Redemption (Waking Up Dead)

by April Margeson

  Alzar said something to Caleb and I knew right then that what I was feeling was a good thing. Caleb’s face had been strained throughout the conversation, but I was not sure why. Now, I could see a tiny spark of hope flashing in his eyes.

  I was right about one thing. Something had gone terribly wrong back at home. Laynie was in trouble and every part of my being knew that. I just needed Caleb to tell me what had happened and then I would be able to put the pieces together for myself.

  Caleb closed his phone abruptly and took my hand saying, “Change of plans, love. We need to go home.”

  My mind spun and I wasn’t sure how he had managed to get me to the car and back at home before I knew what was going on.

  The car door opened and the driver was standing beside it waiting for us to get out. That was going to be a bit of a problem for me because for some reason, I felt drunk. I don’t just mean a little drunk. I mean I felt drunk to the point that if I was actually human I would have thought that I was going to die. I would be having someone call an ambulance or take me to the hospital. Thank goodness that I am not a weak human anymore.

  The pressure that I was feeling from the bond that I share with Laynie had only gotten worse on the ride over here. She felt to me like she was drowning, giving up, and I didn’t understand why. What had made her feel this way? Had one of them hurt her?

  I shook my head, trying to knock the thought of that out. I knew that Alzar and Max were not going to allow any harm to come to her. Max loves her like I love Caleb.

  I caught sight of the door as Caleb tugged me up the steps. Something had happened to me on the way over here and it was like I was dying. My mind was slipping away and I was helpless to know why.

  Alzar’s voice was in my ears and I was certain that there was a very important reason that I had been brought back home so soon.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Alzar asked Caleb, his voice strained and weak.

  “I have no idea. She was fine until I told her that we had to come back home and then this happened.”

  I could feel another set of hands on me and I wasn’t sure as to whether it was Max or Alzar that was helping Caleb get me inside. Being too weak-willed to open my eyes, I couldn’t see what was happening around me, but my hearing was just fine…sometimes.

  They spoke too fast for me to understand them at times, but I knew from the little bit that I heard that this was directly related to what was happening to Laynie.

  Alzar had asked Caleb exactly what had happened back at the other house and Caleb wasted no time in telling him everything.

  “She had changed clothes and I thought she was fine because she had been thinking about going shopping to buy new clothes for the both of us. She hadn’t let me know that anything was wrong, but I had a feeling that something about her was off. I just thought that I might have been her worrying about being separated from Laynie.” Caleb said.

  Alzar asked another question, but I didn’t catch all the words. It sounded like had had asked if I had been in pain or something like that.

  “Yeah, she told me that she had felt Laynie and that she was hurting, but I wasn’t really sure what she meant. That was when I called Max, but he didn’t answer, so I called you.”

  “That was the right thing for you to do and I am very glad that you did.”

  There was more talking and I was hanging on with everything that I had to hear the words, but I was sinking deeper into whatever this was that was happening to me.

  It felt like I had fallen asleep. I was surrounded with peaceful emotions and I couldn’t help but think that I was not here alone. Whispers floated in the air that surrounded me and I looked for the faces that they belonged to, but I couldn’t find anyone else.

  Soon, I just decided to relax and take in all the pleasant emotions that were filling my body and mind. But it didn’t take long for me to reconnect with Laynie.

  Her thought were clearer now and it was like nothing had happened. I listened to her as she hummed a tune that I was certain that I had heard before, but I could not remember the name of it.

  It wasn’t long until she realized that I was there with her, wherever this place is.

  “Alice! How did you get here?”

  “I’m not really sure. It just kind of happened” I replied. Hearing her voice comforted me, but left me with so many questions that I wanted to ask.

  “Where are we?”

  She laughed and it sounded like a child’s giggle that had just been tickled by someone. The amazing feeling that it gave me was making me feel like I never wanted to leave wherever this place was.

  “I’m not sure where we are exactly, but I know that you aren’t supposed to be here with me” Laynie said to me and the sweetness of her voice sent warming feelings all over my body.

  Every time that I answered her, my voice seemed to be much stronger than hers. That was strange to me, but I didn’t think any more about it.

  “You need to go back to Caleb, Alice. You can’t stay here.” Her voice was more strained now and she was becoming more frantic about me being here with her.

  “But, Laynie, I don’t want to go back without you.”

  “You have to go!”

  Something pulled me from her, jerking and towing me back to my body and away from her. I fought hard against it, but it was no use. I wasn’t going to win.

  Seconds later, I could hear Alzar’s voice. He was really close to me for some reason and I didn’t understand it. Caleb was there with me too. I could feel his hands on my face. He was calling my name and gently shaking me.

  Alzar had been saying something. It sounded like a rhyme of some sort, but it wasn’t in English. It was something else, something foreign to me. I opened my eyes to see Caleb’s face right in front of mine. A few of his tears fell onto my face causing me to blink rapidly. I guess that was a good thing because he called out my name in approval, wrapping his arms around me just enough to pull me to him.

  Alzar had stopped doing whatever it was that he was doing and was at my side instantly. He began to ask me questions and the words ran together with the speed that he was saying them.

