Page 30 of The Witch's Heart
There are about twenty of us total, with the youngest being the girl I saw in art therapy—and I use the word therapy with a heavy dose of sarcasm—and the oldest being a woman who I'm not entirely sure is still alive. She sits at a table alone, her porridge in front of her, her eyes closed, and her body covered in so many wrinkles I can't imagine her actual age.
Angus is here. Along with Maria. The fingerless woman is missing. So is the boy who grabbed me, though I’m not sorry I haven’t seen him again. With Declan’s explanation still fresh in my mind, the boy’s fangs mean so much more. And if this is real, I could have died if I hadn’t gotten away.
For a girl who wanted to end her life not so long ago, I’m pretty determined to stay alive now, even if I can’t yet picture my future beyond these walls. Understanding—and accepting—the truth about these creatures is another thing altogether.
It’s a lot to process.
The brothers take seats on either side of me at a small table in the corner, and they glare at anyone else who ventures too close to us as I study the other patients. Conversations float around me. Most are in other languages; only some recognizable. It’s clear these people have come from all over.
Is everyone here truly a vampire, werewolf or witch? That seems…unbelievable. But then, everything I've experienced since my sister died could be described that way.
I’m in a mental limbo, stuck between the magical explanation for all of this, assured of my sanity, and still half convinced I’m hallucinating everything and have gone completely mental. In any given moment, I could waver dramatically between the two explanations, which creates quite the schizophrenic existence.
Two male orderlies dressed in white hover in the dining hall, listening to every word we speak, watching as we eat. In unspoken agreement, the brothers and I focus on our food and keep conversation to a minimum.
When Nurse Evil returns and jerks me upright with an iron grip, Dean and Declan both stand and growl at her. Normally it’s Declan who flies off the handle but right now Dean looks ready to tear her head off. "Don't. Touch. Her." He hisses the words through clenched teeth, and the threat is clear.
The nurse doesn’t respond to him, but she drops my arm and pushes me forward. "The doctor is waiting for you."
I squeeze Dean's hand as I leave, trying to communicate with him that I'll be okay.
I'm ready to face the good doctor. I'm also ready for some god damn answers.
My palms are sweaty as I push open Dr. Livingstone's office door.
But every speech I've mentally practiced dies on my lips when I see what he has on his desk.
I take a seat, my eyes glued to the macabre scene my brushstrokes re-created yesterday, and he studies me with an intensity that sends goosebumps up my arms.
"Is this truly what you saw when you were asked to paint the still-life?" he asks, gesturing to my painting.
I nod, my throat too dry to speak.
He sits across from me and hands me a cup of water. "Celeste, how could you have seen this?"
"Would it have been better if I'd drawn you drinking from a blood bag like the vampire you are?" I ask, spitting my words at him like bullets.
He freezes at my words, his body so motionless he could be a statue or a wax sculpture of himself.
"Why would you think that?" he asks after a long beat of silence.
"Isn't it true? That you're a vampire? That everyone in this place is some kind of monster?"
He cocks his head, leaning forward. "Is that how you see yourself? As a monster?"
"Don't pull that shrink shit on me, Doc. I think after what I've been through, I'm owed some real answers."
Dr. Livingstone glances at my painting again, his face hardening. "Do you know what you drew here?"
"You." I say. "Dead."
He sighs. "Yes. You drew my death. Before I was turned. You drew my past. But I don't understand how you could have known this."
I feel the blood drain out of my face this time. "So this really happened? And you truly believe you're a vampire?”
“I am.”
“You're just as crazy as you claim we are," I say, standing. "I'm outta here."
