“You’ll tell everyone goodbye for me, won’t you?”
“I’ll…” he started, unshed tears finally overflowed as he looked up suddenly and I heard footsteps approaching. A shadow fell over us and then I saw my father’s face.
“H-hi dad,” I said as another wave of sadness overwhelmed me.
“Hi baby girl.” He knelt down and put his hand on my cheek. It felt like ice against my skin. “We’re going to get you out of here now, okay?” He glanced at Andre and I could see the concern he was trying to hide from me. “Can we move her?”
“Carefully,” Andre said, looking at me with a mixture of sadness and regret. “She has several broken ribs and a collapsed lung, possibly two…”
“Dad,” I said, interrupting Andre. “I love you, Dad, and I’m sorry. I’m…” I broke down again. “I’m dying, dad.”
“No,” he whispered. “Don’t say that, sweetie. Don’t you give up like that.”
“It’s okay,” I said, giving him my bravest smile. “I’m not afraid.” It was a lie. I was afraid, but I wasn’t going to burden Andre or my father with that kind of sadness.
“Don’t go planning your funeral just yet,” I heard Evan say with a grunt. From my vantage point on the floor, all I could see was two pairs of legs. As they came closer, I could see that Evan was supporting Sam, who was in bad shape, but thankfully, didn’t seem to be as beat up as I was.
“You’re alive.” Guilt crept over me as I realized I had written Sam off as dead after LaLaurie attacked him. I should have been mad, but I couldn’t blame him for what he did.
“I would have been if you hadn’t knocked that knife out of her hand,” he said in a pained voice, but he was smiling. “I sure don’t feel the greatest, but you did it, missy, you upheld your end of the bargain. Now it’s time for me to uphold mine.”
“But you destroyed the serum,” I reminded him in a weak voice, careful to keep any accusation out of my tone.
“I may be old, but I ain’t senile yet,” he said with a wink as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an old-fashioned handkerchief. Carefully unfolding it, he revealed a vial that was identical to the one he had dropped. “Don’t know what was in that other one and frankly, I don’t care. Perhaps I should think about taking up poker.”
Whether it was relief, shock, or simply Sam’s attempt at humor, I began to laugh and I couldn’t stop, despite the painful burning in my chest. I wasn’t going to die.
“Careful, Lucy,” Andre said as he gently lifted my head into his lap, easing some of the pressure on my chest. “What do we need to do?” he asked Sam.
“Roll up her sleeve,” Sam said as he stuck a needle through the top of the tube and measured out the dose before handing it to my father. “Anywhere there’s a vein should do.”
“Ready, Lucy?” he asked.
I nodded and he stuck the needle into my arm, just above the wrist. Immediately, I began to feel a burning sensation coursing through my veins, just as I had during the blood transfusion, but much worse. My heart began racing and in a moment of panic, I worried that Sam had gotten the wrong serum. I had to let them know, but I couldn’t speak, nor could I move at all. Andre was saying something. I knew this because his lips were moving, but all I could hear was a loud rush of static, like white noise, and suddenly my whole body went numb and my vision faded.
I expected to panic, but just as suddenly, a euphoric calm washed over me. The numbness and static became a pleasant hum that seemed to radiate from everywhere at once. It was as though I was cocooned inside the happiest thought that had ever been conceived and I didn’t want to leave, but already it was fading. Perhaps I was dying. There was really no other explanation for the indescribable peace that came over me as I felt myself fading away. I was no longer afraid. If this was death, it wasn’t so bad after all.
Chapter 29
When I finally awoke, I was once again in a hospital bed with a bright light shining in my face and a monitor strapped around my arm. I was alone, but a few minutes later, the door opened and I was surprised to see Brad rather than Abe.
“Good afternoon, Lucy,” he said with a bright and cheerful smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Alive, apparently. That’s a good sign,” I said with a huge yawn. “And tired, I guess. Where’s Abe? I mean, you’re a fantastic doctor,” I added hastily. “But he usually comes running as soon as the monitors notify him that I’m awake.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” he said with a chuckle. “Abe is in Washington with Evan and Dara. You missed quite a bit while you were sleeping it off, but I’m sure you’ll be caught up to speed as soon as I let you out of here.”
“Wait, how long was I out?” I asked.
“Three days,” he replied, checking the readout from the monitors I was wearing. “The good news is that your enzyme levels were back to normal when you came in and they’ve remained stable. Obviously, you’ll need to wear the monitor for a while just to make sure nothing changes, but you’ve got good odds. Dr. Mielieu tested the serum against the one she and Abe were working on and it appears to be a proper antidote. This all looks good,” he said, indicating the readout. “Congratulations, you’re free to go.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice!” I said with a smile and hopped out of bed. I was halfway out the door when I mentally slapped myself. “Does this mean Cynda’s cured as well?”
“It does,” he said. “In fact, she was only out for a few hours. Abe suspects that was partially due to her neural imbalance, which has stabilized, but mostly because she didn’t have to heal half her bones and internal organs.”
“Ouch, really?” I knew I had been beaten up a bit, but I didn’t know the full extent of my injuries.
“Really. I could show you the x-rays if you’d like.”
