Secret Worlds (448 page)

“Eve?”

I looked at him. “Hmm?”

“I was asking you what you think we should do for Don.”

Don was the night janitor at the Deific. He recently went through a divorce. “I’ll go talk to him and see if I can figure out what would be best,” I said.

All of a sudden, Charlie tensed and grabbed my hand on the table. “Valium!”

“What?”

“In a few seconds, Valium, I mean Lucien, will pass by this window.”

I stopped breathing and slowly looked outside. Even though I could still hear the bustling sounds of the restaurant, time slowed as if it, too, was holding its breath as much as I was.

On the sidewalk in front of me, Lucien stepped into view. I wasn’t sure it was him at first because he was dressed completely different. He wore a black suit jacket that was unbuttoned, and beneath it, he wore a black vest over a red shirt. His hooded blue eyes looked angry as he stared ahead, unaware of everyone and everything around him. He walked with purpose and with a confidence I rarely saw in anyone. I wished time would stop so I could capture his image, but even as I thought it, he passed by.

Go after him!
My body jerked into action and moved toward the door. Outside on the sidewalk, I followed his every movement—walking away from me.

A hard thump on my shoulder sped up time. Two men walked by, one of who had purposely bumped into me. When he was a few feet away, the man who had nudged me turned around and stared. It wasn’t his red spiked hair or his many tattoos of crossed bones all over his body that frightened me—it was his smile. It spread across his face the way oil coats the sea.

“Vampires,” I heard Charlie hiss behind me. He pulled me back into the restaurant. “You didn’t tell me he had friends.”

“He doesn’t. They’re following him. We’ll have to warn him when we see him at the marina. Let’s go.”

Ten minutes later, we were back in the same parking spot overlooking the marina. I checked my watch every few seconds. Charlie tapped on the steering wheel to unheard music.

“Something feels different,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I don’t think he’s going to show.”

“Why? You said earlier he’d be here.”

“Well that’s before I saw the other vampires. It changes things.”

“What’s the point of being psychic if everything can change?” I didn’t like the sound of my voice, but with every passing second, my anxiety grew.

“Look, I never said the gift was perfect. I only said I was.”

I ignored his attempt at a joke and got out of the car. I glanced at my watch again. He should be here by now. Charlie exited the vehicle on the other side.

“I’ll go walk around, see if I can pick anything up,” he said.

I turned the other way and walked down the pier.

When we met up again several minutes later, Charlie said, “I’ve got nothing. It’s like he disappeared or something.”

I sighed. There was only one way I could find him now. “Could you take me home?”

“We could look some more if you’d like, drive around, see if I pick up anything.”

I shook my head. “I think I’m going to go home and see if I can locate him in my dreams.”

“You didn’t tell me you were still doing that. I’m not sure how safe that is.”

“I appreciate the concern, but I’ll be okay. Would you mind taking me home? And please stay close to your phone. I may need you in the middle of night.”

“I get that a lot.”

I smiled. “I don’t doubt it.”

He blushed. “Oh, come on. It’s been years since a woman has looked at me like that. I got extremely lucky finding my wife, some might even call it magic.” He winked.

I laughed. It was good to see Charlie more relaxed. Maybe Henry sending Charlie here wasn’t really for the other people, but more for himself. I liked this side of him a lot.

Too many hours later, when I was back at my home, sleep finally came, and I was transported to Lucien. The sight of him made me sick. He was alone inside a narrow room with concrete floors; above him, a florescent light flickered sporadically. Glass was shattered across the floor along with shards of wood from a nearby broken table. There had been a struggle, and Lucien obviously had lost. His body hung upright in the center of the room, unconscious, with his hands tied together, hanging high above his head.

At first glance I thought he was still wearing the red shirt from earlier, but as I drew closer, I saw that his arms had been slit from shoulder to wrist, bathing his body in blood.

