian with my blood, perhaps I could save Carter too. And then I could decide if I wanted to hate him or kick him out of my life. But first I needed him coherent.
Several hours later, I was pacing, still locked in a police cell with zero contact and no phone. A guard stood outside, facing away from me, head down, focusing on his phone. Ostensibly he was there to make sure I didn't bolt again, or use my magic. Helplessness and inadequacy washed over me. No one cared that I was stuck here, alone. No one was coming to help me. And Carter would remain insane forever. Spark.
Alistair and Julian would blame me. Julian. Could I reach him? My heart clenched like his tiny fist was holding it, squeezing in desperation. I loved that little boy. He made me believe in all that was right in this screwed-up town. My clenched muscles relaxed. I could control this. Fizzle.
Sitting down on the hard wooden bench in the holding cell, I leaned back against the filthy wall and closed my eyes. How could I contact him? I'd heard of such things but never attempted them myself.
Two deep breaths and I let my mind go blank before Asking. The Ask in witchcraft was important, setting the intention. It all started with a spark of thought. The Ask came to me in a flash of light behind my eyes.
Connection. My hand flew to my mouth, stifling laughter. The one thing I'd been avoiding for my entire life. Connections.
I let the little spider webs of my consciousness expand, sending tiny, tendril-like fingers out into the ether. I was powerful, that I knew. Now it was time to control it and use it for good.
Julian. I conjured a representation of him behind my lids. I need you.
For a moment, nothing happened but I did not let it discourage me. Then a flash, and I saw my amulet, spinning fast. Removing it from my neck, I held it in one hand like a pendulum and chanced a look at the guard. He was still engrossed in his phone, back to me. I Asked.
Circle for yes and a straight line for no.
The amulet formed a lazy clockwise circle.
Am I able to contact Julian?
A circle, this time faster.
Am I doing it correctly?
The amulet stopped circling and swung in a heavy straight line.
Shoot. Now what?
No movement; the amulet was perfectly still. Why didn't I study this type of divination? Because I hadn't foreseen myself locked in a jail cell without access to my crystal ball.
I heard voices outside my cell. The guard and . . . No, it couldn't be.
"You can legally release her into my custody." Aurelia appeared outside my cell.
I stood and rushed to the bars, quickly pocketing my amulet. "How did you know I was here?" I demanded.
"And a 'you're welcome' to you too," she snarled. Then she turned to the police officer coming up behind her and holding out the key. She flashed him one of her beatific smiles and he practically melted in front of her. How she remained so young looking and gorgeous at 186 years of age, still able to get any man to do her bidding, was beyond me.
"Let me get your daughter for you," the officer said, brushing his reddish hair from his eyes and smoothing it back. This boy-man was actually primping for my mother, who was old enough to be his great-grandmother at least two times over.
Chapter Twenty-Four
How could Aurelia actually lock me in my old room again? I'd worn a hole in the carpet, trying to figure it out. I was a grown woman, not a little girl. I didn't even live here anymore. Of course she had thought of everything before imprisoning me, just like the last time. The symbols shone brightly on the walls with a fresh coat of red paint. The woman had even replaced the door handle with one that locked only from the outside, instead of spelling it shut like she had with the windows. It was difficult not to be resentful. She obviously thought this for my own good. Trying to protect me. As if I still needed protection. She'd never treated Sadie this way. Was that good or bad? I wanted my mother's love and I wanted to feel safe with her. She hadn't protected Sadie though. She hadn't even tried. A little prickle of heat rushed through me.
How could I escape? I needed to reach Sadie and my friends. To help Carter, to see if he was even all right. I didn't even want to sit down on the floor to think because my home was elsewhere. Garbled laughter escaped my lips. Aurelia's house, after two and a half decades, no longer felt like home. Finally.
Leaning my back against the wall, I slid down to a sitting position and buried my head in my hands. There was a little pinch on my thigh from where I'd stuffed my amulet into the front pocket of my tight jeans. Pulling it out, I held it up to the sunlight flooding through my windows. It sparkled and glistened, looking wet, but it couldn't be. Dangling it from my right hand, I asked: Can I contact Julian with this amulet?
It spun in a circle. Yes.
Do I need to do something else with it to do so?
A circle. Another yes.
I placed it in my palm and rubbed it, wondering if that would activate it, but the amulet responded with a resounding no. After several more unsuccessful guesses, I held it up again to the sunlight. It shimmered wetly, enough that a droplet glistened and sparkled in the sunlight. Wouldn't hurt to try. I placed the silver filigree amulet on my tongue and closed my mouth around it. A shock buzzed through my entire body, not u
nlike a convulsion. It started in my mouth and traveled downward as though I'd placed my tongue in an electrical outlet. The shocks made me clamp down on the amulet, not with my teeth but between my tongue and the roof of my mouth. When I removed it, after the convulsions subsided, I asked it again if I could contact Julian now, and it spun in happy circles.
"Julian," I said aloud, feeling rather stupid.
I conjured his adorable little face, eyes the color of mahogany. Straight, tightly cropped, lightly-colored hair. Those puckered lips and that warmhearted expression of trust. The pendulum spun faster and then faster yet. In the blur of the swing, Julian's face formed, hovering in the air.
"Chrys," he gasped, the image's mouth moving to form my name.
"Julian. Can you see me? Can you hear me?"
He nodded, eyes widening. "How?"
"Doesn't matter right now, I don't think I have much time. I need your help."
"Anything," he squeezed out. "Do you know where Carter is? We are so worried."
I couldn't lie to him. "I'm not sure, but I can find him. I will find him."
"What do you need?" he asked, cocking his disembodied head to the side.
A few minutes after I ended the transmission with Julian, a key clicked in the outside lock and the doorknob twisted. Jumping to my feet, I expected to it to be Sadie, Burgundy, Jared or Iphi. It wasn't. It was Aurelia, her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed.
"I considered bringing you some tea or dinner but you can get it yourself in the kitchen," she snapped, then stood aside, waiting for me to pass. "And if you even think about leaving, I'll turn you into a toad."
My mouth fell open. "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me. I've done it to Sadie and I'll do it to you."
"How did you find me anyway?" I asked as I walked to the kitchen with my mother trailing behind me like a sentry marching me to the gallows. She didn't respond. I stopped and turned to look at her but she just shrugged.
Sadie knew a little bit about people's gestures, like how to tell sometimes if someone was lying. Stuff like that. She had studied people because, growing up, she hadn't been able to access her magic. Unlike her, I had grown up learning magic, and I had been trading that knowledge with Sadie over the past six months in exchange for some of her people-reading skills.
