Healing Rites of Passage Ch. 01

Dear Readers,

Here is the continuation from the series "The Guardians". Do read that series first in order for you to understand this series. I apologize greatly for the extremely long wait for some of you. I hope you enjoy this story and follow the characters through =) M.C

The electrocardiogram showed a slow but steady heart rate denoted by a bright green line; an even amplitude that measured slightly less than 60 beats per hour. The nurse in charge of the patient took down the readings on the monitor and replaced a new saline bag for him.

She was tall for her age; standing at 5.6feet, Heidi Lang towered over the other nurses. It was only a month after graduation from being a student nurse and Heidi was eager to learn, eager to do her best. She was the first in her family to go to college and after much tears and persuasion, her Ma and Pa allowed her to travel to England to fulfill her scholarship.

Looking at the clock on the wall, she noted the time: 2.06am. She was supposed to administer his dosage of painkillers as well. Looking down at the man resting peacefully in front of her, Heidi wondered what sort of misfortune had befallen him. His hair was blond, like hers and framed his beautiful face. She wondered what colour would his eyes reflect when they open. He had been in coma for almost a week now; no visitors. She felt sorry for him...

Checking that no one was around, she smoothed the hair from his face and placed her palm on his cheek. He was so cold, and so alone too, she thought. She felt pity for the handsome man.

"I don't think that's part of your job scope. You can go now."

Heidi turned, startled by the icy voice that just spoke to her. The light in the room was dim and she was half frightened at the looming figure standing at the door. If it wasn't for his white lab coat, she would have panic; telling him that visiting hours were over.

"Yes... yes sir," she stammered as she walked out of the room, looking down on the ground.

Closing the door behind her, Adrian, sighed to himself. It had taken so much trouble to pull strings from the University Medical Centre at Princeton Surgical Centre to have him transferred to the University College London Hospital. If it wasn't for Aqurico swaying the board's decision to let him go, he didn't think he could have done it alone.

"Abben... wake up soon my brother. I... feel so lost... without you."

There was still Ella to think about, but he didn't want to mention it yet. He just needed Abben to wake up. He couldn't sense Ella; couldn't tell where she was or how she was feeling... and it made him feel useless, as a guardian.

The midnight shift was always the hardest. Coffee was only available in the form of instant powder in the pantry or dispensed from the vending machine. Heidi didn't like either. She liked her coffee, French pressed, thick and full bodied. It was another 6 hours at least until the Starbucks opposite the hospital would be opened for business. In the meantime, she stifled a yawn and tried to reorganize some of the files that were propped up on her desk at the nurses' station.

It was really quiet, except for the beeping sounds from the monitors and the occasional click of some nurse's heels. Leaning back on her chair, she swivelled around to find an unfamiliar face staring at her from across the nurses' station.

His eyes were so black and held her gaze in a sharp and steady look. She noticed that he was wearing a white coat and relaxed a little.

"He's a staff silly... don't get spooked!" she chided to herself under her breath. Turning her chair back slowly, Heidi tried to ignore the man's penetrating gaze. It felt as if his gaze was burning a hole in her back. And suddenly, as intense as it was, it disappeared. When she turned around again, he was gone.

Adrian was wary. It wasn't like him to be suspicious of women... but the circumstances called for such paranoia. Olybrius could employ just anyone to do his bidding for him... and should he have this woman as a spy for him... Adrian didn't want to think about it.

As he dissolved into his spirit form, a soft gentle huff from Mélas could be heared echoing softly down the hallway.

***

"Hi, I know you're all kinda busy at the moment. But can you point me the way to Doctor Martin's office? Oh? Oh I see. Yes I know he's working right now. But... ah, never mind..."

Aurora gave up attempting to stroll into his new office to surprise him. A minute later, in her spirit form, she was irritating him by blowing in his ear while he was speaking to a patient.

As soon as his patient left, Aurora materialized and sat on his table facing him. Adrian gave her a bored look and got ready to press the call button for the next patient.

"I'm busy," he snapped

"And cranky too," added Aurora chirpily. She started walking about in his office, examining this and that.

"I'm not here on a holiday, Mon Cherri. I'm here to keep an eye on Abben," he sighed, giving in to her. "Tell me, about Raphael and Aqurico. Are they well?"

