‹ Prequel: The Paris Escapade
Sequel: Hunter's Strike

Nightmare City

Chapter 21 - The Shadow in my Heart

She lay on the bed, a white sheet tucked up over her chest, her arms resting on top of it. IVs ran to both arms, one attached to a saline drip and the other standing by, waiting for what would save her.

“She suffered a pretty severe blow to the head, and her shoulder was dislocated. The wound on her arm wouldn’t stop bleeding, even after the stitches... as well as the blood from the head wound.” The doctor paused, trying to keep her tone delicate. “She’s lost a lot. We’re not sure when she’ll wake up.”

“So, we’re just waiting on a blood transfer?” Chris’ voice had affected a calm that was his shield, honed during his time as a soldier.

The doctor grimaced. “Right now the system is a little backed up. It’s been a rough night, there were two major fires in the city. We’re working as fast as we can.” She excused herself, going to see about her other patients, the ones that her presence would actually help.

“There shouldn’t be any problem getting her the blood she needs.” I said, turning to Chris. “Since you’re here.”

“What do you mean?” Confusion crossed his face.

My hand shot out, centering on his chest, clenching the front of his shirt. “What? You’re telling me that Evangeline is lying there and it hasn’t occurred to you to give her your own blood?”

Chris didn’t fight me, instead he spoke. “Of course it has. If I could give her my blood, I would.”

“What’s the matter?” My voice was deadly soft. “Are you too weak after force feeding me while your sister was bleeding out?” I leaned closer to him, feeling malice rise up inside of me. “I’m sure you have something left to spare?”

“Evie and I aren’t the same blood type.” he explained, as calmly as he could.

Anger flared, bright and fierce. “You’re her brother, how are you not the same blood type?” I demanded.

“We’re not blood related; I’m her step brother.” His voice remained infuriatingly calm, like he was talking to a very small child. “Mom married Dad after Evie’s father left. My real mother died when I was a baby, and my father passed away a few years ago. Evie and I aren’t related in any way.” I released him, finally understanding. “That’s why we don’t look alike.”

“I see.” I didn’t have time to pick through their complicated family dynamics. I pulled the curtain aside.

“Where are you going?”

“Evangeline needs blood, I’m going to go get it for her.”

Chris put a hand on my shoulder. “You can’t kill someone, Gabriel.” That was the first time he had called me by my name, instead of that infantile ‘Gabrielle’. “Look, I’d be all for anything that would save Evie, but she wouldn’t want you to do this.”

I brushed his hand away, feeling my insides turn to steel. “She doesn’t have to know.”

“No need to kill someone, I’m here now.” a voice said a few feet away. I looked and saw Evangeline’s mother hurrying over to us, a nurse following close behind.

She stepped through the curtain and wasted no time, taking the chair next to her daughter and holding her arm out to the nurse. There was a non-nonsense expression on her face. She didn’t spare time or emotion on her daughter’s plight, instead choosing to act as soon as possible.

Chris grasped my shoulder again. “Let Mom take care of Evie.” he said. “Come on, I’ll buy you a drink.”

**********

We had no trouble finding an open bar. Finding a place to sit was another matter. The TV was on, showing footage of a building in flames, a reporter quickly giving out details as they were fed into her headset. Every patron had their eyes glued to the screen and the placed was packed.

“Do you think the building will go down?” one voice whispered.

Chris pulled me over to the bar, where two seats had just opened up. He signaled the bartender, who poured two shots of amber liquid for us.

“You do know I cannot consume alcohol, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know,” Chris answered, downing both shots one after the other.

“Good luck finding a designated driver.” I turned my attention back to the television. The building on fire was familiar, but the camera was shaking too much.

“This was the scene earlier tonight, when this high rise erupted in flames.” A female voice reported mechanically. The camera switched to a new, much steadier shot, of a tall black building spouting smoke and steam plumes. “Paramedics report that injuries were light, with the exception of one man who lost his life in the fire. Truly a tragic night.”

“That’s Lucien’s building.” I sank onto my stool heavily. I couldn’t look at the television any longer, I turned away, pulling my eyes to the empty glasses starting to line up in front of us.

“You going to be okay?”

“No,” I shook my head. “No, I’m not.”

