The Obsidian Crown, page 22
As I was about to run for it, a small dust devil formed in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. I signaled Hailey to stop. She moved closer to me, and we watched as the whirlwind started to get thicker and thicker. A few moments later, it stopped swirling, leaving a dark gray mist hanging in front of us like a thick fog just sitting there. I looked at Hailey and swallowed. I’d never seen anything like this before, and I didn’t know what to expect. She, too, looked apprehensive.
Once the mist was about three feet across, words written in impeccably clear script started to form as if someone was writing on the gray cloud.
“If you want proof that I have your parents, go to the boiler room of the main building. Look behind the last cabinet.”
I nudged Hailey to make sure I was not imagining it and asked, “Do you see this?”
She nodded and said, “Sure, do.”.
In that short moment, the mist was gone.
CHAPTER 28
Proof of Life
I have a couple of hours before Uncle Jake arrives at the school. We have got to find proof that my parents are still alive.
I was so excited. Finally, I could show the police that I was not the monster they made me out to be. I wanted to be the one to show them that my parents were being held hostage and they needed to help find and rescue them.
As soon as the mist disappeared, we decided to go back instead of leaving the school grounds. We got back into the main building right before the doors were closed for classes.
As soon as we were inside, we searched for the entrance to the basement. We found the door to the boiler room. I couldn’t wait to get in there. As I expected, the place was dark and empty. I searched for the light switch and found one by the door.
When I turned the lights on, I found myself facing a long line of cabinets. We started opening each of them.
Then Hailey said, “Didn’t the note say the very back?”
“You’re right!” I rushed to the very back of the room.
I found a lone cabinet standing by the wall. I looked down at its base and noticed that the grime and dust below had a semi-circular pattern, as if some one had pulled it away from the wall just recently.
“Is that it?” Hailey asked. “Hey, wait. Maybe it’s a trap?”
“What choice do I have?” I said.
I looked at the cabinet again. My heart pounded, thinking this could be my salvation or my doom. I don’t have a choice. I need to know.
I pulled the cabinet away from the wall, and it swung out easily. Behind it was a bundle wrapped in a brown butcher’s paper. I quickly retrieved it and tucked it under my arms.
“Let’s go!” Hailey said.
“Not if I can help it!” Detective Dewitt’s voice roared behind us. “Hands in the air.”
I turned around, and behind Hailey and I were Professor Andrews, Detective Dewitt, and Mercado, and behind them, I could see my uncle’s face. Uncle Jake forced his way into the front of the group, saying, “What’s the meaning of this? I’m here to pick up my niece. C’mon, Abigail.”
I made to follow my uncle when Detective Dewitt grabbed the brown package from me. I tried to take it back. “Hey, that’s mine!” But he was already tearing the wrapping.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Uncle Jake asked the detective.
“Proving your niece is a heartless murderer,” he said as he pulled out my dad’s red and black plaid shirt for everyone to see. My uncle grabbed the brown paper from the detective and took the rest of the content out. Left inside the wrapper was a pair of shoes I gave my mother for her birthday. I could tell by his reaction that he recognized them. Then he looked at the other items, their passports, wallets, and money.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. This was just too much. I looked at Hailey and then my uncle and said, “This is not what you think. This is not proof they are dead. This is proof they are alive! They’re alive. They’re alive!” but I could see that I had lost my uncle. He was not listening to me, anymore. He was standing there looking at the contents of the brown package. “Take her away,” Dewitt said.
“Abigail Montserrat, you are under arrest for the kidnapping and murder of Mr. Frederick and Jane Montserrat...” Mercado began.
“Uncle Jake, believe me, they’re alive!” But he was still in shock.
I don’t know when Detective Mercado finished the Miranda rights, but I remember when he started leading me away from the basement. I was drained of hope, of energy. It was all I could do to not fall on my knees right there. I was numb as they pulled my hands behind me and put the handcuffs on. My brain shut down, my body was frozen stiff and unfeeling as they walked me up the basement stairs, past the gawking students in the hall, and across the school grounds to the police car. Finally, I heard the muffled voice of my uncle protesting my arrest against the deafening sound of the blood pumping through my temples. I heard Hailey’s voice screaming at the cops, as she too was led away as an accessory to kidnapping and double murder.
The cuffs bit into the flesh of my wrists every time Detective Mercado took a step and ended up tugging on my arm. I lost all notion of time. I could not begin to guess how long it took to get to the police car.
I heard the car door open. I felt the officer lead me to the passenger side back seat. He was saying something about being careful not to hit my head, and he pushed it down gently as I got inside the back of the car. The leather of the car seat was hot against my hands and back, but it didn’t matter. I had a vague notion they were putting Hailey next to me.
I couldn’t say how long the ride was because I lost consciousness at some point during the drive.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a beautiful modern room, complete with a canopy bed, a pink chandelier, and a slew of cheerleading trophies, pom poms on the wall, surrounding a nicely made bed. Then Hailey materialized next to me.
“Do you know what’s going on?” I asked.
