Muse (Descended From Myth) (8 page)

“So much for a private moment,” I laughed and hauled myself out of the pool while I could still walk wit
hout my knees turning to jelly.

Later, Daniel and I braved the rain to drive 45 minutes to the closest sushi restaurant. It wasn't the best sushi I'd ever had, but the company was above average. Daniel finally told me about his family and about growing up already knowing what he was going to be doing for the rest of his life. I hated how sad he sounded when he talked about his mother and how angry he seemed
when he brought up his father.

“There's one thing I don't understand,” I wondered aloud. “When you talk about your father, you seem so against the way he lived. Why did you decide to follow in his fo
otsteps and become a Guardian?”

“Because being a Guardian is an honorable tradition. It's a calling that only a few can ever receive. My problem with him wasn't the commitment he made to the Guardians, but that he didn't bother to honor any of his other commitments. He was an excellent Guardian, one of the best really, but he was an awful husband and father. I won't be like that. I'm going
to keep every vow I make.”

“I know you will. I'll help you,” I answered, putting my hand over his. I didn't want to make his life more difficult because he was dedicated to protecting me. Maybe I would have to
work on protecting him as well.

We drove back to the hotel in relative silence. Daniel seemed to be doing a lot of thinking, and for once I bit my tongue and didn't push or ask questions. I just relaxed and did a little thinking myself. I'd barely seen
Tylinda today. When I had she was bubbling over with new ideas she had about the exterior of the house and its deck. I probably should have spent the day planning with her, but I'd enjoyed myself a lot more this way and I'd probably learned a lot more, too.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing and groggily carried on a five minute conversation with Tylinda, who sounded annoyingly awake for 7a.m. Though when I finally realized what she was explaining, it jolted me right out of bed. Tylinda wanted me,
me
, to do a feature segment on the viewing deck (which is just a fancy name for a big balcony) that we were installing over the river bank. She told me to dress “fashionably, but practical, too” and not to wear orange and white, because that's what she would have on for the shoot, but not to clash with her either. I frantically started pulling out outfits picked out and packed by Frankie, my fashion designer friend. I had four outfits to choose from, and thankfully none of them were orange. I had absolutely no clue what didn't clash with orange! I finally gave up and called Frankie in a panic, explaining my situation to her in detail and thankfully she told me exactly what to lay out. I was just finishing when Daniel knocked at the door and handed me a blissfully hot mocha cappuccino. I smoothed out my red, black, and white graphic print shirt over my black pants, which were tucked into black riding boots. I had a solid white jacket to wear over the top, but I didn't dare wear it while drinking coffee. “Do I look like an idiot?” I asked. “I have to be on camera today.”

“You look beautiful,” Daniel assured me, and promised to drive me out to the site in his rental car instead of h
aving to cram into the minibus.

The morning flew by, and before I knew it Tylinda had me cornered with one of the hair and makeup girls in order to prep me for my big television debut. Luckily, it wasn't Amanda or I would have had a hard time looking her in the eyes afte
r what I'd done the day before.

The composite decking material was already installed and the thick glass panels that made up the glass and metal security railing were being bolted in as I stood in front of them and explained the process to the blinking red light on the camera. We took a break when the camera guy said we needed to wait for the sun to be at a better angle because all he was getting was glare. I just wanted to get it over with. I caught a glimpse of Daniel out of the corner of my eye, so I took advantage of the break to wa
nder over for a quick pep talk.

“Don't get too close to me. I'm covered in sawdust and dirt!” he warned. “We can't have you looking all smudged for TV!” I flirted and joked with him for a little while, feeling myself relax in his presence. I liked the way I felt when Daniel was around. I could be myself, but it was almost like I saw myself a little clearer, too. Gah, I was making even myself a little queasy with my mushiness. I needed to stop thinking like a romance novel heroine.

“Will you come watch me for a few minutes?” I pleaded. “It will be easier if I can just pretend that I'm talking to you!” He agreed, but insisted that he needed to stay off camera.