  “Hold on a second” I said as I tried to reposition myself to where I could sit up and see him.

  Caleb let go of me so I could get up, but his arms never moved far enough away from me to let me fall.

  I felt sturdy and stronger than I had before we had gotten here. Hearing Laynie had helped me, but I couldn’t understand why she had sent me away from her. I knew that she cares deeply for me and she would do anything in her power to keep me safe. That had to be the reason she had done what she had.

  But I wanted to stay with her, to be where she was. The bond between us was still strong, but it was starting to become different.

  “What happened?” Alzar asked as he looked over me. I’m sure that he was expecting me to have been hurt, but I wasn’t.

  “I’m not sure, but I think that I just talked to Laynie.”

  “You think?” Alzar’s voice grew louder. He wanted me to tell him everything and I wasn’t sure that I could. The things that had happened were still fuzzy in my mind and I was having a hard time thinking.

  “She told me that I had to leave her. She sounded happy, but I’m not sure if what I felt was real” I said as I straightened myself again on the floor. “Something just isn’t right with her.”

  “At least she is still with us” Alzar whispered. It was like he had been trying to keep me from hearing it, but he couldn’t keep from saying it out loud.

  “Alzar, what’s going on? Where is Max?” I asked.

  He lowered his head. “Max is fine. He’s upstairs with Laynie.”

  Caleb had that look. The one that said that he knew, but he isn’t going to say a word.

  “Someone needs to tell me what is wrong with Laynie!” I yelled at them and the shocked look on Alzar’s face made me wish that I had not been so forceful.

  CHAPTER 7 ALZAR

  Alice had some typ
e of conversation with Laynie and that gave me reassurance that we still have a chance to save her. Somehow, Laynie had pulled Alice into her dream state. She had told Alice that she was fine and I couldn’t help but to be proud of her for trying to help her progeny in the condition that she was in.

  Laynie’s nature and will is stronger than anything that I had ever seen. When she loves, she loves with her whole heart and I think she got the most of that from me and not her mother.

  Max had been sleeping for hours, but he came out of Laynie’s room ready to start again. I have to admire his strength. I knew that he would stop at nothing to save her and I was honored that he was going to be a real part of my family soon.

  Laynie is going to wake up and everything is going to be fine, I kept telling myself, but I wasn’t sure if it was the truth. I had to hang on to any piece of hope that I could find in anything.

  Max helped me call to Aria again. With our powers combined, we would be able to hold the connection longer without becoming so exhausted. This was a big thing for Max, a step closer to him becoming a sorcerer.

  He’s ready. I had been teaching him for years and I knew that he would make a fine leader someday.

  Aria appeared in front of us and that let me know that we had enough power between the two of us to be able to fully call her to us. Not many of our kind could do that. It takes great power and an even deeper knowledge of the craft than most.

  She is still as beautiful as I had remembered her being. Her features were soft and understanding.

  “Alzar, I have told you all that I can. Why is it that you keep calling me back here?” she asked him. Her tone was patient, but I knew that it would soon be a different reaction from her if I didn’t state my business and let her go.

  “Laynie has contacted her progeny.” I told her this in hopes that she would give me more information.

  “That is a positive turn” she said as she smiled at me.

  “Is there not something else that you can tell me that would help?”

  I watched her as she looked from me and then to Max. She sighed and I had the feeling that she was going to stick to her previous story, but I was wrong.

  “Max controls her heart, Alzar. Even from the spirit realm I can feel her love for him. He is the key to all of this.” She looked at Max and began to speak again. “Your love can bring her back, but she has to know how you feel.”

  “I’ve told her how I feel about her, but she doesn’t believe me.”

  “Make her believe. You have to or she will die.”

  Her words made shudder and I wasn’t ready to accept that my baby girl could die. The thought had been stuffed neatly away in the back of my mind and I had done so well at keeping it hidden until now. But my wounded heart soon took over, sending me spiraling into deeper into despair.

  Max will not stop until Laynie is back in perfect condition. My admiration for him only grows as I watch him desperately searching for ways to help her.

  “I must go, Alzar.”

  Bowing my head to Aria, I thanked her for responding to our call. I just wish that she could have told us more.

  Aria always has known what was best for her fellow witches. Who am I to pass judgment otherwise? Her instructions had a way of leaving you in the dark about what needed to be done. She encrypted them and made it so that the person asking would know the answer. It took a little time before it was realized and time is something that we don’t have a lot of right now.

  Alice and Caleb had stayed in the room with Laynie while Max and I had called Aria. Since they are vampires, I wasn’t exactly sure how she would react to them being near her. Putting them in danger was the last thing that I wanted to do. Alice means so much to my daughter and if something happened, it could cause her to go deeper into whatever she is going through.

  “I need some time with Laynie…alone.” Max told me as he starting up to her room.

  Something about the way that he said it sparked my interest. It was apparent that he had a plan and I’m fairly certain that it had to be a good one. Max is very smart and I have a great deal of confidence in him. There is no one that I would rather have at my side during times like these.

