The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series (15 page)

“Yes, ma’am—I mean, Maggie. I am very grateful for my gift. It’s just that it hasn’t been easy.” He turned to Cliff. “If only Grandpa here could’ve been around to help me learn a little more about it.”

Cliff’s chest deflated slightly. “One of many regrets, boy.”

“No, no, no, Grandpa. I didn’t mean it like that,” replied Thad with a grimace. “I just…
.
”

“It’s okay,”
said Cliff with a wink.

Cliff suddenly realized that he could see Lauren over Thad’s shoulder as she stood at the front of the car. She was being unusually patient, and Cliff then remembered that they were here for a reason.

“You ready?” he asked over Thad.

“What’s the plan, old man?” asked Lauren.

Thad turned and looked at Lauren with disgust. “Could you show a little respect?” he asked indignantly.

Cliff chuckled. “It’s okay, boy. That’s just her way.” He turned to Maggie. “I was thinking that you and Thad would stay here with Nicole while Lauren and I went in to find Marcy.”

Nodding her head in agreement, Maggie replied. “That’s sounds fine. Whatever you need me to do, Cliff.”

Cliff motioned to Thad. “You gonna be okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You two just be quick about it, okay?”

From behind him, Lauren laughed lightly. With a wry grin, she replied
to Thad’s comment while speaking to herself
. “Without you and the girl, the two of us could be in
Texas
before you could get out of this parking lot?”

“Okay, Lauren,” said Cliff
.
“
L
et’s be discrete going in.”

As if she was reading his mind, Lauren nodded in agreement an
d took a step back from the car and held her hands to her side.

Cliff looked back and forth between Maggie and Thad. “We’ll be quick.” He looked to Lauren and gave her a wink.

In an instant, Thad found himself standing alone in the parking lot.

****

Lauren and Cliff
slipped through
the hospital entrance, everyone around them oblivious to their presence. Lauren was quite used to existing in the
S
hadow realm. It was yet another aspect of her power that gave her the feeling of superiority over the human race. Her only regret was that they couldn’t move faster. Neither of them knew where Marcy was
,
and she wasn’t sure how they were going to find her.

“Well, we’re here,” she
said
in a snarky tone
.
“
N
ow what?”

Cliff didn’t respond right away. Instead, he glanced at his surroundings. “What time is it?” he asked.

Lauren wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Huh?” she huffed.

“What time is it?” asked Cliff once again. “Do you see a clock?”

Before she could answer, Cliff walked toward the visitors counter and then proceeded to pass through it as though it were air.
He stood behind the elderly black woman that sat in the chair behind the counter and looked at the phone that sat to her right.

“Six o’clock? Damn,” he said aloud. “I hope she’s still here.”

Still on the opposite side of the counter, Lauren rolled her eyes in frustration. “What do you mean you hope she’s still here?”

Cliff raised his gaze to meet hers. “I don’t know if you know this or not, but time really doesn’t hold any meaning for me anymore,” he replied gruffly.

“Well that’s planning ahead,” quipped Lauren. “So I’ll ask again—now what?”

Cliff turned away from her, in part to avoid any escalation in conflict, and in part to think of what to do next. “I think you’re going to have to phase back,” he said with his back to her. “Let’s find an empty elevator so you can do it without being seen.”

Lauren passed through the counter and stood by the old man. “Um—you do know they have cameras in the elevators don’t you?”

Cliff’s shoulders slumped. “Well what do you suggest then young lady?” he asked, trying to keep his tone upbeat.

Lauren passed him by, and without looking back said, “Follow me.”

Cliff followed her as she walked towards a gift shop that was behind the visitor’s station. On the ceiling, to the left of the shop, was a sign with an arrow pointing towards the restrooms. The two of them traveled quickly down the hall, and Cliff watched as Lauren stepped to the women’s restroom door.

“You coming?” she asked with the
mischievous
smile of a child.

Cliff grinned forcefully. “I’ll wait here.”

As Lauren passed through the door, Cliff shouted. “Just be sure that you…
.
”

Before he could finish his sentence, the restroom do
or opened and out walked Lauren. She had phased sides so fast that Cliff wondered if she’d even looked to see if there was anyone in the restroom.

“Were you seen?” he asked.

She passed him by
,
unable to hear hi
s words
, and turned back towards the restroom door
, speaking into empty air as an older man with a cane shuffled past them
.
“Hang with me, old man,” she said with an exaggerated wink, an intended jab at Cliff’s often expressed habit.

The older man with the cane, assuming that Lauren was speaking to him, turned and made a lewd comment.

With a giggle, Lauren responded, both flattered and repulsed, as she walked away. “Uh-I think I’d break more than just your hip.”

Cliff simply shook his head and followed her lead. He watched as she walked back to the visitor’s counter and stood before the old woman on the other side.

“Good evening,” said the woman with a generous smile.

“Hi,” responded Lauren curtly. “A friend of mine works here and I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to her office?”

Slightly taken aback by the seemingly young girl’s demeanor, the woman replied politely. “Sure, what’s your friend’s name?”

