Five: Out of the Pit (Five #2)

by Anderson, Holli

  We found a deserted park to practice in. The bitter cold bit at our exposed skin and made me realize why the park was deserted—most people were smart enough to stay inside. We erected some wards around our practice area so any people that might happen by wouldn’t be able to see what we were doing.

  “It’s f-freezing out here,” Halli said, pounding her ungloved hands together in an attempt to warm them up.

  “Yes,” Joe agreed. “It certainly is. I suppose now would be a good time to teach you the warming spell.”

  “What? You know a warming spell and you’re just now getting around to telling us?” Seth complained.

  “I just now remembered.” Joe shrugged. “Anyway, it’s pretty simple—once you figure out where your hypothalamus is.”

  All of us but Seth stared blankly at our teacher.

  Seth nodded. “That makes sense. The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that regulates temperature. How do we isolate it?”

  Alec shook his head. “Seth, how can you be such a blonde in some ways, yet know so much about science and stuff?”

  “I like science and stuff.” Seth shrugged.

  “Anyway”—we turned our attention back to Joe—“Seth is right. The hypothalamus does help regulate body temperature. It’s a small region of the brain, just above the brain stem—about the size of a walnut or smaller. Finding it is as simple as concentrating on what you want—which is to increase your core body temperature. You should be able to feel a slight tingle in that area of your brain, deep inside, above the brain stem. After you feel the tingle, infuse some of your magical will into it—careful not to overdo it—and you should instantly feel relief from the cold.”

  I sat on a bench and commenced concentrating. A grin spread across my face at the ease of which I was able to find the little spot in my brain. Maybe the chattering of my teeth helped. When I felt the tingle—like my brain itself was itching—I willed some magic to that spot and felt instant relief from the cold. In fact, after shedding my jacket, I found I was too warm, sweat dripping from my forehead. I tapped into my hypothalamus and turned the magic down a little.

  “Ahh,” I said. “That’s better.” I looked around at my companions. Seth seemed to have his temperature under control as his jacket now laid on the ground beside him. I smiled at him. Halli figured it out next and she sighed in relief as her trembling finally stopped.

  Johnathan’s face flushed a deep red as he tapped into the spell. He, too, had to turn it down a little.

  Alec took the longest. He became very frustrated before finally figuring it out.

  I felt bad for Joe. He continued to shake while the rest of us lounged in relative comfort. His magic had all but disappeared as of late. He could barely conjure a decent star-bright.

  “Can you cast this spell on someone else?” I asked.

  Joe smiled. “I’m really glad you asked. The answer is yes. And, you may practice on me.”

  I was surprised I didn’t have to be in physical contact with him to perform the spell. Finding the area of his brain I was seeking wasn’t difficult at all—it thrummed with energy trying desperately to keep his temperature regulated in the twenty degree cold.

  He taught us another extremely useful spell. A sort of invisibility spell—different from the camouflage we’d used on occasion that basically just made us easy to overlook. It wasn’t a true invisibility spell, either, but it was more effective than a plain camo spell. Basically, it made us blend in to our surroundings. The human eye would be unable to discern us, as long as we were standing still. If we were moving, they might see a blur as the spell took a nanosecond to adjust. It wouldn’t fool most of the Fae, though, so its use was limited.

  The word we used to invoke the spell was vanesco. My heart thrummed with excitement as my friends disappeared right in front of me. “Awesome,” I whispered.

  We practiced and sparred for a couple of hours before returning to our rooms. Joe stopped at the ATM machine in the lobby. One advantage to him losing his magic was that he could now operate electronic devices without causing them to malfunction. It made getting money from his account much easier.

  As soon as we entered our rooms, we all released the warming spell, as the warm air inside became too hot to tolerate rather quickly.

  Alec became antsier as the clock inched closer to seven and time to go back to the hospital. We decided just he and I would go while the others waited at the hotel.

