Buried Secret 295

5. 295

Chapter five

Beeping. Why is there beeping? Why is it this annoying? I clench my teeth, wanting to scream to turn it the fuck off. I roll onto my side and curl into the soft pillow, which causes me to frown. It’s too soft. How am I supposed to sleep on this? I suck in a breath as the memory of armed guards coming to close the facility down hits me, causing me to sit up on the bed. Panicked breath leaves me as I take in my surroundings.

Blue flowers are painted on the white walls, with square white tiles lining the floors. I am lying in a bed where someone had tucked me in with starchy white sheets and a coarse white blanket. The smell of bleach lingers in the room, causing my nose to twitch. My eyes flicker down to the IV in the crook of my arm, and I immediately grip and rip it out, ignoring the blood and saline that start to drip onto the bed. Next, I pull the wires at my chest, pulling the sticky pads off and tossing them to the side.

My wrists catch my eye, and I almost choke on the air as I take them in. The white scars that line around where my cuffs were are hard to ignore. I know it’s from when the metal dug into my skin as I tried pulling them off. It all comes back to me, Dr. Vic’s lab and all of it is at the front of my mind. Panic grips me once again, and this time, I don’t think it will let me go as the fluorescent lights flicker. The sound and light are popping and bouncing off the glass like static. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end as I feel like I am in a horror movie. I grip my blanket as if that is going to protect me. All I can do is watch helplessly as the shadows leak from the ceiling.

My eyes widen as I take them in, as they slowly descend toward me. They are back, and this time I can run. I throw off the blankets, preparing to run. I push myself over the arm rails, trying to get out of bed as quickly as possible. The damn blanket causes me to trip, my head flying towards the tiled floors. My hands fly to my face to protect it, as I know this will hurt. My eyes close, preparing to fall head-first onto the hard tiles. When I don’t feel pain, I open my eyes. My shadows have wrapped around me and gently sat me on the floor. They don’t attack me; if anything, they seem to soothe my anxiety.

They wrap themselves around me like a second skin. The shadows surround me; all I can feel is love and happiness coming from them. What is happening? The last time I saw them, my world imploded. Every part of me screams that these are dangerous. Evil. They are why I was taken away to that place. They are what made me a dirty secret, that’s clear from my memory. The proof that I wasn’t Marcus’s daughter. Yet, their presence slowly calms me as they embrace me. Instead of feeling terror, I feel secure. It feels like nothing can touch me while I am wrapped inside them.

When the door opens, I jump back. I scramble backward, trying to hide even a little. My hands pull me across the square tiles to use the bed to shield me from sight, no matter how slightly. I am terrified of whoever is going to come through that door. While I hope it is better than where I just left, life hasn’t proven trustworthy. Looks are often deceiving. The nurse walks around the room. I watch her movements and wait for her to spot me hiding beside the bed. She walks into the bathroom and flicks on the light, causing light to stream into the dark room. The light almost causes me to hiss at the brightness. Her movements quicken when she exits. She looks at the bed with panic on her face. “Where did she go?” She walks around the room, turning on all the lights. Her movements become nervous as she opens and scrambles through cabinets and drawers, flinging them open while pulling everything out. I can feel her nervous energy as it rushes to me. While it makes me nervous, it gives me a slight head rush of energy throughout my body. Am I feeling her feelings? Yes. My shadows seem to whisper to me.

Can she not see me? No. We have shielded you. Relief hits me, my eyes close, and I feel like I can breathe. I am invisible, or at least hidden, well enough not to be seen by the average person. I want to see what they want with me before I reveal myself.

The nurse tosses everything from every nook and cranny, throwing its contents onto the floor. She places her hands on her head, her fingers gripping her blonde hair, and looks around again. ‘ The freak is gone .’ Her voice enters my head, but her lips don’t move. She turns before running out the door, yelling, “We have a code yellow!”