“Well, you’d better, because she’s waiting for you.”

“If she is, then she’s the only one left.”

**********

“It’s been a week, when is she going to wake up?” Chris was agitated, from waiting, from sleeping in a chair, from eating out of vending machines.

“She’s healing, the doctor says that’s the most important thing. She’ll wake up when she’s ready to.” Evangeline’s mother sounded calm, but the new creases under her eyes told a different story.

I sat across from her, the hospital bed holding Evangeline between us. Chris paced back and forth between the door and window.

“It doesn’t feel like she’s here at all.” I said softly. “Just an empty shell lying in a bed.”

Vivian turned her eyes to me, askance. Chris swooped in to save the situation. “I think we could all use another round of coffee.” he pulled gently on his stepmother’s arm. “All this waiting is just driving everyone batty.

She stood up quickly, her mouth clenched tightly closed, her eyes daggers. She let Chris lead her out of the room, reluctantly. He glared at me before closing the door.

I turned my full attention to Evangeline. “Are you still even here any more?” I couldn’t feel her presence, I hadn’t since she was brought here. “Where did you go?”

Her hands lay folded on her chest. After hesitating a moment, I reached over and took one in mine. I could feel her steady pulse, the blood moving through her veins. I could hear her heart beating, her lungs moving air in and out. Where was the rest of her?

I closed my eyes, so as to concentrate that much more, as I pushed out with my influence.

I met no resistance, no other mind to connect with, to influence. She had retreated far. Perhaps the damage to her head was more significant than her x-rays showed.

It was then that I felt a thread, burning with pure malice. Perhaps Evangeline had not retreated after all, perhaps she was being restrained.

I grasped the thread, following it down into the deepest darkness.

********

The darkness was crushing in it’s depth, and blinding in it’s blankness. There was nothing to perceive, nothing to behold.

Except for a long, slow clapping.

I turned and he stood a distance away, tall and bony, with pale skin that would never see the sun. A cloth covered his eyes, not quite distracting enough to draw attention from his self important smile.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to find me here. You really are slow, aren’t you?”

“You’re one of Nora’s family, the Manigaults.” I said. “You attacked the school with Veronique, until Evangeline stopped you.”

He lowered his hands, his mouth twisting like he’d tasted something sour. “I seem to recall you not doing very much during that battle.”

“At least I lasted until the end.” My eyes darted around, but still only found more darkness. “How long have you been hiding here?”

He spread his arms out. “My name is Dimitri, and I do not hide. It is Evangeline that hides me, forgetting me each and every time she wakes, pushing me down here so she doesn’t have to remember. Still, she always comes back.”

“And now you’ve got hold of her, and you’re not letting her wake up.”

He shook his head. “By all means, no. While I do enjoy her company, I have no power to stop her from doing anything. I am a mere visitor, a guest, if you will. She does not wake because she cannot bear to. Her world is missing something, now, and she will not accept that difference.”

“Well, then where is she?”

“She’s right here with us.” He stepped to the side, revealing Evangeline, though under any normal circumstances I would not have been able to recognize her.

To enter another’s sub-conscious is to see them for what they truly were, all other personas stripped away, leaving the raw soul bare.

Evangeline was completely bound.

Her body was suspended by her arms like a marionette. Black ribbon bound her arms and legs, their ends taught and blending into darkness. A black vinyl corset covered her chest and torso, tied up tightly. Black ribbon covered her eyes and wound around her neck, forcing her head back.

I approached her slowly, keeping one eye on Dimitri. He graciously let me pass. I stood right in front of her, inches between us. “Why did you do this to yourself?” I asked softly, looking her over closely. She was wearing black silk panties that tied on the sides. I flicked one of the ties with two fingers. “Well, those are burned up along with the house.” I turned my eyes back up to her face. “Is that why you’re here? Because the house is gone?”

I reached up and touched the silk ribbon binding her neck. An icy chill ran down my arm, numbing my fingers. “No, this doesn’t belong here. You didn’t create these.” I looked up, trying to determine where the ribbon lead. I turned just as Dimitri attacked.

He slashed at me with a thick shard of black glass, slicing the front of my shirt. Numbness spread across my chest. “That ribbon is yours. You did this to Evangeline.”

