He was about to ask the Vampire what he and his cohorts wanted when another Vampire appeared from the
Stair of Wonders
waving his boy
’
s sword in triumph.
“I’
ve got it!
”
shouted the female thief.
“
Let
’
s get out of here!
”
The Vampire in front of Notus cocked his head to the side and gave a little nod, his gaze landing on Elizabeth.
“
Better luck next time. It
’
s too bad; she looks to be a delicious cow.
”
With that, he turned and followed the woman down into the
Canadian Court
. The four others turned in different directions and fled with their stolen treasures.
It took but a moment before a new type of chaos to descend. The emergency doors in the Rotunda exploded open at the same time the main entrance and after hours doors opened to allow a stream of Emergency Task Force police in to secure the building. Regular uniformed officers followed, accompanied by blasts of cold damp wind.
Notus helped Elizabeth to her feet, calming her with his preternatural abilities, wishing someone could do the same for him. When her tears ceased to flow, they turned as one as Vee came flying into her mother
’
s embrace. Standing back to give mother and daughter a moment, Notus realized that the boy had yet to make his entrance. He was about to say something when without warning the ROM
’
s lights blackened out, white light poured in the doors, and a crashing boom set the building to shudder as agony ripped through his body.
Collapsing to his hands and knees, Notus fought to regain his breath against the intense pressure on his chest, his heart beating erratically in his ears. The dark spots that littered his vision were made more pronounced once the lights flickered back on. He felt a hot hand on his shoulder and somewhere in the muffled sounds his ears picked up the slow speech of Elizabeth asking him what was wrong.
He shook his head, trying to clear it and surprisingly the pain receded, as well as the spots and stuffy ears. Taking Elizabeth
’
s hand in his he stood, his body creaking and groaning like an old man’s.
“I’
m alright,
”
he lied, his voice quavering as he refused to look at Elizabeth’s mascara smeared face even as he dropped her hand. No, something was definitely wrong. Closing his eyes he Sent to his son and received
–
nothing. He shook his head at what that could possibly mean. He needed answers to the boy
’
s whereabouts and the only one who could know that was standing next to her mother.
“
What happened in the exhibit, Vivianne?
”
asked the monk, his voice shaking.
Vee looked up to her mother. Elizabeth nodded and the girl matched worried gazes with Notus.
“
I went down to tell him that dinner was called, but he didn
’
t answer, so I left.
”
“What happened then?” pressed Notus, impatience tingeing and strengthening his tones.
The girl, her face smudged as much as her mothers, told Notus what happened down in the exhibit, how the gunman called Notus
’
friend
“
Angel
”
before the woman broke the glass case and they fled with the sword. Notus could tell that Vee omitted some details, but he did not feel the need to push right now. It was when Vee told him that the boy chased up the stairs after the male that he broke off listening, a new fear clutching his gut.
Turning around, he made to go up the stairs only to be halted by talk meant for police ears.
It seemed that someone had fallen from the roof, possibly struck by lightning, and that EMS personnel were onsite performing CPR. A pit of foreboding gripped Notus.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Notus rushed through the throngs moving in and out of the main entrance to stop short in the slowing rain outside of the
Crystal
.
There, under the protection provided from the protrusion of the structure, lay his son on damp concrete, his long white hair splayed on grey as paramedics worked to revive him. Notus did not need to be told that the boy no longer breathed and that his heart no longer beat. The silence was deafening.
Though a Chosen could consciously halt these functions without any detriment, Notus knew that this was not the cause
. In a daze he stepped forward, watching as a paramedic pumped oxygen through a mask as the other compressed the boy
’
s chest. It was when they brought out the defibrillator, ripping the shirt and placing the pads on the scarred pale chest, that the reality of what he felt during the lightning strike, hit him
Shaking his head, tears filling his eyes, Notus did not care about his preternatural speed or strength. Only one thought drove him forward, pushing him past frightened guests, police and reporters. In a haze he heard the paramedics call clear and watched the boy
’
s body jerk to the current. Notus should have felt something through their connection but there was nothing.
He came to the ring of police providing a barrier to the onlookers, halting his mad rush on the hand now pressed against his shoulder. Breaking his gaze off the boy’s supine form, Notus looked up into the firm features of a police officer.
“I’m sorry, sir. You are not allowed further.”
“He’s my son.” Notus did not intend to Push. The weight of his need overrode the officer’s will. His glazed brown eyes proved no resistance as Notus slipped past him and into the circle provided for the paramedics.
Notus arrived in time to watch the boy’s body lifted as another wave of electricity slammed through his body.
This time it was rewarded with the jumpstarting heartbeat. The paramedic on bag duty quickly glanced up at the intruder before checking to see if his patient’s breathing became stabilized. “Who are you?” he demanded.