Smiling, broadly, Aurora nodded and resumed her sitting position on his desk.

"Aqurico is keeping Raphael company. They are still trying to find some clues as to where Olybrius might have taken Ella. That old man is really an intelligent scholar. Well... almost on par with Abben when he was at his age."

Suddenly, the door flew open and in came a nurse, carrying a folder. Her expression was shocked and changed immediately to one that was flustered.

"Ah, ah... I'm sorry... I thought you were not taking in anymore patients... I thought you had left. Oh I'm so sorry. I'll uh come back..."

"What's your name?" Adrian asked curtly.

"Heidi..." stammered the young nurse.

"Put the folder on the table, Heidi and leave us."

"Yes, sir..."

When the door was closed behind her, Aurora raised her eyebrow at Adrian. He raised his hand to silence her even before she could open her mouth.

"Still! That was so rude Adrian!" she yelled in her head. She knew he could hear her thoughts even as they stood glaring silently at each other.

"Walk out the door Aurora and I'll see you later," was all he said as he punched the call button for the next patient.

Aurora was unsure what to do next. Abben was always around to tell her what to do. She just felt so lost without him and without Ella. For centuries, her duty was always to protect the guarded woman and now, she felt oddly liberated from her shackles and it disturbed her greatly.

Were they going to become mortals one by one? Will that be enough to remove Olybrius's curse and make him mortal just like them? When he had made the deal with the devil, Olybrius had signed his soul as well as theirs into eternal slavery- they were the price he paid to gain the powers of immortality from the devil. And for them, their price was the eternal guardianship of the key to the entrance to the afterlife. That key, was born every 30 years or so and lasted up to a century at least.

Aurora thought about it for awhile and decided to make the long trip back to Princeton to see what her brother and Raphael have come up with. Her purpose of coming to England was to assess the danger that both her brothers were in. Adrian, being the healer among them would not be able to detect anything other than internal balance inside a person. As for her, her ability was to take life; she would know instantly should there be any other being that was immortal as them or a potential threat to their lives.

She didn't need to tell her brother that, for his ego would not have allowed his baby sister to worry over them. For as long as she was the pesky little sister to him, Adrian would remain his stoic self.

*****

"Nurse Lang, can I see you for a minute?" said the Matron in charge for the shift that day. Heidi looked up at the face of her senior nurse and felt a rush of adrenaline. Did she do something wrong? Oh she was such a klutz!

"Yes Ma'am?"

"I will be having you transferred to Paediatrics from next week onwards. We are having a shortage of staff there right now. So, I would like you to complete as much paper work as you can by tonight and put it on my desk."

Heidi stared at the Matron; her mouth slightly agape. No nurse was transferred on such short notice! She felt her blood start to boil. Surely there was some mistake!

"Heidi? Is there something you want to say?"

"Uh, no Ma'am..."

Heidi watched her Matron walk away, her heels clicking softly against the tiled floor. Clenching her fist tightly, Heidi started walking down the hallway.

Knocking only once, she opened the door and glared at the man behind the desk.

He was silent even as he gauged her appearance and facial expression. His black eyes were unreadable, covered slightly by his fringe.

"Did you request for me to be transferred?" came the accusation. Heidi's hands immediately came up to cover her mouth as she realised that she had spoken her thoughts out loud. So much for wanting to ask nicely.

"Yes I did," came the reply. His face retained its nonchalance and his eyes betrayed no emotions as he gazed at her. Heidi suddenly felt as if she had made the greatest mistake in her career and felt like fainting.

"You should sit down. I do not wish to carry you out if you keel over," he instructed. Standing up, he went to his coffee maker and poured her a cup of coffee. "Sit."

Adrian stared at the woman sitting in front of his desk. She was shivering a little and her face was paler than usual. She had been working too hard, he assessed. He could see all the colours in her body and they were greatly imbalanced.

"Tell me what you know about the patient in room 206," he asked.

"What? What... oh..." recognition filled her face. "John Doe, mid thirties, no family, no visitors. His medical history unknown."

"And you have been assigned to this patient as soon as he was admitted?"

"Uh... no, Sir... I just started work officially about a week ago... he's just one of the patients in the intensive care unit that I was responsible for."

