Heart of Thorns: a Between the Worlds novel Page 5

  “Miss?” the receptionist was trying to get her attention and at the same time Jason poked her in the ribs, and she blushed, wondering how many time the woman had spoken to her already.

  “Sorry,” Allie mumbled. “Ummmm. I was here the other night and the nurse told me to come back today to have my hand checked?”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Allie McCarthy.”

  “Let me see…”the woman peered intently at her computer screen, frowning. “Give me a minute the system looks like it froze. This is the weirdest thing. Hey Cindy can you come take a look at this? The computer won’t let me enter anything.”

  A second receptionist walked over and joined the first, both peering in obvious frustration at the pc. Allie stood there in utter disbelief. “You know what never mind, I’ll come back tomorrow.”

  She turned quickly and started to go, leaving Jason to catch up when a vaguely familiar female voice called her name from the hallway. “Allie? It is Allie right?”

  She turned back, forcing Jason to stop almost on top of her. Standing in the hallway that led to the lab area was the nurse who had helped her the other night, and Allie couldn’t help but think despite her fun brightly colored scrubs she was still wearing those ugly shoes. “Hannah?”

  “It is you,” Hannah said, smiling and hurrying over. “How’s the hand feeling?”

  “Oh, better thanks, I was just coming to get it re-checked, like you told me to, but I guess there’s a problem with the computer,” Allie said.

  “Really?” the nurse sounded genuinely surprised and Allie bit back the urge to say it was just her luck, because she really didn’t want to even mention luck anymore. “Well, that’s weird. I don’t remember us ever having a problem with the system before. They certainly spend enough money on spells to protect the electronics, I’d never expect we would have an issue. But hey I was just running some samples to the lab and its quiet tonight I can take you back and have a look if you want. I still know where your chart is.”

  “Yeah, if you can that would be great,” Allie said, relieved. “Oh, this is my roommate Jason. He drove me in because my car’s not working.”

  Hannah smiled at Jason, “Nice to meet you Jason, I’m Hannah.”

  “Nice to meet you Hannah.” Jason said. “If you don’t mind Allie, I’ll just hit the cafeteria while you get your hand checked, okay?”

  “Sure, I’ll find you when I’m done,” she said. He nodded and headed off to find some dinner, while Allie followed Hannah.

  “Sorry about your car Allie. Seems like you’re not having a great week so far.”

  “Yeah well,” Allie sighed, following Hannah into the same exam room she’d been in a few days previous. “I’ve had better. I’ve had worse too though so I don’t want to complain.”

  Hannah smiled, gesturing for Allie to sit on the hospital bed. “That’s a good attitude to have I guess. I try to stay positive myself.”

  The nurse turned and pulled several things from one of the cabinets along the wall, setting them up on a rolling aluminum tray. Allie found herself unconsciously relaxing in the other woman’s presence, enjoying the calm that radiated from her. It wasn’t often that she liked anyone immediately when she first met them, but she found herself really liking Hannah.

  The nurse walked back over still smiling her reassuring smile and Allie found herself smiling back. “So,” Hannah said, “Down to business. How’s the hand been? Any redness or swelling? Irritation? Pain levels okay?”

  “Oh,” Allie said, surprised, “Ummmm. No pain. No redness or anything. The stitches kind of itch and pull a little when I move my hand but otherwise it seems good.”

  “Really?” Hannah said, looking skeptical as she moved Allie’s injured hand so that it rested on the tray and carefully took off the gauze. “Because I’d expect at least some – wow!”

  Hannah’s mouth fell open and she stared down at Allie’s hand in a way that made Allie very nervous. She leaned forward as well, joining the other woman in staring at the red line that bisected her palm. “What? What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Hannah said, making an effort to regain her calm demeanor. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m sorry if I startled you. I didn’t realize you heal more like an elf than a human.”

  “What do you mean?” Allie said, still nervous. She started to add that she’d always healed at a human rate before but then remembered that she did physically heal faster when she was feeding off of one of her bondmates’ emotional energy. Particularly a certain type of energy, which she’d been going out of her way to get from Bleidd as often as possible just to prove a point to him in the last few days. She felt herself blushing at the thought.

  “Well,” Hannah said carefully, “if I didn’t know better I’d think this injury was more than a week old, maybe even close to two. It’s healing beautifully though.”

  Allie found herself at a loss for words, staring at the mostly healed injury, feeling as if her own body had betrayed her somehow. This wasn’t how it was supposed to work, wasn’t how it had worked for the first 37 years of her life. It was uncanny, and she didn’t like it. Magical healing that came from outside, from someone else’s effort, that she could understand and appreciate, but her own body speeding its own healing, for some reason was deeply unsettling. Hannah was oblivious to her patient’s internal struggle and was cheerfully moving on with her job.

  “So, this looks like it’s more than ready to have the stitches out, which is probably why they’ve been itching,” she patted Allie’s good hand then reached for a small pair of specialized titanium scissors. “Don’t worry, it feels a bit strange but it doesn’t hurt, and I’ll have these out in no time.”

