Awaken (13 page)

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“Are you sure you didn’t murder somebody?” 

             
“I’m definitely
about
to murder somebody,” I threatened; leering at Carmen.  My newest trace had become the talk of the trip back to Bald Head as we hung out on the second level watching more movies.  As was to be expected, everyone was throwing out guesses as to what my trace could mean; murder being the most recent hypothesis.  My trace wasn’t teardrop, which apparently signified how many people a gang member had killed, but that didn’t stop them from running with it.

             
“Maybe you did it in your sleep?  That’s why you don’t remember!” Phoebe figured.

             
“That must have been why I saw a bloody knife laying on the floor last night,” Cage snickered and watched me suspiciously. “It’s all making sense now…”

             
“Yeah, this whole ‘future leader of the Tydes-thing’ is just a ruse.  She wants us all to think she’s all honorable and trustworthy, but just when you least expect it - WHAM! Knife to the chest. Lights out.” Ricker pretended to stab himself dramatically.  Ian shook his head at me from the other couch, as if he was disappointed at my unthinkable deception.

             
The rest of the trip was, for the most part, drama-free except for the once again glaring eyes of Carmen and Ricker.  How two people could go from hating each other back to loving each other, and then right back to hating each other in one weekend was beyond my comprehension.  It also sounded awfully exhausting.  Willow and Liam tiptoed around each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move.  Finn was all business, as he was intent on starting the preparations for my journey right away.   Since we only had three weeks, my regimen would start immediately.  Strength training in the ocean, memorizing a map of the Underworld, and a regular diet of slimy seaweed and coconut milk awaited me once we returned to Lorelei.  The fact that Finn wouldn’t be accompanying me did in fact force me to raise the bar for myself.  If I had to do this without him, I would soak up every piece of knowledge I could until the time came. 

             
Upon returning to Lorelei and Maren Hall, we ran into Olivia, who was coming out of the elevator as we were getting on.

             
“Hey Olivia!” I grinned at her.  As someone who had earned the nickname ‘Be-otch’ from my roommates, we were extremely surprised when she had offered up her yacht and accompanied us to the Fortunate Isle.  After finding out her mother was the therapist who had coordinated my move to Lorelei, I began to see her in a new light.  Underneath the attitude was a good person.  Her dark hair had been straightened and her dark eyes were accented by smoky eye makeup.  Her long black dress skimmed her black stilettos.  She looked like she was going on a date.  Either that, or to a funeral.

             
“Hey!” she smiled back at me, and then acknowledged my roommates with a sly nod of the head.

             
“You better be glad my hands are full,” Carmen threatened her with a smirk.  We stepped onto the elevator and Olivia stuck a hand out to stop the doors from closing.

             
“Watch out for the people in your suite,” she raised an eyebrow. “They said they were looking for a girl named Hannah and that she lived in your suite.” I let go of the bag I was holding as my stomach dropped to the floor.  The Whitmans were
here
?  At Lorelei?  In my suite? 

             
“Didn’t you lock the door when we left?” Carmen asked Phoebe.

             
“I thought so…” Phoebe frowned in thought.  My roommates didn’t know my previous name, Hannah.  I had changed it to Anastasia on arrival to Bald Head Island.

             
“I think I know who they are,” I admitted to Olivia, still in shock.

             
“Oh good,” she let go of the elevator door, “See ya!”  She disappeared around the corner in a cloud of strong-smelling perfume.  Phoebe and Carmen looked at me expectantly. 

             
“It’s my adoptive family,” I said with a disconcerted sigh.

             
“So who’s Hannah?” Phoebe questioned. 

             
“Me,” I answered. “That was my name before I changed it to Anastasia.”

             
“And they don’t know about any of this?” Carmen swept her arms out; alluding to our ancestry and Lorelei’s true purpose.

             
“Nope,” I sighed again, but Carmen just smiled.

             
“This is going to be fun,” she said with a sneer and a twinkle in her eye.  I could only pray Laura Beth had not come with them.  Carmen would eat her alive.  After Phoebe had to physically push me off of the elevator, I braced myself as we entered our suite.

             
“Hannah, darling!” Dee Whitman embraced me in an awkward hug.  She wasn’t usually the hugging type.  She was usually worried it would wrinkle her clothes.   Currently her dark green tweed skirt and dress jacket matched the black and green plaid shoes accentuating her feet.   

             
“Hi Dee,” I looked past her to see who else had come. “So…what are you guys doing here?”

