Elysium (4 page)

“Marie, remind me never to do that again.”

“What?”

She looked back at me as she pushed the door open and walked inside.

“That whole MRI thing, it was awful.”

“It couldn’t have been that bad, honey.”

I rolled my eyes and headed into the kitchen for something to drink. For the past several days my thirst had been horrendous. Nothing seemed to quench it, but I pushed any worry aside and blamed it on not eating very much. That was what I seemed to be doing a lot—pushing things aside and blaming them on something else.

“Marie, it was horrible. Aside from the continuous banging—might I add, they gave me headphones and some music to listen to while in there, but the music started to skip almost as soon as it started.”

Marie actually had the nerve to laugh at me, which only irritated me more.

“It’s not funny. You try being stuck in that coffin for thirty minutes listening to music that’s skipping … it’s horrible.”

“I’m sorry.
You’re right. That does sound awful. The Doctor said he would call tomorrow with the results. Hungry?”

I shrugged and opened the fridge. I knew I really needed to eat something, but nothing sounded appetizing at all.

“Well, try to eat something, all right?”

I nodded and headed to my room, wanting to watch a little television before dinner. I lay on my bed and turned on the television to see the local news. I could tell right away the anchor woman wasn’t human. She was too perfect looking, and not because of her makeup artist.

“Good evening, Serenity Springs. This is
Alexandria Collov filling in for Holly Smyth. In today’s local news, we have a brand new deli opening up on Hoffman corner. The deli will offer soups, salads, and sandwiches, and is named ‘Simply’. The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Warnoff, a prominent shifter family, will open its doors this Saturday. Pretty catchy name, don’t you think, Kevin?”

She looked over at the other anchor, her smile so perfect and white I was surprised he didn’t need sunglasses to look at her.

“Hey, Marie?” It only took her a minute to come in, a dish rag over her shoulder and a spatula in her hand.

“What?”

“Sorry, I forgot you were cooking. Anyway, did you hear a new deli is opening up?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, just heard it on the news.”

She walked into my room and stared at my small TV.

“Yeah, owned by some shifters. Aren’t they the only Arcanes in the town?” Serenity Springs was a small dot on the map and hardly got any tourists. It was big news that a deli was coming in, and even bigger news that it was being run by shifters.
Their existence was no secret, but in Serenity Springs, it was big news.

“No, there is a family that lives just out past the library.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.”

“Well, they keep to themselves, and we don’t bother them.” Marie looked at the TV once more before heading out of my room.

They were called the Arcane. I had no idea why, didn’t even know what it meant, but they had been “out” for as long as I had been alive. I personally didn’t know much about them, only that they made their presence known about twenty or so years ago and have been around since. I knew there were some of them in prestigious positions, lawyers and doctors and such. It was all weird to me, surreal and insane to know there were actually creatures once thought to exist only in myth and lore walking around and doing “normal” things.

I leaned back against my pillow and changed the channel, not even wanting to know how a creature that could snap me in half, like a twig, was opening a deli, of all places, right in my town.

The next day went by quickly, not even Anne giving me any problems. I ate lunch in the music room again—sitting behind the piano and “playing” a little bit. As I walked towards my calc class, my stomach started to cramp. I was pretty sure it was the tuna salad sandwich I had eaten for lunch … bad idea. Along with my upset stomach, my head choose that moment to start pounding, matching the exact beat of my heart.

I contemplated calling Marie, but she would just worry, and I didn’t want that. Maybe my period was supposed to start soon. I couldn’t really remember. I was horrible at keeping track of stuff like that. When I entered the classroom, I immediately saw Heath sitting in his usual spot. He watched me, his smile big as he waved me over.
This is so not good.

“Hey. I saved you a seat.”

I just stared at him, but then finally took a seat next to him. I didn’t feel like arguing. What was the point, anyway?

“You really pissed Anne off. She thinks you want me.”

I looked over at him, a huge smile covering his face. He clearly thought it was funny, and I had to admit I thought pissing Anne off was quite comical too.

“She’s easy to piss off.” He gave me a funny look, and I thought he wanted me to either confirm or deny the “wanting him” comment. I wasn’t going there. I wrapped my arm around my stomach, a massive cramp twisting inside of me.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just have an upset stomach.”

“So I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind helping me study for the test on Monday.” His cheeks turned pink, and he cleared his throat. “I’m not very good at the whole test taking thing.”

I was a little taken back. It was like all of the sudden he wanted to hang out. Yeah, I knew it was only to study for a test, but since I spoke with him during my puddle mishap, he acted as though we had been friends this whole time. I wanted to say no, but he had been nice to me, and I wasn’t going to lie and say it wasn’t nice actually having a hot guy want to spend time with me.

We both had a study hall during fifth period, so we met up in the library. We sat in one of the tables in back, right in front of a large window.

“I really appreciate you helping me out.” His cheeks became pink again, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s no big deal. I’m only a shrew on Friday’s.” He smiled at my lame attempt at humor. I really didn’t think Heath had any problems in school and was actually surprised he needed help. “I find it hard to believe you need any kind of help with school.” He shrugged and smirked, as he started unloading his books on the table. “You don’t really need help with the test, do you?”

“I could also use the extra study time, but no, I just thought we could hang out. I had a feeling you wouldn’t want to, if it wasn’t school related.”

I stared at him in shock. “You really wanted to hang out with me?” He started laughing, and I felt my cheeks become hot with embarrassment.

“Is it that hard to believe?”