He continued his attack, slashing wildly while I sidestepped and dodged out of the way. “You really are simple, aren’t you? She could have stopped me at any time. I’m just a seed planted here, but the entire garden is her mind. She could crush me with a thought.”

“Tricking her into being bound is not the same thing as binding herself up.”

Dimitri laughed harshly. “I have given her no deception. She’s the one that cannot bear the truth.” Suddenly he was right before me, his face a bare inch from mine. “And it’s all your doing.”

His blow sent me flying backwards. I bounced off of nothing and struggled back to my feet. “What are you talking about?” I pointed at Evangeline. “How is that my fault?”

He laughed again, going high, and a bit crazed. He pointed his shard at me. “You’re the one that bound yourself to her, like a diseased parasite. Fighting on rooftops? Almost poisoned by venom? Getting shot, constantly chased, always in danger? Those are the things you brought into her life. I can see into her memory. She did leave you once, and what did you do?”

“I brought her back. I had to.” I answered defensively.

“Why? Why did you have to? Wouldn’t it have been so much simpler if you hadn’t?”

“She’s the legal owner of my house. How else was I supposed to get it from her?”

“Wrong!” Dimitri shouted, holding up one finger. “She would have handed the deed over for a song, after you almost killed her, the first time. What’s the real reason? Come now, I know you cannot lie.”

“I’m not lying!” I could feel my ire rising. What was the point of this? “If we could just walk away from each other, we would in a second. Our situation is much more complicated than you-”

“Wrong again!” he shouted, holding up another finger. “It’s actually quite simple. You lie so much, every day you do it. How can you stand the weight of it?”

“I DO NOT LIE!” Lies were the worst, the absolute filthiest thing in the world. Lies destroyed, killed, far worse than weapons or force.

“Wrong.” Dimitri whispered, holding up a third finger. “You lie to yourself.”

A dozen invisible knives slashed me then, tearing my clothes and my skin. I fell backwards.

Dimitri stood over me. He pulled away the cloth covering his face. One bright, violet eye glared down at me in amusement and contempt, the other side just an empty socket. “I had hoped I would be the one to destroy you, but it looks like you’re doing enough damage all by yourself.” His words were like snakes, worming their way into my head, slithering through my thoughts, tearing them to pieces.

“It’s all your fault, the reason that she’s like this. You dragged her into your life, your issues, your world, and then you left her. And you left her again. You made her kill your enemy, destroy her own home. You’re the worst, the lowest creature.” I brought my hands to my head, trying to shut his voice out, but it was no use. “You don’t deserve her thoughts, her caring. You don’t deserve anyone’s.”

“Yes.” My chest heaved as I breathed, trying to control my voice. I lowered my hands. “You’re right. I caused this whole mess.” His smile widened and I narrowed my eyes. “I’ll be the one to fix it.”

I got to my feet, calm settling over me. Dimitri tried to intervene, but could not touch me. I walked over to where Evangeline hung. I brought my hand to her cheek and leaned my forehead against hers. “It’s all right,” I whispered to her. “I’m here now.”

The ribbon loosened at once, falling away from her face. Her eyes flew open, blinding white light shooting out from them. I backed away as her bare feet touched the ground and she stood under her own weight.

The light poured out of her, clothing her in armor like steel. She stood there, burning with righteous fury. “This is my mind.” Her voice thundered, from everywhere, echoing all around. “Everyone who doesn’t belong here: GET OUT!”

“She means the both of us.” Dimitri said just as he faded away.

The light increased, too bright to behold. I brought my arms up, shielding my face. It pierced right through me, till I had no choice but to retreat or be destroyed.

********

I jerked awake, finding my face buried in the blanket covering her legs. My eyes immediately went to her face. Her eyes were still closed, but now she merely slept.

I stood up and leaned my head down to hers, placing my hand on her cheek. She sighed a little in her sleep, her cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink. “I understand now.” I whispered to her. “All this time that I didn’t, it was because I didn’t want to. But now I know, I know what to do now.”

Footsteps approached the room, Chris and Vivian were returning. I withdrew, back into my seat. When she woke, I would tell her. Such a short amount of time, I could easily wait.