by G. P. Ching
He was relieved when she slipped the flesh back over the bones and flexed her fingers. “It’s harmless with the glove on but I wouldn’t recommend touching it otherwise.” She said this softly, as if she realized any loud noise or sudden movement might push her audience over the edge. Her eyes flicked downward and Jacob saw a frown creep across her face.
“Well … you must have some story to tell, Malini,” Jacob said. A smile forced its way onto his face. He returned to her side, leaned forward, and took her into his arms. For all the changes she must have experienced, her hug felt the same. And the longer he held her, the more the fear drained from the room.
Jacob released her, sliding his hands down each of her arms. They felt normal, the same as always.
“Welcome home, Malini,” Gideon said, reappearing near the window.
Dane nodded and patted her on the shoulder.
From her space behind Dane, Mara added, “Welcome back,” then slipped into the hall. Jacob’s stomach twisted as he thought about kissing Mara. The secret between them already festered like an old wound.
“When can I leave here?” Malini asked.
“This afternoon,” Gideon replied. “Your illusion has been progressing nicely and your doctor plans to release you today based on your perfect test results. Of course, all of those were faked as well. I have no idea what your blood would look like at this point. I don’t recommend you allow them to examine you too closely from here on out.”
“And Katrina? What happened to her?”
“She’s still in a coma. We’ve done all we can. I couldn’t heal her.” He breathed a deep sigh.
“Take me to her,” Malini said. Jacob noticed a change in the way she said it. Her voice, usually soft, took on an almost military charge. No one in the room would have dared say no to her.
Jacob helped her out of bed and wrapped her robe around her shoulders. “Dane, you should wait here. They only allow two visitors at a time.”
“Okay,” Dane said. Jacob didn’t think he was disappointed. In fact, he still looked a bit pale from vomiting.
Lillian led the way out into the hall. They rode the elevator down a level and found Katrina’s room in the Intensive Care Unit, next to Emergency. They paused at the glass wall. Carolyn Laudner was kneeling next to the bed, praying the rosary. Katrina’s body stretched motionless, her chest rising and falling only with the aid of a ventilator.
Jacob knocked on the see-through door.
“Carolyn, the kids would like to visit with Katrina. Why don’t you let me buy you a cup of coffee?” Lillian said. She put an arm around Carolyn, who nodded. Leaning into Lillian as she stood, they walked past Jacob and Malini to get out the door.
Aunt Carolyn paused as she passed, placing a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. “Thank you for coming to visit her. I think she knows we’re here.”
Jacob nodded and walked to the bed, watching his mom usher his aunt down the hall. When he returned his focus to Katrina, all he could think was that Aunt Carolyn was terribly wrong. Katrina didn’t know anyone was in the room. As far as Jacob could tell, she was barely alive.
“She’s close,” Malini said, as if she read his mind. “But we can’t allow her to die. She may have information that will help us. We need her.”
Jacob wasn’t going to argue. Not with the look of certainty on Malini’s face. He watched as she approached Katrina and worked her left hand under the gown, onto the skin over her heart. On contact, Jacob watched the heart monitor change. The heartbeat quickened and became more even.
Malini closed her eyes and the room was filled with a smell, like burning flesh. At the place she touched, smoke rose between her fingers. Jacob looked up at the fire alarm and said a silent prayer it wasn’t enough to set it off.
Katrina’s body twitched. “Is she having a fit or something?” Jacob asked, but Malini didn’t answer. She seemed far away or deep within herself, Jacob couldn’t tell. What he did know was that thick black goo oozed from Katrina’s nose and ears. He’d seen that ooze before. Watchers bled that stuff when you stabbed them.
Black dribbled from her mouth. Black stained the bedspread where it looked like she’d wet herself. Jacob shivered to think that stuff was inside of her. How had she survived so long?
Malini’s hand began to blister between her fingers. Black crispy skin creeping up her wrist. Jacob reached for her, but Malini pulled her burnt hand away before he made contact.
