Mother of Darkwaters: Book one of the Vessel series (60 page)

   “Sure. I could go for some wake me up,” the doctor agrees. Down deep, he knows Frank is trying to keep him out of the room. But that is one of the things you must learn in order to be part of the Network. You must be intelligent enough to catch these subtle moments. And above all, you can never question the reasoning behind the bloodline’s decisions. You only do.

   Frank places his right hand on the doctor’s shoulder, “How’s your family doing?”

   “They’re doing great. Janice wanted me to thank you guys for the invitations. She had a lot of fun and she absolutely loves your granddaughter.”

   Frank smiles.

   “You’re very welcome. And you can tell your wife that her new baby has nothing to worry about whenever it comes to her education. We have all of that taken care of. Any school you two choose.”

   “Thank you, sir,” the doctor answers while he begins walking with Frank towards the cafeteria, “Janice will be thrilled.”

   “As are we.”

   Martha’s cheeks flush with the matching color of her hair – red. She does not embarrass so easily, but Julianna’s increasing moans is making it impossible not to. If she were not here to see it, she wouldn’t believe it. Julianna is clearly sedated heavily. Yet, her body mocks the drugs workings.

   “Lilith,” Julianna whispers within her delight.

   Martha covers her mouth with her right hand. She glances at the door and then quickly directs her body towards the room’s exit. After entering the hallway, she closes the door and turns around. She can see the nurse’s station. With both hands now covering her mouth, she stares at the two nurses. Her eyes scan towards the lone security office guarding the elevator. She lowers her hands from her mouth and waves him over. As he approaches, Martha steps away from the door and points.

   “I need you to guard this door. No one is allowed in or out until I come back. Understood?”

   “Yes ma’am. I will need to bring in another officer for the elevator.”

   “Very well. I trust you can handle this then?”

   The security officer nods.

   When Martha turns her back to him, the security guard speaks again.

   “What about Mr. Dermott, ma’am?”

   “Mr. Dermott went on a much needed break,” Martha answers while walking towards the nurse’s station, “I’ll be back before then.”

   “Yes ma’am,” the large man answers with a deep tone.

   The woman’s long red hair dances around her back as she picks up her pace. By the time she approaches the station, the two nurses behind the desk are standing at attention.

   “Stop that,” Martha chastises, “This isn’t the military.”

   “Yes, ma’am,” the two women answer in unison.

   For a brief second, Martha reasons that this would be a great time for one of her eyes to break out into a fit of involuntary twitching. But it doesn’t. Instead, she turns and looks back at the man guarding Julianna’s door. He is on the phone talking to someone.

   “While you’re ordering help,” Martha talks loudly, “Try to get someone down here to man this desk. I’m taking these two with me.”

   The man glances at Martha and nods. Martha turns back around and examines the stiff-looking women. Her right brow lifts slightly.

   “Are you medical or security?”

   “Medical, ma’am,” the woman on Martha’s left answers.

   “Then act like it.”

   Both women nod while giving each other nervous glances.

   “There’s no need to be afraid of me,” Martha informs, “I understand this is the first time you have met anyone from the family. But as far as I am concerned, if your heart’s in the right place and I can trust you, then you are part of this family. Understood?”

   The two nurses nod again. This time, however, Martha sees a bit of relief on both of their faces. Martha nods towards a hallway that intersects crosswise from her granddaughter’s hallway. In fact, the nurse’s station acts as a depot of sorts between the two intersecting hallways.

   “Is the laundry still down that hall?”, Martha questions.

   “Yes, ma’am,” the woman on Martha’s left speaks again.

   “Come with me,” Martha demands politely while walking around the nurse’s station. By the time she rounds the back side of the station, both nurses have exited their post and are waiting for her on the other side. Martha walks past them and continues down the hallway. About midway down the hall, she stops at a door to her left. The sign reads:
Laundry – Authorized Personnel Only
.

   “Open it,” Martha orders politely.

   The woman who has yet to speak removes her identification card from her shirt. She steps forward and swipes it through the door’s security lock.