I frantically looked around for a way to help Lucian, my legs weak even in this dream-like state. Lying in the corner was his crumpled up jacket. Unable to physically touch anything, I mentally used magic to make the jacket rise into the air. I ripped it in two and then wrapped the halves around each arm to slow the bleeding. I then focused on the ropes tied around his wrists, but they were tied too tight.
I need to physically be here.
I gritted my teeth and moaned in frustration. Where was I?

The only door to the room was closed, and when I tried to open it with my mind, I discovered it was locked. And I was not mentally strong enough to force it open. Surveying the room, I found it to be some kind of shed encased with concrete. I crossed the room to the broken table lying on top of scattered papers and searched for anything that might help.

And then I found it—letterhead that read: Oakridge Storage Units. I willed myself back home and woke up. While I dressed, I telephoned Charlie.

He answered after the seventh ring. “I found him, Charlie.”

He yawned. “Found who?”

“Lucien, and he’s hurt.”

“But he’s alive, right?”

“Barely.” I threw on my shoes.

“He’s a vampire, so if we just wait until morning, then he’ll have healed himself. Can you call me back in a few hours?”

“No! There’s something wrong with the way he’s been hurt. He’s not healing.”

There was several seconds of silence. Finally, Charlie said, “Fine. I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.”

I hung up the phone and went outside to wait for him.

***

Following directions on my cell phone, I guided Charlie to the storage units. Once he parked, I jumped out of his car and climbed the gate that blocked the entrance into the units.

“Which one is he in?” Charlie asked after he removed a messenger bag from behind the driver’s seat. He skillfully scaled the fence and landed next to me on the other side, the strap of the bag across this chest.

“I’m not sure. Can you find out?”

I followed him as he briskly walked up and down the long gravel driveways between the cinderblock storage units. When he reached the end of the second aisle, he stopped in front of a black door. “In here!”

He made an attempt to throw his shoulder into the heavy door, but I stopped him. “Allow me.”

I focused my gaze on the lock built into the bulky door. It took little effort for me to break it open.

“My power pales compared to yours,” Charlie mumbled.

I rushed inside and worked quickly to untie Lucien’s hands. I tried to catch him as he fell, but his weight was too much for me, and he collapsed to the concrete floor.

“Nice catch,” Charlie said.

I scowled. “Maybe you should help me.”

Charlie bent down and inspected Lucien’s wounds. “Those are some nasty cuts. He must’ve been cut by a Saranton knife.”

“What’s that?”

Charlie poked at Lucien’s eye as if seeing if he was really unconscious. “It’s a magical knife created for the sole purpose of paralyzing a vampire. It won’t kill him, but if those wounds don’t heal, then he’ll never wake up.”

“How can I fix it?”

“Fight magic with magic,” he said.

“What does that mean?”

“Use the power within you. It will take a lot of concentration. Think of all the good in your life and your feelings for those who are important to you. If you have enough, then you will be able to heal him.”

“What if I can’t?”

“Then he dies.” Charlie must’ve noticed my shocked expression because he quickly added, after clearing his throat, “I don’t know that for sure. Look, I have complete faith in you. You can do this.”

I knelt beside Lucien and gently touched the top of his head. I imagined our first meeting together very differently.

After I removed Lucien’s torn, blood-soaked jacket from around his arms, I stared at the wound, trying to figure out what to do next. A lot of the bleeding had stopped, but the deep gash remained open. I touched the beginning of the cut at his wrist and gently rubbed my thumb over the raw skin.

It felt different to be this close to Lucien physically. In my dreams, his presence was calming, but physically touching him, made every nerve in my body come to life. I could hear a soft humming in the air much like the sound I heard when I felt the beauty of the rose. My eyes moved to his face, and I resisted the urge to caress it as I was keenly aware that Charlie was leaning over me, breathing loudly.

“Nothing’s happening,” Charlie said.

“Give me a minute.”

I looked at the wound and imagined the skin regenerating. Nothing happened.

“Come on, Lucien,” I whispered.

