Rebirth of the Seer (13 page)

“I know.” Chloe lowered the bag from her shoulder, patting it before setting it onto the ground. “Everything you asked for’s in here with a few extras. The pharmacy’s going to wonder where two different kinds of antibiotics and a handful of assorted painkillers got to, but if you don’t tell, then I won’t.”

“My lips are sealed.” Reaching for the bag, I secured its strap around my shoulder. “If the pharmacists are anything like how they used to be, they shall assume the residents got their blue pills and red pills mixed up again.”

“And the residents will figure the interns misplaced a few packs of gauze and tape and an entire suture kit.” Her eyes met mine in a deliberate manner. “Refrigerate the two pints of Type A as quickly as possible, though. And you’re welcome.”

My brow furrowed. “You did not have to do that.”

“I know I didn’t, but I can’t exactly bake you cookies any longer.” Sighing, she broke eye contact with me in favor of glancing toward the roof of a neighboring monolith. “Something I learned about the world years before I ever met you. You can’t go fighting gravity and you can’t change reality no matter how hard you try. My mother always told me the best thing you can do is have a sense of humor about it.”

I nodded, but continued looking at her in the same manner. “Be that as it may, I know how hard this has all been to swallow. “ My expression relaxed, a tenuous silence falling between us as I drew a deep breath inward and exhaled it slowly. My gaze shifted away, flicking nervously from the ground before returning to Chloe. I hesitated. “Might I ask a question of you, Chloe?”

She shrugged. “I guess so?”

“I recall the last time we spoke… I asked if you still eyed me as though expecting Peter to burst from the seams and overtake me. You insisted you knew better, but…” I trailed off.

A soft smile touched the corners of her lips. “You’re asking if I meant it.”

“More or less, I suppose.”

Chloe studied me for a moment before nodding once. “I do see you lurking behind those eyes, Peter. Sunglasses or not, there’s a look you get that makes me think of that wet-behind-the-ears doctor I once knew. Just think of it this way, if you need another way of looking at it, no monster would’ve rushed that injured girl to the hospital bleeding out the way she was. The same thing triggered inside you that would’ve triggered if someone hurt Lydia. That’s the Peter I knew.”

“I suppose so.” I averted my eyes for a moment, my gaze turning distant. “Human emotions are so counterintuitive sometimes, are they not? That any of us would throw ourselves in the midst of danger for somebody else. It is contrary to any sense of self-preservation.”

“They call that compassion.” Chloe reached to pat my arm, drawing my attention back to her. “Peter was good at that.”

“I do not understand it in the same manner, though. It is like looking through a glass darkly.”

“Try to figure out human emotions and
it’ll just drive you crazy. They aren’t here to make sense, just to make us better people.”

“If you insist.” I flashed a quick grin as Chloe lowered her hand again. She tilted he
r head and narrowed her eyes while
I
simply
shrugged. “I shall simply take your word for it. In the meantime, I must return to Monica.” Hitching the black bag’s strap further up my shoulder I patted it once. “I am in your debt, my friend. Should our paths ever intersect again, I shall do my best to repay your kindness.”

I extended my hand toward Chloe, offering it for her to shake. She ignored it, however, and enclosed her arms around me, pressing her body to mine as I fell awkwardly into her embrace. For as much as the compulsion to rip myself away overwhelmed every
ounce
of my being, I held still and even managed to wrap an arm around her.

Her
smile
was evident in her voice
. “I want you to promise me one thing, Flynn,” she s
aid as she finally pulled back.

“What would that be?”
I
asked,
fighting
the urge to dus
t off my suit jacket. I allowed m
y arm to fall to my side before I could succumb to the temptation.

“If Peter ever does find a way back, please have him pay me a visit. I’d like to say hi to him again, for old time’s sake.”

The sigh escaped my lips before I could stop it. “You women and your romantic notions. Chloe, I told you–”

“And I said miracles can happen, okay? You and I’ll have to agree to disagree on this one.” Chloe flicked her hands as though to dismiss me. “Go on now. Get on with you, before that German man finds you and I get stuck in the middle of that nonsense on your account.”

“In the middle?” I paced backward, my hand returning to the duffel bag. “Such as not wishing to be aiding and abetting my thievery? Is that not what you said to me last time?”

She pointed a finger at me and scowled. “Boy, I don’t care if you’re a vampire. I’ll beat you like the redheaded stepchild I never had.”

“Consider me warned, dear.” With a quick wink, I turned to depart. Chloe’s eyes lingered on me throughout the entire trek, until I escaped her line of sight. After that, my only companions were the biting wind and the chill of the night.

They continued to accompany me throughout the duration of my personal errands. As I ventured around Center City, I reflected on departing from one thing only to begin another. Julian’s nex
t move haunted my thoughts;
carried with me even when I returned to the safe house and began the task of tending to Monica’s wounds. New bandages and fresh instruments littered the surface of her bed, arranged in a systematic manner with my watcher covering all but her injury and above with a blanket.

She spared a glance at me as I examined her stitches. “You’re surprisingly nonchalant about that,” she said.

I smirked. “Chloe provided a bit of nourishment with the rest of our contraband. I consider myself reformed. Two pints managed to sate my thirst rather well for once.”

“A far cry from punching holes in the wall.”

“At least a marked improvement.” My smile faded only as I concentrated more on the appearance of her wound. Gingerly, I swept a washcloth over the blemished skin and dabbed at two days’ worth of neglect. “It hasn’t become infected, at the very least. The antibiotics shall ensure that remains the case.”

“Thank the Fates. If you think I’m a bad patient like this, you should see me struggling with a fever.” Her breath hitched once when I wiped away a patch of dried blood. I tried to ignore the sight of her gritting her teeth from my periphery. “So… Julian.”

