Chapter Seven – Jade POV

“Where is he now?” I asked aloud, trying Marco’s phone for the fifth time. He was due to guest lecture today and didn’t show up. Morgyn was furious.

Then again, Morgyn was always furious now. He was like a completely different person.

I sighed and sat down, holding my phone. I watch Orion shoot fireworks from his fingers, giggling and playing with them, flinging them around him.

“Pew! Pew!” He exclaimed, shooting more up at the ceiling.

I giggled, watching him. It was so nice to see him embracing his power. Even if it was little sparks and fireworks for now, it would be winning duels and mastering spells later.

“So, that’s the boy from the book, hmm?” I heard. I glanced up and saw Damien. “The master caster book or whatever?”

“Tome of the master spellcasters,” I corrected him.

“Ah, yes. That.” He smiled. “Have you read it?”

“A little,” I said quietly. “What does it say about my son?”

He grinned deviously. “Why don’t you go have a look?”

There was only one copy of the book in the realm, and it sat on a pedestal, away from the other parts of the realm. The book itself was encased in magic that only high level spellcasters could bypass. It was more or less used as a reference book for certain spells and mixtures that would otherwise be too dangerous to create. We referenced it a lot when creating the black magic extraction spell we received praise for.

“I have no desire to read it,” I said. “My son is special to me, but doesn’t have any extra special abilities. He’s just a regular boy who was born gifted.”

“Quite gifted, I’d say,” Damien agreed. “After all, there will be only one of him ever; a born vampire/spellcaster hybrid. Not even black magic can cast the spells he is capable of. He will be unstoppable. A power I wish I could harness for myself. Dangerous.”

“Lay a hand on my son and I will end you like I did years ago.”

“Ah, let’s not forget you also ended Marco’s life,” he laughed quietly. “And now he’s your lover.”

“God, no he’s not!” I shouted. “People need to stop with that! We both hate it and it’s not true.”

“Why did you kiss him?”

“Because you put us under a spell!”

“And after?” He grinned. “I had nothing to do with those kisses.”

I stood up and walked away, scooping Orion up on the way. Damien followed us.

“That passage may interest you.”

“Leave me alone.”

“There is a prophecy about your boy.”

“Shut up.”

“I even got myself a vampire in an effort to fulfill that prophecy, but I suppose you beat me to it. But I’m perfectly content to watch the world-“

“Stop!!” I turned and shouted at him, startling Orion. “Leave us alone!” I cuddled Orion closer. “Sorry, baby, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

As the distance between Damien and I grew, I placed Orion down.

“Read it for yourself!” He shouted. “You’ll see I’m not lying.”

I rolled my eyes and growled, calling Caleb.

“Hey, could you come grab Orion?” I asked him. “There’s something I need to do when I leave here.”

“Sure,” he agreed. “I’m with Ruby right now. Just give me a few minutes.”

I nodded and hung up. “Of course you are,” I mumbled.

“Why you mad, Mama?” Orion asked.

I smiled at him. “I’m not, buddy. I’m just a little tired. It’s making me grumpy.”

“Take a nap! Like me!”

I laughed. “Oh, I wish I could. Sleep sounds amazing right now.” I booked his nose. “Maybe tonight I’ll take a nap with you, okay?”

“Yay! Sleepover!” He exclaimed.

I giggled. “Yes, my baby. A sleepover.”

Caleb came to get Orion, explaining that he would take him to the hospital with him. Ambrosia was going to be there with Rose, so they could play together. Shortly after he left, I glanced around, making sure I couldn’t be seen. I quickly went down into the lowest basement and stood before the book. I began flipping through the pages when there was a flash beside me.

“You don’t want to read that,” Aidoneus said, placing his hand between the pages. “Trust me.”

I stood tall. “It’s all just a bunch of silly legends.”

“Please,” he said, his eyes pleading. “Don’t.”

I sighed. “Have you seen Marco?”

