Tatyanna

by Lindsay Johnston

  “You know, that would have been the perfect time to tell her everything,” a voice said from a man emerging from a darken corner.

  “Cale,” Emmett said, acknowledging him.

  “So, when will it be the right time? She already thinks she is losing her mind, and she already thinks she healed someone. What more does she have to do before the truth is revealed to her?”

  “She thinks she healed someone. She doesn’t know for sure, and until she can truly accept her gift for what it is, nothing I say will really matter. She will think I am crazy and come up with an excuse to justify everything I tell her. We have to wait and be patient.”

  “Screw that. I’m tired of being patient. We need to make a move and make it now.”

  “No. We have to wait. If we reveal too much to her, we could lose her forever.”

  Cale looked toward the door. “Well, you do what you feel is right, and I will do what I feel is right.”

  “What are you planning on doing?”

  “Like I am going to tell you that. What do you take me for? You will just run back to the elders and whine like you always do. But, I’m done waiting. It’s time for action.” He waved his right hand in the air, whispered a few words, and disappeared into thin air.

  Emmett muttered an expletive. He made a gesture with his hands that caused the entire bar to light up. Once he was sure he was the only one there, he quickly locked the door. Emmett walked to the middle of the room, waving his hands again, and muttered a few words. He heard a loud pop.

  “What do you think you are doing, boy? It’s too dangerous for you to summon me,” an elderly man complained, his voice low and gravelly.

  Emmett didn’t apologize to his elder. “Cale has magic,” he said simply instead.

  His elder lifted the bearskin off his head and met Emmett’s eyes. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. He disappeared right here, in front of my eyes.”

  “Did anyone else see him do this?”

  “No. We were alone.”

  “Good.”

  Emmett was confused by his elder’s reaction. He was livid Cale was using magic and assumed his elder would be, too. “Aren’t you upset? Aren’t you the least bit curious as to where his magic came from?”

  “I’d be more upset if he used magic in front of others, and yes, I am curious as to who gave him magic, but there’s nothing I can do about it. More than likely, Grandfather gave it to him.”

  “But why would he do that?”

  “I don’t know. One doesn’t ask Grandfather why he does what he does. He is all powerful and can do what he pleases. He wanted Cale on this mission, and he must have thought it would be useful to share magic with him.”

  “You don’t think he got it from Larik, do you?”

  “How could he? He has been with our people this whole time. There is no way Larik could have recruited him. Either way, keep an eye on him, and make sure he doesn’t abuse his new-found gift.” And, with that, he disappeared, leaving Emmett alone in an empty bar, with his thoughts to keep him company.

  Chapter Six

  Between Life and Death

  Tatyanna stormed into her house and slammed the door. She was furious at Emmett for not telling her anything, but she was more upset with herself. She kept going back to that stupid bar, hoping to get answers, knowing she would leave empty-handed and pissed off.

  Maybe she was making a big deal out of nothing. It was great Danny was better and going home…except, he wasn’t simply ‘better.’ He was cured. She had seen his file shortly after meeting him. She had teared up as she read it, because the cancer had spread throughout his entire body. No amount of chemo or radiation would help him. The cancer had issued the boy a death sentence, and he had only a few months to live. Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought about Danny. One day, he was ready to die, and the next, he was cured. His tests were all coming back negative; it was as if the doctors had imagined the whole thing.

  Tatyanna called out a hello to her mom when she passed her in the living room, but was surprised when her mom didn’t answer her. She shrugged it off and climbed the steps toward her room. She stood in the entrance to her room, not wanting to be there, alone with her thoughts. She was afraid she would continue to brood, coming up with theories to explain all the weird happenings in her life. She was already half believing she could heal people. At this rate, Tatyanna was on her way to believing magic was real, little green men were real, and aliens really did walk the earth.

