Healing Rites of Passage Ch. 01

Trying not to be swayed by his emotions, Adrian walked towards Abben's ward. His brother's condition had not changed much since the day he was admitted. Not wanting to be caught physically on camera, Adrian changed to his spirit form and entered Abben's ward.

Watching his brother's chest expand and contract made him have hope that Abben would wake up soon. He didn't understand how a wound could knock a mortal into such deep coma. Pondering, he went closer to examine Abben's wound.

He didn't need to open up the dressing to see the thrombin hard at work on the surface trying to clot to heal the wound. Had Olybrius use some sort of sword that was not meant for a mortal? Was that why it shocked him so much to see Abben bleed instead of die? The cut was clean and even after close to two months, the wound under the clot was still fresh; as though it would never heal. The only reason why Abben was still alive was because his coronary artery was not severed.

"Called for me?" came the sudden voice of Aurora, startling him out of his thoughts.

"I did not..."

"Mélas did. And that also counts as you. Anything new?" she asked.

"Nothing.... Though... I wonder... what weapon did Olybrius use to injure Abben? You see... his wound is not healing. It's like the cut is renewed everyday... and it puzzles me."

"He had locked Abben and Ella in, behind that door... Argh! I wish I had witnessed something! I feel so useless...."

"No... wait... do you think... you could see into his mind, Aurora? I know you're not as strong as Abben.... But you do have a third of each of our powers..."

"Abben has a very strong mind. He never lets anything penetrate it."

"He is mortal now with no defensive barriers..."

Considering her brother, Aurora gave a sigh and nodded her head.

"Okay. Hold my hand..."

"Why?"

"Because I'm scared?"

Adrian looked at his sister and closed his palm over hers. He couldn't afford to lose another sibling. Whatever she might see inside Abben's head might harm her as well.

"Okay, I'm ready."

With one hand firmly in Adrian's grasp, she placed the other directly above Abben's head... and her screams rang throughout the hospital as a fire alarm, its vibrations shaking the ground momentarily.

Panicked, Adrian tried to pull his sister away from Abben but her hand was stuck to his forehead and her eyes had turned to the deepest shade of emerald. She was in a lot of pain and her grip on his hand was so tight he could feel every ounce of her tortured mind.

"Aurora! Aurora! Please, please!," he pleaded.

It was then that the room door flung open and Heidi came with a few other nurses to try and move Abben to a stretcher.

"We have to evacuate fast! There's no time for his saline bags! There are still a few more patients!" ordered one of them.

"Yes, yes. I know. Get the others first, I'll settle this one. Go!" she yelled back.

"Alright mister. I know you're something special to Doctor Martin, so I'm not going to make him any more pissed off than he already is at me, so you better behave," she warned as she gathered his drugs and saline and detached them from their hooks.

That did it.

The force of the release flung Aurora backwards, crashing on the floor next to Heidi. Adrian on the other hand was flung towards the bed.

"Damn well, he'd better behave," snapped Aurora. "Oww Oww Oww... Adrian... Adrian..."

It was then he saw his sister, materializing slowly right beside Heidi. Still on the floor, she was still unnoticed by her but Adrian could tell by the rate of her transformation that he would not get her out in time.

"No Aurora. Hold it back a while longer... you'll kill her..."

"I can't... I'm... hurt... Adrian..."

Torn between tending to his sister or saving Heidi from Aurora's deathly presence, Adrian's confused mind reeled that split second into the same standstill as he had done earlier. Heidi's movements stopped midair. He didn't bother to try and understand what happened but quickly plunged his spirit half into his sister to try and part her horse from her physical self. The horse was not injured but her rider was.

"Carry her out!" he cried out and snapped back to the moment before the prolonged second happened. He knew that Heidi and the others knew what they were doing with Abben. He simply took the bag that held Abben's belongings and disappeared to tend to his sister.

Khlōrós thánatos had taken her master to their favourite grasslands up on the hill facing Ella's grandmother's villa. Adrian agreed that perhaps the wide open space was what they all needed.

