The First Male (8 page)

“I hope he wasn't a bother,” she said.

“Not at all. He's adorable.” Simon smiled and then walked away toward the nurse, who appeared slightly irritable. When he approached, she pursed her lips together and exhaled.

“As you can see, we're very busy. The doctor is waiting.” Simon paused at the door and looked back at Blaine. He didn't know
how he knew, but he had no doubt that Blaine would now be fine. His leukemia was gone and would never return.

“Mr. Cassel, please follow me.” Simon tried to take a step. Then, he felt a strong wave of nausea that threatened to send him hurling to the floor. He grabbed onto the door and held it tightly, for balance. He could feel his body temperature rising again and his skin was drenched with sweat.

“Are you okay, Mr. Cassel?” the nurse asked, finally sounding concerned.

“I—I think I'm fine.” Simon looked over to Blaine who stared at him with an expressionless look. Then he smiled.

Thank you
.

When the thought entered his head, Simon became dizzy. Suddenly, images from the boy's life and Simon's life merged and created a whirlwind of images that swirled swiftly around his head. Flashes of IVs and cancer drugs and yellow-eyed snakes and Brooke's perfect breasts and Simon's school and Blaine's sad-faced father and his laughing mother overwhelmed him. Then, new and unfamiliar voices rattled around in his head. Thoughts and feelings from the people in the waiting room battered him.

What am I going to cook for dinner?

I bet he's with that bitch
.

I hope the doctor can get rid of this rash
.

I don't want to carry this baby anymore
.

I hope my HIV test is negative
.

I'm scared
.

What are these spots on the back of my hand?

Then, Simon smelled blood.

And cologne and perfume.

And a bit of funk.

And bad breath.

And medicine.

And old food that clung to paper containers that littered the trashcans. He felt pain radiating in the deepest recesses of his body; pain so great that it stole his voice. He felt pain in the very marrow of his bones. It was as if he had taken Blaine's leukemia into his own body and now felt what the boy had felt for months. Simon's senses were in overload and he couldn't take it anymore. The pain was too intense. The floor beneath his feet shifted; tremors threw him off balance. A pounding in his head drowned out every sound indigenous to the very busy office. Even though the nurse stood directly in front of him and Simon could see her mouth moving, he couldn't decipher what she said. He couldn't hear the nurse speaking to him or the constant ringing of the telephone or the chatter of people on their cell phones. It was as if he had suddenly gone completely deaf. Fear, in addition to crippling pain, jolted him in ways he had never known. He felt himself collapsing.

Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid
, the voice in his head whispered again.

Then, everything went black.

C
HAPTER
5

E
li Kane stepped boldly out of the shadows at Hollytree Convalescent Center. The sun had set hours ago and darkness claimed the city. Night elicited a particular kind of chaos, filling most people with feelings of unease and insecurity, as if the night would bring about the monsters they were warned about as children. In part, they were right to fear; Eli owned the night; it was in darkness that he found strength. He was inextricably and forever bound to it, lapping in its wondrous blackness.

Eli was dressed finely in a black, expensive suit that contrasted with his bold, blue eyes. His taut frame fit his clothes perfectly, as if they had been tailor-made for his body. His wavy, jet-black hair was cut low and slicked back like an old school mobster. When he walked down the busy corridor, his thunderous steps echoed off the black and white checkered linoleum floor, his long black leather trench coat flailing behind him. He was on a mission. He had to see the old woman, again. This time, he'd be much less polite. His patience had thinned considerably since his last visit days ago.

Eli rounded the corner of the hallway that led to her room, paying little attention to workers as he passed them. As he approached the nurse's station, he was stopped by a nurse who immediately stepped from around the counter, her hand raised up with the palm side out, displaying the universal sign for “stop.”

“Excuse me, sir,” she said with authority. “Visiting hours are over.”

