Fruit of Misfortune (17 page)

“He’s right,” David said. “We’re cutting it
close. It’ll take us almost an hour to drive across the city.”

“Good night, Doctor,” I said, and followed
David to the door.

“Wait—wait!” Gunn called out to us. “What
happened last night?”

“Last night, Isis didn’t have an attack.
Instead, I hemorrhaged, and then I convulsed until I passed out.”
David took my hand. “If you’ll excuse us, we don’t have any more
time to spare.”

“But that’s not what happened to Miss Isis. I
don’t see the link.” Gunn dropped the folder on a table and walked
to us.

“Now you know why we came to you.” Galen
pushed a button on the wall and the lab door slid open. “Find the
cause, Gunn. You’ve got our number.”

We hurried out of the lab and down the
hall.

“You should’ve told me this before!” Gunn
yelled from the lab’s doorway.

Nyx shut the
door to my room and set a hand on one of her curvy hips. I gathered
we were in trouble for some reason.

“You should’ve called. Is that too much to
ask?” she scolded.

“Gunn asked us to stay in case he had to run
more tests. The walls in his building are too thick. Our phones
were useless.” David glanced at the brass clock on the dresser.
“It’s almost time.”

“Well, you overstayed your visit,” Eryx said,
placing two dark colored towels on the bed.

The anxiety in the room was thick. None of us
knew what to expect now. I glanced at the clock and wished that I
could make time stop.

“Did Gunn give you any medication?” Nyx
asked.

“No,” I said, taking the empty pitcher from
the nightstand. “He was still working on the results from the exams
when we left.”

I walked to the bathroom sink and filled the
glass jug with water. Nyx watched from the door. She let out a
sigh, and then walked past me to the bathtub and twisted the shower
lever. Through the mirror, I saw her sit on the edge of the
bathtub, watching the steam rise from the steady flow of hot
water.

“Did he say when he would have the results?”
she asked.

“It shouldn’t be long.” I dried off the
pitcher with a hand towel. “He said he didn’t sleep, so I’m sure
he’ll be working through the night.”

A sudden shiver ran down my back, making me
lose my grip on the glass handle. The pitcher hit the curved bottom
of the sink and burst into a multitude of jagged shards. Water
splashed everywhere. I reached to pick up the shattered pieces of
glass, nicking my thumb in the process.

“Ouch.” I dropped the piece of glass on top
of the rest of the remnants.

“Leave it,” Nyx said. “We’ll clean that up
later.”

Clenching my thumb with my other hand, I
walked to the bedroom, intermittent shivers developing inside me, a
sign that the episode would begin soon.

“Let me see.” David took my hand. “It’s not
too bad.” He blew gently on the small wound, and then kissed it.
Like magic, the stinging in my thumb disappeared. “Better?”

I nodded.
How does he do that?
But I
wasn’t thinking about how the pain disappeared. I wondered how it
was that he could make me feel like the only person in the
room.

“It’s just a scratch. You don’t have to waste
your magic on me.”

“I wanted to,” David said. “I hate seeing you
in pain.”

“While on the subject of what we hate about
Isis…” Galen said, “
I
hate how she can’t keep her mouth
shut.”

He was still upset over the information I had
given Dr. Gunn, evidently.

“Jerk,” I scoffed.

“Cujo,” he hissed.

“Hey.” David shoved Galen and raised a finger
at him. “That’s completely uncalled for.”

“And I don’t have rabies,” I said.

Nyx was standing by the bathroom door when we
heard her gasp. She covered her mouth and turned away from us, her
shoulders bouncing with each breath she drew.

“Wonderful.” Eryx smacked Galen and David on
the side of the head as he walked past them. “She’s been like this
all day—upset and crying.”

Why was everyone I loved suffering?
Alezzander should’ve killed me when he had the opportunity.

Eryx walked to Nyx. He rubbed her arm, trying
to calm her, but she pushed him away. Eryx shook his head and
walked out the bedroom door without looking back.

