by Vivien Reis
A strange dry groan came from Abi's mouth and she tried to clear her throat.
"Here. Let me get you some water."
Myra handed her a cup that had a bendy straw sticking out of it. Abi wondered when she’d last used one of those. She gulped. The water was crisp and pure, satisfying in its tastelessness.
When the straw gurgled loudly, Abi drew back, feeling vulnerable with how weak her body was.
"Where am I?" Her speech scratched at her throat, making her eyes water.
"A safe place. You're on an island."
Abi stared. After everything she had been through, how did Myra expect her to blindly trust someone she hardly knew? "Where's my family?"
"Well," Myra took a small breath, "they're at home."
"Do they know I'm okay?" That she was alive?
Myra's voice was steady, dropping a little lower. "No. We didn't think it safe just yet to tell them."
"But they're probably worried about me. Gran—"
"They're fine, don't worry. You just rest, Abi. Your body has been through a lot and you shouldn't get too agitated. We have our own kind of police force on the island. They know about what happened to you. They're the ones that rescued you, actually."
"Where are they? I want to speak with someone."
"You're scheduled to meet with them tomorrow. As your caregiver, I urged them to wait until you were fully rested first."
"There's no time to rest. Do you have any idea what's been going on with my family? I have no idea if my dad is even alive right now!" Abi panted, stray tears spilling down her cheeks. Myra’s even calm only frustrated Abi further.
"I'm sorry for that. Your father is alive. Your grandmother and Ben are searching for you but they're safe."
"You've seen them? Has my dad's condition changed at all?"
"I haven't seen them, no. But we have a squad monitoring them. As for your father...there's not been any change."
Abi pressed her head against the pillow. "So what am I doing here?"
"We're trying to keep you safe."
"No, I mean how did I get here? How did you find me?"
"Well...I didn't find you. Jesse was the one that heard you." Myra looked at Abi, as if trying to gauge her reaction to the name. "Do you remember?"
Strange images flooded her mind, but she shoved them away.
The wind ruffled a strand of Myra's hair into her face and she smoothed it back down. "We call it colliding. Your mind stretched away from your body and collided with his. That's how he found you."
She heard the words but they had no meaning. "That doesn't make any sense."
"The Consul will explain everything tomorrow. I'm not exactly supposed to be telling you any of this yet." Myra stared down at her hands. "I know this solution isn't ideal. We just want to make sure you're safe, okay? Jesse should be here in a couple of days if you want to talk to him. He wanted to be here when you woke up but they needed him back in the field."
Before Myra even finished the rest of her sentence, Abi's cheeks heated with a light flush. Jesse wanted to be there with her?
Myra perked up like she had just remembered something important. "Are you hungry?"
Abi's stomach twisted painfully in response, making a gargled noise she had never heard before. She nodded, though her stomach had responded on its own.
"I hate to tell you this, but we'll have to start you off slowly. Chicken broth and bread for the first twenty-four hours."
She hadn't eaten in...how many days? And she was doomed to chicken broth? "Is this another form of torture I don't know about?"
"The bread is delicious. You're going to love it." Myra wrote something on a clipboard. It was an odd sight, like she was pretending to be a doctor. Certainly Myra was too young for that, though Abi had no clue how old she was.
"How long will I be here?"
"Your body will heal itself in a few days’ time. I understand you've got a lot going through your head right now. Gods only know what those people did to you, but I'm here to help you heal. You'll be meeting our Consul of Vikars tomorrow morning—they're our legislative body—and they'll come up with a plan for you."
"A plan? I'm going home. You people can't keep me here." How did Myra not understand this? And what the hell was a Vikar?
Myra stopped moving about the room and sat on the edge of Abi's bed. "I know that's what you want to do. Those people that took you are part of a group called the King's Army. They have a warped sense of morality and we're not sure why they took you yet. But you're not safe at home anymore."
"What about my family? Aren't they in danger too?"
"Right now the Consul doesn't think so. They've got people watching your family and there have been no attempts at communication or contact with them. I've been keeping track just for you, Abi. I know how hard this must be."
No, she didn't. "Where are the real police? Can't they do something?"
"This is a little out of their league. Not that they can help that at all of course. Your family is safe. You're safe. We're taking baby steps right now until we figure out what the King's Army wanted with you."
Abi scowled until she realized it made her head ache and stopped. "The King's Army, what is that, a gang?"
Myra shook her head. "Not exactly. They've been around as long as our society, but they're nothing like us. The Order of Elysia dethroned the King's Army nearly two thousand years ago, and they've fought to regain power since then. They use forbidden incantations and taboo arts in whatever way suits them."
Chills ran over Abi's arms. "And how do I fit into all of this?"
"They distort the balance and it's up to us, as protectors, to keep them in check. While we didn't know why the Army took you, the Vikars decided it was best we intervene." She exhaled a puff of air and handed Abi a remote that controlled the bed. "Want to sit up while I get that broth and bread for you? Be right back."
Fear gripped her, words freezing in her throat. Abi's heart raced as she followed Myra's form, the door clicking closed with finality. She was alone. How could Myra leave her like that?
