The Second Heart (36 page)

Eleanor dropped to the floor beside her and
grabbed under her arms, half carrying and half dragging her toward
the door.

Rob and Nate were standing in the doorway,
and relief flooded their faces as they saw Eleanor appear from
within the smoke. Their relief turned to horror as they saw
Meredith, unable to walk and soaked in her own blood. Rob crossed
the room in three long strides and caught Meredith by the shoulders
just as Eleanor lost her grip.

“Get her out of here,” Eleanor barked at
Nate. He ran to Rob’s aid, grabbing ahold of Meredith’s ankles so
they could haul her out of the fire and to safety. With Eleanor
close on their heels, they carried Meredith across the street and
laid her down gently on the neighbor’s lawn next to where Amelia
and Vi had been standing in a worried huddle.

“Oh, my God,” Amelia cried, falling to the
ground and cupping Meredith’s sooty face in her hands. “Where are
you hurt?”

“She’s lost a lot of blood,” Eleanor said
curtly. Eleanor closed her eyes and laid a hand on Meredith’s
forehead. After a moment, she said, “She’s all right. She is going
to need a lot of rest, but she shouldn’t need a transfusion.”

On the ground, Meredith opened her eyes as
the world slowly stopped spinning. Five worried faces looked down
at her, and she tried to smile reassuringly. Judging by their
facial expressions, it must have come across as a grimace.

As her physical pain receded, Meredith’s
attention turned to the new sensations she was experiencing as a
result of absorbing Dr. Sparling’s power. She didn’t feel like
herself at all. Someone else’s essence was coursing through her
veins, and it felt foreign and strange. She glanced down at the
thaelis
that was still clutched in her fist--a hard stone
that used to be a living, beating second heart. Her eyes sought out
Eleanor’s, desperately hoping for some sort of reassurance.

Eleanor looked at her in understanding. “I
know,” she said soothingly. “You’ll get used to it. It just takes a
little while.”

Meredith nodded and tried to swallow the lump
in her throat. What had she done?

Rob and Amelia carefully checked her over for
injuries that Eleanor might have missed while Nate called the fire
department.

Once she was sure that Meredith was all
right, Vi stared at the house in awe. “What about Dr. Sparling?”
she asked.

Eleanor gazed at her house sadly. “It will
appear as though she perished in the fire,” she said. Eleanor had
lived in that house for the last forty years, and it was harder
than she expected to watch it burn.

Meredith sat up slowly, leaning against her
father for support. She was still trying to make sense of what she
was feeling. She imagined that it would take a long while before
she could get control over the inner turmoil. “Why did you give me
the second heart?” she asked suddenly.

Eleanor looked at her levelly. “You knew that
she was the protégé--or one of them, at any rate--and you tried to
go with her to the hospital.”

“So?”

“You were willing to sacrifice yourself for
our cause. I knew that you could handle the power if I gave it to
you, and two strong magicians are better than one.” She sighed. “I
don’t know if I did you any favors, though.”

“What do you mean?”

Eleanor looked away. “We will talk about it
soon. Right now, just try to rest.”

Too tired to argue, Meredith fell silent,
staring across the street at Eleanor’s little house.

Vi sat down next to her and returned the
thaelis
that Meredith had given her.

Meredith looked down at the two
thaelises
that she held in her hands. They were virtually
identical.

Vi leaned a head on her shoulder. “A lot
happened in there, huh?”

“You could say that,” Meredith agreed
quietly.

Vi was quiet for a few moments as they sat
and watched the flames destroy the home. “Funny how it should all
begin and end with fire, huh?”

“I don’t think that this is the end,”
Meredith disagreed.

“Hmm.” Vi scrutinized Meredith’s face,
possibly even seeing a change there. “Do you want to tell me about
it?” she asked softly.

Meredith didn’t answer. If Aleric were still
alive, and there were God knows how many protégés, then all of the
newly emerging magicians were still in danger. They probably
wouldn’t even know that they were targets. She would have to put
her own issues aside for the time being.

Meredith gave Vi’s hand a reassuring squeeze
and then called out to Nate, who was still on the phone with the
emergency dispatcher. He came over and squatted down in front of
her, handing the phone off to Rob and giving Meredith his full
attention.

