Secret Worlds (441 page)

There was movement near my face, then a whisper. “Eve, I know you can hear me. I sense it. Open your eyes.”

I focused hard on my eyelids until they fluttered open. Charlie’s face hovered just over mine. There was a scratch on his cheek and blood near his hairline.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I scooted away from him, remembering the woman who had been laying near me face down in blood. She wasn’t there now. My back pressed against the wall of the dirty, rundown home. No one else was around, but there were voices outside.

“The woman?” I asked.

Charlie glanced to the same spot on the floor I was staring at. “She’ll be okay. She’s getting stitches now.” His head swiveled back to me. “What are you doing here?”

My gaze slowly met his. “I came to help.”

“And you passing out, was that you helping?”

“I didn’t mean to.”

Charlie stood and held his hand out to me. “Like I said before, you’re not ready for any of this. Finish your training with Dr. Skinner and the children. “

I accepted his hand and let him pull me to my feet. “But I need to do something, like now. I need to feel that I’m finally making things right.”

“You dying an early death isn’t going to help that,” he said.

I opened my mouth to tell him that I couldn’t die, not easily anyway, but a figure appeared in the doorway.

“We’re ready,” said one of the men who’d been wearing the night goggles earlier.

“Good. We’ll be right there.”

When he was gone, I asked, “Did you find who you were looking for?”

Charlie shook his head. “There were only five vamps here, and we dusted all but one. It’s my understanding that this last one had contact with you right before he bolted. And he said something to you?”

I shivered, remembering how the vampire had licked my forehead. “He asked me what I was.”

He frowned and headed toward the front door. “As in, he sensed you are a witch? I didn’t think that was possible.”

I should’ve said something then about being an immortal, but Charlie was already out the door, seeming to ponder the vampire’s interaction with me. Had he known the truth about me, he probably would’ve guessed that there must be something in my blood, something the vampire tasted, that made him fear me. I needed to figure out what that was and soon.

***

The next morning, I arrived to work with the children early. The Academy was smaller than I expected and looked more like an office building than a school. Inside, there was no reception area, but rather a great room surrounded by several classrooms with glass windows. The huge, circular room consisted of brightly colored boxes, a big plastic jungle gym, and all kinds of toys. Some of the classrooms were filled with desks, where others were full of large foam shapes and various sizes of balls.

A short Spanish woman in one of the smaller rooms was arranging desks into a semi-circle. She had auburn hair cut into a bob that fell to her pointy chin. Her nose was just as sharp, but her gentle brown eyes softened the rest of her well-defined features. She bounced and swayed around the room, dancing to a whistled tune I didn’t recognize.

I really hoped I wasn’t wasting my time. I should be back at the Deific, learning to fight, but if Charlie trusted Dr. Skinner’s methods, then I would do as he asked, at least for a week. After that, I was going to do something a little more proactive. I was still embarrassed for the way I’d handled myself yesterday with the vampires.

I took a deep breath, then tapped the window and waved at the whistling woman.

The woman poked her head out and said in a Spanish accent, “Can I help you?”

“Yes, my name is Eve. Dr. Skinner sent me here to work as a teachers-aide for the next few weeks.”

The woman yelped and threw her arms around me. “That’s right! I completely forgot. I’m so glad you’re here. You are going to have so much fun. Are you excited?”

I tried to keep still, but the woman was incredibly strong for her small frame.

“I am excited,” I said once I caught my breath.

The woman finally stepped away. “You have no idea how much of a difference it is to have another pair of hands. I’m Mamita.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, too. The kids will be arriving in the next fifteen minutes so let me show you around before they come.”

