Daniel Taylor and the Dark Legacy (13 page)

Anne looked up at the ceiling. “Danny’s not made an appearance downstairs yet today. You’re welcome to wake him up if you want to tell him the good news.”

“Oh, no, he threatened to do terrible things to me if I talked to you about tutoring,” Vanessa smirked conspiratorially, making Anne laugh.

As Vanessa walked up the narrow staircase, she could hear music playing in Daniel’s room. So, he was awake! Her heart beat even faster than the pounding bass.

How should she behave? Should she kiss him in greeting, or would he kiss her? But maybe he wouldn’t want to kiss her so early in the morning, if he hadn’t brushed his teeth. What did other couples do — did they have a glass of mouthwash by the bed? What if the kiss yesterday hadn’t meant anything to him, and Danny didn’t even want to be with her?

Vanessa decided to stop driving herself crazy with hypothetical scenarios and just let things happen. She opened the door.

The first thing she saw was the light-blue carpet that had been in the room since Daniel was a child, now somewhat threadbare, and the window that looked over her own. On the right side of the room, under the slope of the roof, there was a shelf crammed tight with a monitor, a stereo, and stacks of CDs and computer games. Only when she shut the door behind her did she see the other side of the room and the four-poster bed in which Daniel lay, writhing in pain.
Oh, no, he’s having another attack!
Vanessa turned off the nerve-racking music before hurrying over to him.

“Danny!” He was lying on his back wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. His face was covered in sweat, and his body was shaking as though an electrical current was running through it. Daniel’s eyes were wide open and were almost completely black.

“Nessa.” His voice was a hoarse whisper. He reached out a hand to her, but then let it fall back to his side.

“I’m here, hold on!” She embraced him tightly, but he jerked up again and moaned in agony. His breathing was erratic, and every muscle in his body seemed to be tensed.

Vanessa panicked. What was wrong with him? “Oh, God, I’m going to go get your mom!” she cried, about to let go of him, but it was clear that Danny couldn’t hear her. His body suddenly went limp in her arms; he simply lay there, motionless.

“Daniel?” Nessa carefully shook him by the shoulder.
Oh God, oh God, what do I do now?
She quickly checked his pulse and his breathing, the way she had learned in her first-aid class; she was relieved to find that they were both weak but steady. Then she ran to the door, threw it open, and called out to Mrs. Taylor, almost in hysterics.

James stared fixedly at Daniel, who was lying like a statue in his hospital bed. This was
his
son, his one and only, unconscious and pale. He was all that James had left of Kitana.

Anne had called him, and Peter as well, since he still worked at Little Peak Hospital — fortunately for James. Peter knew everything about who, or rather,
what
Daniel was, as did the chief surgeon, Dr. Graham, a member of the Watchers’ Guild. Otherwise, none of this would have ever worked. Guild members were everywhere in this town, strategically positioned in the various institutions, businesses, and even in the town government. It was the only way the watchers could remain undetected.

James glanced over at Anne, who was standing next to him at the side of the hospital bed while Peter and Dr. Graham, a senior physician with thinning grey hair, examined Daniel. James had heard that Peter and Anne had separated; his parents still lived in Little Peak, and they kept him updated on the latest news. Anne looked terrible, but even through all the signs of worry on her face, James could still see her innate good looks. Hers was a more mature beauty now, and just looking at her made his heart beat faster. She was still a blonde angel. How he would have liked to take her trembling hand in his, just to show her that he was there for her.

Dr. Graham took a blood sample from Daniel and left the room, intending to check it himself in the laboratory. James knew that no information could leave this room. Peter and Dr. Graham would falsify the records.

“Could you wait outside, please, Anne,” said Peter, not looking directly at his ex-wife. He ran a hand nervously through his light-brown hair, and his cheeks were flushed. James could sense the tension between the two.

“When can I come back to be with Daniel?” she asked in a choked voice.

“Soon,” Peter promised. “I have to prepare the blood transfusion. I need to concentrate, and …”

James knew that Peter was just looking for an excuse to be alone with him. Anne had no idea of what was happening here. James would have liked to tell her everything, but the more that was known about the Guild, the worse it would be for the whole organization. Still, it must seem to Anne like her ex-husband was just trying to get away from her. James saw the pain in her eyes.

“I see,” she whispered and left the room, head bowed.

After Anne had closed the door behind her, Peter turned immediately to the other man. “What’s wrong with him, James?”

“I don’t know exactly,” he admitted truthfully, unable to tear his eyes from his son. How tall he had grown, and how much he looked like his real father! Except for the black hair — that was from his mother. Over the years, James had secretly watched Daniel a few times, just to see how he was doing. He had been happy with Anne, that much was certain.

James felt a pang in his heart. What would his life be like if Kitana were still at his side? They could have been a real family. He missed Kitana so much — and he missed having a normal life!

James sat down in a chair next to Daniel’s bed, scarcely noticing when Peter inserted a needle into his elbow. He tried again to reach his son mentally.
I’m here, nothing bad can happen to you
, he thought desperately, in the hope that it might somehow help Daniel.

As a watcher, James’ blood contained antibodies that could fight against demonic attributes. Since he and Daniel had the same blood type, a transfusion should be no problem.

