“Would you like us to go in first?” Asmoday asks Keely, refusing to acknowledge the others. She looks up at Nick for guidance. “I addressed the question to you, Keely,” Asmoday snaps. Keely jumps at his tone, never hearing him speak to her this way before.
Nick’s eyes slit into a glare and Keely grips his hand as tight as she can, anchoring him in place. “Yes. Please go in first,” she says as nicely as she can.
“It is your father,” Asmoday explains with an almost smile. He holds out his hand, and to everyone’s shock, she releases Nick and takes her brother’s hand allowing him to lead her to the door.
“Keely!” Kimberly, Nick, Bryon, and Lila shout in unison. Keely ignores them because as Asmoday pushes the thick door open with a creek, she can see her dad. His head is down, his eyes closed. His white button up work shirt is nearly brown and there is dried blood on the side of his face and head.
“Daddy,” Keely croaks as she runs and drops in front of him. He lifts his head groggily trying to focus his eyes on his daughter. “Oh, Daddy.” He is bound in rope; it’s probably the only thing holding him in the chair.
“Keels,” he murmurs. He attempts a smile and Keely throws herself against him in a one sided hug.
Nick pushes past Asmoday into the room. He pauses, assessing the area. Satisfied that everything appears safe, he relaxes and uses his dagger to cut the ropes. Keely’s dad falls forward into her, but somehow she manages to hold him up. Nick moves to his side and pulls him into a standing position. “Put your arm around my neck,” he instructs. Bryon moves to the other side taking the other arm and together they move Keely’s dad.
Kimberly bursts through the door, tears running down her cheeks. “Kevin?” She stops cold, staring at her husband. He lifts his blurry gaze and all the air goes out of her as though she had been holding every breath in since they’d been separated. Wrapping her long arms around his waist, she cries, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Knowing her dad can’t hug her mom back at the moment, Keely pulls her mom’s arms away from him and offers herself for a hug. “It’s o.k. He’s o.k.”
With everyone distracted at the moment, Asmoday takes advantage of the opportunity. He catches Keely’s eye and gestures for her to follow him. He moves a few feet away from the others easily unnoticed. “I need to take you and your parents back now,” he says adjusting the hood back over his head.
“What? Why?”
“I was instructed to ensure you and your parents were safely returned home. I am only trying to do as I was told.”
“I think they want to look for Dustin.”
Asmoday tilts his head slightly to the side watching her closely. “You do not think they will find him alive?”
Keely starts at his words. She shakes her head. “No, I just don’t think they’ll find him here. I’m sure he’s alive.”
“How are you sure?”
Keely tries not to laugh and winds up smiling. “It’s an expression.”
Asmoday smiles back at her. “Yes, I understand now.” He bends slightly at the knees to look more evenly into Keely’s eyes. “So why do you think he is not here?”
Not liking the way his gaze seems to look past her, inside her, Keely shifts away from him. “Apophis had him backed into a wall—that’s another expression. He was using Lila to make Dustin do what he wanted.”
Asmoday’s face doesn’t change and Keely isn’t sure if he understands what she’s trying to say. “Dustin helped Apophis. He led me right to him and handed me over. I can’t blame him. He had no choice. I haven’t told anyone yet. I don’t know if I will.”
Expression still neutral, Asmoday says, “He had a choice. He just did not choose you.” He brushes the hair off Keely’s shoulder, his hand lingering too long. “He chose incorrectly.” He drops his hand and inhales deeply. “I will give you one more hour and then I must get you back. It is not safe here. The longer you stay the more you are at risk.”
Keely nods, giving in for now. “Thank you. For everything.”
Asmoday tips his head in a bow. “My pleasure, Princess.”
Nick, having passed Keely’s dad on to Michael and Kimberly, comes back into the room. “Keely, we need Asmoday to send your mom and dad back and I think you should go with them,” he says.
Keely looks from Nick to Asmoday, then back to Nick. She steps outside the door and he follows her as she moves out of earshot of the others. “I’ll ask him to take them back, but I’m not going with them.”
