Black Blood - 2. Chapter 2

2

After walking across Central Park and Times Square, still fascinated by New York’s lights at night even though she had lived here for three months now, Skylar gave up and took the subway to the West Village.

She looked up Sound and Blood online after getting off the train. As soon as she managed to get some kind of internet connection, she saw that they had a facebook page, inviting people to come check out the new underground club ‘if they dared.’ Apparently it was some sort of punk, gothic themed place. Skylar wasn’t sure she fit the requirements with her ballerina shoes and white skirt. Now she felt stupid for not getting changed, especially with all that rain. Thankfully, Micah’s leather jacket reached down to her mid-thighs.

After some more walking, hood pulled down against her forehead, she wound up on Christopher Street. She had been to this area with Micah before, so she didn’t feel too lost. They had visited a gay club though, not a gothic one. What was a gothic bar like anyway? She had trouble imagining gothic people dancing.

She found the place between a pizza restaurant and a convenience store; some narrow brick building with what looked like apartments upstairs, with a ‘For rent’ sign in one of the upper windows. She pushed open the black painted door. The address in red numbers was the same as the one on the facebook page, so it was worth a shot. She was a few hours too early though. Mayrin probably wouldn’t be here yet.

A set of dim stairs went down into darkness. There were no signs on the walls, no posters, nothing. Skylar held her breath and started down the stairs, brushing the wall with her extended hand. She squinted her eyes but she really couldn’t see much. The steps creaked under her small heeled shoes. Further down the darkness seemed to be filled with fog. Also she could hear the hint of a musical beat. Finally her feet touched the landing. There was a red ceiling lamp in the narrow corridor, lighting up the fog with a pinkish glow. There was another black door.

But when Skylar tried to open this one, she found it was locked. There was a bell, though. So she rang it. This was so strange. She pushed back her hood while she waited, and unzipped the jacket a bit. She curled damp strands of hair around her fingers. She thought she recognized the music. Marilyn Manson. She rang the bell a second time.

She waited so long that when the door did open with a creaking noise, she jumped out of her skin. A blonde man with glasses and a red polo shirt smiled at her, his hand still on the door knob. He didn’t look punk or gothic in the slightest.

“ID?” he said.

She was nineteen, so she wasn’t sure he would let her in. She didn’t usually get asked for her cards. She still fumbled in her silver bag, looking for her wallet. The fog was thicker now, slipping out of the open door and shrouding the air.

Suddenly the young man burst out laughing. “I’m joking! So, how did you hear about us?”

“My friend,” Skylar said, regaining her composure, “she told me about this place. I’m supposed to meet her here.”

“Great!” His smile never faltered.

She got weird vibes from him, like he was dangerous or something, but she didn’t make much of it. She had never been afraid of danger. She was a confident woman. Men rarely attack confident-looking girls. And if one were to attack her anyway, well she had taken many self-defense courses, added to the tae kwon do. She knew where to hit.

When Skylar stepped closer, the smiling man raised a hand to stop her. Some metallic rings adorned his fingers.

“It’ll be twenty dollars please.”

“Are you joking again?” asked Skylar, hopeful.

But the smile quivered slightly. “Is there a problem?”

“No, of course not.” She returned his smile coolly, finding her wallet and giving him a twenty dollar bill. “I just hope my friend’s going to pay me back later is all.”

He let her in with a fake laugh. She stepped inside a basement filled with so much artificial fog and smoke that it was hardly possible to see anything. The blonde man pointed with his thumb toward their right, where some hangers dangled from a mostly bare metallic pole.

“Five dollars for coat checks.”

She clutched Micah’s leather jacket at her waist. “It’s okay, I’ll keep it on me.”

It was actually rather cold in the room. She could almost feel the cool cement floor through her shoes. This was so odd. She felt more like she had come to someone’s house party than to a club. At least there were other people, so that was reassuring. A group of five friends sat at a round black table, the two girls drinking what looked like mojitos, and the three boys sharing a pitcher of beer. There were only two other tables, empty for now. The rest of the space was occupied by the dance floor, she supposed. A drugged up girl was dancing lazily, a dazed smile on her lips, her head thrown back. A boy stood next to her, smiling in between two whiffs of his joint.

