“Are you sure? You had a seizure, Ms. Diaz,” he said. “That's not something you want to mess around with. As a nurse, you –”
“I'm sure. I'm already feeling better,” I said. “I'll come back in if I have another.”
The flippant attitude toward my health wasn't like me. I always did my best to take good care of myself. But for whatever reason, I knew I needed to get out of that bed. Knew I needed to find Glyn.
I rushed through the checkout procedure, denied any medical treatment and got the hell out of there. Once the paperwork was done, I stepped into the bathroom to change. I also needed to see if my hair still had that streak in it, or if I'd imagined all of it.
No, the white streak was still there. If anything, it seemed to have grown a bit. And when I looked at my reflection, I saw something else that almost pulled a scream out of me. I managed to check myself just in time – the last thing I needed was nurse Rebecca to come flouncing in to check up on me.
It was impossible. There was no way I could have been seeing what I was seeing – my brown eyes had changed. They were no longer the dark brown color they'd always been. No, now they were a very light, crystal blue. They were almost white. Eerie looking, but beautiful – but they weren't my eyes.
“What in the hell is going on?” I asked, staring at myself in disbelief.
The voice in my head said, “Find Glyn. He will understand. He will be able to help you.”
“But where? Where can I find Glyn?” I spoke the words into the mirror out loud.
A woman – one of the hospital's janitorial staff – who'd been coming into the bathroom stared at me with an incredulous expression on her face. But then she turned around and walked back out without saying a single word.
“You'll know. Just follow your heart.” the voice whispered to me.
Follow your heart? Really? What kind of crappy, fortune cookie answer was that?
“Yeah, great,” I said into the mirror. “Thanks for nothing.”
~~ooo000ooo~~
Needing to get out of there as quickly as possible, I walked out of the hospital and didn't even bother reporting back into my supervisors. I wasn't sure why, but I knew I had to find Glyn. Immediately. Whatever was going on with me, he knew. He had to. Or at least have a better idea than I did. I had no reason to believe that – I only had a voice in my head telling me so – but I did. I believed it and needed to find Glyn.
My instinct told me to not go back to the scene of the crime. I somehow knew there would be nothing for me there. I just felt that there was no way Glyn would go back there – not so soon. But as I thought about it, I thought there was someone else I needed to track down.
The homeless man I'd almost run into as I rushed down the alley that night.
I recalled that he'd been muttering something about dragons – something I'd assumed was the crazy mumbling of a mentally unwell man at the time. But now – now things had changed. I wasn't so sure those were crazy mumblings – not unless I was becoming mentally unwell myself. Which, wasn't entirely outside the realm of possibility.
I certainly felt like I was losing my mind.
But I thought that maybe, if I could track him down, he'd be able to confirm my visions. Or if not that, then to just confirm that I was also as crazy as he was.
I had no idea how I was going to track down one homeless man in a city filled with them, but that was all I had to go on. And the voice in my head said to follow my heart – so I followed my heart right down to Hollywood.
Where I was going to have my work cut out for me.
I thought back, straining my mind, trying to remember what the homeless man looked like. There were so many homeless living in Hollywood – and LA in general – that I had no idea where to start. And I knew that just because he'd been in the area that night, he might not still be there. Many homeless people were transient, moving from place to place almost daily. And if I were him and I thought I'd seen dragons and murder, I'd probably get the hell out of dodge too.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and made me jump. I'd been so wrapped up in my head that I'd almost completely forgotten about it. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Kelsey. I punched the button and held it to my ear as I walked down Hollywood Boulevard.
“Hey, where are you, chica?” she asked me.
“At work,” I lied. “Why?”
“I've been trying to call you,” she said. “I've been worried about you. I heard there was an attack or something in the area after we left last night. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I'm fine,” I said, lying again and feeling slightly guilty about it, “I went home and went to bed.”
“Well that's good,” she said. “But you still could have returned my calls.”
Honestly, I hadn't even noticed my phone ringing. I'd been a little preoccupied.
“Sorry, it was on silent,” I explained. “And I was running late this morning, so I didn't get around to checking it.”
Partial lie. My phone was on vibrate and I just hadn't noticed it. It wasn't all that important, I guess. Not when I was in the middle of having seizures and fantasizing about dragons who could somehow become human. Not when my hair and my eyes were changing colors and there was a voice in my head whispering to me about some mysterious man named Glyn.
“I'll forgive you this time, Nessa,” she said with a chuckle. “Have a good day at work.”
“You too, Kels,” I said.
Even though she was my best friend, it felt like I'd had that entire conversation with a complete stranger. I'd known Kelsey for a long time – most days, it felt like I'd known her my whole life. We'd gone to college together, were roommates for a bit, went on double dates, and hung out most weekends. She was like a sister to me.
So, how could someone I knew and loved so well feel like a complete stranger to me?
“Find Glyn,” the voice said, more insistent this time. “He'll have the answers you seek.”
“Fine,” I muttered, feeling frustrated with myself – and the voice in my head – for not making this easier.
