Their tiny little haired legs dragging and scraping over my hyper-sensitive skin. I shuddered, I could feel my skin literally twitching with movement. I tried to lift a hand to bat away the insects, rid myself of this eerie sensation of crawling on my skin.
I could picture hundreds of tiny little ants marching, between my breasts and up, climbing the mountain of one breast to plant a flag of discovery.
“We claim this here flesh bubble as our own!” I stifled a giggle.
Kali looked down with concern at Alicia, watching as the woman lifted her hand and batted weakly in the air before giving a delirious giggle. Alicia was definitely not improving, if this was the change, she should have started to show improvement by now. Generally, under normal circumstances the fever had broken by now. The person going through the change would still be sick per say, but the worst of the illness would pass in the first couple days.
Joseph was at a loss as well, Kali had been discussing what was going on at length. Alicia was running into a danger zone at this point, with the illness as it was it could start to take a toll on her brain. If they couldn’t find a way to make the fever break or it did not break on their own, there was a chance that Alicia would suffer irreparable brain damage.
This was not acceptable, and they were working to figure out a way to treat her that would not make her worse. Certain treatments could cause great harm to different races of supernaturals. For example, if shifter supernaturals like werewolves, were-bovines, were-foxes, were exposed to cold water as an immersion therapy to break a fever, the were animal would suffer and could potentially die a painful death.
Most of the drive was completed in silence, with the exception of Joseph offering to let them go to his house. It had been a long day, and they were processing the fact that they had been captured by people who should have been on their side. Kali could not fathom the reasons behind their actions, why would they do something that they knew would put the council at such odds. By her calculation, it had been about two and a half days since they had been captured.
This put Alicia at her third day of being ill, this was not a good sign at all. Bertha asked for directions and Joseph leaned forward, cradling Alicia’s head in his lap to direct her when she needed to turn and pointing out key markers that would allow them to remember the drive if they needed to make it again. Bertha, Kali, and Jared would stay at his house with Alicia- seemed to make sense to have more, rather than less protection.
Bertha pulled to a stop in front of a large metal gate and reached out to press the buzzer.
A computer distorted voice answered and Joseph leaned out, telling the guard to let them in. Bertha drove up the long driveway which opened up to a massive circular lot with a garden in the center.
She parked the car in front of a set of stairs and dragged herself from the car, then opened the back seat door for Joseph to slide out. Jared’s bike roared up and parked behind them. He took his helmet off, shaking his head, his face glistening with sweat. He stretched and gave Bertha a little hug, feeling a bit better now that they were all relatively safe. Joseph watched as Jared bent and picked up Alicia easily, adjusting her weight to better balance her.
Joseph led the way up the stairs and an older gentleman greeted them at the door. He bowed his head as he saw Joseph, murmuring a soft greeting.
Dressed in the typical butler attire of a black suit, tie and cummerbund, he pushed the doors open and leaned towards Joseph.
“I prepared the guest bedroom as you requested, Sir, and the ladies found some of your mother's garments for your guest to wear when she is cleaned up.”
Joseph nodded and looked back at Jared, gesturing for him to follow. He led Jared, Kali and Bertha up a long winding staircase. Bertha could not help but look around her in amazement. It was a house that much resembled a plantation from the south. She had been in awe when she first saw the outside, the brick overlay with tall white pillars folding out onto a large porch, and inside, well that was even more amazing. The house was magnificent, gleaming hardwood floors, the staircase a burnished gleaming cherry wood. She had no idea that Joseph was rich, much less that in the outskirts of town such a place existed.
Joseph had never given anyone the impression that he was wealthy, in fact anything but. Jared was surprised, the only one who did not seem phased, was Kali. She was just taking it in stride, following behind Joseph and Jared down a long carpeted hallway. They passed portraits of men and women as they made their way to the end of the hall and stopped in front of a large set of double doors. As Joseph pushed the doors open and led them in, Jared’s jaw dropped.
The room was opulent with thick blackout curtains embroidered with lace decorating windows that spanned most of one wall. The walls themselves were a soft lavender color, very feminine and a large four poster bed was the center of the rooms elegance. Thick plush pillows and feather top blankets adorned the king sized bed, all differing shades of lavender and darker purples. A cherry hardwood chest of drawers was against the wall, with matching end tables beside the bed. On one of the end tables was a pitcher of water, some glasses, as well as a bag that had medical equipment spilling from it.
Jared laid Alicia down on the plush bed and Kali and Bertha moved in to undress her. Jared and Joseph stepped outside to wait, Jared leaned against the doorjamb looking at Joseph a smirk crossing his lips. He definitely saw the man in a new light, however it shouldn’t have surprised him.
After all, Joseph had been to medical school and he had never made any complaints about loans, nor had he ever sequestered funds to pay for his extensive education through the council’s education program, which allowed supernaturals to get their education paid for if it was beneficial to the community.
Looking back at Jared, Joseph tilted his head, his eyes wary.
“What?” Jared smirked and gave a laugh before saying “When can I move in? I bet you get major babe action with a place like this.”
