The Samhain Chronicles Ch. 11

After Dr. Horace left to fix a cup of tea for his ward, Danny headed downstairs to the guest room to check up on Penelope. He thought about just letting himself in, but paused with his hand on the knob. On the off chance that she had awakened, he didn't wish to barge in unannounced. Very timidly, he tapped on the door, "Penelope? Are ye awake?" He put his ear to the heavy walnut panel, listening carefully for any sign of movement on the other side. When he heard nothing, he swallowed nervously and pushed the door open.

The room was dark inside, illuminated only by the sunlight peeking through the gaps in the curtains hanging over the large bay window. Through the gloom, Danny could just barely make out Penelope's frighteningly still form on the bed. She looked as small and fragile as a porcelain doll under her mountain of blankets, through which he could see her chest rising and falling laboriously. When he stepped closer to her bedside and switched on the lamp, he saw her face was still deathly pale with deep bruises under her slightly sunken in eyes. She had regained some color since he'd seen her last though, as her cheeks were flushed with the palest pink tint.

His hands shook as he hesitantly perched on the bed. He wished to touch her cheek but was afraid to, thinking she may possibly crumble away to dust at the lightest brush of his fingertips. Eventually he reached out and took her hand, startled to find it still icy cold. He pressed a gentle kiss on her knuckles, then held her hand to his chest with a quavering sigh. "Oh, Penelope... I'm so dreadfully sorry. None of this should e'er have happened. If only there was something I could do to-..."

A thought struck him then, as his other hand absent-mindedly traveled to the new scar on his abdomen. He traced the small, circular indentation through his shirt pensively, then looked back down at the woman he loved, "Perhaps... Perhaps there is something I can do." He hesitated a few more minutes before carefully pulling back the blankets, then cradled her limp body in his arms. "I'm not sure if you can hear me," he murmured, holding her to his chest like a newborn babe, "...or e'en if this will work at all, so...please forgive me, Dearest, if I fail." He drew a deep breath in, allowing his hand to hover over her chest for a few seconds until it began glowing once more with the healing blue light, then placed it on her sternum as he exhaled nervously. Her heart was beating weakly but surprisingly rapidly, fluttering like a sparrow's under her ribs. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment at touching her in such an intimate way, but he resolved to apologize later as the situation may very well be life or death. He closed his eyes with a sigh, banishing the thought as he tried to focus like he did before when he inadvertently healed his own wounds.

For the longest time, nothing happened. He began to feel incredibly foolish and started to pull his hand away, but then he felt it: a very slight drain on his energy. It was no more than a light tug, as if a small inquisitive child were pulling on his hand shyly for attention. He wasn't even sure if it was real or wishful thinking, but either way he redoubled his efforts. Very slowly he leaned down, pressing a soft kiss onto Penelope's lips. The moment their lips touched, the slight pull he felt intensified. It was a strange feeling, different from when he healed himself. Before, he had complete control over the flow of his energy, subconsciously re-directing it to mend his injured flesh; this time, however, it was as if Penelope was drawing the healing energy from his body herself. He started to feel dizzy and a little faint after a minute or two, and by then he realized Penelope's lips were pressing back against his.

He broke the kiss with a gasp and yanked his hand away that instant, which took a surprising amount of effort as his palm seemed welded to her blouse for a few seconds. While he was still reeling from the sudden sheer drop in his energy levels, Penelope drew a sharp breath in and her eyes flew open wide. She sat bolt upright, looking around the room in fear and confusion, "D-Daniel?! Where...? Wh-Where am I?! What happened?! Th-That woman, she-!!"

Danny waved her down gently and flopped over sideways onto the bed, struggling to catch his breath, "It's alright.... We're... s-safe... I promise. Oh, mercy... I cannae... believe that worked...." He looked up to see Penelope blinking with confusion as she rubbed and pursed her lips repeatedly.

"M-My lips," she muttered, "They're tingling...a-almost burning! And... And my heart...I've never felt it beat so fast!" She squirmed a bit on the bed, bouncing a little as she adjusted her blankets. Her movements were jittery and energized as if she'd just recieved an intraveinous infusion of pure espresso. "Daniel," she asked nervously, "what's going on?!"

"A-Apologies," he panted, smiling weakly, "I... I may have...overdone it a wee bit. As long as...ye're alright though...I donnae care." He sat up again slowly, resting on his elbow as his breathing steadily began to regulate, and his smile widened into an elated grin. "Penelope, I flew us here last night," he said, uttering a short laugh, "and there's more. I'm not...a hundred percent sure how I did it, but...I healed ye. Both of us, actually. Can ye believe it?!"

