The Stone of the Eklektos

by Britney Jackson

  Kallias started to leave, but then, he glanced back at the woman and sighed. “What the hell is wrong with me?” he complained as he returned to her.

  He knelt in front of the unconscious woman. “I should leave you here,” he muttered to her. He pressed his thumb against the gash on her head to check the bleeding. He pulled it back and stared at the blood that coated it, barely resisting the urge to lick the blood. Finally, Kallias sighed irritably and scooped the woman’s long, soft body into his arms. He cradled her against his chest as he carried her to his car. After a few steps, she groaned in pain and shifted in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she squinted, as if suffering from a severe headache. As her bright azure eyes met his gaze, she murmured, “You.”

  —

  Rose woke in a panic. Her head pounded loudly and rapidly, in sync with her racing heartbeat, and she had the worst headache of her life. Bright light flooded her eyes as she opened them, and she whimpered as pain shot through her skull. She frowned at the blank white walls around her and felt another spike of panic as she realized that she had no idea where she was. She attempted to sit up in the bed, only to realize that her wrist was hooked to an IV. Only then did she realize that she was in the hospital and that she couldn’t remember why.

  Rose grimaced as she noticed a dry, soreness in her throat. She spotted a tall, blue glass of iced water on the rolling tray near the door. She tried to crawl out of the bed, but as soon as her bare feet touched the cold tile floor, a wave of dizziness rushed over her, and she fell face-first into the floor. She managed to pull her IV cords loose in the process, and the machine began to beep angrily and incessantly, which only worsened her severe headache. She groaned in frustration.

  A middle-aged woman wearing pale pink scrubs rushed into the room with Audrey trailing behind her. “What on earth are you doing out of bed, Miss Foster?” she scolded as she helped Rose back into the hospital bed, ignoring Rose’s protests. “You could’ve hurt yourself, and look, you pulled your IV loose.”

  “I was thirsty,” Rose slurred. Her brows furrowed as she noticed how strange and lethargic her voice sounded. “What happened? Why am I in the hospital? Why does my head hurt so badly? Why does my voice sound weird?”

  The nurse raised her eyebrow as she reconnected the IV. “One question at a time, honey,” she laughed. “Your head hurts because you have a head injury. Your voice sounds funny because of the medicine that the doctor gave you. And concerning what happened, well, we were hoping you could tell us.”

  “Stop plugging me up,” Rose complained, glaring at the IV. “I’m thirsty.”

  “That’s why you have this button,” the nurse said, pointing to the call button on the side of the bed. She walked over to the tray and grabbed the blue glass. “That way, I can get you what you need, and you don’t have to hurt yourself.”

  With shaky hands, Rose took the glass of iced water from the nurse. She sipped at it, a little mopey about not being able to get it herself. “Thanks.”

  “How are you feeling?” she heard Audrey ask.

  Rose looked up, squinting at Audrey’s blurred, slender form next to her bed. She tried to concentrate on the question, but her mind felt too foggy.

  “Are you sure she’s all right?” Audrey asked the nurse worriedly.

  “The doctor thinks she’ll be fine,” the nurse sighed. “She just needs…”

  “I’m fine,” Rose said suddenly. “Is that what you asked?”

  “Do you remember what happened?” Audrey asked.

  Rose tried to shake her head, but the movement rattled her head. She clutched her glass as a wave of dizziness washed over her. “No. What happened?”

  “I don’t know. The hospital just called and said someone had dropped you off at the hospital. You were unconscious, and you needed stitches,” Audrey said worriedly. “Are you sure you don’t remember? You’re pretty bruised up.”

  “Give her time,” the nurse scolded Audrey. “She just woke up.”

  Rose felt a pang of guilt as she noticed Audrey’s clothing. Dressed in a lacy pink camisole and short pink shorts, decorated with penguins in top hats, Audrey had obviously been in bed when she received the call. “You didn’t have to come.”

  Audrey waved dismissively. “I didn’t come for you,” she teased. She held up the frozen coffee drink so that Rose could see it. “The hospital has Starbucks.”

  Rose laughed and returned to drinking her iced water.

