Portal (Nina Decker) Read online

  Kevin handed him the patient’s chart with all the pertinent information on it and everything that had happened in the past hour since he’d been in the room. After a quick perusal he handed the chart back to Kevin and sidled up to the patient.

  He pulled down the patient’s collar of his shirt and peered down at the vine. He was about to reach out and touch it when it moved.

  Everyone jumped back in surprise as the vine unraveled from the man’s neck. It was growing again. It slithered like a green venomous snake down Ralph’s back, some of the leaves still curled up into themselves. All the time Ralph just rocked back and forth, starting off into space seemingly completely unaware that he was growing leafy green tendrils. If he was in pain, he didn’t show it.

  “What’s his temperature?” Dr. Skulsky asked.

  “Last time I checked,” Kevin answered, holding Ralph’s chart, “It was one hundred and two.”

  “Take it again.”

  Kevin picked up the electronic thermometer and placed it in the patient’s ear. A minute later it beeped. He looked at the gauge, his brow furrowed. “One hundred and five.”

  The pathologist nodded as if he totally understood why. “We need to move him to an isolated room.” He glanced around at everyone. “And you all need to be isolated as well. Until I can determine if there are spores.”

  There was a collective groan. I shook my head. The last thing I needed was to be crammed in a room full of people with metal pipes buried in the walls for another twelve hours without a chance to take a break and go outside to get some air. I was bound to get sick. On top of that, if I didn’t take my glamor potion my wings would be visible soon.

  “Is there any way that doesn’t have to happen?” I asked.

  Dr. Skulsky pinned me with his intense eyes. “Oh, it’s happening Ms. Decker. I can’t let you out of here without knowing that this man’s condition isn’t contagious. You could endanger all the staff and patients of this hospital. We want to avoid full scale quarantine.”

  Heather groaned. “So, we all have to chill in some room to see if we start sprouting plant life?”

  “Exactly,” Dr. Skulsky said, then clapped his hands together. “All right let’s get this show moving. I’ve got a lot of tests to conduct.”

  An hour later, the six of us, me, Kevin, Heather, Dr. Jensen, Dr. Testa, and Dr. Chang, had been sequestered in two rooms, nurses in one, and doctors in the other, elitist I know, and were told we had to stay for at least ten hours. They’d provided us cots to sleep on, table and chairs, a deck of cards, and a TV. Hospital staff would bring us food periodically. Thankfully, they allowed us to keep our cellphones.

  We were only two hours in, and I was already going mad. I’d paced the room for the first hour until Kevin told me to stop it because it was making him paranoid and nervous. Then I resigned to playing some cards with Kevin and Heather, but that didn’t last long as I wasn’t much of a poker player. So now I was lying on my side on my cot staring up at the wall counting the cracks and trying not to think about Ralph Donnelly and the plant growing out of him.

  But of course that was next to impossible.

  The fae were behind it, I was certain. But for what purpose? Was it an attack on Mr. Donnelly? Had he offended the fae in some way and this was his punishment? Donnelly was an Irish name and the Irish came from the Celts, and the Celtic people were steeped in fae mythology so that significance wasn’t lost on me.

  The fact that he walked into my hospital wasn’t lost on me either. I was never one for coincidences. I was all about fate and meaning. And this event had significant meaning; I just couldn’t figure it out. I needed to talk to Ralph again. Alone. Maybe he could tell me what I wanted to know. Because I did sense that he saw me, really saw me. And knew what I was. Maybe he was a messenger. Sent to tell me something. Deep down inside, I truly feared his message.

  Speaking of messages, Severin had finally answered my frantic texts. I glanced down at the screen and read his response.

  Sorry. Caught in meeting. Are you OK?

  Am stuck here maybe for 12 hrs. Am worried don’t have my glamor.

  Don’t worry I’ll get it to you.

  I snorted, and typed. How?

  I have my ways. I have connections at the hospital.

