Book of the Hidden (16 page)

     
Vivian watched the dial move from sixty to eighty, and then to ninety. Pushing the gas pedal down more, she saw it go to one-hundred. The wind pressed against her face, stinging her eyes, so the world around her looked blurry, like everything in itself was crying.

     
Turn right, turn left, another right, straight ahead for a mile..... Right, right, left, right, straight ahead, left, right. Vivian was becoming mesmerized by the blurring passing of the dirt road, and the few run down buildings they passed. She almost drove right past the Underground, and slammed on the brakes. The seatbelt choked her, and she could hear Jean gasp and a bump behind her.

     
"Okay?" She looked over her shoulder, Jean still holding tight to Jake.

     
"Yeah."

     
No other words needed to be said, they jumped out, and ran across the field. Vivian slowed to let Jean catch up, as she was sagging with the weight of Jake. She could not see well, by now it had grown dark, their only light was the moon shining a path for them, but Vivian could see that his face was no longer pale, but gray, and he was making no noise, no crying. His chest wasn't heaving anymore, and his hand that was clutched to his chest fell to his side.

     
Vivian ran faster, throwing open the door, disturbing the blinding fire in their brackets as she made her way down the steps, tripping every now and then. She opened the next door with such force, that it bounced against the wall behind it. The fire was not nearly as blinding as the circular room that was full of happy, chattering people. For a moment she wondered why they were so happy, but she remembered that they didn't have to go to a funeral, and they did not know about Jake. The chatter stopped, smiles faded, and every face turned towards the out-of-breath Vivian, and Jean behind her with Jake in her arms.

     
Seth stood up abruptly rushing over to Jean. "What in the hell happened?"

     
"It wasn't hell.... But it was close." Jean panted, and sighed in relief as he took Jake from her arms.

     
Vivian's lungs hurt, and she closed her hand around a stitch in her chest. "I don't know what happened...."

     
"Why did you tell him to come? None of this would have happened!" Now that Jean had caught her breath, she stood up straight, looking defiant as always.

     
"I was trying to look after you two!" Seth explained.

     
"That's not your job!"

     
"Just tell me what's wrong with my brother!"

     
Vivian shook her head, feeling tears sting her eyes. She didn't mean for any of this to happen, she didn't mean to put Seth's family in any danger, but it was way too late. "I don't know! I don't know what's wrong!" She looked around the room frantically. "Akia! Akia!"

     
Suddenly a white-haired woman appeared beside her. "What is the matter dear?"

     
"Jake..." Vivian did not know how to explain what had happened, but she forgot that she was speaking to Akia, who seemed to know everything.

     
Vivian watched as Akia took Jake from his brother, and walked across the circular room, up the stairs, and down the hallway. She stopped into her room, laying him on her bed of half moons and stars. It smelled of lavender essence, and an array of perfumes.

     
Akia stared at Jake's face for a while, before running her fingers along his neck, and pulled out a gold chain. A pendent of thirteen snakes curling around each other fell from under his shirt. Akia unclasped the chain, and laid it on her bedside.

     
"Jean, would you recover him?" Akia looked over.

     
Jean's face had gone pale, but nodded in agreement as she placed her hand over Jake's forehead. During this, Akia had pushed Seth and Vivian out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

     
"Vivian, I know you understand the seriousness of what we just found."

     
Vivian nodded, feeling the color drain out of her cheeks as well. It was as though someone dumped ice water over her head. Everything was cold.

     
"Seth, I know you don’t know."

     
Seth shook his head, looking over her shoulder to the door, hoping that he would see what was going on.

     
"The necklace around Jake's neck is called Thirteen Snakes."

     
"I've never given him a necklace," Seth said.

     
"If you did, I would hope it would not be this one. Seth, thirteen is an unlucky number."

     
"Yeah, everyone knows that."

     
"Snakes represent evil."

     
"I know."

     
"Thirteen Snakes. Can you think what harm that could do?" Akia talked to him as though she was explaining a simple math problem to a child.

     
"No...."

     
"Whoever has given Jake that necklace was trying to harm him, maybe even kill him."

     
Seth's eyes abandoned the door, and he looked at her curiously. "How can a necklace cause harm?"

     
"How does everything you have been experiencing been possible? It is magic dear."

     
"I don't understand."

     
"The necklace is dark magic, serious dark magic. Made by one who wants to cause harm, given to one they want the harm to be done to."

     
Vivian tried to swallow, but there was no saliva. Her mouth and throat were dry like sandpaper, and the words she spoke were cracked. "It makes sense. She was causing his heart to hurt, that's why he was clutching it. She was trying to kill him...."