Joseph frowned and just stared straight ahead. Kali opened the doors and leaned out, “you can come in now.”
Jared pushed off of the wall and turned back into the bedroom. In one corner of the room there was a large fireplace with a plush sofa and chairs as well as a coffee table. He sank down onto the sofa and closed his eyes, feeling like he had not slept in weeks... a bit of an exaggeration, but it was how he felt.
Bertha walked over, pulling a blanket off of the back of one of the plush chairs and spread it over him with a smile. He peeked an eye open and reached his hand out to pat hers lightly before closing his eyes.
Bertha walked back over to the bed where Alicia lay, her skin pallid, her eyes sunken and surrounded by dark circles. Her once-brilliant red hair was now a dim, dull looking color.
Bertha looked at Joseph with concern, she couldn’t help but think that the girl was dying. She reached out, taking Alicia’s small hand in her large one, stroking her fingers and feeling the bones standing out, the flesh stretched tight against the bones. Kali stood beside Joseph, watching as he put a fresh saline bag up and attached it to Alicia’s IV. He filled another syringe with his vitamin and nutrient mixture and injected it into the long clear plastic tube.
“We need to call the Sheriff and let him know, tell him to let Jen know,” Kali intoned.
“And tell him what exactly? That his only hope of freeing his daughter is lying in a bed, possibly dying, and we have no idea why?” Jared chimed in from the couch. Kali scowled over at him, and the room fell into silence once more.
I could vaguely hear people talking around me. I was so comfortable it was like I was laying on a warm cloud... had I died? I couldn’t die yet, I had to get Jen out of jail first. I tried to move my arms to wave, to tell them I wasn’t dead yet. They didn’t notice, maybe I hadn’t moved after all... Jen, how was she? I wished I could hear her voice, could see her. Run my fingers through her short cropped hair and tell her I loved her as I looked into her soft brown eyes Tears welled up in my eyes, or at least it felt like I could cry.
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Where was she now? Was she still sitting, rotting in that tiny cell, so far from my reach? I opened my mouth to say her name, to whisper, to do something to let her know that I missed her. My tongue was sandpaper, hard and dry, refusing to move at my command. Could I not even control my own body anymore? Maybe I really was dead.
Joseph looked down as Alicia stirred, opening her mouth. He leaned down to hear whatever it was she was trying to say, but the words were just not there. He pressed his lips to her ear and whispered soothing words to try to console her and get her to rest again. A shuddered sob broke her lips, her mouth chapped and dry, lips cracking and bleeding. He brought a soft moist cloth and wiped over her lips, clearing the blood away before applying a bit of petroleum jelly to soothe the dry broken skin.
He looked across to Bertha and then over to Kali, his face, reflecting the situation, was grim.
“I’m going to try something that worked on a supernatural who was having complications with the change. I need a volunteer, someone to break me free when the time comes.” Joseph looked at Kali and Bertha as he spoke, soft snores filled the air around the couch where Jared was.
Kali, nodded as she glanced at Alicia, her expression solemn. “I’ll do it.”
She looked at Joseph with concern in her eyes, “Tell me what I need to do.”
Joseph took a deep sigh and patted Alicia’s hand once again as he turned to Kali to explain what he was going to do. Essentially, Alicia’s possible change was sapping too much of her physical and spiritual energy, he was going to replenish it with his own. So, in theory he was sharing his life with hers, it was risky and if Kali stopped him too late, he himself could die.
It was a risk he was willing to take, they all knew that Alicia was needed, not only for Jen, but for the rest of the community, also. There were very few supernatural lawyers, none of them had her success nor skills. She could be a great asset to their community if she did not hate them all when she woke up.
Kali stood behind Joseph as he clasped Alicia’s hands with his own, palms together. Joseph rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath, what he hadn’t told them was how incredibly painful it would be. He steeled himself and slowly let his power free.
As a shaman, Joseph had no need to transform. Granted, because he was also an animal based supernatural. He could shift. But he didn’t need to in order to heal. He was similar to witches, except he had more power and nature based and well suited for healing. His power being nature based probably had something to do with him being an animal shifter. His power flowed outward, like little tendrils of electricity in the air.
He could taste Kali’s power as well as Bertha and Jared’s, farther away. Maybe power was the wrong word for it, he could taste their life, their... flavor… that was indicative to what kind of supernatural they were. It was the only way he could think of to describe the sensation to others.
He guided his power down to Alicia, letting it seep over her until he found her life flame. It was so very dim, he hoped that he had made this decision before it was too late. A jolt of pain ran through him and his back bowed, his mouth opening in a silent scream as Alicia’s body took over and began draining the very life from him.
It was like giving a person water when they hadn’t had anything to drink for days. Her body was greedy, sucking his life down in thick powerful swallows. Sweat beaded on his brow- he was not going to be able to do this for very long. He could only hope that what he could offer was enough. He began to tremble, feeling the dizziness overtake him. He struggled to keep conscious and upright as Alicia came closer and closer to killing him with each drink of his energy.
