Awakening (6 page)

The tiniest sound came from my right.
I didn’t want to turn around, but I forced myself to look. A large
shadow loomed only a few feet away. A scream formed on my lips, but
I swallowed it when the lights flickered on and I saw Luke standing
by the side table.

I realized he had one arm pushed
against the back of the chair so he could keep himself
upright.

“
You shouldn’t be out of
bed.” I threw off the cover and started to get up.

He waved me back. “Stop fussing, I’m
feeling better.” To prove it, he straightened up and walked over to
me. “I heard someone crying out. Are you okay?”

“
I’m fine. It was just a
nightmare.”

“
That must have been one
heck of a dream.”

I looked up at him. “I’m sorry I woke
you.”

“
You don’t need to
apologize. You look shaken. Do you want me to get you a glass of
water?”

“
You’re the injured one. I
should be getting you things.”

He sat down next to me. “I told you I
feel better. Whatever you gave me helped. The pain isn’t as
bad.”

I leaned over, my hand reaching out to
examine the bandage. “Is it still bleeding?”

He pushed my fingers back. “Stop
fussing, I’m fine. You’ve been crying.”

Ashamed, I turned my face away from
him. “It’s nothing.”

“
Tell me what’s
wrong.”

Even if I wanted to, I didn’t know if
I could find the words. If I could find the right words, could I
actually say them out loud?

“
What trouble has brought
you here?” He asked, his voice soft. “Why did you stop being a
healer?” He leaned closer. “What happened?”

It was unsettling to have him so
close. I moved away, putting distance between us. “You don’t have
to know my reasons for wanting to learn. You just have to teach
me.”

“
I would like to know your
intent.”

I looked over at him. “What do you
mean?”

“
What do you plan to do
with the abilities you acquire? Once you train and learn how to use
them?” He leaned back and watched me. “Look it’s not in our nature
to train people so they can go off and cause havoc in the world. We
usually know a bit about someone’s background before we show them
the way of the death dealers. Once they learn, they have an
opportunity to enter the guild. We aren’t exclusive. We are open to
everyone who’s serious about learning and becoming one of our kind,
but we try to keep from letting people in with violent tendencies,
homicidal backgrounds, or mental disorders.”

“
Are you worried I’m a
nut?” When he didn’t answer right away, I continued, “And what if I
am? You already agreed to help me.”

“
I did.” He nodded in
agreement.

“
You don’t know anything
about me.” It was true. He didn’t even know my last
name.

“
I don’t only because you
won’t tell me about yourself.” His expression was
sullen.

“
Then why take me on? It
can’t be the money. By the looks of this place, you and your family
are extremely well-off.”

“
Money isn’t a problem for
us.”

“
Then why did you agree to
train me?”

“
Because you were so
desperate.” He inched toward me. “Because I saw something in your
eyes that told me you needed to do this.”

I turned my face away again and said
quietly, “And if the reason I need to do this is so I can go off
and kill someone?”

He moved closer yet and put his hand
on my shoulder. “Then I would be curious why. If we’re going to
take this path together, you’re going to have to trust
me.”

“
I’ve said I’ll do whatever
it takes. Just tell me what it is I have to do, and I’ll do it.”
Our hips were now touching. I could feel the heat of his body
against mine.

With gentle fingers, he turned my chin
toward him until we were facing each other. “That’s what I mean.
Why? Why are you so eager to become a death dealer and throw away
the life you had as a healer?” He reached out and pushed a strand
of hair from my eyes. “I don’t know what it is about you, but I
feel this connection.”

I realized I was holding my breath. I
exhaled and tried to think of something to say.

His face was just inches from mine
now. His dark eyes were searching my face. “Do you feel it?” His
fingers brushed against my temple then moved slowly down my
face.

Small scratches now marked my right
cheek.

His fingers gently grazed across the
welts. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

The breath caught in the back of my
throat.

His fingertips moved down and lingered
for a moment on my lips. He leaned in and said softly, “I don’t
think I can help myself.” He pulled me toward him. His mouth was
against mine. His lips were soft. His hands rested at my waist. I
moved closer, and as I did my mouth parted and our tongues touched,
sending delicious shivers down my spine. The kiss only lasted a few
seconds, but when we broke apart I felt breathless. My heart raced
in my chest.

He suddenly pushed off the couch and
moved away. When he looked back at me, I couldn’t read his
expression.

“
I’m sorry, I shouldn’t
have done that. I shouldn’t have taken advantage,” he said turning
his face away. “I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep
well.”

Before I could say a word, he turned
off the light and left the room.

Chapter Three

Morning had been more than chaotic.
Darla rushed around making breakfast in between fussing over her
brother’s injuries. The more she worried about him, the more it
seemed to annoy him. I didn’t say much, but quietly watched the
pair of them while I consumed a large plate of scrambled eggs,
bacon and two helpings of grape jellied toast.

Darla had begged to come with us to
the healer’s, but Luke had refused. He reassured her that the
Triads were a nocturnal group who were probably off sleeping the
day away. She finally gave in and decided to stay behind. Honestly,
I think he was just trying to get away from her excessive
mothering.

This morning I wore a borrowed green
sweater and a pair of dark jeans that would have fallen off if I
hadn’t cinched them tightly at my waist with an oversized brown
leather belt. Once again, my outfit was courtesy of
Darla.

Luke sported a black long-sleeved
t-shirt, this one minus the red phoenix and flames, a black jean
jacket, gray jeans and black boots. He was moving better this
morning, but the going was still slow. He couldn’t walk very fast.
We made our way to the corner and hailed a cab.

