Burning in a Memory (16 page)

             
“What’s going on?” she yelled. “What was that?” 

             
“Please, just wait here,” Adam blurted. He slipped passed her enough to open a door. “Wait in my room, please.”

             
“Adam,” she demanded, unmoving. All of his muscles visibly taunt, his aura flailing mad colors, she knew he was equally as tense. Stealing a desperate breath, she curled her arms around her chest.

             
“Am I safe, Adam?” she finally asked.

             
His face flashed with hurt.

             
“I’ll make sure you’re safe. I just want to make sure my brother is okay. I know it’s hard to understand right now but he’s been very sick. He hasn’t been himself.”

             
She nodded without much convincing, having seen the evidence with her own eyes. It didn’t quash the anxiety, but she let Adam go. He left without another word and she obediently stayed in his room.

Dropping onto the bed, Adelaide lifted her bloodied feet to get a better look at them. She felt the distinctive burn, but the visible observation of the scrapes didn’t look as severe as they felt. Spotting a pile of towels stacked on the dresser, she picked out the darkest color and wrapped her feet in it. The makeshift bandage might not have been tight but it would keep the blood from staining the carpet.

  “He’s sick. He hasn’t been himself,” she whispered to herself. It finally sunk in and she mentally checked off the past hour’s events. Leon was sick in the head but not physically, apparently. He seemed unpredictable and dangerous, but Leon did the opposite of threaten her. She licked her lips while remembering the kiss. It’d be far from accidental but then he had some confused perception of her identity.

             
Outside the noise died out and the hall sounded calm. The wait for Adam became agonizing, but he finally resurfaced. Slipping in the room and shutting the door behind him, he leaned against the wall. Movements stiff and slow, something obviously hurt him.

             
“Are you okay?” she chirped.

             
He shook his head. His face was white but there were no apparent bruises forming.

             
“I should be asking you that. Tell me you are okay,” he rasped. 

             
“Yea, fine. Please come sit,” she beckoned. He lumbered over to the bed and dropped onto the springs.

             
A minute passed while he caught his breath.

             
“Will you tell me what’s going on?” she asked after a minute of silence.

             
“I wish you wouldn’t ask,” he whispered.

             
“How could I not ask? That was your brother, right? I deserve an explanation.”

“It’s hard to explain…” he moaned.

              She ran her hand along his knee to break the distance between them. Adam put his head into his hands, and she felt like she was looking at Leon again.

             
“My brother Leon is very sick. He’s been like this since an encounter with a coven of shades in Denver. It was a huge fight and it made the news under the guise of a gas line explosion.”

             
“What happened?” she urged him on.

             
“The shades overpowered him. None of us were with him. We knew there was safety in numbers but we totally failed at backing each other up. Honestly, I understand why Tony is so wound up about it. Leon got hurt, but just hasn’t been the same…”

             
The pain in his voice was clear, and it hurt Adelaide to hear it. She squeezed his knee and made sure to keep her tone in check. “So what? Did he have a head injury? Adam, Leon was convinced he knew me.”

             
Adam let out a long breath and laid his hand over hers.

             
“Yea, he probably thought you were his old girlfriend. She was killed by shades a few years back.”

             
Adelaide cringed. She doubted she resembled his girlfriend enough to warrant a mistaken identity, but the implication was depressing. Adam kept speaking so she focused on listening to him.

             
“He went to a hospital but left soon after. I thought he was out for revenge, but then he might just be looking for answers. It’s been difficult to relate to him recently, but I think we can help him. Now that he’s here, he’ll have time to recover.”

             
Adam lay back on the bed and shut his eyes. She didn’t wait for permission to slip into the crook of his arm, place her cheek on his chest, and cuddle against him. Adam barely reacted to the contact but she didn’t care. The warmth and closeness did wonders to help her stay grounded.

             
“Okay. What did the hospital say? Does he have brain damage? Is he going to get better?”

             
She could feel his heart speed up in his chest and the sharp intake of breath.

             
“Adelaide, I said I’d protect you. I don’t want you involved in this. You’re leaving soon so you shouldn’t worry.”

             
It was her second chance to fix things—to talk him out of shipping her home. She had no better answers but she did think of something. Propping herself up, she looked down at him.

“I’m only worried about you now. Talk to me? I’m here for you for once.”

He watched her through half lowered lids. His breathing steadied but he still seemed reluctant. Eventually he gave, but she didn’t expect what he said next.

             
“I told you once that shades went after mages to take over their bodies, right? Well, that’s what they did to Leon. A shade took him over…”

Fourteen

             
“What did you just say?”

             
Adelaide broke their embrace immediately. In her rush to get away, her makeshift towel bandage tangled around her feet and she nailed her toe on the bedframe. The sharp pain barely fazed her but she stopped moving. Looking down at Adam now, she waited for an explanation. He reluctantly sat up.

             
“I said that a shade took Leon over,” he said slowly.

             
“That’s what I thought.” She sounded increasingly hysterical and struggled to maintain even the smallest bit of composure. “Shades are evil, Adam. You told me that yourself!”

