Book of the Hidden (5 page)

     
“Aunt June is dead.”

     
Vivian’s breath caught in her throat, and looked at Jean in disbelief.

     
“It’s true,” said Jean answering Vivian’s question. “Levine just came back and told me. He tried to save her, but he got to the scene too late ….”

     
Levine was part witch, and part Elvin. He had the ego the size of the world, but he was good at what he did. Except this time he fell short.

     
“How?”

     
“Car accident.”

     
Vivian nodded in understanding, staring very hard at a scratch on the wooden floor.

     
“She was our family -”

     
“I’m not going to the funeral,” she cut her sister off.

     
“Viv-“

     
“No! I’m not, that’s it, drop it Jean!”

     
Shaking her head disapprovingly, Jean threw the letter in the drawer. “Tell me again, why does Seth want the book?”

     
Vivian rubbed her face falling back onto the bed. “He wants to change back, and the book is the only answer. You know that book has the counter curse written somewhere in it. So…. Do you have it?”

     
“No.”

     
She dropped her hands from her face, peering at her. “What?”

     
“I don’t have the book.”

     
“Jean, why don’t you have it? Where is it?” She bolted upright, staring wide eyed at her sister.

     
Her eyes softened, and she backed away. “I went to visit them…”

     
“Visit who?” Vivian questioned.

     
“Our family.”

     
She had enough, Vivian stood, her eyes sending darts. “Why?” She heard her voice echoing off, and she took a deep breath, asking again in a softer tone.

     
“A letter every month for two years! I had to do something, I had to talk to them. I still think they care. I’m sorry you don’t.”

     
“I’m not,” she retorted. Her anger rose in her veins at Jean’s calm voice. How could she be so calm about this?

     
“Yeah…. Well, I will give you credit. They stole the book.”

     
Vivian’s fists clenched but instead of hitting her, she grabbed the nearest pillow off the bed, pounding it over Jean’s head. “How – could – you! You – stupid – stupid – girl! You – idiot!”

     
Jean shielded her head with her arms, crouching low. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she yelled.

     
Breathing hard short gasps, Vivian dropped the pillow to the floor, sitting back on the bed trying to catch her breath. Her throat was dry and scratchy, and the little saliva she had she couldn’t swallow. Tears began to sting her eyes in anger.

     
“Sis…. I am sorry. Really sorry. I should have left the book here, but thought if they read it they would understand, but while I was being welcomed, it was stolen out of my car. I didn’t know until I got home.”

     
“You know what they are,” her voice was muffled by her hands. Jean seemed to understand what Vivian was about to say.

     
“Yes…. I know, but I thought…. I don’t know what I thought.” She took a seat beside her sister on the bed.

     
“We’ll get it back.”

     
Jean nodded in agreement. “So, , how is the lady in the fire?

     
“Very well, she’s fine.” Looking over at her, Jean quickly added, “and no one saw me.”

     
“Akira is a great psychic. Don’t know how we would do without her.”

     
A long silence followed. Vivian didn’t know until she looked over at the red luminous clock that it was already two in the morning. Suddenly she felt very tired, and rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand.

     
“I better go get Seth a room….”

     
Jean jumped at her words breaking the silence nodding. “Yeah, I need to get some sleep too and Viv, I am sorry. I’m so sorry, I messed up things really bad for all of us.”

     
Vivian patted Jean’s shoulder, and walked over to the door. “Don’t worry about it. I will take care of this somehow. We’ll figure out something.”

     
Outside she found Seth sitting on the floor leaning his back against the wall. His eyes were closed, and face relaxed as though he was in a deep sleep. Vivian wondered if she should wake him up but in the end, she knelt down touching his shoulder lightly, his eyes opening wide and he jumped to his feet.

     
“Whoa!” Seth looked widely around the hallway and spotted Vivian kneeling on the floor. “What?“

     
“You fell asleep.”

     
“Oh. What time is it?” Seth rubbed his eyes continuing to look around the empty hallway.

     
Vivian got up on her feet. “Late enough. Let me show you to your room.”

     
Across the hall from Jean’s room was Vivian’s. One of the unoccupied rooms, two doors down from hers was the room she led him to.

     
“Wow, what is that smell!” Seth covered his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.

     
“Oh-sorry! A vampire used to live in here and after that a witch. They didn’t get along so to be sure the vampire didn’t come back she stuck garlic everywhere.” She laughed quietly when Seth gave her a dazed look.