“No idea,” she said. I shrugged.
“Wait, just wait one second, I’m trying to figure this out,” a bodiless voice said.
“Taylor? Is that you?” Hailey said, scrunching her face in disbelief.
“Yes, it’s me, wait, just wait,” the voice answered back.
Then in a couple of seconds, she too materialized.
“I never could figure out how to do that. That’s why you couldn’t see me every time we go into these dreams. Anyway, I’m glad it worked this time.” Taylor was holding the transavite I got from Diwatha.
“How did you—”
“Long story short, I saw the two of you sprinting across the school ground and I noticed those idiot detectives were following you. So, I followed them, and then they found you and arrested you. Your packs were by the door where you left them so I picked them up and absconded with them in the cover of looky-loo students filling up the hall,” Taylor said, as if she was reporting on the weather.
“But how did you know how to do this?” Hailey asked.
“It’s really not that difficult, especially when you put a big bold star on the page that says “Cool” on it. I figured this is how they are getting us into the shared dreams.”
“But I thought you want out?” I asked.
“I thought it over and I figured if I lose you two, I would never find out how to fix what’s wrong with Blaise and I will never get him back. I don’t know anything about this magic stuff, so you’re my only hope. I know he can be a little dense sometimes but he’s really a good guy and I really love him,” Taylor explained.
“So you basically dream-abducted us from the cops so we can help you fix Blaise, seriously!” Hailey said.
“It’s okay, Hailey. I wanted to talk with Taylor anyway. I know how we can fix Blaise,” I said.
I told them what the Brotherhood said about the cure to the poison in Blaise’s blood. “Unfortunately, it would mean fighting and defeating the person who put him under this spell. The more they use their power, the less they have to sustain any spells they have going. Which means somehow defeating the Sorceress.”
“How are we going to do that? We are in custody and all our allies are in the hospital,” Hailey asked.
“Maybe if I can get the Doctor out? She can probably help me,” Taylor said.
“Well, why can’t you do it?” Hailey asked.
Taylor looked at us disbelieving and said, “Because I can’t rescue her by myself and how exactly are you guys going to rescue Abi’s parents from a freaky dungeon in Xana Mundi if you yourselves are in jail?”
She made some excellent points there. Then I realized they both stopped talking and were looking at me. “Oh, you’re waiting for me to say something?”
They nodded, and I started to think. “Okay, wait. I think I have a plan.”
CHAPTER 29
The Rescue Mission – Part Deux
“You thought you’re so smart. You thought we’re going to buy that whole act about being so innocent. Well, we got you now,” Detective Dewitt said from the front passenger seat.
I heard his muffled voice against the whirring of the driver’s window and the sound of seeds being spat out. I couldn’t respond. I felt woozy and disoriented.
“You really think they will talk?” Detective Mercado asked as he put more seeds into his mouth.
Detective Dewitt didn’t answer him, instead he said, “This would be a good time for you both to tell us where the bodies are. If you cooperate now, they might be more lenient on your sentence.”
Neither Hailey nor I said anything.
“Hailey, you don’t really want to go to prison for this girl, do you?”
Hailey didn’t answer. Wait, why didn’t Hailey say something? That’s something she usually wouldn’t let pass.
“Hey, are you listening to me?” Detective Dewitt yelled.
No answer. I looked over to Hailey, and I became unsettled by what I saw. There was another Hailey with the halo around overlapping her natural body by a couple of inches. The apparition was not quite detached from her body, and it was literally making me see double. Her spirit looked over to me, confusion taking over her demeanor. Then I realized she was watching as the same thing started happening to me, too.
I saw the detective crane his neck to continue talking with Hailey, who was seating behind the driver’s seat. When he didn’t see her head, he looked over his shoulders to get a closer look at the backseat. Our bodies were slumped against each other unconscious.
“Hey! Hey! You’re not fooling anyone with this crap. Mercado, Pull over, Pull over right now! Something’s wrong!” Detective Dewitt yelled. He went and opened the back door. “Hailey! Abigail!” He checked our eyes and pulse. He shook me by my shoulder. “Abigail!”
“I don’t know what they took but they’re unconscious! Get us to the hospital. I’m not having her get away this easy.”
“What do you mean?” Mercado asked.
“They were fine when I put them inside the car but now they won’t wake up? Their eyes are dilated. They took something. I don’t know how or what. I don’t know when either. We’re just a few blocks away from the hospital. Let’s go!”
Hailey and I exchanged glances before the now familiar blackout overtook us.
“Monty, wake up. Wake up,” whispered Hailey.
She shook my shoulders. My head was as heavy as a sack of potatoes, and my eyelids felt like they were glued together. Finally, I tried to open my eyes.
“Wh-where are we?” I asked.
“They have taken us to the hospital as you suspected they would. But there are two police officers outside our door.”
I tried to get up and shake the grogginess away.
“Quick! We need to find the Doctor and go,” Hailey said as she offered me a glass of water. “Unfortunately, the only way out is out the window and up one floor. We can use the rain gutter they have on the side of each room.”
