Searching (The Starlight Chronicles, #0), page 11
I sighed. I would have to consider the matter later. The next period was starting soon.
That was when I realized someone—or something—was in the room with me.
A faint whisper called from behind me, and I felt a sudden twinge of pain in my wrist.
“Yashool.”
I straightened at once, whirling around. Something caught at the corner of my vision. It was a shadow.
My mouth went dry. Could it be ... ?
I frowned. I didn’t think it was Alküzor. I knew he was bound inside the void, and he wouldn’t be bothering me. He had no power in this Realm, even if his agents did.
So, who was the shadow then?
It couldn’t be ... I felt my breath squeeze out of me. Could it be ... him?
“Almeisan?” I whispered softly. “Is that you?”
It shifted around in the air, keeping only a second ahead of my sigh. The ghostly howl cried out more softly this time. “Yashool!”
And then, all of a sudden, it attacked me. The ghastly body ran right through me, washing me in a wave of cold air. My energy dulled and I felt winded.
Before I could call on my power to retaliate, it left.
“Yashool,” the shadow howled, hurrying through the music room wall. I let myself sink to the floor, clutching at my heart, as despair overtook me.
☼10☼
Remittance for My Mistake
AFTER SEEING THE SHADOW, and fearing that it was indeed the ghost of my former beloved, I was hungry for human companionship, so much so I was almost relieved to be heading for the hospital.
My certainty waned on the way over; I doubted I was prepared to see my friends. Ayah, Chelsea, and Reggie each gave me a reason to want to turn around and go back home, forget about my appointment, curl up in my bed, and talk to Grandpa about homeschooling.
Of all of them, Ayah had the worst temper. One time in fifth grade, a few months after she’d moved to Apollo City, she yelled at a boy who splashed paint on her new dress during art class. It was an accident, but the boy still ended up crying and the art teacher had to call the principal.
The thought of seeing Chelsea again made my knees feel weak. I hated the thought of her in pain, considering how much she had already faced from her family, and I hated the idea of losing her respect. She had been a teacher to me in so many ways besides math, and a friend to me in some of my darkest moments.
And Reggie ... Seeing him in his coma, knowing I was responsible for putting him there, making his family worry, ruining his life, and breaking his heart ...
I looked down at my hands, my expression unspeakably grim.
“I’m just trying to make this difficult for myself, aren’t I?” I murmured to myself, as I walked into the hospital.
Looking back on it later, I would both laugh and cry at my innocence; little did I know, there were even more difficult things ahead of me.
I had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Dinger, but I decided to take the long route past Reggie’s room. I figured that would be the best way for me to see him, if I could see him at all, and see if my other friends were there, too.
I caught sight of Reggie’s room. His parents were out in the hallway, just a little way down from his door.
My steps faltered as doubt clouded my resolve. I wasn’t sure that they would let me see him, and, after saving Reggie’s dad only days before, I worried—probably needlessly—that he would recognize me from the marina fire.
It didn’t help that next to them, I saw the pregnant, professional-looking woman carrying an oddly ominous stack of papers in her hand. Realizing she was a lawyer, I stopped completely.
Every lawyer has a little intimidation built into their profession, almost as if it’s an invisible part of their wardrobe. This is especially true when you grow up remembering visits from them, discussing everything from social workers to family wills. I had to give this lady lawyer props; she managed to intimidate me, drastically, from just looking at her.
She was a little on the short side, but she wore the heels to make up for it. Her hair was sleek and tied back, and her clothes were pressed and smooth enough there was only a small, distinct shadow of a baby belly showing. If it wasn’t for the way she was carrying her papers, my eyes might have passed over that fact completely.
When I noticed it, there was no more ignoring it.
Especially since I noticed she was having contractions, and she was trying to hide it, and that really made me terrified. She was in the middle of a meeting, prepared to carry it out to the end, and she was in the beginning stages of labor.
“Well,” I muttered, “that’s dedication.”
I watched as she breathed in quick, shallow breaths, as she talked to Kaya, Reggie’s mom. I could tell Kaya was uncomfortable, but neither of them seemed willing to stop her.
Since they were trapped in what I could tell was an important meeting, I made a quick calculation and slithered into Reggie’s room.
Immediately, I almost wished I hadn’t.
Reggie was hooked up to several machines. Even after all my own time in the hospital, I didn’t know what all of them were for. His hair was still twisted into his favorite dreadlocks, and it seemed as though they’d gotten a lot longer.
“Hi, Reggie,” I murmured, reminding myself how much I needed to control myself. I felt like crying, but I pushed it back. I had to keep my focus, I told myself.
I walked up to him, breathing in and out several times before I talked to him.
“I hope you’re feeling better,” I whispered. “I’m sorry for what happened. I’m not even entirely sure what exactly happened, even though I know I broke your heart.”
My eyes turned toward his heart monitor. It beeped steadily, if slowly, and I welcomed the rhythm.
“You should know Ms. Carmichael’s managed to keep Courtney from our mural,” I said, my mouth feeling dry. “I didn’t really do a lot of work on it in the past couple of weeks since ... since you left.”
There was still no response.