“Yes, Julian.” Reflexively, I frowned. “Knowing the Order as you do, what do you suspect he has been doing to keep himself occupied?”

She exhaled slowly. “He’s probably spent the better part of the night combing the streets while a few members of the Council watch the airport and canvas around the train station. When we don’t show, they’ll keep someone by the airport tomorrow night while he settles on either the bus or the train station. He might even have a watcher helping him out with that.”

“I know where he shall be.”

Moni
ca raised an eyebrow. “Which place
is that?”

“The train station. It is our most likely point of exit. Your Order must know we would not risk a public incident at the airport, especially with me so heavily armed. The bus leaves us limited as to where we could journey prior to sunrise and I would be better protected within the confines of a train.” I grimaced as a small amount of new blood rose to the surface of her wound, but managed to keep my fangs at bay.

Mercifully, my watcher did not flinch this time when I dabbed at the wound. “I’m tempted to say we should stay put for another few days, but they’ll be keeping everything under surveillance for at least another week
.
”
She sounded nonplussed, but
I assumed the casual air to be deceptive. “They’re probably even making calls to all the car rental agencies as we speak. Not that I’d want to drive in my condition.”

“Wise.”
My frown deepened as
I considered her words. “We do not have a week, as you suggested before. Something about magical wards?”

She nodded. “E
ven if the magical wards don’t set them off, they’ll haul in whatever sorcerers they need to shake us out of hiding. They might even call in another seer to help Julian out.”

“That sounds decidedly like the last thing we need.” Setting the washcloth down, I reached for an alcohol swab. I tore open the packet and perked an eyebrow at Monica. “This is going to sting.”

“Bring it.”

Hesitating only for a moment, I applied the antiseptic. She tensed, but it did nothing to deter me. “So, either we slip away like shadows – which shall be nigh-unto-impossible given your current state – or we prepare for a confrontation regardless of whether we leave now or later.”

“Unfortunately, that pretty much sums it up.” Her eyes clenched shut, the hand not holding the blanket in place gathering a fistful of sheets. “Fuck, would you hurry that up? I’m about to offer you my neck.”

“I told you, I have already eaten.” I finished disinfecting the wound and tossed the swab toward an adjacent garbage can. Reaching for fresh bandages, I covered the injury and secured the gauze into place with a few pieces of medical tape. “There you are, my dear. Hopefully, this shall speed along the healing.”

“Thank you.” Monica rotated her shoulder twice before pulling the blanket over the rest of her body. With a sigh, she settled back against her pillows again. “So what’s our plan of attack?”

I shrugged. “Given the fact that
evasion
is a moot point, we should settle on which point of departure would be best for a confrontation.”

“Admit it, you just want to beat the shit out of Julian.”

“That goes without saying.”

Monica smirked and shut her eyes. “My personal recommendation is that we try to slip out of here by train tomorrow evening. I have a contact who’s been carrying on about some sort of nonsense out where he is. He would give us a place to hide.”

“Where?” I furrowed my brow. “And would that be a wise idea, for you to force yourself mobile so soon?”

“We do
n’t have much of a choice. C
oncerning where…” She sighed and opened her eyes again. “You don’t know how to rein in your thoughts enough for me to tell you. If you intend to face any member of the Order, I don’t want them reading your mind and following us. It was bad enough me having to block your thoughts while you fantasized about ripping Julian’s neck open.”

“You cannot fault me for desiring a decent meal,” I said with a wink. Just as swiftly as I permitted the moment of levity, however, I sobered and nodded. “So, our destination is to be kept from me until we disembark. Very well, then.” A moment of silence settled between us. My mind circled around solutions, coming back to muscle memory as though I was plotting another assassination after what felt like an extended sabbatical. The notion forced me into the old, familiar posture and a plethora of scenarios play
ed
out in my thoughts. An unmeasured amount of time passed before I realized I had glanced away and Monica was now staring at me. She raised an eyebrow at me.

“You know, I’m trying so hard to stop reading your mind,” she said. “But then I lose you like that and you get me really curious.”

I grinned coyly and indulged in a deep, steadying breath. “I was simply musing on my training. As tantalizing as the prospect of making bloody work of him might be, I believe I might have an acceptable alternative.”

“I’m all ears, Flynn.”

“Provoke a fight. While you procure our tickets, I shall lead him on a merry chase and corner him somewhere out of sight.”

“And then you’re just going to knock him out?”

“Ensuring he sees precisely who attacked him and why. So long as we keep him alive, he can report to his superiors that we got away. And when he reads my thoughts, he shall find them blissfully bereft of our destination.”

“Good thing I already cleared out my checking account.” The look in her eyes turned troubled. “Are you sure this is the best idea?”

“It is the one which achieves all our ends.”

“Yeah, but you seem to be deriving way too much pleasure from the idea of facing Julian. Do I have to remind you he’s a master seer?” Monica frowned. I remained silent while she studied me in an unfamiliar manner, something which read of far more concern than I was used to her demonstrating. She sighed. “I really hate that you’re right about this being our best option, just so you know.”

“Your worry has been registered. Shall I promise to behave?” The curl at the corner of my mouth turned devious.

My watcher rolled her eyes in a much more characteristic response. “I swear you’re incorrigible.”

I laughed and finally stood. “Come now, Monica, let us be brazen outlaws. We are fugitives, after all. If we wish to make our escape, a little blood might just be called for.”

“I’m trying to make sure it’s not yours.”

My smile lingered despite her stern look.
“Permit me my capricious spirit. I am feeling more lighthearted than I have been in some days.”