by K J Carr
I nodded again. I hadn’t realized that Marcus had spent the night here, but he had told her stories when she had had nightmares during sleep-overs and then later after her parents had died when she had been too afraid to fall asleep at night. He must have thought it would help. And obviously, it had.
“Now tell me what is going on between you and that young man? Malak?” Kaitie sounded old. Wait. This was not her. What had he done?
“We are just friends, Kaitie. I don’t cradle-rob. You know that.” I quietly stated, watching her face closely.
She chuckled briefly. “Uh-huh. I know you don’t, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want to.” She grinned at me, her lips a tad lopsided.
“Well, he does have a fine ass.” I smiled at her.
The doctor came into the room and stopped, watching us. Kaitie looked over my shoulder at him. I whirled around and studied him, surprising him with the intensity of my stare. I wanted to make sure it really was the doctor this time. After a minute, the tenseness left my body and I looked back down at Kaitie, who had been watching me. I wondered if she remembered something about the encounter.
“I think visiting hours are over for now, Nica. Besides, if I can pass whatever torture the doctor has for me right now, I want to get a nap in. It has been so long since I have been able to nap in the afternoons.”
I laughed slightly and then stood, still holding her hand. “You get some rest. I promise I will be back in later.”
“I know.”
I left, passing the doctor as he went over to talk to Kaitie. A nurse followed him in. I walked out and saw Marcus and just stopped. Further down the hall, I saw Malak.
“One moment.” I passed my brother, suddenly fierce with a mission.
“What was that thing?” I hissed as I got up close to Malak, almost stepping on his toes.
“Not here, Nica.” Malak looked over my shoulder. I glanced back and saw Marcus watching us.
“You better tell me. It almost killed my best friend. And it didn’t sound like you killed it! Where did it go?”
Malak rubbed his eyes with one hand. He stopped and looked at me, and then grabbed me and pulled me over to the elevators, jabbing at the down button. Marcus watched us leave, his face slightly puzzled, but then Kaitie called to him. He turned and went in, asking her what story she wanted today.
The ding of the elevator startled me. Malak pushed me in as soon as the doors opened. He waited until they closed before he turned to me.
“That was a daemon. It appears it was looking for you for some reason, but when it saw Kaitie, it couldn’t resist stealing her life-force.”
“What does that really mean? I presume he was killing her!”
“Yes, of course, he was!” The elevator dinged at the next floor and two nurses got on.
Frustrated, I waited. We reached the lobby and we all got out, Malak dragging me quickly towards the exit.
“Of course?”
“That is how they feed. They look for either humans or others that are strong and steal their life force. I don’t know why they are looking for you, other than that you are a possible Transitioner, but I am guessing that he won’t be the only one looking for you. You need to decide soon, Nica, so that we can bring in the Hyrs-Tennin pair – so that there are three of us to protect you.”
“What if I decide not to transition? You will wipe my memories, right? Will they still come after me?”
Malak stopped suddenly and faced me, his expression perplexed. “I don’t know.” It was the first time I heard uncertainty in his voice. “We never track the possible Transitioners if they say no.”
I stepped back, startled. “You don’t? You don’t think about the fact that you might have put a spotlight on people for those evil things to find, and just because they don’t go along with your little scheme, you don’t care if they are murdered because of it?” My stomach was queasy. Sometimes it was hard to determine who the bad guys were.
Malak turned away for a moment, and then turned back to face me, his expression wild. “No, we don’t track them, and that is not right.”
“It isn’t right.” I jeered. “I bet they die suddenly without knowing why. I bet they are killed and the daemons are made stronger because you Tennins only care to protect those who fall in with your little plans.” My face was fierce, I was so angry. “Why would I want to transition to become something so unfeeling? Tell me, why would I want to become like you?”
Malak stepped back, his face filled with agony. “I don’t know why. I…” He turned away slightly and then looked at me again, his eyes troubled. “I need to go. Try to stay with Kaitie or Marcus. I won’t be gone long. Please, Nica.”
I nodded. I couldn’t speak to him anymore. This was wrong. But it appeared that Malak hadn’t seen it until now, how they were putting bulls-eyes on people’s backs. That there was one on mine right now.
I watched him walk away, feeling bereft even though we had argued, and that we hadn’t known each other long. Even with his misconceptions, he felt safe to me. Perhaps he would come back with a better answer.
I turned and walked back into the hospital to see if there was anything else that Kaitie needed.
Chapter 10
It was dark when I finally left the hospital. Marcus had left earlier to take the dinner shift at Luther’s. He didn’t have to cook all the time, but it helped to keep him sane. Malak hadn’t appeared yet, but I wasn’t really expecting him to. I wondered briefly where he was, and then decided it didn’t matter. I still was a bit pissed with him and Tennins in general.
Deep in thought, I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings as I crossed the parking lot. The area was well lit, and my car wasn’t in a dark corner, but it still was stupid. Especially considering my earlier conversation with Malak. Unfortunately, Kaitie’s illness pushed all rational safety thoughts out of my head.
Upon arriving at my car, an eerie chill came over me. My hand stopped on its way to opening the door as I looked around, warily.
