I could feel the speed at which the truck was turning corners. My head was throbbing.
I took one last look at David’s glistening eyes before I closed my own.
“Open your eyes, Isis. Open your eyes.” I could feel David’s hand lightly shaking my face. As hard as I tried to open them, my eyes remained shut.
When I regained consciousness, I was being placed on a hard surface with a bright light over me. My eyes weren’t even half-open. I could see blurry images of people applying pressure to the side of my head, nose, and lips. I didn’t recognize any of them.
A woman opened my eyelids and shined a bright light into my eyes. “She’s awake,” she announced.
“Keep her awake,” a voice said, “and get me a head scan after she’s cleaned up.”
“How many fingers do you see?” the woman asked, holding her hand before me.
“It’s blurry,” I whispered. It hurt when I moved my mouth.
They took me to a white room and put me into a tube. My vision was still obscured. I didn’t know what was happening. There was a loud humming noise coming from the machine I was in.
“Be completely still, please,” I heard a voice say.
How could I move if my head felt like it was about to explode?
“If you feel nauseous or dizzy, let me know,” the voice said, “I’ll stop the machine if you do.”
The loud humming of the machine didn’t last long. Or maybe it was the fact that I felt like I was coming to and from consciousness that I don’t remember.
They took me out of that room and carried me off through the hallways and into a room with a lot of medical equipment in it.
My eyes were heavy, and I wanted to ask for painkillers, but the nurse was arguing with someone at the doorway. I heard her telling them they couldn’t come in.
The pain on the side of my head became unbearable when I tried to turn to see who she was talking to. I closed my eyes.
“Sweetie, stay awake,” the nurse said, patting me on the shoulder. “I have to ask you some questions.” She injected a substance into the I.V. going through my arm.
”Do you know your name?” she asked.
“Isis,” I replied, trying not to move my mouth.
“Do you know what happened to you, Isis? Do you know why you’re here?”
“Yes.”
The door to the room opened. Claire rushed in and stopped when she saw me. She placed her hand over her mouth, gasped, and burst into tears.
“Isis, do you know who this is?” the nurse asked.
“My mom,” I answered, as I started to cry.
Claire’s face was pale from the shock of seeing me like that.
“I want a mirror,” I said.
The nurse looked at my mother and my mother at the nurse.
“You don’t need a mirror right now. You’ve suffered several concussions. You’ll be kept under close observation until further instruction from the doctors,” the nurse spoke softly. “Your mother’s here to keep you awake. Be a good girl and stay awake, okay?”
“‘Kay,” I tried to nod but I felt throbbing pain. I reached for my head, but my mother grabbed my hand and set it down.
“Don’t touch,” Claire warned in a broken voice.
“My nose hurts, too,” I said. “And my mouth.”
“I know,” Claire cried. “Honey, you’re going to have to stay here for a few days. The police will be coming in to take a report from you.”
“Mom, don’t cry.” I rubbed her hand.
“Isis…” she gasped as she cried. “That son of a—Gabriel was taken away by the police. He’s not well. They say he’ll be taken to a psychiatric ward.”
“Where’s David?” I asked.
“He’s outside. They won’t let him in. He was arguing with them earlier. You’re in the Intensive Care Unit. Only immediate family is allowed.”
“I want to see him,” I whispered to her, squeezing her hand.
“Yes, but he’s not allowed in here,” Claire whispered back.
“Please?”
“There’s only one person allowed in here at a time, and it has to be family. I’d have to leave and lie about who he is, and I don’t want to leave you, honey.”
Claire stared at me, trying hard to hold back the tears, but sobs escaped her. I cried along with her, and it hurt. But I don’t know if it was the emotional pain or the physical pain that hurt the most.
When they told Claire I could go to sleep and rest, I told her to go eat something. She wiped her tears and touched my cheek ever so gently with her fingers before she left for the cafeteria.
I had just started to close my eyes when I heard the door open. David had somehow gotten past the nurse’s station and stood at the doorway staring at me.
“It’s bad?” I asked.
“Oh, Isis…” His look worried me.
David walked to the bed and laid his head on my chest. “I was so afraid.”
“I’m fine.” I ran my hand through his silky black hair.
He wiped his eyes before he looked at me. In the most careful way, he touched my lips with his. But even that feather-light pressure made me wince in pain.
“You’re not fine. You should see yourself. I’m never letting you out of my sight again. I had promised you that no one would ever hurt you, and… I’m so sorry.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” David called out.
A police officer walked into the room. His badge read “Cortez”.
“Officer.” David extended his hand.
“Morning,” Officer Cortez said, shaking David’s hand. “I’m here to take a report of the incident from the victim. Is she up for it?”
“Yes,” I said.
The officer posed a series of questions, and I had to recount the incident. It was as if I were reliving it again. David’s lip quivered, enraged as he heard my account.
Claire came into the room after I was done giving my testimony. The officer was on his way out as she was coming in.
