“Thanks,” Sofia said, feeling slightly uncomfortable that she had to rely on Bathe once more.
“We should get to the car,” Bathe said as he moved towards the door.
“Shouldn't we take some clothes?” Wanda looked at her mother.
“We don't have the time,” Bathe replied before Sofia could say anything. If you were chased at school, then we only have a few more minutes before they get here.
Bathe's car was the latest model series of the Audi. Wanda pulled the back door open and plunged herself on the seat as her mum and Bathe discussed sitting next to each other in front of the car.
“The Fortress is another five hours from here - How do you suppose we'd get there?” Sofia asked, turning to Bathe.
“I am driving to one of the locator points – Those are areas that the Vitrians have dedicated near the city. No demon can come near there.”
“I know,” Sofia answered, letting Bathe know she has a good knowledge of what he was talking about.
“That's about an hour from here, but I'm going to try for less, though.”
“I am ... I'm still not sure about this?” Wanda heard her mum complain in the tone she used when she wasn't in full approval of a suggestion or plan.
“You'll be accepted at the Fortress Sofia,” Bathe answered. “You and I know there is nowhere else to keep Wanda safe now.”
“What if they don't accept us ... we left years ago?”
“That would not happen,” Bathe's thoughts drifted a bit. “If she's 'The Chosen,' the Vitrians would want her safe.”
Sofia looked out through the window, but she wasn't concentrating on anything; she was thinking. “This is how Marcus and Xavier died.” Her voice carried sadness. “It all started when Marcus became so convinced that The Chosen was important and had to be protected. Celina poisoned his mind. I don't want anyone poisoning my children's minds.”
“Sofia ...” Bathe griped. “Celina is in the past, and no one knows even if she's alive.” He paused and took in a deep breath to control his voice. “Wanda needs protection right now, and so do you.”
Wanda could see Bathe knew something about Celina, and there was something he didn't want to say. The name Celina rang a bell in Wanda's head. Her mum rarely mentioned the name, but whenever Sofia mentioned it, Wanda noticed how her mother's voice carried a deep sense of bitterness and envy.
“Mum, can I know what is going on, the Vitrians, the Fortress ...” Wanda broke off.
“I think you should explain it.” Sofia looked at Bathe.
Bathe inhaled hard and paused for a moment before commencing. “Your dad and I used to be members of a group, more like a community of people who centuries ago lived separately from other humans but not anymore.”
“Why?” Wanda asked, instantly not accepting that her dad was once in any secret group. “What was special about these people?”
“Nothing,” Bathe continued. “Everything was the same as with regular humans or friends that you have, except that we can see demons, and we were given special gifts - tools to fight them and the Praying Méndez to protect ourselves from them.”
Wanda began to recall all the stories her dad used to share with her and Jason. Stories that her mum assured her were only fairytales for children.
“These people are called ... well, I mean we are called Vitrians, and over the years, six centuries to be precise, we have grown in number, large enough that the Vitrian elders created Fortresses with powerful Praying Méndez. The Fortress is a place where the Vitrians lived and trained as their own established city. The Fortress is so strong it keeps away demons; no demon can get into it, so once you are in there, you are safe....”
Bathe's phone went off, creating a rattling noise and interrupting him. He picked it up as he drove and immediately put it to his ear. “Wanda turned towards the window beside her, “mum, you are not one of the Vitrians? Are you?”
“No,” her mother answered gently. She knew Wanda could figure that out from what Bathe had said. Sofia knew Wanda would pick up on all Marcus told her, and Jason in the past was real, which also meant her mum had a lot to explain.
“Those stories dad told us ...” Wanda paused, waiting for her mother to respond.
“They were all true,” Sofia said softly, staring out of the window beside her. “They were battles Marcus fought in. I didn't want ...”
“But, you can see things too,” Wanda interjected; she was annoyed, and she knew her mum could hear it in her voice, but she didn't want any apologetic response until she was alone with her mum. “You can see dad's box and the Praying Méndez.”
