Face the Dark (Hunters of the Dark #3)

by Dave Ferraro

  Chapter Six

  Amelia watched Serene take a small bite of the breaded chicken that had been prepared for her, noting that her plastic fork wasn’t shaking as visibly as it had the day prior. Maybe she was adjusting. Well, adjusting as well as she could to being in a tiny cell.

  Leaning back on the bench, Amelia sighed and stretched her arms overhead. Serene looked up at her, then averted her eyes again.

  On the island, she had acted like any other girl their age. She was very good at being deceptive, yet…this just didn’t seem right, no matter what form of monster she was under that pretty face.

  “How’s the food?” Amelia asked aloud.

  Serene glanced up at her and watched her warily for a moment, before taking another timid bite.

  “I’m a vegetarian myself,” Amelia confided in her. “If there’s anything you don’t like, let me know, okay? And…” she sighed, looking around the sad little room. “I’ll do what I can to see that you’re given some better quarters. Most of the others are frightened of you because of what happened in Greece, but…I know that you tried to help us. And I know that that had to be hard, since you were going against the interest of your sisters.” She rubbed her hands in front of her uncomfortably. “I have a little claustrophobia, so this little room is just…” She shook her head and looked up at Serene. The girl was looking away from her. But she knew that she was listening. “Anyways, I would go stir crazy in here. I don’t know what Valor will do, but I’ll see about at least providing you with some literature. Does that sound good?”

  Amelia waited for some form of response, and after a moment, Serene looked her way and nodded once.

  “Well, okay then,” Amelia smiled.

  Serene stood up and deposited her plate and fork into a slot that dropped it to an area only accessible on Amelia’s side of the wall. Amelia collected the dishes, noting how little she had eaten. She looked up at Serene, who met her eyes from the other side of the plastic barrier. She seemed so helpless and lost, that it was hard not to feel some sympathy for her. Mustering another smile, Amelia turned and left the room, pausing outside the door to sigh and lean against the wall. Criminals were treated better than they were treating this girl. They had to give her some form of stimulation, at the very least.

  She put a hand to her head and closed her eyes for a minute before she walked away, carrying the dishes to the kitchen. After depositing them, she walked with purpose toward the laboratory, patting the right pocket of her blue jeans to reassure herself that the contents hadn’t disappeared.

  When she rounded the corner of the hallway, heading toward the lab door, she saw Cameron walking slowly along the corridor. He seemed deep in thought, his eyes on the floor before him. She looked away as she found her eyes seeking out his scar. She’d heard what had transpired in the archery room. He didn’t need to have people staring at him everywhere he went. And she felt guilty for not being able to help him.

  “How are you holding up, Cameron?” Amelia asked softly as she neared him.

  Cameron looked up, startled, and smiled. “Hey, Amelia. Yeah, I’m…fine.” He glanced over at the door to the laboratory. “Doing some late night research?”

  Amelia nodded. “Yeah. I need to confer with Jade about something.”

  Cameron nodded, eyes returning to the floor. He frowned and seemed to hesitate. “Look, I’m sorry for…lashing out at you. I know you were just trying to help.” Subconsciously, he reached up and touched his scar. “My temper can be…well, it’s ugly sometimes, I suppose.”

  “Yeah,” Amelia agreed, feeling uncomfortable. “But people will understand. You’ll see that not much has changed.”

  Cameron smirked. “Yeah, well, have a nice night.”

  “You too,” Amelia told him. She put in the code to enter the lab and the doors unlocked. As she was opening them, she looked up and watched Cameron’s retreating form. After a few more steps, he paused and turned back toward her.

  “Say, have you ever heard of Gur’tich Powder?” he asked.

  “Gur’tich Powder?” Amelia frowned. “Yes. It’s a base ingredient for a summoning spell. It marks somebody for assassination from a demon.”

  “And everyone that comes into contact with that person?”

  “Yeah,” Amelia concurred. “It’s the most efficient way to guarantee no witnesses.” She paused. “Why the sudden interest?”

  Cameron shrugged sheepishly. “Just came across it in a book and was wondering. That’s all.”

  “You may want to stick to lighter reading,” Amelia advised. “Potions can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.” She paused, her eyes narrowing. “And if you’re looking for a way to restore your glamour…”

  “I’m not, I’m not,” Cameron smiled to reassure her. “Don’t worry about me. I have no intention of dabbling. See you later, Amelia.”

  “Later,” she murmured, watching him turn the corner. Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the spot where he’d disappeared. But all was forgotten a moment later when Jade snapped “You going to stand in the doorway all night?”

  Amelia snorted and entered the room, looking up to see Jade examining something under a microscope. “How are you doing, Jade?”

  “I’m missing an arm,” Jade replied. She looked up, half-smiling. “But other than that, I can’t complain. Jordan and I just had a great brother-sister chat. It’s made me…kind of look passed these last few weeks of healing.” She shrugged. “What brings you my way?”

  Amelia watched her for a moment, happy that she was feeling better about the situation. They were in an intense environment, where traumatic things were occurring. To some of them, first-hand. She could hardly blame them for becoming bitter about their circumstances, so it was nice to see at least one of them adjusting. “I was hoping you could take a look at something for me. What are you doing?”

  Jade shrugged. “I took some samples from Shanna before we went to Greece, and haven’t gotten back to them until now, what with the whole Cameron being kidnapped and…” She held up her left shoulder.

  “Everything looking okay?” Amelia asked, stepping up to her at the counter and eyeing the microscope and the glass slide under the lens.

  “I’m not sure,” Jade said. “I need to run a few more tests, but it looks like her body might be trying to fight something off. I might have to do a more thorough screening than I thought. But I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”

  Amelia nodded. “Well, do you have time to take a peek at something or should I come back later?”

  Jade smirked. “I can hardly say no to a beautiful girl. What do you have for me?”

  Rolling her eyes, Amelia pulled a small vial out of her pocket. It was nearly full, with a light blue liquid inside that almost seemed to glow.

  “What is that?” Jade breathed.

  “It’s the thing I swallowed in Greece. The power source the sirens were after.”

  Jade whistled. “So it, ah, came out?”

  Amelia glowered.

  “Just asking,” Jade laughed. “Let me take a look.” She accepted the vial from Amelia and squinted at it, shook it lightly. “Mind if I take a little of the liquid from it?”

  “Please do,” Amelia said, watching as Jade poured a few drops into a test tube. “I can feel its power. And there is a lot of power. But I can’t make heads or tails out of it.”

  “Well, I’ll do whatever I can from this angle,” Jade assured her. “It’s far more interesting than looking at urine samples.”

  Amelia wrinkled her nose in distaste as Jade brought it over to another counter lined with complicated-looking medical equipment. “Mind if I watch?”

  Jade shrugged. “By all means, pull up a seat.”