“You never really accepted him, did you?” asked James quietly as Peter adjusted the bed to its lowest setting to allow the blood to flow from father to son.

Peter shook his head. “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t. Knowing that there was someone living in my house who wasn’t actually human …”

James lifted his head. “He is human, Peter. Just like you and me. Watchers are just … a little
different
.”

“A little?” Peter ran his hand through his hair again, brown hair that was a shade lighter than James’ own. Otherwise, there were few similarities between the two men. Peter was shorter than he was, and also a bit stockier.

Peter went about his work automatically as he spoke. “What’s going on here right now, it goes against everything I believe in!” He sighed loudly. “I just couldn’t stand the lies anymore; I never fully understood who Daniel really was, anyway. But I kept my promise never to say anything to Anne.”

James lowered his voice, barely able to look Peter in the eyes. “I blame myself. I’m so sorry to be responsible for your divorce.”

Peter shook his head emphatically. “We were never really a good match. There was always a certain distance between us. You don’t realize these things when you’re younger.” Peter took a deep breath and checked that the blood was flowing properly. “I don’t want Anne to suffer. Not because of us, and not because of Daniel, either. Part of me wishes I could tell her the truth, but I know that would just torment her even more. The truth could destroy her life, and she has no one to cling to right now. Daniel is the only thing that’s important to her — he always came before me. She loves him more than anything else in the world. I can’t take that away from her, as well. That’s why I’ve been keeping myself completely out of their lives. Maybe she can make a fresh start. Like I did.” Peter scratched his head and looked James in the eye. “Do you have any idea of what might be happening to him? He’s lying here like a dead man, but I can’t find anything actually wrong with him.”

“I think now that his body is almost mature and both his demonic powers and his watcher abilities are slowly emerging, the transformation is taking all his strength. His body has to decide what he will become: a watcher or a demon.”

Peter stared at James. “Are you saying that he might become an actual demon?”

“I’m not really sure,” James told him softly. “If that happens, I’ll do everything I can to bring him over to our side. Daniel’s a good person. He won’t slip over to the side of darkness so easily.” He pondered for a moment. “It could also be the case that the demons have tracked him down and penetrated his mind. I always hoped they wouldn’t find him, but if he possesses substantial demonic powers …” Then even the blood transfusion wouldn’t be able to help.

Peter sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed his arms, his gaze shifting from James to Daniel and back again. “What would they want with him?”

James shrugged, although he knew the answer perfectly well: The demons wanted the Scepter of Power, and only someone whose blood matched that contained within the artifact would be capable of exploiting the full force of the scepter. They might well try to kidnap Daniel to use him as a bargaining chip. Were the demons aware that he, James, was the only one who knew where the scepter was hidden?

Of course, he had informed the Guild about the artifact. But because he had refused to reveal its hiding place to them, they had rejected him as a traitor. It was just lucky that Dr. Graham happened to be a close family friend. He had risked a great deal to help James. Like James, the doctor belonged to a secret watcher community. There were a number of watchers who had left the Guild for various reasons or had been cast out, and Dr. Graham was one of this community’s spies. The Guild had no idea that he had defected.

“Could these … creatures … represent a danger for Anne and Daniel?” Peter asked.

James shut his eyes for a moment. He didn’t want to think about what they might do. “It’s possible.”

“Damn it,” Peter swore, which was out of character for him. Usually it was James who lost control of himself.

“The Guild will watch over them and act if any danger arises.” Even though he was no longer a member of the organization, his son was still under their protection. James’ heart beat faster. He prayed that the demons hadn’t found Daniel. He hoped his suspicions were unfounded. “I’ll protect them with my life, if need be.” He reflexively touched the amulet that he wore hidden underneath his shirt. Kitana had given him the eye of Horus medallion. It made James invisible to demon eyes and kept him from succumbing to dark temptations.

Peter frowned. “You’ll have to explain things to them.”

“If it comes to that, I’ll do it.”

Peter inhaled sharply. “Maybe … No, forget it.” He busied himself with the transfusion and avoided meeting James’ eyes.

A smile crossed James’ lips as he saw an image of the pale and chubby Peter he had known as a child, the little boy who had been afraid of everyone and everything. “I’ll explain everything to Anne and put in a good word for you.”

“Thank you,” said Peter.

“No, Peter, I’m the one who should be thanking you.” James took a long look at Daniel, who still lay motionless beside him. “You’ve done so much for me. I don’t know how I can ever make it up to you.”

It wasn’t the sterile atmosphere or the air stinking of disinfectant that tightened Vanessa’s throat, but rather the sight of Daniel. He had been in the hospital for four hours and hadn’t yet regained consciousness. To the left of his white-sheeted hospital bed sat Anne; to the right, Vanessa. She held Daniel’s ice-cold hand, taking care to avoid the IV line, and tried to stay strong as Anne openly wept.

The monitor above the bed beeped away.

Vanessa didn’t care much for hospitals. It was far too cold for her, and everything reminded her of the appendix operation she’d had as a small child. She had felt so alone at that time, even though her mother and father had visited her as often as they could. Now she felt alone again. It was as though Daniel were miles away, despite the fact that he was lying right next to her.