Disclaimer: Sanctuary nor Helen Magnus or Nikola Tesla are mine - I am merely taking the ideas of others. All other characters are figments of my own imagination, although Elko, Nevada, is a real place. I state here and now that none of these occurrences are real or have ever happened. No copyright infringement intended.
A/N: It's been over a month. Dang. I'm really, really sorry guys :/ A bunch of stuff has happened since I started this story, and life and other stuff that I was writing got in the way of my working on this. All I can say is, I'm terribly sorry to everyone, and promise you that it will never again take this long to get a chapter posted (disregarding extenuating circumstances). Forgive me, please, and I hope that this chapter suffices as a decent apology.
I'm honestly not entirely sure what to think of this chapter. I'm halfway between really liking it and absolutely disliking it for some reason. So please, please, please, read and help me out if you think there's anything that can be improved upon. Read, but please enjoy, as well as accept my heartfelt apology :)
.
Chapter 2
.
The sun was well past its zenith, the sundial in front of Town Hall proclaiming that it was nearing five o'clock. The air was thick and heavy, unusually hot for mid-September, and the sky was a rich, cloudless blue. Elko, a small town in the heartland of Nevada, seemed to be sleeping, its inhabitants moving sluggishly in the heat as the sun continued to beat down mercilessly.
16 year old Daniel Johnson sat on the railing in front of the town's General Store, staring up at the peerless sky as he waited for his mother to finish with her shopping. He would much rather be out on the range checking on the herds, but his father, Eli Johnson, had asked him to accompany his mother into town for the day. Sulkily, Dan had complied, and so here he was, observing the slow, boring life of town folk.
The sound of a horse's slow, staggering tread brought Dan's attention to the far end of Main Street. A buckskin was plodding down the street slowly, her gait faltering and her head hanging low in exhaustion. Atop the mare's back rode a woman, her dark hair hanging around her face in straggled wisps, her clothes covered in dust and grime.
It was as if all of the woman's remaining strength suddenly vanished, for she slid off of her mare's back, striking the ground with a thump that raised a cloud of dust. The mare stopped, turning her head wearily to examine her fallen rider who lay unmoving in the middle of the street.
Dan jumped off of the railing, running down the street and toward the woman. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Luke Terpin disentangle himself from his wife's arm, also hurrying to see to the unconscious woman.
Luke knelt by the stranger's side, kneeling over so he could ensure that she was breathing. Dan, who had arrived shortly after the older man, snagged the buckskin's reins, pulling the mare away from her mistress so they wouldn't run the risk of the horse accidentally treading on anyone's fingers.
"Someone go for Dr. Horace," Luke called out, looking around urgently. Emily, the mayor's daughter, ran off toward the small clinic on the edge of town, disappearing into the haze.
"Is she alive?" Dan asked, peering around the mare's nose to get a better look at the stranger.
"For now," Luke replied, meeting the younger lad's gaze.
The town doctor, Dr. Horace, came up the road at a dead run, his doctor's bag clutched in his right hand, his jet black hair flopping over his eyes and slick with sweat. Luke stood and moved to intercept the doctor and explain what had happened.
The knapsack that was slung over the stranger's shoulder suddenly moved, a strange squeaking issuing out of the folds of cloth. The sound of cloth rustling drew Daniel's attention, and he was just in time to see a small head emerge over the woman's shoulder, the scales that covered its head gleaming in the sun. Its fire red eye glittered balefully as it regarded the shocked boy, its pupil slanted vertically like a cat's. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the head vanished, burrowing into the dark folds of the woman's coat.
Dr. Horace hurried to the woman's side, kneeling down and checking her pulse.
"It's weak, but steady," he announced. "She doesn't appear to be suffering from any major injuries, so let's get her to the clinic. Daniel?" Dr. Horace asked, looking up and addressing the lad, "If you could help us get her on her mount, please?"
Dan nodded, his mind still whirling with the sight he had just seen. He almost believed that what he had seen had merely been a figment of his imagination; but his father had trained him differently. Deep down inside, Daniel Johnson knew what he had seen, and he now knew exactly why his father had been asking him to go into town so often the last week.
Helen stirred, her eyes flickering uneasily as she attempted to pull free of the tangling spider webs of sleep. Slowly, methodically, she wrenched herself free, finally managing to force her eyes open.
She blinked, taking in her surroundings carefully. She was lying in a soft bed standing along the left hand wall of a small room, covered in white sheets and a patchwork quilt. Two windows in the wall beside her allowed soft sunbeams to filter in through the lacey curtains, which were rippling gently in the breeze that wafted through the open panes. On the opposite side of the room she could only just make out a dresser and washstand, while a desk stood to her immediate right.
