Velocity (9 page)

She started to hurry away.

“Please, don’t leave,” I begged.

She stopped again, her resolute glare making me wince. “I don’t know what you took, but you had no business snooping around in the dead files of those sad spirits.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you,” I said, feeling more and more desperate. “It was stupid. But I really needed to find a file about my grandmother. She had been having the same symptoms as me, and I didn’t have any other access to her medical records.”

Diane tilted her head, snorted, and crossed her arms. But I took it as an invitation to keep explaining. At least she wasn’t totally shutting me down.

“She’s why I’m here. Her name was Eleanor Hodgekiss, and she was a patient of Bernhardt in the 1960s. Did you by any chance know her? I think she left something here, something that I’m supposed to find.”

Diane’s face suddenly changed, softening, and she adjusted her glasses. “Eleanor Hodgekiss was your grandmother?”

I nodded.

“Yes, I knew her. Back when I was a young volunteer.” She began to walk and we kept pace with her. “My father was a doctor at Bernie, and I came with him. Eleanor and I struck up a friendship. I was the only one she talked to as she was recovering about the things she saw.”

“About ghosts?” I pushed.

“Yes. Everyone else was convinced that her visions of the dead were due to a mental illness or a defect. Her foster parents were ashamed. But I believed her.”

I suddenly realized I had a ton of questions for her, but she started to hurry and I rushed to keep up.

“Follow me,” she said. “My break is over in a half hour and I want to show you something.”

She took us out through double doors and into the garden. Snow-covered flower beds decorated either side of a stone pathway, with small statues set up in between. Tall, bare trees gave shade, and people were walking around, busy with phone calls or just taking in the cold, fresh air.

We passed straight rows of very tall, sculpted hedges. Snow covered the tops that towered far above our heads. I stopped and stared at it. It reminded me of a maze, cleanly clipped and looming above us. From where I stood the rows seemed to continue far back.

“These hedges are creepy,” Theo spoke my thoughts aloud, stepping next to me.

Diane joined us. “Your grandmother hated them, too. One time, she said she saw a woman in red lurking inside. It’s not a maze, but she said she got lost in it, and black birds were flying around.”

My mouth went dry. Blackbirds had taken over our town one summer. They all died at the same time after the Dexter Orphanage caught fire. Mr. Golem and I had theorized that it was a push of negative energy from Dexter. But had they been possessed?

Diane led us across the lawn to a shady, tree-lined area. I recognized the tree from my dream immediately. The branches were twisted and tangled together. The dead leaves scattered below were a strange, red-orange shade.

“Eleanor used to sit here nearly every day, reading and just spending time,” Diane said, staring at the grass below the tree with fondness. “She said that she had things she needed to get rid of before she left the asylum, and I helped her bury a box below this tree. I’d nearly forgotten about it until you said something.”

I bent down and peered closer at the dirt. The pointy corner of a steel box was poking out among the roots. Using my hands, I began to dig with my nails at the cold ground.

“Ariel, hold on…” Theo said, but I didn’t have to dig far before the metal box was fully exposed. The twisted tree roots had pushed it up with time.

“That’s it,” Diane breathed. “Saints have mercy, I never thought I’d see it again.”

“What’s inside?” Theo asked her as I turned the box over in my dirty hands.

“I don’t know,” the nurse said. “But she told me that someday, she might need to come back and claim it. I think that she had the fear that she’d wind up back here. After she checked out, I never saw her again.” I picked up a faint tone of sadness in her words.

There was no lock. I gently popped the rusty lid. A neat little red diary and a few empty prescription bottles lay inside. The labels were too faded to read. A small copper coin rested below the diary. I flipped through the pages and saw with relief that it was well preserved, with only a little age damage. Eleanor’s crisp cursive handwriting stood out clearly.

“Thank you for your help,” I told Diane as I stood, gripping the box. “I really am sorry for sneaking around.”