Eli exhaled and rolled his eyes. He didn't have much patience for the rules of this mortal world. He could snap her neck with a mere thought, but one of the lessons he was learning was the art of subtlety. Thunder wasn't always required; sometimes, a whisper would suffice.

He took a moment to size her up. By the lines that crossed her face, he could tell that she worked too much and that she took her job very seriously—too seriously. Eli smiled pleasantly at her. She possessed a fairly attractive, rosy face that had clearly seen better days; and the frizzy brown hair that hung just below her shoulders was badly in need of a perm. Remnants of her fading beauty were evident beneath her hardened exterior. Eli let his eyes slide down her shapely figure, which stretched the white material of her nurse's uniform to the limit, though he could still imagine what her flesh would be like outside of her clothes; lust ruled him. After he finished the task appointed to him this night, he might call her back into the room and fuck her to within an inch of her life while the old lady watched, helplessly.

Eli smiled again to reveal his perfect teeth.

“Pardon me. I won't be long. I promise,” he said with a coy little wink. She gave him the side-eye and looked him up and down as if she was trying to ascertain his real motive; but, when he smiled again, the cold expression on her face faded.

“Well, I guess I could let you go in for a few minutes; but, you have to promise to be very quiet,” she said with a playful school-girl smile.

“You have my word,” he replied flirtatiously.

“Why don't I walk with you so that no one else stops you?”

“An escort from a beautiful lady? I am unworthy.” He did a
small curtsy and she giggled as if it had been years since she had been paid a compliment. They walked down the hallway together, exchanging glances as if they were secret lovers.

“I don't think I've seen you here before,” she said.

“I've been here a few times. I usually come at night.”

“I guess you work during the day, huh?”

“Hmmmm, something like that.” When they reached his destination, Eli took the lead, stepped in front of the nurse, and walked into the room as the smell of old flesh and ointment greeted him at the door. He walked over and kissed the old woman on the forehead affectionately.

“You're a very special man. I wish more people would spend this kind of time with the elderly.”

“I have to make sure my . . . 
grandmother
is being treated well.”

“Well, rest assured. She gets the best care we can offer. Even though she can't speak or move, I'm certain that if you keep coming, she would make a full recovery. I've seen people on the brink of death come back and lead a full life with the help of the love from their relatives and friends.”

Eli smiled wryly. “We can only hope.”

“And I'm sure that smile of yours can heal the sick,” she added, her voice thick with desire. “Well, I best be on my way; more patients to see.”

“Thank you so much for your special attention and for letting me break the rules.”

“Don't tell anyone. They might think I'm a softie,” she said with a wink. “I'll definitely keep my eye on her. You know,” she continued as she shifted her weight to her left leg, “sometime when I look into her eyes I swear she's trying to tell me something. I think she's going to come out of this fine, one day.” She stepped closer and touched his hand. “I don't want to get your
hopes up. I know she's been like this for twenty years, but the other day, I'm sure I saw her wiggle her feet. The doctor said it was involuntary, but I think she was making a connection.”

Eli forced a smile and took the nurse's hand. He could feel her heat and knew that it was radiating below, dampening her panties. Lust swelled inside of her to the point that Eli could smell its sweetness.

“Thank you for the information, love. I didn't catch your name.”

“It's Andrea. Andrea Anderson, but you can call me
Love
,” she said as she smiled and flitted out of the room. Eli quickly closed the door and faced the old woman who sat upright in a chair in front of the television. Her grayed hair was tossed about her head and the old shawl wrapped around her shoulders looked as if it had been made fifty years ago. She didn't move or blink.

He took a deep, menacing breath before speaking. “Hello, Adelaide,” he said with the tenderness of a grandson. He removed his trench coat and slung it across another chair as he eased over to where she sat. “So, we're alone now, old woman. Eetwidomayloh sends his regards.” He lowered himself in front of her and squeezed her knees hard, his nails cutting into her flesh. Her eyes widened with discomfort. “So, you can still feel. I was kind of rough with you last time. I'm glad you've recovered.” He stood up and sauntered toward the window.