“Do they know you’re in here?” she whispered to David.
“No.” David shook his head. “Mrs. Martin, you’ve been here all night. Go home and rest. I’ll stay here with her.”
“No,” Claire said. “The one that needs to go home is you. You’ve been in that waiting room all night, too. Go home to your mother, young man. She must be worried sick.”
“I’m not leaving.” David stared at me as he spoke to my mother.
“Well, suit yourself,” she said.
***
Two days later, I was released from the hospital with stitches on the side of my head. There was purple and red bruising around my eyes and over most of my face. The swelling on my lip had gone down, but my nose was broken and the headache was persistent.
I wasn’t allowed back to school for a week. When I returned, stares and low mumbling greeted me. David took a leave of absence for the same amount of time for “emotional distress”. He and his family visited me every day. Claire took some days off work again and Nyx offered to watch me for the rest of the week at my house.
My face was a wreck. Make-up only made it look worse. I had some bruises on my arms where I had struggled with Gabriel to free myself, so I wore long sleeves until they became less noticeable.
David didn’t have to persuade Claire this time; she insisted I stay with David and his family after school. Alezzander visited me the week I resumed my classes.
“There’s something we have to tell you about your friend, Gabriel,” he said. “The language you heard him speak on the day of the incident wasn’t English. Is that right?”
“Right.”
“Isis, Nyx went to visit him at the psychiatric hospital, where he was admitted. He claims to have been hearing voices. The doctors say he was in a manic state and hallucinating. They think he’s schizophrenic, but my wife has uncovered something else.” His lips pressed together. “Gabriel has been interrupted by the Turpis.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The Turpis are unseen demonic creatures. They are shrewd and evil and they don’t take prisoners. They were using him to get to you.”
“What?” David stood up. “Father, why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Alezzander motioned for David to sit. “I’m telling you now.”
“Demons?” An ice-cold chill ran down my spine.
“Yes. We need to find out why they’re targeting you. You need to find your father.”
“I don’t know who he is, much less where he is,” I said. “How am I supposed to find him?”
“We’ll have to find a way. The Turpis won’t rest until you’re dead.”
“But how?” David asked.
“The letters he’ll send should help. I’m sure you’ll receive more. Until then you should stay close. We’re the only protection you have against those creatures.”
***
“I want to drop the charges,” I said as David drove me home.
“No. Absolutely, not. That means dropping the restraining order. He could come after you again.”
“But he’s a victim, David.”
“I don’t care. He’s not the person you knew and he might never be. Those monsters don’t just leave a person. They haunt them—writhe within and around them until they aren’t aware of their own names. They’re like a disease that makes people lose their sanity.”
“Are you talking about possession?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have to help him. You and your family have to help him,” I begged. “It’s not his fault he did this to me.”
“No,” David said sternly. “He’s like that because he gave in to them.” He paused to glance at me. “If I have to, I’ll go to your mother about this.”
I crossed my arms and hissed.
***
I sat on my bed looking at my bruises in a small compact mirror. The stitches on the side of my head were covered by a strand of hair I had clipped there. I could see tiny stubs of hair growing back on the bald spot around the wound.
The dark circles under my eyes were now a yellowish hue. I tapped the bridge of my nose. The swelling had gone down some, but it still hurt a little when I breathed.
I took the herbal cream that Nyx had prepared for me and rubbed it on the bruises as she had suggested.
***
During the weeks that followed my incident, I thought a lot about Gabriel in that psych hospital. While he was in there incarcerated, I was being made more paranoid by the Chios family and Claire.
Nyx and Claire spent a lot of time together. Frequent gatherings were held at either my house or the Ebony Estate with at least two of the Chios members always present. David left me only at night, but I knew he sat on the porch roof watching me.
It took a month, but at last, the swelling on my face went down, and the bruising was gone. I didn’t need surgery to readjust the bridge of my nose, thanks to the healing techniques of the twins.
I was suspicious of everyone and perturbed by my own paranoia. Not even prom was fun. But nothing weird happened for a long time, that is, until the end of May.
I arrived at my house with David the day before my birthday and four days before our graduation. Claire was waiting for us on the porch.
“I don’t want to be rude, but can I talk to you in private, hon?” Claire asked.
“Sure,” I said, following her to the kitchen.
“This came for you today.” She handed me a sealed envelope.
“It’s from him.” I looked at the stamp—Athens.
Claire nodded.
I ripped open the side of the envelope. I slid out the letter that was inside and unfolded it. The letter contained a cashier’s check for $25,000.
***
Dearest Daughter,
I hope that you are well and happy to be graduating and coming to the age of adulthood. I send my warmest congratulations on both.
Enclosed you’ll find a check that you’re at liberty to spend as you wish. I’m not trying to buy your acceptance, but rather deliver to you what I’ve not been able to give you in my absence.
I’ve arranged for monthly deposits in your name at the bank located on the north corner of the main intersection in your town. Your account will always be funded while you’re enrolled in university.