Penelope echoed his laughter, but hers was more nervous than joyful, "That's... That's amazing, Daniel! But...where, exactly, is 'here'?"

Dr. Horace tapped on the door at that moment and walked in with a small silver tea tray, "This, Young Lady, would be my home, and you are both more than welcome to stay here for as long as you like. Penny, isn't it?"

Penelope took the teacup he offered politely, but made a bit of a face, "Dr. Wilson... good to see you again, and thank you for your hospitality. I prefer 'Penelope' though, if you don't mind. I haven't been called 'Penny' since I was a girl."

Dr. Horace's green eyes sparkled with mischief as he served Danny a cup of tea next, "Ah, I see. Thank you for correcting me...and I prefer 'Dr. Horace', or just 'Horace' is fine. Here you are, Lad; milk and three sugars, as usual." Danny took the cup with a grateful nod, but paused when he saw the capsules his therapist offered next. "Danny, what's wrong?" Dr. Horace frowned, noticing his patient's hesitation, "Heavenly being or not, you still need your medication."

Penelope intercepted the pills with a frown, "Dr. Wilson, please! Daniel is no more insane than I am! Surely, you can see that now, after all the incredible things he's done. Besides, what if these pills are actually doing him more harm than good?"

"Dr. Horace, if you please," the therapist corrected coolly, his eyes almost seeming to glow with annoyance, "Please understand, Penelope; I have known Daniel for many, many years now, ever since he was found as a youth. Despite the unique abilities he possesses, his mind is still as much in need of healing now as it was then. Trust me, Penny Dear. That's all I ask."

Penelope's stern resolve faltered a little and she held out the pale green capsules to Danny, "I... I didn't know. Wait... What do you mean 'found'?" Dr. Horace cast Danny a quick look, seemingly asking if he wanted his therapist to answer her question for him or if he would rather do it himself.

"It's... all a bit of a muddle," Danny murmured, pausing to take his medicine and chase it with a swallow of tea, "All I can really recall is walking down the side of the road, feeling lost and very sick. A young married couple picked me up eventually and brought me to hospital, which is where Dr. Horace and I met. Apparently before he came to see me, I was babbling incoherently and no one could understand me. Everything before that is totally blank."

Penelope's eyes softened with pity, but whatever she looked like she wanted to say she kept to herself. After a moment, she glanced at Dr. Horace and cleared her throat, "Dr. Horace... may I have a moment alone with Daniel? Please?" Dr. Horace looked to Danny, who nodded reassuringly, then gave a nod of his own before stepping out of the room. Once the door closed softly, Penelope leaned close to Danny and lowered her voice. "Do you trust him?" She asked, her tone calm yet very cautious.

"With my very life," Danny stated confidently. "Dr. Horace is more than my therapist, Penelope. He is - or was - my legal guardian. He practically raised me; put me through school, clothed and sheltered me... he's the closest thing I have to family."

Penelope still seemed a little skeptical, but eventually she moved closer to Danny and pulled him into a hug, "He also told you from a young age that you were clinically insane, Daniel. Still... I suppose if you trust him, then that's good enough for me." She cleared her throat as she let go and settled back with her tea, "Now: what happened last night? The last thing I remember, that woman-..." She trailed off, rubbing the faint bruises on the side of her neck with a shiver. After a moment, she shook it off and turned her full attention back to Danny, "Did I pass out? It's odd, but I feel...sort of drained somehow."

She allowed him to call Dr. Horace back in, after which he spent the next few minutes regaling them both with exactly what happened with the mysterious woman. Both seemed gobsmacked when he described her transformation into a hideous winged beast, the golden light he summoned to vanquish her, and how he bravely - albeit stupidly - leapt from the balcony to carry Penelope to safety. Penelope gasped in horror when he mentioned he'd been shot, then marveled at the brand new scars on his abdomen and back where he'd healed himself. When he finished, Dr. Horace shook his head and chuckled in disbelief, "Flying, glowing and healing abilities?! Gracious, my Dear Boy, I think I understand why the people who hurt you as a youth are so desperate to get their hands on you again. You're absolutely remarkable!!"

Penelope studied her empty teacup pensively, running her finger slowly along the gilded rim, "It just makes me wonder more and more about your origins, Daniel. Were you born an angel, do you think, or did you somehow become one? If only there was a way to find out. Learning more about this would be fascinating!"