“Hello, little angel.” The quiet words slithered over my skin, causing me to shiver. Not moving, I turned my head, trying to look around the lot. I couldn’t see anyone, but there were shadows on the edges and some of the larger SUVs hid portions of the area.
“Silly angel.” The words were chuckled, but it didn’t make me want to laugh. Instead, my stomach clutched in fear.
Slowly turning back to look towards the front of my car, a shadow detached itself. It was tall and dark. Large bat wings extended high above his six-foot, five inch height, almost dragging on the ground below. His head was bald, his skull rounded. His silver eyes reflected strangely in the dim light. What surprised me the most was his dark skin tone. Of course, it did allow him to merge easily with the shadows, but still, weren’t daemons supposed to be all black hair and pale skin, sort of like how vampires are always described? He was more like something out of hell.
“Who are you?” I nervously inched closer to my car. He smiled, but it wasn’t a comforting gesture.
“Achilah.” I wasn’t sure if it was his real name or a name he just decided to give to me. I know that names have power – or so they say in the books in Kaitie’s store. If those books told the truth, then he was giving me a name to use, not his true name.
“What do you want?” I hadn’t unlocked my car, but I knew if I beeped it now, I wouldn’t have enough time to get in and lock the door.
“You.” The word just floated in the air.
“Why?” I now was shaking, knowing I wasn’t going to leave here on my own.
“Because you, little one, are special.” He exhaled a cloud of something towards me. I tried not to breathe in, but he then moved quickly, punching me in my stomach, causing me to wheeze. Inhaling in the air around me, I could smell a sickly sweetness. I dropped to the ground, unable to move.
“And now I have you, Angel.” The smug bastard’s grin was creepy. He picked me up and slung me over a shoulder, as I sank into darkness, wondering
if I would ever wake again. My last thought was “Darn bulls-eye!”
∞∞∞
I slowly became conscious. Without opening my eyes, I could feel the floor against my body, hard and cold. I listened closely but couldn’t hear anything nearby. There could have been someone staring at me for all I knew, but I couldn’t hear them breathe. That, of course, would have been as creepy as fuck, if they were watching me sleep. I twitched but kept my eyes closed.
Moving my fingers slightly against the floor, the texture was felt smooth with slight ridges, like wood. Interesting. So perhaps I was in a house or a cabin.
I opened my eyes a slit and closed them immediately. The air above me was swirling with all sorts of colors – red, pink, blue, purple, and orange. I hesitated. Was it the air or was I just hallucinating? Opening them again, I looked at what was above me. It appeared to be the air or a cloud of some sort. It was sparkling. Sparkling, of all the stupid things!
Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself into a sitting position and immediately turned to the side and lost whatever had been in my stomach. Okay, now my head was spinning as well. Perhaps the colors were just another facet of my vertigo.
I scooted back a little and hit a wall. Thank god, the room had walls. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against it. Breathing in deeply, I tried to center myself, waiting for my head to stop spinning. I figured I had enough time to let that settle, and given what I had been looking at, it probably was best to just concentrate on one thing at a time.
“Damn.” Even though my voice was low, it appeared to echo around the space. That was a tad bizarre. How big was this room that the sound would echo? I wanted to stretch my legs out, but I remembered I had lost my lunch just a few moments before. Nope, didn’t want to put my legs in that right now. I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them, letting my head fall onto them.
Thinking back, I remembered that strange man who had appeared in front of me…. Achilles? Achill? What a weird dude! He had tranquilizing breath or something since I had gone out after he had breathed on me! Not a superpower I would have chosen, but it obviously was effective.
I wondered how long I had been here. And if Malak was back yet. I just couldn’t tell. Note to self: one reason to wear a watch is to be able to tell how long it has been since you were kidnapped by an alien villain. Definitely an important fact to know. And one I was sorry I didn’t know at this time.
Has anyone missed me yet? Oh, god, Kaitie would kill me if I wasn’t there for her treatments! And Marcus, yep, he could be tearing up the town looking for me. Except, I really didn’t think I was in Kansas — or New Hampshire for that matter — anymore.
To tell the truth, this immortal decision crap sucked the big one. All it had done was cause me problems. And now I was afraid that even if I said no to immortality, the bulls-eye on my back might not go away. I was royally screwed. Ha! If I ended up a Kri-Tennin, I would make sure the person I talked to knew that this was a one-way street — that just talking with me could be dangerous.
The spinning sensation in my head had stopped, but I must say I was reluctant to open my eyes. Nonetheless, sitting here with my eyes closed wasn’t getting me home either, so no time like the present. I opened one and then the other, not lifting my head up much. Okay, there was a room. I could sort of see the walls, but they were somewhat…transparent. The swirling colors were not in the room per se, but outside of it. There was air in the room, right now, but I wasn’t sure how long it would last. It seemed a little stale, but not much, so perhaps there was air being pumped in from somewhere. Light as well, since it wasn’t dark in the room. More like subdued lighting, but I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I was just glad it wasn’t dark. Very glad.
Not buried alive, in the ground. Check. Not dead or physically beat up. Check, check. I took a quick physical assessment and realized that outside of vertigo, I felt pretty normal, all things considered. A little thirsty and I could do with a snack, but otherwise, no damage. Triple check.