  Tatyanna shut her bedroom door. The gesture was more to signal her sister she didn’t want to be disturbed, but that never made much of a difference. She crossed the room to sit on her bed, placing a hand on her forehead, beginning to feel light-headed. She had come home to hide out in her bedroom, her sanctuary. Yet, no matter what she was thinking, Tatyanna still needed answers.

  She knew Emmett wouldn’t help her, but maybe Dimitri or his uncle could help clear things up. It was obvious his uncle knew something, and she suspected Dimitri knew more than he let on as well. The thing was, she didn’t know how to get in contact with Dimitri, except going back to that blasted hellhole called a bar. Tatyanna outright refused to go back and deal with Emmett again. If he wanted to help her, he would. Instead, he chose to be silent.

  Tatyanna’s eyes narrowed and she nibbled on her lower lip as she thought about Emmett. There was just something about him that was oddly familiar. Stranger yet, he never seemed to ever change his clothes; every time she saw him he was wearing the same outfit. Still, she couldn’t put her finger on what made him so familiar to her.

  “Meow.” Tatyanna glanced up and saw Tux standing in the doorway.

  “How did you get in here?” she asked. She could have sworn she had closed her door.

  “Meow,” he said again.

  “Come here, boy,” Tatyanna said, patting her knees and clicking her tongue behind her front teeth, but Tux remained still, studying her, before taking a step backward and tilting his head at her.

  Strange, she thought. Tux obviously wanted her to follow him, but he had never shown that behavior before.

  “Do…do you want me to follow you?” she asked her cat for confirmation. And then, she felt silly, because her cat couldn’t possibly understand her. Or, so she thought, until she saw his head bob up and down.

  “Great,” she said out loud. “First, a boy is completely healed, then I receive cryptic messages from an annoying bartender, and now, my cat can understand me.” She paused for a second. “You can…can’t you?” she asked, unsure of herself. Tux sat down and grinned at her, thumping his tail impatiently. She stared at Tux, and he stared back at her. She was the first to look away, but not before she saw the triumphant grin on his face. “Fine, you win. I will follow you.” Tux immediately jumped to his feet and darted from the room.

  “Wait!” Tatyanna called after him, barely able to keep up. Tux stopped once, long enough to look back and see she was following him, before turning and running down the stairs. She practically tripped on her own feet, but was able to grab the banister and steady herself, catching up to Tux. He sat next to the back door, thumping his tail on the floor.

  “What? You can’t open the door?” she asked her cat sarcastically, opening it and gesturing to her cat. “You first.” Tux stared at her for a second, his green eyes practically glowing, and then he turned and sprinted down the steps toward the back of the house, stopping at the edge of the woods.

  “Oh no,” Tatyanna said. She had always admired the woods behind her house, but she never ventured into them. She couldn’t explain it, but being in the woods gave her the willies. On top of that, she was very uncomfortable with the idea of following her cat into them. She knew there wasn’t anything that could hurt her, but she had this weird feeling something bad had once happened to her there.

  Tux continued to stare at her. Tatyanna raged an internal war with herself, weighing the pros and cons, until she concluded how ridiculous she was being. They were only trees. Tree
s couldn’t hurt her, and she was just being silly. Tatyanna took the steps down one at a time and followed her cat into the unknown.

  Tatyanna still couldn’t put the uneasiness aside. She took her sweet time. Several times, he looked back at her and would give her a knowing look, as if he knew what she was thinking and doing. She was starting to feel the same irritation she had felt toward Emmett. Her cat was just an animal. He didn’t know anything. Emmett was a know-it-all bartender, who couldn’t help being annoying.

  Tatyanna followed Tux for several minutes, noting how it felt like her surroundings were starting to close in on her. She went from walking through a sparse forest to having to constantly duck and push branches and bushes aside. She wondered if they were still on her property, or if she was trespassing. She caught herself before she could ask if they were almost there. Partly because she remembered how annoying it was every time Lilah would ask their parents that exact same question on car rides, and partly because she could talk and Tux couldn’t. So why ask a question which would go unanswered? She already learned from her earlier encounter with Emmett not to ask a question if you don’t expect an answer, even if it would be nice. Great. Now she was thinking about HIM again. She didn’t even like him, and yet, he was always on her mind.