“Not since last night,” he admitted. “He wasn’t the one that told you about the book?”

I looked at him, perplexed. “No?” I narrowed my eyes. “Does Marco know about whatever is in here?”

“Jade, it’s nothing really. Okay?”

“If it’s nothing, then let me read it.”

“No.”

I growled and stormed up the stairs. He caught up with me. “I’m protecting you, okay?

“From my own son?”

“No. From being scared by reading the legend. Just leave it. You’re better off not knowing.”

I didn’t buy that for an instant. “Sure.” I kept walking. “Sorry, but I have to go.”

I rushed out of the realm, quickly heading to Marco’s house. He was in some pretty decent trouble in the realm for not showing up. I hope he had a damn good reason.

I walked up to his door and knocked. Nothing. I tried to call his phone and heard it ringing just inside the door.

“Odd,” I said quietly as it went to voicemail. I knocked again. More silence. I jiggled the door handle. To my surprise, it was unlocked.

Confused, I pushed the door open and saw a horrible sight. His apartment was trashed; furniture flipped and tossed around, blood speckling the half wall and dripping down his TV, his phone was covered in blood, the screen glitching. And there was Marco, in the middle of it all, motionless. His hair was matted with blood, his face in a pool of it. It appeared the blood came from a large gash in his head.

“Marco!” I cried, rushing up to him. I knelt beside him and felt for a pulse. It was faint. “Oh God…” I pulled out my phone and called 911 to get him some help. Even a healing spell couldn’t solve this.

Help arrived quickly, and I rode with them to Newcrest hospital. During the ride, they attempted to stabilize him several times. They were finally successful, but he was in desperate need of blood. They whisked him off to ICU and asked me to wait.

I called Aidoneus to meet me. He was there in a flash.

“What happened?” He asked, frantic.

“I went to check on him, and I found him on the floor, bloody and unresponsive,” I explained, fighting back tears. “He barely had a pulse.”

He nodded and hugged me. “Well, clearly someone wasn’t happy with him. We need to figure it out.”

“I’ll let you get a head start, then. I won’t leave his side until he’s okay enough to come home.”

He smiled. “Of course. I wouldn’t expect you to.”

I nodded as my tears fell. He hugged me again.

Nurses came out to tell us how he was doing a few times, and it didn’t look good. He needed surgery for several broken bones, including a cracked skull, but he couldn’t actually have the surgery until his body was strong enough.

“Can we see him?” I asked desperately.

The nurse sighed. “Very briefly, okay? I assume you’re his wife or girlfriend?”

Fearing that she would say no, I nodded. “Yes.”

“Follow me.”

Aidoneus shook his head. “I’ll be here when you come back.”

I nodded, understanding that he wanted to give Marco and I time alone. Though, I had no idea what state Marco was in.

As I stepped in, I saw it. They had cleaned his wounds, but the gash looked horrible. He had a grace on his neck and was restrained to the bed in case he woke up in a panic.

“He broke several discs in his back, and any movement jeopardizes his spinal cord,” the nurse explained.

My hand flew up to my face. This wasn’t good at all.

“What happened?” I asked.

“We really can’t be sure,” the nurse said. “But it looks like a pretty bad scuffle.”

I nodded, tears streaming down my face. I stroked Marco’s cheek. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” I glanced at the nurse. I wanted to tell him I would revive him, just in case, but I didn’t want her hearing that. I stepped away and just gazed at him.

The machine began to beep rapidly, and the nurse quickly ushered me out of the room as a couple others and a doctor rushed in. We went back into the waiting room, and she gave me an empathetic look.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’ll check back with updates.”

I nodded as she walked away, then stepped out onto the evening air.

“Oh, god,” I whispered, pacing. Yeah, okay, so I could revive him. But the pain he was in right now, I couldn’t take that away.

