Secrets Of Sanctuary Hospital Nightmare Of The Dark Shadows (5 page)

I am about to answer, when a rapid knock at
the door draws my attention. Gabriel opens it revealing the
concerned faces of Emma and Victor.

“Are there any leads yet?” Emma inquires
crossing the room towards us.

“Lucas, Eva and Jackson are following our
only lead on the car, but we have no identity on the individuals
who took them other than Mia’s belief that they are a family of
vampires.” Andrew replies.

Emma interrupts. “Are you sure that it’s a
family a vampires?”

All eyes follow Emma and Andrew as they turn
to me. “I know that it is a family because I heard them bickering
and the man saying that they could only trust family. They are
strong and know about how staking Catherine and Lucas would
paralyze them and they can tell that the children’s hearts are
beating. I heard them arguing that they were not full vampires like
their father.”

Emma kneels before me. “Mia, is there
anything more that would have made you think that they were
vampires? I’m only saying this because many witches are familiar
with how to stop vampires.”

“They seemed to be very strong and could
witches hear the children’s heart?”

“Are you sure that they heard the children’s
hearts?”

I consider what she is saying. “No, I guess
that I just assumed that they did?”

Emma places her hands upon mine, turns to
Gabriel who nods before she turns back to me. “Mia, I want you to
close your eyes and concentrate on everything that you have seen
and heard since the children were taken. Maybe you heard something
that you are not consciously aware of that is making you think they
are vampires. Gabriel will go through this with you. Maybe he can
offer a different perspective.”

“Shouldn’t I be concentrating on getting
another connection with the children? One of them hurt Jacob, he’s
unconscious!”

Emma hugs me gently and then sits back on her
heels, taking my hands again. “Mia, I spoke to Reginald on my way
here. He is on his way and believes that you can even get a message
to the children with some help, but right now it is essential that
we gather as much information so that we can find them. Do this for
me and then I promise I will help you get a message to them.”

My heart surges forward, beating against my
chest at the thought of getting a message to them. I want to argue
with her, but finding them is my first priority and if Gabriel can
help in that, I need to concentrate and hopefully he can detach
himself from the fear I can’t escape to see things that in my
panic, I missed. Closing my eyes, I run through what I have seen,
heard, and felt as Andrew wipes away my tears.

When I open my eyes, Gabriel is opening a map
and placing it on the table. “Andrew how fast would you say the car
was traveling?”

“About one hundred ten miles per hour, but I
doubt they maintained that pace because it would have caught the
attention of the police.”

He is drawing circles from different points
on the map as I approach. Lifting his head, his voice sounds
confident. “Mia is right they are vampires because they talked
about William bringing back a family and not wanting to miss a good
meal.”

As the meaning of his words sink in, my
stomach lurches and I can feel the bile rise up my throat. My
children are in the hands or barbaric vampires that feed off human
beings! Forcing my thoughts away from the dark abyss threatening to
engulf me and back to Gabriel, I know I cannot afford to be
distracted from finding them.

Looking at Emma, “How can I get a message to
the children?”

She moves toward me. “Do you remember when we
channeled together, how we linked?”

“Yes, but don’t we have to be together to
channel? Are you telling me that I could channel with the children
from here?”

“No, that wouldn’t be possible.”

Frustrated, my tone is clipped. “Then how do
I get a message to them?”

“Reginald believes that we may be able to
utilize Damian’s special powers to compel his energy to send them a
message.”

Damian moves toward us. Taking my hand, he
turns to Emma. “Tell me what I need to do.”

Her features turn serious. “Before I tell you
what you have to do, you need to know that it can be
dangerous.”

He interrupts her. “It can’t be any more
dangerous than our not knowing where the children are and what they
are facing, so just tell me what we need to do in order to get them
the message.”

Emma grips Damian’s shoulders. “You need to
understand the risk first. When you channel with Mia and project
yourself there, you utilize and set forth your energy to manifest
an image. Although from what Mia heard and Gabriel confirmed, we
have reason to believe they are vampires, we don’t know if they are
linked with demons or black witches. When you manifest your image,
your energy could be trapped wherever the children are depending
upon who and what we are dealing with, whether they detect you, and
if they have the ability to trap you, or at least part of your
essence. Do you remember when the demon came back through Mia and
we disposed of it?”

“Yes, but I don’t see what that has to do
with anything.” Damian quips.

“In order for you to project through
channeling, you will not have full and immediate control over the
energy you transfer to manifest the image. If you are detected and
they are prepared to catch your energy, in the momentary delay,
part of you could be captured and trapped there causing you to
remain immobile and in a semiconscious state here.”

“You have not told me anything that would
deter my going, so we should get started.” He states confidently,
but his eyes shift to Serena and I catch their brief, but very
worried glances.

Grasping his hand, “Are you sure you want to
do this?”

A determined stare overtakes his features.
“You know how we feel about them. They are the children that we
could never have, so just tell me what you want me to tell them and
let’s get started.”

I hug him fiercely and we head toward the
circle. As we sit, Emma follows. “Would you mind if I channel with
you? I may be able to detect if there is any danger and let Damian
know before he can be taken.”

I rearrange the circle before we join
hands.

“Mia, you concentrate on connecting with the
children and I will concentrate on our channeling with you, this
way your attention will not be split. Gabriel can you look on and
see if you get anything that Mia may pick up through the
connection.”

Everyone is moving around us, but I block
them out, concentrating only on the children’s picture which I hold
in my hand before placing it in Damian’s. As their beautiful faces
flow through my thoughts, the faint echo of their beating hearts
surrounds me. Emma’s voice rings quietly through my consciousness.
“Mia, concentrate on them but allow your mind to accept our
presence so we can travel with you.”

