The Second Heart
* * *
Several hours later, Meredith woke with a start. She and Miguel had chosen one of the bedrooms that had south-facing windows, and light from the moon bathed the room in pale light. Miguel snored softly beside her, and he had one arm draped heavily over her belly. Meredith wriggled out from under Miguel’s arm, her feet hitting the thick, warm carpet on the floor.
The bedroom had its own bathroom, and Meredith went in to get some water, leaving the light off so as not to disturb Miguel. There was a little stack of paper cups on a shelf above the toilet, and Meredith filled one of these from the tap. The bathroom was gorgeous, with a large jetted tub and a pair of French doors that opened to the backyard. The lights were still on back there, making the yard seem like it was straight out of a five-star resort. Meredith stood in her bare feet, enjoying the view while she sipped her water.
Suddenly, she felt a tugging sensation from her other sense, the same way it had felt when she was using it to find Miguel in the hospital. Meredith’s eyes widened and she dropped the little cup onto the floor with a small splat. The water puddled around her feet, and she was briefly reminded of the flooded vet’s office.
Meredith fell into a low crouch, not knowing where the sensation was coming from. It wasn’t Miguel, she was certain of that. This energy had a cold malevolence to it that Meredith had never felt before. It was so strong that Meredith felt overwhelmed, her thoughts muddled. She froze in place, listening as hard as she could. The energy was getting stronger, closer.
Meredith scrambled across the floor toward the bed. She reached up over the edge of the mattress and shook Miguel’s foot vigorously, until he sat up sleepily.
“Huh?” he croaked, looking down at her in confusion. “What are you doing?”
“Get on the floor,” Meredith hissed.
More alert, Miguel didn’t question her, rolling off the bed in one fluid motion. Meredith pulled him between the bed and the wall, so they couldn’t be seen from the doorway or the windows.
“Someone’s coming,” Meredith breathed.
“How do you know?” Miguel whispered back.
“I can feel it.”
“What do we do?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Meredith said quickly, mind reeling. “I can’t tell where they are.” Her heart was pounding, and the blood roared in her ears. It felt like the energy was everywhere.
Miguel grabbed Meredith’s hand and squeezed it hard, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Just focus, Mere. Look at me, stay calm, and focus.”
Meredith struggled to slow her breathing, closing her eyes and concentrating. “Coming down the hallway,” she mouthed. “We have to get out of here. The bathroom.”
Miguel sprang to his feet without a word, pulling her up after him. They darted back into the bathroom as quietly as they could, and Meredith fumbled with the French doors that led out to the yard. Her hands were trembling so hard that she could barely turn the lever.
Miguel gently lifted her hands out of the way and unlocked the door smoothly, swinging it silently open on well-oiled hinges. Then, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the backyard. Their bare feet made slapping sounds on the pool decking as they ran past the outdoor kitchen.
“Down here,” Meredith pulled Miguel into a crouch behind the built in barbeque.
“We gotta get out of here, Mere,” Miguel protested.
“Vi and Josh are still inside. We can’t just leave them.”
“Vi and Josh aren’t magicians. They aren’t after them,” Miguel reasoned.
Meredith gave him a scathing look. “And what happens if the protégé thinks they know where we are?”
Suddenly, the thaelis that Meredith wore burned red hot against her chest. Meredith looked down at the glowing stone, realizing that it was keeping her from being discovered. Horrified, she realized that Miguel wasn’t protected. She opened her mouth to warn Miguel, but it was too late.
A cold voice rang out into the backyard, calling menacingly, “Miguel.” Meredith recognized the female voice, but couldn’t quite place it.
Miguel’s eyes widened in alarm, his body shaking in fear.
“Time to come out,” the woman said. As she spoke the words, Miguel’s body was jerked into the air by an invisible string, his hand ripping out of Meredith’s grasp.
Helpless, Meredith looked up at him. From her crouched position, she could almost touch his feet where they dangled above her head. Miguel didn’t betray her presence by looking down, instead glaring across the yard at their attacker.
Seemingly of its own accord, Miguel’s body launched over the barbeque, landing in a heap on the pool deck at the protégé's feet. Meredith rocked forward onto her hands and knees and peeked around the barbeque. Miguel lay face up on the cold concrete, stunned. The woman stood above him, silhouetted by moonlight, making it impossible for Meredith to make out her face. A sharp knife glinted in her right hand.
Meredith felt defenseless against such power. She looked around wildly in search of some sort of weapon. A serrated metal grilling spatula hung along the side of the barbeque, and Meredith snaked her hand up to grab it. Her only chance of saving Miguel was to take their attacker by surprise.
“You?” Miguel’s voice sounded betrayed as he started to sit up.
Before Meredith knew what was happening, the protégé dropped to her knees beside Miguel and plunged the knife deep into his belly. Miguel let out a strangled whimper of pain as the knife twisted upward, and he slumped back down onto the pool deck. Meredith felt a surge of power, bright and good, that dwindled down into nothing. Then, the woman let out a low, satisfied groan.