I walked back up to the deck and talked to Tylinda about what she wanted me to say and do for the last
portion of the segment. Then the camera guy waved me back into place and I launched into my rehearsed spiel. At the end, I was supposed to turn and lean on the railing, gazing serenely out over the river. I smiled into the camera, turned and leaned.               As soon as my full weight hit the railing, I heard a sharp cracking sound. Then I felt myself falling forward as the heavy glass panel tumbled away beneath me. It didn't happen the way you always see in the movies, at least not from my perspective. In the movies, people always fall slow motion, with lots of flailing and screaming. I didn't even have time to scream, and if there was flailing then I don't remember it. What I do remember is shock, a sharp painful bump around the area of my guts that knocked all the air out of me, a quick flash of water rushing up at me, and then an explosion of sparks followed by complete blackness

I knew something was wrong in a split second, but that still didn't buy me enough time. I've never pushed myself so hard before, and I almost caught her.
Almost
. Before her body slammed into a rock jutting out of the embankment and spiraled out of my reach, there was a fraction of a second when her hand was so close to mine. Just not close enough. I never hesitated though, forcing my body off the ledge as hard and fast as I could, bracing for the impact of the water. I should have closed my eyes, because then I wouldn't have seen Anna's head break against another rock just before she splashed, limp and lifeless, into the rapidly flowing water. My dive landed me close to where she went in, but the current was unpredictable this close to the bank. I could hear the screaming from shore, but I didn't bother to pay any attention to them. The only person that mattered was somewhere under the murky water and there was no way in hell I was coming out without her. I surfaced empty handed four times before my hands finally tangled in her hair and I could follow it down to her face, her shoulders. I heaved her head up out of the water, pulling her onto my chest and fighting the current. Anna's head flopped to the side, lolling just above the water. I prayed to every deity I'd ever heard of during that swim. I'd barter away anything to save her life. She'd been in my keeping for only three days and I already ran the risk of losing her.

Finally, I was able to drag us both onto a muddy bank. A shallow ledge there allowed me to stretch her out enough to start pumping her chest, trying to force the water out and air in. Her lips were blue, her muddy hair matted against her cheeks. “Anna, please! You've got to breathe for me,” I panted. I closed my mouth over hers, forcing the air from my lungs into hers. Then I did it again, and again. Another round of compressions, I should have been saving my breath but instead I used it to beg. “Anna, sweetheart, you've got to cough out the water. You've got to breath, baby, please!” There were sirens in the distance and pebbles and dirt were starting to rain down on us as the people from above tried to make their way down to help. Puff, puff, breath after
breath, it was taking too long!

As I pulled my lips away from hers, a muddy trickle of water started to pour out of her mouth. It became a gush as she coughed up nasty river water. I gingerly rolled her on her side, holding her steady and cooing at her in a voice I hadn't even known I was capable of. “You're doing great, Anna. Cough it out for me. I'm right here. I'm going to take care of you. Cough, sweetheart.”

One green eye cracked open, and found my face before rolling back and closing. She was unconscious, but she was breathing. She was alive! I stayed in the mud with her, helping the first responders secure her to a brace that they used to lift her up the steep bank while I climbed alongside. I rode in the ambulance, holding her muddy hand in mine while the paramedic tried to stop the bleeding that seeped from her scalp.

I knew I should call Gabriel, to report my complete failure to protect my Talent, but my phone had been in my pocket when I jumped in the river and I couldn't bring myself to give a damn
about what he'd expect anyway.

The emergency room staff took one look at the expression on my face and let me stay in the room while they worked on her. It would have taken at least six of them to drag me away anyway and there would have been bloodshed involved. They got her stabilized and cleaned up, hooked her to tubes and monitors and made encouraging noises in my direction. At some point, they moved us to the intensive care unit, where she would stay until she woke up. The nurses tried to get me to go clean up and change into some clean surgical scrubs, but I couldn't leave her alone. What if she woke up while I wasn't there?