“It’s better if you go. This isn’t exactly a safe place. I waited until we found your dad, but you shouldn’t be here.”
Keely shakes her head. “Asmoday is under orders to take me and my parents back. Not you guys. If I go back, he fulfills his duties. Are you willing to bet he will come back for the rest of you? Because I’m not. He’s willing to give me one more hour to look for Dustin. I’m staying.”
Nick puts his finger and thumb to his eyes and sighs. “And if in an hour we haven’t found Dustin?”
“We can figure that out then.” She takes his hand and tries to walk back over where everyone else is, but Nick doesn’t budge.
“That’s not good enough. If we haven’t found Dustin in an hour, you have to go back. Please.” The look on his face is so desperate, Keely nearly gives in.
“We’ll just have to find him within the hour.”
Nick pulls Keely to him and puts his hands on her arms. “I know you don’t like anyone telling you what to do. I know you haven’t listened to me yet, but I need you to do this for me or I am going to take you in there to Asmoday and beg him to take you home right now.”
Her first reaction is anger. The hell you will! But that anxiety is still evident on his face. She softens her reply. “If we don’t find him, we’ll all go back.” Nick scrutinizes her face for a long time as he struggles to make the right decision. She knows she nearly has him, so she adds, “I won’t go back without you. I won’t go without the protection of my Guardian.”
Nick leans his head back and closes his eyes. He grits his teeth. Stupid, stubborn girl. “One hour,” he tells the ceiling. “One hour and we are all going home together.” He puts his hand back in hers and allows her to pull him back to the group. “I don’t know why I’m worrying anyway. We found your dad. We’ll find Dustin.”
“Come on honey. We need to get your dad to the hospital.” Kimberly holds out her hand expectantly to her daughter. Keely notices the usually manicured nails are chipped and grimy.
“I’m not going yet. I need to stay and look for Dustin. Just for another hour. I’ll be home soon.”
Kimberly straightens her back and tries to compose herself. “You need to come home with me, Keely, now. I won’t lose you again.”
Keely doesn’t want to argue. She turns to Michael. “Will you go with my parents and stay with them until we return?” He nods his head slowly, not sure if he is putting himself in the middle of a family argument.
Deciding to put the fight off until later, Keely turns to Asmoday who stands back watching everyone. “Will you please take my parents and Mr. Laszlo home now?”
He winks at her and before Kimberly has time to do more than look annoyed, he raises his hand. Darkness envelops them and they disappear. If she had blinked, she would have missed it. She didn’t know what she had expected exactly, but that wasn’t it. It was so quick. So easy. She swallows hard, wishing she had something to drink. Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of sorrow overtakes Keely. It hits her so hard she stumbles backward as a wail ruptures from her throat.
Tears fill her vision as she tries to look at Nick. Tries to explain. Tries to placate his horrified confusion. But words won’t come. Nothing can explain the feeling tearing at her body right now. Like a piece of herself has been brutally ripped out, leaving in its place only anguish.
Nick shakes her, trying to make her hear him or answer him. He doesn’t know what’s wrong with her. He doesn’t know how to make it better.
“Ni
ck, STOP!” Bryon shouts. “You’re hurting her!” Bryon pries Nick’s hands off of Keely’s arms and slams him into the wall.
“Something’s wrong with her!” Nick yells, pointing at her helplessly.
Keely slumps over losing the will to sit up. What’s the point? She settles her face against the cool ground. Nothing matters anymore. She might as well lay on this sullied and soiled floor forever. Her soul has left her. That must be it. She must be dying. She wants to. Just so this agony will stop. “Please make it stop. Please make it stop,” she mumbles.
A shiver runs through her body. The air changes subtly and her hopelessness fades to sadness. She allows Bryon to sit her up. Her sadness fades to melancholy. She blinks a couple of times. Her melancholy fades to a mellow tiredness. She feels the cord pull at her and she twists, trying to find him. Their eyes meet and Asmoday looks as unhinged as she does.
