to wince, and she quickly came over to my bed and handed me a small bottle of eye drops. “These will help take the sting out,” she said. “I’ll go get an ice pack from the kitchen.”
I examined the green glass bottle closely before she left the room. It had no label or markings of any kind. “What is this?”
“Nadia made it,” she said. “She said it would help speed the healing. She also said to remember your fortune and not to be afraid.”
“Who is Nadia?” William asked, his curiosity peaked.
“An old witch who lives in the park,” said Elsa said, as Lily left the room. “She is a healer.”
“What did she tell you, Olivia?” he asked. “Does it have anything to do with this?”
It was a good question. Ni oui, ni non. Yes and no, she never mentioned a robbery or being blinded, but she did mention adventure and a great love; I didn’t think this was the time to explain.
“It was nothing,” I said. “She read my palm and told me I would have a long life. Listen, if you don’t mind, I would like to get back to the robbery. I think we should check the videos, maybe there will be something there…a clue,” I said.
“Good God, darlin, what do you mean, a clue? Do you see the damage these men are capable of, even from afar? Why would you go looking for trouble?” William asked, clearly agitated.
“They are criminals, supernatural ones at that,” I said. “Don’t you think we should find out who they are?”
I’d crossed a line somehow. William looked at the two other men in the room with a pleading look that spoke of exasperation at my remarks.
“No, I don’t think you need to go looking for anything,” he said.
Before I could reply, Gabriel intervened. “Olivia, it’s late. We should be going. You need some time to recover from this attack. We have a lot of work to do with the upcoming poll and our first major house party in Carmel,” he said. “Elsa and Aidan will search for images of the robbery and if there is any footage, I will arrange for a screening at our offices after the party. They will also make sure you don’t show up in any video that is floating around out there on the Internet. The last thing we want is for the mafia to track you down. In the meantime, you must rest. I think we can leave you in William’s capable hands.”
I was being shut down, at least for the time being. “OK, I see where this is going,” I said, sounding mildly petulant. I managed to say goodnight in a civil tone to the group before William walked them to the door. I heard the door shut and the deadbolt lock in place. William returned a short time later with more tea, placing the warm mug in my hands.
“I’m going to get a cool cloth for you,” he said wandering off to the bathroom. He brought a wet cloth and insisted I lay back with it over my eyes. “The cold will soothe your eyes and help them heal faster.”
“You seem to know a lot about what is going on,” I said, ignoring his first aid. “Are you going to fill me in?”
Silence followed as I lay there, my eyes pressed shut under the weight of the cloth. Finally, he spoke.
“I’ve told you about my time as an ambulance driver and how I came to know the Council,” he said. “I didn’t linger in Europe after World War I ended. In 1920, I took a ship to New York and from there spent considerable time traveling across the United States. My father was living in Wyoming, of all places. He had purchased a small plot of land in a remote area near the Snake River. It was very beautiful and full of good game to hunt. We lived there for a time, but missed Europe and decided to return to France. There was an apartment for sale in Paris, near Place de la République at a decent price, so we purchased it and settled in.”
I felt William rise from my bed, gently lift the cloth from my face, and leave the room. As I blinked to test how my eyes were recovering, he returned and once again placed the cloth, freshly rinsed with cool water, over my eyelids.
“So, as I said, we went to Paris and we enjoyed ourselves for several years. But then,