I stepped toward Nyx, pulling one of her
silver and black curls away from her face. Her hand was cupped over
her mouth. I studied her for a moment, unsure of what to make of
the expression that was painted across her ivory face.

“You’re not crying,” I realized.

“No,” she said, humor dancing in her
eyes.

“Why are you laughing?”

“The rabies comment caught me by surprise.”
She took a breath. “Galen’s been teasing you with that old joke,
hasn’t he?” she asked, and I nodded. “Apologize, Galen.”

“Not. Happening.” Galen leaned against the
wall.

“Like I care.” I rolled my eyes. “At least
you’re smiling again,” I said to Nyx. “I don’t even mind that the
joke was at my expense. I’d rather see you laughing than
crying.”

Nyx smiled a sad smile—the kind of smile you
give a person you feel sorry for. I felt sorry for her, too.

David’s fingers slipped between mine. The
scent of sandalwood emanating through his pores alerted me that his
emotional state was heightened.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s time. You should lie down.” He squeezed
my hand.

“So should you.”

“I’ll fetch Eryx,” Galen said with the
doorknob in his hand. Before Galen could open the door, a light
knock came from the other side.

“Madam?” Paulina’s voice called.

Nyx stepped toward the door and took Galen’s
hand off the knob. “What is it, Pau?”

“My aunt has asked if you’d like us to store
the dinner plates or if they should be reheated?”

“Store them. We’ll have them for lunch
tomorrow.”

“I’m really hungry,” I said.

“If you eat…” David shook his head. “It’s not
a good idea.”

“Madam?” Paulina’s voice called out once
more.

“Yes?” Nyx answered.

“My aunt has also asked if she may please see
Miss Isis for a few minutes.”

“Why does Camilla want to see her?” Galen
asked.

“She…” Paulina paused. “I don’t know.” We
exchanged silent glances. After a while, Paulina spoke again. “What
do I tell my aunt?”

“Isis isn’t feeling well,” Nyx answered.
“It’ll have to wait until morning.”

“Yes, Madam. Good night.”

We listened to Paulina’s footsteps clicking
on the marble hallway floor as she walked away.

“I wonder what she wants,” I thought
aloud.

“Knowing Camilla, she probably wants to feed
you,” Nyx said. “She knows you didn’t eat breakfast this
morning.”

Galen pulled his phone from his jeans pocket
and looked at it. “I didn’t want to say anything earlier, but it’s
much past the time that the episodes should’ve happened. I think
we’re in the clear for tonight.”

“I don’t know about that.” David ran his hand
through his hair. “We should give it a few minutes. I want to be
sure.”

I took David’s hand, and we sat down on the
bed to wait. We heard a piercing scream. I froze, the hair on my
arms standing at attention. Galen shot out the door first, followed
by David. Nyx grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, tugging me
along after her. More screams echoed through the house. They were
coming from downstairs.

We raced down to the first floor, through the
living area, and to the kitchen from where the cries were coming.
Nyx released my hand when we reached the kitchen doorway. I gasped
when I saw the scene. My legs became unsteady under me.

Camilla lay on the floor with her eyes open,
her stare blank, eyes unblinking. Around her body was a thick red
pool of blood. The knife that Paulina had tried to hide under my
bed was rooted deep in Camilla’s chest. Paulina was screaming words
in Italian, kneeling beside her aunt. Eryx, Galen, and David stood
agape, surrounding Camilla’s body.

“This is your fault.” Paulina’s flaming stare
landed on me. “She took her own life because of you.” She pointed
her pinky and index finger toward me. “I curse you, witch!”

“This has nothing to do with Isis,” David
said.

“Yes, it does,” Paulina whimpered. “My aunt
was trying to save her. She was the one that told me to plant the
protection spell in her room. She told me they were coming.”

“A spell?” Nyx asked.

“That knife in her chest—” I took a hesitant
step toward Camilla, “—that’s the same one you put under my
bed.”

Paulina nodded, tears streaming down her sun
kissed cheeks.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” David asked.