A few miles later, we were
out of the cab and weaving our way through the crowds. We made our
way for a bit along the main
throughway
and then took a left and
headed down an alley. The alley part didn’t thrill me, not after
our late night adventure. I kept looking over my shoulder, worried
we were being followed. Out of one alley we went and then down
another until we suddenly turned a corner and found ourselves in a
seedier part of town.

Signs of different shapes and sizes
hung over a few dozen shops lining the streets. I hadn’t spent a
lot of time in the city, but it was easy to spot which
establishment housed the healer. Going by the designs on the sign,
and the colorful tapestry in the window, she was a
gypsy.

Gypsy magic was a bit different than
mine. My heritage was Scottish, which meant each healer in my
family was part of a clan. We sometimes did magic outside the
family for money but only under special circumstances. Blood was
everything to us. Our family was the most important thing, and to
us there was nothing more sacred than keeping the members of your
clan alive.

Gypsies had a different set of rules.
They worked mostly for money, often traveling around, going
wherever their services were needed. For the right price, they
would heal you. It didn’t matter if you were on the side of good or
evil. Coin was the only thing that mattered in their
world.

I was surprised to see the gypsy had
set up shop in town. Many cities had ordinances about healers and
soothsayers. Truly gifted healers in the city usually worked
through clinics or hospitals. Which made me start to worry, since
often those who set up shop for themselves weren’t the real thing.
They were charlatans.

Not everyone wanted to step foot into
a hospital where they had to show their I.D.’s. Many of the fringe
population liked to stay off the radar, which meant they had to use
services not officially approved. Using people outside the mandates
came with its own set of risks. Would the herbs they gave you cure
your pneumonia and make you better? Or would you waste away in
sickness, heading back for help, only to find the healer had closed
up shop and moved on to another location?

“
Is this place for real?” I
asked, quickening my steps. I wanted to get this over
with.

“
She’s truly gifted. My
guild’s used her many times,” Luke answered, stopping to catch his
breath.

I went ahead of him and opened the
door to a jingle of bells. Lavish colors covered everything, and
exotic materials could be seen on the walls, pillows and at my
feet. Half a dozen different throw rugs covered floor. The effect
of the rug’s zebra pattern, next to purple circles lying over red
strips, was dizzying. The proprietor had certainly gotten the old
world atmosphere down.

“
How may I help you
children?” A weathered and lined face greeted us from behind a
curtain of black beads.

“
Mother, we are in need of
your services.” Luke held out his palm, in which laid a small group
of gold and silver coins.

The woman was dressed in a large
purple skirt and a black cotton blouse, and she’d pulled her hair
up under a purple scarf. She motioned for us to sit down in one of
the four red striped overstuffed chairs scattered across the room.
As she moved her arms, I realized both her wrists were covered in
gold bangles. A half a dozen gold chains hung around her neck and a
pair of golden hoops dangled from her ears.

“
Make yourself comfortable.
Who’s in need of my help?” She turned toward me and asked, “You?”
For an old woman, she moved quickly, and before I could respond her
hand reached out and grabbed my forearm. “I see much pain in you,
child. Did you come to unburden yourself? I can do that. I’m not
just a healer of the flesh. I can take away the pain you feel in
the very depth of your soul.”

I pulled my arm away and pointed
toward Luke. “He’s the injured one.”

She didn’t move but instead edged
closer until her face was only a few inches from mine. “You’re like
me, yes? You’re in the trade? I can see it on you.” She reached out
again and turned my wrist. Her eyes lit up at the image of the
swallow. “Yes, see you’re one of us, but the pain, it’s shifting
your power. You’ve lost your balance. Let me help you regain
yourself.”

I let my anger show in my voice. “I’m
not in need of your services. He’s the one with the wound. He needs
your help.”

“
You couldn’t heal him?”
She asked.

I turned my face away. I actually felt
ashamed. I should have been able to heal him, to close up the
wound, but I hadn’t been able to. I had failed.

She let go of me and walked over to
Luke, extending her palm. He put the coins into her hand, and they
disappeared into the pockets of her large purple skirt.

“
Lift your shirt,” she
demanded. “Ah, I see.” She closed her eyes and ran her hand over
his side.

He flinched as her fingers made
contact with the bandages.

“
Whatever did this it went
deep. There’s damage to both the muscle and tissue. Was the weapon
enchanted?” she asked.

“
No. It was a regular
switchblade,” he answered.

She nodded as she walked to a shelf
and she started to search through bottles. She came back with a
white cloth and a glass container filled with orange liquid. She
put the bottle and cloth on the table in front of him. “I’ll use my
abilities first, but after you’ll need to use this.” she pointed at
the bottle. “On the wound. Once a day. Just dab it on. It will cost
you extra.”

Luke reached into his jeans and pulled
out more coins.

She grabbed them out of his hand, and
her eyes sparkled as she counted them. “Yes, yes, that will do.”
They also disappeared into the folds of her skirt.

I wondered if whatever was in the
bottle was actually some sort of medicine, or was instead a ploy
for her to make more money.

As the thought crossed my mind, she
turned and frowned in my direction. “I’m not a fake. Madame Luludja
is the real thing, child.”

Were my thoughts so easy to read? Had
the events of the night frazzled me so much my defenses were down?
Was the old woman so powerful she could break through my mental
barriers? The gypsy closed her eyes and reached out, and her right
hand covered Luke’s bandage. Minutes ticked on, and nothing
happened. Then suddenly a loud sigh left the woman’s mouth and, as
it did, a soft buzz filled the room. The drapes rustled ever so
slightly as if moved by a breeze, but there were no open windows I
could detect.