So instead I washed my hands to keep the mud off her and sat, holding her hand and talking to her. A few hours later, there was a commotion outside the curtain that sealed us away from the rest of the unit before it burst open, admitting two people I'd only seen in photos. Anna's parents. This wasn't how I'd envisioned meeting them for the first time. They didn't even really notice me at first, even though I stood up as they came in. Their entire focus was on their daughter laying in that hospital bed, looking so pale and fragile. I respected that. The Honorable Judge Edward F. James was the first to acknowledge my presence. He slowly turned towards me and asked, “You must be the young man who pulled her out of the river?”

“Yes, sir, I'm Daniel Thorn,” I hated giving him a false name, but considering every form of ID I was carrying had the last name Thorn on it, including my credit cards, I knew it was for the best. Someday soon I'd come clean with them, w
hen I'd discussed it with Anna.

Her mother's puffy red eyes met mine. “You're her Daniel?
You're
the one who saved her?” she sounded so incredulous, I didn't know how to respond. “I could tell by the way she talked about you that you were special, but I never would have guessed—” then she burst into tears. Suddenly, I found myself being folded into a clenching hug from both of Anna's parents.

“Thank you, son,” her dad finally gr
umbled, patting me on the back.

“There's nothing to thank me for, Sir. I should have been closer, done more. I only wish I could have kept this from happening,” I answered, guilt filling my voice. They had the good grace not t
o respond.

After a few hours of no change, Anna's parents had taken the opportunity to talk to the doctors and nurses and a few people from the production company who stopped in. Her mom started looking for ways to mother me into leaving to get cleaned up, to eat something, to sleep. I refused to leave. It was better that I stay.  The longer Anna remained unconscious, the more the fear clawed at my insides. I'd never heard of it happening this way, and never this soon, but I was terrified that wherever Anna's conscious mind was that it was being offered the choice. If they offered her the opportunity to ascend and become one with the Fates today, would she take it? I kept watching her face, searching for any sign that she was in there.

“Come back to us, Anna,” I said for at least the thousandth time.

I hated the tubes that snaked in and out of her nose and mouth, but they were supposed to be helping drain the river water from her lungs and deliver clean fresh oxygen to them. The doctors didn't have a good explanation for why she hadn't regained consciousness yet. The longer she remained asleep, the greater the danger was that the bacteria from the river water would take hold and develop into pneumonia.

Anna's mother held vigil with me, while her father was in and out, making phone calls and meeting with doctors. At one point, he called his wife out of the room so that they could have a hushed discussion about me.

“They've only known each other for three days!” he argued. “It’s ridiculous for him to be here like this.”

“Are you going to be the one to try to make him leave?” her mother whispered back, “because I'm not. I can tell from the look on that boy's face that he's not leaving here willingly until she walks out with him. He's in love with our daughter, Jim. Can't you see it? Leave him be. He belongs here, too.”

I pretended I hadn't heard a word when they came back in, but Anna's Mom wasn't satisfied by my surly silence. “Daniel,” she said firmly. “I am bringing you a basin and a change of clothes. If you won't leave her side then you can clean up while you're here. You look awful and when she opens her eyes I want her to see you looking handsome and healthy. She's going to have enough to worry about.” I couldn't find fault with that, so I nodded my agreement. She came back carrying a set of clean scrubs she'd borrowed from one of the doctors, a basin of warm soapy water, and a c
ouple of dry folded washcloths.

“There's a bathroom right over there you could use,” she suggested, pointing over towards the waiting area. I just stared, refusing to leave Anna's side, but not wanting to get into an argument
with her mother about it.

“Fine, fine,” she huffed, sounding a lot like her daughter, as she pulled the privacy curtain closed around the little cubical. “We'll be out here, hurry up and get changed before the nurses come for rounds.”

A washcloth isn't too effective against dried river muck, and my clothes were beyond washing. They were going straight into the trash. It felt good to peel them off and slip into pants that weren't stiff with filth. Before I pulled the surgical scrub top on, I sat down on the edge of Anna's bed, carefully avoiding all of her tubes and wires. I held her hand, pressing her palm over my heart so that she could feel my heartbeat.

“I need you to come back now, Anna. It's time to wake up.” For the first time, h
er fingers twitched under mine.

“Anna?” I asked excitedly. Her eyelashes fluttered repeatedly, finally parting to reveal those green eyes that had never seemed more beautiful.