“Yes, I was granted the opportunity to see things since I married your father. He had to convince the Vitrian elders to give me the ability....” Sofia went off suddenly and turned to Bathe, who was still speaking on the phone.
“Jason,” Bathe repeated to the person he was talking to. “Yes, that's his name. Thanks.”
Knowing that Bathe's discussion on the phone was about Jason, Sofia, and Wanda's eyes became fixed on Bathe. They waited in full expectation for what he had to say, but Bathe kept silent and only applied more gas to the engine. The car moved at a faster speed. The Audi zoomed past a few of the vehicles on the motorway. Wanda knew without a shadow of a doubt that Bathe was on one of the top speeds the car could go on.
“What's wrong?” Sofia asked, although she noticed the speed, she couldn't care less, her son's life was at stake. She knew Bathe well enough and knew when he was disturbed. “They found him.” Bathe smiled, turning to Sofia.
Wanda closed her eyes in deep relief, happy to hear the news, but Bathe's expression worried her. She began to develop cold feet about the connection between Bathe and the demons that chased her, and that probably got Jason.
“What is wrong?” Sofia's voice was firm as she stared at Bathe. She could read him well; she could see his smile was nothing more than the muscles by his lips twitching. “You have increased your speed, so I know there's a new reason for the haste.”
Reluctantly Bathe let out the information he'd been given. “Jason has been poisoned by a demon. They need you urgently at the Fortress; they need family blood to treat him. If not, you'll lose him.”
Wanda's heart skipped a beat at the news. She remembered what Eric had told her at school, “your chances are very little if any of the demon's talons have touched you.”
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Chapter 4
Sofia became tensed. She froze the instant she heard that Jason was at the point of death. Her face turned pale; her skin looked white and as dead as a chicken that had been killed and skinned.
Though Wanda could not see her mum's face clearly, she knew her mum was seriously overwhelmed by everything. She felt depressed too and blamed herself for being carried away by thoughts of her holiday before she noticed the demon beside Alfred.
“Then you better speed up,” Sofia finally broke out from her trance and turned away from Bathe. She stared at the road as several thoughts flashed through her mind. As if this was what Bathe needed to hear, he kept quiet and only responded by applying more gas - the engine of the car grunted like it was going to fall apart. A moment of silence passed before anyone made any comments or raised any other questions.
“Where is Jason now?” Wanda enquired. “Is he already at the Fortress?”
“No,” Bathe responded. “But, some Vitrians are rushing him to the Fortress as we speak; they would be there before us - in about five minutes to be precise.”
“Isn't there anything else they can do before we arrive?” Wanda's voice was weak, revealing she was panicking. Sorrow was over her, although she was holding on to her pain and hiding it just for her mum's sake. “I mean to help Jason. Can't something be done before we arrive?
“Yes, they will try,” Bathe's reply was cold and sounded like the odds of helping Jason was limited, like the hope of him surviving was worthless. “That's why they wanted to confirm his name on the phone. They are going
to try to keep him awake and active. While active and awake, the effect of the poison on him reduces rather than if he falls asleep. They're going to keep talking to him, calling his name, to keep him ...”
“Why don't they just heal him?” Sofia interrupted Bathe as she finally got herself together. A mixture of anger, frustration, and despair could be heard in her tone. Wanda stared at her mum as her mother included. “They do heal the sick Vitrians, the extremely wounded ones after every battle.” She focused on Bathe, who only looked straight on the road. “I have seen it multiple times. No single Vitrian who was wounded died, as long as they were found. Even when they were poisoned, they were healed.” Bathe knew where this was heading. “They should heal my son with the Healing Méndez!” Sofia demanded in a frustrated tone.
Reluctantly, Bathe shook his head. He was quiet for a moment, and even Wanda could see that he didn't want to respond or get into the discussion. Wanda kept quiet and waited to hear what Bathe had to say.