  He walked so fast I had a hard time keeping up with him. We reached the hospital grounds and made our way to the Forensic Building. Heather buzzed us through the second set of doors. I watched her face for signs of whether or not she had good news for us. She, of course, didn’t even look at me. I might as well have been invisible. She smiled at Alec and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

  Alec stepped up to the window and spoke into the little round speaker. “Hey, Beautiful. How’s your day been?”

  “It’s better now,” she smiled, showing almost all of her bleached white teeth.

  Alec smiled and leaned down so they were eye to eye. “Good. So, Heather, when can I get in to see my mom?”

  Her smile diminished a little. “Well… since there was no record here of Ms. Knight having any relatives, the treatment team wants to meet with you first.”

  “And, when is this going to take place?” The flirtatious tone Alec used was edged with steel.

  “Oh, as soon as I can get you two checked in. Her Psychiatrist stayed late to speak with you, but she’s eager to get home, so the sooner I can get you back, the better.” She flicked her eyes at me for a brief second. “Does your friend have I.D.?”

  “I’m afraid not. Her purse was stolen, too.” He turned on the charm.

  Heather’s eyes glazed over, pupils dilated. “Oh, well. I guess since I’m breaking the rules for you…”

  Alec smiled and winked at her. She giggled as she started typing on her keyboard. She asked for our names. Alec used the same last name as his mom, Knight.

  “Okay. You’re all checked in. I’ll buzz you through the door to your right. There’s a table there where you can empty your pockets of anything that might set off the metal detector—like loose change or cell phones.”

  She pressed a button and we heard a buzz followed by a click. We took that as our cue to enter. As we’d predicted, the metal detector didn’t much like our magical properties. Alec stepped through without causing any chaos, but, two of us in a row was too much for the electronics to handle. As soon as I stepped into the gray framed contraption, red and green lights started flashing, loud beeps started blaring, and the chubby security guard freaked out.

  “Whoa there, Miss. Step back and empty your pockets.”

  I smiled the sweetest most innocent looking smile I could muster. “I don’t have anything in my pockets, Sir.”

  “Turn ‘em out. Let me see.” He frowned.

  I turned my empty pockets out and shrugged. “See… nothing.”

  He shook his head. “Hmm. Okay. Try again.”

  Knowing it would result in the same noisy alarm as it had the first time, I stepped all the way through to the other side, in the hopes that he wouldn’t make me go back again. Sure enough, the lights and beeps started. The beeps sounded sick—going from a weak chirping to a loud warbling—before completely shutting down. One of the red lights popped and went out. I stepped further into the room.

  “Is… is that thing safe?” I asked in a timid voice. “It isn’t going to blow up or something, is it?”

  The security guard puffed up his chest and spoke in a deeper octave than before. “Everything’ll be fine, Miss. Just step over by your friend there. I apologize. This will require a manual pat down, I’m afraid.” His face reddened and he stammered, “Not… not from me, though. I’ll call for a female security guard, so you won’t be so uncomfortable.”

  I smiled. I think he would have been more uncomfortable than me if he’d had to pat me down. He called on his radio, “Gladys? Can you co
me assist me at the entrance, please?”

  A static voice answered from the radio. “Sure, Boyd. Be right there.”

  Gladys—even in her security uniform, handcuffs and tazer strapped to her belt—was about as threatening as a teacup poodle. She looked to be in her sixties and her diminutive size was anything but imposing. She nodded at Boyd. “What’s up with the metal detector?”

  “I’m not sure. The dang thing just went crazy on me.”

  “You’d better call the night supervisor, then. Let him know.” Gladys turned to me. “All right, then, young lady. I’ll just have you put your hands on the table there and spread your legs apart. This’ll only take a few seconds.”

  She was thorough but quick, and after determining that I carried nothing on my person that could assist in a break-out, she led us through another locked door to where Heather stood, waiting for us.

  “What took so long in there?”

  “Machine malfunction,” Alec said.

  She shrugged and smiled. “Well, the team is waiting for you. I’ll show you to the conference room.” She laid her hand on Alec’s arm.