The longer her eyes rest on him, the more normal she feels. Nick says her name again and she tears her eyes away from Asmoday. Now that she is focusing on Nick, her breathing quickens as though she has been running. Because now the reality of what happened is sinking in, bringing with it raw fear. When Asmoday left the realm without her, it severed the invisible cord. This she is sure of. She is also positive this is why she was so incredibly sad. When he came back, the cord reconnected, making her whole again. Making her happy. She is positively certain of this. What she doesn’t get, is why? And, why now?
“I’m o.k. now. I don’t know what happened,” she lies. She never lies. “I just got disoriented.” She moves to stand up and Nick pushes her gently back down.
“Are you hurt at all?” His hands hover around her, afraid to touch her.
She pushes his hands away feeling confused and embarrassed. “I said I was fine.” It comes out much snippier than she intends and she feels guilty. It’s not his fault. He can’t help he’s worried.
Asmoday maneuvers his way through everyone and kneels in front of Keely. He extends his hand, offering her a bottle of water. She reaches for it, and in a move so subtle, no one notices but Keely, Asmoday flicks his pinky out and caresses her fingers as she takes the bottle. He isn’t full of his usual cockiness. In fact, everything about his demeanor has changed.
“Thanks.” Her voice shakes. He dips his head and thankfully backs off. “Did you get my parents home safely?” she asks. He tilts his head in one tight nod.
Nick helps Keely stand this time, but keeps his hands on her making sure she is steady on her feet. She keeps her eyes down while she drinks the water.
“You scared the shit out of me, Kiem. You good now?” Bryon stands back, shifting his feet nervously.
Keely smiles at him. “Really, I’m fine.” She looks around at all the concerned faces of the people Nick brought with him. All the people she doesn’t know. At least the Demons aren’t staring. They don’t seem to care at all about her outburst. “Can we just go?”
Nick studies her features. Satisfied that she is all right at least for the moment, he takes her hand and they join the procession. Lila pushes off the wall and slides up next to Keely without a word. They all walk in silence. Turn corner after corner.
Feeling Lila’s eyes on her, Keely turns to her. “What?”
Lila shrugs her tiny shoulders. “Nothing.”
“Then why do you keep staring at me?”
Lila pouts out her lips. She looks ahead at Asmoday. He switches the large flash light he carries from one hand to the other. As he slides his now empty hand down his jeans, Keely brushes her palm across her shirt. Lila flips her gaze back to Keely just in time to verify her movement.
“You’re doing it again. Quit watching me,” Keely hisses.
“Up here,” someone calls and Lila’s heart nearly stops.
Bryon’s the first one to the door. He comes to an abrupt halt placing his hand over his mouth.
“Is it him?” Lila yells. She’s clear in the back so she breaks into a run. Bryon puts his hands out as she makes it to the door.
“No, Lila,” he cries as she tries to push past him. Bryon locks his arms around her.
Lila bucks like a wild horse. “Let go of me,” she screams. She kicks off the wall causing them both to fall back. Bryon hits first, landing hard on his back. Lila jabs an elbow into his ribs and he loses his hold on her. She jumps up and pushes her way through the doorway as Keely and Nick catch up.
Nick passes through the door and Asmoday steps in front of Keely. He stretches his arm across her path, resting his hand on the doorframe. “It looks like he got what he deserved,” he says quietly enough for only Keely to hear.
Twenty-Two:
Keely stares at the closed door trying to summon the courage to open it. She knows she should go in there and get this over with, fast, like a band-aid. Knowing and doing are two totally different things. So she just stands there.
Nick reaches around her and opens the door. She shoots him an irritated look. She isn’t ready yet. “If you need me, I’ll be in the waiting room with Lila.” He kisses her forehead and gives her a nudge into the hospital room. Kimberly looks up, relieved.
“How is he?” Keely asks quietly. Her dad’s eyes open and he gives her a tired smile.
