Lucidity

by CJ Lyons

  "Please, Vincent," Alex said, his voice raspy as he gathered his breath. "You promised."

  Vincent looked at Eve, then at Grace. "Do you remember your promise?" he asked Grace. "You'll wait in Alex's room until morning?"

  Alex squeezed Grace's arm. She nodded mutely, trying to understand the silent communication flowing between Vincent and Eve. The other woman flounced and took Vincent's arm in a possessive grip.

  "As long as Grace is back in time to begin her therapy," she said, glancing over her shoulder with those flat, mirror-like eyes that threatened to devour everything they saw. "Come on, Vincent. We need to discuss Katherine's treatment plan. I think it's imperative that we do anything we can to get her to surgery before something further can happen. Something serious."

  Vincent looked back at Grace with eyes glazed with confusion. Grace bit her lip. It was either him or the children. Vincent was a grown man, capable of protecting himself. She saw the disappointment fill his face when she remained silent, allowing Eve to lead him from Kat's room.

  Alex looked down on Kat's face, peaceful in sleep, and felt like crying. Even with Jimmy's help, he couldn't get here any sooner, couldn't protect her. He'd let her down. Despite her shaved head and the bristle of electrodes poking out from the white gauze surrounding it, she was beautiful and he loved her more than life itself.

  Would have gladly given his life--what little of it that was left, as worthless as a body slowly consuming itself was--if it would save Kat.

  "She's going to be all right," Grace told him, her voice firm now. She squeezed his hand in encouragement.

  He thought about the way she faced the Witch and he looked up at her with awe. Could he ever be that brave?

  "She hates sleeping--afraid that she won't wake up," he told Grace, his eyes on Kat.

  "I know." Grace sighed. "Let's get you back to your room. You need your oxygen and a breathing treatment."

  "Will you come back and stay with her?" he asked as Grace lifted him into her arms and carried him from Kat's bedside. "Watch over her?"

  "Yes, I will."

  Alex relaxed in her arms, gathering all his energy to breathe, certain that Grace wouldn't let him down.

  CHAPTER 25

  The In-Between

  Jimmy paced furiously along the Annex side of the Skyway, his gaze focused on the double doors at the other end, willing them to open. Eight steps, that was all. Eight steps. Any farther and the world span out of control, turning him inside out, whirling him into blackness.

  "Bloody hell!" His anguished shout echoed from the glass ceiling and windows, returning to mock him. He pounded a fist against the window closest to him, cursing the pain.

  What was the good of being alive if he was forced to stand here, useless, reduced to sending a dying boy in his stead to protect Grace?

  If Brother Leo were here, Jimmy would have gleefully chucked him through one of the windows, heaven and hell and damnation not withstanding. He'd never felt so helpless in his entire life.

  The thought brought him up short. He stared at his reflection in the dark glass, the overhead spot lights cast him in an unearthly glow. Wind shook the glass and the image wavered as he remembered another time and place when he'd felt even more desperately helpless.

  A night four years ago. Grace had rushed in to save him, despite the risks to herself, while he'd watched in a half-trance as he drifted in and out of consciousness, seeing exactly what that monster had done to her, listening to Grace plead not for her own life, but for his....

  His shudder threatened to topple him as the memory crashed over him. Maybe oblivion had its upside, he thought as he forced the memories aside. Maybe there were some things worse than death.

  Like living with the torment of that memory every day.

  He whirled away from the window and charged down the narrow Skyway once more, determined to save Grace.

  Please Lord, this time, let me help her.

  A vortex of blackness overtook him. Lightning struck the glass roof above him, shaking the entire structure. An arc of electricity split the darkness, ribbons of blue cascading from one lighting fixture to the next. Brilliant sparks flew and the lamps exploded, the noise and light and smell of burnt wires thundering through his brain. He felt himself falling; it seemed to take an eternity for his body to fly through the air.

  When he opened his eyes, he was sitting on the floor, back against the Annex doors. Right where he started.

  Patience, the word whispered through his brain. Have faith.