             
“We wanted to surprise you!” She threw her arms up in somewhat-forced excitement. “Charles and Laura Beth are out on the balc- Hannah Whitman! What is that on your face!”  She grabbed my chin and yanked my head to the side in horror.

             
“I got a new tattoo.” I held my breath, hoping she would keep her composure in front of my roommates. 

             
“We’ll talk about that later, young lady,” she threatened in a low voice and scowled at me.  She masked her distaste with her High Society face, typically reserved for people she believed to be beneath her.  She turned to Phoebe, Willow, and Carmen.

             
“And these must be your little roommates!”  She introduced herself to Carmen, Phoebe, and Willow while I took my bags into my bedroom.  Unfortunately, all I could think about was how to make them leave.  I hadn’t been prepared to reconcile my old life with my new life.  I wasn’t sure it was even possible without a nuclear explosion occurring.

             
“Well hello, Hannah,” Charles Whitman greeted me as I walked back out into the living room.  I gave him a warm hug and he froze for a split second as he zeroed in on my newest trace.  I glimpsed the person standing behind him with her hands on her hips. “Hey, Laura Beth.”

             
“Hey,” she snipped.  “All four of ya’ll live here?” Her skeptical green eyes scanned our suite like it was a smelly locker room.

             
“And you must be Laura Beth,” Carmen cooed in a feigned heavy, southern accent. I quickly made all of the introductions; silently hoping that would suffice and that they’d leave.  Dee answered my prayers.

             
“We are actually on our way to Virginia for the week.  Do you remember Uncle Stephen and Aunt Josie?” She didn’t wait for my answer, “We’ve been invited to stay with them this week and I couldn’t imagine not swinging by and seeing our other daughter!” Laura Beth’s expression as she stared at me was comparable to a laser beam.

             
Willow jumped into hostess mode immediately and made sure the Whitmans had something to drink and some pretzels to snack on.  The longer they were there, the higher my blood pressure rose.  My calculations gave me another hour before a heart attack would bring a fitting end to the day.  Thankfully after about two hours of tense conversation and awkward silences, they began to stand and Dee grabbed her purse. 

             
“I could not be happier that you are enjoying Lorelei, Hannah!” she took my hand, “Please take care of yourself and let us know if you need anything at all, dear.” 

             
As I walked them to the door, she turned on me and lowered her voice, “No more tattoos.  And I’m not sure I trust that Carmen.” She said her name like she was a dog who might have rabies, and then smiled and spoke louder to my roommates. “It was such a pleasure to meet you girls!”  I had to fight hard not to roll my eyes.

             
They filed out of the door stiffly and closed it behind them, while I let out a breath and instantly felt lighter.

             
“They were….nice,” Phoebe tried with a smile.  I chuckled at her.

             
“Yes, they were just maaaarvelous,” Carmen squealed in her southern accent and clapped her hands together.  If a person needed distraction from her foster family and an impending, possibly perilous, journey to the Underworld, my suite would be the place they’d find it.

             
“I love you guys,” I snickered.

              “In the late 1800’s, the house and surrounding land was owned by a wealthy doctor; living there with his wife, three daughters, and two sons.” We were huddled on the balcony the next night enjoying the pink and orange colors as the sun majestically announced its departure.  We had lain around the suite most of the day watching movies and taking naps.  It had been exactly what I needed.  We ordered a pizza for dinner and decided to eat outside since the weather was so nice.  As talk turned to Halloween, Phoebe had insisted on telling me the story of the old Drake House near campus; rumored to be haunted.

             
“They were very active in the community and well known up and down the coast. One summer, one of the daughters dropped dead for no apparent reason.  Another daughter was soon to follow and his wife had begun to show the same signs of sickness. Apparently in an effort to save his family, the doctor began to dabble in alchemy.  Soon he was consumed with an obsession to not only save his wife, but to bring his daughters back.  One weekend, the family didn’t show up for church on Sunday.  No one thought much of it until the doctor failed to make his house calls the next day.  A friend of the family decided to drive out to the house to see if everything was alright.” She leaned towards me and raised her eyebrows for effect. “What she found, would shock the whole island. Their blood had been smeared across the walls, leading up the stairs to the family’s bedrooms.  All of the children were still in their beds, face down and now soaked in their own blood.  They had all been beaten to death and were missing one vital thing…” She paused, her eyes sparkling with excitement. I held my breath; anticipating the punch line that didn’t disappoint, “…their hearts.”

             
Chills ran down my spine and I wrapped my arms around myself.  Contemplating the tragedy of young, promising lives ripped away from innocent children prematurely sent my thoughts to Bianca.  Not only had she been killed, but she was now destined to aimlessly wander the earth realm as a ghost.  Phoebe, reveling in the chilling response she was eliciting, continued her story.