Skylar moved to her left, where the slick black bar counter lined the long wall. Row upon row of all kinds of liquor filled the shelves behind the counter. The staff working the bar was all girls. Some people of various age groups sat on red bar stools, drinking. The music was some kind of mix of metal and techno at the moment. It was interesting. Skylar didn’t dislike it.

She unzipped her jacket completely but kept it on. The barmaid that came to serve her had a nice, curvy body clad in a little red dress, long black hair and very plump lips, like a younger version of Angelina Jolie.

“What can I get you hun?”

“Do you have white wine?” asked Skylar.

The barmaid nodded and went to open a bottle. She charged a ridiculous price for one glass and Skylar paid reluctantly, deciding she would drink it very slowly.

Skylar’s parents had introduced her to wine when she was fourteen. The European way, they liked to say. She had always liked it. She liked the bittersweet taste, and the fruity fragrance.

The Angelina Jolie look alike stuck around, replacing some bottles, wiping the counter, pretending to work. She looked bored. Sitting on one of those red stools, Skylar peered over her shoulder, tucking stray hairs behind her ear. The drugged up girl was still the only one dancing.

“Are you open every day?” asked Skylar, turning back to look at the barmaid.

She nodded slowly, unwrapping a mint gum and sliding it between her impressive red lips. She started chewing. She didn’t look like she wanted to converse. Rather, she glanced past Skylar at the dance floor, eyes glazed, as if she was getting high off the artificial smoke.

Today kept getting weirder.

Skylar ended up drinking her wine quickly anyway, because she had nothing else to do. She was still ignoring the messages Micah and Blake were sending. Her mother still hadn’t called. She listened to the music. They played blasts from the past, like Sweet Dreams; the original version this time, not the one by Marilyn Manson. More costumers walked in, each of them giving twenty dollars to the nerdy guy with the glasses and rings. No wonder he was smiling so much.

More people were dancing now. Apparently the person in charge of the lights had gotten here, too. Flashing green spotlights lit up the foggy dance floor. Only green lights, flickering frantically. It was dizzying.

Skylar had never thought she would be happy to see Mayrin. But when the silvery-haired girl walked in the club, Skylar sprung to her feet and waved. Mayrin walked up to her, somehow graceful even in her ridiculous high heels. She still wore that light green strapless dress. The expression on her face was wary and cautious, her blue gray eyes darting across the room. Even with the heels she was a bit shorter than Skylar.

“You’re early,” said Mayrin.

“So are you.” It was a little before 9 p.m.

“I had a feeling you’d come here early.”

“And why is that?” Skylar crossed her arms. She felt a bit warm in the jacket now, but she kept it on anyway, like it was the next best thing to having her best friend by her side.

“Because you want to know what I know.” Mayrin’s voice was steady.
Skylar arched an eyebrow. “I do. I expect some kind of explanation. I just don’t understand why you chose this place. Honestly, it’s not that terrible, I suppose, but—”

Mayrin took her arm to pull her closer, casting a glance around to make sure no one was watching or listening to them. In the green flashing lights Mayrin’s face seemed ethereal; fine-boned nose, rosy lips, pale skin. Her eyebrows and even her long eyelashes were almost as pale as her hair – perhaps that was her natural hair color after all. She looked so delicate compared to the strength with which she was holding Skylar’s arm.

“There are monsters in New York.”

“That sounds like a good title for an action flick,” said Skylar.

Mayrin pulled her even closer. Cold desperation flashed in her eyes. “I’m serious. It’s spreading fast. You have to help me stop this.”

“What kind of monsters?”

“Bloodsuckers,” Mayrin whispered, “that need human blood to survive.”

“You mean vampires? Are you joking?”

She shook her head. “I’ve recently found out about your legends, stories. It makes me wonder if this has ever happened before. Unfortunately, my oldest history books were burned during the last war.”

“Whoa, woman, slow down, you’ve completely lost me. And let go of my arm you’re hurting me.”

Mayrin released her hold on Skylar with a start. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Skylar sighed, holding her wrist. “Look, I’d love to listen to what you have to say, but this really isn’t the best place, with the loud music and everything.”

“If you’re going to believe me I have to show you first. Come, maybe they’re already here.”

“They?” echoed Skylar.

But she got no further explanation. Mayrin started up along the bar counter, sinuously making her way through the growing crowd. Skylar followed, as she was clearly expected to. She was already here, so she might as well get to the bottom of this, even though Mayrin sounded like a crazy person. She was leading them to the back room.

