by Dina James
“Then how come I can?” She dabbed at her mouth with her napkin.
“You’re one of those ‘few’ who can. While you are of this world—
mortal, human—you are not truly a part of it. Not like...normal people.
‘Regulars’, they’re called.”
“That makes them sound like coffee,” Rebecca said, arching an eyebrow.
“So if everyone else is ‘regular’, I must be ‘decaf’, right?” Syd smiled indulgently and shook his head. “You are a Stranger,” he replied. “Not from here, but not from the Otherworlds, like I am. A Stranger.
That is what Healers are.”
“So you’re basically telling me that I don’t belong here,” Rebecca said with a snort. She rolled her eyes and stabbed a bite of egg with her fork. “I could have told you that. I’ve known that since kindergarten.”
“Ah, but you did not know why,” Sydney countered. “Further, most humans feel they don’t belong from time to time. It’s just that in your case, it’s true.”
Syd leaned down to look at her, trying to get her attention. When she looked up from her plate, he smiled, allowing the tips of his fangs to show against his bottom lip.
“Can you honestly tell me that you aren’t relieved to finally know what you are? Why nothing here has ever felt right to you, or made sense to you?” he asked. “And does it now?”
“I felt...something...last night, when Nana was telling me about...things,” Rebecca replied. She took another swallow of her juice, hoping it would moisten her dry throat. “But you make me sound all special and everything.
I’m not special. I’m nothing. Nobody. I seriously don’t think I’m...whatever you think I am. I’m just me. If you knew anything about me at all, you’d know I can barely handle a pop quiz, and now I’m supposed to handle...
feeding vampires and who knows what else?”
“If you can care for your grandmother all these years, you can certainly manage a fledgling vampire, ghost, ghoul,” Syd assured her. “Or anything else that comes through that portal needing help. Believe me, you’re going to see some things that you’ll truly wish you hadn’t. You wished to study medicine, yes? Become a doctor, and perhaps help your grandmother or those like her? Well, this will be no worse than what you’d see on any given night in any mortal emergency room. Regulars do some of the most horrific things to each other, and for the most ridiculous reasons—if they even have a reason. At least with Ethereals it’s usually either an accident or a war injury, and there’s always a war going on between one faction and another, and some are mortal enemies. Vampires and werewolves, werewolves and ghouls, ghouls and shades—”
“Godzilla and King Kong,” Rebecca interjected. “Bad guys like fighting with each other.” She took another bite of her toast. “So...you’re going to help me learn to be a witch, right?”
Syd scowled. His entire being seemed to change, and the room suddenly felt a whole lot colder. Even darker. “I know some wonderful witches, and you’re nothing like a witch.”
Rebecca’s eyes widened. Oh, wow, she totally hadn’t meant to offend him. What had she said? They were just talking, and—
“I...I didn’t mean—” she began to apologize.
“I know you didn’t.” He stood.
She dropped her fork and pressed herself back hard against her chair.
He shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder. She was surprised that it was warm, not cold. Wasn’t he a walking corpse? Shouldn’t he be cold?
“Hush. I will never harm you. However, you must be careful with your words now. A Healer has certain immunity and clemencies to things, but her conduct is an important part of that.”
Rebecca looked up at him and bit her bottom lip. He thought she’d thought...was she afraid of him? Why? He wasn’t scary.
Well, yeah, he was. Very, but...warm and safe, too. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. She knew it. She felt guilty for flinching, and making him feel like he scared her.
When he didn’t. He really didn’t.
Does he?
She remembered he could hear her thoughts, and shook her head as she spoke again. “Meaning I can’t be an idiot and expect people to take it just because I’m...me.”
“Precisely,” Syd said. The room seemed to warm, matching his tone as he went on. “You have a lot to learn. You’ll have to do a lot of training out of Regular ways. We can start with names and titles. First, you’re a Healer, born of the line of Panacea, goddess of healing—the first Healer. That means something, as you’ll learn soon enough. Second, you must never identify as anything else. For example, you’re not a witch. They practice a very special kind of earth magic and are loving and tolerant, but most witches wouldn’t heal a vampire like me. Healers like you observe complete neutrality. You respect and attempt to help whatever asks or presents itself for healing, to the best of your ability.”