Diane smiled, her eyes a little sad, and folded her hands. “The experience of knowing your grandmother has stayed with me. She was something special. I’m sure you are, too.”

I caught something out of the corner of my eye and glanced up, thinking it was a trick of the light. Eleanor stood there, brown bob framing her pale face, and stared at me with black eyes. I blinked and she was gone, but the chill she had inspired remained. A dog howled once in the distance, then silenced.

CHAPTER 8

“How did it go?” Hugh asked anxiously as we came back. He and Lucy tossed the magazines they had been perusing and stood up.

I held up the metal box. “Eleanor buried this beneath a tree in the yard. There’s a diary inside that might give us some answers. The nurse we spoke to was friends with her when she was my age, and she told us a few things.”

We headed out of the hospital and towards the car. Evening was fast approaching, and the smell of snow was on the wind.

“Eleanor saw blackbirds that led her into a hedge maze behind Bernie,” I told him. “She thought they were possessed.”

Hugh raised his eyebrow. “I knew there was something not right with those birds.”

“She also saw a woman in red.” That to me was the most interesting of Diane’s information.

“Claire never said anything about seeing a woman in red,” Hugh said, frowning as we pulled onto the expressway. “I never saw one, either. Have you?”

“I remember seeing red streaks in my vision,” I said, thinking it over. “Feeling like something strange and powerful was drawing near. But I never saw a woman, other than Eleanor and the girls that were sacrificed.”

“Just another piece to add to the puzzle,” Hugh muttered, looking like he was deep in thought.

###

Coming back home after our eventful journey filled me with apprehension. There hadn’t been much time to take everything in since we’d gotten to Georgia. We went back to Lucy’s so we could get our own car. I didn’t even look at our house. Theo and I hugged and said we’d see each other in school the next day. It was good to have her back.

“What now?” I asked Hugh as we dragged our exhausted selves into the apartment. He threw a microwave dinner in and pressed the start button.

“We act as if everything is normal,” he said. “It’s not going to take long for Thornhill to realize that we’re back, but we’ll just act like we didn’t take the threat seriously. If Phillip threatens us again, we’ll move faster.”

I felt like tearing out my hair. “How can I possibly act normal? What if I really am part angel?”

He wrapped me in his arms and stroked my hair, trying to soothe me. “I know it’s scary. I can’t possibly imagine what you’re feeling right now. But you’re strong. We will get through this together.”

I was embarrassed by how much that touched me, and I rested my head on his shoulder, trying to suppress my emotion. I’d never completely understood why my mother viewed her Sight as a curse. But now I felt a surprisingly powerful understanding. Having angel blood in me scared me. I didn’t know if I could be strong enough to live up to it.

“What if he knows about Luminos?” I asked.

“We’ve had people talking to those in Thornhill, and some spying on their activities at the office. Not to mention a few of their outer members have given us information. I’ve never heard a word mentioned about Luminos. It’s all been about Dark. And I don’t think he knows that you have it in you.”

“He said he didn’t want someone with Sight in town,” I recalled.

“I think he realizes it presents a threat to him, but he wants you to be intimidated,” Hugh said. “He was curious about using Claire’s Sight to his advantage, but according to her, he couldn’t figure out a way.”

“When are we going to try the grounding stone again?” I asked. “Then we can see for sure.”

He avoided my eyes, finishing with his dinner. “Soon, but I need to call Callie and plan the best method. You and I need to get settled again. I want her to have all the right equipment to monitor you.”

“I can’t just sneak a peek?”

He suddenly turned serious. “No, you can’t. Promise me you won’t.” His hazel eyes searched mine.

“Fine, I promise,” I muttered, staring at the floor. “How do we even know that the woman was telling the truth? About the angel blood?”

Hugh bit the inside of his cheek. “Faith. I don’t know how to prove any of this. I think our best bet is to go with it.”