We sat and waited for updates. Eventually, I fell asleep curled into a ball in my chair. Aidoneus had to leave. He had been called to the realm, which I found to be a little odd, but I didn’t question it. He was an expert in his field. It made sense that he would be requested for certain tasks.

“Jade?” I heard. I opened my eyes. The sun was rising.

“Hmm?” I sat up. “What? I was asleep that whole time?”

The nurse nodded with a smile. “Marco has been taken to surgery. He improved as the night progressed.”

“Did he wake up?”

“No, but there was brain activity.”

I smiled happily, tears forming in my eyes. I hugged her. “Thank you.”

She took my hand. “I’ll let you know as soon as he’s out.” She gave me a warm smile. “For now, why don’t you get some breakfast?”

I shook my head. “No, no. I’m not hungry.”

“Coffee?”

I shook my head again. “No, I’ll be okay.”

“Okay. The cafeteria is that way if you change your mind.” She pointed.

I followed her finger. “Okay, thanks.”

As she left, I pulled out my phone. I had to tell him I wouldn’t be going to the realm, but I knew as soon as Marco was mentioned, he would be angry. I sighed and dialed him anyway.

“Hey,” I said sleepily. “Listen, I need a temporary sage in place for the next few days at the least.”

“Why?” He asked.

I sighed. “I’m at the hospital. Marco was attacked in his home. He’s not doing well.”

“What?!” He shouted. “Oh my god, what happened? Who attacked him?”

I shrugged as if he was in front of me. “I don’t know. He hasn’t awakened yet. They just took him off to surgery.”

“Jeez,” he said quietly. “Let me know when he’s accepting visitors, okay? I’ll come by too.”

I nodded. “I will.”

“And Jade?”

“Hmm?”

“Be safe, please.”

“I…” I was taken aback. “Uh, I will. Thanks.”

“If someone is after him, you may also be a target.”

“Right, yeah…”

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I called Caleb next to tell him. He had a similar response.

“I’ll bring Orion down to you if you’d like,” he offered. “Waiting rooms are hell. He might give you a ray of sunshine.”

I smiled. “He is a ray of sunshine.”

“Gets it from his mama,” Caleb replied.

I laughed. “Thanks.”

I waited for a few grueling hours. Finally, the nurse came back out.

“He can have visitors.”

I smiled happily and got up. I practically ran into the room. To my disappointment, he still wasn’t awake, but his color was normal again and his gash had been well cared for.

I sat beside the bed.

“He will be moved into recovery in a little while,” the nurse said.

Recovery. That’s where Ruby was. I nodded. “Thank you.” I looked back at Marco, taking his hand. “You’re going to be okay.” I smiled. “I can’t even imagine how scared you were. I’m sorry I didn’t check on you sooner. How long were you like that? God, I’m so sorry.”

He squeezed my hand as I put my head down. “You couldn’t have known.” His voice was a hoarse whisper.

I smiled. “You’re awake.”

He nodded, then winced.

“No, no, stay still,” I said. “You suffered a lot of damage. Your spine was even in danger for a bit there.” I looked around. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ll need rehab for this crap. You’re lucky to be alive.”

He grinned. “You would have revived me.”

I laughed softly. “Damn right I would have.”

“That’s the solace I had in my mind,” he said, his face getting serious. “That you’d find me and revive me.”

I stood up and smiled. I placed my hand on his head, glancing around.

“Wait,” he gazed up at me. “Not yet. They’ll notice.”

I nodded. Right. It would have been really suspicious if his head magically healed mere minutes after surgery. I sat back down.

“You can’t fully heal these,” he said. “He tossed me around like a ragdoll.”

“Who did?”

“Damien.”

“Oh my god. You didn’t fight back?”

“The first attack he hit me with inflicted this,” he pointed to his head. “I couldn’t see straight. Never regained my vision. I did manage to get an attack in, but it didn’t do much. I was too weak.”

I nodded, trying to look neutral. Inside, I was angry. I wanted to find Damien and make him pay. But I refrained.