It read ‘Staff only’ but Mayrin pushed the door anyway. She looked over her shoulder at Skylar, beckoning her inside. The door closed behind them. It was your typical employee’s room, with the dull neon light, lockers on one side and mini kitchen on the other. In the center was a fold over table with some plastic chairs. On one of the chairs sat the man with the glasses and red polo shirt. Except he wasn’t smiling anymore.

He rose to his feet and put a hand up to stop them, like he had done earlier before asking Skylar for twenty dollars.

“You can’t come in here.” His tone was dark and dangerous. Skylar felt something deep inside, and it chilled her to the bone. She realized it was fear. Her sixth sense was telling her to stay the hell away from this man.

Mayrin spoke slowly, as if to make sure Skylar would understand. “He’s one of them. I need you to kill him.”

Skylar shot her an incredulous glance. “What?”

Before Mayrin could say anymore, the man lashed at her, so intensely that his glasses fell to the floor. They should’ve broken, but Skylar realized they didn’t have any glass in them. Frozen momentarily in shock, Skylar watched as the crazed man smashed Mayrin’s head against the lockers with a loud clashing noise. Blood trickled down from her temple, staining her light hair. Skylar regained her senses quickly enough to grab the man’s arm so he wouldn’t smash her again.

Except it didn’t work. It was like trying to move a thick iron bar stuck in cement. She couldn’t help Mayrin. This man was going to kill her.

“Fire,” Mayrin said urgently, “you have to use fire. Skylar, please.”

Skylar would never forget what happened next. The young man’s canines elongated and became needle sharp as he opened his mouth wide. With a growl he launched at Mayrin’s delicate neck, biting furiously. Screaming, Skylar tried to grab him again, to pull him away from her. But it was useless. Kicking him or punching him wasn’t doing anything either.

Fire.

Memories quickly filled her mind. Memories of whatever parks or wooden patches she could find in Dorchester, Boston, where she had lived before. As long as the woods were deserted, they were her sanctuary. She used to practice magic there. It was always so overwhelming and amazing, her powers growing every time. She would take out the purple lighter she always carried around even though she didn’t smoke, and she would play with the flame, making it bigger, or smaller at will. Once she had even lit up an immense bonfire.

“Please, Skylar!” Mayrin’s voice was weak as that man sucked out her blood.

“Tastes so amazing,” he mumbled against her neck between two gulps, “I’ve never tasted anything like it before.”

Skylar still had that lighter. Miraculously, she snagged it from her messy bag right away. She had sworn off magic four years ago. Could she really do this?

She was surprised by how easy it was. It came back right away, like riding a bicycle. The lighter produced a flame, and that was all she needed. The feeling was so familiar and delicious it hurt, surging through her veins like blood. She had missed it so atrociously without really knowing it.

A snarl curled her lips. She watched with satisfaction as bluish flames started licking the man’s back. Crying out in pain, he let go of Mayrin and whirled to face Skylar instead, blood dripping from his long teeth.

“She warned me about you!” growled the vampire. “I’m going to destroy you for her!”

But Skylar wasn’t afraid. She had only been waiting for him to get away from Mayrin. She lifted her chin arrogantly as the flames started spreading rapidly, like someone had poured oil all over him. Skylar purposefully made the flames so hot and destructive that in less than a minute he was no more than a pile of churning bones and ashes.

Feeling high from the adrenaline, Skylar laughed nervously. She couldn’t comprehend what had just happened, yet she couldn’t stop laughing. Either her memories had faded, or this had been much more of a rush than what she used to feel when practicing while hiding in the trees.

But she remembered Mayrin was hurt. Her laughter died in her throat as she went to her. Blood was staining her hair, skin and dress.

“Oh my god, all this blood. We need to get you to a hospital.”

But Mayrin shook her head. She seemed quite relaxed for someone who had just been attacked savagely. She walked around the table, heels stomping in the ashes carelessly, to get to the sink. She used water to clean her neck a little, and then she showed it to Skylar, pushing her hair back. Skylar came closer and her eyes went wide in disbelief. The bite marks were already gone. There wasn’t even a scar.

“Don’t worry about me. I heal extremely fast,” said Mayrin softly.

“What are you?” was all Skylar could say. Her throat felt dry, and her ears were buzzing.

“No time. There might be more outside. Come.”

