Chapter 8

 

 

          Nairne stood in the doorway of the bathroom. Next to her was a bucket of hot water and soap. She looked at all the blood which was now dry. It had been a couple of days since the incident and she had finally built up enough courage to come up and clean it. Vance still had a fever and was still currently residing on the sofa in the foyer. She hadn’t wanted to move him for fear of reopening the wound. Blinking out of thought Nairne picked up the bucket and rags she’d found under the kitchen sink. Finding a starting point she placed the bucket on the ground and resting on her knees soaked a rag before scrubbing away the stains.

 

          A small hand pushed a panel in the wall and waited as it moved to the side. Stepping inside the secret passage he found a set of stairs that led up and down. Turning, he made his way down the stairs.

 

          Vance woke up slowly. He couldn’t remember where he was at first until opening his eyes and looked around the room. Gene was on the floor in the playpen playing. He glanced up at him and gave a smile. His teeth are growing in. Vance thought to himself as he noticed teeth were starting to show in his smile. He sat up slowly and pushed the covers off. Gene watched him silently still holding his toys. Vance placed his feet on the floor and shivered as the cold shot through his body. He could hear Gene protesting and looking over to him placed a finger over his mouth.

 

          “Vance shouldn be up. Nairne say you still sick.” Vance smiled at the sound of Nairne’s name.

 

          “She is just worrying too much. Don’t tell her I’m up please Gene. I promise I’m fine.”   Gene watched him stand up slowly, not completely convinced that it was true. Turning Vance was about to walk out of the room, when he stopped.

 

          “Hey Gene, where did Nairne go anyways?” Gene tightened his grip on his toy as he looked up to Vance’s face.

 

          “She in the room wif red.” Vance stared into space confused, not knowing what the red room was until it finally dawned on him. He whipped around almost causing himself to fall to the ground. Holding his head for a few minutes he made his way out of the room. Grabbing the rail he climbed up the first set of stairs before freezing on the platform. He was staring at the wall ahead of him. This looks like the paneling in the dream I had with the hidden staircase. Vance slowly walked towards the wall holding his hand out. Pausing he rested his hand on the panel and pushed gently. He took a step back when the panel moved back and slid to the side. Vance looked back at Gene who was standing, holding himself up against the pen and watching with wide eyes. Making up his mind Vance made his way into the passage. Suddenly he could feel butterflies in his stomach. There is magic…the staircase is a trick. A flashback rose to the front of his mind as he tried to remember what the trick had been. It’s backwards! Father must have put magic on it to confuse whoever didn’t know the trick. Downstairs leads upstairs. Turning right, he slowly climbed down the stairs as the paneling moved back into place. Gene sat back down and continued playing with his toys as if nothing ever happened.

 

          Nairne wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before sitting back against the wall. Her back and knees were aching from kneeling and leaning in a hunched position for hours. She looked around the bathroom for any more dried blood only to see that the room was almost shining. Throwing the red stained rags into the bloody water she stood up and stretched before grabbing the bucket handle and walking out of the bathroom. She was feeling nauseated from cleaning and being in that room with all the blood. Nairne made her way downstairs and suddenly froze on the final platform before the first floor. She was looking into the foyer at the empty sofa where Vance had been laying for the past couple of days. Dropping the bucket, red water splashed onto the wood as she ran down the stairs in a panic.

 

          Picking up the sheets on the floor Nairne twirled around trying to sense where Vance had gone. She came up empty. Finally, she looked down at Gene.

 

          “Gene, where did Vance go? It isn’t good for him to be on his feet yet.” Gene could see how worried Nairne was and lifting his arms in the air signaled for her to pick him up. Holding Gene in her arms, he started pointing towards the stairs.  Quickly, Nairne started walking back towards the stairs. She was about to turn away from the wall on the first platform when Gene started protesting in her arms. Stopping, Nairne looked around to see why Gene was getting upset.

 

          “Da wall. He goes through.” Nairne looked at Gene puzzled. She stood in front of the paneled wall and looked for a hidden handle. When Nairne got close enough to the wall, Gene placed his hands on the wood and pushed with all his might. The wall didn’t budge. Mimicking what Gene was doing, Nairne pushed on the wall. The panel fell back and slid to the side as Nairne stepped back holding Gene close. She stared at the open space shocked. This place is full of hidden passages. Approaching it slowly, she felt the magic emanating from the black space beyond. She looked to Gene with surprise evident on her face. Turning her attention back to the staircase she gradually summoned enough courage to step inside. As soon as she did the wall closed, casting them into pitch darkness. Standing there for a few seconds Nairne let her eyes adjust before concentrating in hopes of finding Vance.