  “You listed Miss Audrey Stevens as your emergency contact,” the nurse said. “They tried to find your parents’ contact information, but it wasn’t listed.”

  “You should have checked the cemetery,” Rose blurted.

  “Huh?” the nurse said, taken aback.

  “That’s her contact information. My mom’s dead,” she said calmly.

  The nurse stared at her, her eyes wide. “Oh. I’m…”

  “And I don’t have a clue who my dad is,” Rose said, frowning. “But he’s probably dead, too, considering the kind of men my mom used to sleep with.”

  The nurse was stammering, “Oh, bless your heart, I…”

  “My brother’s still alive,” Rose offered. “But you’d have to call the prison to get in touch with him because he’s an idiot and a criminal, but mostly an idiot.”

  The nurse just blinked. “I’m sorry.”

  “She’s pretty talkative on this medicine, isn’t she?” Audrey commented to the nurse. “Let’s keep her on it until I get some good blackmail material.”

  Rose blinked at them, as if just realizing what she’d said. “Why did I tell you that? I never tell people that. I just made everything awkward, didn’t I?”

  “A little bit, yeah,” Audrey said, grinning at Rose.

  “It’s perfectly fine, Miss Foster,” the nurse assured her. “Right now, just focus on getting some rest. That medicine should make you feel drowsy soon.”

  “Yeah. Drowsy,” Rose repeated, her eyelids suddenly feeling heavy.

  “We’d really like to know what happened when you’re ready to talk,” the nurse said. “I can even call the police for you so that you can file a report.”

  “Why would I need the police?” Rose asked.

  The nurse frowned. “Well, I just assumed this wasn’t self-inflicted or anything. I mean, I don’t see how it could be. You had a deep cut in your head that needed stitches. You’re covered in bruises. And you have a concussion.”

  Rose just shrugged. “I don’t remember anything.”

  The nurse nodded. “That happens sometimes. Just, when you do remember something, let me know. My name is Harriet. Call if you need me.”

  “Thanks,” Rose mumbled as she watched the nurse leave the room.

  The bed dipped as Audrey crawled onto the bed. She lay beside Rose and crossed her legs, her thin body easily fitting in the small space. She leaned close to Rose and whispered in her ear, “Did you really not remember anything, or did you just not want to say it in front of her? I mean, it wasn’t the vampire, was it?”

  To her surprise, Rose laughed, “You still think a vampire is after me?”

  Audrey pulled back, scowling. “Well, someone attacked you last night.”

  Rose frowned as she considered that. Had someone attacked her? She couldn’t remember. She touched the bandaged cut on her head. “But why?”

  “I don’t know,” Audrey sighed. She glared at Rose and slapped her hand away from the bandage. “Stop touching it! You’ll mess up your stitches.”

  “I feel sleepy,” Rose suddenly announced, her words slurring again.

  Audrey snatched the television remote from Rose’s nightstand and started flipping through the channels. “Sleep. I’ll be right here, stealing your blanket and cable TV. Maybe you’ll remember something when you wake up.”

  —

  “Oww,” Rose complained.

  Audrey looked up from the romance novel in her hand. “Oh, good, you’re awake. Owen called while you were asleep. He’s pissed at you,
by the way. And now, I am, too. Is it true that you refused his offer to walk you home?”

  Rose winced at the harsh lighting of the hospital room, groaning as pain stabbed through her skull. “Uh…yeah…maybe. I think I remember that.”

  “I told you about my dream!” Audrey snapped, her amber eyes narrowing. “How could you tell him no when you knew that someone could attack you?”

  Rose cringed as Audrey’s voice boomed in her ears, worsening the already severe headache. She rolled onto her back, scowling up at Audrey. “You know, people with concussions love being yelled at,” she muttered sarcastically.

  Audrey continued to glare at her. “If you had let him walk you home…”

  “If I had, he would’ve been attacked, too,” Rose interrupted.

  Audrey sighed, “See, that’s the problem with you. Twelve times out of ten, if it comes down to you or someone else, you’ll sacrifice yourself every time.”

  “You realize that twelve times out of ten is impossible, right?” Rose said.

