Chapter 22
I woke up feeling groggy, my mouth was dry and the room was kind of moving on its own. It took me a few moments to remember what had happened; Luke and Dr. Wineman had given me some sleeping pills, how many, I didn’t know. I looked around and found I was in my room, only a light blanket covering me.
Groaning, I sat up on my bed, swinging my legs over the side and rubbing my eyes. What time was it? I checked the clock and saw that it was already a little past ten. Being drugged by my closest friend was not something I saw coming, but then again Luke was just full of surprises lately. Quickly, I changed into fresh clothes and stepped out the door, the apartment quiet.
When I reached the living room there was nobody there; where did they go? I checked the refrigerator for a note but there was nothing there either. Leaning my head against the fridge in defeat I noticed the metal felt oddly cooler than normal against my skin. My eyes opened and I saw that the spell’s ingredients were sitting out on the counter. So they weren’t doing the spell without me then.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad that Luke had made me sleep; I was ready to do the spell alone after all. I was even prepared to sell my freedom to Yamuna to have her do the spell. What had I been thinking? For some reason I had temporarily lost my mind and I wanted to blame it on my lack of sleep. At first it was just because of Jared that I couldn’t sleep, but then it was stress from Luke being in jail and then…well, then everyone around me started to disappear.
Charlie was dead, Jared was stone, Luke was keeping secrets and to top it all off I had opened some kind of wound in Violet. The past two weeks had been completely insane and it wasn’t getting any better.
While I stood in the kitchen, thinking about everything, a noise from the apartment next door drew my attention. Feet shuffled around and at first I thought it would be the police, but they had no reason for being in Charlie’s place anymore. I opened my front door, hearing Charlie’s door shut first.
In front of me stood a small, dark-skinned man with large, sunken in eyes. Her stared at me, wide-eyed with panic. Immediately he dropped the book he was holding and ran down the hall, not a single word to explain what he was doing. He wasn’t a cop, that much I knew and he looked strangely familiar. I had seen him before, but where? It was right there, his on the brink of my mind but I just couldn’t focus on it.
“Hey!” I called after him but he was already at the stairs. I didn’t chase after him and instead looked at what he had dropped. I picked up a thin, bright yellow notebook that read “Journal” across the cover. It didn’t look like something a man like him would carry and when I flipped open the cover I saw Charlie’s name, written in her bubbly handwriting.
I walked into Charlie’s apartment, the police tape that once covered her door gone. Flicking on a light I made my way into her room to put the journal back but I found it beckoned to me. I could feel its weight in my hand, just begging me to read it, to find out if she had known she was pregnant. The coroner’s report said she was eight weeks pregnant when she died, so she must have known by then?
Standing in her room I tried not to look at all the pictures of her with friends and family. I sat down on her bed, staring down at the cover of the journal. This wasn’t right. I shouldn’t be reading a girl’s diary; reading all of her deepest thoughts and emotions. But my hands and eyes wouldn’t listen to my brain and suddenly I was flipping through the pages of the yellow journal, finding her most recent entries.
Most of them were just about her day, people she didn’t like and people she really liked. Her large, loopy writing made me smile and the way she dotted every “i” with a large circle was just very…Charlie. There was nothing incriminating, nothing to say she was in danger. When I found the last entries I read them, word for word to ensure I didn’t miss anything.
Dear Diary,
Rosa was killed today. I don’t even know what to think about that! I didn’t know her very well, she was just the bartender we hung out with sometimes, but still…she’s gone. She was murdered too, by someone, right after she finished working. That could have been any of us! We were all at The Corner; any one of us could have been attacked.
Also, I’ve been feeling sick lately in the morning too…plus I’m late. I’ve never been late before…what if I’m pregnant? What will my parents think?
So she did know she was pregnant? Or she at least had an inkling to it. I read down to her final entry, written the day she died. The day she died, though it was hours before she did; it was written after she had gotten home from The Corner. I didn’t understand why she kept going there, if she was so concerned with Rosa’s murder. The party stopped for no murder it seemed.
Dear Diary,
You will never guess who I met today! I met the weather girl from channel five and the blonde anchor host…what was her name? Oh well, I couldn’t believe it! They were at The Corner today and I got some great advice from them, on how to get into the industry but school is such a big part of that; do I really want to go back?
