Darkest Day (15 page)

I reached out and slid my hand against his palm. “We both thought Zoe was out with friends.”
And if some evil creature has her again, so help me, I will kill it in my human form and then go after the Council for letting them take her.

“And your name and relationship to Miss Thomas?” the detective asked, little notebook in hand.

“Mackenzie Thorne. Zoe is my …”
sister.
“… friend.” It almost hurt not to acknowledge her as my sister, but I figured that would cause more confusion than necessary, and I needed to get away. To call in Suze and find out exactly what the Council had done. They’d done something. I knew it.

Winn’s hand clenched mine.

“Clara, you say?” Simms scribbled in his book again. At the rate he moved, I could have turned into a snail and scouted out all Zoe’s normal hangouts myself. The need to roll my eyes took hold.

I let Winn’s hand go. “I need to … pee.” Walking from the room toward the bathroom downstairs, I hoped that, when I called Suze, his appearance wouldn’t rock the house. Then again, the Council deserved to deal with a little damage control for involving Zoe. Again.

14

Winn

According to Mac, Suze knew nothing about Zoe’s disappearance, not that that meant much when it came to the Council and their underhanded ways. He went in search of Magwa to have the wizard perform a locater spell and promised he’d return with answers in no more than thirty minutes.

While the detectives left to do whatever they had to do, Dad, Mac and I grabbed our phones and started dialing every number we could find. Well, Dad and I did. Mac started contacting Council members directly, fury and downright anger in every pacing step she took. I had to agree with her belief that the Council had gotten involved, though Dad not knowing bugged me.

With ten o’clock passing by, we hadn’t found anyone—human, or not—who had any idea about Zoe.

“Maybe we can run by Clara’s house?” I asked Mac; she sat across from me in the living room, tapping her foot over and over on the floor. If she kept it up, she’d dig right through the wood and concrete below her.

“I thought you called her already.”

“I did, but no answer. I just think, maybe …
going
there would be a good next step.”

Mac stood. “Let’s go. Suze can find us there when he gets the answers from Magwa.”

A flash of light accompanied the shaking of the entire house, and Suze—dressed in regular people clothes of jeans, T-shirt and running shoes for the first time ever—appeared in front of us.

“What did you find out?” I asked.

Big blue eyes faced me as his bottom lip quivered.

Mac brushed my shoulder a second later. “You found her, didn’t you?”

His massive head nodded.

“Dammit all to hell on the Council!” Mac yelled, her fists shaking.

“Where is she?” Bernie asked from behind us.

Suze’s lips fell into a super-deep frown as a tear trailed its way down his cheek. “She’s at the hospital.”

Mac and I whirled. “What?” we both asked, with me adding, “Why did the Council send her to the hospital?”

“Not the Council,” Suze said. “Children’s Hospital.”

The wreck. Had Zoe been in it? If so, why? Suze had taken her home. Why would she have gone back out? And without telling me.

Dad beat us to our cars, but Mac blocked him in, and Suze blocked me in, so we jumped into Suze’s Hummer.

Children’s Hospital would take over thirty minutes to reach.

Suze blasted the car backward, spun around and took us out onto the road.

No one said a word.

Silence stretched onward, my hand clutched in Mac’s.

After at least fifteen minutes, I said, “If she’s like your mom, Mac, does that mean she’s immortal? I mean, she’ll heal from whatever’s going on, right?”

Suze’s eyes met my gaze through the rear-view mirror.

From his sad expression, I presumed not.

My dad’s head dipped down. “We don’t know anything, yet, so no assumptions, okay?”

I nudged Mac with my elbow, still wanting the answer.

She shook her head. “She’s half human, so she’s not immortal.”

Mac

I hate hospitals.

When Winn had been in one, I’d tolerated it because I knew in my heart, he’d be okay. I’d pushed him through the in-between and back home with the full knowledge that he’d die, but Mom had assured me, before I did it, that he would survive. Winn’s grip on me, which grew increasingly painful, helped and didn’t at the same time. We filed out of the car and raced inside, Suze moving on toward the parking lot.

Bernie raced to the front desk, and said, “Zoe Thomas. I understand she’s here?”

The woman, with her serious eyes, leaned toward a computer and typed on keys. “I don’t have anyone by that name.”