After Mamita had given me a tour of the place, which wasn’t much more than I’d already seen, she set me in a chair by the front door where I could watch the children as they arrived. Ten minutes later, a boy who looked to be about eight years old walked in. His straight hair was cut short and combed neatly to the side. He had a difficult time walking, one leg shuffled awkwardly over the other, and many times I thought he would trip, but he managed to stay upright. After hugging who appeared to be his mother, he headed straight for a small TV in the back of the great room, but not without casting me a sideways glance. He wouldn’t look directly at me, but his hand came up just a little, and he waved briefly. I waved back, but I couldn’t be sure he noticed.

After him came a steady stream of many more students. Each child had some kind of a physical problem, and each one was unique. One boy came in with the aid of his driver and promptly laid down directly in the middle of the floor and fell asleep until a teacher woke him up minutes later. Another heavy-set girl eagerly entered through the door, opening it with such force that it banged against the wall behind it. She moved toward the TV that was playing a Disney movie and asked the teacher to turn on the captions. Meanwhile, a younger girl with long blonde hair spotted me instantly. She sat on the floor at my side, mouth gaping open. I said hello, but she didn’t respond. She merely smiled.

The day went by quickly. I observed doctors and therapists who came in and out at various times throughout the day to work with specific students. They were all patient and kind with the children who at times seemed rude and abrupt. It didn’t take long for me to realize this was because most of the children had a difficult time understanding the teachers and, at the same time, make themselves be understood.

Every child had their own special ability: some could write beautiful poetry, others were math whizzes, several could draw amazing pictures, and one older girl shocked me with her ability to play the piano.

At first, I didn’t know what to think of the children. I asked myself,
Why? Why were all these children born with such challenges and trials?
But the children didn’t seem to be bothered by their handicaps. They all seemed happy and content with what they’d been given.

After just a week, it dawned on me that the children were meant to teach others around them the real meaning of love and compassion. The children had no sin, no guile, no secrets, and no second agendas. They were pure-in-heart and spirit, and they reached out silently, hoping others would see past their outward disabilities to their beauty within. Their love was unconditional and held no boundaries.

The children changed my whole outlook on life and, for the first time, I felt what I could only describe as joy. I was excited to see the children each day and share in their happiness when they accomplished even the smallest task. But when the children went on outings, I was hurt by how many people looked right past them, failing to notice what they were trying to teach the world. Their adult hearts were closed to things they felt they couldn’t understand. It made me sad to see how they were all missing what I now considered to be the most beautiful things on earth.

When I wasn’t at the Academy, I was with Sarah. She introduced me to her friends and took me all over the city. She even invited me to go work in the soup kitchen serving the homeless every Sunday morning. My relationship with her was very different from how it had been with Liane, and after some time, I was able to recognize it as a true friendship.

After a few short weeks of working at the Academy and hanging out with Sarah, I experienced another first: I went to sleep with a smile on my face and dreamt—not of darkness or monsters, not even of myself.

I was standing a few inches above a dark and murky water. The pungency of seawater and rotten fish stung my nose. The sliver moon shined just enough for me to see a wood dock protruding out into what appeared to be a lake, but because of a thick mist, I couldn’t see any structures beyond.

A lone figure, tall and erect, stood motionless at the end of the dock. I squinted, trying to see who it was. My heart stopped beating when I realized it was the vampire who’d saved me from Alarica. He held completely still, as if a guardian statue built to protect land from the monsters of the sea, but every once in a while, his body shifted, betraying his identity.

He wore loose fitting jeans and a dark jacket that hung just below his waist. His short dark brown hair was less than a quarter of an inch past his scalp, and his hooded eyes were drawn tightly together. Whatever held his attention appeared to be causing him pain.

I moved toward him, wanting to get a closer look. Suddenly, his eyes shifted in my direction. I stiffened and sucked in air. His eyes scanned the area, but passed over me. I was invisible to him.

He jerked his head to the left as if he’d heard a sound. He glanced back in my direction one last time before he turned around and disappeared into the fog.

I woke and sat up in bed, heart racing, as the early morning sun spilled into my room. Inexplicably, I was certain of one thing: Whatever had just happened, it wasn’t a dream.