And, I found out that Alice and Heather are pregnant! It’s not just me! Although, they at least got pregnant with their boyfriends…I got pregnant with a guy that isn’t even in town anymore. I don’t even know how to contact him…I wish he didn’t leave in the morning, I really liked him. I thought we had something…
I could see small, round stains on the paper; Charlie had been crying when she wrote this entry. I traced my fingers over the tear marks, feeling her pain for being left.
“Liv?” Luke said behind me. I turned around to see him standing in the doorway to Charlie’s room. “What are you doing?” I snapped the journal shut, caught in the act. It was a strange reaction though, since it wasn’t like it was Charlie that was catching me.
“Oh, uh…” I started, not sure if I should tell him the truth, “I was just…looking for clues in Charlie’s diary.” He was going to find out anyway.
“Clues to what?” he asked, stepping in and sitting next to me on the bed. “We already know what killed her, and we’re going to stop it today.”
“I know…I just feel like something’s off,” I said, “I just feel like…I mean, it feels right, that the ancient is the one doing the killings but it feels wrong. Especially after that guy tried to take this and…” I trailed my sentence off, thinking that maybe it was better if Luke didn’t know she was pregnant.
“Someone tried to steal Charlie’s diary?” Luke asked, putting an arm around me. I bit my lip and decided that I would just tell him everything; I didn’t want to keep any secrets from him though he didn’t seem to have a problem keeping them from me.
“Yeah,” I said, beginning to play with the edges of the journal, “and…”
“And what?” Luke gave my shoulder a squeeze, an attempt to comfort me.
“And she was pregnant,” I said, feeling him flinch, “they were all pregnant.”
“All of them?” He brushed past the flinch and no longer concerned with the mystery thief. I knew he had had a crush on Charlie, hearing she was pregnant must have bothered him.
“Yeah,” I said, “that’s why something just feels…different now. And with this guy trying to steal her diary…I don’t know what to think anymore.” I looked up at Luke, feeling a lump in my throat, my words coming out as a whisper. He hugged me tighter to his chest and I took a deep breath.
“Why is this so important to you,” he asked, “what happened to my utterly indifferent best friend who stays out of everyone’s business but our own?” He laughed and I actually did too, for a quick second. It wasn’t like me to get so involved in something and no matter how many times I told myself it was for him, I knew that wasn’t true. I was never doing this for Luke, was I?
“I don’t know,” I said, “I just don’t want anyone else to die.” Luke rubbed my shoulder and sighed.
“She’s not your mother,” he said, “finding Charlie’s killer won’t solve your mothe
r’s death.” I hadn’t thought of that, not really. Charlie was a lot like my mother was when she was alive; outgoing, positive, nothing holding either of them down for very long, if at all. Until she was killed, that is.
“I know,” I said, “but it’ll make me feel better. When mom died and it was declared an accident I didn’t know what to do. I know that’s not true; something happened to her. There was something else in the car, I saw an Eidolon in the fire then. You know—”
“I know,” he cooed, “I know.” Luke moved away from me to look me in the eyes. “Let’s go back to the apartment.”
“I can’t have another unsolved death on my mind, Luke. I-I just can’t.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
This was why Luke was my best friend; because he never told me I was crazy. While other’s told me I had been traumatized by my mother’s death, that I was seeing things in the fire she died in, he believed me. I had shown him what I had seen and he believed it too.
“Luke, Liv!” Dr. Wineman rounded the corner into Charlie’s room, a sympathetic look on his face. Had he heard us? I hoped not. “What are you two doing in here?” He glanced around the room, curious. A little too curious, I thought.
“We were just going back,” Luke said standing. The doctor nodded and left us alone, knowing that he had just walked in on something he shouldn’t have. I set Charlie’s diary on the bed, the yellow leather contrasting with the blue comforter. I smiled at the bears across her pillows and sheets; Charlie was gone, but I certainly wasn’t going to forget her. Luke reached his hand to me and I took it, leaving the room and feeling just a little bit better. I couldn’t tell if the doctor had heard what we said, but I was going to choose to believe he didn’t.
When we got back to our apartment I found Violet sitting on our couch. Legs and arms crossed she glared at the television news, reporting about a break in at the hospital morgue. It claimed there were no suspects so we were safe, but I had a feeling Violet didn’t like that fact that we were almost caught.
“That was your fault,” she said to me, pointing at the television. “If I’m caught for your crap, I’m not going down alone. Now can we do this already, doc?”