She could feel the strange sensation of a needle entering her hand and, when she looked down to examine what it was, Helen found that she had been attached to an IV.
The door leading into the room opened quietly and Magnus could hear someone walking in on soft feet. She immediately closed her eyes most of the way, leaving them open just enough to be able to see what was happening around her through her lashes.
A young woman with red hair pulled back into a braid entered the room, her arms full of Helen's clothes, which, Magnus noticed, had been cleaned and carefully folded. The young woman carefully placed them on the top of the dresser before moving to look down at Helen. She smiled down at the older woman.
"I can tell you're awake," she said softly. Helen's eyes opened fully and she elected to sit up, propping her back against the headboard. The red haired woman smiled at Helen, her own eyes twinkling. "My name is Annabelle Horace, the daughter of the doctor. How are you feeling?"
"Well rested," Helen answered frankly, then blushed slightly. "I'm terribly sorry, where have my manners gone? My name is Helen Magnus," she said, offering a hand to shake Annabelle's. The girl took it, her smile growing.
"You're not from the Americas," she commented.
"No," Helen answered matter-of-factly, although she did not elaborate.
"My father will want to know that you are awake; you've been asleep for two full days," Annabelle told Magnus, and then turned to leave.
Two days? Helen thought, something akin to panic flaring in her chest. Damn it.
She leapt out of the bed, as soon as Annabelle had disappeared out the door, pulling the IV out of her hand, her eyes scanning the small room for any sign of her bag. She spotted it lying on the desk, looking rather flat and empty. Firmly reining in her panic, Helen moved closer to the desk and picked up the knapsack. It was, indeed, unoccupied.
"Damn," she whispered, turning in a circle.
An odd crooning sound emanated from between the sheets of the bed Helen had only just vacated. Startled, Magnus moved over to the mattress and pulled back the coverings. The small dragonlet stared up at her accusingly, as if asking her why she had abandoned the comfortable warmth. It flicked its tail, the tip of it coming to rest against Helen's hand, which was hovering over the blankets.
A knock sounded at the door and, for the first time, Helen realized that she was wearing only a thin cotton dressing gown. She also noticed that the dragonlet was in plain sight, and she did not want anyone to know about the young creature.
She climbed back under the covers, pulling the blankets up to cover her lap as well as the young dragon.
"Enter," she called out, and the door opened a second time.
An older man walked in, his hair jet black and ruffled, his eyes dancing with an inner light. He entered the room, leaving the door open, and walked to her bedside, taking the chair that stood underneath the desk. Helen grinned wryly, strongly reminded of a certain vampire.
"Dr. Albert Horace," he said, smiling warmly and shaking Helen's hand. "You are?"
"Dr. Helen Magnus," Helen supplied. She duly noted the other man's slight surprise at her title, but she discarded the small tidbit of information almost immediately, considering it trivial and unimportant.
"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Magnus," Dr. Horace said, smiling once again.
"If I might ask, where am I exactly?" Magnus asked.
"Currently, you are in the medical clinic in a small town called Elko, which is in Nevada. You rode into town two days ago and collapsed from your horse, severely dehydrated and exhausted. You've slept for forty-six hours straight now." Here, Albert paused, and Helen noticed that he was fiddling his fingers as if he was nervous. "Might I ask why exactly you were running from something?"
Helen smiled, although there was no mirth in the expression. "I'm not running from anything, or anyone," she told the other man. "Actually, I have a patient that is in dire need of my attention."
"You'll do them no good if you push yourself to the point of fatigue."
"I know that," Magnus replied, her tone harsher than she had meant for it to be. "Forgive me, please," she said regretfully. "I am not quite myself." Beside her, Helen could feel the stirring of the dragonlet against her leg as he shifted position, sighing as he curled himself into a tighter ball.
Dr. Horace's face dissolved into a sympathetic and understanding look. "I am sorry for pushing you," he said calmly, standing. "I shall let you rest. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.
Helen threw the blankets back, breathing a sigh of relief as the smothering covers were moved off of her legs. She stood as well, and crossed to the dresser where Annabelle had placed her clothes. Within a few moments, Helen was once again fully dressed and was attempting to untangle the knots in her hair using the brush she had found in one of the drawers.
After another five long, painful moments, Magnus was finally able to get her hair into a reasonably cooperative state, and put it up into a simple, yet elegant braid.
Taking the knapsack from the dresser, she gently urged the young dragonlet into the carrier. It merely looked at her as it refused to comply, blinking sleepily as its tail twitched back and forth, regarding her as if she were some sort of lowlife.