Carefully, I reached out and took his hand. “I don’t really want to work on it without you,” I admitted. “But it’s better I do it than Courtney gets a hold of it, right?” My small attempt at a joke gave me nothing.
I glanced back at the doorway. I didn’t hear anyone coming; there was the usual scatter of background noise I’d become familiar with at Apollo City Hospital—the loudspeaker system frizzles, the walkie-talkie buzzes, the movements of stretchers and gunneries and other machines, the alternative flurry and flutter of feet along the hallway floors.
Looking back at Reggie, missing the light from his eyes, I decided that I had a chance to save him, and I was duty-bound to try.
I put down my briefcase on the floor beside me and straightened my shoulders.
“Reggie,” I said. “I can’t tell you how much you have added to my life. I’m sorry that I can’t love you the way you loved me.”
I squeezed his hand, calling forth my power. “But I know you don’t deserve to be stuck here, in the hospital, because of something I did.”
My hands lit up with my heart’s energy; in the darkened hospital room, I felt the world suddenly shift once more. Just like before, in the orchestra room, I was in a world of contrasting balances. There was dark and light, there was hope and hopelessness, and there was time and eternity, and all the worlds and wonders between.
I had the power to choose which way to empower.
“I choose to help you,” I whispered. “I choose to do my duty, to honor our friendship. I choose to set you free from your pain.”
Light poured out over him, filling the room and penetrating his skin. Emboldened by my dedication, I poured out everything I had into healing him.
Reggie’s heart rate began to beat more quickly, as I gave everything I had to heal him.
A moment later, I frowned. Even though his heart was beating more quickly, nothing was happening. I narrowed my eyes, and I saw his Soulfire was the same as it had been last time—collapsed with despair, stagnant and still.
What’s wrong? I wondered. Why isn’t he waking up? Why isn’t his heart working right?
I pushed even more of myself out of me. “Work,” I ordered, not sure if I was talking to myself or praying that Adonaias would release Reggie from whatever ill had overcome him.
My energy was fading. I allowed my power to remain constant, despite my better judgment.
I have to save him. I have to.
I will save him, no matter the cost.
The light around me began to dull and swirl around. My knees were shaking. I grabbed Reggie’s hand even more tightly, trying to ensure that he would be healed.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered, angry and tired and frustrated beyond anything I’d ever felt before. “I managed to do this to him, why can’t I fix it?”
My hand dropped from his, and I fell to my knees beside his bed.
I felt my vision blur a little, as my mouth went slack. I watched my power bubble around Reggie some more, whirling around into a vortex of sorts, before it slammed into him, hitting him right in his heart.
His body jolted some, and my heart filled with hope.
“Reggie?” I called.
I was waiting for a response when I heard the footsteps behind me.
“What do you think you’re doing?” A voice gasped behind me.
I was still slumped over on my knees, but at the voice, I jerked around.
The lawyer I’d seen was standing in the doorway to Reggie’s room. She had a hand protectively wrapped around her pregnant belly, while her papers were slowly dropping from her other arm.
My power dispersed quickly, but it was too late. She’d seen it.
I said nothing as I looked at her; I was just staring at her, and she was just staring at me, all while I could see she was still struggling with her contractions.
Before I could say anything—or even think of anything to say, really—I saw Kaya and Tomas glance in behind her.
And then I saw Ayah and Chelsea peeking through the doorway behind them.
“It’s a party,” I heard myself say, and I wondered at just how weak I was, to be unable to stop myself from thinking aloud.
“Raiya?” Kaya asked.
“Hi, Mrs. Banks,” I replied, hurriedly standing up and brushing myself off. “I was, um, just here to—”
“What did you do?” The lawyer came up beside me, where the heart monitor was beeping more strongly.
“Nothing,” I lied. “I was just here to see Reggie.”
“That’s a lie,” she snapped. “I saw something.” She turned back to Reggie’s parents. “She did something.”
Ayah spoke up. “She said she did something before, too.”
I glared at Ayah, suddenly angry. I knew she was Reggie’s friend, and she was worried for him, but she was my friend, too, wasn’t she? There was no reason that she had to make comments about things she didn’t know about, especially when they were only going to make me get into more trouble.
“Are you okay?” Chelsea asked, speaking up for the first time.
“She did something,” the lawyer said again, and I felt a renewed sense of terror, being on the disapproving end of her stare. “I saw it.”
“What did you see, Cheryl?” Kaya asked, taking the calm, motherly type of method.
“There was a lot of light,” she replied. “There was a huge cloud of it. And then when I saw her and said something, it went away.”
Kaya and Tomas exchanged glances, while Ayah scowled at me, and Chelsea frowned, trying to make sense of what Cheryl was saying.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lied again as I reached for my briefcase. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment.”
“You shouldn’t leave,” Cheryl said, as a nurse came in behind her and began to check over Reggie’s monitors. “You might have done something to him.”
“She told me she did earlier,” Ayah spoke up once more, and soon Cheryl and Ayah were in a deep conversation I wanted no part of.