“You were right,” she said without preamble.
“We need to go public. All those magicians need to know who they
are. We can’t just let them be picked off one-by-one by Aleric and
his cronies. And that’s what will happen if everyone stays in the
dark.”

“Okay,” Nate nodded slowly, obviously
bursting with questions but restraining himself. “Let’s do it.”

They all looked down the street as the sound
of the sirens filled their ears. A bright red fire engine had just
turned into view, followed by an ambulance and two police cars.
Eleanor frowned at all the blood on Meredith’s clothing. With a
flick of her fingertips, the blood disappeared, making Meredith
appear filthy but uninjured.

Rob hung up the phone and, keeping one arm
around Meredith, put his other arm around Amelia’s shoulders.
Having listened to Meredith’s conversation with Nate, Amelia looked
over at him and asked, “Do you think our world will ever be the
same?”

Rob shrugged, keeping his gaze on his
daughter. He didn’t care about the rest of the world at the moment.
Something had happened inside that house that had shaken Meredith
to the core, and it wasn’t her injury. He cast an accusatory glance
in Eleanor’s direction.

She caught his look and said, “She’s going to
need you guys.”

Rob glared at her with an expression that
assured her that they would be having a serious conversation
soon.

Oblivious to the undertones of the exchange,
Amelia said, “She’s going to need you, too. Why don’t you come and
stay with us?”

“Thank you,” Eleanor murmured.

The fire engine pulled up to the house, and
firefighters streamed out, asking questions and shouting orders.
Meredith let her parents stand up and do the talking as she sat
next to Vi. She had a lot to think about, and a lot to plan for,
over the next several days. In this moment, however, she was
content to just sit with her friend and watch the spectacle.

“I’m glad you’re here, Vi,” Meredith said
feelingly.

Vi turned her face and gave her a wry smile,
slinging an arm over Meredith’s shoulder. She was thinking about
how close Meredith had come to dying inside that house. Her voice
was thick with emotion as she replied, “I’m glad you’re here, too,
kid.”

It had been three days since the confrontation at
Eleanor’s house, and Meredith was still reeling with the changes
within her. She hadn’t had time to think too much about it though,
because she had been frantically preparing for the press conference
that Nate had arranged. They had all agreed that they needed to
have the conference as soon as possible, to reach as many newly
emerging magicians as they could before it was too late.

Meredith had spent most of the last three
days learning as much as she could from Eleanor so she would be
able to perform for the crowd. Aleric already knew that Meredith
was a magician, but they hoped that Eleanor’s identity would remain
a secret. It didn’t make sense to show
all
their cards.

Nate had spoken at length with Dr. Wells,
hoping to convince her to come on camera to validate their claims.
The doctor was still angry over Miguel’s death and reluctant to
hear them out, but she had finally agreed to meet with Meredith to
see her abilities firsthand.

“So what’d you offer her in exchange for
meeting with me?” Meredith asked. She and Nate were on the freeway
in Nate’s Ford Explorer, heading to Phoenix Mercy Hospital.

“I told her that the best way to get rid of
me was to meet with us and get it over with,” Nate said
conversationally. “Practical woman, that Dr. Wells.”

“Vi was sure that Dr. Wells was the protégé,”
Meredith mused.

“Why? Because she’s a bitch?”

Meredith chuckled. “It sounds so judgmental
when you put it like that. Meanwhile, Dr. Sparling was totally
cool. I guess you catch more flies with honey, after all.”

Nate exited the freeway and turned toward the
hospital. “Speaking of which, be nice to Dr. Wells, okay? We really
need her. People trust doctors.”

“What, you don’t think I’m trustworthy?”
Meredith batted her eyelashes at him.

“Hmm, let me think about this. Flighty
23-year-old vet school dropout versus experienced, renowned
physician. You’re right, we probably don’t need her.”

“I haven’t dropped out of vet school yet,”
Meredith said defensively. “And I might not. I just need a semester
off. Believe it or not, I’m dealing with a bunch of stuff right
now.”

“Calm down, I’m not criticizing you. I’m just
painting a picture of what everyone else is going to see.”