“It’s okay, Jacob,” she said. “This is how it’s done.” She turned to the little sink next to the bed just as Katrina began to cough around the tube in her throat. Jacob watched as the water from the sink washed away the burnt edges, then the blisters, then the red burn, until Malini’s hand was completely healed.
“What the hell?” Jacob said.
Katrina’s eyelids fluttered. She gagged and coughed, her hands slapping the bed.
“You’d better hit the button,” Malini said.
Jacob realized his mouth was hanging open. He didn’t bother to close it, but reached above Katrina’s bed and hit the red button marked emergency. In seconds, the room was flooded with doctors and nurses. They surrounded Katrina, shouting instructions to each other as she thrashed on the bed.
Within the chaos but not a part of it, Jacob felt Malini grab his hand. He followed her in awestruck silence as she led him out the door.
Chapter 24
The Unreal World
By the time Malini’s parents picked her up from the hospital, the other Soulkeepers and Dane were long gone. The most uncomfortable part was that her mom and dad had visited her illusion frequently over the last three days but she had no memory of it. When her mom came into her room, she had the most atrocious yellow sweater from the back of her closet.
“Why did you bring that one?” Malini asked.
Her mother laughed. “Don’t you remember? Yesterday, you insisted you wanted to wear it home.”
Once again, Dr. Silva helped the way only she could. The medical records had been altered and it turned out Malini had received medication that both explained the temporary loss of memory and her change in eye color. Never mind that it made no sense why the medications were given for her condition. The doctor said he had never seen such a pronounced change before but insisted it was harmless. Her parents accepted this as fact, and that was the end of it.
It was quiet on the drive home and Malini watched her father grip the steering wheel like it was the last hope for the world. His jaw was tight. She thought she could hear his teeth grinding.
“I’m happy to be going home. Finally. I’m probably so far behind in school. It will be good to get back to normal.”
“Normal? How can there be normal when this type of crime is taking place in our happy town,” her father said. “First Stephanie Westcott goes missing and now this. Maybe we should move.”
Malini laughed. “Very funny, Dad.”
“I am serious.”
“Don’t be silly,” Malini said. “I’m sure they’ll catch who did this. We can’t move.” A sense of panic washed over her. What would she do if she had to move? How would she handle her responsibilities? “You have your business, Dad!” she threw out desperately.
Her father pulled into their driveway and put the car into park. He turned sideways in his seat to look at her, his eyes glossy with tears. “I would rather lose the business and all of our money, then risk losing my only daughter.”
For a moment, Malini couldn’t speak. She’d never seen her parents this emotional. “Dad … I—” She was about to say that she wasn’t going anywhere. But she couldn’t promise that. At best, she’d be going away to college and at worst, well, she wasn’t immortal and all hell was about to break loose and come after her. She chose her words carefully. “Why don’t we go inside and talk over dinner? I’ve missed you guys so much.”
Her father relaxed a little. “That’s an excellent idea.”
Malini climbed from the backseat and followed her parents inside. “Heal th
yself, medicine woman,” she said under her breath. Her relationship with her father was one problem only she could solve.
* * * * *
The day Katrina came home from the hospital, Jacob and his mother were helping in the Laudners’ flower shop. By the time they’d closed the shop for the night and drove home, Katrina was settled into one of the sage green recliners and Aunt Carolyn was trying to spoon soup into her mouth.
“Mom, I can’t eat one more bite. I’m fine, really,” Katrina said. The truth was, she was more than fine. The doctors called it a miraculous recovery. As Jacob looked at her pink cheeks and bright eyes, all he could think of was Malini. He wondered how much it had hurt, how hot it had burned, to save his cousin. He wondered if she was worth it.
Katrina turned toward Lillian and Jacob. “Hello!” she said cheerfully. Jacob almost looked behind him to see who she was talking to. It was so unlike Katrina to be friendly.