I felt lost. Adrift. Like something was wrong with me. Where was that happy, optimistic person I'd been just the day before? I just didn't feel like me anymore.
~~ooo000ooo~~
As I walked around Hollywood, I felt something inside of me, a familiar feeling that was pulling me in certain directions. I thought that maybe it was the voice in my head – maybe it was helping to guide me along. I was trusting in that voice and letting my heart lead me.
At first, I thought it might lead me to the homeless man. I walked for what felt like hours and instead of finding the homeless man, I found myself sitting outside of an apartment complex I didn't recognize. We were no longer in the derelict part of Hollywood though, we were in West Hollywood – a nicer, more affluent part of the city.
I stared at the apartment complex and felt a connection to the place. But I'd never seen the building before, which left me confused. I couldn't shake the feeling though, that the place was familiar. Like, this was home, for some reason.
For some reason, I felt like I belonged here.
I walked around the block, stopped at a coffee shop and tried to get my bearings. I'd never been to that apartment complex, or that coffee shop, but somehow, everything just felt familiar to me. Which was absurd. I got to this part of the city maybe once a year with Kelsey. Certainly, never enough to feel as familiar with the area as I did. And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity.
As I stepped into the coffee shop, I was so consumed with my thoughts that it didn't even occur to me until after the fact that I hadn't even looked at the menu before ordering.
“Aztec Mocha, please,” I said.
I had no idea what I'd just ordered, but I just let it go. And as the barista handed it to me, I took a sip, expecting some sweet beverage. But it was spicy. Like chili pepper spicy. The spice was mixed with coffee and chocolate, of course, which made it bearable.
As I stepped outside again, I felt drawn back to the apartment complex once more. Figuring I'd already come as far as I had, I decided I might as well see what came of it. If anything. I sat down on the steps of the complex and waited – because I just had a feeling I needed to wait.
And for some unknown reason, I was getting good at listening to my feelings and hunches.
Wait for what though? I had no idea who or what I was waiting for, but I had a feeling I'd be one step closer to getting some much-needed answers.
Chapter Eleven
Glyn
I was so caught up in my own head that I hardly noticed the woman sitting outside my apartment complex. It wasn't unusual for people to hang around on the street, so I didn't even pay any attention to her. I was heading inside when her voice stopped me.
“Glyn?”
My body tense, my hand already reaching for the dagger on my belt, I stopped in place and turned toward her. And when she looked up at me, giving me a good view of her eyes, I almost lost it. Those were her eyes – Onda's eyes. The woman looked at me, her eyes wide, a look of near panic on her face.
Overcome with emotion, visions of Onda swirling through my head, I fought the urge to reach out and touch the strange woman. I shook my head, cleared my throat, and tried to check the wave of emotion that had risen up within me.
Onda was dead. The woman who sat before me obviously had eyes that were similar and it was that similarity that had thrown me for a loop – for a moment.
I was back in control of myself again.
“Yes? Who are you?” I snapped.
“My name is Vanessa,” she said, stepping toward me. “I was the nurse who tried to help –”
I stopped her right there, not wanting to answer any more questions. She couldn't know what happened. She needed to forget that she'd ever seen me or watched Onda die. She just needed to go away and go on with her life – like I was trying to go on with mine.
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” I said. “So, if you'll excuse me, it's been a long night and I'd like to get some sleep.”
“Your name is Glyn, right?” she said. “And your girlfriend – her name was Onda?”
“Miss, you have the wrong person,” I said.
She had to have heard our names that night. I thought back and remembered that I'd told her mine – and I guessed that she'd heard me talking to Onda. That was the only logical explanation I could come up with for how she knew our names.
“My name isn't Glyn,” I said. “And I have never heard of somebody named Onda. I'm sorry, you have the wrong person. I really must go now.”
As soon as those words came out of my mouth though, a strange expression crossed the woman's face. An expression of pain. Her eyes welled with tears and I thought she might cry. And as I looked at her, saw the obvious pain she was in, I just wanted to reach out and touch her, comfort her.
What I really wanted though, was to comfort Onda.
But this wasn't Onda. This was a woman named Vanessa. I still wasn't sure how her eyes could be so crystalline blue – just like Onda's had been – but I had to remind myself again that they weren't Onda's eyes. This woman obviously wasn't Onda and I needed to pull myself together.
“Listen, Glyn,” she continued, even though I'd denied who I was. “Something's been happening to me since that night in the alley. I'm – well – I'm changing. First, this white streak in my hair popped up overnight, and then my eyes –”
“Let me stop you right there,” I said. “Vanessa, seriously, I appreciate that you're trying to figure out what happened to you, but please, it's better for all of us if you just go back home and forget I exist. Forget everything that happened to you in that alley. Got it?”
“Your girlfriend,” she asked again, undeterred. “Where is she?”
That was the last straw. With my fists clenched at my sides, I walked past her and punched in the code that would let me into the lobby of my apartment complex. I closed the door after me, making sure it locked behind me. I stared at Vanessa through the glass and found her staring straight back at me. As I stared into her eyes, I couldn't deny that I felt a connection. I quickly pulled myself away, shifting my gaze away from her eyes.
