Hadrian's Wall (61 page)

It began to come close slowly, its contours
defined in the moonlight. The first thing I recognized was the
outline of the perfect nose and then his arrogant chin and when the
figure touched the edge of the mattress, the familiar green eyes
sparkled at me.

My heart stopped.

I thought I wouldn’t see him until next
week! Why did he return sooner? What he was doing, sneaking into my
room at that hour? I was too confused to articulate words. All I
could do was stare at that enigmatic face until he betrayed a hint
of emotion.

Adrian said nothing. His lips spoke a silent
greeting, while his eyes remained serious. He stared at me like
someone who knew many things, but only revealed what he wanted to
reveal when it was convenient for him. He leaned toward me, resting
one knee on the mattress. His strong hand found my wrist, holding
it for a brief moment. His hands gently rubbed my arms up toward my
shoulders as he moved closer to me.

Time stopped. I think until the planet
stopped spinning.

When I felt his hand touch the neckline of
my nightgown and ease it off of my shoulder, it vaguely occurred to
me that something was wrong. I should have been wearing my old
T-shirt full of holes. I don’t remember having changed clothes
before I went to bed. I opened my mouth to express my confusion,
but Adrian quickly pressed his index finger against my lips. I felt
a slight tingling in the spot where his finger contacted my
skin.

His eyes became black as his smile widened.
It was a seductive smile, but at the same time dangerous. My heart
leapt in my chest, but instead of being afraid, all I could feel
was my body melting against him.

Adrian held me tight. It felt like he was
almost lifting me from the mattress. His solid chest pressed
against me, his breath caressing my ear until his lips brushed
against it, producing sparks that radiated throughout my body. When
he bit down ever so gently on my ear lobe, I thought I was going to
faint.

He began massaging my neck, using his thumbs
to gently knead around the bones and muscles...relaxing me, leaving
me lost in the pleasure of it...until everything disappeared,
except the hands around my neck.

“Wake up, Melissa! Today is your big
day!”

“Mmmm...” I shook my hand in the air, trying
to ignore the shrill female voice.

The curtains were abruptly opened and
daylight unexpectedly assaulted my eyes, forcing me to cover my
face with the sheet. Before I could think about what was happening,
the voice repeated, “Come on! It’s not every day that you turn
eighteen!”

The wretched creature approached my bed and
lifted the edge of my sheet. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw
the woman leering at me—one of the tutors from the orphanage in
Dailey’s Crossing. Incredulous, I looked around and recognized my
old bedroom.

Oh, no!

I leaped out of bed and turned around,
quickly assimilating the old, familiar furniture as if they were
stab wounds in my chest. Clothing was folded on the dresser, the
posters nailed to the stripped wall were the same; there was a
jumble of drawing materials mixed with toiletries on top of the
scratched dresser. None of this resembled my room in the McPherson
House.

Was it possible that Hadrian’s Wall was only
a mega-dream production? If so, then Adrian Cahill did not
exist.

My heart sank.

Ignoring the vertigo that threatened to
overwhelm me, I dashed down the hallway in time to see the other
orphans being escorted to their morning activities...and there I
was with them—pajamas, barefoot and disheveled. The children looked
at me suspiciously, as if I was a barking mad dog. Well, I couldn’t
blame them. If I saw someone looking like I looked, I’d think the
same thing.

The familiar aroma of bacon wafted from the
kitchen, filling my nostrils, but still I couldn’t believe that
everything I’d lived was part of a dream. I held my head between my
hands and shook it hard until I was really dizzy.

Visibly alarmed, the tutor approached me and
tried to calm me down, but I didn’t want to be calm. Suddenly, she
said, “There’s someone here to see you. Isn’t it wonderful? I guess
that today will today be the best day of your life.”

She was kidding me! Being snatched from a
dream like that is something, but it’s not “wonderful.” If
Hadrian’s Wall was a figment of my imagination, I’d prefer to never
wake up. In fact, I’d prefer to remain in coma if it would take me
back to Adrian.