A sigh escapes my lips, but part of me wonders what to do next. I can’t hide here forever, even if every part of me wants to. Maybe I should find a weapon? At least this way, maybe I can figure out what they want to do with me. I move slightly, but the door opens before I can move, so I tuck up against the bed. The nurse has two other people following closely behind her. The first person is a lady wearing a beige suit with a shirt that falls below her knees. Her mousy brown hair is in finger waves, and she looks like the type that carries wet wipes everywhere.

Along with a tall man next to her, standing well over 6’ in height. He stands with his back straight, almost like he used to be in the military. His bright turquoise eyes scan around the room. My heart skips a beat when I swear he looks straight at me. His dark reddish-brown hair is shaggy and slightly messy at the top, making you want to run your fingers through it. He seems professional yet a little edgy, wearing an all-black suit. I swear his head tilts to the side, and his eyebrow cocks as he seems to watch me.

The beige woman speaks as she places her hands on her hips dramatically. “How could you have lost her? Are the windows damaged? Did she jump out?” Her heels click against the hard floors. ‘ All my credentials and I am stuck doing the shitty jobs nobody wants. This is a waste of time. The lot of freaks will probably have to be put down.’ Her voice enters my head, she turns, and I see a small smile light her lips. ‘I wonder how they will put them down? The ones nobody wants to claim.’

“Will you shut up!” I scream at her as my hands grip the side of my head. What is happening to me? Tears gather in my eyes as the panic grips me once more. “Get out of my head!” My shadows try harder to wrap themselves around me. Their presence is soothing to me, but the terror that grips me is hard to ignore despite their best efforts.

The man tilts his head at me once more. “Ladies, can I have the room?” He asks them.

“We still have to search the room! Who knows how far she has gone? We don’t even know what exactly she is!” The nurse is panicking. My body seems to glow slightly, a smoky hue bursting out of me. The smoke seems to pull at the nurse, pulling at the surrounding air around her before latching onto her. Her body slightly sways, but when my smoke latches on, she straightens as if it’s holding her up, pulling as it seems to wrap around her. As my eyes close, a head rush surrounds me, unlike anything I have ever felt.

The man eyes the nurse, who has grown pale. Her eyes close, and her body goes lax, yet I still hold on to her. “Out! The both of you.” He yells at the two. He steps in front of her, which causes my concentration to break, and I growl, angry that whatever is happening has stopped. The man slams the door closed before raising his pointer finger and waving it. “I know you’re still here, and I can only imagine how overwhelming this is for you. Hiding will change nothing!” He makes that statement like he is scolding a small child with his hands on his hips. “Come out to talk to me. I can’t help you if you don’t come out.”

What do you want us to do? My shadows whisper to me. I have to come out at some point. The lights flicker, a bulb bursting from its confines. That doesn’t mean we can’t scare him along the way. They flicker off from me, going to him, and he hisses as they slide by him before they disappear back inside of me. “Fuck.” He swears when he looks at me and slightly shivers as he glares somewhat.

Not exactly the best way to get on someone’s good side, but I am glad he knows not to fuck with me. With the shadows, I don’t feel so alone. Yet that leaves me feeling confused and shaky, considering they seem to be what my father hated most about me. They were the final nail in the coffin of our relationship. I shake my head and must stop thinking of him as my father. It was another reason he could use to hurt me. They gave him the excuse that he needed to put an end to them and me. It was the first time he physically hurt me because, of course, it was okay when it was only my feelings. Emotion scars are something that nobody saw. As I think about my shadows, they purr under my skin. It feels as if a part of me snaps back into place. A piece that I didn’t know was missing. I feel whole with them; they preen with joy at my thoughts. I return his glare and try to act like I am braver than what I am feeling. “Why are you here?”

The man tilts his head to the side once again. “Salem, right?”

My eyes close when I hear the name. It feels right, yet foreign to me. The name causes anxiety to take root. It’s the name for which I have been repeatedly punished. “I’m not supposed to use that name.” The words come out before I can control them, and I wince away as if he is about to strike me. I force my eyes shut as we wait for the pain. The longer it takes has my body tensing as it feels as if pain should be inflicted about now.