I haven’t yet decided when I should present myself to you personally. I hope that you understand that I’m fearful of both your rejection and your mother’s.
I bid thee good tidings.
Best Regards,
S. Leumas
***
“This arrived today?” I asked her.
“Yes,” she said, clasping her hands. “What does it say?”
“I think it’s a birthday and graduation present.”
“What?”
I held both papers out to her.
“Read it.”
“Oh my God. Oh. My. God!” She placed her hand on her chest. “He wants to see you! He wants to see me!”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“He’s the love of my life, Isis,” she whispered.
“What about The Judge?”
“We’re not exclusive,” she said, smelling the paper. “It’s his cologne. Mmmmhh!” She closed her eyes.
David walked into the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
Claire hid the letter behind her back. “Fine, thanks.”
“Just checking,” David said, spinning on his heel and returning to the living room.
Claire turned to me and smiled. “You can buy a car for college.”
Then the light bulb in my head clicked. If this letter was postmarked in Athens, it meant my father was there now. David and I could leave right after graduation. But would my mother go for it?
“Actually,” I said, “David invited me to Greece. They have a house there, but I know that you—”
“Go.” She didn’t even let me finish.
“Huh?”
“Go, Isis. That’s always been a dream of mine for you, and you’re all grown up. You’ll always be my little girl, but you’re not that little anymore. I trust you. So go. You have the money. And to be honest, I think being away from this place for a while is the best thing for you right now.”
“You’re not kidding?”
“Go!” She waved the check in my face.
“David!” I screamed from the kitchen, jumping up and down with my mom. “We’re going to Greece for the summer!”
***
May 30th was my eighteenth birthday. I had a quaint evening gathering with the Chios family, all of my best friends, and my mom, at a restaurant.
I was excited to think that in a few days I’d be standing on the other side of the world, in Greece.
With shopping for clothes to take on the trip and making arrangements for graduation, it seemed like there just wasn’t enough time.
I also had to think about my supposed transformation. I had to find my father and soon. I needed to know why David and I weren’t changing into anything different, and he might be the one that held the answer to that.
On June 2nd, the night of graduation, David surprised me with flowers and a set of new luggage. All I got him was a stupid “Senior Class of…” picture frame with a snapshot of our group, taken by the journalism kids. Every single one of us was smiling in the picture, even Galen. David said he loved it.
I was so excited I couldn’t sleep. I caught David sitting outside my window an hour before sunrise.
“Hi,” I said, peeking out the window. “Caught you this time.”
“Good morning, my lovely.”
“Come inside?” I asked.
He stared at me, as if thinking about it.
“Just this once—please?”
He stood from the side of the window and crossed into my room. He wrapped me in his arms, and then he kissed me. I let his hands wander down my spine and to my hip.
“Can you believe we’ll be togeth
er for two months as of tomorrow? I don’t have to share you with anyone.”
“I can’t wait.”
We watched the sun come up from my window. The sky, with its scarlet, gold, and blue hues, reminded me of Somnium—of when I feared my dreams; now, I feared my reality.
At the airport, I said good-bye to my mother who was more excited than I was to be going on this trip. I wished she had accepted the offer to come along. She said it was the start of my adulthood and that she couldn’t interfere.
On the plane, I took my seat by the window. David sat next to me, a wide smile on his face.
“If I could, I’d kidnap you again.”
“It’s not kidnapping when your victim is willing,” I said and he smiled.
The seatbelt sign came on before the pilot started his welcome announcement. I looked at David and held his hand. We were on a journey to find the man who was my father.
***
I took out my journal while David slept. I wondered how long it had been since he had last slept, if at all. I opened the journal to the interior front cover and wrote.
I am both more than human and less than human. I am, by some miraculous act, still alive. This is the story of my first love, the story of my former life, and the story of my new birth.
***
When I awoke from my nap, David was still fast asleep. I looked in my compact mirror to fix my makeup. The pupils of my green eyes had grown thin and long, like that of a serpent. I turned to a passenger that was seated across the aisle from us and hissed before I attacked.
***
NYX CHIOS
I watched as Uno threw the carved stones into the fireplace with one wrinkled hand. He was blind, but he could see the ancient symbols inscribed on each stone when they turned red hot in the flames; that’s how they spoke to him.
Enoch—Uno’s nephew—stood by holding his own set of rocks. The two men looked so much alike that they could have passed for twins.
“It’s all happening as we said, isn’t it?” Uno asked.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was my son you were foreseeing with the girl in the fire when you came to me all those years ago?”
“And what would you have done?” Uno reached for his cane. “Tried to stop it?”
“You knew that she was coming. We told you your paths would cross,” Enoch said.
“You lied to me. It’s not just crossing paths.” There was a trace of anger in my voice. “Is that why you kept me close all these years—because you knew?”
“We kept you close because you were once a Rune. But we knew that the day would come when you would leave us,” Uno said.