  Jimmy struggled to his feet, every muscle groaning in protest. Oh he had faith--faith that Grace needed him, faith in the power of their love, faith that there was no way in this life or the next that he was going to let her down again.

  He braced himself for another attempt, swallowing against the waves of pain that lanced through his body. Grace was over there, God only knew what was happening to her...

  The doors opened and there she was.

  The light behind her bathed her in a golden glow for a moment, her and the boy she cradled in her arms. The door swung shut again and she was shrouded in the shadows that engulfed the Skyway.

  Speechless with joy, he watched her stumble through the distance that separated them. He rushed forward to meet her, stopping at his eight-pace limit.

  Then she was there, in his arms where she belonged. The boy didn't protest as Jimmy's bear hug crushed him between them. Jimmy wasn't certain it would matter if he had, his joy at seeing her was that overwhelming.

  She raised her head and before she could say anything, he captured her lips with his, burrowing into the kiss as if that one taste would need to sustain him a lifetime.

  Her body trembled and shook in his. He lowered his arms to take the boy's weight. Still she shook, her skin chilled as if she were the one returned from the grave.

  Jimmy never wanted the moment to end. He now realized what she was so terrified of, why she had so desperately resisted admitting that he had returned to her. The pain of leaving her would break him, destroy him just as surely as the void Brother Leo warned of.

  Her touch, this feeling of vitality, was intoxicating, addictive. He well understood why it had driven others before him to madness.

  Of course, they didn't have Grace. She was all he needed. All he had ever wanted.

  Finally, far too quickly, she broke free of his embrace, leaving the boy in his arms.

  "Thank you," she said, her fingers trailing through his hair, telegraphing whispers of the passion they'd shared earlier. "For sending Alex. He saved my life."

  The boy turned his head from his position on Jimmy's shoulder to look up at that. "I did?" he asked, taking a pause to catch his breath between the words.

  Jimmy felt a pang of envy at the loving expression Grace turned on the boy. She slid her fingers down to rumple Alex's hair. "You did. You're my hero."

  Thunder echoed from the night beyond. Jimmy shifted the boy's weight and stepped to the Annex doors. "We'd best get this one back where he belongs."

  He stopped after two steps. Grace wasn't following. Instead she had turned to face the Tower once more.

  "I have to go back," she said, her voice a sorrowful whisper that barely overcame the rain rattling the glass surrounding them.

  Jimmy almost dropped the boy as anguish lanced through him.

  "No," the syllable was torn from him, sliced through the darkness that separated them. She looked up at him, her lips set in a hard line, eyes wide with sorrow.

  "No!" he repeated, taking a step toward her. "You can't. I won't allow it. We don't have much time, don't waste it on foolishness, goddamn it!"

  The smile she gave him was filled with pain. God, he never wanted to hurt her so. But he was only human now.

  "I can't leave Kat alone," she said. She reached out a hand, cupped his chin in it. "Someone has to stay with her."

  "No, Grace, no," he was begging now, but he didn't care. All his pride had fled with the thought of her leaving him again.
"Please, no. The girl, she'll be fine. I'm sure she will. If you go, I'm not sure you'll make it back to me."

  "I will," she promised, stepping up on tip-toe to kiss him once more. "We'll still have tomorrow."

  Jimmy was helpless to control the tears that broke past his dam of self restraint. She lowered her head to face Alex, giving him a quick peck on the forehead.

  "My hero. You'll watch over Jimmy, won't you?"

  "Yes, Grace. I will," the boy replied solemnly.

  Jimmy clutched the boy to him with a tight grip that had to be painful, but Alex never complained. Thank God, because the boy was the only thing Jimmy had to hold on to, the only thing keeping him anchored, preventing him from rushing after Grace as she crossed the dark Skyway and vanished into the Tower.

  He stood there, unashamed of the tears flowing down his cheeks or the trembling that overtook his body when the doors shut behind her. Would have stood there for an eternity, waiting for her return, if it wasn't for the boy.