Mayrin took her hand and went to open the door next to the lockers. It led to a flight of stairs, which they climbed rapidly, heels clapping. Finally Mayrin pushed a heavy steel door like it was no effort at all. It gave in a narrow service alley. The air was filled with the stench of heaping piles of garbage.

Her eyes adapting to the dark, Skylar could see two vampires drinking blood from the same girl as she leaned against the brick wall. With the faint yellow light coming from the street, she could see it was the drugged up, dancing girl from earlier. And one of the boys was the one who had been smiling at her while smoking pot. Horrified, Skylar clenched the lighter that was still inside her fist.

“They’ve just started. She can still be saved.” Mayrin shot her a sideways glance. “You should try without the lighter.”

“What? This isn’t an experiment! I’ve never done it without the lighter.”

Angrily, Skylar unleashed her magic once more, focusing on the lighter’s flame despite Mayrin’s advice. The same thing as before happened. The two vampires came to attack her, baring pointy fangs, but it was already too late. Actually, it was even faster this time. The fire ate them whole. Before she knew it, her bluish flames had disappeared, and ashes were sifting in the wind across the graffiti strewn bricks.

A satisfied smile curled Mayrin’s lips.

“Is it over?” asked Skylar in a trembling voice. She couldn’t believe these things actually existed. And she had killed them with fire. Realization of what had just taken place here had yet to sink in.

But she got no answer. Mayrin took out a small knife from her bra, of all places, and then she used it to slice her wrist. Skylar wanted to ask her what she was doing, but the question remained stuck in her throat. Mayrin went to the injured girl. Still leaning against the brick wall, she was shaking violently and holding her bleeding neck with both hands through lanky brown hair. Firmly, Mayrin took her wrists and pulled them away. She then let the blood slide from her wrist and onto the girl’s neck. Skylar stepped closer, curiosity winning over fear.

The girl’s bite marks disappeared. She looked up at Mayrin like she was the messiah, with big brown eyes circled with thick layers of smudged black makeup.

“Leave,” Mayrin said, “and never come back here again.”

“I won’t,” she said shakily. “Thank you.”

She walked away on teetering heels. Skylar was looking at Mayrin like she was seeing her for the first time.

“Is it over?” she couldn’t help but ask again.

“Yes, for now.”

They found their way to the sidewalk, where they marched up the street side by side, waiting for a cab to drive by. The blood stains on Mayrin’s green dress were blatantly obvious under the lampposts. Skylar gave her Micah’s jacket to cover it up, and Mayrin put it on wordlessly.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Not at all.”

“What about your wrist?”

She showed her. The white skin was as smooth as it could be.

“You lost a lot of blood,” Skylar argued.

“It’s nothing. I might be a little tired, that’s all.”

They passed some other bars along the street. People were chatting, drinking, and having fun. The night seemed so peaceful to Skylar. She felt so shaken up inside in comparison.

“The vampire, the one with the red shirt, who was he talking about when he said she warned me about you?”

Mayrin looked to the side. “I don’t know.” It seemed like she was hiding something though.

“What are you really? Are you a different type of witch, or something like that?”

“Something like that,” said Mayrin quietly.

***

In the cab Mayrin told her she had no place to stay, so Skylar told the driver to head toward Columbia University, since her apartment was really close. She had preferred an apartment to living in the dorms because she was more of a loner, and she liked having her own kitchen and bathroom. Well, she had roommates for financial reasons right now. But she didn’t regret her decision. She liked the independence and freedom that she most likely wouldn’t have living in the dorms.

They couldn’t talk in the cab, otherwise the driver would’ve set his GPS to the nearest psych ward. Skylar just wanted to get home as fast as possible, so she could calm down and feel safe again. Could she really ever feel safe again after seeing something like that though? Images danced in her mind, of bloodied fangs and bluish flames. The smell of rotted flesh lingered in her nostrils. She was as afraid of herself as she was of them.

It had felt so amazing though. Looking back, she now understood that it had taken a tragedy for her to swear off magic. Was it going to start again now? Was she going to be obsessed with it once more? She couldn’t. She wasn’t a little girl anymore, running off to parks after school to move the water in the ponds, make the wind stronger, or watch flames dancing and growing bigger. She shuddered.

“Everything all right?” The cab driver looked at her through his rear-view mirror. “You’re not going to throw up are you?”

“I’m fine,” she muttered.