     
Despite the awful garlic smell the room was nice. Red velvet curtains covered the large bed and the opened double windows blew in cool air from the forest not far across the field. It was dark, but then again the entire Underground was dark. It was the way they all liked it.

     
“It’s not bad,” she smiled and looked toward the ground. It was true though. If it wasn’t for the garlic smell it would be wonderful.

     
Seth looked around slowly as if getting used to everything now. As if it was going to be that way forever. “it’s not bad at all” Seth acknowledged.

     
“You should get some sleep.” Vivian conducting herself in the ways of their ancestors, bowed herself out of his new room.

     
She rushed two doors down and closed the room to her door quietly. Her room was quite different. For one it didn’t smell of garlic. It was much darker. The windows were covered by torn curtains. Only a small glimmer of light cut through, shining on the wooden floor that creaked slightly when stepped upon. Everything in her room was old. The dresser was filled with pictures of her past that she never looked at, and on the bed was a comforter that had become flat after years of use. But she loved it.

     
Curling up, she laid on her bed. Vivian watched the light from the window peek through the rips in the curtain and she heard the door open, a slight creaking sound on her floorboards and a shadow cast against the light. She sunk lower with the bed as someone sat beside her.

     
“You like him don’t you?” Jean brushed the hair away from her sister’s face.

     
Vivian answered with a sigh.

     
“You do. I know you do. It’s obvious the way you look at him. And he likes you too, because he looks at you the same way.”

     
Vivian rolled over on her back. “It can’t happen.”

     
“Why not?”

     
“Because he wants to be human. He wants to go back.” Her throat tightened and she felt her face go slightly red as though she was a shaken cola bottle under pressure.

     
“You can go back too you know! All you have to do is stop using magic!” Jean jumped and sat upright at that thought.

     
“I don’t want to. You know I love my family. I will always love them, but this is who I am - this is my fate. If they love me they will accept me the way I am. If Seth wants me then he will have to accept it too…. But he can’t even accept himself.” Vivian turned over onto her side pulling the blanket up to her chin. She closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep, but somewhere through the night, she drifted off.

*****

     
At some point in the middle of the night Vivian awoke sitting straight up in her bed, breathing deeply. What had awakened her? A bad dream possibly? She looked around her room. Nothing seemed out of place nor out of the ordinary. Her curtains waved in the wind that crept its way through the gap in the window, the grime unstirred on her nightstand and dresser. Both doors, one to the bathroom and one to the hallway remained tightly shut and no forms lurked in the shadows of her room.

     
She lied back down until deep screaming pierced her ears. She swung her feet onto the floor, and ran out of her room following the screams to next door where Seth was. It was no longer screams rather that of roars and growls. It all sounded so painful. She pressed her ear against the door afraid that maybe it was just a nightmare, but he seemed to be very awake.

     
"What is all the noise?!" Jean had rushed out of her room too.

     
"I don't know...." Vivian pulled her ear away from the door. She didn't knock, but swiftly opened the door knowing she wasn't ready for the sight that was about to meet her. Seth lied beside his bed on the floor partially dressed and tangled in a blanket. He was curled up with his knees to his chest; his hands clawing at his stomach.

     
Vivian knelt next to him pulling the blankets away from him trying to pry his hands away from his stomach. "Seth! Are you okay?" She knew very well that he wasn't but she had no idea of the pain a werewolf faced. By his grimacing facial expressions she suspected it was worse than any pain she had ever felt.

     
She was answered with a growl. Shortly after, "It hurts! It hurts so much. I hate this, I hate being this monster!"

     
Jean flinched from his words, but made no move to correct or scold him. It was only the pain talking. If he had said it coherently he may have once again felt the sting of her words.

     
"It's natural to hurt. Your body is changing; transforming," she tried to comfort him with understanding.

     
Seth rolled onto his stomach reaching out with a claw and digging it into the wood beneath his hand. He scratched downward leaving deep claw marks into it.

     
"It hurts.... It really hurts. Make it stop, Vivian! Make it stop!" he cried in short grunts as fur sprouted onto his arms and hands. "Vivian, please...."

     
"I can't do anything, I'm sorry," Vivian looked over to Jean, but she was staring at him shaking her head sadly.

     
"Painkillers - anything.... Something to stop this."

     
"There is nothing," Jean said shortly.

     
"No, there has to be." Vivian pleaded.

     
"I’m sorry, there isn't."

     
Seth was unable to say anything more, as his mouth took the shape of a werewolf’s snout. He growled and transmuted more, right before their eyes.