The doorknob jerked and it slowly swung open. Myra couldn't have been that fast. Did she forget something? Was it someone else?
"Here we are." Myra entered with a tray of food, the broth steaming.
"How did you...?"
"Like I said, the food's simple, but it's so good. The bread is made fresh here, and this one just came out of the oven."
Myra reached the bed and smiled, nodding slightly to the remote in Abi's hand.
"Oh. Sorry." She pressed the button and gritted her teeth as the bed rose, forcing her stiff body to move.
The tray legs nestled on either side of Abi, who still watched Myra. How had she gotten this food so quickly? Someone must have laid it outside the door for her...
Warm, buttery, flaky bread wafted up to her nose and her stomach tightened. She ripped a piece off the small loaf and the soft insides steamed. It tasted like heaven. Abi's eyes stung, and her mouth watered painfully.
"Take it slow," Myra chided. "You eat too fast and you'll get sick."
Abi slowed her chewing. Throwing up wasn't on her list of things to do, but she wanted to cry she was so hungry.
"Drink some broth between bites. It'll help slow you down."
She did as she was told, knowing if she ate too fast, she would still be hungry by the time she finished. There had been little food on her plate to begin with and Abi needed to savor every bite. Her hand cramped, and she dropped the spoon with a clatter. Myra busied herself with the charts as Abi's face flushed. She didn't want Myra to spoon feed her and massaged her hand to get it working again.
The broth was just as delicious as the bread and coated her stomach with a comforting warmth. Myra stared at something and Abi followed her gaze to a brightly colored bird sitting in a tree by her hut.
"So is this some kind of resort?"
Myra smiled. "Not in the least. Some people vacation here but it's mostly workers, stude
nts, and the occasional visiting family member. It's more of a safe place for people of our kind. We can come and be ourselves and not worry about the King's Army."
"This is a little overboard for a safe place, don't you think?" Abi could only see a small part of the island from her window but it was enough to know that this wasn't just a safe place.
Myra laughed and the thread of tension dissipated between them, like Abi had needed that reaction but hadn't known it.
"So, I'll be here at seven in the morning to come get you." Myra pointed at a clock on the opposite side of the room. "I'll have your breakfast with me and then we'll set off to the Consul meeting. They're set to see you at about eight, but one of their prior meetings might run late."
Abi ate in silence for a few minutes, as Myra made notes on her clipboard and checked her watch.
"Are you a doctor?"
"I'm in training to be one. I'm in my fourth year of six now. Dr. Fitzpatrick thinks I could advance another year and finish early, but I'm taking my time. There's too much to learn to jump ahead again."
"Aren't you a little young?"
Myra chuckled. "Yes. I'm seventeen but progression here happens a little differently."
Abi finished her food, her stomach happy and queasy at the same time. She gulped down all of the water, the cup slipping out of her hand and clattering sideways as she set it back on the tray.
"Let me help you to the bathroom and then you need to get some more sleep."
She pulled the blankets down and Abi flushed. Someone had changed her clothes. And bathed her.
Abi rolled onto her side but couldn't move her legs, and her stomach muscles burned as if they were ripping from the effort. Myra gently moved her legs toward the ground and then helped Abi get up.
"Whoa." Abi raised her hand to her head to steady herself.
"Take it slow. You've been horizontal for a little while."
And that's what they did. Abi didn't look at the clock at all but it seemed like it took ages for her to get to the bathroom. Her muscles were nearly too tight to bend and move, and she could imagine the tiny muscle fibers tearing. Her steps were more like shuffles and when they finally made it back to the bed, Abi had sweat on her forehead.
"I'll be right next door to you. Just give a shout if you need anything, okay?"
Myra turned the lights off and Abi let out an odd gasp.
"Wait. Leave it on." The few seconds of darkness lodged Abi's heart in her throat. Light streamed in through the curtained windows but it wasn’t enough. What happened when the sun went down?
"Ok. I can leave this lamp on over here, if you like."
Abi nodded. It cast a soft glow in the room but would be enough to fight away the black.
She didn't want to be alone, but she also didn't want to tell Myra that. It took a while for her drumming heart to slow and even longer for her to fall asleep.
# TWENTY-SIX
"Come on in." Cora stepped out of the way, wearing a surprisingly simple sweater and jeans. Ben hadn't been able to remember which front door was the correct one, but it didn't seem to matter. Warm cinnamon wafted out of the door as he entered the house.
"You hungry?"
He followed her down the hallway and to the kitchen, pulling out a stool to sit at the counter top. A large plate of cookies sat in the center of the island.
"Nah. I'm good, thanks."
"Mom's fueling her crazy antique habit on the other side of the country." She waved her hand like she was swatting a fly away. "She won't be back until late tonight."
The kitchen was large and white, the cabinets gleaming in the morning sunlight. Cora had surprised Ben when she had texted him at eight that morning, asking for an update on the journal, but he was glad. He had been up since four a.m. and was happy he had an excuse not to be stuck in the house on a Saturday.