  
Beep…Click-click.

   Turning the handle downward, the woman pushes open the door and steps inside. Overhead lights automatically illuminate the large linen room. Martha follows with the other nurse close behind. When the nurse clears the doorway, Martha walks over and shuts the door. She turns back around.

   “I don’t know if it’s nerves or if you two are just lacking in confidence altogether,” Martha speaks sternly, “But I am willing to give you both the opportunity to build your trust with me.”

   The two women nod in silence.

   “I need your help with something,” Martha continues, “And neither one of you can speak of it to anyone.”

   Martha points her right index finger at each nurse respectively, “I don’t even want to find out you have discussed it with each other. Are we clear so far?”

   “Yes, ma’am,” the two women answer together. But to Martha’s delight, they have not done so in unison.

   “We’re going to need some clean sheets and hospital gown. And don’t get one of those plastic surgical ones. My granddaughter needs a warm cloth one.”

   The two women nod and await further instruction.

   “What are you waiting for?”, Martha snaps.

   Both nurses, immediately, scramble to fill the small order. Unbeknownst to them, however, Martha isn’t angry in the least. She is amused by them. More importantly, she is giving these ladies an opportunity of a lifetime. But it will be a few days before they realize just how much their lives are about to change.

   These women are at the very bottom of the Network. Their mannerisms are a tell-tale sign of this fact. Martha is near the top. The only event that can override her decisions pertains to her family’s welfare. The security side of Network has the power to do whatever needs to be done to ensure Lilith’s bloodline stays intact. But Martha can raise or lower rank as she sees fit – even the head of the Network if they are proven to be unfit for office. At the current moment, however, these clueless women are being tested – as is the security officer guarding her granddaughter’s room.

   After both nurses inform Martha they are ready, she explains her granddaughter’s dilemma. Both of the women pretend to be professional about what their ears are hearing, but Martha can see the amusement on their faces. They seem somewhat relieved.

   “Don’t worry ma’am,” one of the nurse’s informs, “Her secret is safe with us.”

   “Yes ma’am,” the other nurse agrees.

   Martha hesitates while contemplating a nagging question.

   “If I may, ma’am?”, the nurse who has not spoken much decides to help out if she can.

   Martha nods.

   “Although it isn’t a common thing, it
does
happen for girls, too. It isn’t just a male thing. That is a misconception.”

   Martha nods. She turns and opens the door. Stepping out into the hallway, she heads towards her granddaughter’s room. When she arrives, she questions the security officer. After he informs her that no one has tried to enter or leave, she instructs him to stand aside while she peaks into the room. With Julianna quite as can be, Martha invites the nurses in and then looks at the security officer.

   “No one else is to come in,” Martha informs before shutting the door.

   The security officer nods. When the door shuts, he turns his back to the door and crosses both arms. To anyone that knows him, this is a sign that now is not the time to test his resolve.

     Martha turns and looks at her sleeping granddaughter.

   “Okay ladies,” Martha whispers, “It’s time to get to work.”

   “I have something for you.”

   Julianna turns towards the smoky voice. Lilith is laying upon her belly on her favorite rock. Julianna smiles at her.

   “I think I’ve had enough for one day.”

   Lilith grins while viewing the beautiful young woman sitting in the sand.

   “Is that your world speaking again?”

   “No. It’s a joke,” Julianna answers. She follows up her explanation with an awkward smile. In fact, she can’t seem to stop smiling.

   “Did you know that I’d do that if you…?”

   “Yes anguisette,” Lilith interrupts Julianna, “This is what it means to be you.”

   “You didn’t know,” Julianna teases, “You were guessing.”

   Lilith decides not to correct the young woman. She maneuvers herself to a sitting position before standing in the sand. Julianna watches her with curious eyes as she leaves her rock and walks over to the backside of it. Reaching down, Lilith retrieves the young woman’s present. She walks back around her rock and smiles while heading over to her visitor.

   “These are for you,” Lilith informs while offering her present to the woman wearing the strange paper dress.

    The young woman stands up.

