Phoenix Tonic (4 page)

Chapter Six

Hailey’s pain was gone. Her mind fired sharp and clear. She had to be dead. Nothing could feel as good as no stabbing, searing or aching. But as her fingers moved against the bed sheet, she realized her lungs still worked. The cool air clarified her mind. She never imagined heaven or hell being cold.

“Hailey?”

Her mother’s excited voice brought her to full consciousness. Her eyes opened slowly to take in the searing light bombarding her from all directions. She first noticed the cold steel reflecting the harsh light off of every surface. Then her mom came into view. She sat next to her, smiling wide.

By the door a strange, dark-haired girl stood staring at them, her brown eyes unreadable. A white lab coat reached her knees over a blue sundress. Her pretty freckled face held an unwavering gaze on Hailey. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen.

“Hailey, how do you feel?” Her mom’s touch drew her attention. She was sitting on the most uncomfortable looking steel chair she had ever seen.

“I- I’m fine, mom. What happened?” She inched her legs over the side of the cool steel slab.
Baby steps
, she chanted to herself, just in case the excruciating pain assaulted her by the movement. When there was still no pain by the time she sat up, she happily swung her feet freely, marveling at the sensation. “Where are we?” She noticed someone had changed her into a simple white t-shirt and her favorite cupcake pajama bottoms.

Her mother squeezed her hand. Her words came slow, as if she had to think about them before saying anything. “Your father spoke to Mr. Markham, and he agreed to give you the tonic.”

He did what?

She stared at her mother’s joyous, yet guarded expression. “So, I don’t have to marry the jerk?” How strange. He saved her last minute. Huh. Well, maybe he could be forgiven for his cold-heartedness.

The girl by the door stood, straight faced. But her mother’s gaze darted from Hailey, to the ceiling, then back to her. She gave a nervous little laugh. “No. You’ve been spared that, uh, endeavor.”

“Oh.” Hailey’s forehead creased. She was acting funny. Her mother could be emotional, but she’d never seen her jumpy. “So, why are you acting weird?”

“Well,” Her mom stood up and went to the other end of the room.
Hailey’s suitcase sat on the steel floor by the door.
She propped it on its wheels and rolled it over. “It seems the drug has some side effects. So you’ll need to stay here a bit to be monitored.” Her face brightened as she unzipped the case. “But I brought your favorite things to make you more comfortable, because it’s very important for you to stay comfortable. I hope you don’t mind that I went through your apartment. I just got the essentials…”

Her mother continued to ramble on.
“Mom, stop.” She paused as her mother pulled Hailey’s favorite stuffed koala from the clothing. “What kind of side effects? How long am I going to have to stay here?”

“Um…” She nervously looked to the dark haired girl. And the girl just stared back.

“Linda!” Hailey said her mother’s name, grabbing her attention. “I’m not a baby. I’m cured. I feel great. Believe me, whatever it is, I can handle it. Tell me how long I’m staying here.”

“I’m not sure exactly.” She wrung Hailey’s favorite stuffed animal in her hands. “I know it has something to do with your hormones changing. They said if you get too upset you could spike a fever that will be dangerous to those around you.”

She took the koala from her mother’s hand before she permanently damaged his old face, and hugged it. “Dangerous how? Like contagious?”

Her mother shrugged. “That’s what it sounds like.” She reached back in the suitcase and pulled out a leaf green laptop. “And, um, they said it’s best that you stay away from men for a while. Just until your system calms down.” She placed the computer on the bedside table.

Hailey’s brow drew even lower.
No men?
Well, it wasn’t like the last year had been very fruitful in the way of dating, except for Markham. But he didn’t count. “So… What? I just can’t intimate with a guy for a while, or no dating at all?”

Her mom’s head shook slowly. “No, Hailey Comet. They said you can’t be around men at all. As in, you can’t even be in the same room as a man.”

I can’t be around men at all?
Hailey was well aware she wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box when it came to biology. But, she was pretty sure there wasn’t anything that made it so that you couldn’t even be near the opposite sex. “How is that possible, mom? I mean, say I do try to stay away from men? I can’t avoid them all the time. There might be a male checker at the grocery store, or I might sit next to a guy at the movie theater, or at the gym, or just walking down the street.”

“Right.” Her mother nodded. “That’s why you’ll be staying here.”

