by Sophia Sharp
She ran for hours, letting instinct guide her. She ran past howling rivers and trailed up sloping hills. She ran and ran, until all thought was extinguished, and all that was left within her was a pure, animal instinct that guided her way.
She ran until she saw the first rays of the morning sun. When those peeked out of the clouds, she stopped, becoming conscious of herself again. She didn’t know where she was, but that was only within her mind. Instinctually, she could point directly to the barn, no matter the hundreds of miles it was away from her. She started back, liberated by her speed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
~Explanations~
Laura burst through the barn entrance, knocking over the piece of plywood that Selaine had set up. She had not stopped for anything on the way back.
Quickly, her eyes swept to where Alexander was. And she saw the bed was empty. Nobody was there. Caught off-guard, she looked around. Gray was missing too. The entire barn, in fact, was empty.
“There you are,” a voice said behind her, causing Laura to jump. She looked back, and saw Alexander walking up to her, looking none the worse for wear. Gray was beside him. “I was wondering what was taking you.”
“Alexander!” she exclaimed, laughing. She ran up to him, and jumped up to hug him tightly. She held on for a second, then dropped down, looking him up and down. “You look… you look great!”
He laughed in reply. “Were you expecting anything less?”
“No—I mean, yes… I mean… err… it’s good to see you up!”
“Up?” Alexander looked confused. “You thought I would be asleep all night? Now, I’ll tell you what, I was surprised when I saw that you weren’t here this morning. But I noticed your bear here, so I knew you weren’t far off. But… you know, I woke up to the strangest sensation. I knew where I was – I recognized the barn – but I hadn’t the slightest clue how I got there.” He chuckled unsteadily. “I guess I was that tired when we got here last night, huh?”
“Last night?” Laura shook her head. “No, Alexander. We’ve been here for two days already.”
“Two days?”
“That’s right. You don’t remember?” He shook his head blankly. “The arrow, the fever, the fight?” Again, no recognition.
“What arrow?” Alexander asked. “What fever? And what fight? Is that why you weren’t here this morning? Did we argue over something last night?”
“No,” Laura stepped back. “You truly don’t remember?” Laura took a deep breath and started talking – fast. “You’ve had a horrible fever for the past two days. And this woman, Selaine, the healing woman from the village, she made a potion for you, and it’ll keep off the effects of the poison, but she didn’t know how long it would work for, or even if it would work, which is why I was so happy to see you, after giving it to you last night, and wondering if you’ll live or not, and—”
“Hold on,” Alexander said, raising his hand. “You’re going way too fast. A fever? How would I possibly get a fever? And you were worried whether I would live or not?”
“That’s right,” Laura said quickly. “You took an arrow to your shoulder. There was poison coated on its tip.”
“My shoulder?” He frowned. “What do you mean?” He pulled down the neck of his shirt to reveal his right shoulder.
“The other one,” Laura said. Still frowning, Alexander pulled on his shirt to look at his other shoulder. Laura gasped. There was a minor scar wound in the spot the arrow struck him, but that was it. There was no discoloration, nothing else at all. “Wow,” she breathed, brushing her fingers over the scar. “It’s healed.”
“But that scar wasn’t there before,” Alexander said seriously. “Tell me what happened.”
Laura started explaining everything, starting all the way back at the fight. Alexander remembered bits and pieces of the last few days, but none of it was coherent. He remembered coming into town, finding the barn, and remembered the layout inside the barn. But it was all blurred together, and he was convinced all those memories had been formed on the same day. Laura explained otherwise. She told him about finding Selaine, and how she did it on based on his instructions. She told him about the old mine she’d gone down, and how the vital ingredient for the poison’s antidote only grew there. He didn’t recall any of it. There were… holes in his memory.
“And that’s why,” Laura said, finishing the explanation, “we have to find the mushroom. It will rid your body of your poison. What I gave you last night was just a… mask, Selaine called it… and it hides your symptoms. But it won’t hold. They’ll return, unless you get the antidote. So the danger is not over yet.”
“You gave it to me last night? Hmm…” he paused, thinking. “You know, I think I do remember a little bit of that.”
Suddenly, fear rose up in Laura’s chest. She wondered if he meant the kiss…? She looked at her feet, careful not to blush.
“Ah… no, it’s gone now.” Alexander laughed nervously and swept a hand through his hair. “So, it looks like we have to go find this ‘Selaine’ of yours.”
Laura exhaled with relief. If he didn’t mention the kiss, she would not, either. “I can show you where she is,” she said. “She has a small shop hidden away in the middle of town.”
“We should do that, especially if my condition was as serious as you said.”
Laura nodded, and knelt down to look at Gray. “Gray, stay here. We’ll be back soon.” He crooked his head at her, but sat down. “You can go run around in the woods, if you want. Who knows, maybe you’ll find some food in there.” He got back up, and twisted around to run to the edge of the woods.
“He listens extraordinarily well,” Alexander mused. “It’s like he can understand everything you’re saying.”
