Page 11 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)

Ava

I’m not sure how many days it’s been; I’ve gotten lost in the hours and sessions. I stand to my feet after a restless night of sleep. My body aches, especially my torn-up arms from having my blood taken so often. Add to that, I have a terrible headache. The headache started sometime a few days ago and hasn’t let up. I put one foot in front of the other and make my way to the bathroom. I decide to forego a shower because I don’t feel like I’m strong enough. I don’t bother looking in the mirror. I know what I’ll see—pale, gaunt cheekbones, cracked and bleeding lips, hair that’s lost all its luster and hangs like sticks down my back. I can feel the weight loss I’ve experienced. My ribs are more exposed, and I can see my protruding collarbones. I close my eyes as I hover over the sink and take a moment to remind myself why I’m doing this. Brandon. I take another deep breath. I have hope that he’s coming back to me. Yesterday, he broke through whatever it is they’re using on him because he actually opened his eyes and looked at me. He hasn’t done that since the first day I got here. The red wasn’t as strong, and it gave me hope that my brother is still in there. I’m going to keep talking to him and telling him stories of our childhood until I can get him lucid enough that we could make a break for it and get out of here. I don’t know how yet; I’m still working on that. I try to pay attention every single time I’m outside and in the main building and take everything in—where every vampire and human is. I’m trying to figure out a way of escape for the both of us.

When I finally get to the kitchen, I feel tanked. I know I’m going to need extra food for fuel today. I down a glass of orange juice and a bowl of cereal. I can’t do anything more than that. My stomach rebels every time I eat, but I know I have to eat to try to replenish what they’re taking from me. Sherese wanders into the kitchen right as I finish. She looks up from her phone like she’s just noticing me for the first time. A frown forms on her perfect face. “You look awful.”

“Yeah, well that’s what happens when they continue to take your blood and your life force.”

She stares at me. “I thought they were giving you something to help because of taking your blood so often.”

I think of the white pill they started giving me every time I wake up after one of my sessions. “Yeah. Obviously, it’s not helping.” She turns around and leaves without another word. I can’t find it in myself to feel bad for snapping at her, not when I feel as awful as I do. They come for me like usual, and I follow the vampires across the backyard to the main building. After my session, it takes me a few minutes to wake up before I can sit up and even longer before I can walk. It's taking longer and longer each time; it worries me. I really need to speed up my plans to get Brandon and I out of here.

A human in navy shows up to my room and escorts me to the room where all the subjects are kept. Things are definitely in chaos today. I’m not sure why, but there’s an uneasiness and edginess in the massive room today. I try to figure out what it is as I make my way over to Brandon’s cubicle. “Hey Brandon,” I say as brightly as I can manage. I try to always stay upbeat when I’m in here with him. His breathing changes when he hears the sound of my voice. I smile and dive into a story about him when he was three. I’m in the middle of my story when I look up and see something that makes my heart stop.

One of the humans in blue walks out of one of the glass enclosures carrying something in his arms. No, please tell me that’s not what I think it is. I watch carefully, hoping I’m wrong. “Brandon, I’ve got to go check something out. I’ll be right back, okay?” I wait until there aren’t as many people in my vicinity before I dart out the door and beeline it over to the cubicle the human carrying the bundle entered. When I get close, I see it’s exactly what I thought it was, and my stomach hollows out. A baby.

I keep walking, so I don’t get caught snooping. But my heart tugs in my chest. Just when I thought this place couldn't get any worse... What am I going to do? There’s no way I can just let them go to work on this baby. Whoever’s child this is must be beside themselves. It makes me sick. I think for a moment I’m going to lose my breakfast, but I keep it down by sheer willpower. I don’t bother waiting for somebody to escort me back to the house. It’s not like I don’t know the way, and there’s no way I can escape. They still have my brother.

I get back to the house and let myself in. Sherese is sitting at the table. And though I know it’s not her fault, I can’t help but take it out on her. “Did you know they have a baby in there?” I demand. “A baby!”

She looks up, and I can see the genuine surprise in her eyes. Part of my anger deflates; she didn’t know. There’s no way she could have acted that sincerely surprised. Weariness comes over me, almost causing me to crumple. I make my way to my room where I can crash before they come for me again.