“Wait—if witches practice magic, doesn’t that make them...like me?” Rebecca asked.
“No,” Syd replied. “They use the magic around them, the magic of this realm, this world, not of the Otherworlds. Oh, there are some mortals who try to use the magic of the Otherworlds, and who succeed with heavy assistance from a demon or other Sinister, but I wouldn’t deign to insult the witches by associating them with dark magic users. There’s a vast difference, Acolyte, between the occult and the Dark. Remember that.” Rebecca nodded, though she wasn’t sure she understood.
“Seventeen is when a Healer’s power manifests in its entirety,” he said.
“And for you...well...let’s hope I can train you enough before you come of age that you’ll be able to manage that when it happens.” The way he said it made the idea of her upcoming birthday sound...
ominous.
“Manage what?”
“The manifestation of your power.”
“You make it sound like I’ve got some terminal illness and only have until my birthday to live,” she retorted with a scowl.
The vampire didn’t reply. Even with the glasses covering his eyes, the look on his face spoke for him.
He looked...worried. Or maybe mad. She hoped she hadn’t offended him again. She was always saying stuff without thinking, and it always came out so wrong. When would she learn?
“I...um...I was kidding,” Rebecca said, contrite. “It was a joke. This...
this ‘manifestation’ thing isn’t going to kill me, right?” A nervous laugh escaped her.
Sydney didn’t reply right away. It was a long moment before he spoke, and when he did, the answer wasn’t what Rebecca wanted to hear.
“Possibly.”
“Wait,” she said, shaking her head as she held up a hand. She took a deep breath and looked at Syd. “What do you mean, ‘possibly’?”
“I’m not attempting to frighten you,” he replied in a calm voice. “But you must be aware of the dangers, and I will not keep the truth from you out of fear of how you might be affected by it. I am not your ‘Nana’.”
“That’s pretty obvious,” she said with a wry frown. “I suppose I should be grateful that you’re not going to baby me.”
“You’ve been coddled long enough, and exposure to the Otherworlds isn’t for the weak. The manifestation of your Healing ability is almost as dangerous as a Turning. Though I don’t believe it likely—” Rebecca couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but she tried to pay attention to every word.
“—that you will be harmed...or killed, there is a very slim possibility that the manifestation of your power could...overwhelm you. However, you’re a strong girl, and you’ll learn fast. You think on your feet and adapt quickly.
There’s no reason that anything should go awry. Had your grandmother trained you from the time you were a child as she should have, this wouldn’t be as large a concern.”
That didn’t help. Not one bit. Rebecca was just getting used to the idea of vampires and demons, and now this...this guy was telling her that she might not live past her seventeenth birthd
ay?
She looked up at Syd and shook her head.
“Is there a way out? I mean, Nana tried to keep this from happening, right? If there’s a way out let’s hear it, because I don’t think I can do this.” Syd lowered himself to a crouch and looked up at her. He waved a hand at the range and the light above it blinked out. A dim glow from the morning light around the edges of the blankets covering the windows bathed the kitchen in a dark gray Rebecca could just see in. Though it must have been very bright for him, she watched Syd reach up and lower the dark glasses covering his eyes.
Rebecca immediately turned her face away and looked at the floor, remembering again what her nana had said about looking into his eyes being rude. Besides, her stomach did weird things when she looked at Syd.
“Please,” she heard him said in a gentle voice. “Look at me. Just...not directly into my eyes. But at least look to me.” Rebecca hesitated for a moment before she obeyed.