“Oh!” Laura realized she hadn’t told Alexander about her emerging talent. But… doing so would mean admitting that she took vampire blood earlier. And she wasn’t ready to have the conversation yet. She changed what she was going to say. “He’s been with me for a while, I guess.”
“That’s right,” Alexander said. He seemed to be considering something, but then shook his head slightly. “You know, going into town means being exposed to all the people there. But I realize that if you’ve seen Selaine, it means you’ve already been there.” He barked a laugh. “You have extraordinary self-control to have restrained yourself so.”
“Oh. Right. Thanks.” She smiled shyly. It wasn’t lying if she just avoided mentioning her feeding, right? “Come on, I’ll show you where to go.”
“Sure,” Alexander said as Laura led the way.
“Here it is,” Laura announced as they turned the corner to the alley that led to Selaine’s shop. “Straight up ahead.”
“Up there?” Alexander asked. “I thought you said she was also a shopkeeper?”
“She is,” Laura started, but then her eyes fell on the building she motioned to without looking moments earlier. The storefront that she remembered was gone, and the windows were boarded up by large pieces of plywood. “What the…?”
She ran up to the front of the building where she first met Selaine. The front entrance was closed, and there wasn’t any sign that a shop had ever been there. “She must have… not opened up today,” Laura said quickly. “That’s fine, there’s another way in. Around back.” She started around the building, but Alexander stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Wait. Something… doesn’t feel right.” He looked around cautiously. “Take a breath in.”
Laura stopped, and inhaled the air. It smelled… empty. Not empty like a clear space would be, but empty as in completely vacuous, as if… as if the spot they stood in didn’t even exist.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Laura said. Had it been this way before? She had been too preoccupied to really notice, earlier. “It’s the same building I’ve been to before. We’ll go around back.”
“Let me go first, then,” Alexander said. “Be on your guard.” Laura nodded.
Cautiously, Alexa
nder made his way around the building. There was nobody else around, but his discomfort made Laura feel uneasy as she trailed behind him. The rear door was closed, and when Alexander tried the knob, it was locked.
“Maybe she’s away,” Laura said slowly. But Selaine knew that Laura would be coming here today, which is why it didn’t make any sense. Where could she have gone?
Abruptly, the loud noise of snapping wood broke Laura out of her thoughts. She looked to Alexander, who was holding the doorknob in one hand, with splinters of wood coming off it. He had ripped the lock right off the door!
“Why’d you do that?” Laura demanded.
Alexander looked at her for a moment. “You said this is the place, right? I’m worried something may have happened to your friend.”
“And so we break into her home?” Laura asked indignantly. Never mind the small voice in the back of her head that said she had broken into a shop only a day ago. But that was different!
“She won’t be alarmed if she sees it’s you.” Alexander pushed the door slowly open. He poked his head in, first, and then went inside. Laura followed.
There was no light inside, but Laura’s eyes were sharp. It took a moment for them to adjust to the dark, nonetheless. And when they did, Laura’s jaw dropped.
“I… don’t understand,” Laura said as she surveyed the first floor. All the things that had been there only yesterday – all the shelving and tables, all the various trinkets and ornaments and garments for sale – all were gone. There was not a single thing left. The entire thing lay barren, abandoned. It was as empty as the barn. More empty, in fact. “This place was packed only yesterday!”
“But not anymore,” Alexander said. “It seems Selaine chose an odd time to clear her inventory.”
“Upstairs,” Laura said, regaining some composure. “She lives upstairs. That’s where she’d be, if she’s still here.”
“Let’s go up, then.”
The stairs creaked as Alexander ascended them slowly, and Laura trailed after him. Laura still couldn’t believe that everything on the first level was just gone. She had been here only last night, ran up these very stairs last night, and the lower shop was absolutely filled to the brim with all types of items. As she followed Alexander, a sinking feeling started to develop in her stomach that the upstairs level would look the same as the first floor.
Alexander topped the stairs, and came up to the door at the end of the hall. It was closed. “Through here?” he asked. Laura nodded. Alexander reached out, took the door handle, and twisted it open. Then he very carefully pushed the door forward.
Laura inhaled deeply as the door swung open. This level – the upstairs level – had also been wiped clean. Some of the desks and shelves that Laura remembered were still there, but they were completely empty. Even the thick layer of dust that had coated some of the unused portions of the top surface was gone. And the light bulb – the single, hanging light bulb that swung from the middle of the ceiling – was gone.
Alexander looked back to Laura. “You said she lived here?”
“That’s right,” Laura said. She walked into the room, to the far window where the blinds had been drawn. She didn’t open them – there was no need to. “I… I don’t understand. I was here only last night.” She walked over to the desk that Selaine had sat behind when she gave Laura the flask with the brown liquid. “Right here,” Laura emphasized, “was where she sat when I spoke to her.”
“An old woman couldn’t have done all this on her own,” Alexander said. “The question is, where did she go? And why?”
“I don’t know.” The realization of what this meant was starting to sink in. With Selaine gone, it meant that even if they did get the mushroom, they couldn’t make the antidote that Alexander required. And without it, there was no way Laura knew of that Alexander could return to full health. The sinking feeling in her stomach grew much stronger.