             
“Adelaide, calm down, please. Sit down. You’ve seen Leon. He doesn’t look that evil to you, right?”

             
She felt cold, alone, and completely scandalized. Wrapping her arms around herself, she stared at him as if he’d grown another head. Adam gave up on beckoning her closer.

             
“I know it’s hard to understand—especially to learn about shades and to hear this now. But remember how I told you that shades take over mages’ bodies?”

             
She nodded frantically to urge him on.

             
“They tried to take Leon over but he kicked the shade right back out again. Adelaide, what you see is Leon after the fact. He’s not a shade anymore so you don’t have to worry.”

             
She stared at him to find that his face was stone serious. Suddenly remembering how to rein in her reaction and her knowledge of shades, she spoke.

             
“Can that happened?” she asked in a meek voice, but her mind was already made up. It couldn’t happen. It never did.

             
“I’ve never seen it before, no. But it’s Leon we’re talking about and he’s not the typical mage. You’ve seen it yourself, Adelaide. He’s strong enough to do it, and he’s clearly not a shade anymore!” Adam pointed upstairs as if his brother’s mere existence gave credence to his theory.

             
She resisted the urge to shake her head again. It was impossible, she thought. It had to be impossible because no one ever survived it. Leon was more powerful than most but he couldn’t have been the only one.

             
“Are you sure a shade even got him? Did you see it happen?” she asked.

             
She sat down on the bed to be at his eye level.

             
“Other mages did. I mean, he went after those mages when he was in shade form. I believe it happened but I also believe in the man you see upstairs. He may not be right in the head, but I think he’s still my brother. I just got a second chance to be with him.”

             
His voice wavered and he clearly was still in pain. Adelaide regretted pushing so hard now.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know anything,” she whispered.

Adam offered her a weak smile and beckoned her closer. She scooted up into his lap and leaned against him. He shifted until his chin rested on her head.

             
“You haven’t asked anything that I haven’t asked myself. You’re smart, Adelaide. But I have to believe there is still some hope and I won’t give up on him. I want my brother back so much…” He paused for a moment and squeezed her tightly. Adelaide squeaked under the pressure but let him hold onto her. She could feel how quickly his heart raced in his chest and how rapidly his breath came and went. “I ask myself sometimes if it’s all Leon upstairs and none of the shade. I understand why there’s fear there.”

             
“Yea, I understand,” she said.

             
“But I’ll protect you, Adelaide. Don’t worry about it.”

             
“Yea, I know,” she whispered.

             
Finally pulling away, she looked up at him. Adam had brought her here to distract him, she knew. He wanted some comfort for the sadness he felt and she couldn’t make him feel worse. She mustered the most brilliant smile she could. When the smile he returned was weak, she turned to her better idea. Leaning up, she captured his lips, kissing him roughly. Adam collapsed backwards on the bed and dragged Adelaide along with him.

             
She grunted in discontent from the awkward position, which earned the first laugh from him.

             
“Lay with me,” he said then.

             
She repositioned her cheek on his chest and shifted until she found a comfortable spot. His arm lingered around her waist and held her close. The burning adrenaline in her veins faded until she just felt tired. Her eyes shut until she heard him speak.

             
“I should check on him,” Adam said.

             
Adelaide perked up and freed her torso from his grip. Adam sat up quickly, now looking more tired than ever.

             
“Is it safe?”

             
“He’s mellowed out a ton since earlier. It’s a sign that rest is doing him good.”

             
Adam left her for the door and Adelaide stood uncomfortably.

             
“Can I come?” she asked quickly.

             
Adam hesitated. After a minute his resolve broke and he offered her a hand. She moved to accept it and stumbled. Scowling at her injured feet, she checked to see how much worse she’d made the healing process. The bleeding had stopped some time ago, but stomping around might change that. Adam’s attention dropped to her feet.

             
“Shit, I didn’t know you were hurt. You walked through the glass? Sit,” he ordered.

             
She reluctantly dropped back on the bed and reached down to gingerly touch her toes. The wound looked more gruesome than it felt at this point.

             
“They’re not bleeding anymore,” she said.

             
“You might have embedded glass,” he snapped. In a hurry, he retrieved a small blue first-aid kit from the bathroom. Then he hit his knees and gently lifted her legs to get a better look.

             
“I checked for that already,” she said but he didn’t care. His meticulous examination went on for a minute. Then Adelaide saw it again. When she’d been in the basement with Leon, he had tried to fix her wounds. Now Adam did the same, wearing the same exact look of concern. The resemblance between the two brothers was both extraordinary and bizarre to see.

             
“It looks okay, but you shouldn’t have let me ramble on so long when you were hurt,” he said.

             
“I’m fine. And your brother’s clearly a more important issue at the moment.”

             
He shook his head but she wasn’t sure which part he was disagreeing with. He wrapped her feet firmly in white tape from the kit before he let them go. She stood up, finding the pressure of the tape helping to take part of the sting away.