 

          Vance looked up from the rotting box he’d been searching through. He felt a presence trying to find him. Guarding against it for a minute he realized it was Nairne. She must have found this place. I bet Gene showed her. Standing up he swayed, grasping onto the shelves at his side. His head was beginning to pound but he ignored it in order to find Nairne.

 

          Nairne made her way down the stairs, following the presence of Vance’s aura. She felt it growing stronger, which made her sigh that she was at least going in the right direction. She stopped when she saw a faint glow approaching her. It was a faint rusty red color. She stared at it trying to figure it out until it registered. It’s Vance…when did his eyes start glowing? Vance stopped walking when he saw the faint glow of Nairne’s eyes reflected behind her glasses.

 

          “Follow me.” Vance was turning to walk back down the stairs when Nairne grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Stopping, he turned around staring at her.

 

          “I don’t think you should be walking around just yet. Your injuries are still healing and they might reopen if you move around too much.” Her voice was soft as she stood firmly in the stairwell. Pulling his arm away, he ignored her and continued walking down the stairs. Nairne stood there stunned for a few seconds before following him. Why is he suddenly so cold towards me? Gene held onto her arm tight as she tightened her grip on the infant. As they continued their descent the smell of musty, old air became stronger. It felt as is a layer of dust was resting on Nairne’s lungs as she turned Gene’s face into her shoulder in hopes of protecting him from it. Her eyes were drying out and starting to tear up as she blinked trying to clear away the welled up tears. Vance doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. What’s wrong with him?

 

          As Nairne stepped off of the last stair she looked at the room around in wonder. Surrounding her were old shelves filled with books, trinkets and photos. On the floor around the shelves were a vast amount of boxes that looked to have been there for ages. Letting her eyes follow Vance, he moved slowly towards a box that looked to have been disturbed compared to the rest of the other boxes around it. Approaching Vance she looked over his shoulder as he leaned over the box going through its contents. Her eyes were still watering from the heavy layer of dust that seemed to stick in the air. Looking away from Vance she looked for a window. Finding a curtain she pulled them apart, hurriedly covering Gene’s face as a storm of dust surrounded them. Vance glanced up at the sudden stream of light that flowed through the once dark room. Watching the dust settle around the two, a part of him grinned at the sight of them covered in dust.

 

          Cracking open her eyes she exhaled watching the dust fall from her clothes as she moved around. Looking down at Gene, the small infant looked up and smiled. Smiling back at him she glanced out the window only to do a double take. Outside she looked down to see the stonewall that divided the yard from the hidden garden. The magic was meant to reverse the stairs. Down goes up, up goes down. Turning away from the window she quickly looked to Vance before walking over to one the many shelves that lined the wall. Shifting Gene to her other arm she pulled out a stack of papers. Finding a box to sit on she rested Gene on her lap and taking off her glass tried to clean them on the inside of her dress. Putting them back on she frowned slightly at the streaks that smeared across her lenses. That’s as good as it’s going to get in here though. Nairne rubbed off the thick layer of dust that covered the pile of papers and photos. Her eyes widened as she became drawn into the pictures.

 

 

 

          Urgan rested his arm against the car window. His car was followed by at least three others, all full of special op soldiers. He’d taken the best with him, knowing that Vance would not be easy if at possible to capture. The men that sat in the seats behind him were shuffling uncomfortable with hunting down the agent they had come to awe. Each of them had been informed at the briefing of the operation what Vance was, and some of that awe had turned into hatred. These men had been trained since a young age to hate and despise the transhumans. It had made them excellent killing machines and a good tool for the extermination of the transhuman race.

 

          “Excuse me, Sir?” Urgan turned his weathered face to the tracker that sat to his left. In front of him appeared a holographic screen. On it a large dot blinked at him. A small distance away was an X that was slowly getting closer to the dot.

 

          “We should arrive at our destination within 20 minutes.” The man’s voice was shaky from being in the presence of Urgan for so long. Looking away Urgan stared ahead, smiling eerily.