Now, to figure out where I was. I glanced down and notice the floor, which had felt like wood, was also clear. Shit. I was just floating in the air somewhere. Now that wasn’t good. There also didn’t appear to be an obvious door to this room.
“Definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” I mumbled to myself. “Heck, probably not on earth either.”
I slowly knocked my head against the wall behind me, wondering what I could do next.
Stopping, I sat up. Okay, the Tennins have powers. What powers did Malak have? Telepathy? Yes! Wait…I think. Well, let’s pretend he does, because I think I remember he did something mind-speaking wise.
Malak! MALAK! I shouted into my brain. Nothing. No response. Damn it!
Malak, if you can hear me, I am locked in a room in the middle of nowhere. My room is surrounded by swirling colors. You better come get me!
And then I waited. Well, as long as I could. Without a watch, I didn’t know how long it had been – an hour? A day? Four minutes? Nope, no idea.
I stood up and tentatively took a step. The floor appeared to be solid enough. I decided to zombie walk in a straight line. You know, arms stretched out in front of you, feet making a slow shuffling motion? Okay, perhaps I watch the silly zombie movies way too often.
Moving carefully and slowly, I moved until my hands stopped me. Wall. I looked back and groaned. No way to tell the boundaries. Damn it. I kicked off one shoe and then zombie walked back the way I had come. Reaching that wall, I kicked off my other. Okay, I can see one dimension of the room.
Sliding my hands along the wall, I shuffled to the right. Until I almost banged my head into a corner. Darn. I turned the ninety degrees and slid a few steps along that wall before stopping and taking off my sock. Third marker.
The floor was cool but not cold as I zombie walked across it. I was very glad because as soon as I reached the other wall, my other sock was coming off.
Reaching that side, I took it off and looked around the space. The room was about sixteen feet by twenty-four feet. Interesting. I reached up and couldn’t feel the ceiling, so I guessed that that was more than six inches higher than me.
So now what? I started doing what I usually did when I was deep thinking – I paced.
Staying close to a wall, I tapped absently on the surface of it as I paced, moving around the edges of the room, as opposed to across it. Time passed slowly, and my mouth got dryer. I wondered if the douche bag was going to leave me here to die of thirst. The third or so time around the exterior, I realized that one of the portions of a wall had sounded different. Now I just had to remember exactly where that was.
Tapping harder and listening actively, I tried to find differences in the sound of the wall. I had to travel it twice before I realized where the sound changed – it made a big difference to keep the space between taps smaller than three feet. I am impatient, so sue me.
The area where the taps sounded different was about four feet in width – about what one might think would be the width of a door. I stopped and thought a minute. Sliding my hands around inside that boundary, I searched for some way to open the supposed door, but there was nothing.
“Damn it!” I slammed my hand down on the door. Or tried to. Instead, my hand went through it. Wrist deep.
“Creepy.” I waved my hand and didn’t feel anything on the other side. Pulling it back out, I studied it. Looked normal. This was weird since I had just run my hands along the surface and it hadn’t gone through. Heck! I had tapped on the space several times without my hand going through. I slammed my hand down on it again, and my hand went through, as well as much of my arm.
Definitely weird but no weirder than anything else lately. I slammed my head against the door, hoping I wasn’t going to brain myself. Ouch! It hurt! But my head popped through the material and I could see on the other side.
A hallway led off into darkness. Not much better than where I was, but at least if I was moving, that creepy guy couldn’t find me as easi
ly. So, I started pushing the rest of my body through the door. Let me tell you, it is hard to slam your body through some transparent and unknown material while your head is already on the other side.
A while later, I had one shoulder, one arm, and a knee on one side of my body through, as well as my head. I was having problems with the rest of my body though. Visions of being half in, half out of this room forever tumbled through my brain.
“Dog Gammit!” I screamed, my frustration and anger peaking, as I pulled as hard as I could through the door. I popped out, falling on the floor, instantly flattening my nose.
Sitting up, I gently touched it. Not broken and no blood. Well, that was good. Turning, I looked back from where I had come. The door was not visible. The room looked like a glass box, now with nothing inside of it, just hanging at the end of the hallway, surrounded by flashing, sparkly colored lights.
Shaking my head, I got up and started walking down the hall, my hand touching the surface. I had only taken a dozen or so steps, when…. Bang! Falling to the floor, a warm wind rushed over me. Dazed, I looked back over my shoulder. The room was gone. I wasn’t sure if that was what it had planned to do, with me in it, or if it was a result of me leaving it.
It took me several tries before I was able to get to my feet, leaning heavily against the wall. Only one way to go now. I continued to move down the hallway, away from what could have been the scene of my death.
Of course, this one hallway couldn’t just lead to the exit. That would have been way too easy. Instead, it split into two, both hallways dark. Which way to go? No idea. Before I took a step, though, I thought out to Malak.
Malak! I have luckily left the room since it decided to blow up. I am now in a dark hallway of sorts. Nothing around, but it is just long and dark. If you can hear this, you better get your ass here to help me out!