Panicked, Meredith ducked her head back behind the barbeque and stuffed her fist into her mouth, praying it would stem the tide of her own disgust and horror. She didn’t dare move, or think, or breathe, or she would be next.
“Are you out here, too, Meredith?” The protégé's voice sounded thick with bloodlust.
The thaelis flared against Meredith’s skin again. If Meredith was lucky, the protégé would be so confident in her own abilities that she wouldn’t physically search the yard. Otherwise, Meredith was in big trouble. She gripped the barbeque spatula tighter, waiting.
After a few tense, quiet moments, Meredith leaned forward to peek around the barbeque again, her whole body shaking with the force of her terror.
The woman was leaning over Miguel with her back turned, a hood pulled up over the back of her head.
Meredith glanced toward the side yard. She’d have to go at least fifteen feet out in the open before she was hidden by the side of the house. If she ran, the protégé would hear her footsteps, but if she tried to sneak, it would be much slower going. If the woman turned around, Meredith would be caught. Time was running out, and Meredith felt trapped in indecision. She had to get to Vi and Josh and get them out before they were killed, too.
Slowly, silently, Meredith rose to her feet and gingerly stepped out from behind the barbeque. Her muscles were so tense that she feared they would start spasming at any second. She took another step, never taking her eyes off the protégé's back. Another step. Meredith breathed slowly through her open mouth, careful to not make a sound as she made her way toward the side yard. She didn’t dare look at Miguel’s still form, or she would lose her precarious control. There would be time for crying later.
Another step. Halfway there. The woman’s shoulders moved as she did something to Miguel’s body, her head bent to the task. Desperation to break into a run tore at every fiber of Meredith’s being, and it took every ounce of willpower to resist. She was almost there. Only three more steps. Her lower lip began to tremble, and she clamped her teeth down on it mercilessly, tasting blood.
Finally, Meredith stepped into the shadow of the house, dizzy with relief. The protégé hadn’t seen her. She quickened her pace and slipped through the gate that led to the front yard. As she put distance between herself and the woman, Meredith found she could think more clear
ly now that she wasn’t being overwhelmed by the malicious energy.
Around the front of the house, Meredith quickly found the window to Vi and Josh’s bedroom. She tapped lightly, hoping to wake them up without the protégé hearing. She cupped her hands against the glass and peered inside. Vi and Josh were sprawled out on the bed, dead to the world. Meredith tapped a little harder, and Vi stirred in her sleep. Meredith tapped again, more insistently. Finally Vi sat up, bleary-eyed, and looked around.
Meredith caught Vi’s eye through the glass and held a finger up to her lips. Then she pointed at Josh, gesturing for Vi to wake him up.
Vi leaned down and shook Josh’s shoulder. He woke with a start, and Vi shushed him immediately. She came to the window and unlatched it, sliding it open. It made a loud whooshing sound as it opened, causing them all to pause and listen. After a moment, Meredith whispered, “The protégé is here. We have to run, now.”
“Where’s Miguel?” Vi asked.
Meredith shook her head tersely, tears shining in her eyes.
The color drained from Vi’s face as she realized what Meredith’s response meant.
Josh pulled Vi to the side and leaned against the window screen, popping it out of its frame. It fell to the grass with a muted thud, and then Josh held Vi steady as she climbed through the window. Her feet had just hit the ground when they all heard a door slam somewhere in the house behind them.
Heedless of pain, Josh hurried through the opening without bothering to grab his crutches. The three of them raced across the yard, though it was obvious that Josh wouldn’t be able to get far hobbling on his broken leg. They would need to hide.
Meredith tried the gate leading to the neighbor’s backyard, but it was locked. There was no way Josh would make it over the six-foot tall fence. She shoved her shoulder under Josh’s arm to support him as they crossed the neighbor’s front yard, the sharp landscaping rocks cutting into their bare feet. Looking ahead, Meredith saw a covered boat parked in the driveway two houses down. She pointed it out to Vi and Josh, who nodded determinedly.
When they reached the boat, Meredith yanked up the tarp and boosted Vi inside. Vi pulled her up next, and then the two of them pulled Josh inside. Meredith straightened the tarp as best she could as they all curled up on the floorboards.
“Give me your hands, both of you,” Meredith whispered. She reached up and pulled the thaelis over her head. They clasped their three hands together tightly as Meredith wound the chain of the thaelis around their wrists. “Please work, please work, please work,” she muttered to herself, having no way of knowing whether it would. She could still feel the protégé's presence nearby.
After a long while, the presence faded away, but Meredith couldn’t bring herself to trust that the woman was gone. In the quiet of the boat, she kept seeing Miguel’s still body on the pool deck in her mind’s eye. Tears streamed down her face as her body’s adrenaline wore off, leaving her weak and nauseated. Vi stroked her hair gently while Josh lay staring at the tarp above their heads, all wordlessly agreeing to wait for morning.