             
“His wife was found in her bed, also dead.  Her heart had been removed as well.  Not until they searched the underground cellar did they find the doctor.  His body was found on the floor, a surgical knife in one hand.  He had sliced through his own chest and his heart had been ripped from his body.”

             
I peeked at Willow, whose face had taken on a sickly green tint, and at Carmen, who was nervously biting her fingernails.

             
“According to the story, the doc had found a way to raise the dead, but something went very wrong and he raised a demon instead.  They say the demon possessed him and made him take his family’s hearts out and then his own.”

             
“Did they find the hearts?” Willow’s soft voice wavered.  Phoebe shook her head solemnly.

             
“They were never found. Only one piece of evidence had been found.  Written on the cellar door in blood was the word:
Penance
.”

             
I clasped a shaking hand over my mouth as my veins rapidly hardened to ice.  The world began to spin and I grasped my chair to steady myself.  Penance. That was the same word Nadia had burned into her desk.  But this was just a story - it wasn’t real.  Right? Bianca had called her ‘The Reaper’.  Was there something Finn wasn’t telling me about Nadia?  He said that she escorted the rejected souls back to the Earth realm, but was it possible that she took souls as well?  As a sick type of punishment to the living?  As it would happen, the word ‘reaper’ meant to harvest, and the word ‘penance’ meant atonement; the righting of wrongs. As this new, startling possibility hit me, I leaned back in my chair, utterly petrified.

             
“You okay Stasia?  You don’t look so good.” Willow placed her hand on my arm and a healing tingle spread through my body; settling my stomach.  I couldn’t tell them what I had seen.  They didn’t know Nadia was the one who had paid us a visit during our séance.  I didn’t want to make a big deal out of nothing.  It was probably just a coincidence.  But what if it wasn’t?  Would Bianca know?  Is that why she’s so scared of Nadia?  I wish I could talk to her again.  I squeezed the bridge of my nose.  A couple days ago I hadn’t even believed in ghosts, and now I was wishing I could speak to one?  I had to get myself together.  This was ridiculous.  It was just a haunted house story.  Every town in America had one. It wasn’t real.  I looked up at my roommates who were watching me with concern.  You’d think they’d tire of my unstable mental health and sudden emotional breakdowns, but they never complained.

             
“Yea…I’m okay.  I just got dizzy all of a sudden.” I summoned a convincing smile onto my face and Phoebe continued.

             
“Anyway, over the years several families moved into the house, but they would always leave within a few months.  They say the family still haunts the house…searching for their stolen hearts.”

             
“Dinner just isn’t the same with a family of ghosts digging in the food searching for their hearts,” Carmen snickered.

             
“We should go!” Phoebe squealed with delight and clasped her hands together, nearly knocking over Carmen’s Gatorade bottle.

             
“To the Drake house?” Willow gulped and turned a light shade of green again.

             
“We don’t even know how to get there,” Carmen contemplated Phoebe’s idea with skepticism.

             
“I know exactly where it is!  It’s easy to get to, promise!”  She batted her big green eyes at Carmen.

             
“What about the Halloween party?” Carmen argued stubbornly.

             
“Halloween party?” I had finally discovered the ability to speak again.

             
“Every year there’s a Halloween party in the Hole.  They move all of the tables and make it real spooky.  It’s actually really fun!” Phoebe’s features lit up with enthusiasm. “We could do both! Go to the party, and then find the Drake house!  Come on, it’ll be fun!  Plus, I’ve been wanting to go since I got here and this is our last year,” she begged. 

             
“Do you think dead doctors like sexy nurses?” Carmen narrowed her eyes and wiggled her dark brown eyebrows.

             
“Please tell me you aren’t going to dress up as a sexy nurse
again
,” Phoebe snarled at Carmen with frustration. “That’s what you wore last year!”

             
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Carmen shrugged her shoulders and twirled a dark brown lock of hair around her finger.

             
“It is kinda overdone,” Phoebe contended; scrunching her nose.

             
“And your sexy cop outfit isn’t?” Carmen challenged her. “Six other girls wore the same costume last year.”

             
“Yea, but I was the only one with a pink cop uniform and fishnets,” Phoebe rested her hands on her hips with indignation, “and I’m going to be something different this year anyway.”

             
“Fishnets?  Seriously?” I gawked at Phoebe.  I would never be able to pull fishnets off.  Somehow I knew they looked absolutely amazing on her.