  “ARGGG!” she said out loud, causing Tux to stop in his tracks. “Sorry,” she mumbled. Tux dipped his head and then started to sprint. Tatyanna tripped over her own feet as she tried to keep up. She was so busy stepping over fallen trees and overgrown roots it was all she could do to keep an eye on a fuzzy black and white dot far ahead of her.

  Out of nowhere, Tatyanna broke through a cluster of trees and the ground beneath her feet changed. No longer was she tripping over nature, she was now lying face first on the ground and spitting dirt out of her mouth. She had entered the same clearing she had found earlier. Well at least she thought it was the same place. The faint memory of the events there felt like a dream.

  Tatyanna brushed the dirt off her pants, turning in a circle, as she searched for her cat. “Tux!” she yelled for him. “TUX!!!” She frowned slightly, worrying about her cat, when she saw a beautiful horse walking toward her. He was pure white, almost translucent, with blue eyes as clear as the sky on a sunny day. “Well, hello there,” she called out to the horse.

  The horse walked closer to her and smelled her hand before dipping down. He stayed down, as if he were bowing to her, and she ran her hand through his mane, marveling at how silky soft he was. Somehow, Tatyanna knew he was a ‘he.’ She watched as two deer came into the clearing, and then they, too, dipped down to her. Their behavior was extraordinary.

  Tatyanna watched in amazement as one animal after the next came to her and bowed down. It was the strangest thing she had ever seen, and yet nothing she said, or did, could stop the animals. The clearing filled up with deer, elk, birds, bears, wolves. You name it, she saw it. At last, the horse in front of her crouched down on all fours, and Tatyanna knew he wanted her to ride him.

  As she mounted him, he slowly stood up and unfolded his wings causing her to gasp in surprise. Tatyanna had always dreamed of a Pegasus, but they were a myth. However, here she was, sitting on one. As his wings started to flap up and down, she leaned forward and grabbed ahold of his mane. Within seconds, he was flying up above the other animals, over the treetops. Tatyanna laughed as she felt the wind in her face. She leaned down to touch one of the trees and tugged on a leaf…

  “Hey, sis, wake up. You’re going to be late.”

  “What…huh?” she asked groggily.

  “Don’t you have to work today?” her sister asked her.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, it’s one in the afternoon. What time is your shift?”

  “Two,” Tatyanna mumbled, not fully comprehending what her sister was saying.

  “Tatyanna. Wake up,” Lilah said, firmly shoving her. “It’s one o’clock. You are going to be late.”

  Tatyanna waved her arm in the air, as if her sister was an annoying house fly, but Lilah was determined. She walked over to where her sister’s head lay, bent down, and yelled, “WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! YOU’RE LATE!” Tatyanna instantly sat up in bed, glancing around her room, and trying to get her bearings.

  “Where am I?” she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  “In your room. You must have been having some dream. I’ve been yelling at you to wake up for the last ten minutes. I was afraid I was going to have to get a bucket of water.”

  “Wow, I was sleeping hard. I don’t even remember going to bed last night,” Tatyanna said, stretching her arms above her head and leaning to the side to stretch out her back.

  “Yeah, well, you don’t have much time, other than to get dressed and maybe brush your teeth.”

  Tatyanna sat in bed taking a few extra seconds to digest what her sister was saying, and then it hit her. “Crap!” She scrambled out of bed and grabbed her scrubs off the floor.

  She was about to strip off her clothes when she opened up her left hand and saw she was still holding on to the leaf she had grabbed in her dream. Was it a dream? she wondered. But then she shook her head. Tatyanna didn’t have time to think about anything except getting dressed and going to work. She would think about it all later, after her shift. She placed the leaf in her desk drawer for safe-keeping, and with one last glance at her alarm clock, she quickly stripped out of her clothes and into her scrubs, brushing her hair with her fingers, as she ran down the stairs to the kitchen where her shoes and car keys were.