  "Guess we'd better get back," Alex said in a breathless gasp. Jimmy looked down and for the first time saw that the boy's face was an alarming shade of blue.

  "Aye," he said, reluctantly turning back to the Annex doors.

  "Hey, Jimmy," Alex said as Jimmy carried him to the elevators. "Know any good stories?"

  Eve drew Vincent into her office, closing the door behind her, ensuring their privacy. She felt his confusion. Good, she would use that.

  He'd called out a name that wasn't hers at the height of pleasure--Grace Moran's. So the naive chief resident had more up his sleeve than even Eve had imagined. He'd been hiding Helman's precious patient from the Chief and all too obviously had fallen in love--or at least lust--with the woman.

  Grace D'Angelo Moran. Did she think Eve such a dunce that she wouldn't recognize a patient she'd put to sleep a few days ago? And Moran had the audacity to waltz into Eve's own unit--her territory where she reigned supreme, had fought and sacrificed much to win--and interfere with the care of Eve's patient?

  Eve turned away, to hide her grin from Vincent. Oh, she'd make Moran pay for her trespass, dearly. And that whelp of a girl, too. It was high time that Jellicle learned how to respect her elders.

  By the time she looked back at Vincent she'd assumed a look of wide-eyed wonder colored with a hint of embarrassment. "I know you'll think me terribly naive," she started, her voice halting, "but I don't have much experience with men."

  The lies came easily, effortlessly as she continued to stroke his ego. "No one's ever made me feel like that--" she faltered, hanging her head as if afraid to continue. "I just hope it meant as much to you as it did to me," she finished with a note of wistfulness calculated to break any male's heart.

  Right on cue, Vincent's wonderfully strong hands grasped her shoulders, turning her gently to face him. "Eve," he started, his face filled with compassion and desire.

  Eve knew how to fan those fires. "Ssh, don't say anything, don't make any promises you can't keep," she asked, placing a trembling finger over his lips. "Just hold me, please."

  His arms drew her in close, his lips brushing against her hair. She raised her face to his and his lips met hers.

  Point, set, and match, Eve thought as she moved to rekindle the passion they'd shared earlier. There'd be no drugs to augment his arousal, but she knew other tricks. After she was done with him, Vincent Emberek would be lucky to remember his own name, much less that of Grace Moran.

  Grace barely made it through the doors at the end of the Skyway without falling down. Wasps buzzed all around, under her skin, biting and stinging so that every inch of her being was lanced with fire. The shotgun booming in her head echoed with every heart beat, every breath, each step that took her closer to the ECU.

  The calm she'd felt in Jimmy's arms had been shattered the instant she turned back to return to the Tower. But she couldn't abandon Kat, leave her here alone.

  She managed to push through the doors of the ECU and, finally out of sight of Jimmy and Alex, allowed herself to slump against the wall.

  She blinked back tears of pain and decided that she'd take Kat back to Alex's room where both she and Jimmy could watch over her. Only had to make it a few more steps, that was all.

  The smell of burning flesh assaulted her, doubling her over with nausea, and her vision went red as she stumbled into Kat's room.

  And found it empty.

  CHAPTER 26

  Graveyard Shift

  "So it's a story you're wanting?" Jimmy asked Alex once he had him snuggled safe and sound, back in his bed, oxygen machine hooked up.

  The boy looked up at him, his color better, but Jimmy didn't care for the dark circles that rimmed his eyes or the sunken appearance to his cheeks. The boy didn't have much strength left--or much time. How much had he sacrificed rushing in to help Grace?

  "Yes, please," Alex answered. "Grace told us about when you and her met and Queen Maeve."

  Jimmy smiled. Yes, he knew.

  He stretched out beside the boy and curled his arm around his shoulder. One of his greatest regrets was that he and Grace never had the chance to have children. Grace would have made a wonderful mother. He would have dearly loved to have seen her chasing down a handful of munchkins. And he didn't think he'd make such a bad father, either.