She just couldn’t get the growls of the vampires out of her head. Were they even vampires? She couldn’t stop thinking about her flames burning them, about the adrenaline that had felt so good it had been like a drug. Unfortunately, her racing thoughts couldn’t be drowned by the circulation sounds or the radio music in the cab.

The rest of the ride was quiet, save for Skylar giving him more specific instructions to get to her apartment building on 111^th Street near Broadway. At night the buildings all looked so much alike. During her first month here she’d had trouble recognizing it.

On the porch, Skylar fumbled for her keys with a trembling hand. She was shivering even though it wasn’t cold outside. Her hand found her cell phone rather than her keys, and she realized it was vibrating. It was Micah.

She put it to her ear, Mayrin standing patiently next to her.

“Sky? I’ve called you like, a thousand times! Do I need to come meet you at that club?”

“No!” she shouted, alerting some old couple out on a peaceful evening stroll. “Don’t you dare go to that place. Ever. Just stay home.”

“Uh… okay.”

She finally found her keys, and unlocked the door, still holding the phone to her ear. She led Mayrin inside and they climbed up the stairs all the way to the third floor.

In the phone, Micah was asking her what was going on, and Skylar simply couldn’t find the words to explain.

“You shouldn’t tell him anything,” Mayrin said quietly. “Leave him out of this.”

She slid the key in the lock when she got to her door, before realizing it was already open.

“Blake was really upset when you left, you know? He was trying to hide it but I could tell. And Viko felt bad. Really.”

“I don’t care,” Skylar said shakily, “about that right now. Just don’t go to that club. I’ll explain everything later.”

“Explain what? Sky? Don’t hang—”

She hung up. After locking the door she slipped out of her shoes, leaving them on the entryway rug. Mayrin did the same, massaging her feet. Never mind the heels; Skylar couldn’t believe that girl was even standing on her feet right now after losing all that blood

The five and a half apartment certainly wasn’t anything like Micah’s condo, but she still liked it. Sure the wooden floors weren’t so fresh, the white paint on the walls cracked here and there, and the living room furniture was a little bit of everything her roommates had gathered from thrift shops, but it was still cozy, somehow. It felt like home.

Her roommates were still up. She could hear Florence and Mike laughing in their shared bedroom, all the way down the hall. They had gotten together after being roommates for a few months. That was why they had decided to get another person to share the apartment, in order to save a bit of money. Skylar had seen the post online, and that was how she had entered their lives. Her other roommate, Josh, was just getting out of the shower. He walked the few steps that separated his bedroom from the bathroom with just a blue towel wrapped at his hips. Mayrin clutched the jacket Skylar had given her, making sure it hid all the blood stains. Josh smiled at the girls and gave a quick “Hey Skylar!” before disappearing in his bedroom, no doubt to either watch a basketball game on his flat screen or play some Xbox.

“He’s so beautiful,” said Mayrin, following Skylar to her own bedroom, which was situated in the middle. The apartment was longer than it was large, with the living room at one end and the kitchen at the other.

“Josh? Yeah well, he works out a lot. His dream was always to play for the NBA one day. He’s in Columbia’s basketball team right now.”

Mayrin gave a slight nod as she sat on the double bed, her paleness clashing with the navy comforter. She was nodding even though she wasn’t too sure what Skylar was talking about. No need for a sixth sense to figure that out. Mayrin clearly wasn’t from around here.

There was no ceiling lamp in her bedroom which could be annoying. Instead she had one lamp on her work desk and another on her night table. Both had silk shades and beaded fringes. Skylar flicked both lamps on and stood in front of her messy wardrobe, scanning the carelessly thrown clothes to figure out what she could give Mayrin.

“Are you and Josh…?”

Skylar whipped around. “What? No. You really want to talk about boys right now?”

“I was just trying to take your mind off things.” Mayrin shrugged off the leather jacket.

“You shouldn’t try to take my mind off things. You should explain those things to me.” Skylar’s eyes lingered on the blood stained green dress. “It’s a shame. It was very pretty.”

“Thank you. I had brought some gold with me, to exchange it for money. Those heels and that dress were all that money could buy me.”

Skylar brought a hand to her messy hair, arching an eyebrow. “You had a limited amount of money and you chose to buy fancy shoes and clothes? Are you insane? Wait, don’t answer that.”

Mayrin scoffed. “You should know, where I’m from, I am what you call a designer. I’m the best, too.”