     
Seth turned towards her. "Who's 'she'?"

     
"Astrid...."

     
Oddly, Akia smiled, showing her beautifull white teeth. "Very good Vivian."

     
"Astrid is doing this? Why?"

     
"I kicked her out. She thinks it was because of you, and it was, but she was running out of chances anyway. She was going out too many times as a wolf, she was risking exposing all of us. She's mad that Jake, being human, is here. This is her way of revenge."

     
"Your brother is awake," Akia said, opening the door, and showing them back inside.

     
Seth had trouble taking his eyes off of Vivian. It must have come as a shock to him that someone would do something so cruel. He did not know Astrid very well. But when he walked back into the lavender drenched room, he ran over to the bed where his brother was propped up on some very comfortable looking pillows.

     
"Are you okay?" Seth asked, feeling his forehead.

     
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jake's cheeks were pink from the many colors he went through, but his eyes were bright, and his hair was no longer wet with sweat. He looked like he was back to normal.

     
However, Jean sat on the edge of the bed, looking drained. Recovering him took a lot out of her, but she spoke. "Jake got the necklace when he was at the cemetery. Vivian, you remember when he was looking in the opposite direction? That's when he got it."

     
"Astrid?" Vivian wanted to confirm it.

     
"Yep. Jake told me what the person looked like, and it was definitely Astrid." Jean looked over at him sympathetically, and patted his ankle. "You okay?"

     
Jake nodded vigoursly, obviously been asked this more than once. "Yes, I'm fine."

     
She looked at him for a moment longer before patting his ankle again and standing. "I think I'm going to go to bed, I'm beat." As she made her way out the door, she gently touched Vivian's shoulder.

     
Seth sighed, and sat next to Jake. He didn't say anything, but sighed, leaning his forehead on the palm of his hand.

     
"I'm sorry! I didn't know anything about Thirteen Snakes! I really had no idea!" The words rushed out of Jake's mouth, feeling it very important that he got this through to his brother.

     
Seth however shook his head. "Neither did I. We don't know much about this world do we?" He gave a weak smile as he dropped his hand limply to his side.

     
Jake smiled back, happy of the fact that Seth wasn't yelling or lecturing.

     
"Jake dear, do you feel well enough to go to your room?" Akia stepped out of the shadows.

     
Vivian jumped, forgetting that Akia was even there. She watched as Akia helped Jake out of bed, leading him out of the room to his own. It took a moment, but she realized that her and Seth were finally alone. She looked at him apprehensive, thinking it might be like his first night in the Underground, and he would yell about how bad the magical world was.

     
But Seth did not yell, in fact, his voice remained calm. "I'm sorry Vivian. I shouldn't have sent Jake. I was thinking of how you and Jean would handle everything...." His voice broke, "I didn't think of Jake's safety. I didn't think something would happen...."

     
Vivian went over to him and sat down, not touching him, but close enough to feel the heat from him. "It's not your fault. We should have watched him better - "

     
"NO!" Seth suddenly stood up, his face red in anger. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have sent him! It was a stupid mistake."

     
Vivian didn't look up, but concentrated on the dark wooden floor. She thought of him as a dangerous animal, and if she dared to look him in the eyes, he would attack. She kept her voice low, and quiet, hoping it would calm him. "We both made mistakes. The important thing here is that he's okay. He's fine."

     
Seth nodded, his shoulders sinking to a relaxing state. "That's true."

     
"It does mean that we have to do something now. We..." She shook her head. "
I
can't procrastinate anymore. I have to find Astrid. I have to deal with her. Get the book back.... Wherever it is.... And turn you back to a human."

     
Soft footsteps neared her, until she saw a pair of muddy boots, then a pair of knees hitting the ground. Vivian lifted her eyes, and her face, until she became level with Seth. He looked into her eyes, as though he was trying to find a long hidden secret of her past, and he ran a thumb across her lips.

     
Vivian could feel the red color in her cheeks, and she desperately wanted to pull back, to get out of this room, and away from him. But she sat there, hypnotized by his eyes, and the trailing thumb that had now moved its way to her cheek, until his hand cupped it, his fingers combing through her hair. His lips came closer, and she could feel the breath on her own. Her brain went into overdrive, telling her body to move, to get away before it happened, but her body didn't budge, and his lips softly touched hers.

     
It was something that Vivian had trouble comprehending, that she wanted so badly to move, but she found herself positioned so right. She found her hands on each side of his neck, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss, until she felt his warm tongue in her mouth. It was right, him, and her, it was all okay, it was meant to be this way, and she let herself lay down on the bed, and him fall on top of her, his body pressing against hers.