"And do you always touch those you are responsible for in such a loving, familial manner?"

Heidi could hear the ice in his voice. She placed her cup of coffee down, being careful not to spill it; her hands were shaky.

"He looked so lonely Sir... no one came to visit him... and I felt the same. I am alone here and no one visits me because it is expensive to travel from home here. I didn't mean anything Sir... he is just a patient to me..."

Adrian didn't need to tell her that either of his siblings could visit Abben in their spirit form as they wished. And his brother was not alone as she said he was. He had to keep Abben's identity a secret for he did not want Olybrius to have access to Abben's medical database. Furthermore, a man that lived for centuries, would clearly cause much complications. The only reason why Adrian had allowed for Abben to be admitted into a hospital was because his brother was now a mortal. His own magical powers could not do much to revive his brother.

"Have you ever been in love, Heidi?" Adrian asked.

"I... I suppose so, Sir..."

"If I told you that that man would be willing to die for love, will you believe me?"

"Ah... I... we are speaking non-medically aren't we Sir?"

"Yes. Answer me."

"Umm... he has sustained a really deep wound so close to his coronary artery... I suppose if he did that for someone, he must love her very much."

"He must have. Well, I suppose you should leave now. I'll walk you to the door."

When she left, Adrian sat back on his chair and thought about what she had said. He was not one to be swayed by emotions. Once, Abben had been like that too: strong, emotionless, unaffected by the things that would have torn others apart... until Ella. He had admired his brother so much. And then his brother fell in love and it made him so weak. He hated the smell of mortality! But that mortality... Abben had sacrificed his life for the one he loved. Just like their parents.

Closing his eyes, Adrian tried not to think about it too much. Perhaps he had been too harsh in requesting for the nurse to be transferred. She had smelled like Abben... that sacrificial smell was just as strong. She said she was lonely.

Adrian realised, that he too, was lonely after all.

Punching the button for the nurse station telephone, he called her in.

*****

"I don't usually do this. Don't get me wrong," Adrian said as they sat across each other at the Starbucks opposite the hospital.

"Don't worry about it. I still need to eat," she replied, smiling. In fact, she had been almost shocked when he had called her in earlier. She didn't think he would be making moves on her but a girl could only be wary.

"My treat okay?" Adrian offered as he tried to assess her state of emotional being. At times he wished he had Aqurico's gift of manipulating emotions and seeing into people... like right about now.

Laughing as she slapped his hand away, Heidi got up and started walking to the counter.

"I'll get you whatever I'm getting... okay?"

Adrian didn't bother to tell her he won't be needing anything to drink. An immortal like him could hardly taste anything they consume. Should they have to eat or drink, it was to merely satisfy the existing part of their being that was human- that is their physicality. Other than that, they needed nothing more than to fulfil their duty to serve and guard the protected one.

Adrian watched her from the back, noticing how she kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she waited in queue. She had a lithe frame and moved with such grace, otherwise impossible on her tall stature. Ella had been well curved and was the kind of voluptuous woman Abben would have preferred, but for him... yes, lithe and grace would be...

Shaking his head, Adrian shifted his gaze somewhere else. Did his mind just wander to a point of mortal desires? Disgusted with himself, he stared out the window, not noticing that Heidi was now being chatted up by a fellow colleague.

Still in the queue, Heidi was deciding between a mocha latte or chai when the man behind her tapped her shoulder.

"Are you new here?" he asked.

"Yes, yes I am. I officially started about a month ago. Do you... do you know me sir?" she asked back meekly.

"I recognize the uniform yes and I would definitely recognize a pretty face like you anywhere. I'm Doctor Barker; Phileas that is," he smiled charmingly at her. Heidi considered him for a moment and decided to trust him. He was exceedingly handsome with pale brown hair and soft green eyes. He had a good facial structure and Heidi found herself staring at him more than intended.

"See anything you like dear?" he teased.

Blushing, Heidi turned back to face the front of the line and tried to ignore him. However, being the subordinate, she couldn't fend him off for long especially when he started talking about his speciality. He was a cardiothoracic surgeon and a fairly experienced one as well. He has been with the hospital for nearly 8 years.

"Tell you what, honey. Why don't you work under my department? Where are you assigned to right now?"