I walked by Kaya and Tomas, trying not to feel bad for them. I had hoped to get Reggie back, for my own benefit, for my own duty. But as much as I grieved for him, I knew my own feelings in the matter were only a drop compared to what his parents had to be feeling.
Kaya nodded kindly to me. “I’m sure you did nothing wrong, Raiya,” she said as I walked past. “Thank you for coming. But next time, please check in with the nurse station. It’s policy here.”
I nodded. My hands tightened around my briefcase. “Thank you,” I said. “It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. Banks.”
She gave me a tight smile, and I could see she was stressed. I looked over at Reggie’s dad, and saw he was deeply concerned, too.
“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better, too, Mr. Banks,” I said. “I, uh, read about what happened in the paper.”
Reggie’s dad shrugged. “I’m okay,” he said. “I would feel better if Reggie was doing better.”
“I understand,” I assured him.
Before I could make my escape to Dr. Dinger’s floor, Cheryl called out from behind me. “Stop her from leaving,” Cheryl said. “I want to ask her some questions.”
“Cheryl, I’m sure it was nothing. Reggie’s the same as he was before.” Kaya gestured toward the heart monitor, close to where the nurse was adjusting his IV bag.
I looked over at Cheryl, watching as she took a deep, sharp breath in, and carefully exhaled in a practiced rhythm. Yep, I thought. She was definitely in labor.
“Maybe you would feel better if you sat down for a while,” Reggie’s dad said, patting Cheryl’s arm. “Come on. Let’s go find you a doctor.”
“I’m only eight months pregnant,” Cheryl insisted. “He’s just rowdy today. We have business to attend to, and I will not be deterred ... ”
I scooted out the door as Kaya and Tomas once more began to try to coax Cheryl to calm down. Before I could get very far, Ayah called out to me.
“Raiya!”
I groaned. “What?” I snapped, already tired and frustrated. I had been hoping so hard that Reggie would wake up, that I would be able to see the goodness in his eyes once more. Ayah’s self-righteous indifference with Cheryl made me even more upset on top of everything else.
“What did you do?” Ayah asked, crossing her arms. “That lady said you did something, and you already told me earlier that you did something before.”
“That lady’s going into labor,” I shot back. “She’s hardly a credible source on the matter.”
“But you said earlier—”
“It doesn’t matter what I said earlier,” I insisted. “I can’t do anything to help him, and I just wanted to go and see him, alright? That’s not a crime.”
“It is against the rules of the hospital,” Chelsea pointed out, and at her remark, I turned on her as well.
“Well, that doesn’t matter either,” I asserted. “I’m leaving now. I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Either of you. And if you are worried that I did something to Reggie, maybe you better just stay away from me.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Chelsea said, but I pushed past her.
“Well, that’s what I mean,” I insisted. I narrowed my eyes. “After all, Reggie ended up in the hospital because he asked me out on a date, and I didn’t want to go on one. Our friendship is ruined now, and so maybe he’s lucky he’s in the hospital. Maybe he got what he deserved.”
“He did not!” Ayah insisted. “Reggie’s the kindest person we know, Raiya. That’s a terrible, ugly thing to say. I can’t believe you.”
“Well, maybe you should find a better friend,” I shot back. “I don’t think I want to be a friend to someone who’s willing to turn me over to a lawyer at the least provocation.”
“I wouldn’t call this the least provocation,” Chelsea tried again. “And you have to admit, Raiya, you don’t like to talk to us about these things. When you do, you always give us vague answers.”
“We have a right to protect Reggie from you,” Ayah added. “Even if he’s not your friend, he’s ours, and we will make sure that he is safe.”
“Good,” I said, my voice dripping with disdain. “And good job so far. I’ll leave you to protect him some more right now.”
“Good.”
“Good.” I gave them one last dirty look, and then twisted away from them.
I thought I saw the shadow of the demon again—Yashool, as I called him—but I was too tired to care. I ignored him as I left Reggie’s hospital wing.
My heart was sore as I hurried up the stairs. My head throbbed in pain. I was tired. I was angry. I was upset. I was alone.
But my friends were free. Reggie was beyond my help. Chelsea and Ayah were cut off from me. Jeff was moving away soon.
They were free.
I was free.
I was free, and I was more miserable than I had ever been. I barely realized that someone was holding me while I cried. It was only when Dr. Dinger said my name that I looked up and saw him.
☼11☼
The Doctor and the Lawyer
“OH. DR. DINGER.” I blinked and blushed, hurriedly wiping my tears away as I glanced up at him.
I’d come running into his office, upset and overwhelmed, and flung myself into his arms before either of us had really registered what was going on. I shuffled out of his arms quickly, trying to fight my growing embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” I apologized.
He shook his head. “It’s alright,” he told me. “Everything will be okay.”
His assertion might as well have been a sledgehammer to my already broken heart.
“How do you know?” I whispered.
“I tell my son the same thing,” he said. “And we’ve managed to hang in there so far.”
“I hope the day will never come when you won’t be able to tell him that, then,” I said curtly.
“Me, too.” Dr. Dinger took my shoulders. “But let’s not worry about him. I’m sure that Hamilton would be upset if he knew I was talking about him anyway.”