“Yeah?” Skylar gestured dramatically with her hand. “Enlighten me. Where the hell are you from?”

“I can’t tell you. You wouldn’t believe me.” She lowered her lead-colored eyes, sighing. “I should’ve thought about how to explain these things to you.”

“Maybe you should’ve.”

“But I was in a hurry! You don’t understand. Those bloodsuckers are spreading fast, and no one is taking care of it but me!”

Skylar took a step toward her, the old wooden floor creaking under her bare feet. She pointed with a finger. “You’re right, I don’t understand. I don’t understand why you made me do all that tonight, when you could’ve just called the police. I don’t know how you found out that I have powers, but I’ll have you know I’m not using them ever again. That was an exception, all right? To save your life. And that girl’s life.”

Mayrin looked up, baffled. Her hands were resting on either side of her thighs on the bed. Outside, the clouds were clearing up, letting the moon shine through. Mayrin’s hair really did look silver in the pale glow.

“Why never use them? They’re a part of you. You can’t repress that. There’s no way.”

Skylar’s hand found its way to her chest, feeling her own frantic heartbeat. Her eyes started tearing up.

“I repressed them for four years, and I was fine, before tonight.”

But it had felt so good. She had been exactly like a drug addict that had been deprived for a long time, never really finding anything else to fill in the emptiness, and then finally getting to use again. Mayrin’s words hit hard because they were true.

“Why repress them?” Mayrin insisted.

“Just… don’t. Don’t ask.”

She turned around, wiping at her eyes. She selected a long cashmere black shirt that was a bit too small for her. She picked out some pale green leggings to go with it. Mayrin seemed to like that color. Skylar wondered why she was being so nice to her.

“Here,” she said, handing her the clothes, “this should fit you.”

Mayrin took them but didn’t move. “I want to know, Skylar.”

She crossed her arms against her chest stubbornly. “Okay, I’ll tell you. But only if you tell me how you knew who I was.”

“I will. But not right now. It’s too much for you all at once. I’ll reveal everything later. The fact that you repressed your powers for so long really bothers me though, so if you could—”

“Fine!” Skylar threw her head back in annoyance. She tried to give her the short version. “I could control water, fire, and wind. I thought, what other element is there? Earth. So I wanted to give it a try. I was fifteen. It was getting late, and I was getting frustrated. I knew my parents were probably worried, but I didn’t care. I forced it out of me. I… There was an earthquake. And I couldn’t stop it. Some trees fell, some houses were damaged and some people were hurt, including my father. He had come to look for me because he was worried. A tree fell on his back. He’s been in a wheelchair ever since. Satisfied?”

Well now she was crying. Great. She was glad no makeup adorned her eyes today otherwise it would have been about as smudged as the eyeliner on that girl they had saved earlier.

“That’s why I swore off magic. And I intend to respect that. It’s a vow to myself. It’s important to me, okay? So I can’t help you Mayrin, I’m sorry.” Her voice became almost inaudible.

Very quietly, Mayrin rose, and took off the stained dress, tossing it on the floor next to the light wood dresser. She wore a sort of belt just under her bra, with that knife she had used earlier strapped to it on the side.

Skylar cleared her throat, trying to keep her breath from catching. “That’s brilliant. Can I steal the idea? I’m sure I’d get rich.”

But Mayrin wasn’t listening. She was looking at the framed photos on Skylar’s dresser, while slowly slipping on the leggings. There was a black and white photo of Micah. She had used him as a model for her first photography project. Her teacher had totally loved it. He looked like a professional model, with intense eyes gazing at something unknown in the distance, his sleek hair falling on one side, head slightly tilted, revealing a well defined jaw. There were three silver ring piercings in the upper part of his ear. He was using it as part of his actor port-folio now.

She also had pictures of her parents, of course. There was one of them in front of their Victorian home in Dorchester, one of them on the tennis court. There was one of Skylar together with them, a sort of family portrait in the living room, with the wood panel wall as a background. They looked happy. Skylar had always liked taking pictures of the people she loved, as if she was afraid she would forget them.

Mayrin had put on the long black shirt now. The clothes fit her nice.

“I hope they’re fancy enough for you, princess.”

She seemed lost in her thoughts.

“What is it?” asked Skylar.

“What if I healed him?”

She blinked. “Huh?”

“Your father.” Their eyes met. “What if I healed him? Would you help me then?”