My afternoon and evening sessions pass in a blur of exhaustion. When I finally finish for the night, I can barely lift one foot in front of the other. One of the vampires escorting me opens the door, and I stumble inside. Sherese turns toward me in surprise. “She can barely walk,” she snaps. She puts an arm around me and helps me over to the kitchen chair and then closes the door.

“Thanks,” I manage through cracked, bleeding lips.

She grimaces and grabs a cup from the cupboard and fills it with water. “Here, drink this.” I’m too tired to, but she makes me anyway. “What do you want to eat?” I lay my head down on the table, too tired to hold it up any longer. I hear her talking, but I ignore her. I close my eyes, but she’s persistent. “Sit up, Ava. You need to eat.” I try to tell her I don’t want to eat, but the words don’t really form. “Come on.” With her help, I manage to get down a few bites of what I think is chicken and rice.

My stomach rebels after only a few bites. “I can’t,” I manage to get out.

“Come on, Ava. You have to eat more.”

I shake my head and put a hand on my stomach. “I can’t; I’ll get sick.”

She gives me a worried look and puts the bowl down. “You can’t keep doing this; it’s going to kill you.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious.”

“I’m serious, Ava.”

I put my head back down on the table. “I know. I just have to—” I pause, remembering suddenly who I’m talking to.

“You just have to what?” she asks.

I don’t say anything. She may be helping me right now, but I can’t ever forget who she is. She’s one of them. The food does help give me some strength, and I lift my head and look her straight in the eye. “What are we going to do about the baby?” My voice is still weak but at least she can understand me. She doesn’t give anything away in her expression. “Sherese, it’s a baby. Surely you know how wrong that is.”

“Of course, I know how wrong it is,” she snaps. She stands up and shoves her chair into the table, and the back of it completely breaks off in her hands. She closes her eyes and tightens her lips. When she opens her eyes, she’s once again calm. “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t remember what and who I used to be.” Her voice is calm, but there is steel behind her words. “I didn’t ask to be this, so don’t sit back and judge me. I hate who they are, and yet,” her voice falters a moment. “That’s who I am now.” For just a moment, I see the desperation in her eyes, and it nearly guts me.

“I’m sorry, Sherese.” My words are barely a whisper. I stare down at the table for a moment, fighting the urge to lay my head back down. “Who were you before...this?” I’m not sure if she’ll answer my question, but I genuinely want to know. “If it helps, I was a regular human that they took and tried to drain. I didn’t know I was a healer, but my healing power saved me. The wolves rescued me and kept me safe.”

“And yet, you’re here...with vampires.” There’s no judgment in her eyes, just curiosity.

“Yeah. I came with Ajax after he showed me a picture of my brother. The, um, wolves probably aren’t too happy with me right now.”

She takes in everything I’m saying in that intense way of hers. It’s still terrifying but maybe just a tiny bit less terrifying than it was. She doesn’t say anything for a long while, and I just about give up on her. “I’m one of the humans that survived the change; I’m no longer human.” Her words are so quiet, I almost don’t hear her. I stare at her in shock. I suspected there was something to her story, but that’s not what I thought she would say.

“How did you survive?” I ask softly.

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I just know that I did, and I don’t want to ever talk about it or think about it again. I’m a vampire now, and that’s that.”

“So that’s why you only drink blood from the fridge,” I say.

She lifts startled eyes to mine. “You’re very observant,” she says.

I crack a small smile, even though it hurts my lips. “Yeah, well, I appreciate not having my neck ripped into, so thank you.” A shadow crosses her face, and I regret my words immediately. “So back to my original question. What are we going to do about the baby?”

“Nothing.” She holds a hand up when I get angry. “Look, I get it. I really do. But what do you think we’re going to be able to do? Let’s say we do manage somehow to get the baby out of the building. Then what? Bring it here?”

“I don’t know.” My headache is increasing, and I’m having a hard time thinking.

“You still have friends among the wolves?” she asks after a bit.

Her question takes me by surprise. “Yes.”

“You think they’d come for a baby,” she pauses. “If we could get the baby to them, that is.” I stare at her, even as the pounding in my head increases. “I mean there’s no guarantee we can even do it, but...”

“We have to try,” I say for her.

She meets my eyes. “Yeah, I think we do. There’s a lot of things that go on here that I hate, but I can’t really do anything about. But this—this is crossing a line.”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“Okay. Who’ve you got? Who can help us?”