I shrugged, rifling through my papers, because I wanted something to do. “I don’t know. I mean you’ve never paid much attention to me before.” I looked up at him, finding his gaze on me.

“You didn’t look like you really wanted anyone to talk to you. You pretty much keep to yourself, so I just left you alone. I’ve wanted to talk to you for a while now.”

“Really?” It wasn’t like I thought I was this epic loser, but Heath was like the most popular guy at school, not to mention he was dating Anne, the most popular girl in school. “Won’t Anne be pissed you’re hanging out with someone like me? Not like I really care, but you might get a lashing for it.” He smiled, and I had to admit it looked good on him. It was a shame I didn’t really feel
those
kinds of feelings for him.

“I don’t really care if she’ll be pissed or not. We broke up last week, but I don’t think she really gets it.”

This was news to me, but then again it wasn’t like I went out of my way to find out gossip. Then again, I should have heard something, anything. They were the two most popular people in school, so news of their break-up should have spread like wildfire. “I can’t believe it isn’t the talk of the school.”

“That’s because Anne made me promise not to tell anyone. She still thinks we can work it out.”

I stared at him, my curiosity getting the best of me. “Can I ask why you broke up with her?”

“She’s a bitch. I mean, I knew she was when we first started dating, but she was hot and so I didn’t think much of it. I really started seeing how she treated people, and it wasn’t cool. I mean, look at how she treats you. You have never even done anything to her, and she treats you like a doormat. I can’t believe you haven’t kicked her ass, yet.”

My whole body got hot with embarrassment. I knew how she treated me, but to have someone else point it out was mortifying. “Yeah, well, what can I really do? It would only make matters worse. I don’t really care anyway. It isn’t like I’m going to have to see her for the rest of my life.”

“Yeah, I guess, but still. If I were you I would have bitch slapped her a long time ago.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Heath’s words. We didn’t talk about it anymore after that, and even though we had come to the library to study, we talked about random things. It was actually pretty nice have a “normal” conversation with someone.

****

The next day of school was uneventful, although I wasn’t having any headaches, which was a miracle. I ate lunch with Heath, and I was extremely aware of Anne watching us the entire time. I also didn’t miss the daggers she shot at me. Then again, most everyone in the lunchroom was staring at us. It was awkward, to say the least, but I wasn’t going to let it bother me.

After my last class, I stopped by my locker and grabbed the rest of my books. Most everyone in the hall was gone, although there were a few stragglers darting past me. I slammed my locker closed and turned around, zipping up my backpack.

“Well, well, there’s the little bitch who thinks she’s going to steal my boyfriend away.”

I looked up, startled to see Katie and Anne standing a few feet from me. “Excuse me?” She thought I was stealing her boyfriend away? It was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard, although from the lethal stare she was directing at me, I kn
ew she believed what she said.

“You heard me.” Anne took a step forward, and Katie stayed where she was, a knowing smile on her face.

“I’m not stealing anyone away.” I kept my voice even, but this was an insane side of Anne I had never seen. “You guys aren’t even dating anymore.” As soon as I said those words, I knew I shouldn’t have. Anne pushed me against the locker, and my backpack fell from my grip. She was right in my face, her features contorted to show her inner self.

“How dare you say that!” The next four seconds were like slow motion. Anne’s arm reared back, and I knew she was aiming it at me. As her open palm came towards me, I couldn’t do anything else but stare with wide eyes. I could have moved if I wanted to, but the fact that everything had gone into slow motion had cemented me in place. Her palm stuck the side of my face with such force, my head slammed into my locker.

My head pounded something fierce, and my legs went out from under me. My headache had nothing to do with Anne hitting me. I knew this because the pain was something I had been living with for a while now. It was as if I hadn’t had the pain all day, but now it was coming on its strongest. My whole body started to throb, and I looked up bleary eyed at Anne and Katie. I didn’t know if she was worried about me, or worried that she might get in trouble for hitting me. Probably the latter.

I could see her mouth moving, yelling something, but no words penetrated the piercing pain radiating from my brain to every part of my body. I looked around dazed, finally seeing teachers rush towards me. I could see Heath coming to where I sat, his face a mask of concern as he squatted in front of me. As my hearing started to return, I could hear someone shouting to call 911.

It was during all that chaos that I saw several dark, robed figures walk through the main entrance. Their steps were purposeful, as they made their way toward me. The one in the front lifted a hand, and everything around me became still and silent. That was the last thing I remembered, before the pain in my body became so great, I passed out.

****

It was as if I were in a dream, floating along, pleasantly unaware. I felt overheated, like I had emerged from a hot bath, steam rising all around me. I heard voices going in and out, but I couldn’t decipher who they belonged to. I wanted to speak, but my mouth felt like it was made out of sand paper, a really horrible feeling. I couldn’t say how long I felt like this, maybe a day, maybe an hour, I really didn’t know. The only thing I could relate the feeling to was when I was ten and had a fever of one hundred and six. I had hallucinated; at least, that was what the doctor had said. It felt kind of like that, like I was here, but then again I wasn’t.

I finally opened my eyes. It could have been days later; it sure felt that long. I immediately noticed my room, lightly illuminated with lavender scented candles. They smelled pretty good. I heard voices on the other side of my closed door, low and muffled, and I couldn’t tell who they belonged to. My head ached slightly, and my stomach was a little upset. I tried to sit up, but my body felt like I wore a steel body suit. I groaned softly, surprised when Marie came in immediately. I couldn’t believe she had heard me, but maybe I was louder than I thought.