I focused harder and still nothing. Then I remembered Charlie’s instructions. I thought of the last several months at the Deific.
Had it been that long?
During this time, the world had finally become a beautiful place. I’d made a best friend in Sarah, and I loved being around the children. They, more than anyone else, had taught me how to love and be happy with life. I thought of Charlie and the Deific, and all the great work they were doing and the many lives they had saved. And finally, I thought of Lucien. I wanted him to see and feel beauty as I did. I wanted him to let go of whatever it was that caused him pain. But most of all, I wanted him to see
me
.

My emotions swelled and my whole body tingled, starting in my heart. The feeling spread throughout my limbs and finally down to my thumb that was touching his wound. His skin began to heal.

Charlie gasped. “Amazing!”

The entire process took less than ten minutes. I wished it had been longer.

“When do you think he’ll wake up?” Charlie asked.

“It could be anytime. We shouldn’t leave him here in case those vampires come back. Let’s take him outside.”

Charlie bent over and lifted Lucien up over his shoulder. “We can take him to my place.”

“Absolutely not! He’ll probably kill you,” I said as I walked behind the storage units.

Charlie stopped moving. “So why am I trying to save him?”

“Let’s put him over here.” I pointed to a stack of wood.

“Gladly.” Charlie dropped him on the ground hard.

“Careful,” I cried. I positioned Lucien in a more comfortable position.

“I don’t get why we are doing this. Even you admit he’s dangerous.”

“He won’t be. We just need to give him some time.” I stood and looked down at him. “I wish we had a blood pack or something. He’s going to need it when he wakes up.”

“I have some,” Charlie said.

I turned to him. “Why do you have blood?”

“You should always have blood with you when working with vampires. For negotiating purposes.”

“To negotiate for what?”

“My life, for starters.” He swung the messenger back over his shoulder and reached inside.

When he handed me two bags of blood, I placed them in Lucien’s lap.

“He’ll be fine,” Charlie said. He tugged at my arm. “Let’s go. I can still get some sleep if we go now.”

Reluctantly, I followed him to the car.

On the drive back, Charlie shifted in his seat. And then again, huffing as he did so.

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

He glanced at me sideways. “It’s Lucien. I have a horrible feeling that this is happening too soon.”

“He may be dangerous, but that’s only because he knows no other way.”

“And how do you plan on showing him another way if he won’t let anyone near him?” he asked.

“I’m working on it.”

***

Much to my dismay, sleep eluded me. I couldn’t get Lucien out of my mind, so as soon as it was light, I took a cab back to the storage units. I walked behind them only to discover that Lucien was gone. The blood bags had been thrown against the side of a building and with his finger, he had traced the words:
Leave me alone
. My heart sank. How was I going to get through to him?

I arrived at the office before anyone else. Surprisingly, Henry was waiting for me in my office, sitting on a chair in the corner. “I understand you met Lucien?”

I smiled and set down the donuts and napkins I’d brought in for the staff. “I don’t know how you do it, but it’s a little creepy all the things you know before you’ve been told. Yes, I met Lucien. He’d been attacked by two men and left for dead in a warehouse, but Charlie and I saved him in time.”

“Was he aware of what you did?”

I sat down behind my desk and grabbed one of the napkins, my fingers fidgeting with the white paper. “Not until after he woke up. We left some blood bags for him, but he destroyed them. I don’t know what to do, Henry. I don’t think he’ll let anyone into his world.”

“Then you need to upset his world,” he said, his eyes boring into mine.

I tore the napkin in two. “How can I do that if I can’t even get near him?”

“Eve, you’ve been watching him for a long time. What have you learned?”

I frowned, trying to think. No one ever approached Lucien, and when he did encounter someone, it was always deliberate and ended badly for the other person. Until now. “He chooses to be alone.”

“You’re right. So if you can’t go to him, make him come to you.” His voice, always calm, had a hint of playfulness to it.

I wasn’t sure how I could do that, but it made sense. Henry leaned over and stopped my hands from continuing to shred the napkin. “You need to want this with every fiber of your being. It will be difficult and frightening at first, but if you really commit, you will get through to him.”

I tossed the napkin away and sighed. “You’re right. I’ve been afraid, but I do want this. I know there is good in him.” I nodded. “I’ll do it. I’ll find a way to make him come to me.”