Bernie pounded his fist on the top of the counter. “She may have been one of the kids in that wreck in Rune. Fourteen years old—”

“Jane Doe,” the lady said.

“What?” Winn and I asked.

The woman picked up a phone, holding her finger up to us. When she finished, she said, “Someone will take you up to floor three in just a minute. If you’ll wait just over there—” She pointed to the chairs. “—we’ll call you as soon as they’re ready for you.”

Bernie, Winn and I slow-walked to the chairs, dropping to them with zero enthusiasm. Suze appeared beside us as if he’d zapped himself in, but he hadn’t made a sound in the process. “They confirm she’s here?” he asked.

“Jane Doe,” Bernie said, his elbows on knees, head in his hands. “I don’t know.”

“Who’s Jane Doe?” Suze asked.

Winn chuckled—a strained, pained sound. “It’s a name they give someone when they don’t know who they are.”

“Oh,” Suze said

“You took her home, didn’t you, Suze? Last night? From the doughnut place?” Winn asked.

He nodded. “I sure did. Dropped her off at—Oh! No.” He shook his head. “They wanted to go to Clara’s house. Something about a new car or something. Zoe said it was okay because she’d get home before you did.”

At least she’s not the dead one.
I palmed my forehead realizing just how crass I sounded even to me.

“What?” Winn asked.

“Just having thoughts I shouldn’t have.”

“Mr. Thomas?” a soft voice said. We all lifted our heads to a woman in a white lab coat, her hair pulled back at her nape, hands clasped in front. “I’m Dr. George. I’m a Resident working with Dr. Roberts.”

“Yes?” Bernie faced her.

“If you’ll come with me, we’d like to chat before we take you in.” She motioned for him to join her.

Winn and I rose, too.

“Just family at this point.”

“We are her family,” Bernie said. “All of us.”

Her head cocked a little before she said, “Okay. Follow me.”

We traipsed through the waiting room and through a set of double doors that opened with the press of a silver button. Colorful posters lined the way on cream walls until the doctor turned into a small space with a couch, a couple of chairs and a table, and the color disappeared. ‘Conference/Consultation’ it said on the door.

Winn, Bernie and I sat on the couch, Suze took one chair, and Dr. George stood. “You’re here about Zoe Thomas, correct?” she asked.

“Yes,” Bernie said. “I’d like to see my daughter.”

Dr. George held out a hand. “You’ll be able to soon. We just need to confirm her identity before taking you back. Can you give me a description of your daughter?” Bernie went on to provide the same picture I’d had of Zoe. “Excellent,” the doctor said. “Anything else you can tell me? Clothes she wore? Birthmarks?”

“She was wearing a bright pink T-shirt with the word “Smooch” on it,” Suze said.

“That’s right,” Winn said. “And—and she has a little freckle just at the side of her nose, here.” He pointed to just under his left eye.

“And another on her rump.” Bernie chuckled even as he hiccupped a sigh.

“And she was wearing a ring … her mother gave her … on her right ring finger,” I said. My mom had given me the ring in the in-between and had shown me the exact likeness on her hand. She’d said our father had given them to her, for me and for Zoe when we grew big enough to wear them.

The doctor nodded. “Can you describe the ring?”

“Yeah. Um … silver with an etching on the top. Kinda Celtic.” I hadn’t put much thought into it except to give it to Zoe and watch her bounce with excitement over the gift. I’d put mine in my jewelry box—all by itself.

“I think that’s adequate,” the doctor said. “It’s good to put a name to her. I much prefer treating patients when I know who they are.” Dr. George turned to Bernie again. “We have two young ladies here. They were airlifted here, but neither had identification and neither was accompanied by a parent. We didn’t realize there were other passengers in the accident until just recently.”

The wreck.

On a sigh, Dr. George sat in the other chair. “Our apologies that it took so long to put everyone together, but our team focused on Zoe’s health, and we left finding the parents to authorities.”

“Is she … okay?” Bernie asked.

The doctor took a deep breath. “Zoe has experienced significant head trauma as a result of direct contact with the passenger side window of the car in which she traveled. She was unresponsive at the scene, and while we’ve been able to stabilize her, she’s currently completely dependent upon us for her survival.”