Alicia’s body began to spasm, her eyes flickering open as a wail filled the room, growing louder and louder by the second. The windows began to rattle as the sound increased, the pitch growing higher and higher. She didn’t even seem to be breathing, just screaming, her eyes scrunched closed as she convulsed. This surprised Joseph, and he broke contact with Alicia, nearly passing out at the release of power. His hands lifting to cover his ears as Bertha and Kali already had.
The noise had scared Jared out of his sleep and he was sitting upright covering his ears. The trio was flinching and trying to communicate with each other as the sound only got worse. Conversation was impossible and with every breath the octave of Alicia’s scream got higher and higher. Blood trickled down between their fingers from their eyes, nostrils and mouths. The windows shattered, glass exploding in a fall to the floor- then the very essence of time itself just... stopped. Joseph, Kali, Jared, and Alicia were the only things still moving. The glass hung suspended in the air, glinting in the sunlight, which didn’t appear to be moving either. Alicia had stopped time.
She was still screaming, her face was blotchy with purple and shades of red as she exhausted the capacity of her lungs. Then, she stopped and fell back onto the bed, the silence was deafening, or would have been, if they had not just lost their hearing. The abruptness of her movements had caused Joseph to release her hands long ago, and he sat panting, his skin pale from her draining on him. He stared at Alicia, she lay peacefully with her eyes closed, breathing steadily once again as if she was asleep. Sweat trickled from his brow as he looked down at her, his eyes widening as she opened her eyes for the first time in days. Their eyes met- but it was wrong. Her eyes were a soft, glowing red, with a slit for the iris, much like that of a cat. But this was different, almost reptilian in nature.
She stared up at him, her eyes haunting him, the colors swirling and moving, from red, to gold, to green, never stopping. Joseph felt his stomach lurch and he turned away, vomiting onto the plush carpet, his body shuddering as he emptied himself onto the floor. His arms and legs were shaking when he pushed himself upright, speculating- the movement in her eyes had entranced him for a moment. He lifted his head and looked at her, startled to find himself feeling afraid.
Kali was staring down at Alicia as well, she had seen eyes like those before, decades ago. Only one species had eyes like that.
She had been alive long enough to know exactly what Alicia was. But… they were supposed to be extinct… Decades ago, the council at the time had worked to make damn sure that another of Alicia’s kind would never be brought into the world again.
Now, Kali was looking into the eyes of a freshly reborn Dragon, the most powerful and dangerous of all supernaturals. She hadn’t seen one since the dragon cleansing, when she and the rest of the council had eradicated the Dragon race from the face of the Earth. It wasn’t a moment she was proud of, and now she was staring down at a dragon, something she never thought she would do again. Bloodthirsty, deceptive creatures that had caused chaos and left destruction and death in their wake.
A single thought crossed Kali’s mind, “Well, shit, we’re all fucked now.”
I had been torn from my slumber with the most intense pain I had ever felt in my entire life. It had been like every cell was instantly on fire, burning hotter than anything I had ever experienced. I stared at the people around me, their faces unfamiliar except for the motel’s owner, Bertha. The man sitting closest to me looked into my eyes in shock, before turning and vomiting all over the floor. I cleared my throat, my mouth hot and sticky, tasting of blood and dried saliva.
The older woman looked at me, seemingly shocked at something. She ran a hand through her dark brown hair, small ears popping out from under the wavy thick curls that shimmered oddly in the light. She was one of those people that you could pass on the street and not even notice- plain, simple looking. She had on blue jeans and a tee, no jewelry or makeup. The only thing that made her really stand out were the small ears on the top of her head and the unusual color of her eyes.
They were brilliant green, reminding me of freshly grown glass, I had never seen eyes so bright before. She walked over to a small table beside me as if she would pour a glass of water… However, the glasses were broken, hovering in the air in tiny, sparkling crystalline shards. The man beside me stood shakily and walked over to
the door, opening it and calling out to someone.
The man returned to the bed with a pitcher and some glasses, he poured water into a glass, the clinks of ice hitting the sides were the only sounds in the room. He handed me the glass, his eyes still impossibly wide. My hands were shaking too badly to hold it on my own, so he helped in guiding it to my mouth.
I took a small sip. It was so cold, so sweet, I gulped greedily, water sloshing down my chin. He took the empty glass from me and set it down on the table. He opened his mouth and spoke, but it was like there was cotton in my ears. Whatever he was saying, it was unclear, garbled and thick-sounding, almost like another language.
I just stared at him, trying to gesture and speak, but my tongue was still not cooperating. I just groaned out random sounds and he looked at me, confused. I sighed and leaned back on the bed licking my lips, my tongue feeling swollen and too large for my mouth. I pushed it out of my lips and then pulled it back in.
I needed my tongue, it was my biggest weapon. I sighed and grunted in frustration, looking at him. He was looking at the plain woman and they had their heads together whispering something. I closed my eyes and tried to settle myself. At least I was awake now, I could get back to helping Jen.
Broken Glass: An Alicia Jacobs Novel (The Alicia Jacobs Chronicle Book 1) Page 11