He kneels and reaches to touch me. My body jerks away, not wanting his hands on me. His eyes go wide, and he holds his hands up in surrender. I’ve had little to no contact and wasn’t about to accept it from him. “Nobody is going to hurt you.”

That comment raises my hackles, and anger flares up in my chest. “Don’t you dare tell me nobody will hurt me! I don’t know you or what you’re capable of. That’s a promise you can’t keep, even if you mean it.”

“I am here to help you. The two ladies—”

“Don’t you dare say they are on my side! That they are going to help me!” I tap the side of my head, and tears fill my eyes. I hate the fact that I am crying, but I can’t control the overwhelming emotions I am feeling. Every emotion feels immense and all-consuming. “The beige lady wants us all put down like we are nothing! She wants to see it, or at least looks forward to seeing it. That’s someone who isn’t on my side. Not to mention, the nurse doesn’t want to be in the same room as I am. I’m just a freak that she is stuck taking care of.”

He clears his throat and stands up, grabs a wooden chair, and sits in it. He leans back into the chair and steeples his fingers. “I honestly don’t know what their agenda is—met them a few hours ago when I showed up here. My agenda is the only one I know. The nurse works here for this hospital. The beige suit lady works for the ministry, leading the case for them.”

I tilt my head and narrow my eyes on him. “What does that make you?”

His lip tilts into a small smile before disappearing as quickly as it came. “I am a professor and on the board of directors at Black Rose Academy. A few hours ago, something happened. I think it happened when your magic reawakened.” He pauses and tilts his head. “That’s what they do, right? Trap your magic? In other cases, I’ve read about what happens in these types of prisons, at least that’s what I’ve read happens.”

I shoot him a confused look. “Why the hell does this matter? Do you want to study me or something? Because I’m not interested.”

Once more, he holds up his hands in surrender. “You’re right, this doesn’t matter. No, I do not want to study you. I apologize. Sometimes, my curiosity gets the better of me, but I suppose that part doesn’t matter. As I was saying, I thought it was a myth. The Academy had magic that would awaken when a student’s magic was found, and it wanted them within its walls. That your magic and the Academies would somehow reach out to and merge or somehow work together.” I shoot him a look that has him clearing his throat. “Sorry. Anyway, your name and where to find you appeared on the database. It’s something I’ve never experienced before. I did some digging into you and needed to see for myself. Little did I know I was about to discover that you were living in the anti-fae prisons.”

My head shakes no, and my lip purses into a straight line. “So, you are here to tell me I should attend Black Rose Academy?” I roll my eyes and blow out a breath. “Well, I hate to be a giant waste of your time. I didn’t even complete middle school. My education comes from an insane man who spent his time torturing and experimenting on me. Apparently, my brainwaves respond better when stimulated. I seriously doubt that I will be welcome with open arms.”

He scoots his chair slightly forward. “I don’t think you know how extraordinary you are or this whole situation is. This isn’t something to take lightly. We can arrange for a tutor to help you.” His turquoise eyes are bright with excitement. “There is time before the new year starts. We have a few weeks to get you ready. I spoke to your parents on the way here. I informed them of our meeting, and they’re very excited about having you back home.”

“Don’t you dare! How could you do that?” My body shakes with rage, the overwhelming feeling taking over. Bulbs begin bursting around the room, glass shattering and falling from the air in slow motion like sand. The room’s temperature drops, and as the man exhales, you can see his breath. “I have no family. You need to leave, call him, and tell him that. My only family is probably here or elsewhere, waiting to be shipped to who knows where! Get out!” I point towards the door. He isn’t on my side.