“What does that mean?” I asked as Winn clutched my hand so hard I thought my bones might break.

Dr. George faced me. “Her heart, her lungs, her ability to breathe—none of what you and I do involuntarily, can she do.”

“Why not?” Winn asked.

“We see little to no brain activity.”

“But … will she … be …
okay
?” Suze’s voice quivered.

Dr. George didn’t say anything for a minute. “The next twenty-four hours are critical as have been the previous twelve.”

“Has she shown any improvement?” Bernie asked.

“Not as of yet, but now that family has arrived, and you can see her, perhaps that will have an impact. One never knows what the unconscious mind will respond to.”

“I’d like to see my daughter, now,” Bernie said, emotion breaking his words.

“I’ll take you back one at a time. I just want you to be aware that what you’ll see may come as a shock, and while we try to prepare families, it’s often very difficult to do so. She’s connected to multiple machines and—”

“We can handle it,” Bernie said.

“All right, then, come with me.”

• • •

S
uze, Winn and I sat in the waiting room as Bernie went through another set of double doors. Outside of the three of us, the room remained empty.

After five minutes of dead silence, a cleaning crew trudged through with their big rolling cart. They swept as they walked past, the soft swishing sound drowning out the oppressive silence.

I twiddled my thumbs. Winn stared straight ahead. Suze shifted repeatedly in his seat.

From around a corner, an older lady, cane and all, shuffled forward, one foot at a time. She continued on toward us until she reached the chairs and lowered herself into one right next to Suze.

There are a hundred places in here and she picks the one next to a seven foot demon?

The lady clutched the arm of the chair and repositioned her cane. “My name is Mary.”

All three of us faced her. I didn’t want to talk to her. Suze narrowed his eyes, twisting closer to her. He spun back to me, pointed, turned his finger to Mary and back to me.

“I’m Winn.”

“Mac.”

“Suze.”

“You have family here?” One crooked finger pointed toward the doors Bernie had disappeared through.

“My sister,” Winn and I said at the same time.

The woman’s eyebrows moved up a little. “You must care deeply to stay so late.”

The doors opened, and Bernie walked through, his cheeks stained with the trails of tears. He waved at us and turned away, heading down the corridor from where Mary had come.

“Can I go next?” Suze asked. “I’ll be quick.”

Winn and I both nodded.

Suze bolted for the nurse at the doors.

As soon as he disappeared, the doors opened back up and a woman exited with a man, her face red and tear-covered. Winn nudged me with an elbow to the ribs. “That’s Clara’s Mom.”

“Clara. Was Clara in the car?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said.

I dropped my head into my hands as helpless as I’d been with Winn in the hospital. Non-humans found their cures from wizards, fairies or the medical personnel of their own kind. I hadn’t ever given a thought to halflings. Too close to human, it made sense that they’d need normal, mortal human care. I turned to Winn, and in my softest voice with the intention to barely move my lips, I said, “Maybe we should get Magwa, or someone with magical powers, to come and heal Zoe.”

“It’ll be all right, dear,” the little old lady said.

I popped up and turned to her. Why would she say that? What did she know? How would she know? How had she heard me?

“Life brings us challenges for a reason.”

“You’re not kidding,” I said.

Little old Mary smiled. “Your friend was wearing women’s tennis shoes. Did he know?”

“Suze?” I couldn’t even laugh. I hadn’t noticed, but it didn’t mean Suze hadn’t incorrectly chosen. “Yeah. He probably knows. He’s pretty unique.”

“Aren’t we all, dear?”

You don’t know the half of it.

“And some of us more than others.” Her eyes sparkled. “Life’s like that. It’s how it’s meant to be.”

For some reason, I got the impression the woman’s words were meant for me—that she didn’t randomly choose to sit by us at eleven thirty on a Sunday night.

The doors opened again, and Suze walked out, his face sallow, shoulders hunched. He waved at us and back to the door. “She’s so … tiny.” He sniffed.

Winn squeezed my hand. “Can I go?”

“Yeah, sure.” I let go to encourage him to leave. He did.

Suze retook his spot next to Mary. “It’s bad, Mac.”

A shiver raced through me. “How … bad?”