“Thanks, I feel so much better.” Meredith
gave him a wry smile and then watched out the window as the
hospital came into view. The last time they’d been there, Miguel
was with them. The car suddenly felt emptier, and Meredith sucked
in a deep breath, letting it out slowly through her nose.

Nate pulled into the parking lot and searched
for a space. “I didn’t tell Dr. Wells much. I had a feeling she
wasn’t going to buy the whole ‘magician’ thing over the phone. So
you’re going to have to dazzle her with your new skills, okay? But
don’t be weird.” He seemed almost nervous, reminding Meredith that
even though he had practically begged them to go public, Nate’s
career was on the line.

“Okay, Nate. I’ll try not to be ‘weird’,”
Meredith agreed with an eye roll. “What does that even mean,
anyway? This whole situation is freaking weird. I say, embrace
it.”

“Well, I can’t argue with you there.” He
pulled into a space and shifted the car into park, unbuckling his
seat belt. “Come on. She’s waiting for us in the lobby.”

As they walked into the lobby, Meredith felt
a sense of dread at meeting Dr. Wells again. The cold, calculating
doctor was not on Meredith’s list of favorite people, even if she
wasn’t a protégé.

Dr. Wells was waiting for them near the
entrance, and she cast Meredith an impassive expression before
focusing her attention on Nate. “I’ve reserved a conference room
where we can talk undisturbed,” she said briskly, leading them to
the elevators.

Meredith followed behind silently, almost
glad that she didn’t have to make small talk with Dr. Wells. The
conference room was on the second floor, near the room where Miguel
had been staying. They walked past the open doorway of Miguel’s
room, and Meredith glanced in, taking in the empty bed and neatly
folded blanket. She wondered if Dr. Wells had taken them that way
on purpose.

Once in the conference room, they sat around
the table and looked at each other mutely. The room was sparsely
furnished; there wasn’t even a picture hanging on the wall to
brighten the place up. The chairs were hard plastic, and they
screeched against the linoleum every time one of them changed
positions.

“Dr. Wells,” Nate began. “First of all, we
want to thank you very much for meeting with us today. We know how
busy--”

“Cool it with the niceties,” Dr. Wells
interrupted. “I’ve heard it all before. I’m here. What do you
want?”

Nate cleared his throat. Now that he was face
to face with Dr. Wells, he wasn’t really sure where to start with
their story.

Meredith had come prepared. She produced a
small tea light candle from her pocket and set it on the Formica
table between them. “Have a look at that candle, if you please,”
she instructed.

Dr. Wells picked up the candle and glanced at
it briefly. “What about it?”

“I just want you to be comfortable that it’s
a normal candle--no tricks.”

Dr. Wells turned the candle all around in her
hands, inspecting it more closely. She even dug into the wax with
her fingernail, being absolutely thorough. Meredith wondered if
that was her medical training at work. Finally, she set the candle
back down on the table. “Okay.”

Meredith nodded. “Thank you.” She rested her
hands on the table where Dr. Wells could see them and focused on
the candle’s wick. After a moment, a flame sparked to life.

Dr. Wells leaned back in her chair, surprised
but skeptical. “Why are you here practicing magic tricks?”

“It’s not a trick,” Nate assured her.

Dr. Wells scoffed. “I don’t have time for
this.” She scooted her chair back with a loud
screech
and
stood up.

“Wait,” Meredith pleaded. “Go get something
else I can burn. Let me prove that it’s not a trick.”

Dr. Wells gave her a hard stare and then left
the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

“Um, does that mean that she’s getting
something for me to burn or that she’s not going to give us the
time of day?” Meredith asked.

Nate barked out a short laugh. “I have no
idea.”

They sat in silence, waiting. After a few
minutes Meredith blew out the candle with a quick
puff
and
returned it to her pocket. The room was so quiet that Meredith
could hear the clock ticking on the wall. She wondered how long
they should wait before they gave up and left. Ten minutes ticked
by. She glanced at Nate questioningly, who shrugged. Another ten
minutes.

Just as they were getting ready to give up,
the door banged open, startling Meredith enough to make her choke
on her own saliva. She coughed violently as Dr. Wells came back
into the room holding a metal bowl and a paper Dixie cup.