  "Ah, but she didn't tell you how Maeve saved her people. Or how Grace herself saved half the world. Or how she saved me."

  Course, now that he thought on it, some of that was Brother Leo's doing as well. He frowned. How far did the good Brother's power reach? He kept saying all he did was influence events. Meddling was more like it.

  "Grace saved the world?" Alex asked, resting his head against Jimmy's chest. "I believe it. I wish she really was my mom."

  Jimmy couldn't help himself, he tilted his head down and kissed the top of the boy's head. "She loves you like a son."

  Alex sighed in contentment, then after a long moment of silence, stirred himself and looked up at Jimmy. "My story."

  "Aye, aye cap'n. Let's see." How in hell was he to focus on a story when all he could think of was Grace alone over there? Leo hadn't given him any details of what danger she might face, only that dire consequences were in store if she chose to remain in the Tower. Alex tugged on his arm impatiently.

  "All right then. You already know of Queen Maeve and how she almost lost her people during the dark time."

  "From who? Space invaders?"

  "No, something much worse. You see, there once upon a time was an island known to some as Thera, known to others as Atlantis. The people who lived there called it Kalliste. A long, long time ago, the volcano that made up the island exploded. The sky rained fire. The sea churned into tidal waves taller than the Empire State building," he was exaggerating here, but the boy would never know. "And everything in the world changed."

  "What happened?"

  "Those waves sucked the water from the Red Sea just as Moses was leading his people to safety, then the water surged forward to crush the Pharaoh's army. The ocean devoured Atlantis, almost the entire island fell into the sea. The part that was left was covered in ash. Even to this day as the scientists dig it out, they're finding beautiful art work and lovely houses, but," Jimmy lowered his voice for effect, "not a single body. They all disappeared. Everyone. An entire civilization."

  "Whoa," Alex breathed out.

  "The explosion was so massive that the earth shook for days after. And the sky was so dark that the sun was blocked out. Everlasting night." Alex's eyes grew wide. "Fierce storms raged over all the lands and ash rained down from the skies, even as far away as Maeve's land, half a globe away. Winter came months early and never left. There was snow in July. People prayed to their gods, thinking they were being punished. They turned on each other, fighting for what little food remained, brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor. No one was safe."

  "What did Maeve do?"

  "Well, now. She was one very smart Queen. She saved her people and kept them alive, hoping
for the sun to return. Crops were blighted, livestock starved, people frozen to death, but Maeve kept her people alive during the dark time."

  "How?"

  "She had a secret weapon. The same secret weapon that Grace found three thousand years later and used to save more people."

  "A secret weapon? What was it? Excalibur? A magic ring? No, I know. A ray gun sent by space invaders."

  Jimmy shook his head, wishing Grace were here to see the boy's enthusiasm. Wishing Grace were here, period. "No. None of those. Maeve found the lost treasure of Atlantis."

  "Grace," someone whispered her name.

  She whirled around, searching the emptiness of Kat's room. Had she actually heard it, or was the tumor playing more tricks? The scent of burnt flesh assaulted her once more. Was this some new kind of seizure? Was she hallucinating?

  "Come out, come out wherever you are," a second voice joined the first. But it came from a different direction.

  Grace stepped back out into the hallway. All of the patients' doors stood ajar, winking at her, darkness behind them.

  "Grace, come and play," a low sing-song came from the room directly across from her. Angie, the anorexic's room.

  Grace glanced down the hall at the nurses' station. The two nurses were closeted in the medication room, appeared to be doing inventory. The ward clerk's back was to her as he lounged in his chair, headsets covering his ears, his body rocking to an unheard melody.

  She took a deep breath and found the strength to cross the hall. She pushed open the door to Angie's room. Rain pelted the window, echoing through the space. Grace turned the light on.

  It was empty.

  "Down here, Grace." Another whisper, this one a man's voice, beckoned her. She stepped back out into the hallway and looked at the doors lining the opposite side. Was Kat behind one of them? Or should she check the treatment rooms on the other side of the nurses' station?