“The Vitrians no longer have the Healing Méndez.” Bathe finally let out. His voice sounded incoherent, carrying a tone of fallacious information though no one noticed. There was too much panic in the car for anyone to be disturbed about the sound in Bathe's voice or wonder why Bathe seemed reluctant talking about why Jason could not be healed by the Vitrians.
“What do you mean?” The askance look on Sofia's face was shocking. She couldn't understand what Bathe was saying. Wanda remained silent watching from the back, turning her head from her mum to Bathe and back to her mum as she listened and studied their expressions carefully.
“The Healing Méndez has been stolen ... by the rebels.”
In bewilderment, Sofia gaped and then replied. “You told me the rebels are weak and scattered, merely a vague force right now. You said they had fizzled out of existence, and the Vitrians are not even worried ...”
“Yes, they are weak in comparison to the Vitrians' strength all over the world ... that, I can promise you, but I don't know how the rebels were able to steal the Healing Méndez from the Fortress.”
Wanda had never really liked Bathe, and neither did she hate him. Bathe had always been the man that was there for them. He had his ways of being available at unexpected moments, such as when she rushed to the house searching for her mum. She never really despised him although she wondered how come he was always on point, showing up at their house moments when he was actually needed to help. She could sense he knew more about the Healing Méndez story than he was saying. Wanda contemplated the possibility of Bathe knowing about the demons chasing her and Jason. She suddenly recalled her mum had mysteriously lost her mobile phone, a demon had chased her at school, and Bathe had shown up in their house as usual when they urgently needed him. He had people to call to find Jason, and now they have found Jason, and a demon had poisoned him.
With the thoughts of Bathe probably knowing more than he was letting up or conniving with the people trying to get her or even being the one who had been chasing them, Wanda called out to her mum. “Mum, should we really be going to this place – to this Fortress?” Wanda questioned, as the notion of Bathe being the one they should be running away from pervaded her mind.
“Yes,” Sofia answered her daughter. She'd been distracted and paid little attention to what Wanda had said, let alone read any meaning into her daughter's tone.
Bathe, who sensed the sudden pullback in Wanda's voice, realised Wanda was sceptical. He looked through the rearview mirror and observed Wanda.
“Mum,” Wanda continued her complaints. “We need to be sure this Fortress is safe.”
Sofia looked behind the moment she realised the tone in her daughter's voice. “Wanda, that is the only safe place. It's where you need to be right now.”
“The demon?” Wanda enquired. “Jason – how do we know who got him, who poisoned him?” She rushed her words and realised she had perhaps said too much because even Bathe could easily infer from what she had said.
“I know the best and fastest way of healing demon poison is by using the Healing Méndez,” Bathe said on purpose, reassuring Sofia who had started paying attention to what Wanda was saying, with her heart pulsating like a vibrating string. “With it, Jason would be fine in minutes,” he continued deliberately trying to shift their focus back on the Healing Méndez.
“Why can't another Healing Méndez be used to heal Jason?” Wanda asked, not realising Bathe had intentionally drawn their attention away. She had seen so many tools with Eric and in her father's box that she didn't understand why they couldn't use another Healing Méndez.
“The Healing Méndez is not like the Praying Méndez, which everyone has,” Bathe replied and then observed Wanda by looking through the rearview mirror, so he could see her expression. “Each Vitrian has a Praying Méndez, but not everyone has a Healing Méndez. In fact, there is only one Healing Méndez at each Fortress, and if your injury from a battle is severe ...”
“Like a cut from a demon's talon?” Eric's warning resonated in Wanda's head as she spoke.
“Yes, like a deep cut from a strong demon,” Bathe confirmed. “To get healed, you would require the Healing Méndez.” He went silent for a moment and then continued to explain to Wanda. “The Healing Méndez is quite different from the Praying Méndez, and it carries heavenly powers. In the past, some obsessed Vitrian elders tried replicating it, just like they could replicate and manufacture Praying Méndez for everyone, but they were not able to do so.”
Frustrated at the fact that Jason's life was hanging by a thread, Wanda spoke before she thought about her words. “Then let's look for the rebel's and have a word ...” she hung on her own words.
