Healing Hearts
2 9
The two of them burst in through the doors of the library. Kora is still holding onto Jordan’s hand as tight as she can. She can’t bring herself to let go of him for some reason, as if he’s her lifeline and keeping her from shattering into a thousand pieces.
The ten-foot walls are lined to the brim with books of all different tones and sizes. Kora adores the library of the Ascendancy; she’s found herself sitting in here on many occasions reading about the survival of Seraphim or how to escape the bites of Shifters. But now’s not the time to think about reading for pleasure.
Dragging Jordan over to the right side of the room, there’s a smaller wooden door amongst the towering shelves. He hadn’t noticed it when Matthew was generous enough to give him an in-depth tour of the Ascendancy one afternoon shortly after his arrival in London. A sign of cursive gold lettering spells out Archives above.
Kora pushes the wooden door open to reveal a smaller room. Wooden worktables are set up in the centre with brass-handled drawers stacked underneath each one. She starts opening drawer after drawer, sifting through the papers shoved inside in no particular order.
Jordan follows suit, looking through every few pages to see if there’s any containing the death notices of Seraphim.
Incomplete missions.
Infirmary admissions of the Night Guard.
Acceptance letters of the Night Guard .
Incompatible Herbs and Spells.
Kora’s eyes skim through each of the titles, shoving them back into their spot before moving onto the next one. There has to be at least forty drawers under each of the three tables situated in the archives room. Each containing different categories.
Jordan opens one, scrolling through until he finds the death notice of Abigail Ainsley. “I found one.” He announces loudly.
Kora slams her drawer shut and rushes over to him.
He shows her the notice. She takes it from his grip and double checks it’s what they’re looking for. “It must be in one of these drawers, then. Colton Hamilton.”
Jordan nods, opening up the next drawer and flicking through the names. Realising they are in alphabetical order; he goes over a few drawers until he finds the surnames starting with H.
He claws through the papers.
Names read at the top of each paper in bold black ink.
Doris Halsbury.
Richard Hamslot.
They appear one after the other.
Jordan doubles back, checking the names for a second time.
And then a third.
“He’s missing.” He breathes out.
Kora looks through the names herself. He hears her choking on an inhale. “No, no, no. That can’t be.” Her voice is barely audible.
“His name isn’t in here.” Jordan reiterates.
She looks at him with fear in her eyes, her skin paler than normal. “This has to be a mistake. He has to be in here. Perhaps he is in a different drawer? Or perhaps infants are listed somewhere else? He has to be in here.” Her voice is adamant.
She starts pulling out every drawer, sifting through every piece of paper. Scratches and cuts slice her fingers, but she ignores the feeling. Her skin heals instantly after each one .
Desperately, she pulls out a bunch of death notices, going through them when Jordan grabs her hands and turns her towards him.
“Stop, Kora. He’s not in here.”
Tears sting her eyes. Knowing that he’s right, she breathes out a wobbly breath.
Colton was never pronounced dead. Her parents had lied to Clarence.
All hope leaves her heart as she releases another exhale. Dropping the papers from her grip, she leans over the table, trying to collect herself. Her throat feels gritty, like sandpaper. Hands clammy and head spinning out of control.
“Calm down, Kora. We’ll speak with my parents tonight about all of this. They’re our best hopes in finding any more information we need.” Jordan tries to settle her down. “If your parents confided in anyone, it would’ve been them,”
Kora continues peering down at her shoes, holding onto the table in front of her to stabilise herself. She won’t let herself crumble just yet. “We will. If what the Infernal said is true, then we don’t have much time. Two adolescents have already been killed. How many more is he planning on killing before he brings his wrath onto Earth?”
Her body starts vibrating with fear. Jordan puts his hands on her waist, giving her extra support as she shivers with distress and trepidation.
“Ha.” Jordan suddenly lets out with realisation, looking around at the mess she has made with the parchment.
Kora finds her breathing again, looking up at him. “What is it?”
Jordan checks the papers one last time.
“It goes from Halsbury to Hamslot.” He states.
She frowns at him, searching his eyes for more words. “And?”
He glances between her and the papers in his hand. “If these are the death notices of Seraphim in London, then your parent’s names should also be in here, right? ”
Kora’s face halts. Heart plummeting deep into the bottom of her stomach as if it’s a rock, threatening to bring up what little food she’s eaten today. Clutching her abdomen, she suddenly can’t suck in any air like it’s too thin and blistering cold. Her body slumps down to the cold floor. She has no idea what to believe anymore. Who to believe. Her world is beginning to crumble.
“Hamilton is not in here at all.”
