Eli Fletcher: Mark of the King: Book 1

Chapter 13

The Adlers Strike Back

I wake up sometime later to someone dabbing my face with a damp cloth. Is Fiona really taking care of me like this? Wait, no, that’s not a wet cloth! That’s a hand slapping my cheek! Who is slapping me? Why is someone slapping me? I open my eyes to find Miss O staring down at me, my head in her lap.

“Ow,” I say, clutching the side of my head.

“Are you okay?” she asks trying to sound strong, though I can hear her trying not to cry.

“What happened?” I ask, forcing myself to sit up and look around despite my dizziness. “Where’s Abby?” I ask, beginning to panic as my memories of a fight with Tentatio come rushing back to me.

“He took her,” Miss O says sadly as I force myself to stand.

I clench my fists tightly and boxing gloves of water form around my hands. “Whoa,” I say to myself. “Whoa,” I repeat as my legs begin to give again.

Fiona steps into my field of vision finally and then takes both of my hands, the water gloves falling away as she does.

“Just look at my eyes,” she says soothingly. “Don’t look anywhere else,” she adds and I obey. Two forms of her swing back and forth until they finally settle into just one Fiona standing in front of me, holding my hands and calming my heart rate. “Better?” she asks.

I nod. “Thanks, Fi,” I tell her and then look around at Miss O and the rest of the kids; the entire group home is out of bed now. I catch Allaryce’s eye only to find her scowling at me; Marco looks confused about what happened; but it’s Billy that surprises me. He actually looks concerned.

“You’re welcome, now, let’s get everybody back inside so we can figure out what to do next, okay?”

I nod. “Yeah,” I say and then take a deep breath. “Good idea.”

I sit in the nurse’s office while Fiona mops my sweaty face up with a cool, damp cloth. Meanwhile, Miss O and Mrs. Katz are doing everything they can to calm the other kids down and get them back to bed. Ultimately they have to make them promise to at least get in their beds whether they sleep or not.

I let out a heavy sigh. I can’t believe I let him take Abby. Why wasn’t I able to control that sphere of water? I mean, I’d created it, hadn’t I?

“Relax, Eli,” Fiona says. “Tentatio had some sort of power over you out there. That big ball of water should have vanished when you wanted it to, but Tentatio was using his own powers to hold it there so he could get to Abby.”

“I was too weak,” I say as she sets the washcloth down in the sink.

“No, you weren’t weak, you just weren’t strong enough,” she says.

“Whatever,” I snap. “Abby’s gone and it’s my fault.”

“Is this going to be a habit of yours or do I have to kick your butt to get you to stop blaming yourself and taking it out on me?”

I stare at her blankly.

“Eli, you may have superpowers but you’re still just a thirteen year old boy. You’re going to make mistakes and you’re going to learn from them. You’re smart and brave and stronger than anybody I’ve ever known. You’re special, Eli.”

“Wow,” I say. “Thanks, Fi.”

“So, where did you go?” she asks, taking a seat next to me on the stiff, green bed.

“The skate park,” I tell her. “But I was only gone for a couple hours before Tentatio and his goon showed up here.”

“That was your plan?” she asks me.

“What?”

“You were going to live at the skate park and hope no one ever found you?”

I nod and laugh at the stupidity of it all.

“I take back what I said before; you’re not very smart,” she says, nudging me with her elbow.

“You’re probably right; I should have taken you with me. But, Torrey helped me get back here faster.”

“Who’s Torrey?” she asks.

“Another angel,” I tell her. “He’s a pretty good skater, actually.”

“Pretty good?” Torrey says offended before appearing in front of the door. “I thought I had some good moves out there,” he argues playfully.

“Where were you?” I demand, foolishly standing up.

“Have a seat, Eli,” he warns and my head begins to swim again, so I sit back down again, this time Fiona sits with me, holding me up with her arm around me.

“What’s wrong with me?” I wonder out loud. “Where did God’s strength go?”