Aurora was bleeding but the blood was not hers. Her body bore the same cut as Adrian but it was like a hologram on top of her, like a curse she could not remove. Her body had not suffered any physical damage but she had absorbed some of Abben's pain. Adrian could not bear to see his baby sister that way. He felt even more useless and lost. He couldn't heal what he couldn't see.

"He's killing me... over and over and over again!!" she groaned, clutching the area near her heart.

"My baby sister, please... let me help... let me take away your pain... give it to me, let me take your place!" he pleaded.

Aurora's eyes were flickering; a smouldering serpentine tinge. She grabbed handfuls of soil in her hand and clenched them tight.

Adrian watched as the lands around them turned barren and dry and void of all life except the two of them and their horses.

"That's enough Aurora!" he yelled, trying to stop her uncontrollable powers.

"Must.... let... it... all... go..." she cried. He could see the tears streaming from her eyes as death spread far and wide.

At last... calm... but she had already done so much damage...

"Aurora... I... don't sense any life... Khlōrós thánatos, Mélas... would you two... please see till how far... is the damage...?" Adrian whispered under his breath.

"He's killing him... over and over... I had to, Adrian... I'm sorry... I had to let it go... I cannot take the pain... The lands... they will heal... won't they?" she whimpered as she cried onto her brother's shoulder. In that moment, he realised how much he loved his sister so dearly... such that he had willingly offered to take her place and bear her pain...

"We will save him... I promise...."

****

Adrian knew that putting Aurora in her human form without her horse spirit inside her would be like welcoming death to all in the hospital. It wasn't that she was uncontrollable with her powers; she was unpredictable. Injured, she might cause more damage than the sudden draught she had caused over the grasslands back in Florence.

That wasn't all that was on his mind. He needed to find Heidi. He wanted to know just how she, a mere mortal, could have such an instructive force over Abben that his subconscious mind had obeyed her when neither he nor Aurora could do anything. Does she have anything to do with Olybrius? Adrian slammed his fist onto the wall. He didn't want to believe that she was... but...

Sighing to himself, Adrian closed his door and prepared to make the journey back to Princeton to check on Aquirco and Raphael. They needed to know about Aurora... and Heidi.

*****

The woman in question was checking the charts of toddlers in her ward when she heard his voice calling out to her from behind. She didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"Doctor," she greeted, smiling warily.

"Ah, Heidi... I was having the feeling that you were trying to avoid me..." he replied.

The other nurses present started whispering among themselves. Heidi felt really uncomfortable.

"Let's talk outside. I don't want to disturb the children."

Once they reached the nurses' station, she leaned against the counter, folded her arms and inclined her head slightly to meet his.

"Heidi... surely you are not telling me that you're not attracted to me?"

"It's not like that, Doctor.."

"Well then! That's settled! Have dinner with me tonight, after you shift ends. I'll come and pick you up at your dormitory say... about 7pm?"

Heidi didn't even get the chance to reply for he was already running towards the lift to return to his department. It gave her the creeps that he actually went to find out which dormitory she was residing at. Sulking a little, she returned back to work; dreading the end of shift at 5pm.

3 hours later...

Heidi sat on her bed undecided of what to wear. She didn't want to appear too anxious to dress up for the doctor but she didn't also want to appear too uninterested.

Taking a black shift dress that fell below her knee, Heidi felt it was more than appropriate. It wasn't too severe and it was modest. Next to it was a long blue satin tube dress. Heidi took it off the hanger and posed with it in front of the mirror.

Something like this would be nice, she thought to herself. With her blond hair swept up; long diamond earrings, a pair of heels... some of that Chanel perfume sprayed at pulse near her neck...

Humming to herself, she imagined resting her head on his shoulders, her face buried in his shoulder length black hair. They were the colour of midnight and looked incredibly sexy on him. She imagined his hand on her waist, guiding them slowly through the waltz....

Ding Dong!

The sound of the bell snapped her out of her daydreaming. Looking at the clock, she realised that it was already seven o'clock and she was still not dressed! Cursing to herself, she jogged to the door and opened it.

Phileas was already standing there, flowers in hand, his sandy hair brushed neatly backwards and smiling widely at her. Rolling her eyes when he wasn't looking, she closed the door and told him to wait for her.

Heidi locked her room door and proceeded to get dressed. She didn't even bother to put on any make up. That shift dress and her boring persona should give him a reason to give up on her.