  Allie nodded mutely, not sure what to say. She looked resolutely at the wall as Hannah began working at the stitches; as promised it didn’t hurt but the sensation was extremely odd and her stomach protested. Hannah noted Allie’s tense posture and tried to fill the silence with small talk. “So your roommate seems really nice.”

  “Jason?” Allie said, trying to unclench her jaw enough to speak. “Yeah he is. He’s probably one of my best friends.”

  “You’re lucky,” the nurse said, turning Allie’s hand over to work on the other side. “My roommate is horrible. We both work here in the clinic and a few months ago I was promoted and she wasn’t. It’s been like a passive aggressive nightmare since then.”

  “That’s terrible,” Allie said, trying to imagine anyone being that petty.

  “You have no idea,” Hannah said, smiling despite the harsh words. She had finished with the stitches and was swabbing the area clean as she talked now. “I’ve been trying to find somewhere else for the last month, but every place I look at is either way out of my price range or, well, not someplace I’d want to live if you know what I mean.”

  “You’re kidding,” Allie said, wondering if her luck was finally changing. “I mean, it’s just…you won’t believe this, but I’m actually looking for a roommate. I mean, not that you’d necessarily be interested in my house, but the price is good, I think. And it’s a nice house. There are other roommates though and they aren’t all human…”

  “That doesn’t bother me,” Hannah said slowly. “I don’t have a ton of experience with all the different Fairy beings but I grew up in Ashwood so I’m okay with it. It does seem like a stroke of luck that the subject got brought up…”

  “The elves call it synchronicity,” Allie said, then bit her lip not sure if she should have mentioned elves or not. She suddenly found that she really wanted Hannah to consider moving in, but she wasn’t sure how to convince her. “Anyway. It’s $400 a month and that’s including everything, unless you want some special food or something. You get your own room – it’s small but lots of windows. Shared bathrooms, kitchen, living space. Street parking but we’re kind of isolated – oh don’t worry about that its very safe. I mean Bleidd – you remember him, he was with me the other day – he and I handle all the magical sec
urity stuff and Jason and, umm, my other partner Jess when he’s home handle the physical defense stuff. Jess, er, Jessilaen that is, he’s in the Elven Guard. And we have another roommate, Shawn, he’s an actor at the theater.”

  Hannah was quiet for a moment as she cleaned up. She gave Allie a thoughtful look. “Can I ask you something, no offense intended?”

  “Sure.”

  “It sounds really good. Really, really good. But…again, not trying to be rude…it’s mostly men, which makes me a bit uncomfortable, honestly, and…Bleidd and – Jessilaen was it? – they’re both elves right? And it’s not that it bothers me or anything but I’m really not interested in-“

  “Oh, no,” Allie couldn’t stop herself from interrupting, knowing what Hannah must be thinking, given the reputation elves had for hedonism and lasciviousness, and desperate to persuade her. “No, no, it’s not like that. I mean I can see how it might look – but Shawn has a girlfriend, and Jason has a boyfriend. And Bleidd and Jessilaen, they are elves but they’re both…we’re…the three of us are in a committed relationship. With each other.”

  Hannah was looking amused now and Allie was relieved to realize that the other woman’s emotions had shifted from suspicious to relaxed. “Okay. So what you’re saying is that everyone in the house is already in a relationship and my virtue is safe.”

  Allie blushed hard as it occurred to her, for the first time, what her domestic situation must look like to strangers. “Totally safe. The biggest danger is Jason’s obsession with cooking really good food. Your waistline might need to brace itself.”

  Hannah laughed at that, genuinely amused. “Now that’s one risk I’d like to take. My mother says it’s a miracle I haven’t starved already trying to live on my own cooking.”

  Allie smiled back, then tentatively suggested, “Maybe you could come out and visit? See what you think of the house?”

  “Sure,” Hannah agreed, “That sounds like a good plan. Give me your number and we can work something out for my next day off. I’d would be great to get out of the place I’m at now, if I like everybody and they like me.”

  “Oh I can’t see why they wouldn’t.”

  “Well, that’s settled and your hand’s all set. Keep an eye on it for the next few days anyway and try not to use it too much, but at this rate I’d say it should be completely healed in a few more days.”

  Allie hopped down off the bed and then grabbed the wooden frame for support as a wave of vertigo hit her. Hannah reached out and braced her shoulder, looking concerned. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, just stood up too fast and got dizzy,” Allie said, blinking to try to clear her head.

  “Does that happen often?” the nurse asked, still obviously concerned. “Why don’t you sit back down for a minute?”

  “No, no I’m okay now,” Allie said. “I just haven’t eaten anything today. Or much yesterday. That antibiotic I’m on is making me too nauseous to eat.”

  “You should have said something,” Hannah scolded gently. “Let me see that hand again.”

  She took Allie’s hand and re-examined it, then nodded thoughtfully. “You know I think, given how good this is looking and how high the dose you’ve been on is, and since it’s been 72 hours, I’m going to say you’re safe to stop taking the medication. Just watch this like a hawk for the next couple days and if you see anything, and I mean anything suspicious, or it starts to ache get back in here right away, okay?”