  I shook my head. Somehow that didn’t surprise me. Maybe I could use those connections to my advantage. Can you get me info about a patient and where they moved him?

  Probably. What’s the name?

  Ralph Donnelly. He’s the reason we’re in quarantine.

  I’ll see what I can do.

  Thanks.

  Miss you. <3

  I laughed. It was weird having a werewolf lover texting hearts to me. See you soon.

  “Nina.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at Kevin. He was gesturing to the table, and the crib board on top of it.

  “Do you want in on a game?”

  I shook my head. “I’m good. I think I’m going to try and get some sleep.” I pointed to the light switch. There were two, one for each half of the room. “Could you hit that for me?”

  Kevin reached over and flicked the switch and I was plunged into semi-darkness on the other side of the room. I rolled over onto my side and shut my eyes. I wasn’t sure I could sleep, but I needed it. And it wasn’t like I had anything else to do but sit and stew over the day’s bizarre events or play Wurdle on my iPhone. So I took in a deep breath and tried to relax my mind hoping sleep would take me.

  It did. And surprisingly I didn’t dream.

  An hour later I woke to the smell of hospital food. The porter had come with our suppers. I wasn’t hungry, but I definitely perked up when I saw a pill bottle on my tray with my name on it. Looked like Severin made good on his promise. Obviously, he had the connections he boasted about.

  And none too soon, because the itch between my shoulder blades was almost unbearable. The glamor would be gone soon and my wings would be visible for the entire world to see. Before anyone could ask, I opened the bottle, shook the pill out and popped it into my mouth. I took a hearty drink from the provided bottle of water and swallowed the glamour. Thankfully I’d been proactive and fashioned the elixir into pills. Just for an occasion like this.

  I picked at my food, unable to stomach anything, then retreated to my cot. My gut was roiling, and I didn’t think it was because of the lack of food. It was the iron surrounding me. Even small amounts were enough to bother me, especially after long periods of time. Any longer in this room and I was going to either go postal or get sick. Or both.

  Thankfully neither one had to happen, as we were sprung from quarantine an hour later. We were told that we hadn’t been infected with whatever pathogen had gotten to Ralph. I could’ve told them that but I was pretty sure no one was going to believe that he’d been cursed by an ancient race of immortals called the fae.

  Surprising me again, Severin met me outside the hospital. He opened the door to his Porsche convertible for me. I slid in, touched that he thought to have the top already down for me. Once he was in, and pulled away from the curb, I asked, “Were you able to find where they sent Ralph Donnelly?”

  “I did one better.”

  What that meant, I found out when he parked outside a rundown warehouse in a not so nice neighbourhood. “What are we doing here? What is this place?”

  “It’s a building the pack owns.”

  “For what?” I got out of the car.

  “For pack business.”

  I followed him into the warehouse. It was dark inside save for some lights at the far end. That’s where he led me. As we neared, I could make out a few things. Some spotlights set up in a circle, some chairs with a few of Severin’s pack sitting in them, and in the center of it all, was a metal cage. Inside the cage, sitting on a cot, rocking back and forth, mumbling under his breath was Ralph Donnelly.

  Shocked, I glared at Severin. “What did you do?”

  “You wanted to know about Ralph Donnelly, well here you go.�
�

  “I wanted to know where they moved him, not for you to kidnap him.”

  “Semantics, my love.”

  “Jesus, Severin.” I approached the cage and demanded, “Open the door.”

  One of his lackeys jumped up and unlocked it for me. I went in and cautiously approached Ralph. As I neared, I could see that the vine had gotten longer, leafy, and others had joined it. Other changes had occurred as well. His skin no longer appeared humanly pink, it was gray and in some areas a dark brown. The texture of his skin had also changed. It wasn’t smooth any longer; it looked rough, like, I hated to say it, bark.

  If I didn’t know any better, and I did, I’d say Ralph Donnelly was turning into a tree. I didn’t know how that was possible, but it was happening right here in front of me. It was impossible to deny the evidence.