When she got out of her room, he was admiring the photos in her frames.

"Your family?" he asked.

"Yes that's right."

"Cool. Shall we go?"

Nodding to him, Heidi tried to smile as they left her house.

They had an extravagant dinner of lobsters and foie gras. Heidi watched her wine intake and only took a few sips. She didn't trust herself to get drunk in front of Doctor Barker. In fact, she didn't trust him at all. He was drinking to his heart's content. He was currently at his 6th glass. At $68 per pour, she was having doubts if he could afford to pay should he pass out right after dinner.

Thankfully, he did not. Not daring to take a ride home from him, she coaxed him into taking a cab. Rather drunk, he nodded and got them both in a cab waiting for them at the restaurant.

"Umm... University College London Hospital please," Heidi said to the cab driver. She didn't know where he lived and most certainly did not want him passing out in her dormitory.

"Bandage?" he asked sleepily. Heidi didn't even bother to reply him.

When they reached the hospital, she dug into his pocket for his wallet and took out some bills to pay the driver. She got for him one of those wheelchairs they had at the entrance on standby and wheeled him in. Taking the back route to avoid bumping into most of the staff, she wheeled him straight to their staff entrance.

"I wanna go pee pee!" he suddenly screamed. Heidi rolled her eyes. This was the worst date in her life. He smiled at her and pressed the button to the second basement.

"No! We're going to the 10th floor. That's where your office is. You can pee there for all you want," shrieked Heidi as she slapped his hand away. However, he had already pressed the button and the lift was making its way down.

It wasn't that Heidi didn't mind going to the basement but she still has the creeps about going there. That's where the mortuary is. As a student nurse she had had to wash corpses and watch doctors perform autopsies but it was her least favourite thing to do.

Once the lift door opened, Phileas got up from the wheelchair and was running straight ahead, his hands cupping his crotch. Heidi didn't know whether to be amused or disgusted. At least he knew where the toilet was. Wheeling the empty wheelchair out, she parked it beside the lift and walked towards the toilet to wait for him. At least they're in the hospital building. She could call for help should anything happen.

About 10 minutes later, Phileas came out of the toilet, his necktie loose and his face and hair wet.

"I'm sorry, Heidi..." he apologized. She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"How many fingers?" she asked, showing him three of her fingers.

"Three?"

"Right. The middle one's for you," she snapped and turned her heel to walk towards the lift.

****

The next morning, Heidi had two personal request for her attendance; different doctors, different department but at the same time. She looked at the two names and felt extremely pissed off. She expected that Doctor Barker was going to apologize for last night and Doctor Martin was going to question her upside down why she refused to transfer back to Neurosurgery despite his request. Men!

Seething quietly, she didn't notice her matron in charge walking towards her.

"Men problem I see. Oh, it happens, sweetie. Back in my days when I was a hot legged... ah, never mind... Let me see that," she said. "Ah, same time huh. I'd say go and see Doctor Barker first. He's higher up by rank and I'd say he actually has real work for you to do today instead of chasing your skirt... don't give me that look missy. I know everything that goes around in here. Uhuh. Now off you go."

Chuckling to herself, Heidi went straight up to Doctor Barker's department on the 10th floor. He was still in the operating theatre when she inquired.

"He requested for you to go in though," said the nurse in charge at the desk.

After putting on her scrubs, she entered the operating theatre. She saw that most of the staff there were clearing up the place and Doctor Barker was in the middle with the patient. But a quick look at the heart beat meter told her that the patient on the table had died and he had probably called the time of death, that's why everyone's cleaning up.

She walked over quietly to his side and when he noticed her, he smiled.

"Alright, clear up everyone. Nurse Lang, please prepare the deceased to be moved to basement two."

Heidi gasps. He is such an ass!

"Don't worry sweetie. I'll come with you. I have something for you... as a token of my apology," he whispered into her ear.

They pushed the body in silence all the way to second basement. It was only when they were in the mortuary that he spoke. After greeting some of the staff from the pathology department who took over the responsibility from her, he held her wrist and led her to a small room at the back of the mortuary.