Helen growled in frustration, and attempted to pick the young creature up and deposit it into the bag. It promptly snapped at her fingers, its teeth clicking on thin air mere centimeters from her fingertips.
Helen sighed and sat on the bed carefully, looking down at her young charge.
"At least you're obviously not too keen on ravaging the countryside at the moment," she murmured, thankful for that fact. She looked down at the small creature, and said, "I'm trying to get you to your home. Won't you cooperate?" The dragonlet ruffled his wings smugly, clicking his teeth and growling softly. A puff of smoke curled from his nostrils, twining through the air and then dissipating.
And yet, Helen would have almost sworn that she had read something in the curling tendrils of gray smoke: I know.
A second curling of smoke followed, and once again, Magnus would have sworn that something had been written there. Why else do you think I haven't left you yet?
Helen's eyebrows arched in amazement, a small flickering flame of hope sparking deep inside of her. "So you haven't left and gone to ravage the countryside because you can sense I'm taking you home?" she asked the young creature dubiously.
The dragonlet eyed her contentedly, clicking his teeth together and curling his tail into a tight knot.
"Thank you," Helen said to the dragon, still a tad shocked. "Now, will you please get into the bag so that we can depart?" Helen asked.
The dragon huffed, but complied, leaping into the darkened shadows of the knapsack and curling up. Surprised once again, Helen lifted the back, fastening the flap, and swinging it over her shoulder.
She then exited the room in which she had been staying, and found herself in a long hallway. She glanced both ways before choosing to turn to the left, seeing only a dead end to her right. At the end of the corridor, she found a staircase and, descending it, she walked into the entrance hall of the clinic.
A woman older than Annabelle, yet looking stunningly similar, was only just bustling out of the kitchen, which was connected to the hallway leading out of the entrance hall.
"Good heavens, what are you doing out of bed?" she exclaimed, rushing forward.
"I am terribly sorry, but I must be on my way. How much do I owe you and your husband for everything?"
"Not so quickly," the woman told Magnus sternly. "You at least have to eat a decent meal before you go gallivanting off to wherever it is you were going. Come in and sit down; I was just about to call Albert and Annabelle to come and eat as it was. I'm Alice, by the way," she added absentmindedly as she hurried past Helen to go find her husband and child.
Slightly taken aback, Magnus glanced around the foyer. She knew that it was logical for her to stay and eat, and yet she still felt the pressing urge to hurry and depart from this place. She also felt slightly uncomfortable here, feeling almost as if these people were too kind, and Helen Magnus had come to be wary of anyone who was overly generous; they usually wanted something more than mere money in return.
Alice was back, Annabelle following, and when she saw Helen still standing in the entrance, took her firmly by the elbow and directed her into the kitchen and into a chair at the square table. Annabelle filled the space opposite her a moment later, and Alice sat to her left. A few moments passed, and then Albert Horace joined them as well, taking the final place at the table.
Perhaps it is merely that I am used to being the one giving the instructions, not being the patient Helen mused as the family all bowed their heads to say grace. Helen followed suit, closing her eyes respectfully as Albert gave thanks for the food.
"Ms. Magnus, I'm not sure that you should be leaving quite yet," Albert said as he scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes. "You only just awoke after sleeping for two days; you should stay and rest for at least another twenty-four hours."
Magnus' smile was tightlipped as she said, "I truly do have to leave. As I told you earlier, there is a patient that I must attend to, and it is imperative that I arrive at their home as quickly as I can. I can't afford to waste another day here."
"But-" Annabelle was cut off by her father.
"I see," he replied, eyeing Helen warily. She guessed that he believed there was something else going on, but she did not feel inclined to tell him the full story. And besides, her words were near enough to the truth that she harbored no guilt in telling him what she had. "If you are determined to leave us then, I suppose you would like to know where your horse is being kept."
"That would be most appreciated," Helen answered, thankful that he had stopped attempting to keep her there.
"There is a small pasture attached to the side of the woodshed out back. You can find your tack in the shed, and your mare is out in the pasture," Albert told her. "Everything that was in your saddlebags should still be there," he added, smiling at her for the first time during the meal.
"Thank you," Helen said sincerely, then asked, "How much do I owe you for your services?"
"Nothing; you were a traveller in need, so we helped. Besides, all we did was allow you to sleep in a bed for a couple of days," Albert said, continuing to smile.
"That isn't all that you did," Helen said, but sighed, electing to not argue with the man. She knew how it felt to be in his place, and she felt as if she would have said the same thing. Instead, Helen decided to leave payment in the woodshed where he, or one of his family members, would find it.
"Thank you very much for dinner," Magnus said, gracing Alice with a delicate smile as she finished the last bite of her meal.