“What? Are you sure? What floor are we on?” I asked, still feeling nauseous.
“Eleventh,” she said, pointing at the room number on the nurse’s chart attached to the wall. “We are flight risks so they made sure we can’t just walk out.”
I got up. I was slightly wobbly but walked towards the window. I looked out and noticed the ledge was only a foot wide. Then I looked down. Yup, the eleventh floor is pretty high up. But this is the only way. I inhaled and said, “Give me a minute,” as I tried to catch my breath.
“Sure, but we’re going to have to go soon before they start checking on us,” Hailey warned, looking around for any signs of the detectives.
As soon as Hailey was done, I said, “Okay, you go first and I will follow.”
She opened the window and got up on the ledge, then proceeded to stand. I followed right next to her. We had to walk sideways until we could get to the rain gutter. Hailey took a handhold from a crevice on the gutter wall about a foot above our heads. Then she started to swing herself like a pendulum, and on the final swing, she hooked her right foot over the upper floor’s window ledge and pulled herself up the ledge above like a mountain climber would. She bent down to try to pull me up. Unfortunately, she was too far away, and my hand couldn’t reach her.
“Can you do like I did?” she asked me.
“I can try,” I whispered back.
I stuck my hands in the same crevice she used and started to pull myself up. “I can’t swing myself over.”
Hailey said, “Okay, I think you can reach my hand now.” She reached out her left hand, using her right hand to steady herself on the ledge.
I stuck my hand pretty good in a crevice to make sure I had a stronghold with my left, and then I tried to reach out with my right. It was a few inches too far. I tried again. This time I moved closer to the right so I could reach her hand. Finally, she was able to touch the tip of my fingers but I was still too far away for a proper grasp.
“Swing yourself closer. We’re almost there,” she whispered.
I nodded and then swung myself a little, and she was able to reach me. As soon as her hand closed on mine, the cement crevice I was using broke off from the wall. I lost my hold.
“Hailey, don’t let go! Please don’t let go!” I looked up and saw Hailey was straining to keep me up. I could feel my feet dangling in the air.
I looked down. Now I know what the phrase “dizzying heights” means. My mind convinced me that I couldn’t afford to fall. I needed to see this through. Then something happened I didn’t expect. Maybe a gust of wind, perhaps a prayer answered, but I felt my body lighten. Like it would float in the air if Hailey were to let go. But she didn’t. Instead, she pulled me up on the ledge beside her.
“How did you do that?” I asked.
“Adrenalin, I guess,” she said. She again placed her forefinger over her lips as she turned around and looked into the doctor’s room. “Now, it’s Taylor’s turn.”
The elevator doors opened and Taylor walked out. The guard gave her a small nod as she entered Blaise’s room. Immediately, she pulled her phone out and turned on a recording of herself crying. She increased the volume to make sure that people in the hallway would think she was still inside. Then, as soon as the guard walked away, she snuck next door into the doctor’s room.
“Get in. I brought your clothes. Hurry! The guard won’t be gone for very long.” She said as she opened the large glass window.
“Thanks,” said Hailey and leaped into the room without making any noise, and proceeded to change.
I followed her in. “Thanks, Taylor. I owe you one,” I said as I changed as well.
“Just fix Blaise and we’ll call it even. I have to go downstairs now. Remember, you need to go to the east entrance. There’s no guard there.” She took off quietly back to Blaise’s room to get the recorder.
“Doctor McGrath, let’s go. It’s Abi. I need your help to save my parents. But we need to go now,” I told the Doctor.
“Wh-what’s going on?” she said, slurring her words. I figured it was due to the pain medication they gave her.
“We will explain later, in the car. But you need to come with us now,” Hailey said. “Here, we brought you a coat so you don’t get spotted.”
“It’s clear. The guard is talking with another nurse,” Hailey said after looking out the door. “Doctor, can you walk? We need to get to the elevator without raising suspicions.”
“Yes, I can,” she answered in a shaky voice.
“Don’t worry, we will be on either side of you, just in case,” I said.
Hailey walked to the elevator and pressed the button. I waited, watching for the floor indicator. When it reached the tenth floor, the Doctor and I walked over. We took the Doctor with us and went to the east side entrance door, where Taylor was waiting with her car.
As soon as we got in, I said, “We need to send word to the Sorceress that I am going to surrender.”
“You are?” Doctor McGrath asked in amazement.
“Well I really don’t want to but I’ve run out of choices.”
“I can understand if you decided to do that —” the Doctor replied.
“How could you say that? Abi shouldn’t surrender. We must find a way,” Hailey interrupted.
“Yes, of course, I’m just saying, I would do the same if it were my parents,” Doctor McGrath said.
“We all would but we shouldn’t give up on Abi,” Taylor said.
“Of course, you’re both correct. So what’s the plan?” the Doctor asked.
“I was thinking about this—” I started to say.
“Why don’t we go to the Sanctuary first? We will be safe there,” Doctor McGrath interrupted.