“Better now.” He opens his arms and Keely moves into them. It’s been a very long time since she’s hugged her dad.
“Daddy,” she feels a wave of nausea swim through her stomach as the word leaves her mouth. She sits beside him on the bed and looks at the IV in his hand. “Please tell me that you are just you. Just a normal, fully human dad. That you’re my dad.”
Placing his hand on hers, Kevin says, “I have always been your dad. And I always will be.” He glances at his wife, notes the pain in her eyes.
Keely nods her head as she fights the tears stinging her eyes. “What did the doctor say?”
Kevin smiles at her subject change. “I have a concussion. Scan came back clean. No internal bleeding.”
“He can come home tomorrow,” Kimberly adds in a forced chipper voice.
“Did they find the boy they were looking for?” Kevin asks just remembering.
Keely pushes her hair back and nods. “He’s downstairs in the emergency room. He’s in pretty bad shape. What they did to him… It was awful.” She sniffles and wipes at her eyes. She doesn’t care what Asmoday thinks, Dustin didn’t deserve that. Nobody does.
“Keels,” her dad starts. He shakes his head, not knowing how to make it all better for her. Wasn’t this his job? To make his baby girl feel better? To solve all her problems? That’s what fathers do. “I’m so sorry, Honey. You’ve been through a lot. I wish I could have been there for you.”
“It wasn’t your fault. None of that matters now anyway. You’re here now. You’re going to be all right. Everything’s fine.” Second lie today. She is on a roll. Down a rocky mountain.
“Which one do you like?”
Confused, Keely stares at her dad. A smile parts his dry and chapped lips. “Which what?” she asks.
He laughs. It turns into a cough. Sucking air through his teeth, he puts his palm to his forehead. Kevin shoos Kimberly as she reaches for the call button to the nurse. “It’s fine. Just hurts when I cough.” He sips some water and finds his composure. “Which boy do you like? Your mom said there’s a boy.” He smiles again, a teasing glint in his eye.
Unable to contain it, she returns the smile. “His name is Nick. He’s the one that helped you. Do you remember?”
Kevin looks regretful. “It’s all a little fuzzy.”
“He’s my Guardian,” she explains, assuming that will clear up his confusion.
“Your what?” Her dad looks from Keely to her mom.
“I haven’t explained everything yet,” Kimberly says abashed.
Keely’s face turns red and hot with anger. He didn’t know. Her mother kept it from her dad too. How could she do this? What type of person does that? “You never told him?” She shoots off the bed and paces the room. “I guess I shouldn’t be so sur
prised. You never told me either. Does he know who you-” Keely stops herself from going any farther. He’s been through enough already. This can wait. She walks back to her dad and leans down to kiss his cheek. “I’m going to go. I’m a mess. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be safe with Nick. He’s my body guard. Get some rest.” She turns on her heel to leave.
“Keels?” She pauses and glances back at her dad. He looks so sad. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Daddy. See you tomorrow.”
Keely doesn’t go to the emergency department’s waiting room. Instead she goes outside for some fresh air to clear her head. It doesn’t help. The air is hot and thick with humidity. All it seems to do is weigh her down. She sits on the curb and stares up at the first hint of sun rising. She’s never seen a sun rise. It’s a shame she can’t enjoy it.
Though she tries to sort through her many problems and think of ways to fix them, her thoughts keep flipping back to Asmoday. The way he looked when he brought them back. He seemed drained and worried. Every time she’s seen him, he always looked pristine. Never anything but confident and healthy. She wonders if transporting everyone back and forth took some kind of toll on him. She also wonders if he was worried about snapping their cord again. She was. Still is. But nothing has happened since he walked away after leaving them behind the hospital. The cord is tight again, but it’s still there. Part of her wishes it weren’t, but another part never again wants to feel the way she did earlier. She isn’t a stupid person; she knows she needs to tell Nick so he can help her. But she can’t do it yet. Dustin isn’t in the clear yet. Nick needs to be there for Lila right now.