“Urg, that’s alright.” Somehow, I felt I was better off not knowing.
As soon as I left medical I went to the kitchen. Aside from being the best place to get information, it was also the best place to find food and I was starving.
“Well, Sleeping Beauty has decided to return to the world of the living. Get your butt over here, girl!” Ida said and opened her arms for a hug that I gladly accepted.
“She’s glad to be back,” I said with a bit of emotion. “And starving, but I’m curious as to what’s happened to take the big three all the way to Washington?”
Ida gave me a look that suggested I was in for a long story. “Let’s get you fixed up with some lunch and I’ll let you know everything I do.”
While I was attempting to set a speed eating record, Ida explained what had happened.
“Not long after you were brought in, that Cervantes woman showed up and demanded to speak to you. When she found out you weren’t available, she wasn’t happy and apparently told Evan to round all of us up for an evaluation.”
“Yeah, she’s been pushing for vampire registration,” I said. “I don’t get it. When we discovered how corrupt the Eclipse project was, she was totally cooperative with the idea of the outreach. I know there were others with views that were extreme, but she wasn’t one of them. Evan seemed to think that finding out she was a vampire made her more aggressive.”
“I think he hit the nail on the head,” Ida said with a nod.
“But that doesn’t make sense. If she thinks natural vamps are just as likely to become criminally influenced as mods, she’s just making herself look bad. Dara told her as much last time I saw her.”
“Some folks have a different way of thinking,” Ida explained. “Government folks especially. In her mind, taking a hard stance against all vampires shows that despite being a vampire herself, she’s being proactive in hopes of avoiding most of the backlash this may cause.”
“So I was right, she’s just being selfish,” I remarked flatly. It shouldn’t have surprised me, but it still made me angry. The worst was over. We defeated the last major threat to both humans and vampires. Granted, there were still plenty of mods out there
who still thought they had to drink blood to survive, but there were far fewer than ever before. That Cervantes still wanted to make an example of innocent people who probably didn’t even have a clue that they were different was completely uncalled for. Even worse, she was probably asking to see me because she still planned on using me as a weapon.
While I was mulling over the implications of this, my father came into the kitchen. “Should have known you’d come here first. I see where I rank,” he said with a wink.
“I’m great, dad. Thanks for asking,” I replied just as cheekily. “Give me a break. I haven’t eaten in three days.”
“You know I’m kidding,” he said with a chuckle and gave me a huge hug. “I’m happy to have you back and in one piece.”
“And back to normal,” I added. “Hopefully for good this time. How are the others?”
“No one who had been held prisoner has any memory of what happened to them beyond their abduction, which is probably for the best,” he said. “Poor Timmons, though. I think he’s seriously reconsidering his career path.”
“I think he might have been considering a career change after the last time I saw him,” I noted. “How’s Dr. Hayward handling this? I assume she’s been told at least part of the truth now.”
“She was told everything, though it was a bit like déjà vu for Evan and me,” he said with a chuckle. “She’s quite a woman. After learning who and what we really are, the only thing that upset her was finding out the painting was a forgery.”
“Well to be fair, it would have been the discovery of a lifetime. Is she still here?” I was a little uncomfortable facing Dr. Hayward, considering that I was the reason her life was put in danger in the first place, but I owed her an apology and an explanation at least.
“She is, but she needs to return to the museum in a few days.”
“What about Sam?” I asked. He had been in pretty rough shape when I last saw him.
“Sam had a couple of bruised ribs and a fractured hip, which is kind of scary when you think about his age, but he’ll be fine in no time.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said. “Maybe he won’t be in such a hurry to die now that he can finally have a normal life.”
“No, he’s not and we have Lona to thank for that,” my father said. “She sat with him the other day and explained her situation and what Abe had done for her. When he gets back, Abe is going to see if he can do the same. Mind you, that might mean he won’t have very many years left.”
“True, but they would still be better years than he’s had and at least he can die a natural death,” I pointed out. “Is he up for visitors?”
“He is. He’s still in medical, but he’s in good spirits. And boy, does he have some stories to tell. If you thought our city’s history was colorful before, you have to hear Sam’s version.”
“I can only imagine.” As much as I wanted to put the whole experience behind me, I had to admit that I was interested in piecing together the information I had learned. Hopefully Sam could fill in the historical blanks for me.
“So, I take it you’ve been caught up on the latest?” my father asked.
“Yeah. Ida was just telling me what happened with Cervantes. Do you have any idea what’s going on in Washington?” I asked.
“A hearing on the future of government involvement with the vampire population,” he replied, letting out a deep breath. “It was pretty chaotic here a couple of days ago. As soon as Cervantes showed up and started making her demands, Dara got in touch with the council. An agreement had been worked out, but the approved proposal hadn’t said anything about registering natural vampires. She found that Kurtz had altered the wording on the proposal after it had the signatures needed to go to mandate. As you might have guessed, that didn’t sit well with the Department of Defense. He and Cervantes were both taken into custody and charged with a laundry list of crimes against the government.”