“Um, hi,” he said.
“How are you feeling?” Lillian asked, giving Jacob a sideways look.
“Fine. As good as new, actually.” She said this while dodging the advancing spoon aimed at her mouth. “Mom, can I talk to Jacob for a few minutes?” she said, pushing the bowl away. “Alone.”
Aunt Carolyn looked confused but was still in full spoil mode from Katrina’s illness. She nodded and stood up. Lillian lifted the bowl and placed a hand on her elbow. “Carolyn, what do you say we take a walk? It’s a beautiful spring night.”
“Yes. I think I could use some air,” she said absently.
Jacob took a seat in the recliner on the other side of the fire. Katrina didn’t speak until the front door closed behind the two women.
“I know, Jacob. I know what you are.” The smile had melted from her face and she said the words in a deadpan voice.
“What are you talking about?” he feigned.
“When that thing, Cord, was inside of me, I knew his thoughts. I was still in there. He just had control. It was like I was…” She shook her head and tears started down her face.
“You were possessed, Katrina,” Jacob said, softly.
“Yes. But I tried to kill you. I mean, it tried to kill you with my hands.” She met his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“I know it wasn’t really you, Katrina. I forgive you.”
Jacob watched the tension bleed from her shoulders. The firelight danced across her face, her eyes twinkling with far away thoughts.
“They are coming … Cord and more like him. They have a list of all of the, um…” She seemed to struggle to find the right word. “Soulkeepers, right?”
Jacob nodded.
“Well, they’ve got a list of all of you but they can’t read it. It’s like scrambled or something. They knew about you from before and they suspected what Malini was but … Gosh this is so weird, Jacob. It’s hard to explain, I was seeing his memories and I couldn’t interpret them all.”
“Just try, Katrina. It’s important. What else did you see?”
“It was Malini they were really after. Cord didn’t know who she was until the very end. He just knew she would be near you. It was so weird. When I was attacking you in the shop and she came in, she looked like a ghost to me. I could barely see her until she touched me. Then he knew. Cord knew what she was and that she was what he was looking for. He wanted to kill you but he wanted to find her.”
“Do you know why?” Jacob asked.
“No. He was out of my head before I understood for sure. But I think it has to do with the list. I think they want to use her to interpret the list. Then they can find the rest of you, right?”
“Yeah. Actually, that makes sense.”
“Will you protect me?” She was crying now, trembling in the chair. “Can you keep it from happening again?”
Jacob had never been close to Katrina, but for all the times he wanted to hurt her, he couldn’t stand to see her so broken. “It’ll be okay. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. We’re ready for them.”
“But I have to go back to school, Jacob! What then? What if Cord comes back?” Her weeping grew in strength and she pulled a tissue from the box on the table between them.
Jacob stood and walked over to her. He squatted down next to the chair and placed his hands on hers. “There’s more than just me, Katrina. I’ll talk to the others. We’ll find a way to keep you safe.”
She opened her arms and Jacob obliged. It was the first time he’d ever hugged his cousin.
* * * * *
That night, after all the Laudners had gone to bed, Jacob was pleasantly surprised to be awakened by Malini crawling through his window. He helped her the rest of the way, then took her in his arms, lifting her from the floor and spinning her around toward the bed. She giggled softly into his ear as he laid her down gently and crawled in beside her.
“We need to talk,” she said.
Jacob’s stomach twisted. She was a Healer now. The medicine woman was capable of seeing the future. Did she already know about Mara? Did she know about the kiss?
“I wanted to tell you, Malini. I was just waiting for the right time.”
“Tell me what?”
“About what happened with Mara. Isn’t that what you wanted to talk to me about?”
Malini sat up in bed, pulling away from him. Her eyes grew wide and glowed golden in the dark room, like a cat’s. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about what I thought you could do to win over my father. But now I’m much more interested in what you have to tell me about Mara.” Her voice was clipped.