But the tutor really believed that my mood
would improve because I had a visitor and led me down the stairs
without giving me an opportunity to decline. Who could it be?
Suddenly, I had an idea...maybe Adrian was downstairs and would
explain everything to me.

Still in a kind of
stupor,
but with my brain racing a mile a
minute,
I was led to Mrs. Winfield’s
office.

As usual, she was sitting
behind her desk, making some notes. There was someone else in the
room, although it wasn’t Adrian.
What a
disappointment!
The silhouette was that of
a woman and as best I could see—a very well-dressed woman. What
caught my attention was the fur stole she was wearing over an
impeccable two-piece suit.

The mysterious woman was standing, looking
out the window, but when she heard us come in, she turned around so
that she was backlit by the sunlight. I could not distinguish her
features as she walked toward us. It was not until we were face to
face that I could see her clearly. We stared at each other for a
few minutes in silence.

I figured she must be in her forties. The
plastic-looking face sported heavy makeup so that it was difficult
for me to deduce her real age. A stylish pair of sunglasses
disguised her excessive paleness and hid her eyes. Facing my own
reflection in those two black lenses began to get on my nerves.

“Looks like a gift from heaven, Melissa,”
said the Director. “Your mother has come to pick you up.”

My mother?

Stunned, I stared at the
woman more closely. Then I realized that her facial features were
not strangers to me. Even though she was wearing heavy makeup,
after all these years, I was sure it was her.
She looks so fashionable!

However, along with my disbelief came
understanding. The woman was pale like a corpse, so she could not
be my mother. Was she or wasn’t she? My eyes told me she was, but
my heart told me that something was wrong.

In response to my question, a disgusting
smile slowly formed on her painted lips.

Gladys Baker removed her sunglasses and I
was struck by the impact of two eyes as red as crimson—two glowing
orbs that stared at me as if they would burn right through me.

“My dear daughter...we’re here for you.”

* * *

I sat up abruptly, desperate for air. For a
few distressing seconds, my ears resounded with my heartbeat, like
a drum echoing in my head, preventing me from listening to the
sounds around me. My brain began to issue orders requiring that I
site myself in the environment. In response, I frantically looked
around.

My adrenaline levels started to decline when
I was able to recognize myself in my room in McPherson House. My
birthday was more than two months ago. I was in Hadrian’s Wall. The
time travel was just a nightmare, right?

Right
...

This realization enabled me to calm down
considerably. I breathed deeply a few times, though I still felt
like I couldn’t get enough air. The nightmare seemed so real to me
that now it was difficult to believe that the sensations, the
smells and colors were merely a figment of my imagination.

I jumped out of bed,
stumbling a little as I turned to look for my cell phone that was
on the headboard. I needed to confirm the date. My vision still was
blurry, but with a little effort I managed to read the text on its
small screen. My return to Dailey’s Crossing was merely another one
of my outlandish dreams. A nightmare, indeed...
one hell of a nightmare!

Suddenly, I realized there
was a message in my phone’s inbox.
“Sleep
with the angels and dream with me...Adrian.”
The message had been posted at 00:20, right after our phone
conversation.

A huge sense of relief came over me. Adrian
was not a product of my imagination, but the severe distress caused
by the nightmare still affected my entire being, making me shiver.
At that moment I was sure that I liked Adrian more than my good
judgment told me I should. However, after experiencing the horror
of that nightmare, good judgment was the last thing that mattered
now. If my feelings for him were changing the way I see the world,
then it was time to admit to myself that our meeting might have
been planned for something greater than us.

Destiny...

Was it necessary for me to experience a
terrible nightmare to see that? All I knew about love was what I’d
seen in movies and TV shows, so why did my feelings for Adrian seem
so right...so natural? If it was meant to be, I should not try to
avoid it. Whether he is a man or a mythical creature, it didn’t
matter anymore. I laughed as I re-read Adrian’s text message. What
would he say if I told him that I’d slept with him, but dreamed
with demons instead of angels?