  Audrey rolled her eyes. “I was exaggerating for effect.”

  Rose closed her eyes. “Hyperbole,” she muttered drowsily.

  “This really isn’t the time for a vocabulary lesson, Rose,” Audrey complained, shaking her head irritably. She sighed, “I don’t want to lose you.”

  Rose opened her eyes again, stunned by the fear and vulnerability in Audrey’s amber eyes. With great effort, she managed to pull herself into a sitting position and lean her head on Audrey’s shoulder. “You won’t,” she said quietly.

  Audrey didn’t seem convinced. “Do you remember anything yet?”

  Rose frowned as she tried to recall the events of the night before. Her mind felt heavy and foggy, and her memories blurred together like one long trail of disjointed pictures that made no sense, flickering images of cold, dark eyes, a sadistic smile, a man in the shadows, blood, so much blood… “I’m working on it.”

  “Do you know if it was the man from my dream?” Audrey asked.

  Rose blinked. That seemed to prick at a memory. “If it were him, I’d be dead, wouldn’t I?” she asked, but even as she said it, her stomach sunk with dread.

  “I thought so, too, but…” Audrey trailed off, staring down at her hands.

  “But what?” Rose asked, pulling back to look at Audrey. She glanced down at Audrey’s sweaty palms. “You had another dream,” she realized.

  Audrey’s worried golden-brown eyes darted toward the closed door of Rose’s hospital room, and then, she nodded. “It was different this time. The same person attacked you and killed you, but it didn’t happen in an alley. You were inside,” she explained. “If the dream had been exactly the same, I would have just assumed that last night had nothing to do with it, but since it changed…”

  “Why does Theron want to kill me so badly?” Rose wondered.

  Audrey looked at Rose, her eyes wide. “Theron? You just said Theron.”

  Rose frowned. “Hmm…that’s weird.”

  “You remember his name. What else do you remember?” Audrey asked.

  Rose shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t remember anything.”

  “Except his name,” Audrey corrected. “That’s something.”

  “That can’t be right,” Rose mumbled, frowning. “Theron is the name of the vampire in those scrolls I’m translating. That’s too much of a coincidence.”

  “Unless they are both the same person,” Audrey reminded her.

  “Vampires aren’t real,” Rose insisted.

  Audrey scowled at her. “Something attacked you last night, Rose.”

  Rose shrugged. “That doesn’t prove that vampires exist. It only proves that crappy people exist, which isn’t much of a surprise to me, by the way.”

  “Crappy people with the name Theron,” Audrey added.

  “It is a weird coincidence,” Rose admitted. “But it doesn’t mean that the person who attacked me is some kind of mythological creature. Besides, if a vampire had attacked me, wouldn’t I have bite marks on my neck or something?”

  “I guess,” Audrey said. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything else?”

  Rose replayed what she could remember from the night before in her mind, remembering the walk to work, studying the scrolls every time she got the chance, the customer that asked her that creepy question… Her eyes widened. “The man from the restaurant,” she said suddenly. “I think he might have saved me.”

  “The man from the restaurant?” Audrey repeated bewilderedly.

  “Kallias,” Rose whispered in shock. “That arrogant jerk saved my life.”

  Audrey frowned. “Well, that’s a strange thing to call your hero.”

  “Who brought me here last night?” Rose asked Audrey suddenly.

  Audrey shrugged. “They just said a man found you in an alley.”

  Rose scowled at that. “And they didn’t ask for his name?”

  “I guess that is weird,” Audrey admitted. “Does it matter who it was?”

  “It could,” Rose mumbled quickly, suddenly lost in thought. “I wonder why he saved me. He said that he didn’t care whether I lived or died.”

  “He said what?” Audrey sputtered.

  “We have to go,” Rose announced as she threw her legs over the bed.

  “Whoa! Slow down!” Audrey shrieked as she jumped off of the bed and rushed to the other side. She shoved Rose back into bed before Rose made another disastrous attempt to stand. “They haven’t even discharged you yet!”

  “I have to figure this out,” Rose complained.