His face hardens, yet he doesn’t seem bothered by the cold. He proceeds, all while acting like this is an entirely normal change in the weather. “Listen, I have no loyalty to Marcus Tempest. As I previously stated, I work for Black Rose Academy. I don’t work for Marcus Tempest, and I don’t give a shit what kind of weird daddy issues you got going–”

I release my shadows, which spring into action as they wrap around his throat, squeezing his neck like a snake. His eyes bulge slightly while his face turns red. “Marcus Tempest is not my father. That man is the reason I was in that hellhole. I would rather die before I take his help. See yourself out and tell him that.” I barely recognize my voice. It sounds deadly and vicious. My shadows squeeze tightly once more in warning before abruptly releasing him.

He coughs and sputters before glaring at me. “Put your magic away!” Light bursts from his hands and my shadows hiss as they retreat inside me. “Psycho. I’m here to help you!” He motions to the door with his hand. “I don’t see anyone else lining up to help. Unless you want to take your chances on them? I can bring them back in, and then you can weigh your options.”

I cross my arms and roll my eyes. What a baby. It was only a little choke. I bet he didn’t even see the black dots clouding his vision. “I can’t go back to live with Marcus. So, whoever has a better idea than that gets my vote.”

“The man can’t do anything to you. Black Rose now knows about you. It will be on record as well. What are you so afraid of?” He inquires as he smooths his suit.

My teeth grit while my nostrils flare. “I am not afraid. He can pay people, his pockets are heavy, and he has a lot of power.” He looks ready to argue with me, so I continue. “Marcus can always arrange an accident to find me. He probably arranged my disappearance as well. He will probably spin it to look like he is the victim, getting sympathy from the masses.”

The man’s eyes soften on me before he clears his throat and shakes his head. “If what you are saying is true…” His voice sounds exhausted as he pinches his lips together. “… we will find you a sponsor.” His lips pinch into a hard line, and his eyes slightly narrow. “After getting to see your magic firsthand. I have a good idea of who your sire is. Or, at least, a good idea of who he could be.” He chuckles darkly. His head snaps back, and he groans as he looks up at the ceiling. “Fuck, my life just got complicated.” The man groans out like I signed him up for his death.

My heart beats at that news, but I don’t voice it out loud. “Why would you do that for me?” It’s a fair question, but I almost constricted his airway with my shadows. It might have been a little choke, but it doesn’t seem like a good way to make friends. Not everyone is like 203, who would probably laugh and tell me I didn’t squeeze hard enough.

“Because I believe in this Academy. It wants you there. You do not know how special that is.” He groans out before his turquoise eyes narrow on mine. “If what you are saying is true, then I have a lot of work to do tonight.” He lets out a sigh, reaches up, and loosens his tie as if it is what is choking him. “I will make some calls and hopefully get some answers by tomorrow’s visiting hours.”

My gaze goes to the door before returning to him. I’ve already gone this far; I might as well ask a little more of the man. “Can you find out anything about 203?”

He grimaces before tilting his head. His eyes soften on me slightly. “I can’t. Not because I didn’t want to, but because they only had a handful of paper files. Your file notes for the day were there, but everything else has been scrambled. Everyone who lived there is at various hospitals trying to get identified. You are one of the lucky ones. You can add a request with the Ministry.”

“Lucky?” I raise my eyebrows, feeling the anger slightly. Even if I understand what he is talking about, it doesn’t make me like it. “Is that who the beige lady works for?”

“The Ministry of Magic Protection Service,” He points at me as he stands up. “It’s important to address it properly. Trust me, she will care. Might want to sit up there like a good little patient while I go and get them.” As he walks to the door, I do just that.

I tuck myself into bed and try to focus on trying to be a model patient. Fuck, beige works with or for Marcus now. I wonder how close he is to running it as head chair. She comes in with her face pinched together. ‘ Low power doesn’t mean I should have to be an administrator. This time, I mean it. I am putting my two weeks’ notice in.’

“You aren’t going to do it.” I scoff at her. My eyes narrow on her before continuing. “Plus, then you won’t get to see what happens to the ones that get disposed of.” I roll my eyes at the woman who looks like her dark lip shade is the only daring thing she has ever accomplished. Her eyes widen, and she looks nervous. She bites her lower lip, taking some of the dark color away by doing so. I know I should play nice, but I don’t want to.

