"I think so," I said.
John had already realized that I wouldn’t talk about the note, so he did his best to change the subject.
"So, Mary, do you enjoy staying here?" he said.
"I do," Grandma answered, not noticing John's tactic. "Agnes was more than happy when I said I'd stay here for a while. We're even doing a cooking class together. And yes, Liz, I'm being careful,” he said, smiling.
"Liz has made delicious desserts in the hotel," John said, smiling. "I think I should thank you for that."
“You can be sure of that. If I hadn’t insisted, she would never have been interested in it.”
"Yes, I would." I interrupted. "You know it calms me down. And I like it.”
"Speaking of which, there's a cake in the kitchen, Liz. Can you come and help me get it for you?”
“I don’t want...”
“Liz, can you come help me, please?”
Grandma looked at me, pointing to the kitchen with her head, indicating she wanted to talk privately. John noticed.
"I'd love a piece of cake," he said, smiling.
I got up and followed her into the kitchen with an ugly face. I wasn’t surprised to see an actually cake on the table.
"So, how's things going with John?" Grandma said, cutting a piece of the cake.
"Really, Grandma? Did you call me here for this? And next time, be a little subtler, please.”
"You can’t blame me for wanting to know. You always deviate from the subject when you call.”
"Because I don’t want to talk about it, Grandma. Is weird!”
“No, it is not.”
She put two pieces of cake into two small plates and sat down in a chair, staring at me.
"I won’t leave here until you tell me. Come on, spill it.”
"I don’t know what you want me to say.”
"Tell me if you're happy," she said hopefully.
I sighed, not being able to stop smiling. That question I couldn’t help answering.
"I am," I said, sitting in the chair in front of Grandma. "You know, sometimes I catch myself watching him when he’s not looking…”
Grandma broke into a smile.
"And despite everything, I’m happy. Sometimes I feel guilty for being happy with all this happening.”
"I've never heard you talking like that about any of your boyfriends. Not even Liam.”
"Because I've never felt like this before," I said, smiling.
"I remember you saying you weren’t ready. What changed?”
"I knew I couldn’t stay away from him for long. There, after being attacked and almost killed, I decided that I didn’t give a damn and enjoyed the moment. And I don’t regret it at all.”
"You have no idea how much I love to see you so happy."
Grandma smiled as if receiving the best news in a long time.
"I knew, by the way you look at each other, that you were happy. I just wanted to hear you say it.”
We got up and went back to the living room where John was waiting patiently, but not before Grandma hugged me again. We spent a few more hours with Grandma before we got back to the hotel. Before we left, John and I went to my house to get some clothes for me. I took the key we left under a broken piece of wood on the entrance step. When I opened the door and put the first foot inside the dark house, I felt a shiver. My eyes jumped directly into the kitchen, on the floor, where the vase was broken in the fight, with drops of my blood on it.
John ran his hand slowly down my back. As I turned my face to the living room, the sight of Grandma dead in the chair made me shake my head quickly, closing my eyes.
“Is everything okay?” John said. “I can do this if you want.”
“Yes, I'm fine. It's just that...” I turned to him, turning my back to the room. "When I see this place, only bad images come to mind. Grandma dead in that same chair. Someone waiting for me behind that wall.”
He hugged me and I closed my eyes. I inhaled deeply, his scent calming me slowly as it entered my lungs. I went up the stairs, going straight to my room. Since I didn’t know how long I would still be away from home, I started to pack a bigger suitcase. I put some books along with the clothes.
A sense of nostalgia struck as I walked around the room. I thought about taking my parents' picture — the only one I had — and taking it with me. I stopped in front of the mirror, finding it strange. The photo was on the dresser, and I always left it in the corner of the mirror. It had already a dent from spending so much time there. I came to the most obvious conclusion, and with the current situation, it wasn’t too hard to believe.
"Someone was here," I said, taking the picture.
“How do you know?”
John came close to me.
“This photo. It's the only one I have of my parents. I always leave it here — I pointed to the place in the corner of the mirror — and it was on the dresser.”
"Are you sure you didn’t put it there yourself?"
"How long have I been gone?"
"Almost three weeks.”
“Exactly. The last time I was in this room was to pack some clothes. I left and left everything the same way I always do. And the photo was in the same place as always.”
“Right. So that only proves we were right about getting you two out of the house.”
I sat on my bed, holding the photo.
“I'm sorry. I know that note shook you and now this…”
He sat down beside me.
"John, Grandma's a few feet away. What if he had gone after her?”
"Don’t think about it, please. She is well and happy. And the hunter showed no interest in her.”
"But he’s very interest in me. That note was his way of saying he would come back and finish the job.”
“I know. But that won’t happen. You are completely safe in the hotel. With me. Okay?”
I looked at John. He tried to stay strong. I also saw that he was angry at all this. Even trying to hide, I saw his fear. I struggled to smile, trying to keep myself strong. Or at least pretend.
"Okay," I said.