  “You have a concussion, Rose. You need to rest,” Audrey scolded.

  “A mild concussion,” Rose corrected, fumbling with the IV in her wrist, “and a few stitches. I’m not dying. Yet. I might if I don’t figure this out, though.”

  “Fifteen is not a few,” Audrey argued, narrowing her eyes.

  “Seriously, I just need some Tylenol,” Rose muttered stubbornly.

  “I’m pretty sure you’re already on something stronger than Tylenol right now,” Audrey said. She glared at Rose. “Would you leave your IV alone?! You’re going to hurt yourself! And I swear I’ll puke if you start bleeding everywhere!”

  Rose ignored her. “I have to figure this out.”

  “Okay, look, just be still, dang it!” Audrey said frantically, throwing her hands up. “At least let me see if I can get them to discharge you first.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Rose said, offering her friend a sarcastic salute.

  Audrey raked a hand through her frizzy mess of brown hair. She sighed loudly at Rose, “Okay. Just stay there until I get back. Don’t touch anything.”

  —

  “I assured them that I’d take you down in the wheelchair!” Audrey complained, abandoning the wheelchair in the hallway as she ran after Rose.

  Rose shoved open the door to the stairway and started down the five flights of stairs. “Well, why would you do that?” she asked, frowning. “Besides, wheelchairs and stairs are a bad combination. I’d end up injured even worse.”

  Audrey rolled her eyes. “Obviously, we would’ve used the elevator…like normal people,” she said, breathless as she rushed down the stairs, trying to catch up with Rose. “Dang it. Are we really going to walk down five flights of stairs?”

  “You know how I feel about elevators. They’re tiny,” Rose said, shuddering at the thought. “You’re welcome to ride the elevator if you want.”

  “And leave a concussed, crazy woman to walk down five flights of stairs by herself?” Audrey scoffed as she hopped down two steps at a time to catch up with Rose. “Ugh, I’m going to be sick. I shouldn’t have eaten those six donuts.”

  Rose tapped on the beige Level 2 sign with her fingertip as they passed the door and continued down another set of stairs. “Relax. We’re almost there.”

  “Where exactly are you in such a hurry to get to?” Audrey said, nearly tripping over one of the stairs. “Owen already told Eleanor about what happened, and she ga
ve you the next few nights off. And your classes are over for today.”

  “I need to figure this out,” Rose mumbled distractedly.

  “Figure what out?” Audrey asked breathlessly.

  Rose pushed open the door beside the Ground Floor sign and stepped out into the hallway. “Several things. But first, I want to know who brought me here.”

  “I told you,” Audrey sighed. “The nurse said that she doesn’t know.”

  “Someone must know,” Rose insisted as they neared the door for the Emergency Room. “They said he brought me in through the ER, right?”

  Audrey cast a wistful look at the snack machines as they passed them. “Yeah, but what are you going to do? Break into the office? Watch the cameras?”

  “That’s illegal,” Rose muttered, as if she would do it otherwise.

  As they entered the empty waiting room. Rose glanced around, looking for someone to ask. Audrey crossed her arms and sighed, ready to sink down on one of the sofas and watch some television if Rose didn’t hurry. She glanced around the room, looking for a comfortable place to sit. She froze as she saw the curvy brunette behind the desk. “Hey, that’s Meg. Rose! We can ask Meg.”

  Rose frowned at Audrey. “I’m not sure I know a Meg.”

  “I went to high school with her,” Audrey explained. “Come on.”

  Rose followed Audrey over to the desk where a young woman in a brown suit and a crisp, baby blue button-down shirt sat, busy typing something into her computer. She held a black, corded phone to her face with her shoulder as she typed, her soft, brown, curly tendrils falling around her face. When she noticed Audrey, she smiled and mouthed what appeared to be an enthusiastic hello. She then frowned curiously at Rose, her green eyes lingering on the blood that stained Rose’s white button-down shirt and the bandage on her forehead. After a few moments, she finished the call and returned the phone to its receiver.

  “Audrey! It’s so good to see you!” she exclaimed. “How have you been?”

  “Pretty good,” Audrey assured her. “And you?”