“It’s not always there,” Torrey says. “It’s there when you need it most.”

“I could use it to keep from passing out,” I lament.

“You could use some rest,” he corrects. “After that, your job is to try and lift the spirits of the children here; that will be a big deterrent for the demons.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“They feed off of the kids’s sadness and confusion and negative thoughts. What you need to try and do is cheer them up with something, which is something you’re very good at, Eli,” Torrey says.

“That’s true. I’ve never seen the little ones happier than after you read to them. You have this way of telling stories that leaves everyone in awe,” Fiona adds to Torrey’s statement.

“I make most of it up,” I mumble.

“I know, because I’ve gone back to some of the books you’ve read them and couldn’t find the story I heard,” Fiona says and then laughs. “I felt dumb the first couple times I did it until I realized that you were just a talented storyteller.”

“So, maybe we should have a special story time with them,” I suggest.

Fiona nods enthusiastically in agreement. “As soon as you feel strong enough, if there are any kids still awake, you should go into the bunk rooms and just tell them a story off of the top of your head.”

I grin at her. “Really? Just make something up on the spot?”

She nods excitedly. “I think it’ll be fun,” she encourages me.

And we do just that. As soon as my strength returns to me, we talk to Miss O and she agrees to let me have a special story time with the young kids to help them fall asleep. I weave a story of about another world full of mythical creatures, beautiful landscapes, daring knights and evil rulers. In no time they’re sound asleep and Fiona and I are heading back to the dorms to try and get more sleep before our busy day of trying to figure out how to find Abby and the other missing children. When I wake up the next morning, however, I remember that the Adlers are supposed to return for me.

I sneak down to the cafeteria for an early breakfast; the only people in there are Miss O, Mrs. Katz and the volunteer staff. Each of them has a tray of food in front of them, but whatever they were talking about before I walked in was immediately hushed as soon as I opened the door.

“Sorry,” I apologize. “I couldn’t sleep anymore, so I came down for an early breakfast,” I tell them.

“It’s okay, Eli,” Miss O says, crossing the room to meet me. “How are you feeling?” she asks in a quieter voice once she’s close enough.

I sigh and shrug. “Pretty crappy,” I admit.

Her eyes are red and puffy; I wonder if she even slept last night.

“We’ll do everything we can to find her, okay?” she says, rubbing my back as she walks with me to the food line.

“And you’ll come get me when you do?” I ask.

She nods. “Immediately; we can’t face the demons without you, especially Tentatio.”

“Good,” I say and then grab a brown compartment tray to begin filling with food; as soon as I’m done, I excuse myself from the cafeteria and find an empty room to eat in.

After checking a few locked doors, I finally find one unlocked. Inside are rows of folding chairs, music stands and a wall piano shoved into the far corner. Apparently this used to be a music room when this place was a school, however many years ago that was; and they must not have been able to take the piano with them when they cleared out.

I set my tray of food on the top of the piano and set up two chairs, one to sit in and the other as a table, and sit to eat my meal. That’s when it hits me; the emotions I’ve been holding back since Abby was taken from me last night. Tears stream out of my eyes as I make sounds I’ve never heard escape my mouth before. Heavy sobs rake through my body like untamable tremors. I throw my food tray against the wall, too angry with myself to be able to eat. I scream at the top of my lungs. I even turn towards the piano and put my fist through the side of it, leaving a hole the size of my fist. I don’t stop there, either. I attack the piano as if it’s the demon that took her and the other children; I don’t stop until I’ve reduced it to splintered chunks of wood and thick chords of springy metal, the black and white keys strewn about the entire room.

When I finish I finally notice someone standing in the doorway. Fiona is standing there with wide eyes, not from fear of me turning on her like I did this piano, but more of amazement that I was able to reduce a piano to rubble with just my bare hands.

“Sorry,” I say, struggling to catch my breath.

“Did the piano upset you?” she asks.

I look at the mess and shake my head. “Not on purpose.”