“Hello? She's waking up,” I called over my shoulder, but I wasn't letting go of Anna yet. Her parents came rushing in, followed by two of the nurses. The Judge scowled as he took in my bare chest, but he didn't say anything. I released Anna's hand so that the nurses could bustle around her, checking her vitals. Anna was trying to pull out the tubes in her mouth, the nurses kept reassuring her that now that she was awake, they would come out shortly.

I stepped out of the way, gathering up the dirty water and my bag of clothes as I went. I slipped on my shirt and watched from the edge of the group as the doctor came in and removed the tubes from Anna's throat. Anna took a few sips of water, tried to talk with a raspy voice. She submitted to hugs from her parents, and all the prodding the doctor did with a small bemused smile. I watched with my heart in my throat. My brain was full of all kinds of nightmare scenarios. What if she had amnesia? What if she didn't remember me? Sleep deprivation had turned my brain into a soap opera script
writer.

“Daniel?” Anna croaked, weakly lifting her hand off the bed and gesturing for me to come over. I all but shoved her d
ad out of the way to get there.

“Hey, don't ever scare me like that again,” I said softly, grabbing her hand in mine again as I bent down over her. She smiled sweetly, and rasped, “Thanks for swimming with me. Next time I promise I'll hold my breath.” Her parents chuckled behind me, but I couldn't joke about her near miss yet. Probably never would be able to. She pulled me closer and said, “Remind me to tell you the things I saw. The gold cords, remind me about them. Think it’s important.”  I nodded, confused, but willing to do damn near anything she asked me to. I started to pull away, but she grabbed my shirt again. “Heard you,” she whispered. “Next time tell me when I can answer you.” Then she let me go and the doctor asked all of us to retreat to the waiting room so that she could rest undisturbed.  I wasn't sure what I'd said that she wanted me to repeat, I'd been talking non-stop since we got here. The nurse sighed when she saw me loitering outside the closed curtain and gave me a chair in an unused corner of the main area, already knowing that I wasn't moving more than ten feet away from Anna.

I hadn't budged for more than forty-eight hours, I wasn't going anywhere now. I must have dozed off for a little while, because the next thing I knew one of the nurses was touching my shoulder and saying, “She's asking for you. You can go in.” The words weren't even out of her mouth before I was through the curtain.

Anna sat propped up, staring at the IV in her left hand. She looked a little glazed, like the pain medication was working pretty well. “How are you doing?” I prompted when she didn't speak right away. A goofy smile lit her face when her e
yes finally tracked over to me.

“Daniel!
You are here. I thought maybe I was dreaming that part. You were right. I guess I do need a bodyguard. When can we go home?” she asked drunkenly.

“You just woke up. They want to keep an eye on you for a few days then you can be released. Your parents are going to take you home, and then when you're strong enough you can go back to campus,” I explained, carefully omitting my own plans. I knew Henry had been staying somewhere near her house and I planned to move in there for the time being. Then I would work on getting my own credits transferred to Ball State so that I could have a better reason for being there. “You're coming with me, right?” she asked, squeezing my
hand in hers.

Pure, unadulterated relief flooded over me. At least she still wanted me around, even if I'd failed to keep her safe so far. “Anna, you should know by now that anywhere you go, I'm going, too. Now, is there anything you need?” She got tired easily and drifted in and out of sleep, bu
t she rarely let go of my hand.

After three days at the hospital, I got an unwelcome visitor. I saw him walk in through the swinging doors that led into ICU. They were prepping Anna to be moved to a regular room, so I'd stepped into the waiting area. The newcomer was in his late twenties and dressed like he thought he was Vin Diesel. He held a pastel gift bag that j
ust looked stupid in his hands.

“You are alive,” he said sarcastically. “Gabriel wasn't sure until you made the news. We guessed your cellphone must ha
ve gone in the river with you.”

I forced myself to bite my tongue, not to start a fight now. He was the closest Guardian, so it was natural that Gabriel would send him to check on me, but Michael Abernathy and I had never gotten along and probably never would. We'd competed against each other too often.