“Morgyn is worried about you too,” I said quietly.

He laughed. “Oh really?”

I nodded. “He wants to come see you.”

“That’s fine.”

“I texted him already.”

He nodded and closed his eyes.

“You should rest.”

“Hell no!” He laughed softly. “I had enough rest on my apartment floor.”

I shook my head with a slight smile. That was such a Marco thing to say. It was nice to see his sass coming out, despite everything.

A doctor came in. “Hey! You’re awake! How are you feeling?”

“Great as long as I don’t move,” Marco laughed. He winced. “Or laugh.”

“I’ll order you another dose of painkillers.” The doctor wrote something down in his notepad. “You’re lucky. You came very close to leaving us all.”

Marco nodded. “So I’ve heard. Thanks for making sure I didn’t.”

The doctor approached him. “Would you like to sit up?”

Marco nodded apprehensively. “Will it hurt?”

“No, just use that remote next to your hand. You can adjust the bed without moving.”

Marco grabbed the remote and adjusted the bed so he was sitting up slightly. “When do you think I’ll be able to move freely?”

“You may still have some pain, but we suggest moving around a bit as early as tomorrow. Just as much as you can. Don’t stress yourself.”

Marco shook his head. “Whoo. Alright.”

“So, I’m going to have your nurse come in and take your vitals, and then we will move you up to recovery.” The doctor gave him a smile.

Marco nodded slightly.

As the doctor left, I rested my head on the raised portion of the bed, next to Marco’s. “Did Damien say why he did this?”

“I wouldn’t join him in his plan.”

I sighed. “He’s becoming more dangerous.”

“He thinks I’m dead,” Marco explained quietly. “I knew I wasn’t going to win it, so I laid on the floor and played dead until he left.”

“I see,” I nodded. “He came to me in the realm today, trying to tell me about some weird prophecy about my son. When I went to look in the book the legend is in, Aidoneus stopped me.” I sighed. “I was merely curious. I know those are mainly just fables. Nothing in that book has ever been proven.”

Marco stayed silent, but I noticed his breaths had quickened. I lifted my head and gazed at him. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he smiled, but it seemed forced. “I’m good. Your son is unique. Of course there will always be stories about unique children like him.” He laughed nervously. “I wouldn’t worry about the book. It might just cause you to overthink.”

I gazed at him. “Do you know what’s in the book?*

He closed his eyes and let out a simple “no.”

I was skeptical, but now wasn’t the time to press.

The nurse returned, took his vitals and brought us up to recovery. We ended up only being two doors away from Ruby. This excited Orion, who happily bounced between Caleb and I. I stayed with Marco until visiting hours closed, sharing that time with Morgyn, Caleb and Aidoneus.

Upon leaving, I immediately went to Marco’s apartment and got to work cleaning up the mess. Marco didn’t need that reminder when he got home. It took me awhile, but I made his apartment as good as new.

When I got home, I was stopped by Morgyn.

“Can I talk to you?”

I looked away, frustrated. “Sure.” Did it really take Marco’s brush with death to make Morgyn snap out of this anger?

“I want to apologize for my behavior,” he said. “I acted completely irrationally and hurt you.”

I nodded.

“But, I feel you deserve to know this; I just don’t love you the way I did before. I can’t explain it and can’t even understand it myself. But it’s just not fair to either of us that we keep our part of this relationship together.”

I nodded again. “I understand.”

“I think with some healing time, we can come back to this as good friends and colleagues.” He gazed at me. “I won’t keep acting the way I have been. You didn’t deserve that, and I truly am sorry.”

I looked away, resting my hands on my arms. He hugged me, but I didn’t respond. I just kept my arms limp at my sides. I wanted to be alone.

“I think I’m going to go to bed,” I mumbled. “Good night.”

Without waiting for his response, I teleported away.

Chapter Eight (click here)