Tempted by Evil (13 page)

His low, monotone voice was little more than a whisper as he spoke.

“And it shall come to pass, that the child born of both light and shadow, on whose shoulders rests the fate of mankind, will extinguish the flame of life. The lost prophecy shall be fulfilled.”

I gaped at him in disbelief as his words seemed oddly familiar and uncomfortable at the same time. Attempting to decipher their hidden meaning was causing a throbbing pain in my head along with the distinct desire to be as far away from the messenger as humanly possible. With a slow step backward, I quickly realized that I had regained control of my lower extremities.

Apparently, the whole of his message had not been communicated because before I could take my leave from the strange man, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me in close enough to whisper in my ear.

“Deceit will plague her, voices will mislead her, and evil will tempt her.”

Shivers ran over my entire body at both his contact and the content of his new revelation. Yanking my arm free from his grasp, I rubbed the tender spot with the other hand as I stumbled backward. I took off at a run, heading in the opposite direction, when I heard him call out after me.

“She alone holds the keys to bring this world to its knees.”

Knowing that it was unlikely my brain could handle any more of the man’s craziness, I muttered a brief “I’m sorry” as I covered my ears and ran across the street, not even bothering to check for cars first. The blaring of car horns and screeching of tires alerted me to the fact that I had probably come close to becoming a permanent part of the pavement.

Just as I reached the curb on the other side, I looked back to ensure I hadn’t been followed. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that there was no one behind me. Turning back around, I stepped up onto the sidewalk and ran straight into a brick wall. Or at least that was my initial observation. It became apparent rather quickly, however, that it was actually a rather large male chest that I had come in contact with.

Pushing away a bit, I glanced up at him to discover glowing green eyes peering down at me through a thick fringe of lashes and a mess of hair. He appraised me for a long moment before turning his gaze toward the direction I’d come from, then back to me. He was still standing incredibly close, and I suddenly realized my hands were still on his chest.

I removed them as quickly as I could and shoved them into my pockets, trying unsuccessfully to focus my attention elsewhere.

“Learn anything interesting today, little girl?” he quipped, with the hint of a smile playing on his lips.

“Really, Merrick?” I replied, already frustrated with him and still breathing hard from my jaunt across the street. “I’m not interested in your games today.”

“A simple question,” he countered with his jade eyes flashing.

Realizing that I was probably overreacting due to the stressful nature of the day’s events, I decided it was time to make as graceful an exit as possible before my redheaded temper got me into any real trouble.

“Look, it’s been a . . .
strange
morning, and I’ve had about all the mystery I can handle for one day.” I couldn’t believe how exhausted I sounded as the words came out of my mouth.

For once, only a flicker of an expression crossed his face.
Was that fascination or did I only imagine it?
Either way, I said “goodbye” as I turned to walk home.

Before I had taken two steps, he haughtily replied, “Good to see you again too, Aspen.”

Irritated with his brooding, I turned slowly to scowl back at the man with the intense green eyes.

When I did, he was gone.

I spent the rest of the day locked in my room, having explained to Julian that I had a terrible headache and just needed some quiet time to rest. Not wanting to be a complete liar, I went to bed before eight and didn’t wake up once during the night.

The sun was shining brightly when I peered out the window of my room in the early morning hour. A plethora of indescribable emotions washed over me, and all I could think about was Julian. It was amazing to me that just a short time after meeting him, I had gone from being an orphan sitting alone outside a café to an honorary member of the Casey family, complete with a place to live, work, and belong. I smiled at the thought of him as I glanced down at the people making their way down Beaufast's Main Street. My gaze fell upon a little girl who looked out of place standing across the street in front of the barbershop.

I watched her for a moment to see if she was walking to school or if her parents were nearby. When she just stood there, motionless, I decided to head downstairs and investigate. Shoving my feet into my shoes while I kept an eye on the child through the window, I barely thought about the fact that I was still wearing the flannel pajamas that Julian's mother had gotten for me. I stole one last glance before closing the door behind me and flew down the stairs as quickly I could without falling.

By the time I reached the street, I half expected the little girl to be gone, but there she stood, staring in my direction. As I approached her, I noticed that her delicate blonde curls shielded a cherubic face that boasted rosy cheeks and ice blue eyes with a fringe of thick lashes. She was wearing a blue satin dress trimmed with white lace. A black wool coat and black patent leather shoes topped off the elegant outfit. She was doll-like in her perfection, and I couldn't fathom why anyone would leave her alone in the middle of town. With the morning noises filling the street, I didn't hear her faint humming until I bent down to talk to her.

It stopped immediately thereafter.

Her glazed-over eyes snapped to mine instantly with an intensity that nearly knocked me over. A slow, sly smile curved at the edge of her lips. Kneeling before her, I froze at the sight of the doll-come-to-life, except for the trembling of my hands that I could not contain.

When she spoke, I didn't even breathe.

“It has been prophesied: The earth will bleed. The stars will fall. The sun retreat and souls shall crawl." She spoke in a small sing-song voice while her crystal eyes stared right through mine, sending chills down my spine. "All things unholy shall plague creation. While still a child,
she
shall be the one to bring forth damnation."

With that, she turned and walked down Main Street, leaving me to stare after her in utter disbelief. I wanted to say something or follow after her, but neither my vocal cords nor my feet would comply. Several moments passed before I realized that I was standing in the center of downtown in my nightclothes. Turning slowly, I walked back to my apartment, looking back in the direction of the child as I went. She was nowhere to be seen.

My feet were loud on the steps to my room as I trudged up them, my mind working overtime trying to make sense of what had just happened. Glancing at the clock as I walked through the door, I was dismayed to realize that my shift at the café was scheduled to begin in less than ten minutes.
How long had I been outside with that strange little girl? Was this all just some bizarre dream?

A sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth from the pain of my self-pinch sleep test snapped me out of that thought process and back to reality. I had a job to do in a matter of mere minutes and that reality overtook every other idea in my head. The nuns had instilled nothing within me if not a considerable work ethic.

Rummaging through the clothes in my closet, I pulled out the first pair of jeans that I saw, along with a blue cable-knit sweater. My hair was relegated once again to a bun on the back of my head so that I could brush my teeth without fear of getting toothpaste in it and be ready to head downstairs to Holy Grounds. I was just pulling the bow on the back of my apron as I walked through the door, feeling out of breath and more than a little uneasy. Given my most recent encounter, however, I supposed it would have been unusual for me to be anything else. I steeled myself for the day ahead as I grabbed my notepad and pen from behind the counter and shoved them into the pocket of my apron. With a brave face, I headed for the “Open” sign.

The aroma of coffee was already wafting through the air, along with scent of Marie’s baked goods, or, as the regulars of café refer to them, “heavenly goodness.” A few of my usual customers were in their seats with newspapers open before I even had an opportunity to get back to the counter to start our morning ritual of filling and emptying. Something, however, felt different about that morning.

After pouring Mrs. Milton’s decaf and serving her scone, I turned back to the counter, but something stopped me cold. I would have sworn I heard a whisper―the faintest of voices―warn me that “
the earth will bleed
.
The stars will fall. The sun retreat and souls shall crawl.
My feet refused to let me escape the dwelling message, stalling as though my boots were made of lead. Instead, I stood bewildered in the center of the café.

Were those not the exact words used by the little girl this morning?
Pivoting hesitantly around, I saw Mrs. Milton sitting in her burgundy jogging suit with her scone in one hand and her coffee cup in the other. Shaking my head at my own ridiculous imagination, I strode back to the counter and set the decaf pot back on its dispenser. As I surveyed the early customers spread out at various tables and chairs throughout the room, my eyes informed me that everyone appeared to have received their requested menu items.

With the initial morning rush completed, I inhaled deeply as I removed the caffeinated pot from the coffeemaker and began to make my refill rounds. Stepping from behind the protective Formica bar, I was besieged by the low voice of a man in my ear, “And it shall come to pass, that the one born of both light and shadow, on whose shoulders rests the fate of mankind, will extinguish the flame of life.” He was so near that his hot breath tickled my ear and sent shivers over my entire body, causing me to drop the pot of hot coffee I was holding. Shards of glass and dark scalding liquid covered the floor, and the owner of the mysterious voice had conveniently disappeared. Moving swiftly to clean up the mess I’d just created, I slipped on a puddle and grasped nothing but air as I fought to stay upright on my way to the floor. It took a moment for me to process that the loud sound I kept hearing was the echo of my skull bouncing off the floor. Convoluted whispers churned in the background and the sound of laughter grew faint, as if in the distance. Attempting to sit up, I glanced around the room from face to face to find that each expression was one of sheer terror, seemingly frozen in time, mirroring my own. The world began to spin like some malevolent carnival ride just before the darkness swallowed me.

A cacophony of sound erupted in my ears as my consciousness stirred. Metal crashing, shoes scurrying, strange beeping, and too many voices to comprehend. Attempting to open my eyes, I was assaulted by a flood of overwhelmingly bright lights from every direction. My arms flew up automatically to shield my line of sight in response until I was able to adjust to the luminosity of my environment.

A dull ache permeated my entire head, making it difficult to concentrate. As I peered around the room, it soon became clear that I was in the hospital. I began to panic, little tremors overtaking me, and quickly discovered that an IV had been inserted into my right hand that led straight to a bag of clear liquid, which was connected to a rather complicated-looking machine. All of my clothing had been removed and replaced with only a sparse gown for covering and a few small bandages applied to my arms. The worst part of all was that I was alone with no one to explain why I was there.

My head pounded like a drum the second I expended any effort focusing on solving that mystery.

Fighting the urge to flee, I decided to pull myself together enough to speak with someone. From what I remembered of my hospital visits with the sisters, most rooms came equipped with a remote control that could be used to summon assistance from a nurse when necessary. I looked around the bed and nightstands for one, but saw nothing that resembled the object I was searching for. Frustrated, I decided I had no other choice than to venture out of my room to the nurse’s station instead.

My legs swung begrudgingly over the side of the bed and I grasped the IV pole firmly as I slowly stood and shuffled unsteadily over the cold tile flooring to the door. I heard a familiar voice grow louder as I neared the door, which immediately brought a great sense of comfort. Felice Casey was speaking with someone outside my room and I paused when I heard my name.

The room was spinning violently, and I struggled to focus on staying upright. It sounded like they were discussing a medical condition―
my
medical condition. At first, they conversed about the concussion I had, which made sense considering the pain my head was in. Then their voices lowered as the topic switched from my current condition to my medical history. Although I couldn’t recall being on any medications, the man Felice was speaking with informed her that I must have been on a specific drug called an anti-psychotic. According to him, the medication was designed to stabilize children and adults with severe mental instabilities.

A million questions began to race through my mind while I struggled to listen to the rest of the conversation taking place in the corridor outside my room. Words like delusions, schizophrenia, hallucinations, and withdrawal were being used by both Mrs. Casey and the man, who I presumed must have been the attending physician. I wanted to hear more or ask what was going on, but was suddenly overcome with a bout of dizziness that left me feeling as though I might pass out. Eyeing both the door and the bed I had just come from, I knew the shorter distance was the latter. I made my way back across the icy floor before collapsing onto the uncomfortable mattress, pulling the thin blanket up to cover myself.