  My fae ancestors were more powerful than I had ever imagined them to be.

  “Do you think it’s a message to me?” I asked Severin who had joined me inside the cage. “Because I don’t think it was a coincidence that he came into my hospital.”

  “Neither do I. The fae don’t do anything without reason.”

  I wanted to say, “Neither do werewolves,” but I refrained. Now, was not the time for a conversation about the politics of either side.

  When I stepped into Ralph’s frame of vision, his head snapped up and he looked directly at me. I flinched, taking a step backwards. His gaze was so intense it sent a chill of fear through me.

  “Can you see me Ralph?”

  “Yes. I see you, Nina Decker.” His voice was soft, whimsical almost, as if it came from somewhere else.

  “Do you know what’s happening to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did someone do this to you?”

  “I am a gift for you.”

  I blanched at that. My stomach roiled in disgust. I glanced at Severin to see if he shared my horror of what the man had just said. He didn’t. He wasn’t even looking at me. But at Ralph with avid interest. As if the man was a grand experiment and he the brilliant scientist. It made my stomach knot even more to see that look there.

  “From who?” I asked Ralph.

  “A friend in Nightfall.”

  “That’s rich,” I laughed. “Friends in Nightfall. I have only enemies there.”

  “Maybe he means your mother,” Severin suggested.

  “Not likely. She doesn’t want me to find my father. She’d be the last person who would help me.”

  I looked into Ralph’s milky white eyes. “Give me a name.”

  “A friend, that is all you need to know.”

  “Fine. How are you a gift? Do you have information for me? A way to help my father?”

  “Yes. A way. I am the way.”

  I smirked, hating these word games. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  But instead of answering, Ralph bolted to his feet, lifted his arms into the air, and opened his mouth. “I am the way! I am the way! I am the way!”

  Then with his eyes bugging out, I watched in abject horror as the final touches of his transformation took place.

  His skin hardened to nearly stone. His legs fused together, and his arms stiffened, bent like aging tree branches. His face and head were swallowed up by what looked like living, breathing foliage. His feet, now roots, broke through the concrete floor and fixed into the earth. It all took maybe five minutes. And in the end, Ralph Donnelly turned into a tree.

  “Jesus Christ.” One of Severin’s lackeys’s murmured. While the other turned, ran to a corner and vomited.

  I had to fight the urge to retch. It was hard to look upon the grotesque transformation but I figured I owed it to the man to do just that. I reached out to touch him but stopped just inches away. I knew my hesitation came from guilt. Guilt that I had somehow done thing to him. That I had tortured and killed him. Because that was exactly what had transpired.

  Obviously, Severin didn’t share my guilt as he eagerly ran his hands over the grayish trunk of the tree that had been a man named Ralph Donnelly. “Amazing,” he murmured as he circled the tree.

  “Amazing? What the fuck Severin? A man just solidified and turned into a tree right in front of us.”

  “I realize that Nina, I’m not blind.”

  “How can you seem so…so pleased?”

  “I’m not full of pleasure, love. I’m full of awe. This kind of power astounds me. I knew the fae to possess powerful ruthless magic but this…this is on a whole new level.” Then he laughed and it made me want to rip his face off. He turned and looked at me. “I wonder if you could do something like this. If you possessed the right magic.”

  That took me back. “Jesus, why would I even want to? This is sick and twisted.”

  “Sick and twisted it may be, but it did give us our portal.”

  “What? I don’t think I heard you right?”

  “Our portal.” He tapped the tree.

  I stared at him, certain he was putting me on.

  “He said he was the way.”

  “That doesn’t mean…”

  “Nina, you know the fae don’t do anything without reason. Friend or foe didn’t send this man to you for nothing.”

  I turned away from him and paced the room. I didn’t want to accept that he was right. The thought of it made my gut roil again. “This isn’t right. You shouldn’t have taken him out of the hospital.”

