Jacob made the mistake of following her line of sight to a half full bag of blood that dripped into his IV. He leaned back into his pillow, feeling a little queasy.
"It's the second one. You lost a lot I guess. Dr. Silva says you're going to feel sapped for the next couple of days. Our power comes from our blood and yours is…um…diluted."
"Where is Dr. Silva?"
"She's with Lillian."
The memory of his mom tied up and unconscious on the steel table swept through him. "Is she okay?" he asked.
"Yes, but she was drugged. Dr. Silva worked up a potion she's been slipping her to counteract the Watcher's poison. They're saying she needs to stay until her blood is completely clean. Dr. Silva says maybe a week."
"And the Watcher? Did you catch the Watcher that came out of Katrina? My God is she even still alive?"
"No," Mara said, then waved her hand when Jacob's face paled. "Don't freak, okay. Katrina's alive –barely. I meant, no, we didn't catch the Watcher. It's still out there somewhere. I'd like to believe Malini scared it back to Nod for good but Dr. Silva says now that it knows what Malini is, it'll be back with reinforcements."
"Now that it knows what Malini is? What is she?"
"Didn't you see, Jacob? You were there. I heard she fried that Watcher when she touched it."
"So, she's a Horseman. She can produce fire."
"No, Jacob, she's a Healer! She burnt the Watcher because what she's made of is so pure she can't touch one without the evil sizzling under her fingertips. She can't even touch Dr. Silva! Gideon said she's been the first one in over one hundred years. If she survives, she'll be a new hope for us all."
Jacob didn't like the sound of that. He pushed himself up in bed and tried to swing his legs over the side. "I need to see her," he insisted.
"Not gonna happen, hosehead. She's working out the kinks with Gideon. No one can see her for three days. She's got to go on some vision quest to fully manifest her powers. I know you're worried but there's nothing we can do."
Jacob leaned back and twirled the corner of his blanket around his finger.
"And since you don't seem to remember yesterday all that well, I should also tell you that your blood opened up some sort of door at the Laudner's shop."
"What?"
"When your blood dripped onto the floor, it filled the grooves of the carving in the marble and that triggered some sort of trap door. Dr. Silva had a hell of a time hiding it from the police. Don't worry, no one looked down there. Your blood, your door, they said. Plus, we didn't have enough time or yeah, I probably would have checked it out."
Jacob's jaw wouldn't remain closed. "My blood opened up a secret door in my uncle's flower shop?"
"Yep."
"When can I get out of here and check it out?'
Mara paced the length of the room, her arms folded across her chest. "I don't know but I have a hunch the blood has to finish first."
They both eyed the chamber below the bag, the drip-drip painfully slow through the tiny tube. Jacob sighed. He'd just have to wait. But with the Watcher out there somewhere, how much time did he have? How much time did any of them have?
Chapter 16
The In Between
Malini sat up in bed and dangled the red stone from its leather strap. Light reflected off the facets, drawing her eye toward the center, toward the place where the red was so dark it was almost black. It was hypnotic how the stone turned, reflecting her image then absorbing it into its depths. Red, everything was red, and her mind slipped away into that weightless space between sleep and awake. The black center seemed to swallow the red, engulfing her until she was surrounded by nothingness.
The void didn't last long. From the bottom up, a room of multi-colored fabric shingled itself around her. Reams of material draped from vertical spools shoulder-width apart as far as she could see. To her left and right, the rows continued into shadow, but ahead of her the path was illuminated from beyond. She walked toward the
"It's the second one. You lost a lot I guess. Dr. Silva says you're going to feel sapped for the next couple of days. Our power comes from our blood and yours is…um…diluted."
"Where is Dr. Silva?"
"She's with Lillian."
The memory of his mom tied up and unconscious on the steel table swept through him. "Is she okay?" he asked.
"Yes, but she was drugged. Dr. Silva worked up a potion she's been slipping her to counteract the Watcher's poison. They're saying she needs to stay until her blood is completely clean. Dr. Silva says maybe a week."
"And the Watcher? Did you catch the Watcher that came out of Katrina? My God is she even still alive?"
"No," Mara said, then waved her hand when Jacob's face paled. "Don't freak, okay. Katrina's alive –barely. I meant, no, we didn't catch the Watcher. It's still out there somewhere. I'd like to believe Malini scared it back to Nod for good but Dr. Silva says now that it knows what Malini is, it'll be back with reinforcements."
"Now that it knows what Malini is? What is she?"
"Didn't you see, Jacob? You were there. I heard she fried that Watcher when she touched it."
"So, she's a Horseman. She can produce fire."
"No, Jacob, she's a Healer! She burnt the Watcher because what she's made of is so pure she can't touch one without the evil sizzling under her fingertips. She can't even touch Dr. Silva! Gideon said she's been the first one in over one hundred years. If she survives, she'll be a new hope for us all."
Jacob didn't like the sound of that. He pushed himself up in bed and tried to swing his legs over the side. "I need to see her," he insisted.
"Not gonna happen, hosehead. She's working out the kinks with Gideon. No one can see her for three days. She's got to go on some vision quest to fully manifest her powers. I know you're worried but there's nothing we can do."
Jacob leaned back and twirled the corner of his blanket around his finger.
"And since you don't seem to remember yesterday all that well, I should also tell you that your blood opened up some sort of door at the Laudner's shop."
"What?"
"When your blood dripped onto the floor, it filled the grooves of the carving in the marble and that triggered some sort of trap door. Dr. Silva had a hell of a time hiding it from the police. Don't worry, no one looked down there. Your blood, your door, they said. Plus, we didn't have enough time or yeah, I probably would have checked it out."
Jacob's jaw wouldn't remain closed. "My blood opened up a secret door in my uncle's flower shop?"
"Yep."
"When can I get out of here and check it out?'
Mara paced the length of the room, her arms folded across her chest. "I don't know but I have a hunch the blood has to finish first."
They both eyed the chamber below the bag, the drip-drip painfully slow through the tiny tube. Jacob sighed. He'd just have to wait. But with the Watcher out there somewhere, how much time did he have? How much time did any of them have?
Chapter 16
The In Between
Malini sat up in bed and dangled the red stone from its leather strap. Light reflected off the facets, drawing her eye toward the center, toward the place where the red was so dark it was almost black. It was hypnotic how the stone turned, reflecting her image then absorbing it into its depths. Red, everything was red, and her mind slipped away into that weightless space between sleep and awake. The black center seemed to swallow the red, engulfing her until she was surrounded by nothingness.
The void didn't last long. From the bottom up, a room of multi-colored fabric shingled itself around her. Reams of material draped from vertical spools shoulder-width apart as far as she could see. To her left and right, the rows continued into shadow, but ahead of her the path was illuminated from beyond. She walked toward the
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