“You know, Addie, I'm getting really bored with all of this. I've spent too much time in
this place
smelling your shitty ass and looking at your wrinkled face. I'm tired of this Tango—we keep doing the same dance. Aren't you tired yet? I dish out a little pain and you continue to resist me. I've been patient with you—far more patient than I should have—but there are limits to my mercy and time is short, as you know. Soon, you'll have to let me into your head—you won't have the strength to stop me. I get
stronger every day, but you, on the other hand, are one step closer to the grave. So why don't you make this easy on yourself and let me in? If you don't, you know I will hurt you, slowly. First, I'll blind you, sticking tiny needles into your eyes. Would you like that? Then, from the inside, I'll break each one of your bones, one at a time. I'll make it so that every crack will last hours and that you feel every ounce of pain. Then, I can make your heart explode inside your chest, and I'll fix it so that you can relive the same horror over and over again. Your suffering will be legendary, and you'll pray for the death that will never come.” Eli flung open the curtain to reveal the dark night sky glistening with starlight. “Don't you miss this? Going outside? Having a life? Aren't you tired of being trapped inside that wretched old body, unable to move; pissing and shitting on yourself and having someone wipe your ass everyday? Where is your pride? Where is your dignity? You are Adelaide Thibodeaux, the most powerful High Priestess of the sister-clan and look at you now. You're a fucking invalid!” A despicable laugh escaped from his mouth and polluted the air with the stench of rotting meat. His roaring voice tumbled off the walls.

Eli moved over to the mirror hanging on the wall and took a moment to stare at his reflection. “I must admit that I am impressed with your power. Even in your weakened state, I still cannot break into your mind—that's amazing. Yeah, yeah, I know how your powers work. Each High Priestess born of the same blood is more powerful than the one before her, blah, blah, blah. And your bloodline is unbroken in more than three hundred years. I get that. Your powers are indeed strong, so tonight I thought I'd do something different. Tonight, I offer you a fair trade. I could release you from this prison that Eetwidomayloh entombed you in so long ago. Clearly, you and your pathetic sisters don't
have enough power to do so; otherwise you would have been freed a long time ago. Or, I could make your stay in that body last an eternity. How would you feel about immortality? In that body? Buried . . . underground . . . writhing in pain? Would you like that?”

He calmly took a seat next to her. “Of course you wouldn't. That sounds awful, wouldn't you agree? Now, you could avoid all of that by simply letting me into your head so that I can uncloak him and unbind his powers. As you know, his twenty-first birthday is coming soon and he
will
ascend. Your little binding spell may have kept some of his powers at bay for the last twenty years, but it will fail during the Ascension. Your magic will be like using a Popsicle stick to stop the raging waters of the Nile. I suspect that your spell will break any day now. We are what, a little more than two weeks away from the Ascension? When it breaks, do you have any idea the havoc his power could cause on the world? What if he ignites the living flame and incinerates everything and everyone? Would you like to see little children running through the city screaming with their hair on fire? That's not a nice image, Addie. He could consume this world and the Shadowland with a simple thought, without even knowing it. That is why we must find him, teach him to use his power, or we all are lost. We are simply trying to clean up the mess you made before it's too late. Had you not stolen the child from Eetwidomayloh years ago we would not be in this mess now.” Eli's voice began to tremble and rattle the furniture in the room. “Signs are all around us. Your spell is weakening. There are thousands of dead cattle in Wisconsin. A plague of rodents in Australia. The River Thames, overflowing with dead fish. Powerful earthquakes, all over the globe, and it's all because of you. You have made so many mistakes in your feeble effort to prevent that
which cannot be prevented.” He opened his mouth and inhaled with a ghastly sucking sound that removed all of the oxygen from the room, essentially asphyxiating Addie. She gasped with disgusting choking sounds as her eyes bulged and her lungs tightened, trying to inhale the remaining air. “Now,” he said coolly, “won't you help me?”