Secrets Of Sanctuary Hospital Nightmare Of The Dark Shadows (4 page)

I can’t hear Stephan, but from Andrew’s
response, he must be asking about us.

“Mia and the children had to head back to the
hospital with Catherine and Lucas earlier. They had a major
malfunction with the records and Mia remembered a lot of the
patient classifications. I stayed behind to take you to the
airport. I know she was really sorry that she couldn’t see you guys
before you left.”

He listens to whatever Stephan is saying.
“Yes, I have your father’s luggage packed. I’ll meet you in the
lobby in ten minutes. I need to pick up a new staff member at the
airport this morning anyways. It is no problem at all.”

Hanging up the telephone, he wraps his arms
around me. The tears I have been holding back flow.

“We will find them Mia. You stay here and
connect with them, see if you can get any more information about
what is around them or how long they travel. I don’t want to leave
you, but it’s important that we get your brother and his family out
of here before they can figure out that anything is wrong. Since we
don’t know who we are dealing with yet, I think that it would be
best to stay close to him until they are safely on a plane. I’ll
call and make sure arrangements are made for someone to watch them
when they return and James is still with your father. I’ll let him
know what’s going on. After I drop them off, Reginald has arranged
for me to look at the street tapes for the Mercedes that we saw in
the parking area. Maybe if we can get a handle on which direction
they are heading, we can get a map and set out a few hours in that
direction so as to get some sort of starting point. I know that it
is a shot in the dark, but until we can figure out something else,
we need to pursue every possibility. He is also going to send some
local friends our way.”

Catherine comes out of the bedroom with my
father’s luggage, handing it to Andrew. “You had better get
downstairs. I’ll stay with Mia.”

Lucas interrupts. “Where are you supposed to
go and who are you supposed to see regarding the tapes? I can go on
ahead and start. Maybe I’ll have an answer before you meet up with
me.”

Andrew turns to him. “That’s a good idea. I
will text you the contact information and address as I head
downstairs. Also, call Gabriel and see what his expected arrival
time is. Have him come directly here.” With that, he kisses me and
is out the door.

Sitting back in the circle, I grasp some of
the children’s items to my chest, unable to hold back the new round
of tears as my internal argument rages through my consciousness
once more. I should have known from the gathering that formed when
the children were born that it was only a matter of time before
they would succeed in grabbing them. I should have taught them
earlier how to use their powers fully. I was so blinded by wanting
to give them some normalcy that we only taught them some basic
powers with the other children. I should have had Reginald, Emma
and Victor teaching them from the moment they were old enough to
understand. If I had, maybe they could have protected themselves
and maybe they would not be going through this now.

A cool set of hands grasp my shoulders. “Mia,
open your eyes. You are too aggravated. You’ll never connect with
them if you don’t calm down.”

“Catherine, this is my fault! Don’t you see;
if I had listened to Reginald years ago when he wanted to start
teaching the children, they would be stronger now? Maybe they would
have been capable of warding off their captures. I should have
never withheld such vital information and training from their
lives!”

Shaking me, my eyes meet her determined
features straight on. “You can’t think like that! Your children
needed time to be children, to develop as individuals first and to
become well-adjusted and compassionate human beings.” Her voice is
filled with deliberate determination. “You have been teaching them.
Mia if they utilized the full battalion of their powers too early
that could have interfered with their development as strong
individuals. Don’t you remember how overwhelming this surreal world
felt to you? If they became too powerful before they could really
understand right and wrong, it would have been disastrous. Mia, you
know better than anyone that your children have the potential to be
an extremely powerful force not only in this life, but also in the
war which rages all around us, but still they are just children.
They are only now beginning to even grasp the concept of what they
can do and how they can’t always use their powers because they
cannot yet fully understand the ramifications of such actions.
Children can be impulsive, even the best meaning normal children
can act impetuously and unwarranted results can occur. Just think
of the disasters that could result if your children used their
powers imprudently. Do you remember Jacob with the snapping turtle?
Everyone knew that he did not mean to do it harm, but in that
moment of anger when it bit him, look at what happened. You did the
right thing in allowing them to develop as good caring children
first. It was necessary to withhold their utilizing their full
powers. By allowing them to utilize limited powers, you showed them
how special they are while instilling discipline and allowing them
to see that any untoward use, even limited, could yield disastrous
results. We will find them! I know that it is difficult, but you
need to calm down and concentrate on trying to get as much
information as you can.”

She is absolutely right. I can chastise my
choices later, but to do it now is useless and self-indulgent!
Closing my eyes, I hold their favorite clothing items close to my
heart. I can’t stop the overwhelming panic from seizing my heart as
each minute turns into what seems like hours passing me by without
any feeling of a connection. Springing up from the floor, my eyes
are unfocused. I do not even see Catherine standing before me as
she grasps my wrists. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t feel anything! What if they are
dead! I should have been able to connect with them by now!”

Shrugging out of her hold, I am at the
window, my eyes darting wildly at the surroundings below. Unsure of
what I am searching for, my heart sinks deeper and deeper with each
hyperactive beat. Coming up behind me, she turns me, leads me back
to the circle, sits me down, and moves the items closer before
going over to my purse and removing my wallet. She hands me a
picture we took at Christmas. “Mia, look at their beautiful faces
and concentrate. They are not dead! You would feel that right away
and you know it. In your anxiety and thinking about what you
haven’t taught them, you are not considering all of the good you
have shown them, so stop allowing your mind to punish itself! You
just need to calm down and concentrate.”

Staring at their beautiful faces, I see my
sister and David in the hazel eyes of Nicholas and Kayla, while
Jacob and Nicole inherited the oceanic blue eyes Andrew possessed
after his re-emergence with Nicholas. Closing my eyes, I
concentrate harder. Finally, to my relief, I feel their precious
hearts beating. They aren’t moving in a car any longer, someone is
carrying them. Concentrating on each one separately, I try to
discern if any of them are more conscious than the other, hoping
that what they are registering will give me some clue as to where
they are now.