“Yes, yes,” Dr. Wineman said, “please call me Richard. But I thought Liv might want to be there for it.”
“For what?” I asked, a little too eager. “The spell?” So we were finally going to do it then? The doctor’s eyes told me I was wrong. It was clear to me that he didn’t want to do it, that he was determined to prove to me that the Shadeland ancient was innocent. I was even beginning to believe him, after everything that had happened.
“No,” Richard said, “to cure Jared.” My eyebrows raised and he smiled, knowing I was trying not to do the same.
“You have the cure?” I asked, excited.
“I do not have it,” he said and gestured to Violet, “but I sent our dear Violet to go get it…I admit I could not have gotten it myself.”
“Damn right you couldn’t have,” Violet came in, “so if you don’t mind, I’d like to get this done so my cousin can turn back into a real boy.” She shot daggers at me with more than just her eyes; her very stance was telling me what she was thinking.
“Yes, yes,” the doctor said, trying to keep her at bay, “I just need to examine the piece before using it; make sure it is authentic.” Violet snorted and rolled her eyes.
“Fine,” she said. She yanked a bag from the couch and reached in to pull out a long black box. Handing it to Richard he pulled the lid off, thanking Violet as he did. “How are you going to check if it’s real?”
“Just a touch,” he said, pulling his eyes away from the item in the box. Luke and I peered into it, leaning closely in as the doctor’s hand hovered over top.
Sitting on a red velvet piece of cloth was…something. It looked familiar but I still didn’t know what to call it. It appeared to be a foot long piece of twisted ivory, gleaming in what little light came to its surface.
“What is it?” Luke whispered. I smiled, feeling like he was his usual, socially awkward self as he whispered for no reason. The doctor touched it for a brief moment and replaced the lid.
“It is an Alicorn,” Richard told us, “it is what’s going to cure Jared. Did you bring him then?”
“Yeah,” Violet said, throwing her side-bag over her shoulder, “he’s downstairs.”
Standing in the parking lot behind a van made me feel a little shady. Violet had brought Jared in a windowless, white van, since he wouldn’t just fit inside of her Mini Cooper. She threw open the back doors of the van and displayed Jared for all of us to see. How she had gotten him into the van was a mystery to me and I wasn’t about to question her methods now.
He was in the same position, made of rock. I was thankful Violet had parked with the back against the trees, ensuring none of the other tenants would see him by chance. That was something I wouldn’t have an explanation for.
“So how will that cure him?” I asked, breaking down and voicing what most of us were thinking.
“This is an Alicorn,” the doctor explained, displaying the object in his hand, “it is believed to neutralize any kind of poison. Back in the day people who feared being poisoned would drink from cups made of Alicorn to protect themselves.” Ever the history teacher, he was and I wondered what he had considered “the day”.
“But what is an Alicorn?” Luke wondered aloud. I caught Violet rolling her eyes again.
“It’s the horn of a Unicorn,” she said. She kept her arms crossed tight and her attitude made a little more sense to me. The Etheric Shade animal activist had to get a Unicorn horn; it must have actually hurt her, depending on how she got it. She grumbled, “Just do it already.”
“All right then,” Richard agreed, “now Liv, where was he bitten by the beast?” I pointed to Jared’s left shoulder, cautious not to touch him. “Thank you.” Violet and I almost screamed when the doctor raised the Alicorn and thrust it into Jared. Bright orange and red sparks flew from Jared’s stone form, lighting up the doctor’s greying hair. Luke and I shielded our faces but Violet just stepped back, watching with amazement.
When the fireworks died down, the doctor pulled the Unicorn horn from Jared. I had expected a hole to be in Jared’s shoulder, but there was nothing there. The same thing seemed to happen as when he turned to stone; slowly, his jacket turned back into leather, his skin turned from solid rock into the same soft texture. When his eyes fluttered open I smiled to see the blue of his eyes. Jared groaned as he leaned up onto his forearms.
“Oh God,” he moaned, “this is the worst hangover ever.” He held his head and Violet rushed to help him up. She pushed him back, holding him as he sat upwards.
“Are you all right?” she asked him. He nodded his head until he finally remembered what had happened. He looked up into Violet’s eyes and finally past her, at me.
“Are you all right?” he asked back. The last thing he remembered was being at Yamuna’s, so I understood his concern.
“Yeah I’m—” Violet started but he held up his free hand to stop her.