“Excuse me?” She looks at me like I grew a second head as her face pales. The Black Rose man comes back inside and raises his eyebrow, looking from me to her.

“You won’t put your two weeks in. So, let’s get this over with. You can complete your report, and we can move on with our lives.” Her face loses its color. “I don’t like it any more than you do. You were a little more bloodthirsty when you first came in. Own it.” I shrug my shoulders and narrow my eyes on her.

“Perhaps we should stay on point.” The Black Rose man looks unimpressed. I shoot him an innocent look before shrugging my shoulders.

“Indeed. I don’t like the accusation.” She shakes her head and clears her throat. The woman’s voice pulls me from his gaze.

The man snorts and stifles a laugh before shaking his head. “She has a certain charm about her, that’s for sure.”

“Name, please.” She pulls out her clipboard and looks through some pages as if to familiarize herself with them. The woman has my information on those documents. She wants to hear me say the words. Her eyes narrow on me, and she taps her pen against the clipboard.

My lips thin while my brain tries to think of the name I’m not allowed to speak of—the name I haven’t spoken in so long that it feels like cobwebs in the corners of my brain. There is pressure, and I could pull it if I tried. The only name I am supposed to use slips through my lips. “295.”

She clicks her pen, and her lips form into a thin line while her eyes narrow at me. “There are other places I need to be after this. I don’t need you wasting my and other important people’s time by waiting for an answer I need from you. This whole…” She waves her hand over me before flickering her hand away. “…victim thing you got going. While it might work for most, I need you to help me out here.”

Thoughts of me throwing her out the window cross my mind, and I can feel my shadows flickering right below the surface. They are ready for the word and would happily help me. I know the Black Rose man said the name earlier, yet it still feels stuck under layers of cotton in my mind. I continue to push through the layers of my mind, trying to get my mouth and brain to get on the same team. “Salem.” My voice is low, and the word comes out choppy, yet pride fills my chest.

“Yes, Salem Tempest, according to records from the facility. Do you recall how you got to the facility? Were you taken when you ran away?” She jots notes down before looking back up at me. “How long did you live on the streets?”

My head shakes. Is that the lie he told in order to explain my disappearance? My heart sinks as I realize how few people that might miss me. How easy it was for him to explain away my disappearance. My heart sinks, yet I feel a small spark of fire run through my head. Ember… There is a memory there, but it sinks away. I can’t focus on that, so I put a pin in it. “No. That’s what happened. I didn’t run away. He dropped me off, disposed of me like I was trash.” I feel my anger grow, and the lights flicker—the cheap fluorescent light flickers and clicks, trapped in their glass casings.

“That’s a serious accusation. Are you accusing Marcus Tempest of giving you to the Facility? Are you aware that a human faction of the extremist runs it? No supernatural would associate with the likes of them.” She scoffs like she doesn’t believe it. ‘ Clearly, she is a mental case, just like he warned about.’ Her voice flickers in my brain even though her lips don’t move. I can feel it, along with her hatred and disgust of me.

My shadows don’t wait for permission as they move out of me. The room goes dark, and the cold creeps back in. Her eyes change from confident to fearful. She realizes she is no longer in control. We are the ones in charge, my shadow and I. I feel my shadows laugh hauntingly as they latch onto her fear. Her eyes dart around the room, and her mouth opens into a scream, yet no sound leaves. I can’t describe how powerful I feel; it seems to fuel me. Every ounce of fear she feels has my smile extending. Every inch tastes delicious. She folds into herself, curling her body into a small ball, rocking back and forth. I can’t find it in myself to feel bad as I think about her disgust for those rescued. She needs to learn a lesson.

Black Rose steps in front of her, blocking my concentration. “Lydia!” He yells, distracting me further. “Wait outside the room, please.” She doesn’t answer, she only squeaks. “Now!” He snaps. The click-clack of her heels darts out of the room.