The children’s beating hearts become clearer.
I feel the cold floor below them, their wrists feel weighted down
by some sort of heavy metallic cuff, but I no longer feel the hood
over their face. My heart quickens, if they don’t care about
whether or not the children see their faces that could mean… I stop
myself. I need to concentrate and not speculate! I force myself to
focus on the coldness of the floor, until I remember that I am
connecting to either Nicholas or Kayla who have yet to regain
consciousness. I need to connect with Jacob or Nicole. The effects
of the ether will dissipate with them quicker. Hopefully, they are
awake and focusing on their surroundings so as to give us some clue
as to where they are being held. Concentrating on the next heart, I
am more aware of the shackles binding me and the roughness of the
floor. I can feel their mind fighting its way through a sea of
confusion as the last remnants of ether impair their systems.

As I fight to get a stronger connection, I
feel their encroaching fear as they finally regain consciousness. I
must have connected to Nichole. As her eyes meet Jacob’s, I can
feel a lump in her throat, strangling her words. “What do you think
they will do to us?”

“I don’t know, but we have to try to get out
of here before we give them an opportunity to do anything. Can you
break free from the chains?”

My relief at hearing Jacob’s strong response
is cut short as the terrifying thought of their being chained and
trying to do anything that may put them in further danger overtakes
me. Before my own fear severs our connection, I concentrate on
Nicole’s strangled whisper.

“My hands are bound too tight. They’re not
budging. Do you think that mom and dad know we are missing by now?”
Despite her hushed tone, I can hear her hysteria rising.

“I’m not sure. Do you have any idea how long
we’ve been out?”

As I squeeze Damian’s hand, I feel Nicole’s
shock as his faint reflection appears before them. “We know that
you are missing. We are looking for you now. Your mother is with
you and can feel you and see what you are seeing. Try to observe as
much as you can, any information which you can send her way will
help. We love you and we are all here, we are searching. Remember,
the less information that you give to them and the more you can
discern, the more it will help to keep you safe. We love you very
much.”

Approaching footsteps echo from a hallway.
Grabbing Emma’s hand, I see Damian’s reflection vanish as Nicole
and Jacob hang their heads feigning unconsciousness. Listening
intently, the door creeks open, someone takes two more steps and
then the door slams shut and the footsteps fade. Although their
hearts are pounding wildly with fear, and Nichole’s eyes are veiled
by tears, I can see hope lightening Jacob’s features knowing that
we are looking for them and I am in some form with them. My heart
aches to comfort my precious daughter as her tears stream down her
face.

Jacob’s features turn worrisome as he stares
upon his sister. His voice turns soft and comforting like his
fathers. “Nicole, please don’t cry, this is good news, they know
that we are missing and they will find us.”

“But we traveled a long time and the car was
going so fast, what if we traveled too far for them to find
us?”

“Do you think that distance will stop them?
They would go to the ends of the earth to get us back. We need to
help them, if we can. If uncle Damian could reach us, we can’t be
so far away. How far can he project anyway?”

“I don’t know, but he said mom is with us, do
you think…” Nichole chokes as if her windpipe is cut off and she
strains to finish. “…that they got her too?”

“No, he said she could see and feel us, I
don’t think that she is physically with us. I think that she is
with us the way they tried to explain to us before. Remember how
she can feel us and hear or see what we are seeing when we are in
trouble?”

“Then what should we do?”

Jacob looks deep in thought. “If we can’t get
out of these chains, we should concentrate, and I mean really
concentrate, on what is going on around us. This way, when mom is
with us, maybe she will hear or see something that would help them
find us.”

Nicole’s eyes shift from Jacob’s and new
panic grips her as she sees her cousins slumped and chained to the
floor. “Kayla, Nicholas are you alright? Wake up. Kayla please wake
up!” They blur as tears overwhelm her lids again.

“Nicole, it’s alright. Please don’t cry, they
are breathing, I can see their chest moving up and down, they must
still be unconscious. It’s alright. Please, if you are crying and
they come back, they will know that we are awake and that might not
be our best move right now. We should pretend to be unconscious for
as long as possible. Maybe uncle Damien will even come back and
tell us what we should do.”

Knowing that Damian doesn’t know what is
happening, I break the connection to talk to him and let Andrew
know that the kids did see Damian and are looking for instructions.
My opening eyes meet their concerned faces.

“Emma said that we made it through to the
kids, did they see and hear me?” Damian inquires anxiously.

“They did and it made them feel better but
they are looking for us to send them some type of instructions.
Nicole and Jacob are pretending to be unconscious and Nicholas and
Kayla still haven’t come around. Damian, can you go back?”

“Absolutely, just tell me what you want to
tell them.”

Andrew turns to Emma. “Is there anything that
they can do to repel an attack from these vampires or demons, if it
comes down to that?”

There are spells that they can use, but they
are very specific depending upon what type of creature is holding
them. I hate to say this, but we should wait and see if we can
confirm what they are so that we can give them the right type of
spell. Otherwise, we can do them more harm than good.” By her
hesitant features, I know she caught the skeptical look passing
between Andrew and me. Turning toward me, “Mia, I’m not saying that
we are not dealing with vampires, I’m just saying that we should
make sure that we are not dealing with something more as well.”

Andrew turns back to Damian. “Tell the
children to try to observe as much as possible and not reveal the
extent of the powers or that they have powers, if possible.
Also,...”

I put my hand on Andrew to stop him for a
moment and turn to Emma. “Emma do you think that they are strong
enough to do the protectionist spell upon each other, this way, if
they get separated or if one of them gets taken away from the
others, they would be able to keep track of each other?”

“I think that they could do it. They are very
strong, they just need to be careful because if their captures see
the stars and know about witches, they will know immediately what
is going on and that the children are more than just
half-vampires.”