“Not you,” Jared said, “you can take care of yourself. She can’t.” He pointed at me and Violet turned around, fire burning behind her irises. I was a little insulted by his statement despite the fact that it was partially true.
“I’m fine,” I said, trying not to antagonize the situation but noticing I wavered on my feet. Why was that? And why did Jared have to notice? I tried to get his focus off of me. “Uh, how do you feel?”
“Like I just went five rounds with a vampire,” he inched forward till his feet could touch the ground, “and lost. What happened?”
“You were bitten by a Cockatrice,” Richard said after clearing his throat. “But Violet was able to find the cure at her…ah, job and give it to you. And here we are.” The doctor opened his arms, displaying everyone around him. He seemed uncomfortable but I didn’t know wh
y; he had no reason to feel that way. No obvious reason, anyway.
“Great, thanks,” Jared stood up, leaning one hand on Violet’s shoulder for support. “Why are you here?” He was talking to the doctor.
“I have…reluctantly agreed to do the spell,” he said, “I had no other choice.” He gave me a sideways glance.
“Why?” Violet asked, looking at both of us. “You told me you didn’t want to do it.”
“It was either I do the spell, or Liv make a deal with Yamuna, among other things.” Richard gestured to me, his eyes careful to avoid anyone else’s. This was his way of ratting me out and I found it rather underhanded.
“You what?” Violet was the one that was furious, something I was not expecting. “Do you have any idea what that means?” She tossed Jared aside and came towards me.
“But you…you did the same thing,” I said, panicking. Her eyes widened, as did everyone else’s.
“Vi,” Jared said in a low tone, “you made a deal…with that witch?” His words were soaked with anger, disgust and…concern. The sound of a broken heart, I thought, but Jared would never admit to caring so much. Violet turned on her heels, face drained of all blood, her pupils contracted.
“I had to…” was all she managed to say without releasing her tears.
“You had to? You know better than to make a deal with her!” He banged his fist on the inside of the van and gasped, anger taking over his other emotions now. Jared bent over, holding his legs for support, his breathing becoming weathered. He straightened his back as the doctor touched Violet’s arm.
“I didn’t… I didn’t know,” she whispered, her eyes beginning to fill with tears again.
“Luke, please take her inside,” Richard said and he pushed them both away. I stood with Jared as he tried to control his breathing. The doctor told us both to sit down in the back of the van once Luke and Violet were out of sight. “Understand, at the time she didn’t believe she had a choice.”
“What in hell does that mean?” he questioned, holding his chest as his breathing returned to normal. “There is always a choice.”
“She made the deal with Yamuna to try and save you,” Richard explained, “but we both know how that witch is. She tricks people,” he looked to me, “betrays them.” He was trying to drive the point home in me, but I still couldn’t quite comprehend the situation. If I asked what evidence they had I doubted I would learn anything. But how could I just leave it to trusting them when they didn’t even seem to trust me in return?
“What, you were ready to sell your soul to save me?” he asked, flashing me a tired grin.
“No, I was going to have her do the spell…” I said, feeling a little bad that I had never considered him. He looked away from me and patted my leg. In my defence I didn’t know about Yamuna’s deals or that she had planned on making one with me. It made me wonder why she had never offered me the same contract as she did Violet.
“Oh, well, good…that’s…a good choice,” he said and left his hand on my leg, not thinking. I could feel my face heating up as it stayed there. When he noticed both the doctor and me staring at it he took it away and rubbed at his old wound. “Anyway, what ingredients are left?”
“None,” Richard informed him, “Liv has collected everything we need.” Jared laughed but it was cut short when he realized the doctor wasn’t actually joking.
“You?” he pointed at me. “You got everything else?”
“Well she wasn’t alone,” Richard said, “Luke and Violet helped as well.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Jared got out of the van. “Let’s do the spell.” He stumbled back with a grunt, holding his side. I reached my hand out to touch him, help him but quickly withdrew. There wasn’t anything I could do for him, not really.
“I think we should wait a bit, maybe just a couple of hours till you’re feeling…better.” The doctor patted him on the shoulder and walked away, I assumed to check on Violet. They had a strange familiarity between them, but it seemed everyone I met recently did. I stood up and observed Jared’s condition.
“Do you…need help?” I asked, moving my eyes around the area.
“I need my car,” he said, “where is it?” I thought back, remembering that his car was still parked in front of Yamuna’s. I stared down at his baby blue’s, anticipating how badly this next conversation would go.