"But you hardly ate anything!" protested the woman. In fact, Magnus had eaten a full plate of food which, for her, was quite a lot. She realized, however, that it would look like hardly anything to most people, especially for someone who had just spent the last two days fast asleep.
"I assure you, I am quite satisfied," Helen assured Alice. "Would you like me to stay and help clean up at least?"
"No dear, that's fine. If you're sure you got enough to eat."
"I'm positive," Helen said firmly.
"I can show you where your horse is, if you like," Annabelle said, getting to her feet. She glanced at her father, who nodded his head slightly.
"That would be very kind of you," Helen said with a smile, standing as well.
She followed Annabelle out of the house and around the edge of the building. As she had been told, a woodshed stood not far away, the roof slanted and shingled. Attached to it was the pasture. Two horses were grazing in the enclosure, their coats gleaming in the afternoon sun.
Helen whistled, and one of the two horses lifted its head and whinnied shrilly before trotting over to the fence. Magnus approached the wooden slats that made up the rails, and gently caressed her mare's nose.
"Here's your tack," Annabelle said, lifting a saddle and bridle onto the fence beside Magnus. Helen looked at the girl quickly, not even having heard her leave and enter the woodshed.
"Thank you," she said, climbing the fence gracefully and dropping to the ground on the other side. She quickly began to saddle the buckskin, who stood patiently at ease.
"We don't get many visitors here," Annabelle said, leaning against the railing and watching as Magnus worked. "Those that we do get are usually ranchers from the surrounding area. We hardly ever get foreigners like you. Oh, I'm sorry," she added quickly, suddenly realizing how that must have sounded. "It's just…if my father came across as, I don't know, a little suspicious, don't hold it against him. I bet it's just that he's never met anyone quite like you before. I mean, you are quite the enigma."
"So I'm told," Helen said sardonically, which startled a chuckled out of the younger girl.
"Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm glad to have met you, and I wish you luck on your journey, wherever it is to," Annabelle said, opening the gate to allow Helen, who was now mounted, out of the pasture.
"I am glad to have met you and your family as well, and I quite understand your father's feelings." Annabelle was startled slightly by the intensity and seriousness of the woman's tone. "Thank you for all that you have done, and if you would please, pass my thanks on to your mother and father as well. I also ask that you give your father this for me," Magnus added, holding out a wad of dollar bills.
Annabelle's face was slightly startled as she accepted the bills.
"You didn't have to do this you know," she said weakly.
"Perhaps not, but I know what it means to be a doctor, and I also know how difficult it is to get the money needed to continue your practices, especially in a small town like this. So give that to him, if you would, please."
"Yes, of course. And thank you," Annabelle said sincerely.
"Of course. Farewell," Helen said, smiling one final time at the girl, and nudging her mare into a trot.
Annabelle watched until the stranger was out of sight, then reentered the house to find her father, a hundred questions circling around in her mind, all of them brought by the departure of the strange woman.
Daniel paced back and forth in the barn, biting his lip as he thought. His father had returned from counting the herds the night before, and ever since his homecoming, Dan had fought with himself about whether or not to tell his Pa about what had happened in town two days before.
On the one hand, his father had asked him to report anything odd Dan ever saw while out and about, running errands or while out on the range watching the herds. But on the other hand, Daniel wasn't entirely sure that his father would want to hear about anything in town, as well as the fact that he still wasn't entirely sure of what he had seen. His brief moment of clairvoyance had soon been clouded by doubt and worry.
"Daniel?" a deep voice called out from the door to the barn. "I have hardly seen you at all." A large man with a fuzzy beard walked through the large doors and into the shaded building, doffing his hat as he left the sunny outside.
"Pa," Dan said with a grin, although deep inside of him, a battle still raged.
"What's wrong?" Eli asked, sensing something amiss in his eldest son.
Daniel hesitated for just one more second, then plunged forward. "I saw something in town the other day."
"What do you mean by something?" Eli asked, his tone suddenly very serious.
"Something as in…something strange; something unusual. It was a woman; she came riding in and collapsed in the middle of the street. When I went to grab her horse, I saw an animal. All I saw was its eye, but it was something like I had never seen before. The iris was bright red, and the pupil was like a cat's." Dan trailed off, biting his lip.
"Where is the woman now?" Eli asked sharply, his eyes flashing.
"Last I knew she was still at Dr. Horace's," Daniel said, surprised by his father's harsh tone.
"Let's hope she's still there. If not, then I will need you to go somewhere for me."
"Anywhere, Pa," Dan told his father.
"Good. Saddle up, and pack for a trip. If she isn't at the clinic, you'll need to ride out as soon as possible."