Hailey took stock of the shiny polished walls, recessed lighting and steel toilet fixed in the left corner from where she sat. She would have to be cut off from the world to avoid all men, and this place was ridiculous. Sling a bottle of ketchup around and this would resemble a haunted house attraction. Hailey cringed at the thought of seeing a similar setup, including the fake deranged clown in a doctor’s coat before saying, “Yeah, thanks, but no thanks, mom. I’d rather live on a deserted island than this freakish place. This room’s like a prison cell.”

“Now Hailey, your father promised them that you’d do everything they say. Please, it’s not forever. And they did give you back your life.”

She sighed. She couldn’t argue with that. She had her life back, plus she felt awesome. “Kay, mom. I’ll stay in this steel cage with the overly bright lights.” She rolled her eyes. “How long?”

She froze as the lighting in the room dimmed several levels. “What in the world? Are the lights possessed?”

Her Mom shook her head. “Remember, you need to be monitored. So they, uh, have cameras—”

“What?!” She jumped up, still clutching her stuffed animal. Her head snapped back and forth as she checked the ceiling and walls. “They have cameras on me?” She took back what she said. This was worse than the haunted house clown-doctor butcher room. Her breathing picked up. “And they’re listening to our conversation?”

Her mother stepped forward. “It’s not that bad, Comet. At least we have you back, and it’s only a couple of years—”

Years? Did her mother just say
years
? Her jaw set as she spun around the room. “They want to spy on me for years? There isn’t even a curtain so I can go to the bathroom. I don’t care what kind of side effects I have, I’m not going to be their perverted entertainment. Let me out right now. I’m not staying in here, you sick freaks!”

A monotone voice broke into the conversation. “Then we will shut down your father’s company, and your family will be destitute.” It was the dark haired girl that spoke. Her face was still emotionless as she continued. “The conditions for you to receive the tonic are very specific. If you do not adhere to them you will not be the only one to suffer.”

Hailey’s chest heaved as her breathing sped up. The girl’s words tangled in her mind. Specific conditions? So Markham hadn’t saved her out of compassion? She hoped this was a misunderstanding. She turned back to her mother. “What is she talking about, mom?”

“Hailey, you need to calm down—” Her mom reached out to grab her shoulders, but she yanked her hands away as soon as her fingers touched, shaking them as if she’d burned herself.

There was something huge her mother wasn’t telling her about Markham. “Don’t tell me to calm down, mom. What is that girl talking about?”

Her Mom swallowed as she stepped back from Hailey. “Your father gave everything to save you. Since you wouldn’t marry Markham they needed some other kind of collateral against their secret drug. George had to make him the highest shareholder in the company, making him lead partner. If even one of us talks about it, or if you refuse to do as they say, they have threatened to bury the company and your father with it.”

Markham did what?
That company was handed down from her grandfather. He’d built it from scratch. It was the family legacy. The company meant more to her dad than anything.

And he had given it up for her life, because Markham didn’t have a generous bone in his body.

“Markham has plenty of money, why would he take Dad’s company? And me on top of it?” Her breathing spun out of control as her eyes narrowed. She paced around the room, searching for cameras to kick in. “And I thought Markham was a monster before, but this takes the cake. Where is that filthy, arrogant, greedy excuse for a man?” she shouted at the ceiling. “Get him in here right now. If he doesn’t give my father’s company back I’m going to rip off his head and spit down his throat!”

Out of the reflection of the steel wall, she saw her mom back away, horrified. Her eyes were so filled with fear it stopped Hailey cold.

Hailey shook her head at her silent reaction, and looked down at herself. Her skin took on an eerie orange glow. Black holes burned through the fabric that directly touched her skin, leaving curls of acrid smoke rising from her body.

“Am I on fire?” But she didn’t feel any pain.
Her skin began to peek through the quickly deteriorating pajama shirt and bottoms.

She needed water, or a fire extinguisher! Her heart drummed in her ears as she held her stuffed animal at arm’s length.
I’m going to burn to death.

The dark haired girl suddenly lunged forward.

The walls lit up and heat exploded in the room. Through the firestorm, Hailey watched the teen pull her mom back, placing herself between her and her mother. Raging fire filled the half of the room Hailey was standing on.

She stared at the teen through golden encompassing flames. If Hailey was burning, why didn’t it hurt? She should be covered with raw burns and charred skin by now.

Hailey peered down at her arms to see the remnants of her stuffed koala disintegrating to black flecks. The remains slipped between her undamaged fingers, until nothing was left. A strangled sound of disbelief escaped her lips.