Bathe realised Wanda could see that even what she was proposing was not feasible, so he decided not to answer. He let the words hang in the air for some seconds.
“It wouldn't help,” her mother answered. “We'd be doing exactly what the rebels want if we decided to go to them.”
“What do you mean?” Wanda inquired.
“They would demand you,” Sofia said, slowly controlling her voice and trying not to scare her daughter. “That's what all this is about, they want you and Jason, and they have the Healing Méndez.”
“Are you saying ...” Wanda did not want to come to terms with what her mum was insinuating. Eric's voice telling her the demon at school was sent to fetch her resonated in her ears.
“Yes,” Bathe muttered in a sad tone. “I think Jason was poisoned to get to you.”
Wanda noticed her mum didn't seem surprised at the statement Bathe made. What Bathe said was precisely what her mum was implying. Wanda could always read her mum, her emotions, and her sudden panic when things had happened to them and her fear that had grown worse day after day since her dad died. She remembered how Jason had played, genuinely believing that their father's stories and how he would narrate it to even his friends at school.
“But ... but why?” Wanda complained, raising her voice. “Jason has done nothing. We don't even know about all these or about the Vitrians. Why didn't they hold him if they wanted us, they could have locked him up rather than leave him to die.”
Bathe, and Sofia exchanged glances knowing that Wanda was right that the rebels should not have taken Jason.
“Why poison him and release him for death.”
“Why?” Sofia agreed with Wanda and continued to stare at Bathe, who had turned back towards the motorway. “The rebels had him already, so why poison him and then leave him.”
Bathe thought for a moment looking for ways to wade off the question and not reveal too much.
“I don't know,” he answered gently. “There could be several reasons for that, the rebels could have done it when they realised the Vitrians were about to get Jason off them, they could have done it to set in fear, knowing that we would need the Healing Méndez to heal Jason and would, therefore need to come to them.”
“Mum,” Wanda raised a complaining tone, and her mum understood the tone.
“Your father
left the Vitrians a few years after the rebels started,” Sofia spoke but did not turn to look at Wanda. She took in a deep breath as her voice began to break. “Your dad loved you, Wanda; he loved you and Jason so much and wanted the best for you.”
“Then why didn't he tell us about the rebels?” Wanda complained. “You were too young, Wanda,” Bathe said, and Wanda knew he was right; she was barely seven years old when her father died nine years ago.
“It is believed,” Sofia explained to her daughter, “that the rebels dealt in the occult and sorcery. They got the information that some children would be born to strengthen the Vitrian legacy, and they have since wanted the children dead.”
“Children?” Wanda reiterated like she didn't hear her mum correctly.
“Yes, children,” Bathe affirmed. “Not just you and Jason. The only difference between you and Jason compared to the other children is that only one of your parents is a Vitrian.” Bathe paused. “The Vitrians, in fact, had believed for so long that these children would only come from full-fledged faithful Vitrian parents and nothing ...”
“Not mixed parents like my dad and mum,” Wanda interjected and looked at her mum.”
“On point!” Bathe said. “And I guess with the fact that none of the other children that have the gift of The Chosen had been born to anyone with a single Vitrian parent, they never felt concerned to look at you or Jason.”
“But the rebels did?” Wanda said and began to think....”
“Well, from what transpired today, I guess you can say so.” Bathe's voice was gentle as he voiced out the circuitous answer.
Wanda began to ponder on the whole issue, knowing that the rebels must have some information about her ability and sent the demon to fetch her. She remembered Eric and how he saved her. She became more disturbed about how Eric would be healed if he had any way of escaping the demon that attacked her.
“There was a boy at school ...” Wanda said and broke off, not knowing how to bring the topic up.
Bathe looked at her through the rearview mirror and saw Wanda's expression, but Sofia, who was overwhelmed by the news about the Healing Méndez that was required to heal Jason was deep in thoughts; she looked lost in her reverie as she pondered.
The Healing Mendez (Vitrian Secrets, #1) Page 5