  “No one could’ve helped him. You know that.” He came to me and stroked my arm. “He would’ve turned into a tree in the hospital and we wouldn’t have access to him. He’d forever be a science experiment with people dissecting him and examining his parts. Here, at least, he can serve a purpose.”

  “I didn’t realize you were so cold.”

  He dropped his hand and moved away. “I’m sorry you think of me that way.”

  Sighing, I rubbed a hand over my face. I was tired, hungry and still in a state of shock ta what I’d just witnessed. I hadn’t meant to take it out on Severin. The urge to strike just consumed me. It was either that or implode.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just…”

  He gave me a small smile, then grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. He opened his arms and enveloped me. I sighed into his chest, grateful for the solid weight of him. For his strength. He kissed me on the top of the head. “You don’t need to apologize, love.”

  I hugged him tighter, drawing him into me, inhaling his now familiar smell. He had a way of making me clam. This was likely one of the many reasons he was alpha of his pack. Although I wasn’t a werewolf, I wasn’t human either. So, maybe somewhere don our long line of ancestors we converged into one being. Which was why his beast could calm whatever humanity lay deep inside me.

  After one final squeeze, I pulled back and turned to look at the Ralph Donnelly tree. My stomach still churned at the thought of what he had to do next. “So, how do we get in there? Saw or ax?”

  Chapter 3

  Six hours later, Severin and I were ready to go through the portal to Nightfall. Leaving a few of his pack members to stand guard, Severn had dropped me off at home so I could prepare, while he’d gone off to do the same thing. When he’d returned I was prepared to go into the depths of hell to get my father back. I’d dressed for combat, with olive green cargo pants, black t-shirt and big black boots. I looked like an army brat. Severin was clothed equally as threatening. But he also brought some accessories.

  I gawked at the long bow draped over his shoulder. “Who are you? Robin Hood?”

  “We need a weapon, and since we can’t bring any iron through, I thought this would do us.”

  I ran my fingers over the polished wood. “It looks old.”

  “It’s about five hundred years old,” he said with that sly glint in his eyes.

  “It’s lovely.” I saw that it was a true English longbow made from sturdy yew. It had the tell-tale blend of blonde and dark wood. “It’s in perfect condition. Where did you get this, off the Mary Rose?”

  “You seem to k
now your ancient weapons.”

  “That’s what years of research on the fae will do. I hung out with Wiccans and LARPers. Everyone thought it was my geek phase but I approached this as serious study. I learned a little bit here and found a dead end there. I decided the best source of information came from people who were into real medieval history and folklore. Recreationists, Ren Faire enthusiasts and such. By the time I graduated from high school I could list all the mistakes in Braveheart. ”

  “You didn’t keep it up?” Severin asked.

  “By my sophomore year in college my father got worse. I decided to concentrate on medicine. By junior year I switched to nursing. That way my dad would always have a caregiver. One who wouldn’t ask uncomfortable questions.”

  “I wouldn’t have expected anything less from you,” Severin said. Then he held the bow in front of me and I marveled at it.

  A dozen of details flooded my mind. I’d always been a great student. What I studied stayed in my brain. I ran my fingers along the stave. The yew was the preferred wood of bow makers. One side was light blonde the other darker, one type of wood was flexible the other provided strength. This was the weapon that dominated the battlefield during the Hundred Years Wars. It was so successful the English kept using them right through the Elizabethan Age. When Henry the Eighth’s flagship the Mary Rose sank it carried hundreds of these bows. When the wreck was rediscovered they found the bows were still perfectly preserved because the water at that depth was nearly free of oxygen.

  I shook my head at how much of that had come flooding back to me with one touch.

  Severin drew back the bow string. His chest and shoulder muscles flexed and I felt a warm surge between my thighs. Jesus, I was a geek.

  “You’re right,” he said. “This did come off the Mary Rose. That ship carried hundreds of longbows but few of them were this special.” “Special?”

  “The yew tree this bow was made from was marked by the fae. So it was more than an ordinary tree. And this is more than an ordinary bow.”