“I’m the boy’s father.” The words slid out without a thought. The medic made a face as if he did not believe him. “Adoptive,” amended Notus.
The medic nodded, returning to the care of his patient as his partner brought the gurney and lowered it as far as it would go. Notus did not require any other invitation to kneel at the boy’s side, taking his warm hand in his own.
The sensation widened his eyes and deepened his disbelief. It was not possible!
The second paramedical mumbled an “excuse me” as he took the boy’s other hand, a long needle connected to an I.V. bag. It dawned on Notus a fraction too late what the medic’s intention was. His order for the man to stop came too late.
The needle pierced into the back of the boy’s pale hand, the bracers having been removed and laid on the ground. Three pairs of eyes grew in horror as black tendrils serpentined through the vein viper fast, branching up into the vessels. Notus could not believe what he witnessed. Never before had the boy had such a sudden onset from even a small piece of iron. He watched the toxic spider weave a disjointed web, sending the boy into convulsions.
Having dealt with these attacks early on in the boy’s healing from the Vampire’s tortures, Notus threw himself over the boy in an attempt to still him before he could do damage.
“Take it out!” he cried.
The medics scurried to follow protocol. One brought out a syringe filled with a clear chemical.
His declaration ignored, Notus angrily yelled, “He’s having a reaction to the iron. Take out the I.V.!”
“It’s surgical steel,” snapped the one with the syringe. “He can’t react to it.”
Gritting his teeth, Notus Pushed, “Take the I.V. out
now
!”
Dropping the syringe, the medic grabbed his patient’s arm and took out the two inch needle. Within a few moments the black tendrils broke apart and began to fade, taking the paroxysms with it. Carefully, Notus sat up, his hand resting on the boy’s shoulder, listening to the boy’s ragged breath.
Everything was wrong. The boy should have woken up by now. Instead he lay on the concrete, his white hair splayed in soggy ropes around his pale face. What was most disconcerting was that Notus felt nothing, absolutely nothing, from the boy. No pain. No emotion. No thought. The implications drove him to his feet at the same moment the boy was lifted onto the gurney.
They should not be taking him to the hospital. He should stop them and take the boy home for his eventual quick recovery. Against all reason, Notus allowed the paramedics to take his son.
A hand alighted on his arm and he turned to peer up into Elizabeth’s worried blue eyes. “They’ll let you ride with him,” she said softly. “I’m finished speaking to the police, for now. We’ll follow.”
Numb, Notus could only nod. He followed the paramedics to the ambulance, its lights flashing blue and white. Somewhere in the back of his mind he noticed it had stopped raining.
T
he stark white hall lined with the occasional occupied gurney and sporadic plastic moulded chairs echoed voices that called out in pain or in stern directives from medical personnel. Underlying the cries were the shushed voices from those across the hall, hidden by drapes concealing patients under care in bed sized cubicles and the machines that monitored them. In a blue plastic chair Notus sat, elbows on his knees, resting his chin in his hands, fingers covering his mouth and nose. To any passers-by he appeared the concerned family member. Little did they know how right and how wrong they were.
Notus watched a gurney, carrying a motor vehicle accident victim, wheel past. Blood splattered across the young girl’s damaged face and chest. Cuts oozed their precious liquid, staining the sheets and blankets that failed to keep her shocked body warm. Frantic emergency crews ran along, their expert hands already at work. It had been a very long time since Notus had been around such a strong scent of fresh blood.
He also realized, too late, that he had not fed as efficiently as he had thought. Trying not to inhale too deeply, the monk watched the unconscious girl be whisked down the hall
. Her sporadic and failing heartbeat called to him to follow. Releasing a shuddering breath, Notus closed his eyes in prayer both for the young woman and for the boy who lay in the bed curtained off across the hall.
It should not be like this. Everything was going wrong. He witnessed the shocked expressions on the nurses’ faces; one so shaken that tears fell from her eyes. He knew what upset them and had the boy been awake he would have been ashamed into anger. Notus tried to ignore the scents of blood, pain and fear. What he could not ignore was the evidence placed before him, no matter how unbelievable it seemed.
A hand alighted on his shoulder and he glanced up at Elizabeth and Vee. Taking the cup of coffee she offered, Notus sat back. Her presence was strangely comforting.
“Any word?” she asked, sitting in the vacant seat beside him.
Vee slid down the wall to sit on the floor beside her mother, her knees bent to act as a table for her cup of steaming liquid. Her gaze fell onto a spot in the middle of the floor, a sad frown on her face. It was clear to Notus that the girl was well versed with waiting in hospitals. He also noticed that they had taken the time to clean up their faces, but they were far from perfect.
Notus shook his head; his brown and silver hair fell into his eyes only to be brushed back by hand.
Elizabeth accepted the news with a nod and sipped her coffee.