  We entered the rather intimidating room—the room itself wasn’t intimidating but the arrangement was, like some sort of trial was about to take place. Three people sat on the side of the table that directly faced the doorway we’d just come through. I pegged the one in the middle to be the Psychiatrist; she was middle aged, and wore an expensive looking blouse beneath a white lab coat. She smiled. “Have a seat. I’m Doctor Atkinson.” She pointed to a muscular guy wearing white scrubs. “This is Jason, he’s the charge nurse on duty tonight. And this,” she turned to her other side, “is Marcus. He’s a social worker and Natalie’s case manager.”

  Alec sat, not saying a word.

  I reached my hand across the table and shook hands with the three of them. “I’m Paige, a friend of Alec’s.”

  I nudged him with my foot under the table. “Oh. Uh, hi. I’m Alec. Natalie is my mother and I’d like to see her.”

  Dr. Atkinson smiled. “Well, Alec. It’s nice to meet you. You, too, Paige. We just have a few questions for you before we can allow you to visit your mother.”

  “Okay, ask away.”

  “Well, first off. We have no record of any family for Natalie. Can you provide us any documents proving you are her son?”

  Alec glanced at me then back at the doctor. “I can’t prove it right this minute. I was abandoned in the hospital just hours after I was born. I was raised in foster homes and just recently came across some information verifying that Natalie Knight is my mother. I tracked her down here and I’m ready to meet her.”

  The nurse looked at Dr. Atkinson and raised an eyebrow. The doctor cleared her throat. “I’m sure you are, Alec. It sounds like you’ve been down a long road. Your brief story does coincide with some of the things Ms. Knight has mentioned during her stay here. She has stated before, numerous times actually, that she has a child. She has always been unsure if the child was a boy or a girl. What information did you find that brought you to the conclusion that Natalie is your mother?”

  “Some papers. First I found my father, quite by accident. He had proof that he knew my mother, though he had no idea about me. He had some pictures and stuff of hers. The papers came from my case worker in the foster care system.”

  I added, “He lost the papers when his wallet was stolen, but I saw them. They clearly said his mother’s name, when registered at the hospital, was Natalie Knight.”

  Marcus, the case manager, leaned over the table toward Alec. “Do you know why she’s in here, son?”

  Alec shook his head. “No. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll want to see her regardless.”

  “Why?” Jason the nurse asked. “She abandoned you. Why do you want to see her so badly?”

  Alec gritted his teeth. “Because she’s my mother. I have some questions for her if she’s able to answer them and I want to see her even if she isn’t able to answer them.”

  Dr. Atkinson held up her hands. “And we want you to see her. She has asked about her baby almost every day since her arrival here. We just need some kind of verification that you are her son, Alec.”

  I was afraid he was going to lose his temper. But, instead, he turned on the charm and focused it full force at the doctor. “Dr. Atkinson. The only way to prove it at this point is through DNA testing—and I don’t have time for that. I’ve waited my whole life to find and meet my mom. Could you please just make an exception? Please?”

  I swear I could hear her resolve crumbling like a brick wall hit by a tank.

  “Well…” she smiled. “I suppose. You do look an awful lot like her. You have my permission as long as Jason is in the room with you.”

  Both Jason and Marcus’s jaws dropped. Jason stammered, “But, Doctor Atkinson… are you sure? We have no proof he’s her son.”

  “I’m sure. It’ll be fine.” Her glazed-over eyes never left Alec’s beaming face.

  “Thank you, Dr. Atkinson. You’re a wonderful, beautiful woman.” He poured on the charm so thick I was surprised it didn’t ooze out of him all over the table. I rolled my eyes.

  Marcus cleared his throat. “I think we should tell them what to expect, Doctor. Don’t you?”

  Eyes still glued to Alec’s face, she nodded. “Yes, of course. Alec, your mother is in here because she kidnapped and killed an infant. The reason she’s here instead of the state prison, is because she claims—and truly believes—that the infant was not a baby at all, but some sort of monster. She couldn’t understand why no one else saw it.” This was said with the unbelief of the unaware. “She has visual hallucinations, claiming she can see through the camouflage of such beings. She can get quite out of control when these hallucinations manifest, and steps must be taken that may be difficult for you to see. If she becomes agitated, we will ask you to leave the room. Any questions?”