"Heidi... I really didn't expect to get drunk last night. My bad. Really... I was hoping to get you home... maybe get cozy you know? You're a real beauty Heidi and I want to get to know you," he said.

Heidi just looked at him with no expression on her face.

The next thing she knew, he was crushing her lips with his. Slanting his lips on her and darting his tongue into her mouth. Repulsed, Heidi pushed him with all her might and wiped her lips with her sleeves. When she tried to run for the door, he slammed his weight onto her and pinned her against the side wall.

"I want you damn it! Can't you see? Why are you resisting me? Am I not handsome and powerful Heidi? I can give you everything you want!" with that, he pressed his lips against hers again and started to unbutton her uniform.

Heidi was so taken over by fear that she could not speak but her mind was screaming:

Please, please... Please help me... A.. dri...an...

Tears were flowing out of her eyes as his lips were now on her neck. He had pulled her top down and had exposed her breast by unhooking her bra.

Suddenly, Phileas was choking and holding his chest as if having a heart attack. Heidi, still in shock became even more mute as she watched him suddenly crumble beneath her. He was grabbing the hem of her skirt but she had frozen in fear and could not move at all. Tears were still flowing from her eyes and she shut her eyes real tight as if willing herself to wake up from a really bad dream.

Still with her eyes held tight, she felt herself being lifted up but she could not open her eyes. They were still shut tight.

"Bastard," she heard someone say.

4 hours later....

Adrian was sitting at his desk. His eyes have been focused on his guest lying at the sofa in his office for the past four hours. He had been keeping her consciousness at the minimum level so that she could sleep and believe it had all been a bad dream. The fear and shock had injured the part of her brain responsible for her vocal abilities. It had taken a lot of his energy just keeping her in her sleep; he would have to look at her frontal and temporal lobes later on. He could hear Mélas complaining so loudly in his head.

Slumping back in his chair, he finally closed his eyes, massaging his temples. She will rouse to consciousness soon and not remember anything. But she won't be able to talk yet. He didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. She might want to scream at him.

When her eyes opened, Heidi was staring at a strange ceiling. It did not look like the one in her dorm at all. When she tried to sit up, he head hurt so much. Looking to her right, she saw Adrian sitting on his chair; his head tilted backwards, his eyes closed. Looking at him, she felt a warm tug in her heart. He looked so frail and tired... something she was not used to seeing. Walking towards him, she peered at his face and wondered if he was sleeping.

She touched his cheek and watched his eyes slowly open and then widened in shock.

"Oh, you're awake now," he whispered.

She smiled at him and covered her lips with his. Her kiss was so gentle, so sweet... and lingered for a few seconds before she pulled away. Smiling once more to him, she nodded and started for the door.

"Heidi... stay here for a while... I, uh, need you for something," he blurted. He didn't want her to realise that she couldn't speak yet but he was still too weak to heal her. It was less than 24 hours ago that he had battled with Aurora's life and now Heidi's. He really needed some restoration.

"I..." he stammered and gave up trying to find the right words and kissed her. Her eyes flared open in surprise and then she smiled through her kiss. Locking his door, he inched her towards the sofa which she had laid down on, a while ago. He didn't know why he was kissing her but he knew that they wouldn't have to talk if he did.

Heidi felt so giddy. She always thought of this moment but she didn't really understand why it was happening. He never made any move on her, never indicated any interest... and yet, it felt so right to be kissing him this way.

She parted her lips to let his tongue explore the recesses of her mouth. He was such a gentle kisser, she thought. She weaved her fingers through his thick black hair and pulled him closer to her. His hands were trembling slightly as he held her waist; almost afraid that he'd hurt them both.

Freeing her hands from his hair, she unbuttoned his shirt a button at a time. She could feel his broad chest under her fingers and was eager to see them under the light. When she had finally unbuttoned his last button and pushed his shirt off his arms, Heidi stood back in awe, admiring the curves of his tight chest and abdominal muscles. Moving closer, she kissed his chest, trailing wet kisses down his stomach and down towards his navel.

She heard him suck in his breath and trembled a little but she continued her assault. She was nuzzling her nose at the tuff of hair right above the waistband of his pants when he pulled her up and started to kiss her lips again.