  Tatyanna arrived at work exactly on the dot. She was bummed out because she really wanted to see Danny, but figured she could see him on her dinner break, or something. As soon as she crossed the threshold into the Emergency Room, she stopped and saw that the place was pure chaos. The waiting room was filled to the max with people and screaming children, nurses were bustling about, and there were ambulances circling the building. Something major must have happened, and she wondered what it could be.

  As Tatyanna walked past the waiting room on her way to the lockers to drop off her things, she was stopped at the nurse’s station. “Are you Tatyanna?” an older woman asked, wearing the customary khaki pants and white jacket of the adult volunteers.

  “Yes, I am,” she said politely.

  “Great,” she said, wiping her brow. “It has been complete chaos here. There was a massive pile-up on I-265. We have called in reinforcements from other floors,” the older woman explained as Tatyanna took in her surroundings with a watchful eye.

  Everywhere she looked, there were people who needed help and were begging for someone to come and take their pain away. Without thinking, she walked away from the volunteer toward a screaming baby and gently placed her hand on the baby’s chest. She watched mesmerized as the bruises began to fade and the cries soon became laughter. She was stunned to see the baby appeared to be injury free, when moments before she was a bloody mess. She walked away before the baby’s mother could stop her and ask questions, and she wondered what had compelled her to lay her hand on the baby.

  Tatyanna was being pulled in a million directions, each one toward another person who desperately needed immediate attention. She glanced to her right and saw an elderly man on a hospital bed with his eyes closed as his wife sat next to him, tears in her eyes, clinging to his hand as if he would die any second. Tatyanna walked over to where the heated blankets were kept and grabbed one to cover the man up. As she unfolded the blanket, she could hear the elderly couple whispering words of love and goodbye. As her hand touched his, she started to see the color returning to his cheeks and his rapid breathing slow down to a normal pace. This was twice now; her touch had changed two people’s lives. Tatyanna didn’t want to believe what she had done with the baby, but there was no denying it a second time. The elderly man grasped her small hand in his and thanked her profusely before she turned away to help the next person.

  Each time Tatyanna touched someone, she felt herself growing stronger. She was exhilarated
and continued to offer a helping hand until a man, in his early thirties, was wheeled in, bleeding profusely with a tourniquet on his upper right thigh. His leg was severally damaged and would need to be removed if he even had a chance of surviving. She overheard one of the medics say it was a miracle he was even still alive with all the blood loss he had. She felt drawn to the other victims, but with this man, she felt like a force was pushing her toward him, and she was unable to look anywhere else but at him.

  Even without touching him, Tatyanna could hear the slowing of his blood, the weakening of his heart, and his silent desperation to live. She was now standing before him, ignored by everyone around them as they scurried around trying to save the man’s life. She was surprised when the man grabbed her hand, and shocked when she recognized what a strong grip he had, especially for a dying man. Tatyanna didn’t cry out as his grip tighten, but she was starting to get scared as she felt herself weakening and the man before her getting stronger. His heart rate increased, and his skin started to take on a healthy glow.

  Tatyanna felt herself grow lightheaded, and she felt like the walls around her were starting to cave in. That was when she knew she had to get away from him. She started tugging, but the man’s hand didn’t even budge, and his grip became harder causing her to cry out in pain, and that was when the other nurses and doctors around her noticed what was going on. Several of the male nurses tried to free her, but they were unable to, the doctor working on him exclaimed the patient’s heart beat was getting stronger, and Tatyanna knew what was going on in the pit of her stomach. The man knew what she was capable of, and by not letting go, he was healing himself. However, the end result would be her death.

  She continued to pull and tug, trying to pry his fingers away from her wrist with the help of the people around them. Everyone was surprised when the man started screaming at her, “You selfish girl. How dare you live while I die? I won’t let you forget this. If I die, I will haunt you for the rest of your life!”