  “Are you sure?” Allie said uncertainly, looking at her hand as if she had any idea what ‘suspicious’ would include.

  “Positive,” Hannah said, patting her shoulder. “If it’s making you that sick and you don’t need to take it then you should stop.”

  “Okay,” Allie smiled with more feeling. “Thanks for everything Hannah.”

  “You’re welcome. And I’ll give you a call in a day or two about the room, okay?”

  “Perfect,” Allie said, meaning it.

  ***********************

  She paced back and forth in her hotel room, feeling restless.

  It had only been a few days of course but she couldn’t see any sign that what she was doing was having any effect. Even the letters she was leaving for him, so that he’d know why he was being tormented, didn’t seem to bother him.

  Well there’s nothing for it she thought grimly. I’ll just have to up the ante. If I re-do the hex and focus it on a physical object it will be stronger. I’ll have to get the object to him somehow, but I’ve gotten the letters to him, so this shouldn’t be too much harder…

  She hesitated though at the thought. It was one thing to drop off a letter, and if she was honest that was scary enough, and something else to drop off a hexed object. She didn’t even want to think about what terrible things he might do if he caught her. Still it was a calculated risk, and she was running out of time. She had to make sure that she succeeded and did it before she had to leave town a week from Sunday. The more she thought about that the more it seemed like no time at all.

  Making up her mind she went to her overnight bag and pulled out what she’d need. She’d had to buy everything here of course, because she couldn’t risk bringing things in and having her car searched at the border, but the town’s occult shop had been surprisingly helpful. She hesitated again trying to decided what to fix the physical hex onto; anything would work but small would be better. Finally she decided to just cut a small business card sized piece of parchment paper and use that.

  Carrying the handful of supplies into the bathroom she quickly set up a ritual circle and got to work. It was easier this time with the first spell still fresh and the energy still swirling around. But this time at the end instead of sending the energy out to settle around the edges of his personal wards where it would affect everyone near him she channeled it all into the slip of paper which she’d already drawn an ill-luck rune on.

  When she was done she carefully put out the candles but left everything set up. She wouldn’t take it all down until she was sure it was entirely out and cooled off. She sat for a moment, contemplating the small hexed bit of paper, and bit her lip. Now that she’d done it she started to worry about keeping something like that around. It was keyed specifically for him of course but still, what if it started to affect her? She had enough bad luck already without accidently giving herself any more.

  Okay the smart thing to do here is to get rid of this thing as fast as possible she thought. I probably can’t get it into his car. And I doubt he cares much about his job so leaving it at that cab company he works at would be a waste. His house though…that might be my best bet. Even if he doesn’t care much about the place or the other people there, issues at home can only be a major problem for him…

  With her mind made up she quickly pulled her sneakers on and grabbed her jacket, stuffing the hexed paper into one pocket. She felt her mood lifting now that she had a definite plan, and the mix of excitement and nervousness buoyed her mood. She all but skipped to her car, relishing the thought of the karmic retribution she was bringing down on someone who had caused so much misery for generations of her family.

  No one else may be willing to get justice, but I am she thought happily as she drove the now familiar route to his home. As she came up to an intersection she saw the bright light from a grocery store sign and her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten after casting her spell. I hear a cola and some chips calling my name she thought turning into the parking lot. That’ll hold me until I get this delivered – then I can get some real food.

  She hopped out of the car and jogged into the small store, still not used to what passed for a grocery around here. Back home it would have been a huge store with dozens of aisles and a huge selection, but this place would have fit in the deli section of her town’s store. And much of it was fresh local produce, dairy, and meat from the town farms; there was very little of the packaged brand name items she was used to.

  She was wandering the isles a bit aimlessly, not sure wh
ere anything was, when she turned a corner and stopped dead.

  He was standing there, in the middle of the aisle. Tall and lean, long black hair in a ponytail, pointed ears flagrantly visible. Black leather jacket over a black t-shirt and jeans. Just standing there, looking at the shelves in front of him. She felt an immediate surge of hatred, followed by an inexplicable desire. She was disgusted with herself for the momentary weakness, but it also gave her an idea. Everyone keeps saying how much elves love sex, how they don’t hardly ever turn anyone down. Not that I would ever, ever let him touch me, not after what he did, but maybe she thought maybe if I can get close enough to him…and this is a public place…as long as I don’t go anywhere with him…as long as I’m careful….It was still dangerous of course, and her mouth went dry thinking about it, but it was also exciting and the adrenaline rush made her feel just a little bit invincible.

  Her heart raced as she stepped boldly towards him. “Excuse me, I’m in town visiting and I don’t really know my way around. I don’t suppose you could tell me where the cola is?”

  He turned towards her, his expression quickly going from aloof to openly appraising - which made her feel both repelled and flattered – and then he settled into a look that was solidly polite but distant. “Soda? There is a small cooler by the check out.”

  “Thanks,” she said, stepping up to him and reaching out to touch his arm. Again she saw his face reflect desire before cooling off. “I don’t suppose you could show me?”