“Is it possible they could have been drugged?” I asked. “Just because LaLaurie is dead, doesn’t mean Cervantes hadn’t been acting on previous suggestions. Kurtz was always kind of a jerk, but he must have been desperate to forge a government document.”
“That idea had been tossed around, but the drug tests came up negative.” He replied.
“So our fate is up in the air again?”
“Isn’t it always?” he said with a smile. “I think you know as well as I do that no matter what the government decides, Evan isn’t going to do anything that Evan doesn’t want to do.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
After I had stuffed myself silly, I went back to medical to visit Sam and thank him for saving my life. He did seem to be in much better spirits and he was happy to tell me all about how LaLaurie clawed her way up the social ladder with the help of our city’s most notorious pirate family. After that, I went to find Dr. Hayward. She wasn’t in her room, so I went up to the roof and found her sitting at one of the tables, typing away on a laptop. When she saw me, she stood up and greeted me with a smile.
“Lucy, I’m happy to see that you’re safe!”
“You too,” I said, giving her a brief hug. “I, um, I’m really sorry about everything that happened. If I had any idea that we were putting you in danger, I wouldn’t have contacted you.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” she said and sat back down. “From what your father said, it wouldn’t have mattered. Whoever sent that painting had planned to use me to get to you.” She gave me a strange look before breaking out into a smile. “I have to admit, when you came out to the museum, I had a feeling you weren’t being completely honest with me about why you wanted to see the painting. I suppose I can forgive you for that, considering.”
“We kind of figured you’d try to have us committed if we told the truth,” I said with a nervous laugh.
“You’re probably right,” she said. “I’m still not sure what I actually believe. Vampires are real. Who would have thought?”
“You’re taking this a lot better than I did,” I told her. “And I’m sorry about the painting. How’s the museum taking the news?”
“You don’t know?” she asked, suddenly very excited. “X-rays of the work revealed that there was another painting underneath, so we had it sent off to be restored. Well, I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up yet, but it looks like we might have an undiscovered Degas. It still needs to be authenticated, which is why I’m heading back to the museum soon.”
“That’s amazing!” I said, thinking about the other paintings that had been stolen from Oscar’s apartment. It was possible that the Paris team could have been sitting on a goldmine of stolen history. “That’s got to be one of the best parts of being an art historian, isn’t it?”
“You know,” she said, giving me a sideways look. “It’s never too late to go back and get that art degree. There’s a great program at the University of New Orleans.”
“I think I’d like to look into that. Who knows? Maybe I could end up working for the Art Crime Team someday,” I said and meant it. Provided, of course, that I was still classified as a normal human who was allowed to do things like take college courses, but I kept that part to myself. “Have you had a chance to see the museum here?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. Your father took me yesterday.” She saw my surprised expression and added, “He’s a wonderful man, Lucy, but I know he’s your father and I also know that you’ve only just been reunited. I don’t want to get in the way of that.”
I was slightly taken aback by Dr. Hayward’s honesty. Sure, it had upset me when they were casually flirting back in Texas, but that was more my own insecurities than anything else. My father was a grown man and I certainly wasn’t his keeper.
“My mom has been dead for over fifteen years,” I found myself saying. “She’s the only woman my father ever loved. For most of those fifteen years, he was watching out for me, the daughter that didn’t even know he existed. I don’t know how much he’s told you, but you don’t ev
en want to know what he went through before we found each other. He deserves to be happy and I’m not going to stop him from finding happiness. Even if it takes him all the way to DC.”
There were still a lot of people I wanted to see, but it was getting late. Even though I wasn’t particularly tired, I went back to my room, intending to see if I could dig up any more information on what was going on with the government. Besides, there was one person in particular that I really needed to talk to, but I wasn’t feeling particularly brave or strong enough yet to go looking for him. When I woke up and he wasn’t there, part of me, a pretty big part actually, was hurt. Of course, he could have been busy with all of the crazy stuff that had happened. It wasn’t unusual and perhaps it was for the better. Maybe what we both needed was a little time. Maybe if I kept telling myself that, I might begin to believe it.
The first thing I did, before even turning on the lights, was start a pot of coffee. After setting it to brew, I went to find my computer and nearly jumped out of my skin. Andre stood in the doorway to the bedroom, wearing nothing but a pair of threadbare pajama pants. His hair was mussed by sleep and a day’s worth of stubble darkened his jaw. Deep circles pulled at his eyes, giving him a haunted appearance, yet to me, he never looked sexier.
“Sorry,” I said, catching myself. “I didn’t know you were here. Did I wake you?”
“I’m the one who should be apologizing,” he said with a yawn. “I wanted to be there when you woke up, but Brad threatened to give me a sedative if I didn’t get some sleep. He was supposed to call me the minute your condition changed.”
“He probably thought you needed the rest,” I said and blushed. My heart was dancing in my chest, yet suddenly, I felt shy. “I’m just happy you’re here. I wasn’t sure, you know…” I let my sentence hang, not sure how to approach the subject of our relationship. I wanted to believe that everything was fine, that he meant everything he said after we defeated LaLaurie, but the pessimistic part of me realized that he had three days to remember all of the hurtful things I had said and done.
The Eyes of the Sun: The Complete Trilogy Page 91