I finished packing and went down the stairs. For some reason, I felt I was leaving permanently. I locked the door and put the key back in place.
On my way back to the hotel I was silent. My head was bubbling with thoughts. Most of all, I was angry. Anger at this pitiful person who now made us live in fear. I felt guilty too. Grandma would never be in danger if it were not for me. This hunter now had a fixation on me and I knew he would end up using what I consider to be the most precious to me. The people that I love.
I believed that John could defend himself, Emma wasn’t in Heaven Valley, so there was only grandma left. And the idea oflosing her made me want to vomit.
"I hate this," I said after a long silent.
"I know," John said, pulling a hand from the steering wheel to place it on mine. “Me too.”
"If we get him, what would happen to him?"
"He would probably be killed. He killed a lot of our people, and it's not like we have a Pacenian prison here or anything.”
I nodded and kept silent with the thoughts that haunted me.
We got to the hotel and John took my suitcase out of the car. As soon as we entered, we bumped into Eimée. As if things were not bad already. I wondered if she would ever like me. Probably not.
"So, the princess decided to move in?" She said, leaning against the banister of the stairs.
"I know you'd love that, but no," I said sarcastically. "I just don’t know how long I'll have to stay."
"You could just give yourself to the hunter. That would speed things up.”
"That's not a joke," John chided her, more serious than I'd ever seen him. “People died. Our people.”
"You know what would happen if I surrendered to him," I said, letting go of John's hand and coming closer to her.
"I know," she said, her face calm.
How could she hate me so much? I could feel tears starting to appear. I t
ook a deep breath and did my best not to cry in front of her. She wouldn’t get that pleasure.
"Is that what you want? Another Pacenian killed by this madman? That’s low, even for you.”
Her face was turning red. She opened her mouth, but I raised my hand in the air interrupting her.
"Honestly, I'm tired of trying to be nice to you, and I really don’t have the patience for it anymore. What's happening here is real, my grandmother and all the others are in real danger. Even you. I don’t have time for your jealousy and your angry comments. So next time, please do me the favor and save it for yourself.”
When I finished speaking, Eimée lowered her head and left with her tail between her legs. She looked like a child who didn’t understand how serious the situation was until an adult explained. I felt bad for being so hard on her, but that didn’t make what I said less true.
"Was I too hard on her?"
“She had to hear that. She has to get over this.”
I nodded slowly, agreeing with him.
"I'm going to make something to eat" I said, wanting to do something in the kitchen. That would surely calm me down. “Do you want something?”
"No, no way,” John answered. "I'll do something to eat and you can go up and get some rest."
I couldn’t keep a serious face. John had never stepped into this kitchen if it weren’t to talk to me or get something to eat.
“Why are you laughing?” He said with a smile. “I can manage.”
"Since when do you cook?"
"Just one of my talents, miss.”
"All right," I said. "But I hope it's something good."
"Of course it will," he said, smiling.
I went upstairs and took a shower, but I didn’t hurry. I washed my hair meticulously and when I finished I did what I hadn’t done for a long time; I put on a good cream and let it moisturize my hair for a few minutes. I deserved a few minutes of relaxation, not thinking about anything. Unfortunately, all I could do was think about what I shouldn’t. All the worst scenarios possible.
When I finished I put on a pair of pants, an old shirt and went down to the kitchen. John looked surprised when he saw me.
“What are you doing? I was going to take it to you.”
"I don’t mind eating here," I said, sitting down in a chair. "So, what did you do?"
John walked to the counter with a pot in one hand, two plates in the other, and a smile on his face. He set the dishes on the counter and began to put the food in them. I laughed out loud when I finally saw what he had cooked.
“Don’t laugh. This is going to be the best ramen you've ever had," he said, smiling.
"We'll see," I said, picking up a fork and starting to eat.
John stood there with his arms crossed, looking at me. He had an anxious expression on his face.
"That's really delicious," I said. "What did you put here?"
“Oh, that's super classified. Chef’s secret — But later he told me it was a table spoon of butter.”
After my approval, John sat down and began to eat.
And we stayed there, eating, laughing and talking until bedtime, forgetting all our problems for a while.
CHAPTER NINE
The next day I continued my new routine. As soon as I woke up, I went down to the pool, finding Zal on the way. He seemed happier than ever now that he had something to do and I saw him less sad every day. My muscles now ached with each step, blow and swerve. I’ve never really exercised, but I knew it would continue to hurt until my muscles got used to this new routine.
We ran for a long time, which made me feel a temporary tranquility. I knew it was only momentary. That vast green vision was what pleased me the most, made me want to continue despite the pain. Zal was already looser, which resulted in a severed lip. My lip, of course.
As we ran, Zal informed me that from today he would start to come to at me with everything.
"And you've been holding out?" I asked, panting. All the bruises on my body would disagree.
"Yes. And a lot," he replied, sounding genuinely surprised by the question.
"I don’t think I need to ask why," I said, sulking. He clearly didn’t want to risk hurting me. "And why the change?"
