get you out. Start talking with people; just don’t talk about the monster. We know it’s real, but they don’t. Eventually, they’ll see your improvement and release you.”
I didn’t know how much to say about my other worry, but I had to warn him. “If your mom asks again about what you saw, tell her it must have been a bad dream. I’m not sure you can trust her. I’m so sorry.”
I waited for more tears, surprised when he squared his shoulders. His expression turned stern, and his lips tightened into a thin line. “I already wondered about that. I’ll be careful. Don’t worry.” He patted my leg like a parent consoling a child. “Oh! I almost forgot. The night after my dad died, a funny looking guy in a weird cloak-thingy came into my room. He gave me something, a note. I couldn’t read it.”
I raised my eyebrows. The kid was intelligent, so he not being able to read didn’t add up. Then it hit me. And who’s the slow one? It’s in a foreign language, like the coins.
I tried to contain my excitement, afraid to get my hopes up. “Do you have it here?”
He was already facing a dresser in the corner. “They let me bring a couple of books and my journal. I have all kinds of notes and doodles inside. When they searched my things, they must have thought the paper was just another drawing I’d shoved in my book.” He flipped through the worn notebook. “Here!” He handed me the paper. “I hope this helps.”
“I’m sure it will. I better go. Remember, be careful. I’ll find a way to get you out of here. Now write down these names in your journal: Zane, Logan, A-l-c-u-i-n …” I spelled out. “Misty, Mack, and Michael. Only leave with one of them if I don’t come. No. One. Else.”
He nodded, his face flushed. I knew right then that he’d be okay.
“Chloe!” Alcuin hissed. “Now!”
I stuffed the paper in my back pocket and gave Joshua a quick hug, at the same time an alarm’s siren pierced the calm. A stampede of footsteps pounded in the distance, coming fast.
Without a backward glance, I rushed into the hallway, pulling the door shut. Alcuin flashed to my side and grabbed my wrist. We fazed before I could protest.
“You sure know how to push the limits, Doll.”
“Don’t call me, doll!” I quipped, relieved to find myself standing in my hotel room.
Alcuin paced to the window, pulling the curtain aside. “That was way too close. You could have been caught, killed even.”
“Killed? At a state hospital for children?” For once I thought my vampire protector was overreacting.
Dropping the curtain, he spun to face me. “You may not have noticed, but that was a pretty isolated location, and there were men with guns, big guns, not just handguns like Hall Monitor Randy was using. Some of those kids are criminally insane. I got a look inside their minds. I’m a bloodsucking vampire, and even I didn’t like what I saw.”
For once I was glad I couldn’t read human minds.
I didn’t want the responsibility of deciding what to do with criminals, children or not. Animals and a few supernatural minds were plenty for me. What bothered me was Alcuin. My never-show-emotion vampire was reaching a breakdown level. He seemed worried about my wellbeing.
“You care about a human,” I teased, shocked by this latest development.
He looked appalled. “What human might that be?”
“I think you know.”
Rather than bothering to respond, he launched into a detailed explanation of how the additional security force had uncovered the breach he’d managed to create. With no intention of returning in the near future, I wasn’t too alarmed. When it came time to free Joshua, I’d worry about the details. Until then, I had way too much on my mind — like the latest message from my new best friend — the ugly man — David.
I pulled the folded paper from my pocket and handed to Alcuin. He spent a good hour examining the letter, with no results and fewer comments. We decided it would be best for him to take it back to Plum Beach and have Rita and the others examine it. From what we could tell, it was the same ancient language engraved on the coins.
It was close to midnight when Alcuin made his usual dramatic exit, leaving me alone in the hotel room. As promised, he again pledged to keep my whereabouts private. For a brief moment, I’d considered