   “Thank you,” Julianna accepts the unexpected gift into her hands.

   “I thought you could use them whenever you cross the earth-line.”

   Julianna holds out the black hoodie and brown pair of loose-fit pants. The material is surprisingly soft.

   “These are great,” Julianna genuinely appreciates the gift, “They are so
Assassin’s Creed
.”

   Whenever Julianna realizes Lilith is searching to understand the reference, she quickly explains.

   “It’s a game. The character wears stuff kinda like this.”

   “Oh. Like a dress up game.”

   Julianna drapes the clothes over her left arm.

   “Sure,” Julianna nods with her continuing awkward smile, “Like a dress up game.”

   Julianna turns and sits Indian-style in the sand. She places her new clothes onto her lap and peers out into the earth-line just beyond. Lilith takes a seat next to her on her left side.

   “Don’t take this the wrong way,” Julianna speaks, “But I don’t understand the need for clothes here. I thought you were into the whole
naked is better
thing?”

   Lilith places her right arm around Julianna’s shoulder. She points out towards the earth-line with her left hand. 

   “Not all of them are nice,” Lilith explains, “Most of them are not. Being beautiful and naked would not be wise. Not on the other side of the line.”

   Lilith pats the clothes held within the young woman’s lap, “These will help disguise you from some of them, if you so wish. The stronger ones will know you on sight no matter what you wear. It is only damage control. Your safety cannot be guaranteed.”

   Julianna nods. The images within her eye’s sight have removed her smile.

   “I guess I don’t understand the naked and ashamed part,” Julianna informs, “You said they walk around naked and ashamed. But I see clothes on most of them.”

   Lilith uses her left hand and points towards a spirit-soul wearing a black suit.

   “His clothes are a recreation of his last memory before his physical death. He can never make new ones. It is an image, child. The clothes are not really there. He, either, has not yet learned how to remove them, or he does not want them gone. But he can
never
change into new ones. His punishment forbids it.”

   “Naked and ashamed,” Julianna answers.

   “Yes.”

   Julianna looks down at her gift.

   “So these are not real?”, Julianna attempts to understand the confusing logic of this realm, “Because I can sure feel them.”

   Lilith smiles.

   “Close your eyes.”

   Julianna obliges the woman by doing as instructed.

   “Now,” Lilith continues, “Imagine your strange dress is gone from your physical body.”

   Julianna nods.

   “Open your eyes.”

   Julianna opens her eyes and looks at her body. She looks over at Lilith with a warning glare.

   “Ha-cute.”

   “Those were never there,” Lilith informs, “Not in this realm.”

   “How do I get them back?”

   Lilith laughs. She removes her arm from Julianna’s shoulder and stands up – her eyes glance towards the young woman’s lap.

   “You have clothes,” Lilith amuses, “Wear them.”

   “I didn’t need them a minute ago,” Julianna accusingly mocks while slipping her pants on. She stands up and finishes pulling them up around her waist. To her, they feel as though they were hand-tailored by the most impressive of shops.

   “You don’t need to wear…”

   “Stop it,” Julianna teasingly orders before slipping the hoodie over her head.

   Lilith pauses. A smile of adoration crosses over her full lips as she watches the young woman pull her hoodie down to cover her belly. Lilith, slowly, turns her attention back towards the earth-line. Julianna follows her lead. The younger woman locks her gaze upon three spirit-souls in particular. One of them has a face severely burned by fire. Another looks as if she were cut all over by a knife. And the third one is completely missing the bottom part of his face. He doesn’t even have a mouth.

   “Why are some of them so scary looking?”

   Lilith looks at Julianna and follows her stare.

   “Naked and ashamed,” Lilith answers flatly.

   “They can’t change their look at all?”

   “Hmm. That is a complicated question, child.”

   “Is there an answer?”, Julianna pushes.

   “Some of them do not look so scary whenever they first come to this place. There are those who have learned how to harness their new ability and appear this way because they are vengeful and cruel. There are some who look like this because their mind recreates an event like your paper dress.”