It was a trap. I was grieving. I wasn't myself. So many excuses ran through my mind for how I felt, for the urges I was struggling with.
“She's gone, Vanessa,” I said. “And you need to be gone too. If you know what's good for you.”
Even though it pained me to turn away, I did so. I walked past the elevator and took the stairs to my apartment, refusing to look back – even though it felt like Onda was calling out to me through the eyes of a live woman.
But Onda was dead. She was gone. There was no way she was calling to me. It was my grief and it was all in my head.
And as much as I hated turning my back on the woman who'd tried to help us, I had no other choice. Even a simple thanks would give her too much information. As a human, she shouldn't have been there in the first place. Shouldn't have seen what she did. But she had been, and now whatever was happening to her wasn't something I could help her with.
Besides, she was safer without my help.
~~ooo000ooo~~
Quint tried to talk me into staying home that night, to let him send someone else out on patrol. But I wouldn't have it. Not even after the debacle the night before. Following up on the Xar nest, making sure we'd either gotten all of them or had driven them deep underground, I went back to the same darkened alley and looked at the tunnel coming from the building.
There was no sound from inside the tunnel. No sign of any creatures scurrying about. It wasn't surprising – without their Queen, the Xar were more or less useless. They'd move on to find another colony or would simply die off on their own eventually. The Queen was the glue that held the entire colony together.
I was just about to call the whole mission a success and move on to something else I could kill when I heard something. Holding my sword in my hand, I listened and waited, barely drawing a breath, and not moving in the least. My body was tense and I was ready for a fight.
Footsteps. And they were coming this way. I moved quickly and silently, sliding myself behind the dumpster and slid my dagger out of its sheath. It could be a homeless person scrounging for food or it could be some other creature of the night – until I saw it, I wouldn't know. But I'd be ready.
“Hello?” a female voice called out, her voice echoing around the alley. “Glyn, I know you're here.”
I sighed and hung my head. Great. She was the last thing I needed at the moment. I stood up and stepped around the dumpster, catching sight of Vanessa in the moonlight.
“What in the hell are you doing?” I fumed. “Are you stalking me now?”
She stood tall and jutted her chin out – a very Onda-like gesture if I'd ever seen one – and walked toward me. There was something in the way she walked, something that reminded me of Onda, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Call it her swagger, whatever, but the way she moved, with a fluid grace, sent chills down my spine and for a second, I thought maybe it was Onda walking toward me.
But, of course, it couldn't be. Onda was dead. It seemed I needed to remind myself of that fact over and over again. I quickly sheathed my blades, hoping she hadn't caught sight of them – that might be difficult to explain. Especially, in light of the wound that had killed Onda.
“We need to talk,” she said. “And I'm not going to take no for an answer this time. Something's happening to me and I think you know exactly what it is.”
“I told you, there's nothing to talk about,” I said. “I don't know you. You don't know me. Let's just move on with our lives.”
“Uh huh. So, you just randomly roam the dark alleys of Los Angeles at night, by yourself?” she asked dryly.
“It's my – it's my job,” I said sternly.
; “Your job?” she asked, the sound of laughter in her voice. “And what exactly is your job title, Glyn?”
“Security,” I said matter-of-factly.
“Bullshit,” she said. “In fact, you don't even need to answer because I already know what you do. You're a Ranger. That's your official job title.”
My eyes grew wide and my mouth fell open. I was stunned by what she'd just said.
“How did you –”
She shrugged. “I wish I knew,” she said. “That's why I need to talk to you. I just know things, Glyn. I know things I shouldn't know and I don't know how it's possible. Like how did I know where to find you?”
“You followed me?” I said. “I mean, just a guess, but I assumed that's –”
“I didn't follow you,” she said. “Believe it or not, I left your apartment and went home. But then later, I had an urge to go for a walk and I ended up here. And I knew you were here too because I could feel you. Could you feel me, Glyn?”
“Not really,” I said, seriously debating whether Vanessa was certifiably insane or not.
She closed the distance between us. “How about now, Glyn? Can you feel me now?”
She laid her hand gently on my cheek and there was a warmth on my skin, as if I was surrounded by a warm, familiar light. But I was imagining it – I had to be.
“No, Vanessa, listen –” I started to cut her off when I heard a familiar sound.
Scurrying. The sound of nails on concrete. I felt my pulse quicken, knowing what was coming.
Xars.
“What was that?” she asked, her eyes growing wide.
As I looked at her, I would have sworn that those were Onda's eyes staring back at me. I shook my head. It wasn't Onda. Onda wouldn't have had fear in her eyes at the sound of the Xars approaching. She would have grinned, relishing the chance to cut some of them down. I needed to get it through my head once and for all – Vanessa was not Onda and Onda was not Vanessa. Period.
“They're rats,” I lied. “Big rats. And you should probably get out of here. Okay?”
“I'm not going anywhere,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her. “Not until I get some answers from you.”
No Such Thing as Dragons : Complete Series Box Set (Books 1 - 5) Page 33