“Martha shielded you from what you are for so long, Acolyte, for this very reason. So you would not feel this fear. This weakness. That you would not see yourself as you do now—as not strong enough to be what it is you were born to be. She was hoping that, through her neglect, your power would simply fade and you would not have to endure the weight of the responsibility of it, but that has not happened. Quite the opposite. It’s only grown stronger despite the neglect. Acceptance of yourself and your abilities is the only way you are going to make it safely through your coming of age. The Otherworlds, and those in it, are no more dangerous than this realm is, and it serves no purpose to keep you ignorant. Just as it serves no purpose to fear something because you don’t understand it. I am here to help you to understand it.”
Help me understand. Understand weird things?
Rebecca bit her bottom lip as she remembered something that had happened in algebra during her last exam.
There had been a problem she was trying hard to solve and wasn’t getting anywhere. She’d been thinking on it so hard, staring at the numbers on the paper, knowing she knew how to solve it, but unable to remember the formula she had to use. She had been concentrating so hard, the answer startled her when she heard it.
Heard it. In her head. In someone else’s voice. She’d glanced around the room as much as she dared. It had sounded like someone was standing right beside her, telling her what she wanted to know.
Rebecca looked at him, wide-eyed, and told him about it. “Does that have anything to do with...um...this stuff?”
Syd nodded. “Somewhat. However, that was minor. A trifle. Wait until your power manifests when you come of age. You will be able to hear much more than thoughts, without such concentration or against your will. You’ll be able to use the emotions of other beings for your own purposes. Each of your mortal senses will sharpen, and though your abilities will be nowhere near ‘supernatural’, as you say, they will be ‘superhuman’. That is, they will far exceed those of a Regular. Just wait. Your world will cease to be ordinary and become extraordinary. Nothing to fear about that, is there?” Rebecca smiled and hid her face in her hands, laughing. What had just seemed so terrifying and dangerous was now fascinating and wonderful. He’d taken her fear and her dread and turned them into anticipation and hope.
“However, just as you can hear the thoughts of others, others can hear yours,” Syd went on. “Others like me. Ethereals. Teaching you to shield your thoughts and feelings will be of paramount importance. For now, though, there’s a fledgling vampire upstairs in desperate need of healing.” Syd stood and put his dark glasses back on as he gestured to the range again. The light came back on and he held his hand out to her. He nodded at the kitchen door. “Come. Unless of course you still don’t think you can do this.”
Rebecca hesitated a moment, then reached for his hand. She pushed her chair back as he helped her to her feet, then released her hand with a smile.
She took a deep breath, then followed him out of the kitchen.
“There’s something you must remember...one of many things, actually, but this is something you should know right away,” he said as they climbed the stairs. “As a Healer, you need to embody quiet and calm. Move as quietly as you can, speak softly and gently. Most of those you’re going to heal have senses beyond yours, and it’s more than just polite to try and respect that.
Sometimes something as usual to you as a normal speaking voice can do serious harm, and your enclave is a place of comfort.” Wait. My enclave? Hers?
“Think of it as a cross between a library and a critical care unit in a hospital,” Syd went on. “No loud noises, sudden movements or excess stimulation. Calm and comfort. Remember that.”
Rebecca nodded but kept silent as she followed Syd. Wow. He had a nice...back. She expected vampires to be dressed like Dracula in the movies—
a tuxedo under a cape or something. Syd was wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt with some saying printed on it and a windbreaker, just like any guy at school. Really nice jeans that fit just—
She remembered he could hear her thoughts and tried to concentrate on what he was saying and not on what was in front of her as they climbed the stairs.
“A fledgling vampire can be difficult to manage. Turning is never easy, and usually done in the privacy of the clan’s lair, but Ryan is injured, which doesn’t help. Turning someone—more times than not, truth be told—doesn’t always go well for the human. He’s going to need you to feed him at least twice if not three times a day for the next week or so until his change is complete and he can hunt for himself. Possibly longer.” Rebecca stopped just before she reached the top step and looked toward the closed linen closet door.
There was a vampire in there just waiting to suck her blood. Unreal.
What was even more unreal was that she felt more like herself than she had in a long time. She had a purpose and knew what to do for the first time...ever.