Jacob sat on the side of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and wished he’d kept his mouth shut. But then again, he’d wanted to tell her since the moment it happened. It was eating him up inside.
“She kissed me,” he blurted. He looked across the room at his desk. If he met her eyes he’d never be able to finish. “And I guess I kissed her back before I knew what was happening.”
All the air seemed to rush from the room. Jacob heard a small intake of breath behind him, but Malini didn’t say anything. “It didn’t mean anything. We were sparring and she initiated it. I stopped it as soon as I knew what was happening.”
This time Malini did say something. “Look me in the eye and tell me you’re not attracted to her.”
Jacob turned and met Malini’s new golden stare. There was a time that, when he looked at her, all he saw was soft warmth. Now her eyes were hard and powerful. “I don’t love her, Malini. I love you.”
“That’s not what I asked.” She stood and walked to the window.
He followed her, placing his hands on her shoulders and whispering into her ear. “So what? It’s stupid. I’m not going to lie to you and say I wasn’t, but it doesn’t matter. I’m attracted to you and I love you. We are meant to be together.” He held his right hand in front of her face and twirled the ring she’d given him for Christmas with his thumb. It was engraved with the word “Water” in Sanskrit. She’d told him it was her destiny. He was her destiny.
She cleared her throat and turned to face him. He was surprised her eyes were dry. He’d thought she was crying when she walked to the window.
“When I went through the stone, I told you that Death gave me this hand, but I didn’t tell you how. He kissed me.”
“Death … kissed you.” Jacob reflexively took a step back from her. He didn’t mean to, but there was so much he didn’t understand about her journey.
“Yes. I felt the icy chill of the grave. I saw in my mind the horrors of war, of plague, of hunger … the things he sees every day. We danced together. He made this for me.” She moved the neck of her shirt aside and he saw the medicine woman’s stone mounted in gold and diamonds around her neck.
“What are you saying, Malini? Are you breaking up with me to be with Death?”
“No, Jacob. I’m saying that when you’ve only kissed one person, it’s exciting when another person kisses you. I was attracted to Death. I admit it. You were attracted to Mara. I knew you were the moment she stepped through
the portal. She’s beautiful and strong and it’s only natural you would be.”
“So we’re even. We can put this behind us.” Jacob exhaled a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
“There’s something more I need to tell you.” Malini rubbed her hands together between them. “I found out that water heals me. When I use my power, my body burns. You saw the way my skin blistered when I healed Katrina. Water cures me. Any water. The message the Buddhist monk gave me when I was six, it wasn’t about you at all. It was about me. I was wrong when I told you that you were my destiny.”
Jacob stopped, breathless. He took a few steps back and sat down on the bed. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying we’re just two teenagers who like each other, nothing more. Maybe we should take a break. Maybe this is a sign we aren’t supposed to be together.”
“No. We can get beyond this.” Jacob tried to swallow, but his throat had constricted and his eyes burned.
“Get beyond this? I don’t want to have to get beyond anything. Listen, either we’re meant to be or we’re not. And right now, Jacob, if you’re kissing another girl while I’m fighting for my life, we are so not.”
What had he been thinking? All this time he thought once everything was out in the open, she would forgive him. He’d thought they were indestructible.
He couldn’t answer her. He just nodded. That short movement of his head was the most difficult physical activity he’d ever challenged himself with.
“It’s settled then,” she said. Her voice broke a little. She opened the window and didn’t wait for Jacob to help her out. She was down the rose lattice and to her staff before he reached the opening.
Just before she tapped the staff, he saw that she was sobbing. He held up his hand to stop her. Maybe there was a chance she was having second thoughts and hope that he could set things right. But she was already gone.
Chapter 25
Freedom
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Dane dropped his fork on his orange tray and looked skeptically at Malini and Jacob. “You guys really broke up. Three weeks before prom, who knows how long before the Watcher apocalypse, and you guys decide to break up. Yeah, that makes a shitload of sense.”