* * *

I noticed that it was late and I needed to
hurry so that I wouldn’t miss breakfast. I put on the first outfit
that came to mind, put my cell phone and wallet in my new handbag,
and combed my hair with my fingers.

After a quick check in the mirror, I headed
for the door. I jerked it open so abruptly that the note hanging on
the doorknob fell to the floor. I leaned down to pick it up,
frowning when I saw that it was from Delilah, saying she was
waiting for me in the cafeteria.

I crumpled the note and
tossed it into my bag. I had a lot to do now and I felt glad about
that, especially after the phone conversation with Adrian. I had a
big smile on my face, anticipating our reunion on next
Saturday.
Take it easy, girl. Control
yourself!

Upon entering the cafeteria, I saw no sign
of Delilah. In fact, all of the tables were empty. The only sign
that there were people around was the noise I heard in the kitchen.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Delilah had probably given up on
me.

I went to the counter and prepared a bowl of
cereal with milk, while planning my day. This time there were no
attendants serving the food. I confess that I prefer self-service,
preferably without an audience. I ate quickly, put the dirty dishes
in the stack on the corner of the counter, and went to find Keyra
McPherson.

As usual, she was at
the
reception
desk.
She was focused on separating some documents into neat piles. I
approached quietly, but she noticed my presence without even
looking up from what she was doing.

“How can I help you, Miss Baker?

I braced my hands on the counter.

“I was thinking...Do you have some kind of
safe...safety deposit box here?”

She gave me a keen eye, without stopping to
count her papers.

“Let me see if I can guess...would it be
something where you could store a codex?”

With wide eyes, I nodded. She laughed at my
amazement and extended her hand.

“Yes, I have a safe,” she said.

I felt relieved. My problem was at least
temporarily resolved. Someone had already invaded my room once and
since Adrian told me about Joe Verano’s obsessive interest in the
lives of the Cahills, having to safeguard this valuable document
was becoming a problem.

“Can I trust you that it will be safe?”

“It could only be more safe if you locked it
in Fort Knox or maybe in some Swiss bank.

I searched inside my handbag and handed her
the personal diary which I had wrapped in an old faded scarf. She
smiled at me and disappeared through a door under the stairs. A
minute later, she returned.

“When you want it back, just let me know.
And by the way, great idea to put it in the safe.”

I think
so
. However, I merely shook my
head.

“Anything else, Ms. Baker?”

“Please call me Melissa.”

“Only if you call me Keyra.” She glanced up,
raising her eyebrows behind the thin framed glasses.

“Deal,” I said, smiling awkwardly.

We smiled at each other until I began to
feel like a complete idiot. I cleared my throat to disguise my
discomfort.

“Do you know where I can find a frame
shop?”

* * *

Half an hour later, I disembarked the tram
in the upper city. Wandering alone was much more fun than doing it
with my “nannies” in tow because I could pay more attention to the
details of my surroundings. Well, technically, I wasn’t alone, but
since Stephen started following me, I tried to forget that he
existed; otherwise, it would drive me crazy!

I passed through the security gates slowly.
The sentries did not ask me for identification. That was good, was
not it? I hoped so. I stopped in front of the guardhouse, but the
guard just gave me a piercing look and turned his head away. I was
thinking to parade in front of him until he talked to me, but it
was only an impulse without rhyme or reason. With a shrug, I went
on, stopping when I reached the main street where I could see the
giant panthers above the walls. I stood there admiring them for a
long time.

Hadrian’s Wall had so many exotic
locations...a treasure for photographers and panthers. With so many
security protocols, I wondered if there was any prohibition against
taking pictures of the statues. No, of course not. It would be like
forbidding people to photograph the Statue of Liberty while
visiting New York.