creepy hollow 05 - a faerie's revenge (27 page)

“Oh. Hi.” I shake her hand.

“Gaius asked me to come and check on you now that you’re awake, but you seem to be doing quite well. Did you take that tonic I left by your bed?”

“Yes. I’m feeling much better.”

“No more hallucinations?”

“No. And my magic seems to be working fine, so that wasn’t affected.”

“Good. Well, there isn’t much else I can do,” she says. “I’m not actually a healer. I just know more about these things than Gaius, which is why he always calls me in for this kind of thing.” She steps closer to Chase and lays her hand on his brow. “Still burning. Looks like his healing will take a bit longer than yours, but I suppose that’s to be expected given the extent of his wounds.”

I nod, telling myself that her conclusion seems logical. Of course Chase will take a bit longer to heal, but he will be fine. He has more power than anyone else I know, so how could he not be? I turn to Lumethon and say, “Thank you for coming into the labyrinth to find us. There’s absolutely no way we would have got out on our own.”

“Oh, of course,” she says with a wave of her hand. “Chase would have done the same for me.” Before I can ask if she encountered any dangerous beast or spell while she was in the labyrinth, she steps away from the bed. “Can I take a look at some of the books in your study?” she asks Gaius. “I think I may have seen a reference to a creature that feeds on despair.”

“Yes, certainly.”

They walk to the door, but Lumethon looks back over her shoulder. “Calla, it was nice to properly meet you. Soak in a pool and then take it easy for a day or two, but I think you’re probably fine.”

“Okay, thanks.” She walks out while Gaius gives me a look that says,
See? I told you to have a bath and rest.
I sigh and wave him away.

Once Gaius and Lumethon are gone, I walk around to the other side of the bed and climb onto it so I can sit beside Chase. I watch him for a while, wondering what nightmares he’s caught up in and if he’s aware of anything going on around him. Eventually, when I’ve thought about my words long enough, I decide to speak.

“So there we were,” I say quietly, “lying on the ground with our hallucinations of despair consuming us, and I realized something.” My hand inches forward until it rests lightly just below the dark markings on his left arm. I’ve figured out by now that this tattoo is permanent, the vine of thorns that twists around his arm. I wonder why he chose this pattern to permanently ink his skin. “This is my realization,” I say. “I can’t judge you for what you’ve done. I’m no better than you are. Whether I’ve killed one person or thousands, I’m still a murderer. And that twisting, sickening guilt that made me never want to face the light of day again—you were feeling that a thousand times over. You’re probably still feeling it.” My hand slides down toward his. “I can’t imagine what you’re suffering through, lost in nightmares I wish I could pull you free from.”

“Calla?”

I snatch my hand away as if I’ve been caught doing something wrong. “Yes?” I ask as Gaius walks back into the room.

“We couldn’t find that smoke creature in any of my books, but there’s a reference to something that may be it. Lumethon’s going to do some more research. Anyway, I just wanted to inform you that I’ll be in the greenhouse if you need anything.”

“Thank you.” I climb off the bed. “I was thinking I should visit my mother. I can sneak into the healing wing the same way Chase and I got into the Guild last week. Then I can see my dad as well, if he’s able to leave work. We’ve been in contact using that old amber, but I haven’t actually seen him since I fled the Guild.”

Gaius tells me he thinks that’s an excellent idea, as long as I don’t get caught, of course. I assure him I won’t. As I walk to the door, I look back over my shoulder at Chase. It doesn’t feel right to leave him alone with his nightmares, but Dad must have been horribly worried about me over the past few days, so I need to see him. Hopefully I can put on a brave face and reassure him that everything will be fine, despite my fugitive status and uncertain future.

I pick up the amber beside my bed to write a message. I’m not sure if it’s Ryn or Dad on the other end, but I’ll assume it’s Ryn, given the recent messages Gaius told me about.

I’m awake now and much better. No, you don’t have to kill Chase. It isn’t his fault I’ve been unwell the past few days. Please ask Dad if he can visit Mom in the healing wing during visiting hours tomorrow. Thanks.

Then I take Gaius and Lumethon’s advice and soak in a hot pool of bubbles, trying not to imagine Chase’s nightmares.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

I’m becoming quite proficient at hiding myself with the illusion of empty space. It was a challenge at first, picturing the absence of something rather than an actual
thing
, but with all my recent practice, it’s definitely easier than it used to be. I didn’t even have to pretend I was someone else when coming into the Guild. I simply made the guard see a closed wall and only himself in the room instead of a girl with a hood over her head walking in through the faerie paths. It’s a little bit thrilling, in fact, to walk freely around the Guild knowing that no one can see me. But I remind myself to be careful and head straight to the healing wing, because overconfidence is what lands people in trouble.

Mom is being kept in a long room that houses a row of beds on either side. Curtains float around each bed, giving patients privacy if they require it. It’s a good thing I don’t drop my illusion the moment I slip between Mom’s curtains, because it turns out her friend Matilda from the library they both work at is visiting. She’s chattering away to Mom, telling her about the young couple she found getting far too intimate on the top floor of the library and the resulting awkward situation as she tried to explain to them how inappropriate their behavior was.