"Well, I'd have to stop eventually. Now that you also have my power I can rest easy. I don’t think John will want to tear my head off if things get out of hand.”
He smiled.
"All right then," I said, laughing.
After this conversation we went to fight. I felt like I was doing a great job defending myself until I diverted my attention to someone entering the play area — Liam — and not being able to deflect quickly enough. Zal punched me in the mouth, cutting my lower lip. As soon as he saw what he did, I saw regret quickly appear on his face.
"Liz, I'm sorry." He really looked like someone who was about to be beheaded. “You're bleeding.”
"It's all right, Zal. It's just a cut.”
I put a finger to my mouth, the blood remaining still at the tip of my finger. I wiped it on my pants and returned to the position of defense, with both fists raised.
“I am really sorry...”
“Zal, seriously. Don’t worry. I am fine.”
Despite Zal's resistance, we returned to training. At that moment I realized that it would be a while before he understood I wasn’t as weak as I looked.
When I returned to the room, John wasn’t there. I finished taking a shower quickly and went downstairs, discovering that John had gone out with others to run some errands. Immediately I became anxious. Leaving the hotel these days was dangerous. I sat on the bottom step of the stairs, waiting to see him pass through those doors.
Almost an hour later, I gave up waiting and went upstairs to talk to Runne. From the moment I saw the photo of my parents out of place, I decided that I would use everything I could, and she had one of the most incredible powers, she just needed to understand it better. I reached the door, knocked, and when I didn’t hear an answer, I entered.
She was standing at the window, staring up at the sky. I walked over to her and touched her shoulder, which made her turn.
“Elizabeth!” She said, smiling.
"You didn’t hear me knocking?"
"No, I was trying not to hear anything. But that’s not quite an option for me.”
“I'm sorry.”
"What happened to your lip?"
“It’s nothing. Just a gift from my training with Zal.”
I was a little embarrassed, but I knew I'd end up asking anyway. When I make a decision, I can struggle to move on with it, but I know I won’t change my mind.
"Runne, I really need your help," I said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“With what?” Runne had a sparkling look on her face.
"I need you to tell me about all your visions."
The animation fled from her face faster than it appeared. I felt bad for asking for something like that, but I knew it was for the best.
"Elizabeth, you know my visions are not very clear," she answered. "I rarely understand anything I see, hear, or dream.”
"Yes, I know, but I want you to tell me all the same. We need every advantage we can get.”
“What happened? Was that rude one hurt? I know you like him.”
She frowned. I smiled, calling her to sit next to me.
"No, Runne. John is fine.”
"I don’t like him very much.”
"I know," I said, still smiling. "Your visions can be very useful, Runne. We just need to be able to interpret them.”
"The cabin, was he there?"
"No, but he had been. He left a note for me. He knew we would go there.”
"And what did it say on the note?"
I hesitated for a second. To know what was written in the note — the blatant threat to me — would only put pressure on her, or make her worried. I would try to avoid the two if possible. Runne didn’t need anything else to disturb her mind. No one else needed to worry about me.
&nb
sp; "Just vague threats," I said, and it wasn’t a lie, just wasn’t the whole truth. I convinced myself that it was enough. "Anyway, I just want you to try and tell us everything you see, okay? Your power can be our greatest asset.”
"I'll try," she said with a crooked smile. "I don’t want anything else to happen to anyone."
"Thank you," I said, putting my hand over hers.
I got up and started walking to the door, but I stopped, surprised, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Runne looked at me apprehensively.
"Elizabeth, I don’t want anything to happen to you. You are my first and, in fact, my only friend.”
"Nothing will happen to me," I said, but I couldn’t help but notice the uncertainty in my own words.
"But there's no way you can know," she said in an unsteady voice. Her deep eyes didn’t leave mine. “I don’t even know.”
I tried to smile, but it was difficult.
"That's true," I agreed. "I think it’s just something people say.”
"And why do they say that if they don’t know?"
"Probably because not knowing is scary, so we're pretending that it's all going to be okay because we don’t want to accept that it's out of our hands."
"That sucks." Runne grimaced and sat back on the bed, arms crossed.
"I know," I said. "And I also know I don’t want you worrying about me. Or about anyone. Call me if you see anything, okay?”
"All right," she agreed, but the dissatisfaction and fear in her face didn’t disappear.
I went back to the bedroom and John still hadn’t arrived. I went downstairs to see if he was down there, but nothing. I sat in the usual armchair in the great hall, one leg over the other, frantically moving my foot. I kept my eyes focused, but I didn’t really see anything. People passing by were just blots. A few minutes later, and I imagined the worst. I knew John knew how to take care of himself, but the thought that he was in danger was persistent and irritating. It still made me uneasy.
I got out of the chair and went upstairs to his room for some distraction. I made my call to Grandma for the day, and then I called Emma,since it seemed we had hardly spoken since I came to the hotel.
“Hi!” She said excitedly. She was always excited when we talked. It only made me feel guiltier for lying to her.
The Chosen Ones: Red Smoke Page 17