The first heart is strong, but they have no
real consciousness of anything going on around them other. Through
their nostrils, I no longer smell the overwhelming scent of ether;
it has been replaced by dank, musty air. On some level, they can
feel the cold surrounding them. I must have connected to Nicholas
or Kayla because I doubt that Jacob or Nicole would be feeling
cold. I no longer sense the hood placed over their head. They must
have reached their destination and their captures don’t seem to
fear their waking.

Concentrating on the next heart, I sense more
of an awareness of something bad going on around them and the
overwhelming fear accompanying their awaking consciousness.
Suddenly, my body jerks, they are struggling against their binding
restrains. They are still covered with their limbs still bound
tightly to their torso. It has to be Nicholas or Kayla.

The gruff voice of a man shouts in their ear.
“Stop struggling or I will test out my own theory that staking can
paralyze you and keep you under control! If I am wrong, at least
David will still have three of you.” My heart seizes as Jacob or
Nichole freezes in fear.

The woman’s angry retort echoes off the
walls. “I told you that they cannot be staked! They will bleed to
death. We are not losing one now! Let’s secure them and then we can
get David.”

“Who made you boss? I am a member of this
family too, I should have a say in what happens to them.” He
retorts frustrated.

A loud thud rings in my ears as my head is
seized with pain. I am falling sideways and then I feel
nothing.

Forcing down my panic, whoever I was with is
now unconscious. I concentrate quickly on another heart. I have to
find out what happened. I need to hear what is going on. Focusing,
the pounding of an anxious heart practically blocks the couple’s
argument.

“Why do you always have to be so hasty? See
what you made me do.”

“At least he is not fighting you anymore.
Come on let’s get them confined. I want to be done with this. I’m
not missing another meal.”

Nichole’s muscles feel as if they could snap
from the stress and fear raging out of control. As her fear mounts,
it overwhelms my senses, severing our connection! She must be
fighting to cast out all emotions. I never imagined our teaching
them to detach themselves from everything so they can think calmly
whenever they get upset to avoid a repeat performance of the
snapping turtle incident would develop into a way to toss me out. I
should have performed protectionist spell on the children, if I
had, maybe I would know where they are right now. The relative
peace and contentment made me complacent and now my children are
paying for it!

My firsts slam down, but hit cool palms.
Opening my eyes, my arms fly around Andrew’s waist, pulling him to
me. “Please tell me you found a lead! The kids are so frightened
right now and the ones who have them are bickering and seem very
unstable. One of them keeps talking about hurting them!”

Andrew pulls me closer before releasing me.
The room is filled with anxious, pale faces. All of the St. Clouds
are here along with several faces I do not recognize. Leading me to
the couch, Andrew’s voice is soft spoken, but I know he is fighting
for every ounce of control. “We caught a glimpse of a Mercedes
heading north. By their speed, whoever it is knew what they were
doing and stayed off of the main roads. They are heading toward the
rural and estate areas which are all privately held. Lucas is still
there and reviewing the tapes to ensure that we did not miss
anything and Eva and Jackson have headed toward the road where we
saw the car with some local friends to see if there are any clues
or scents which they can pick up on.” My heart sinks and the life
force is being drained from every cell of my being as he utters
each word. What if Lucas doesn’t see anything else and all trace
evidence is lost? The children could be anywhere, how are we ever
going to find them in time? What if they are dragged to... I force
my mind to halt the thought, if I finish it, I will shut down,
never feeling them again, never connecting with them again. I will
enter the deepest, darkest hell of my own creation, one where there
is no escape, no refuge, no light, and no possibility to save them,
ensuring that I lose them forever.

Andrew’s lips are moving. I fight through my
deadening senses to hear him. “Don’t give up hope, Lucas is still
looking and everyone here will assist in the search. Did you get
anything more from connecting to them while I was gone?”

I can’t stop the tears streaming down my
cheeks. “They aren’t traveling by car any longer. They were being
carried to some confinement place. Kayla and Nicholas are still
unconscious. Jacob was coming out of the stupor but they knocked
him unconscious again. I can’t tell how badly he is hurt because I
went to concentrate on Nicole hoping to get some information about
what was happening to him, to them, but she started shutting down
and my connection was broken. What if he is really hurt! I left him
in his darkness.” The sobs rip from my chest.

Andrew wraps his arms tightly around me. “He
is very strong. I’m sure that he’s fine. Please this is important,
what else did you hear?” Although Andrew is trying to be strong for
me, I can feel the anxiety radiating in his embrace at the thought
of Jacob being hurt.

Straining to speak, “I could hear the same
woman and man fighting. There has to be two other people with them,
but they never spoke. The man was threatening to stake Jacob
because he was moving around and the woman knocked him down. They
were going to confine the children and then go get David. Andrew,
they seem to be all members of the same family and wherever they
took them, the room they were traveling through is exceptionally
cold, I could feel it through either Nicholas or Kayla and the air
around them is dank and musty.”

“What makes you think that they are part of
the same family?” He inquires staring at me intensely.

“When they were arguing, the woman was
griping over not disposing of Catherine and Lucas sufficiently and
that their taking the children could have gone unnoticed longer if
they had help, but the man said that they could only trust family.
I don’t understand. If Jonathan returned, could he have engaged a
family of demons and vampires to grab them? How many families have
all been turned?”

His eyes dart to the anxious faces of his
family and then back to me. “I don’t know how many families have
been changed. Usually conversions happen in solitary incidents.
Families are seen more with witches. Are you sure that the people
who have the children are vampires and not witches or something
else?”