This felt right, no matter how strange it sounded.
Strange. Stranger.
She remembered what it was like when Ryan took her blood. The things she saw. The images and the feelings and the—
“Wait.”
Syd stopped and turned to regard her.
“You—you and Ryan. It was on purpose, wasn’t it? You planned for him to get hurt. To get bitten by a hellhound.” The words tumbled out in a rush, and she didn’t think she could stop talking even if she’d wanted to. Images and feelings flooded her mind and they flowed out of her mouth. She stumbled and leaned against the wall, clutching at the staircase railing for support.
“You and Ryan both decided. He would be the bait. You knew the demons were massing, where to find them. You took Ryan and lured the hellhound away and then—oh! Oh, no! No—run! OW! Oh, god, that hurts!
Oh please—oh no—!”
“Stop!” she heard Syd’s voice order. She felt herself being shaken, hard. Strong hands gripped her upper arms, hurting her. “Pull it back, now!
Don’t let it overwhelm you!”
Her eyes went to his face and she shivered. It was so cold in there. So frightening and—
“Remember what I said about strength,” Syd said. “You’re apparently a Seer as well, and after Martha mentioned it last night, we talked a little about it. Such an ability has its advantages...and disadvantages. One of the drawbacks is that you’re going to see more than you want to. More than you need to. But you can control it. You must, or you’ll go mad. Hush now.”
“You did this,” Rebecca accused in a weak voice. She shook her head at him. “He was bitten, badly. Worse than...than what you wanted. You wanted him to get bit! And he did and almost died, so you bit him...just so you could bring him here! Why?! Why did you do that?!”
Syd dropped his hands, releasing her, though Rebecca felt it more as a shove.
“It wasn’t like that, despite what you think you see,” he said. “Yes, it was planned, and yes he was bitten worse than intended, but not for any reason you’d understand. Sometimes what you see and what actually happened
are two different things. All you need to know is that your world has changed and will never go back to the way it used to be for you, no matter what you want.”
“What? What does that—” Rebecca began.
“Don’t interrupt!” Syd took her shoulder and guided her ahead of him.
“This is the only way. You’ll understand soon enough. I’m the only hope you have of coming of age at all. Your seventeenth birthday is in a few days—” Rebecca jerked out of his grasp. “So! I—”
“I said ‘don’t interrupt’!” Syd snapped. He removed his dark glasses again and looked down at her. “As Martha has no doubt told you, this isn’t the way things are usually done. I do apologize that I don’t have time to ease you into things, but there really isn’t time. You don’t have the time, understand?
If you don’t learn—” Syd cut himself off, shaking his head.
And Rebecca understood.
“You...you did this...on purpose, so that I’d...have something to heal?”
“No,” Syd replied. “So that your power, which shines like a beacon even now to Otherworldly beings, could manifest—as it is going to with or without your training—under your control. So that Martha—and you—would realize your importance. In short, Acolyte, I’m—we’re—here to save your life. As I said, Ryan wasn’t supposed to get seriously hurt. Besides, what you saw and what happened are two different things. Demons are massing near the border of the Hell realm, and certain information was necessary. Ryan...
attracted more attention than he was supposed to.” They neared the linen cupboard that hid the entrance to the healing enclave. Syd gestured to it and showed Rebecca the large knot in the wood.
The knot gave under at her gentle push and the shelves swung back and to the side.
Syd held his arm out to stop Rebecca entering the enclave.
“What I told you and Martha was true,” he said in a low voice. “His-torically, war has always been formally declared after the demons have encroached on some other territory. They’re forever doing the most stupid things, thinking themselves clever and strong enough to get away with whatever it is they end up doing. They don’t limit such to any one realm—they attack the Otherworlds just as they do the mortal realm—burning cities, destroying resources, plundering kingdoms. They are an idiotic, violent, ag-gressive race of beings. For all that they love to destroy, nothing gives them greater pleasure than to take that which is not theirs. .especially other beings.