Danny squirmed a little as he drained the last dregs of his tea, "I'm not sure about that term: 'angel'. I don't necessarily feel holy or divine in any regard, and at the end of the day I'm still the same person I've always been. Besides, it doesn't explain the-..." He paused, looking around in fear for a moment that he may summon the Voice by speaking of it. "...The Phantom," he whispered.

Dr. Horace tapped the side of his cup pensively with a teaspoon, pursing his whiskery lips in thought, "Yes, that is still a mystery. There remains a good chance, in my professional opinion, that it may very well be a figment of your fractured psyche...however, in light of recent events, I admit that the Phantom could possibly be something else. What that is, exactly, though, I haven't the foggiest."

At that moment, Danny was suddenly blindsided by a splitting headache. He groaned and cradled his head in both hands, dropping his empty teacup on the bedspread, as the pain seemed to circulate throughout his entire skull all at once. Penelope gripped his arm, her face pale with alarm, "Daniel, what's the matter? Are you in pain?!"

Danny's head pounded savagely, rendering him unable to speak for several moments. After a few seconds, an icy chill washed over him and he felt incredibly nauseated and weak-kneed. He then saw the red-haired woman in his mind's eye, the same way he had seen her in his vision before at the bonfire. She smiled maliciously and grabbed at his face, but he instinctually leaned backward and out of reach. Her face twisted in anger at being denied and the image quickly faded away, taking the headache with it. Danny's heart raced, as it felt like the woman had actually been in the room with him. He could feel the heat from her hand as she reached for him and smell the strong, intoxicating waft of her perfume.

He snapped his head up, his eyes wide and his skin damp with a cold sweat, "No... She's coming... She knows we're here! We have to leave, now!"

Dr. Horace put his hands on Danny's trembling shoulders, his vibrant emerald eyes warm but filled with worry, "Who Danny? What do you mean? Who's coming?"

The redhead's face flashed in his mind's eye once more, and he felt the headache beginning to build again. He flinched violently as she reached for him, then tried to concentrate on Dr. Horace's face to keep her at bay. "The... Th-The creature," he panted, "...who attacked Penelope! I can feel her...in my head.... It's like she's... t-trying to read my thoughts!"

Dr. Horace's hands slid down to grip his forearms, his vibrant green eyes burning with intensity. "Look at me, Daniel," he said sternly, and Danny obeyed. "You are safe here," Dr. Horace rumbled softly, "no one can harm you here. No one. Let me hear you say it, now, Lad."

Bizarrely, the more he stared into Dr. Horace's eyes, the further away he could feel the redhead getting from his mind. She was still there, and incredibly frustrated by her screams, but he sensed there was now a substantial barrier between her and the recesses of his mind, almost as if a reinforced concrete bunker had been suddenly built around it. "N-No one...can harm me here," he murmured, feeling calmer after he repeated the words aloud.

Penelope climbed out of bed and stood at his side, placing a hand on his back gently, "Daniel, that may not be true. If that woman is what you say she is and if she really is trying to find you telepathically right now, then our location may be compromised. I'm sorry to say it, but we should keep moving. Staying in one place too long is bound to be foolish, no matter how safe it might appear to be."

Dr. Horace gave Penelope a look then, one Danny had rarely seen. He looked furious and deeply annoyed for the briefest of moments, but the look disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared on the older man's face. "You may have a point," he muttered, "as much as I would rather you stay here, the smarter play is to keep as mobile as possible, at least until we find out exactly who these people are and how to stop them." Dr. Horace strode across the room to the small attached bath for a moment, then came back with one of Danny's sedative pens in hand.

Penelope balked when she watched Dr. Horace give Danny a full dose of the sedative, "Dr. Horace, what are you doing?! We can't fly out of here if he's unconscious!"

Dr. Horace kept his gaze on Danny, guiding the younger man back onto the bed carefully, "You're not going to fly anywhere. As magnificent as Daniel's wings are, they'll attract far too much attention, especially in broad daylight. We'll travel by car instead."

Penelope frowned down at Danny, her face and voice already beginning to distort from the effects of the powerful drug, "But why sedate him?! I don't understand!"

Dr. Horace's full attention was still on his ward, but the details of his face were so blurry the only feature that Danny could make out was the color of his eyes. "Just a precaution," he muttered, "If that creature really can read his thoughts as you suggest, then it's better for all if Daniel doesn't know where it is we're headed."

Penelope continued to protest, but Danny never heard a word of it. Within seconds, he was sinking deep into the void. Right before everything went black, he saw the redhead's face again just for an instant...and she was smiling.