“That has to be a mistake.”
Jordan crouches beside her, his hand resting on her cheek. “I don’t know what to say, Kora. Either this is a mistake, or someone is trying to cover something up.”
A hoarse sob escapes her throat. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” his voice quiet like hers, “but this doesn’t make any sense.”
Tears blur her vision. Her hands are visibly trembling in her lap. Jordan reaches out to hold them tightly.
“My parents are dead. They have to be. Otherwise, where would they have been for the past fourteen years?” Her mind scrambles to fit the puzzle pieces together.
“We need to get you out of here.”
With a bit more convincing, Jordan helps her up off the cold floor. He tidies up the archive tables while Kora cries to herself beside the door.
Once he’s finished returning everything as best as he could, Jordan leads her out of the library into the hallway of the Ascendancy, which seems eerily quiet.
She stops him before the entrance doors. “I need to see Daisy before we leave.”
* ? * ? *
The group trample down the stairs into the infirmary. Clarence pushes open the door with the tip of his shoe. The Elders are all standing together, clearly discussing something important when they interrupt.
“What the…” Clarence stops himself, looking between Robert, Percy, Thomas and Tobias.
They all stare back at him holding Daisy’s wounded body.
“What happened?” Thomas shouts, rushing up to his daughter.
“We were attacked by Infernals in the park,” Matthew says, holding up Elodi’s limp body.
“Is she?” Percy asks, approaching Matthew and Lewis.
“Unfortunately. There were so many attacking us,” Lewis tells him.
Percy takes Elodi’s body from them with the help of Robert, setting her down onto one of the bare metal tables.
“We need to mend Daisy.” Thomas says to the others, placing her onto one of the white beds and assessing her wound. His fingers are trembling uncontrollably as his daughter watches him.
Robert approaches them. “I’ll tend to this, Thomas. You’re too stressed.”
“You’re right, thank you Robert.” He looks at his daughter. The long, deep gash on her arm is open and bleeding out. “Do you need anything, dear?”
“Something for the pain.” She says through gritted teeth.
“Right.” And Thomas rushes off.
Robert’s eyes settle on her wound. “We’ll need to take a few pints to extract the essence from your bloodstream.”
“How many will you need to fill?” Daisy asks in pain.
“Just settle and relax. It will not take too long,” Robert assures her.
Percy examined Elodi’s body for anything unusual as Tobias stands beside him, feeling queasy.
Thomas returns with a deep blue syrup. “This will help with your pain, dear.” He helps her swallow it by lifting her head. His hand touches her hair as if she were a child again and Daisy soaks up the feeling of being cared for.
Inserting a needle into Daisy’s skin, Robert starts drawing out her blood.
One pint.
Two pints.
Three pints.
Daisy’s head feels light and woozy by the time the third pint is full. Her head falls back heavily into the pillows. Eyes fluttering closed as her body starts to heal itself.
Robert works on mending the large gash in her arm, cleaning the wound and spreading ointment over the injured skin to help quicken the healing process before wrapping it up in a bandage for protection.
They agree to leave Daisy in the infirmary overnight to keep her under observation.
The others leave, having to go home to their own families, but Clarence and Matthew stay behind for a while to keep watch of her.
Matthew is in the armchair while Clarence sits on the edge of the bed. Daisy’s eyes are still closed. Her smaller body still recovering from the poison extraction.
“She will be fine, Clarence.” Matthew reassures him from where he sits.
Clarence holds onto the hand of her unwounded arm. “I know. The infirmary is the best place for her to rest.”
He hears Matthew stand up behind him. The chair creaks slightly from his movement. “I know you love her, Clarence. I know you will do anything to keep her from harm, but you can’t blame yourself for her injury.”
Clarence glances at him from over his shoulder. “If only I killed that Infernal faster, then she wouldn’t be in here.” He mutters.
Matthew breathes out. “It was a tough attack that none of us were prepared for. Just be glad she made it out alive, and it’s Elodi’s body out there and not Daisy’s. ”
The door to the infirmary creaks open and footsteps approach them. A hand pulls the white curtain back and Kora walks in with Jordan behind her like a shadow.
Clarence rushes over, pulling his sister into an embrace. “I was so worried. Where have you been?” he questions them.
He can tell from her eyes that she’s been crying. They’re tear-stained red and blotchy. “Clarence,” Kora’s voice is hushed, “one of the Infernals spoke to me. I don’t know how much of it is the truth, but it told me that their master sent them to retrieve something. It mentioned Colton to me. I think Colton is alive and somehow summoned the Infernals to attack us. I think he’s their master.”