"Neurosurgery... but I..."

"Yeah. Oh. I see. You're with that bloke over there? Surely you're not saying you don't want to work under me?" he asked.

Busying herself with paying for her purchase, Heidi ignored him. Sure, she wanted to learn more but not by gaining favours or getting exploited like this!

"I'll uh, go back to my table now," she replied.

"Wait," he said as he grabbed her wrist. "I'll be there in a while. Wait for me honey."

With her two mugs of coffee in hand, Heidi walked back to where Adrian was sitting.

"Hey," she said softly, rousing him from his daydream. "I wasn't sure if you wanted a bagel or anything so I didn't get us anything to eat."

"Don't worry. Drink up," Adrian replied, trying to force a smile to his face.

"Ad my man... just the person I was looking for!" came the greeting from the back. Adrian didn't even bother to turn back. He was annoyed as it is.

"Ah, Doctor Barker..." muttered Heidi.

"I'm not disturbing aren't I? I hope not. Well, I'm sorry to break your little party Adrian, but you see, this missy here and I have some serious business to talk about,"

"Sure. Please do. I'm leaving anyway," said Adrian stoically, getting up and walking to the door; coffee untouched.

Heidi looked up at Phileas, whose face bore the same shocked expression as that as hers. Turning her head slightly, she managed to catch the tail of Adrian's coat before he disappeared.

"Well, now that we're alone... why don't you and I get to know each other a little better?"

*****

*Knock knock*

"Come in."

"Doctor? I'm sorry to disturb you especially since you just started your shift... but ah...you forgot your coffee..."

"Huh?"

"You left without taking a sip this morning remember? I had it reheated and thought you might want to have it now... I'll... I'll leave now... I'm really sorry..." came the apology. Heidi placed the disposable cup at the cupboard near the door and pulled the door slowly to a close.

"Heidi..."

"Yes Doctor?"

"Why didn't you just leave the coffee on the table or drink it for yourself?"

"Oh. I..." she stammered.

"Close the door," he instructed. "Now answer me."

"I... well... That was my last twenty for the week... and I didn't want to see it wasted on undrunk coffee... and... and... I couldn't drink it Doctor... it was meant for you," she replied, almost in a whisper.

Her honesty made Adrian sat back in his chair in awe. She had refused his offer for a treat even when she was on her last twenty? Was this human impossibly foolish? Ah... that sacrificial scent again. It was starting to annoy him.

Mélas, guard the door for a while please.

In a blink of an eye, the horse spirit parted from its human form and stood at the door, unseen by Heidi. His eyes almost in a mock laughter seeing the frustrations on his master's face.

Don't tell me about it.

Getting up from his seat, Adrian stood in front of her. Even with her height, she was a few inches shorter than him. She didn't move. He could hear her heartbeat accelerating beyond 120 beats per minute. Was that nerves or excitement? He wished he could tell. He didn't mean to freeze her; immobilizing all her motor muscles but his subconscious mind was nervous and reacted on its own.

He traced a finger down her throat, admiring the smooth skin, so tender to his touch. Was this what she felt when she held Abben's face in her palm? No... perhaps not. This is... curiosity...

His fingers continued its trail upwards... his fingers rubbing casually over her lower lip. Her heart rate was accelerating even higher.

As if woken by the sudden alarm of her rising heartbeat and blood pressure, he shook himself out of his trance. In his moment of confusion, her lips fell suddenly, unexpectedly on his. His eyes flared open and then softened as the heat from their contact warmed something in him. Heidi was in full consciousness and never seemed to noticed the frozen moment a while ago.

"Kiss me back," she whispered.

I don't know how....His heart replied. Almost as soon as it started, it ended, as he stepped back and walked back to his desk.

He didn't need Aqurico's powers to tell that she was angry at him. She had that same look that Aurora had when she didn't get her way.

Staring at him for the last time, Heidi stormed out of his office, the heat in her face still apparent.

****

The next week's schedule showed no Nurse Lang scheduled under Neurosurgery. Upon enquiry, she had been transferred to Paediatrics as originally requested by Adrian. He was surprised that she had turned down Barker's invitation to work under him. Adrian knew that Doctor Barker was being groomed for Head of Surgery and gaining favours from him was certainly what most people would have wanted.