“It’s part of a memory, I can grasp and hold on to,” he said, his eyes filled with fear.
Mia and he traversed the tunnel until they found themselves back in the hall.
“I’m sorry, but there isn’t anything else,” he explained. “I only have apathy and fear to draw from.”
“I understand.”
Mia shook his hand and said that she would return.
“Tell Mark that I love him and his mother,” Glen said.
Mia smiled and thought to herself, “Love is so near the surface, I can almost see it.”
Mia opened her eyes and opened her hand. She turned and put her head on Ted’s shoulder a moment. “Just let me smell you.”
“Smell me?” Ted asked, amused. “Glad I showered.”
Mia rubbed his back a moment before pulling away. “There is only apathy and fear right now for you to work with. Before we go back in, I need to find out what malachite has to do with the captain.”
They walked outside and over to Mark and his mother.
“What does malachite have to do with Glen?” Mia asked Sarah.
She smiled and almost laughed. “We were going to order some for Mark. It’s supposed to protect you from negative entities.” She looked at Mia. “You may think that we’re crazy, but we always felt that Mark was special, and a gypsy woman at a carnival told us to be on the lookout for negative influences. I thought she was just trying to sell us some crystals. I think in the last conversation I had with Glen, we were remembering the gypsy. He said he had found a place to get some malachite cheap.”
“Why?” Mark asked Mia. “Why is this important?”
“There is a tunnel inside him made of what looks to me to be malachite. I think, somehow, encased in the malachite are the rest of Glen’s emotions.”
“Wow.”
“When we connect you, if he is not waiting for you in the hall, there is a tunnel you may have to crawl through to get to him,” Mia explained. “I know this is difficult to understand, and there’s nothing scientific about it. But you will see it.”
Mark nodded.
“In order to get the boys’ machine to work, you have to bring your dad to the hall,” Mia said. “I’ve talked to him about using his pupils to access the right answers. You will be limited at first because he only has two emotions with which to measure the pupils. This will make communication a bit slower, but it is still possible. Are you ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mia looked at Cid and Ted. “It’s show time.”
Cid slid the clear glasses gently on Glen while Ted made a few adjustments. “We’re good to go. Mark, it’s all up to you now,” he said, patting the similarly bespectacled boy on the back.
Mia pushed into Glen’s hall. She stood by, just in case Mark needed help. She watched him arrive and saw the disappointment on his face. He turned to leave, but he clenched his fists and walked forward and disappeared into the malachite. In a few moments, he returned with his father.
“Stay here,” he said.
Mark opened his eyes. “Mia, he is in the hall. I’m going to select a question. Dad, can you hear me?”
“Yes, Mark,” his voice came over Ted’s laptop.
“Oh my god. Oh my god,” Mark’s mother Sarah said.
“Long time, no speak,” he said.
“Me too. Dad, I need you to not quit.”
“No quit, Mark,” he responded.
“Yes, but you’re not fighting. I need you to fight to come back. We need you, Mom and me. We need you.”
“Try,” he said, his words echoing in the still room.
“Thank you,” Mark said. He took off his glasses and smiled. “It was him!”
Sarah hugged everyone in the room.
In the near future, the staff of nurses, technicians and therapists would need to be trained by Cid and Ted. Mia would make regular visits to Glen to see if she could do something from Glen’s side of things. They were all encouraged by what had happened today.
Mark grasped Mia’s hands and told her through tear-laden eyes, “He’s there. I can see that he’s still there.”
“Keep working with him to bring out more emotions,” Mia said. “I know that love and happiness are somewhere near the surface. Mark, keep talking to him, and perhaps you can chip away enough fear and apathy to free the other emotions.”
“Mia, I am so happy to have what we have. Don’t worry, I will continue to fight for him, each and every time we talk,” Mark promised her.
~
Mia stood nervously at the front door. “Mr. Wayne will see you in the den,” the butler said. “Follow me.”
Mia walked through the quiet house. The house was cold, its décor Spartan but expensive. She felt better when she entered the lush, warm library. She took a moment to look at all the shelves of books. She was so taken in by the two floors of books that she didn’t see Wyatt until she backed into him.
“Whoa, sorry, this is a beautiful room,” she gushed.
Caught by surprise, he laughed. The sound seemed unfamiliar coming from his throat. “I’m glad you approve. My servant said you had something to give me in person?”
Mia turned around and handed him the plastic box. “Inside is Strawberry Wine, your brother’s book.”
The demon was visibly touched. He lifted the lid and drew out a page. “It’s in his hand.”
Mia turned to go.
“Stay. Please sit.”
Mia followed his hand to a small grouping of tall-backed chairs. She sat down, feeling positively tiny in the large chair. Still, she sat back, liking the feel of the chair behind her.
Wyatt set down the manuscript and looked over at her. “Two visits from the Ice Queen in a week, people are going to talk.”
“Oh dear, my reputation precedes me.”
“No, after you left, I looked you up. You’re an interesting creature. You are a fence-sitter, even after dealing with the Other. You have embraced your demon gene and, at first, rejected the birdman, but now…”
“I’m confused, clumsy and complex.”
“But not conflicted.”
“Somewhat. I can’t seem