After working at the school, I stopped by Charlie’s office. Dark circles slung under his eyes, but he managed a smile and said, “Hey, you. It’s been awhile.”

“I’ve been busy at the Academy.” I slid into the nearest chair. “How have you been? You look tired.”

“Nothing I can’t handle. Have you met Skinner’s daughter yet?”

“His daughter? Does she work at the Academy?”

He shook his head. “She’s a student, a fourteen-year-old girl named Madeline.”

“Maddie? I had no idea.”

“The picture in his office is of Maddie when she was four,” he said.

I tilted my head back, surprised. “Maddie is the most talented piano player I’ve ever heard. I’m surprised Dr. Skinner didn’t mention her.”

“It was Maddie who made him the man he is today. Before she was born, he was a Psychiatrist in a ritzy mental hospital that only cared about patients as long as they came with a high referral fee. Maddie changed her father’s outlook on life; whether it was a gift she gave him or whether it just happened, he became a new person.”

“There is something special about her,” I agreed. “Hey, are you available tonight? I want to talk to you about something.”

He blinked a couple of times, practically staring right through me, before saying, “Sure. Let’s do it over dinner. I’ll come get you when I’m off.”

“That will be nice.”

Charlie opened his mouth as if to say something more, but seemed to think better of it. He returned his attention to the computer on his desk. “I’ll see you tonight then.”

***

For dinner, Charlie took me to a pizza parlor. At first I thought it was an odd choice, but a few minutes in, I was grateful for the family atmosphere of children’s voices and clanking dishes. It made what I wanted to talk to Charlie about seem less serious.

Charlie guided me to a table in the back corner, opposite the small arcade. He didn’t ask me right away why I needed to talk to him. Instead, he told me about his childhood with his only sister. While we ate, I laughed with him as he described his many adventures, including the time he was grounded for months when he’d painted the living room walls a florescent green while his mother had been out. This was the first time since I’d returned that Charlie reminded me of the man I’d met in the forest—happy and full of life.

“So tell me about the children at the Academy,” he said. “I’m curious to hear your experience.”

I told him everything about the special kids, how they made me feel, and how I felt I was growing in ways I still didn’t understand. Charlie listened carefully and seemed to be pleased with my progress. Eventually, though, the conversation died down, and I began to squirm in my seat.

“Maybe this would be easier if you just spit it out?” Charlie asked, seeming to sense my anxiety.

I smiled and on an exhale said, “I had a dream last night, but it wasn’t really a dream. It was three-dimensional, like I was really there. I could actually feel a spray of water and smell the sea.”

“What was the dream about?”

I explained the strange scene and the vampire on the dock. Charlie leaned back, brows furrowed.

“I was really there, Charlie.”

“Did it feel like the future?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. It felt like it was happening that very moment.”

“I’ve never heard of psychic abilities showing the present. It’s always the future or the past.”

“But why
him
? Why am I seeing
him
?”

“That’s a question only you can answer. There’s obviously a connection between you two, but you must be careful that it is a good one. Even evil can attract.”

I remembered Boaz, but gratefully I felt none of those negative emotions with the nameless vampire. “Have you spoken to Henry about giving me access to the records you told me about?”

“I have. Henry is very sensitive about who sees the Deific’s database, but I have reassured him. You should have it this week.” His gaze moved to the pile of torn napkins in front of me. “You think you can lighten up on the napkins?”

I looked down, stunned at how unaware I was of my hands. “Right. Bad habit.” I moved the pile to the side to join our half-eaten pizza.

Charlie stood suddenly. “I need to get back. There’s something I have to do.”

“Does this have anything to do with the vampire that escaped the house we raided?” I asked, standing to join him.

“Could be.” He took my elbow and guided me toward the front door. “I have to make a few calls first to confirm, but I sense that he’s in the north part of the city, in a club I’ve actually been to.”