Fractured Soul (3 page)

Sophie motioned around the table. “Llona, here are a few of your teachers. Ms. Ravitz, Ms. Crawford, Ms. McBride, and Ms. Haddy. And over there next to the podium,” she pointed to an older-looking Chinese man who was speaking with a student, “is Dr. Han. He sits with me on the Auran Council.”

The Auran Council. I almost grimaced. They were a group of nine people, three overseeing each Auran school, who set the rules. As far as I was concerned, they were responsible for the Aurans’ weakened state. “Nice to meet you all.”

“You’ll have an opportunity to get to know each of them in your classes,” Sophie said.

“We’re glad you’re here, Llona,” said Ms. Crawford. She was a beautiful African American woman in what looked like her thirties. Her smile actually seemed genuine.

Sophie turned me around and said quietly, “After dinner I want you to go to the medical room on the first floor to have your blood drawn.”

“Why?”

“An Aura’s blood is special. If something were to ever happen to one of us and, heaven forbid, someone needs blood, we store it here. We draw everyone’s blood once a month.”

“That seems like a lot. Can I refuse?”

She took hold of my hand and squeezed. “Of course you can, Llona, but it’s frowned upon. We do things here that you may not like, but they are for your protection, and the protection of the whole Auran race. Because we are so few, we have to be careful. We must survive.”

Funny. That’s what I had always tried to do too, convincing my uncle Jake to move from one place to another to keep me safe, but I was different now. I could protect myself. I’d killed a Vyken, and I knew I could do it again. That made me feel safer than anything Lucent could ever do for me.

With my voice low, I ventured, “Maybe instead of just trying to survive, we should be trying to kill Vykens.”

Sophie reared back with such disgust you’d think I’d barfed on her. “What a horrible thing to say!” she gasped.

“What is so horrible about wanting to save our race?”

“Light does not kill, Llona.” Her voice was growing louder. “You have no respect for Light and its power!” Sophie’s mouth closed tight, and she looked around as if she’d just remembered where we were. “We’ll discuss this later,” she hissed and walked away.

I stared after her, a new and foreign heat burning my insides. The feeling was so intense that the lights in the room flickered. I almost considered plunging everyone into darkness so I could escape unnoticed, but when several people looked up, specifically the teachers, I inhaled deeply and forced myself to relax.

I returned to the table. “I’m going to head back to my room. Do you want to come?” I asked May.

May glanced at the other girls and then to me. “Of course.” She quickly stood up. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Her good-bye was followed by, “Bye, May!” and “It was nice to meet you!” and “I’m glad you’re here!”

I kept a perma-grin on my face until the dining room doors closed behind us. Before I could stop myself, I made a lighted-up fist and punched a wall, spraying what looked like electricity all around us.

May jumped, barely missing a jolt of light. “Llona!”

I glanced down at my bloodied knuckle as shocked as May looked.

“Why did you do that?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure. I guess it’s this place, my aunt, those girls . . .”

“Some of them were okay,” May said, her voice quiet.

I was about to disagree with her, but thought better of it. May was right. They were kind, to
her
.

May traced her finger on the wall where I’d punched it. “I know there are some weird things here, like the chimes and the fancy meals, but it feels good to finally belong somewhere and not have to hide who I am.”

“They seemed to like you. I’m sorry I left early. Why don’t you go back?” I stared at a drop of blood trailing down my finger.

May looked toward the closed doors. “That’s okay. I want to hang out with you. I think you could use the company.”

“Actually I’d like to be alone for a while. You know, clear my head and stuff.”

“You sure?”

I nodded.

“Okay. I’ll come see you after dinner.”

Back in my room, I sat on the bed and blotted a tissue against my knuckles. Where had that rush of anger come from? Sure I was upset, but enough to punch a wall? I’d never done that before.

I sat up. There was only one thing I felt like doing right now, and there probably wasn’t much time to do it. I opened my door and went down the long hall to the commons area. It was a large room in the center of Chadni Hall, filled with chairs and tables for studying. Four halls, two on each side, led to the girls’ dorm rooms.