“I didn’t want to get Paulina into
trouble.”

“I don’t understand. Why would she kill
herself?” Eryx asked.

Paulina shook her head, crying. Blood was
streaked across her cheek. “She had been speaking with
them
for several days. They came for her.” Paulina’s head gave a slight
jerk in my direction. “My aunt, she wouldn’t surrender her body to
the demons. She told me that they would try to possess her to get
to the girl—to Isis. I told her that it was all in her head, but
she insisted that she wasn’t crazy and that’s when she sent me to
fetch Isis. When I came back to the kitchen, one of them was here.
Its rotten stench was everywhere. The devil’s smell is
unmistakable.

“I saw her there.” She pointed to a wall with
a wooden rosary that hung from a nail. “She was praying and holding
the knife in her hand. I saw the demon take shape behind her, and I
screamed. My aunt turned to make the sign of the cross with the
knife to protect herself, but the demon threw her across the room.
The knife was still in her hand when she hit the floor. The demon
reached into her body and began to possess her. But before it took
full control, she pushed the knife into her chest.”

“Because of me.” I fell to my knees,
breathing hard. The room began to spin.

“She said I had to tell you something.”
Paulina’s eyes were full of loathing. “She told me to tell you that
you had a purpose.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know.” Paulina wiped her tears with
her apron and shrugged. “She died right after.”

Anger rose deep within me. I was the cause of
this poor woman’s death.

“Why are they after me?” I looked up at Nyx.
“Why do they want me dead?

“I don’t know,” Nyx said. “But we must pray.
Stand.”

Eryx placed an arm around Paulina. Muffled,
broken wails escaped her as Nyx, David, and Galen, in unison,
chanted a prayer in Latin:

“
Páter nóster, qui es in cáelis,
sanctificétur nómen túum…”

***

Eros marched in through the open front door
just as the paramedics rolled away Camilla’s body.

“What happened?” Eros asked. “Who…?”

“Camilla,” was all Eryx said, but it was
enough to start Paulina’s heartbroken bawl.

From the front door, we watched the
canary-yellow ambulance drive away, its flickering lights dimming,
and then disappearing, as it turned out of the driveway.

“I’m sorry, Paulina.” More tears flooded my
eyes. My conscious was drowning in quicksand. I was tired of
ruining people’s lives. I was tired of fighting the forces that
were against me. It would be easier if I just gave in to them, let
them have me. I couldn’t, just couldn’t take any of it anymore. I
turned to head to my room, and David followed.

“Please, don’t.” I said. “I need to be by
myself.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Isis.”

“That innocent woman killed herself. She did
it to protect me. I’m the reason she’s dead.”

David looked away from me.

“Isis—”

“There are no right words to say this
time.”

I walked up the stairs and to my room, where
I closed the door and slid to the floor, my mind staring into the
black hole that I knew I belonged in.

How long I stayed there—one hour, three—I
don’t know. Sometime later, I caught a movement out of the corner
of my eye. I looked toward the balcony doors and saw Eros.

“What do you want?” I turned my gaze back to
the spot that I had been focused on before, but the black hole was
gone. I was annoyed that he had made me lose the state of numbness.
I glanced back at Eros. “
Well
?”

Eros’ head was upturned, surveying me from
head to toe.

“Spare me the ugly looks,” I huffed.

One of Eros’ hands disappeared behind his
back, his nose flared. Then with a swift move, he tossed an object
toward me. I winced as it landed at my side with a loud slap on the
floor. My journal.

“You stole my journal?”

“You. Hellion. Bitch,” he said through
gritted teeth.

Again Eros reached behind his back. This
time, producing a large dagger. Before I had time to react, Eros
was kneeling beside me. He forced my head back, pulling at the hair
on my nape. The point of the blade was at my throat. The sound of
my heartbeat resounded like heavy drums in my ears. For a moment, I
couldn’t understand what was happening. But then it all made
perfect sense. He had read my journal. He knew what I was. And the
dagger at my throat was the answer I had been looking for.