  Alec looked at me with wide eyes. “No questions,” he whispered.

  “Okay, then. Jason will take you to a private room to meet with your mother.” She stood and walked to our side of the table. “I hope I get the chance to talk to you again, Alec, when I have more time.” She nearly purred the last half of that sentence as she ran her hand across his shoulders and down his muscular arm. She turned and winked at him before she exited the room.

  “Wow. That was not at all how I thought this was going to go down,” Jason said, staring after her. He shook his head as he stood. “Follow me.”

  Alec swallowed hard as we stood to follow. Marcus exited through the door we’d come in as we followed Jason out another door into a sterile looking hallway with tiled floors. Jason swiped his badge at a set of double doors and they swung open. We stepped through and then had to wait for the doors to close before he swiped his badge again to open a second set of doors. Waiting between the two sets of doors reminded me of standing in an elevator. I looked at Alec. He breathed too fast and his face was pale.

  “Calm down,” I whispered. I laid my hand on his forearm to lend support.

  He let out his next breath through pursed lips and nodded. “‘m fine.”

  When the doors opened, we stepped into a large room where people in hospital gowns and other pajama-looking clothing milled about. None of them wore shoes, just those brown hospital socks with the sticky dots on the bottom. The room had a large television, a ping pong table, shelves of paperback books and board games. There were a couple of couches and soft chairs around the TV. The other chairs in the room were positioned around tables—both tables and chairs were bolted to the floor. Most of the patients seemed to be lost in their own, individual worlds, although, there were a few small groups who appeared to be attempting to converse with each other.

  We walked through the common room and through a door marked Chapel. “Have a seat.” Jason gestured through the open door. “I’ll go get Natalie.”

  The room was much softer than what we’d seen so far. Cozy even, with one couch, a coffee table, and a chair. Th
e couch and chair were of matching leather and quite comfortable.

  Natalie must have been close by. Jason returned with her as we settled ourselves on the couch.

  “Natalie. This is your son, Alec, and his friend, Paige,” Jason used the kind of voice one uses when speaking to a small child.

  “My… my son?” The beautiful woman’s voice was soft, meek. She looked from Alec, to me, to Jason, then back to Alec. “You look like him… like Trey. You look like him.” Her eyes widened and she took a step back. “Are you a monster, too?”

  hh… no… no. I’m not like him,” Alec stammered. He half rose from his seat, then sat back down. I’m pretty sure I knew what was going through his mind, the same thing that was going through mine—I don’t want to do anything to scare her or set her off.

  She took a step backwards. “No. Not like him. But… something. Something different. Human. But more. Something more.”

  The big nurse stepped closer to his patient. “Natalie? You okay? If this is too much for you we can cut it short.”

  She patted his arm and shook her head. “I’m okay, Jason. They aren’t monsters. Just people… only better somehow.”

  Alec and I exchanged glances. She knew. She could tell we were different just by looking at us.

  Her quiet voice belied the fear in her eyes—which, looking back and forth between us, reminded me of a squirrel’s who’d been treed by a Rottweiler. “What are you two?”

  Alec shot a quick glance at the nurse. “I’m your son, Alec.”

  “Yes. My son. We have the same eyes.” Her voice quivered and she wiped her eyes. “But, what else?”

  Again, Alec looked up at Jason before returning his gaze to his mom. “Isn’t that enough for now? That I’m your son, you’re my mom, and I’ve finally found you?”

  Natalie pursed her lips and flicked her eyes sideways at Jason without moving her head. She nodded. “Yes. It’s enough… for now.” She stepped over to the chair and balanced on the very edge, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. She wore gray pants and a shirt that looked like the coupling of a nurse’s scrubs and an inmate’s jumpsuit. Even with the drab clothing and no makeup, she was a beautiful woman.