             
“When did Halloween turn into an excuse for girls to dress up like cheap sluts?” Willow chastised no one in particular, shaking her head.

             
“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” Carmen grinned shrewdly.

             
“So what do you guys think?” Phoebe prodded us again.  I had to admit, I was a little curious about the Drake house and what, if any, connection it may have to Nadia.

             
“Are you sure you know where it is?” Willow asked.  Phoebe shook her head vehemently, and then looked to me for my consent next.

             
“It would be kinda fun…” I started and Phoebe jumped up and down in her seat.  Two yes’s and one to go.  We all turned our attention to Carmen.

             
“Alright, but if a demon takes over my body and forces me to cut your heart out, don’t blame me,” Carmen cautioned her.

             
“I’ll just come back and haunt you every chance I get,” Phoebe challenged her with a steely expression.

             
“In your pink cop uniform?  Ohhh, I’m shaking with fear already,” Carmen countered sarcastically.

             
“You guys really shouldn’t joke about that,” Willow chided. “If the legends about the Drake house are true, you’ll be eating your words.”

             
“I personally think the doc just went crazy and decided to slaughter his whole family.  Probably cooked up the hearts and ate them himself,” Carmen theorized.

             
“Eww!  Don’t say that!” Phoebe shrunk back in revulsion while Carmen smiled in triumph.

             
“Make no mistake,” warned a deep, foreboding voice behind us. “Demons are very real.”

             
“Ever heard of a doorbell?” Carmen scowled, “You can’t just go jumping out of the shadows anytime you feel like it.” 

             
“But it’s so much more fun,” Finn smirked at her and then easily met my gaze.  He leaned against the doorframe with inherent confidence. He was dressed in jeans and a gray t-shirt, while his handsome face was eerily shaded with the living room light at his back, “Plus I brought something I think you guys will be very interested in…” he teased cryptically.  My tortured heart proceeded to hurdle up in my throat.

             
“The map?” I choked; my voice coming out an octave higher than I intended.

             
“The map,” he confirmed smugly. Willow gasped and a silence fell over our small balcony.  All at once everyone bounded into the living room with renewed exhilaration.

             
“I’ll get markers!”

             
“I’ll get a notebook!”

             
“I’ll get the pixie sticks!” The stampede halted long enough for us to give Willow a curious glance.

             
“I always eat candy when I study,” she explained and shrugged her shoulders.

             
We posted up at the coffee table like a pack of kids waiting for ice cream, eager to catch a glimpse of an actual map of the Underworld.  Finn produced a large unassuming piece of paper rolled up and secured with a rubber band.  Either The Sons have incredible preservation techniques or this was a printed version.

             
“Shouldn’t it be…older?” I scratched my head.

             
“I was only able to bring a copy of it…,” he justified with a slight grin. “The actual map is thousands of years old, not to mention it’s housed in a remote, undisclosed location; unknown to most descendents.” The gleam in his eye told me he wasn’t including himself in the ‘most’ category.  I could only imagine the kind of information he was privy to.  I wondered what it must be like to be Finn Morrison, Future Prime and hottest guy on earth.  Being that sexy must come with immense responsibility and pressure.  Oh, and the whole future-Prime-thing must be hard too.  I giggled at my own thoughts; consequently attracting odd looks from my roommates. 

             
Finn, apparently used to my random outbursts, carefully unrolled the map; spreading it out on the table and securing its unruly corners with Phoebe’s teal and white tile coasters.  A blanket of stillness cloaked the room as we gazed upon the most impressive map we had ever seen. 

             
Although it was simply a photocopy, it was clear just how ancient the original map had been.  The hand drawn creatures and places had been created with the artistry and perfection of DaVinci.  The normal lines that sectioned off specific parts of the Underworld were layered with exquisite sketches of each important landmark.  Scribbled notes and headings covered the extent of the paper, but they were written in a language I didn’t recognize.

             
Carmen looked up at Finn with uncertainty, “Please tell me you know whatever language that is?”

             
“Of course,” he confirmed, flashing an exceptionally charming smile in my direction that stopped my world for a millisecond.  Didn’t he know how dangerous that smile was?  There are only so many things that could stop time.  His smile ranked up there with the time warp continuum.

             
“Uh, he’s been to the Underworld, remember?” Phoebe retorted, stunned by Carmen’s failure to see the obvious.

             
“Well that doesn’t mean he knows what all these crazy symbols are supposed to be,” Carmen incited defensively.

             
“He doesn’t need symbols when he’s been there and seen the real thing.” 

             
“Well he’s not going, so what’s in his head isn’t going to help us!” Carmen threw back at her.