Her clothes smoldered right off her form. Instead, light wreathed her entire body. Flames danced over her skin as if alive. It surged along with her emotions, almost as if it were a part of her. She held up her hand and the color changed from a golden glow to an unearthly metallic. She let it grow. The beautiful release wrapped her in pure energy.

A cry called out from across the room, barely audible through the roar of the blaze. So consumed by her state, Hailey didn’t see the hand snake out until it was too late. It punched her square in the chest like a sonic boom. The flames didn’t hurt, but that punch did.

She flew through the air until her body smacked against the titanium wall. The cool wall dented slightly as her backside slid down, and landed on the metal slab that served as her bed.

Her eyes fluttered in surprise. The shiny surroundings suddenly cleared as well as her thoughts. That burning in her chest was replaced by the pain from the punch, and the encompassing flame disappeared. She wanted it back, but she suddenly realized she needed something else. The hit she’d taken had knocked the breath from her body.

Hailey coughed and sucked in air. When her senses came back, the first thing she wanted to know was who punched her. And why?

The dark haired girl stood, her hand extended toward Hailey, palm out. Her arm glowed with blue flame. But the fire blazed out before her in a perfect circle, like a shield.

The fire suddenly retreated back into the girl’s arm and she lowered it. On the other side, Hailey’s mother cowered on the floor, her eyes full of terror as she looked straight at her.

Her mother grabbed either side of her head and let loose an ear-splitting scream before scrambling out the door.

The dark haired girl withdrew from her stance and headed for the exit. As she stood in the doorway, she glanced back over her shoulder with indifference.

“You will stay locked in this room, or you may actually kill your mother next time.”

Chapter Seven

Kallian searched pages of cupcake pajama bottoms on the internet before he found a pair that matched the one Hailey had just lost. “Kira,” he looked over his shoulder at the dark haired girl, “what size do you think she is?”

Kira cocked her head. “I bought her size five through thirteen jeans. She’s wearing the size seven, I believe.”

Kallian clicked away, adding clothing to the virtual shopping cart. “And the shirt?”

Kira looked down and sighed. “She’s endowed with more curves than me. If you get her a large she’d probably fill it out.”

A light blush settled Kallian’s cheeks. It was awful watching Hailey lose her temper. And just as he’d feared, she was livid with him. Since her abilities had made themselves known, she’d stayed curled up in a ball on the metal slab. The only time she moved was when Kira brought her a change of clothes. But she was motionless when Kira breezed through as the cleaning crew. The blame fell to him for her difficult transition. He had to make her as comfortable as possible.

“My lord, why are you buying her gifts when you know she is going to destroy them? It seems illogical.”

Kallian turned around in his chair. Kira sat prim and proper, with a straight back and hands folded in her lap. “If she has things she loves near her, hopefully that will deter her from allowing her temper get the best of her. She won’t want to get all new things.”

Kira’s brow pulled together. “But, don’t many women of this era want items to be continuously replaced by newer models?”

Kallian thought for a moment. “You’re right. Many “high maintenance” women want the newest cars, phones, and computers. But Hailey’s belongings, before she burned them up, suggested otherwise. Her stuffed animal looked worn and her pajamas were thinning with excessive use.” He smiled at the memory of her in her PJ’s, clutching her stuffed animal. She put on a tough exterior, but she had a gentle side in there, too. “I believe when Hailey likes something she forms an attachment, and wouldn’t want to destroy it.”

“Interesting. She is like you in that regard.” Kira looked up at the ceiling as she thought.

Kallian shook his head, curious. “How is that?”

Kira’s expression went unreadable again. “She forms unreasonable attachments to items as you to animals. One will wear out, while the other will eventually die. And yet, you still allow yourself to suffer when you could have avoided the connection in the first place.”

Kallian flashed a bittersweet smile. “Yes, it does seem foolish. But sometimes the joy an animal, or a person brings, is greater than the pain.” He turned back around and continued ordering items for Hailey. “I’m sure you’ll understand one day. Maybe you should try to make a friend.”

Kira glanced away. “I’ve had friends in the past. I do not care to repeat the experience.”

Kira’s empty voice brought sympathy from Kallian. Her time with humans ended in tragedy, at Kira’s expense. After two hundred years it seemed she still hadn’t gotten past it. Poor child, she was less than a dozen lifetimes old. Hopefully she’d grow out of it in this one.