“Okay.” Of course, it wasn’t at all okay, but I didn’t want to get into an argument. Not to mention I’d felt the woman’s words were true.

“Good.” The lines in his face softened and he went to the fridge. “Now, the more important issue: do you want sodium-laden spaghetti or freezer burnt fettuccine?”

After dinner, I lay in bed, but there was no way I was sleeping. I sneaked back out to the living room. We’d never taken our small Christmas tree down. I plugged in the white lights and watched them glow peacefully as I sat in my robe. Snow was falling outside again.

I started to take the ornaments off and put them back in the box. I stopped, picking up a brass reindeer with a bell. Claire had bought it for my first birthday.

As I held it in my hands, my eyes filled with tears. I was really never going to see her again. We’d been running so much for the past few weeks that it hadn’t sunk in.

She was gone. Truly gone.

I sank to my knees and sobbed. And I didn’t stop until I fell asleep on the carpet, the ornament still in my hand.

###

Standing at the base of Hawthorne’s stairs, I stared up at its impressive edifice. I took a deep breath, and tore the band-aid off for a second time.

I walked down the hall with Theo beside me. Faces registered shock as people passed me. It was the weirdest event of my whole life, like I’d shaved my head or suddenly grown horns. People I didn’t even think knew me were staring. Shocked eyes followed my steps.

We saw Alex up ahead, and Theo took a deep breath. She’d carefully applied winged eyeliner and purple glitter, and she looked really beautiful.

“Do you want to talk to him?” I asked.

She nodded. I gave her a thumbs up and she started striding purposefully towards him. But then Madison appeared.

“Oh my gosh, what is Ariel doing back?” she squealed to Theo. Theo bit her tongue as Madison came in my direction, throwing her arms around me in a hug. I wanted to protest, but Madison was squeezing all the air out of me. The fruity scent of her long blonde hair wasn’t helping.

“Everyone said you and your dad skipped town and were on the lam.” She stepped back, her eyes probing me. I looked around for Theo, but she was gone. Alex joined Madison and me.

“Good to see you made it back in one piece,” Alex said, putting one arm around me and the other hand in his pocket. “My life would be boring without you around to entertain me with your adventures.”

I rolled my eyes. “I missed you too, Alex.”

We passed Lainey Ford and Harlow Briggs, who both stared at me openly. Lainey’s red mouth cracked open and she glared at me like I’d killed someone. I noticed a glimmer on Lainey’s collar. And with a shock I saw she had on a pin with the alchemy symbol for copper, one I’d dreamed about several times. In fact, several people I passed had one pinned on their collars.

“Why are they wearing those pins?” I asked.

“To signify that their family is in Thornhill,” Madison said, scrunching up her nose.

The bell rang and Madison dashed to class. “Bye, Alex,” she said, waving at him and fluttering her eyelashes.

He stood there, grinning after her. A sinking feeling soured my stomach.

“What is going on between you two?” I asked, frowning suspiciously.

Alex shrugged, running one big hand through his sandy hair. “I’m just playing around. She’s cute.”

I wanted to tell him about Theo, but didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. She would be mad if I went ahead and told him how she felt.

“She’s not that cute,” I said clumsily instead. “Especially when she’s being a brat. Which is all the time. She’s toxic, remember?”

Alex punched me gently in the shoulder. “That’s sweet, looking out for me. ‘Preciate it. I’ll catch you later.” And then he was gone. I rushed to class so as not to be late on my first day back.

My heart stopped and started hard again. Henry was standing by the lockers, talking with another boy. The boy was wearing a pin, too, but Henry’s collar was bare. Though his expression didn’t change, his tawny eyes followed me as I passed, making my skin burn.

###

The atmosphere remained uncomfortable all day. I stopped being so much of a sideshow when people remembered how boring I was. I was behind in my classes and had make-up work. I couldn’t help but observe that all the Thornhill kids were wearing those creepy copper symbols pinned to their collars.