I choose to wait outside, keeping myself hidden in a corner while watching the blue-uniformed healers bustling around. I see Dad arrive. He’s trying to be casual with his hands in his pockets, but I can tell from the way his eyes dart around, probably looking for signs of me, that he’s anxious. Shortly after he goes into Mom’s cubicle, Matilda comes out. I wait another minute or two, just in case she left something behind and suddenly comes rushing back to fetch it. When I’m certain she’s gone, I walk to Mom’s curtains and step between them, trying to move them as little as possible. I pull the protection back around my mind. The moment Dad sees me, he strides across the space and wraps me in a tight hug. “What a relief to know you’re okay,” he says as he steps back. “I mean, of course you are. I shouldn’t have doubted it for a moment. You’re far more capable of taking care of yourself than I give you credit for. But when Ryn said you weren’t well, all I could think of was the dragon disease, and I didn’t know if we’d ever see you again—”

“Dad, I’m fine. I’m
fine
.” I take his hands and squeeze them. “I’m so sorry you had to worry like that, but I’m better now, I promise. And I’m going to figure out … something. For what to do next. An art school far away where no one knows me and there are no Guilds nearby. And I’ll visit you like this, in secret, now that I know I can comfortably conceal myself. Everything will be okay.” I nod continuously as I speak, willing myself to believe my own words.

As if Dad can sense my doubt—as if he knows I need his reassurance as much as he needs mine—he squeezes my hands in return and says, “Of course everything will be okay. This isn’t the way you wanted your life to turn out, but life seldom works that way. This is just another challenge, and I know you’ll pick yourself up and make it through to the other side like you always do.”

I nod and press my lips together. In an attempt to keep my emotions at bay, I walk to the edge of Mom’s bed and clasp one of her hands in mine. “How’s she doing? Do the healers have any idea yet when she’ll wake up?”

“No. There’s been no change in her condition.”

I look around, happy to see that the area is cozier than the last time I was here. A blanket from Mom and Dad’s bedroom at home is draped over the pale blue sheets, a pretty tablecloth covers the little cabinet beside the bed, and on top of the cabinet is a picture of Mom, Dad and me from when I was about fifteen. Beside it is another frame housing a painting I did years ago. “Where’d you find that?” I ask, pointing to the painting with a smile. “I haven’t seen it in ages.”

Dad frowns. “Neither have I. I know your mom loved it, though. I think she kept it on her desk at work.”

“Matilda must have brought it. That was nice of her. Too bad Mom isn’t awake to see it.”

Dad moves to the opposite side of the bed. “I suppose these things are more for the people who sit in here with her. We’re the ones who don’t want it to feel so bare and clinical.” Dad glances at the curtain, then looks across the bed at me. “If someone comes in here now, will they see you?”

“Yes. I don’t know yet if it’s possible to show an illusion to some people and not others, so if you can see me, everyone else can too. But I’m getting much faster at it, so I can conceal myself the moment anyone walks in here.”

“Okay.” Dad looks over his shoulder again, then positions himself between me and the gap in the curtains. “So, Ryn said you’re staying with a friend you met Underground. As your father, I should probably be concerned that you’ve spent time Underground, but we both know there are more important things to be concerned about, so all that matters is that you’re staying somewhere safe.”

“My friend and I are actually both staying with another friend of his, and it’s definitely safe. The area surrounding his home is inaccessible from the faerie paths. You have to use a faerie door, which is obviously locked, and you’d have to know where the faerie door is. I doubt the Guild even knows this place exists.”

“Good.”

“I assume it’s not safe for me to come home?”

“Unfortunately not. By law, the Guild is allowed to track fugitives. It’s a similar spell to the one they put on the house when you were under house arrest, but this one will detect when you enter our home. They’re allowed to put it on any home they can reasonably prove you’d be likely to try and hide at. So there’s one on our home, Ryn’s home, your grandparents’ home, and the homes of the trainees you’ve made friends with at the Guild. Oh, and even Zinnia’s home,” he adds, referring to his first wife, Ryn’s mother. “Someone at the Guild found out you used to stay there occasionally with Ryn when you were little and your mom and I were away. They seem to think you might try to hide there now.”

“Sounds like they’re going a little overboard just to find one Gifted person.”

“Well, they need to make it look like they’re doing everything they can to find the person who brought the dragon disease to the Guild, and you’re still their top suspect.”

I shake my head, but I don’t bother pointing out how useless the Guild is being about this whole dragon disease thing. Dad already knows. Outside the curtain, I hear a healer telling the people next door that visiting hours are almost over. I let go of Mom’s hand and quickly make it appear as though I’m not here. When the healer pops her head in to tell Dad the same thing, she sees only him and Mom.

When the healer’s gone, I reveal myself once more. I lean over and give Mom a quick kiss on the forehead. “I hope you wake up soon,” I whisper. “There’s a lot for us to talk about.” I give Dad another hug and promise to stay in contact.

“If you need another safe place to meet,” Dad says, “Ryn has friends who’ve offered their home. Flint and Raven. They said we can meet there any time. They wanted to offer you a room in their home so you’d have somewhere to stay for a while, but since they have a little boy—”

“Oh, I understand, you don’t have to explain. It’s too much of a risk if someone found out. They wouldn’t want guardians rushing through their home shooting weapons and magic all over the place when they have a child to protect.”

“Yes. But let’s try to meet there soon. If you want, I can bring some of your things so you can at least feel a little more at home where you’re currently staying.”

“Thank you.”

After a final goodbye, Dad leaves. I decide to wait a few minutes until the rest of the visitors have made their way out. It’ll reduce the likelihood of someone walking into me. I pick up the frame with the painting so I can have a closer look at it—and that’s when I hear movement behind me. I drop the frame and spin around, projecting my illusion of nothingness in an instant.

“I saw her!” Gemma whispers in excitement.

“Me too,” Perry says. “That’s incredible. She just vanished. Calla, are you still here?”

I’m thrilled to see that Gemma is alive, but I’m terrified my two friends are about to shout out that they’ve found me. I remain frozen and try not to breathe. My furiously pounding heart might give me away, though. Besides, if Gemma and Perry walk any closer, they’ll be able to touch me. Then there won’t be any doubt as to whether I’m here or not.

“Come on, we’re not about to give you away,” Perry says, lowering his voice. “We could have done that before; we already knew you were Gifted.”