Fiona holds back a laugh. “Do you feel better now that you’ve destroyed an inanimate object?” she asks, crossing the room with caution.

I nod my head. “A little bit,” I confess. “It felt good to let out my emotions in a physical way.”

Fiona nods slowly, her eyes still wide as she surveys the room. “Did your breakfast upset you, too?”

I chortle this time. “No, it was just my first victim,” I say and then begin to pick up some of the food on the floor.

“Wanna talk about it?” she asks, helping clean up the food mess; neither of us bother with the piano, though.

I shake my head, no, and then nod towards the door. “I just needed to take it all out on something. I’ll tell Miss O about the piano.”

“She knows, she sent me to check on you.”

“Why you?”

“I’m cuter,” she says and makes me laugh. “What, you don’t think I’m cute?”

My stomach turns to ice and my face feels like it’s on fire. I thought she knew how I feel about her. Why is she questioning me now?

“I just want to hear you say it,” she whispers with a wink.

My face burns even hotter, but for a different reason this time. This girl really knows how to get under my skin.

“Of course I think you’re cute, Fiona,” I say in a gentle tone I’ve never used before. “I may not have actually said it before, but I really like you. You’re the first real friend outside of Joshua The Homeless Guy I’ve ever had.”

Fiona takes my hand in hers. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” she says and then leads me from the room; Miss O meets us in the hall, her eyes wide with concern, but also like she has something horrible to tell me.

“I’m sorry about the piano,” I tell her and her face softens into a smile.

“Don’t worry about it; it’s been there so long, I don’t think anybody actually knew about it,” she says with a chuckle.

I grin at her briefly until that worried expression returns. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

“The Adlers are back,” she replies.

“Seriously?” I ask, completely floored at how quickly that got that room cleared out and ready for me. “What about the inspection Mrs. Katz wanted to perform?”

Miss O shook her head. “The case worker called and informed her she was overstepping her bounds; her protectiveness over you was appreciated and understood, but unnecessary because they’d already inspected the entire house.”

I let out a heavy sigh. “So much for that,” I say disappointed.

“I’m sorry, Eli, but you’ll have to go with them today,” she says.

I shrug sadly. “I guess there’s nothing that can stop it.”

“Nothing short of a demon attack,” Miss O jokes darkly.

“You promise I’ll be close enough to get back here to help if anything happens?” I ask her.

“I can bring you back,” Torrey says, appearing a few paces behind me, walking up with his skateboard.

“On that?” I tease.

“Funny,” he says, punching me in the shoulder in gest.

“Let’s go,” Miss O says, nodding towards the office doors.

We follow her through, Torrey vanishes but somehow he tells me how near he is without speaking to me. Inside the office, all four Adlers are waiting patiently, well, all but Moon who I can hear shouting in Mrs. Katz’s office. When I get a better view of the window of the closed door, I can see Moon leaning over Mrs. Katz’s desk as she points and shouts at her. Mrs. Katz sits patiently, staring at the woman berating her with her fingers laced under her chin, holding up her head.

“Are you finished?” I hear Mrs. Katz say when Moon’s voice finally stops.

Moon doesn’t answer, but I can almost hear her huffing and puffing as if trying to catch her breath.

“Good,” Mrs. Katz continues. “I have already apologized to you for what I said the other day, and for overstepping my bounds in keeping you from taking Eli with you that day; your diatribe today has been unnecessary. However, I will say one last thing,” she adds, standing up and placing her hands on the edge of her desk, leaning towards Moon, “if anything should happen to Eli while in your care, you will deal directly with me. Do you understand?”

My mouth nearly drops open at her words. Mrs. Katz was always so tough and borderline mean to us kids, and despite the fact she’d fought to keep me here longer, I was still blown away at how much she seemed to like me.

“She knows how important you are to this place,” Fiona whispers so only I can hear.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“You’re the one who has been keeping this place safe. She used to blame you for the bad things happening, but she eventually saw that you were the one who could keep everybody safe from the demons. Now, she has to find reasons to begin the process of relocating everybody to keep us safe in your absence,” she explains quietly.