I’d spotted a phone here on my way up, but looking at it now, I decided it was too public. Another stupid rule of Lucent’s was no cell phones. I glanced around. Not far away, near the elevator doors, was another room. A plaque on the wall next to it read “Nurse.” I tried the doorknob, but it was locked.
Figures
.

After making sure I was alone, I produced a small ball of light and held it up to the doorknob for inspection. It was just like my lock at home. Steadily, I used my fingers to shape the light into what looked like a nail and then guided the small spear into the hole of the doorknob until I heard a
click
. I smiled.

Flipping on the lights, I went inside and closed the door. The small white room looked like a miniature doctor’s office with a single hospital bed, swivel chair, and clear jars filled with cotton balls and wooden sticks. A phone hung on the wall to the right of me.

I glanced at my watch. It would be 3:30 p.m. in Oregon. After I left Bountiful, Christian flew out to Portland where he would go back to training younger Guardians. This is what the Auran Council wanted while they figured out what to do with him. They were still upset that I’d killed the Vyken when it was Christian’s responsibility. Completely stupid.

I picked up the receiver and dialed his cell. I couldn’t wait to talk to him. He was the only one who really understood me. I would’ve called him sooner, but I couldn’t ever escape our escort. It had been almost a week since I’d heard his voice.

After six rings it went to voice mail. I listened to the sound of his voice until I heard a beep. I debated whether or not to leave a message, but decided against it and hung up. As much as I hated to admit it, maybe it was better if we didn’t speak for a while, at least until I figured out what was going on with me. I grimaced at a sudden pain in my heart.

Just then I heard laughter coming from down the hall. My sensitive hearing heard them talking about May, but in a good way. “Another Fury, can you imagine? Vykens will never bother us now,” a girl said. I chuckled to myself. If only they knew the real power inside them.

I held still and waited for girls to pass by before I quietly opened the door and stuck my head out. The hall was empty. I stepped out and returned to my room.
I can do this
, I reasoned. This was only temporary, a few months, maybe a year of my life. I’d fix whatever was wrong with me, learn what I could at Lucent, and then get out of here and back to Christian.

I touched my lips, remembering Christian’s kiss good-bye. It went beyond a kiss of lustful passion; it was tender, kind, and, although we had never said it to each other, full of love. I fell sideways on my bed, clutching a pillow to my chest. Guardians aren’t supposed to get involved with their wards, but the moment I met him last year, I felt a connection. And as much as he tried to deny it at first, he did too.

But what if Christian received even a glimpse of my recent nightmares? Would he feel differently? A sharp knock at my door interrupted my thoughts.

“Llona?” a woman asked when I opened the door. She was older, maybe in her fifties, wearing tan slacks and a blue polo shirt. In her left hand she carried a black bag.

“Yes?” I replied.

“I’m Abigail Watts, the school nurse. I believe you missed an appointment.”

I scrunched my face. “Right. Sorry. I completely forgot.”

“No problem. I can draw your blood in here.”

I hesitated. I don’t know why I was afraid to have my blood drawn. It wasn’t because I feared needles; I just felt funny giving away my blood to people I didn’t know.

Abigail must have noticed my hesitation because she said, “Did Sophie explain why we need it?” She moved a short brown curl off her forehead. Dark circles hung under her eyes. I wondered what could cause a nurse to look so worn out in a school where students rarely got hurt.

“She did. Come in, Ms. Watts,” I finally said.

“Please, call me Abigail. Have a seat on the bed, dear.”

Abigail scooted over my vanity seat and sat across from me. From within her black bag she removed an IV bag, tubing, and a needle. “Rest your left arm on your thigh, face up, please.”

I did as she asked. “So all the girls give blood once a month?”

Abigail nodded. “For several years now.” She looked down. “What did you do to your knuckles?”

“Scraped ’em,” I answered quickly and snuck my right hand under the pillow on my lap

“It looks bad. Do you want a bandage?”

“No. It’s fine. Doesn’t even hurt.”

She gave me a strange look. “You look like her, you know.”

“Who?”

“Your mother.”

“You knew her?”

She paused, and I swore I saw sadness in her eyes, but just as quickly as it had come it was gone. “I did. I was a nurse when she was here years ago. You may want to look away.”