“But our parents said he died…” Clarence trails off in disbelief.
Kora swallows before adding on, “Jordan and I also searched the archives room, and his death notice isn’t in there. And our parents seem to be missing as well.”
Nobody says anything as Kora breathes heavily. Her pulse is rapidly thundering through her hot veins as she stares at her brother’s stunned face.
“Aren’t you going to say something?” Kora asks after a few moments of silence.
He’s sitting on the edge of Daisy’s bed again, his gaze lowered to his fisted hands fiddling in his lap. “They said he died because of his deadly illness. But I’m beginning to think that our parents lied to us.” Clarence scratches the back of his neck nervously. “Will did mention that people up north have been talking about the battle recently. I didn’t want to believe him, but what if it’s true? What if our parents are not really dead?”
Kora feels the gut-wrenching sensation again. “And you didn’t think to tell me that!” Her voice rising at him. “After we promised to never keep anything from each other again!”
“I-”
“I know, Clarence,” Kora shouts, “You think I’m still just a child who can’t handle any of this. And maybe I can’t. Maybe this is too much for me to handle, but I have a right to know! You can’t keep me trapped in this bubble my whole life. That’s our parents you’re talking about!”
“I know!” Clarence jumps to his feet to face her. Jaw tight with anger. “I know, all right. I should have told you, and I shouldn’t be keeping things from you, but dammit, Kora, I promised to keep you safe and that’s what I’m trying my best to do!” His face is just as harsh as hers.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t tell me things about our family! I had to find this out on my own by tearing the archives apart.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t do this here.” Matthew suggests, but his mouth slams closed when both Clarence and Kora shoot him a glare.
She looks back at her brother. The one person she thought she knew the most in the world, but does she still?
Running her fingers down her face, she turns away from him, not wanting to see his hurt expression. “If Colton is planning on becoming a Dark Angel,” Kora continues, her tone dropping into something emotionless as if all of her energy has drained away, “then we need to find him and stop him. We can’t let him attain his power and destroy everything.”
“We’ll find him, Kora.” Her brother assures her.
Reaching out and touching her arm, she moves away from him to sidle beside Jordan.
She doesn’t miss the flash of hurt and betrayal flourishing on Clarence’s face.
“I’m going to speak with Jordan’s parents tonight. They might know something we don’t. It’s worth a try.” She offers.
“I’ll come with you.”
Kora shakes her head at him. “No. You should stay with Daisy. She’ll need you here when she wakes up.”
“I don’t want you to do all of this alone, Kora.”
Her blurry eyes are hooded when their gazes meet again. “I am doing this alone. He’s my twin. If anyone can reach him, it’ll be me. ”
Clarence sighs heavily, scratching his light brown hair. “This isn’t your fault, Kora, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I know it is not my fault. I had no say about this. If anyone does, it’s our parents, who may or may not be dead,” she exhales deeply. “I am just trying to figure this out before it’s one of our bodies lying out there carved!” Kora’s voice rising.
Jordan makes a sound to remind her to keep her voice down.
“All right. I’ll stay here overnight. But I am not letting you stay in the manor on your own after you speak with them.”
“She can stay with us,” Jordan interrupts beside her. “We have a spare quarter set up, and my parents won’t mind. In fact, I think my father will personally kill me himself if I send her home alone.”
Clarence nods after some thought. “Stay with the Carter’s tonight then, so that I know you’re safe.”
He moves closer to her. Expecting Kora to flinch away again, she allows him to embrace her. Her own arms snake around him, and he gives her a light kiss on the top of her hair.
“She’s going to be fine.” Kora mumbles, looking at Daisy’s unconscious body.
Clarence nods, not taking his eyes off of Daisy sleeping. “She just needs to rest.” Pulling himself away from his sister to touch Daisy’s bandaged arm. “Can you believe it took three whole pints of blood before Robert let her sleep?”
Jordan’s whole body stiffens beside Kora, and she notices.
“Three pints. That’s way too many. She’ll be out all night.” Kora says in disbelief.
“Exactly. I don’t know why he should need so many. I think one is more than enough to extract poison from a single cut.”
“He’s collecting them from the infirmary.” Jordan mutters under his breath.
Kora looks sideways at him. “Sorry, what did you say? ”
He looks down at her, his blue eyes enlarged with realisation. He looks up at Matthew, who is cautiously watching him. “Nothing. I just realised something. It’s nothing for you to worry about, though.”
Her hazel eyes narrow slightly at his, as if she doesn’t entirely believe him, but she drops the topic. “All right.”
“We should leave. We don’t want to be late for dinner.”