“She shouldn’t have to do that,” I say, shaking my head.

“She doesn’t think she has a choice,” she replies.

Moon storms out of the office and then freezes when she sees me. Her entire demeanor changes from an angry bear to the strange but kind hippie from the other day.

“Eli, how are you?” she says, stepping up to me and taking my hands in hers.

I look down perplexed at the physical contact. “Um, I’m fine,” I say and slip my hands from hers. “I guess I’m going home with you today,” I add.

“Yes, like you should have days ago,” she says, a small flame reigniting in her eyes for a moment.

“I’ll, uh, go get my bag,” I say.

“I got it for you,” Billy says suddenly from the doorway.

“Billy,” I say, hiding my annoyance with him. “You shouldn’t have.”

“Oh, it’s no problem,” he says, shrugging.

I take the bag from him. “I’ll miss you too, bro,” I say, acting as if we’re friends.

“Don’t go make things weird, Eli. Just go and enjoy your new family,” he says and then extends his hand out to me.

I shake his hand and then he turns to leave. A strange goodbye from a former bully; I hope he doesn’t revert back to his old ways.

“You ready to go?” Moon asks, gripping my shoulders.

I nod nervously and then turn towards Fiona. She quickly steps up and hugs me tightly.

“Just ask Michael or Torrey for help, and they’ll be there or come get me,” I tell her.

“I know,” she says sadly, “I’m just going to miss seeing you every day.”

I smile, my chest growing warm at her words. “I’m going to miss you, too,” I whisper, unable to find my voice in the moment.

“And who might this be?” Moon asks. I’d forgotten she was standing right behind me.

“This is Fiona,” I tell Moon, turning to face her. I keep Fiona behind me, but I sense her looking over my shoulder.

What’s wrong? she asks.

I shake my head ever so slightly, hoping Moon won’t notice.

“What’s wrong, Eli?” Moon asks, looking confused. Something in the back of my mind isn’t allowing me to trust her, though. Something just feels off about her, but I can’t place it.

“Nothing,” I lie, but I gently hold Fiona back, placing my hand on her side.

Eli, what’s going on? she asks me again.

I wish I could reply the same way, but we haven’t figured out how to do that yet. But there’s just something dark about Moon. I stare intently into Moon’s eyes, looking for something, anything, to give me some kind of answer. Then I see it, a flicker of red in the irises of her eyes. There’s either a demon inside this woman, or she’s a demon in disguise. Fiona grips my arm tightly in fear; she either saw the flicker of red, too, or she heard Moon’s thoughts.

You can’t go, Eli. Miss O! Don’t let him leave! her voice echoes in my head. I look over Moon’s shoulder at Miss O and she looks confused.

“Are you ready?” Moon asks me again.

“Yeah,” I say firmly. “I’m ready.”

“Good, why don’t you grab your bag and we’ll go home?” she says sweetly.

“Okay,” I say and then turn back towards Fiona again.

“Don’t go,” she mouths silently.

I wink at her and then hug her one more time before stepping past her to grab my bag. Billy’s there, though, handing me my bag with a grin on his face.

“Thanks, Billy,” I say gratefully, stepping up to him and gripping the handle of the bag. “Keep an eye on everybody for me, okay?” I request quietly, which elicits a perplexed expression on his face, replacing the smug one he once had.

“Yeah, okay,” he says in a voice as confused as his face.

“Thanks, bro,” I say and then follow the Adlers out of the office and to their car. Just before I climb into the back seat of the Suburban, I turn to see Miss O, Fiona, Mrs. Katz and Billy all standing at the top of the steps, waving. Fiona’s eyes are red and even from where I’m standing I can see she’s crying, but it’s Billy waving goodbye with a less than excited expression that makes me grin. He seems to be conflicted about how he really feels about me leaving, which is exactly what I was hoping would happen.