I flinched when I felt the needle pierce my arm. “What was she like?”

Abigail plugged the IV tubing into the needle. Blood flowed from my arm into the clear plastic bag. “She was very kind, but difficult too,” she said.

“How so?”

Abigail smiled. “Let’s just say she had a mind of her own.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Not when you have a dying race you’re trying to protect. Auras who try to do things their own way usually end up dead.”

“But she was happy, more so than I’ve ever seen anyone else.”

Abigail squeezed my hand gently. “I don’t doubt that. I guess what I’m trying to say is, sometimes Auras have to think of themselves as part of something bigger. Just like a clock won’t work if it’s missing a gear, we can’t afford to lose a single Aura. We mourned for your mother, truly, we did.”

I stared at the blood leaving my arm. I had a sudden urge to draw it back into me.

“You’ve been through a lot, Llona. If you’ll let us, we can help.”

I considered this. I desperately wanted someone to talk to, and since no one else was around, I might as well try Abigail. She seemed nice enough. I started with the one question no one ever seemed to know the answer to: “Why can’t I change my hair?”

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“My hair. It’s always the same. I can’t cut it or color it.”

She laughed, but it was a kind laugh and not at all mocking. “It’s the Light in our DNA. It affects some of us physically, changing certain parts of our makeup.” She held up her left hand, revealing a sixth finger. “I think it did this to me.” She curled it back up and placed her hand in her lap. “We all have things about us that we would like to change. Very few of us are ever happy with our appearance. Personally, I think your hair is lovely. There are lots of people who would love to have your hair, especially those who have lost theirs to cancer.”

“I guess if you put it like that,” I said, feeling stupid for asking the question.

“You’re a special girl, Llona. Whatever happens here, just remember your focus: to become a better and stronger Aura. There are so few of us.”

I was about to ask her what she meant when a head popped in the door.

“Am I interrupting?” May asked.

Abigail looked down at the bag, which was almost full. “Nope. I’m finished. Come on in.” Carefully, she pulled out the needle and pushed a cotton ball onto my arm. “Hold this, please,” she told me.

“How was dinner, May?” I asked. Abigail placed a Band-Aid over the cotton ball.

“Not bad.”

“So, you’re May?” Abigail asked. “The recently discovered Fury?”

“That’s what everyone keeps saying,” May said.

Abigail went to her and, inches from her face, said, “Be careful and know exactly who you are.” She leaned away and smiled. “You girls have a good night and remember, if you ever need to talk to someone, my office is near the commons room.”

As soon as she closed the door, May said, “That was weird.”

“Completely,” I agreed.

May slipped off her sandals and wiggled her toes into the tan carpet. “You’re lucky you have carpet.”

“Don’t you?”

“No. I have the same hardwood that’s in the halls.”

I found it odd that my room would have carpet when our rooms were so close. “Yeah, well I would rather have hardwood floors than a stinky room.”

May inhaled deeply. “I don’t know why you keep saying that. It smells fine in here. How’s your hand?”

I looked down at my right knuckle and was surprised to see that it was almost healed.

May noticed too. “Wow! I can’t believe how fast Auras heal.”

“Neither can I,” I said, knowing I had never healed this fast before.

Before I could think too much about it, May asked, “Have you called Jake yet?”

“Not yet.”

“I still need to call my mom too. Some lady in the dining room said we could use the phone in the commons room or downstairs in the lobby after seven.”

“Cool. Let’s go. I’ll try calling Christian after Jake.” I turned around and almost ran into Sophie, who was standing in the doorway. I gasped.

“Call Christian?” she said, her eyes narrowing.

I stuttered. “I just wanted to see how he’s doing, that’s all.”

Sophie closed the door. “I think we should have a talk, Llona.”

May looked from me to her. “Maybe I should go—”

“Stay,” Sophie said. “Llona may need to be reminded of what I’m about to tell her. Sit down, please.”

Both May and I dropped to the bed and looked at each other.

“I have a confession, Llona. About you. And Christian.” Sophie walked to the window and peered out. “I know Christian was staying at your house for a while—”