Alexander walked around the room slowly, eyeing everything carefully. He brushed his fingers against the tabletop and looked at them. “Nothing,” he said. “Not even a speck of dust remains.” Laura lowered her head into her hands. What was going to happen now? What would they do, now? How long would the remedy from last night be able to mask Alexander’s symptoms?
She watched, solemnly, as Alexander picked his way around the room, examining all of it. But there wasn’t much to examine. Eventually, he came beside her, in front of the window. “Don’t worry,” he told her bravely as he started to lean against the windowsill, “everything’s going to—hey!” He jumped, turning around suddenly. “What’s this?” Laura watched as he pulled aside the blinds. The light blinded her temporarily, but when her vision returned, she saw what caused Alexander’s exclamation.
There, sitting on the windowsill, was a small wooden box. No larger than a regular jewel casket, really. And beside it was a yellowing piece of paper. Laura saw letters scribbled on it. A note?
Alexander picked both items up slowly. He looked at the paper for a second, then handed it to her. “It’s addressed to you,” he said.
Chapter Twenty-Four
~The Archive~
Laura took the note, frowning. At the top, in relatively large, flowery letters, her name was written. And below it, a simple note:
This may help in your time of need.
Laura read it out loud, then looked to Alexander. “From Selaine?” he asked, and she nodded. “She must mean this box, then,” he said, handing it to her. Laura took it carefully.
“What could it be?” she wondered out loud. She looked at it, flipping it over. It was seamless, a solid block. And it looked like it was made of wood to the eye, but felt varnished and slick. And a little bit… cold. Like stone. “My time of need?” she asked, looking the box over, trying to figure out what it was. Maybe it could be opened? She shook it by her ear, and heard a dull tumbling noise from within. There was definitely something in there, but she had no idea how to get it out. She twisted the box over in her hands, examining every side and corner, but couldn’t figure out for the life of her how to get it open.
“Another trick?” Alexander asked. Laura shook her head.
“No, I don’t think so. Although… I don’t see how it could possibly come open. You try.” She reached out, handing the box to Alexander, but he took a step back and shook his head.
“It’s yours,” he explained. “Besides, when I picked it up, I felt a sort of… vibrancy… to it. And it felt dark. Kind of like this place.” He rolled his shoulders uneasily. “Whatever it is, I don’t like it. This whole building, the entire area, it doesn’t feel natural.”
“Really?” Laura didn’t notice anything particularly unnerving, aside from finding the building completely empty. Perhaps it was the poison returning, working somehow on Alexander’s mind? She shivered at the thought.
“We should go,” he said. “Take the box or leave it, it’s up to you, but we should be gone from this place.”
“I’ll take it,” Laura said. She had a suspicion it might yet help with Alexander’s condition. Somehow.
Alexander went down the stairs first, and Laura followed. Only when they were outside, and a good two blocks away from the building, did Alexander let out a relieved sigh.
“It feels good to be away from there,” he said.
“Maybe,” Laura answered. She was all too aware that leaving the shop behind meant not finding Selaine, and she knew that did not bode well for Alexander’s condition. He seemed to be more concerned about getting away from the building, though. Which made little sense. “Now what?”
“Well, if we can’t find Selaine—”
“Wait a minute,” Laura interrupted, suddenly remembering. “You’re the one who told me to find the healing woman, and you’re the one who first said there was an antidote to the poison!”
“I did? Really?”
“Yes! Right after you took the arrow! You said that you knew the ingredient that would help stave it off.”
“Uh…” Alexande
r pressed his fingers to his forehead. “I’m… trying to remember. But it’s all spotty. When I try to think back… there are holes, in my memory. Anything to do with taking the shoulder wound, just… can’t be reached. Dammit!” He slammed his fist against the side of a building, causing Laura to jump. “I’ve never felt like this! It’s like having a word on the tip of your tongue, but being unable to speak!”
“I’m sorry,” Laura said quietly. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to go through something like that. But believe me when I say I will do everything I can to help you recover.”
“It’s not you,” Alexander said, shaking his head. He moved his hand away from the wall, and Laura saw a crack in the mortar that wasn’t there before. “It’s… me. I’ve never felt so helpless before. And what you told me this morning, about the poison, and my health… I would have never imagined it when I got up.”
“We’ll find Selaine,” Laura said reassuringly. “And she’ll help get you healed.”
“I don’t know about that…” he began, but cut off as his eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait. I know! The archive!” Quickly, he started down the street. “I don’t remember what I told you about the antidote,” he said over his shoulder, “but if there’s any place we can find more about it, it’ll be in the archive. Follow me!” He increased his pace, and Laura had to run to follow. After a moment, though, she realized he was going the wrong way.
“Wait,” she said, confused. “Where are you going?”
“The archive. It’s not far from here. It’s in the basement of an ancient home. All the books and manuscripts we were originally looking for are in there.”
“Hold on,” Laura said, thinking. She had come to a stop. “You think that’s where the archive is?”