Cliff watched as a sudden look of panic fell on Lauren’s face. She drummed her fingers nervously on the counter, trying desperately to recall the name she’d heard several times before, and the old man watched with great pleasure as her discomfort seemed to increase.

“Her name is,” began Lauren, pausing for a moment. She lowered her hand from the counter and began to let a week pulse radiate through her.

Cliff could feel the energy, and he knew that she was offering it to him in order for him to tell her the name. Still, Cliff made her wait a few more anxious seconds before speaking it into her ear.

The old woman behind the counter watched with a furrowed brow as the young woman struggled to recall the name of her friend. Suddenly, as if turning on a faucet, the name spilled out of the girl’s mouth.

“Marcy Jackson!”

With a polite smile and questioning eyes, the woman began to look through the directory on the computer.

“Well, we have a
Marcy Wilson
that works in processing,” the woman replied, “but I don’t see anyone by the name of Marcy Jackson.”

Lauren leaned her head back and looked up into the white tiled ceiling. With her thumbs hooked into her back pockets, she once more released a small amount of energy in hopes that Cliff could help.

The old man was getting a great amount of pleasure watching Lauren squirm. He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help it. He did recognize the last name of
Wilson
as that of Marcy’s longtime boyfriend, Mark. The thought of the two of them getting married made the old man smile.

“That must be her,” he shouted. “She got married!”

“Oh yes,” said Lauren to the woman. “I can’t get her maiden name out of my head. I knew her in school as Marcy Jackson.” Lauren forced a pleasant smile onto her lips, and she could feel the heat of her flushed cheeks as she reeled from embarrassment.

The woman pushed up her glasses and grabbed at a note pad. “That’s fine, dear. The older you get, the more of that kind of trouble you’ll have
up here.
”
She tapped her head
merrily as she jotted down the office number and directions on how to get there.

Taking the small piece of note paper from the woman, Lauren replied in a most sincere manner. “Thank you very much. I’m sorry to be a pain.”

“No, no, dear. That’s what I’m here for,” replied the woman.

“Well, thank you again,” said Lauren as she stepped away from the counter and
walked
towards the
bank of
elevators
on the adjacent wall
.

Cliff watched Lauren with guilty pleasure as
she
fidgeted anxiously with her hair, obviously shaken by the moments prior. After what seemed like an hour, the elevator door on the
ir
right opened and revealed the interior to be empty. The two of them rushed quickly inside, Lauren pressing the button to close the door quickly. The instant the door closed completely, a steady flash of color began to race down her arms.

“Thanks a lot, old man!” she shouted.

Cliff took the energy that she offered and materialized. Laughing nearly uncontrollably, he forced himself to speak. “You’re—you’re welcome!” He continued to laugh.
“Oh and what happened to ‘the elevators have cameras’?” he asked sarcastically motioning to her arms.

“
Shut up!” she barked angrily. “
That was funny to you?”

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Cliff answered after taking a deep and cleansing breath. “Ah, Lauren—you could’ve asked before.”

“Before when?” she snapped.

“Before you thought you’d be cute and shift sides without
telling
me first,” Cliff responded as he scratched the stubble on his cheeks.

He watched as Lauren scowled at him, the fury on her face was almost comical. To him, this was nothing to get that upset over.
“Okay, okay—settle down now. I’m truly sorry I left you hanging like that,” he said as he rested a hand on her shoulder. “It wasn’t right of me.
Let’s just…
.
”

Before he could finish, the door to the elevator began to open and Lauren quickly dropped her release of energy, causing Cliff to disappear into the backdrop of the stainless steel walls that surrounded them.

“Oops,” said Lauren playfully as she placed her index finger on her bottom lip.

She walked out o
f the elevator, feeling the tug
of
Cliff’s spirit
on the small of her back
as he walked behind her
.
Looking
down
at
the note given to her by the receptionist at the visitor’s counter
, she read as she took small steps forward.

.

Fourth Floor

Take a left off the elevator

Down the hallway

office 414 on the right hand side

She looked up and was slightly startled at the mass of cubicles in front of her. The hallway to her left was nothing more than a wall
on one side
and a line of cubicles
on the other,
spaced evenly every eight to ten feet. She suddenly became aware of several sets of eyes that were peerin
g over top of the divider walls, and a
rush of heat flashed through her as a mild sense of panic kicked in.

Stammering slightly,
she
waved
a hand in the air. “Hi,” she said nervously.

Cliff, slightly taken aback by Lauren’s sudden insecurity, watched her intently, hoping that she could handle th
is
situation.

“Hello,” replied a woman with thick glasses that appeared to be three sizes too large for her face. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“We,” she paused, another rush of heat surging through her, “I was looking for Marcy?”

The woman smiled and pointed to Lauren’s left. “I think she’s still here. Her office is just down the hall and on your
right
.”

Lauren nodded politely. “Thank you very much,” she
replied, turning from the woman
.

She walked quickly down the hall, grateful that the situation had passed, but was now stressing
over
the next one that w
ould
present itself. As she neared the end of the hall, she could see a light on in the second to the last office on the right. Seeing a shadow through the window, she stopped and took several deep breaths to calm herself.

“Jesus, you’d think this was the hardest thing I’d ever done,” she whispered to
herself.