  Alice was sitting on the bed beside Laynie when we walked in the room. She was carefully moving the stray hairs that we had missed when we put her into bed.

  Laynie’s skin looked whiter than it had before we left and my heart jumped and paused at the suggested reason behind it. Alice’s teary eyes only set that idea in my mind.

  Had she died?

  It had only been a matter of minutes that we had been downstairs and for her condition to decline so rapidly frightened me. Time is not on our side, but had it already taken her?

  Max was on the bed before I could get to it and as soon as I placed my hand on her skin I knew that we were in trouble.

  Her skin had gone cold and pale as death. The icy shock that I got when I touched her twisted me inside. “Alice?”

  “She’s still here, but if we don’t do something soon she won’t be. I can hardly sense her anymore.”

  Max looked up at me with pleading eyes, “Please?”

  I cannot deny him the chance to save her, so I quickly asked Alice and Caleb to leave the room with me.

  “I can’t leave her!” Alice screamed. “I won’t!”

  Caleb took her hand and tried to urge her to go with him, but she wouldn’t budge. And I thought Laynie was stubborn. Alice is far worse than she could have ever thought to be.

  “Leave! Now!” Max snapped at Alice. His force scared her, causing her to stumble backwards off the bed. That was Caleb’s chance to grab her.

  He picked her up and placed her over his shoulder. Alice kicked and pleaded with him the entire way until I heard him put her down at the bottom of the stairs. That was the first time that I had ever heard Caleb raise his voice in any way.

  “You have to stay away! I won’t let you go back up there so don’t try it.” He yelled at her.

  I felt sorry for her. She was trying to stay close to Laynie in hopes that she could help in some way. She just didn’t understand that Max was the key to all of this.

  “Please tell her that I love her” I whispered to Max as I stepped into the hallway. Closing the door behind me felt like an ending to this. It was like I wasn’t ever going to be able to talk to Laynie ever again. Hopefully, this feeling was just the result of fear.

  Alice needed someone to be strong for her. She has Caleb, but I knew that she needed something more, a father.

  As I walked down the stairs, Alice pleaded with me to let her go back to Laynie’s room, but I refused.

  “We need to talk” I told them as I walked into the kitchen. Pointing at the dining table, I hoped that they would sit down. It would be easier to control Alice if she was relaxed.

  The only other thing that I could think of was her thirst. She hadn’t fed since she came back and the pain had to be getting uncomfortable for her and Caleb both. Although, I admire their loyalty to my daughter, there is no reason that they should physically suffer along with her.

  I pulled two glasses out of the cabinet and placed them on the counter. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Alice fidget at the sight of the blood bag that I had taken out of the fridge. Her thirst must be far worse than I had thought because Caleb, instant, held onto her. He spoke to her in a calm manner, telling her that she needed to stay calm and relax.

  I popped the spout on the bag and filled both glasses. I knew that she wouldn’t be able to hold off long, so I used my magic to warm the liquid. With both glasses in hand I walked over to the table cautiously. As soon as I sat them down in front of her, she grabbed one and gulped it down.

  She had reached the point of bloodlust. Caleb moved his hand only a fraction and she hissed at him.

  She was going to need more than what I had prepared and it was clear that she was not going to allow Caleb to have a single drop.

  Taking two more bags out, I loosened the spout on on
e of them as I made my way back to where Alice and Caleb were sitting.

  Putting the spout to one of the glasses to fill it, I could only hope that she had become controlled enough not to bite me. Quickly, I cast the spell to warm it and went on to the other one.

  This time she hadn’t hissed at Caleb when he reached out and took one of the glasses. That was a great improvement on her part. They way that she was acting had started to worry me there for a minute. I didn’t know whether we were going to be attacked by her or not.

  “I’m sorry guys. I didn’t realize that I had waited that long.” She was clearly shaken by her previous condition, but I knew that she would have done everything that she could have to keep from hurting us.

  Alice is a kind soul. Somehow, she had been able to hold on to all of her humanity through the change. That isn’t as easy to do as one would think and I couldn’t help thinking that Laynie may have had something to do with that.

  The three of us had been downstairs long enough for me to start worrying about what was going on in Laynie’s room. I could feel Max working magic. The excess power had begun to spill into every room of the house. At the rate that he’s going, I’m not sure how much longer he is going to be able to continue what he was aiming to do.

  “I’m going to go up and make sure everything is okay with Laynie.”

  Alice was out of her seat as soon as I made the announcement.

  “I’m going with you.”

  Shaking my head, I tried to think of the best way to tell her no without hurting her feelings, but there’s no way to do that.

  “Alice, you have to stay here. There are things going on in that room that you cannot be a part of.” Feeling like a total jerk as the tears welled up in her eyes; I turned and headed to Laynie’s room. Silently, I prayed that there would be a change in her for the good, but my heart burned with the fear that she hasn’t.

  Max lay on the bed beside her. He was muttering spells and I was having a hard time deciphering which spell he was trying to cast.

  As I sat down on the bed, I noticed that Laynie’s color looked like it had improved a bit. Now her cheeks had a slight red tint to them. Whatever it is that Max is trying to do was working and that awakened my depressed mind.