I feel my eyes go dark as my voice deepens, and I smile a toothy grin at him. “I was only playing.” My shadows laugh through my mouth before absorbing back inside. The shadows and I are going to be friends.

“Not funny.” He rolls his eyes at me, and he cracks a small smile.

I give him a flat look and roll my eyes. “It was a little funny.” I hold my thumb and forefinger outstretched.

“Name is Simon Garnet.” His jaw ticks before he shakes his head, snaps his fingers, and points at me with his right hand. Simon waggles his finger at me like you would a naughty child. “You seriously have got to get control of that. I need time, and breaking you out isn’t on my to-do list.” He paces around the room, pausing momentarily as he seems to think. “Seriously! 12 hours. Focus on being not you for 12 hours! Legally, they can hold you for at least that length of time. Partly because your blood work has come back strangely.” I let out a small laugh at that. He pauses and looks at me strangely. “Before I go, tell me what happened. With Marcus?”

He sits on the bed, and I can hear his heartbeat even though he is at the foot of the bed. I lick my lips, unable to stop from inhaling. “What do you think happened?” I growl, needing him to get away from me. This is the closest he has been to me, and I want to eat him. “You need to get away from me.”

He frowns at me before shaking his head. “Seriously? This is such a shitty hospital!” He throws his head back. “You need to feed.” He groans and looks at me like I am the bane of his existence. Simon stands, pulling off his suit coat before rolling his sleeve and thrusting his wrist at me.

My mouth waters, but I still shake my head. I deny what I want because I don’t trust myself, and I’ve always been kept on a tight leash. “I don’t know what I am doing.” My gums ache, and I feel my teeth sharpen, yet I don’t draw attention to them. I want to curl my lips around them. Their presence is an odd feeling in my mouth.

He closes his eyes, and I can feel his irritation from there. “Just bite down and, when you finish, seal the wound with your tongue. I will tell you when to stop.”

I run my tongue over my teeth and feel them all come into little points. It is like vampire teeth, but not since they seem to be little razor points on each of my teeth. My hand grabs him by the elbow, and I run my hand down to his wrist before bringing it to my mouth. I bite down on his wrist and hear him suck in a breath of air. My eyes close, and they roll back in my head at the rich flavor of his blood when it hits my tongue. Has anything ever tasted this delicious? I swallow the blood down my throat and continue to drink. He praises me and strokes the back of my head while doing so. “Good girl.” Oh, I like that. With encouragement, I continue to drink, never wanting to stop. “Salem, it’s time to stop.” I let out a slight growl in protest. He is calm, and his words soothe me. “We will let you feed again. You need to lick the wound closed.”

I pull his wrist back and lick the two sets of crescent-shaped teeth marks. His skin around them starts to close and knit back together. I give it one last lick to wipe any remaining blood away. When I pull back and look at him, I know I should feel some embarrassment, but I feel stronger—calmer. I clear my throat, “thank you.” We both stare at each other for a moment. The surrounding air seems heavy, but I owe him an explanation. “My shadows happened. He told her I couldn’t be his child, that he would not have a bastard child living under his roof.”

“Yeah, your magic isn’t that of Marcus. Your shadows didn’t come from him.” The man squeezes my hand, and I slightly like it, but it feels foreign. His eyes widen as he pulls his hand back, as if he didn’t mean for that to happen.

“What happens next?” I let my thoughts wander out loud. The unknown feels terrifying. This isn’t how I saw my freedom going. Yet here I am, looking at someone willing to help me, and all I can wonder about is what’s in it for him. I have little choice but to hope somehow he comes through for me.

“Sleep for 12 hours. Watch a TV show. Don’t engage, taunt, or use powers. Nothing.” He nods his head like he just handed me solid advice. “I will be back as soon as I can,” Simon stands and mutters under his breath. He grabs his coat, folds it over his forearm, and opens the door. “Probably sooner. Fuck.”