"Did you find anything yet?" she asked, her head stuck in the fridge. "Mom made snickerdoodles this morning, by the way. You're eating some. Otherwise, I'm gonna eat them all and be a whale by the time I graduate."
"I didn't realize your mom baked so much."
"It's all she does now. That and antique hunting. Here." She set out two glasses on the counter and poured milk into each one. "So, the journal?"
He laid it on the counter and opened it, flattening the curled pages. "I've found dozens of entries with the name Mundi so far. I don't know if it has anything to do with the crystal, but it was definitely important to her. It's just so jumbled."
"Hmm." Cora took a bite of a cookie and then dusted off her fingers before hopping off her stool, putting her hand up to tell him to wait there. She disappeared down the hall and the stairs creaked as she ran up them.
Ben never would have predicted he would be there in her house again. He felt a strange nagging sensation whenever he was around his hockey friends that he didn't experience with Cora. She made his friends seem fake and insincere. They couldn't talk to him about anything other than his family and had no idea how to help him. He had so many more friends than Abi, yet none of those "friends" wanted anything to do with him now.
And she hadn't once asked him how he was feeling, which he appreciated. The fog in his brain was constant but Mr. Flynn told him they were going to try something new soon.
Cora shuffled into the kitchen with her laptop, dragging her slippers on the ground with each step. "We need a system for this." She sat down right next to him, the closeness surprising him. Within seconds she had a spreadsheet pulled up on her computer and started labeling columns. "Each time we come across the name Mundi, we can try to read through the lines before and after and write them all down here."
"Oh..." Ben looked down at the journal, opening the beginning pages. Why hadn't he thought of something like that?
"Hopefully we'll be able to make some sense of it this way. Let me find some sticky notes too." A drawer clattered open on the other side of the island and Cora threw a plastic container of brightly colored tabs on the table. "We'll mark each page we find Mundi in, so we know we won't have any repeats. Let's get crackin'."
She stayed at the computer, her fingers flying over the keys anytime he read a passage to her. Some of the sentences took longer to translate than others, and there were notes like illegible words or random lettering in her spreadsheet.
Eventually Ben stood to stretch his legs, the seat growing more uncomfortable by the minute. They had been at it for over four hours somehow, lost in the chicken scratch of his mom’s handwriting. Empty chip bags and cereal boxes were scattered across the counter and they’d made a decent dent in the pile of cookies.
He was tired, but it felt like a normal tired—like a tired someone would get from studying for too long. Something he hadn’t ever experienced himself.
"Look at this." It was a page he hadn't made it to before. Two pages were filled with nothing but a single date, written in various forms: June 14th.
"Is that someone's birthday or anniversary maybe?"
"I don't know." No one in his family had that birthday, and Ben tried to think back to any significant events happening in June. Nothing came to mind. "We should make a note of it. Maybe it's important."
"I'm making some coffee. You want to order a pizza for dinner?"
Ben looked at the clock, not realizing how late it was getting. He checked his phone and texted Gran that he was still at Cora's house. She had stopped him that morning, asking again and again if she could drive him to Cora’s house. He insisted on driving himself but didn’t like what Gran was implying—that she thought he was getting too bad to drive. Their compromise was he was to text her when he started driving and whenever he arrived.
"What time does your mom get home?"
"Her flight lands at midnight, so maybe around one o'clock or two. She found the set of glass doorknobs she was looking for. Apparently they were original to one of the Kennedy's homes in the early 1800s." She widened her eyes dramatically before sliding a pizza flyer to Ben.
His stomach
growled. "What kind do you want?"
"Anything but olives and anchovies. Surprise me."
He ordered a large pepperoni and pineapple pizza while Cora brewed coffee. There was something simple but comforting about watching her move through the kitchen. She was younger than he was by over a year but seemed so much more mature than he felt.
"Did you want any coffee?" The hot liquid steamed as she poured it, swirling into the air just above her large mug.
"No thanks. I don't drink coffee."
"What? Don't let my mom hear you say that or she'll croak on the spot."
" I just never liked the taste."
She settled back in her seat next to him. "So, I'm thinking it'll take a few more hours for us to get through the journal like this, and then I guess we'll see what we have."
Even though she had painstakingly organized the notes, it still seemed too chaotic to interpret what his mom had meant.
"It’d be nice if she'd just mention something about the crystal already," Cora said with a sigh.
"That would be too easy." He flipped through the pages again. "Maybe Mundi was one of those men that were at the house. Maybe they knew her and she knew they would be after her for having this crystal." His stomach twisted, wondering if she suffered this realization alone, unable to tell anyone the danger their family was in.
"I would bet on the same thing. That or the men work for this Mundi, maybe..." She trailed off and Ben knew what she was thinking—or this Mundi was a figment of her fractured mind.
He wondered how much of what Mr. Flynn had told him would play into this. Ben had no plans to tell Cora about it, and no plans to tell Mr. Flynn about the journal, so he had to be careful not to overlap any information. He didn't want Cora to find out anything she wasn't supposed to know, and he didn't want to tell Mr. Flynn about the journal since Cora was helping him with it.