CHAPTER 17


 

 

 

DR. LONNIE SANDERS caught only a few hours of sleep before deciding to check on her patients at Mercy Hospital. Although it was her day off, she felt a need to make sure everyone was stable. She was especially interested in Sasha. The aunt and her partner disappeared before she could get any personal information on her patient. Sasha was still sleeping. Checking the notes on her chart, Lonnie nodded in satisfaction.

"Good," she mumbled to herself. "She's stable and resting well."

"Are you the attending physician?"

Lonnie looked up to see Ms. Lysanne and Ms. Devereaux standing in the doorway.

"Why yes. We met earlier this morning, remember?"

Yemaya frowned and was about to reply when Dakota coughed and nudged her with her elbow.

"Sorry, Doctor..." Dakota apologized, taking over.

"Sanders. Lonnie Sanders."

"Right, Dr. Sanders. Sorry. It took us awhile to get here."

"I can imagine. Traffic is getting worse and worse. Which hotel are you staying at?" she asked trying to make conversation with the two.

"Hotel? Oh. We've already checked out. We wanted to see how Sasha is doing so we can make arrangements to take her home," Dakota said.

Lonnie frowned. Something about the two women seemed different. For one, the small blonde spoke excellent English with only a small hint of a mid-western accent. The taller woman remained quiet. It was almost as if their roles were reversed from earlier.

"Well, if she keeps improving I'd say she might be released in a few days. She's going to be in considerable pain, but that can be handled with meds. My biggest concern is her mental state. The emotional scars from this type of thing are usually far greater than the physical."

"My people and I will help her through this," said Yemaya softly. "She will be well cared for."

Jesus, what a voice, thought Lonnie. What I wouldn't give to be in Devereaux's shoes if these two are partners. Then again she’s not so bad herself.

"Good," Lonnie said aloud. "Well, she's definitely doing a lot better since you saw her this morning. Sorry you vanished so soon, though. I could have given you the full update on the extent of her damages."

Yemaya looked at Dakota and frowned.

"This morning?" she mouthed.

"Ummm, I'm thinking grandma and Mari," whispered Dakota.

"Oh. Of course."

Lonnie watched the peculiar exchange. Shaking her head, she knew something was going on but figured it wasn't any of her business.

"If you two want to accompany me to my office, I'll go over the details and give you an idea what to look for while she's recovering. Like I said, the mental trauma is the bigger problem now."

"As you wish, Doctor. Let me look at my niece for a moment and I'll be along shortly."

Nodding, the doctor motioned for Dakota to follow her. Yemaya stood next to Sasha searching for signs of awakening. When she found none, she placed her hand on the girl's cheek and closed her eyes. Slowly, the images of torture surfaced in Sasha's mind. Yemaya could feel the hatred and rage building in her own as she felt the pain the young Carpi endured. The Illusionist had never experienced evil in its purest form. The torturer's face was forever branded in her victim's mind, every cell scarred from the ordeal she had suffered. Yemaya knew Sasha would never fully recover from this tragedy and deep within her own mind the beast stirred.

"Yemaya! Stop!"

As Dakota was leaving she remembered the last time Yemaya had tried to help one of her people. A mind merge, for lack of a better term, almost cost the Illusionist her soul. Walking back into the hospital room, she hurried to her lover's side and gently pulled Yemaya's hand away from Sasha's cheek. When Yemaya looked at her, a burning fury blazed in the ebony colored eyes.

"Come back to me," Dakota pleaded.

Maybe it was only moments, but it felt like an eternity before Yemaya relaxed. The blackness slowly receded. Deeply troubled blue eyes stared into the bright green ones of her lover. Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around Dakota and rested her cheek against the shorter woman's blonde head.

"I cannot keep doing this," she murmured, tiredly. "This thing grows stronger in me. I am afraid one day, it will consume me and I will do something terrible."

"It'll be over my dead body," swore Dakota, softly. "You aren't alone anymore. Remember that. I'll go to the depths of hell to save you if I have to. Maybe we should see the doc and then decide what needs to be done."

Yemaya nodded, knowing Dakota would do exactly that.

"Good idea," Leaning down she kissed the injured woman's cheek. "Sleep! I will be here when you need me."

After consulting with Dr. Sanders, Yemaya called Sonny asking him to arrange for the girl's transportation back to Moldova. Then she phoned Andrei. When Maria answered the phone and told her Andrei had left early to go into town, Yemaya briefed her on Sasha's condition.

Dakota sat quietly. Although she didn’t understand the language, she listened to the soothing way she discussed the situation with her housekeeper.

"Now what?" she asked when Yemaya was finished.

"Now we find this woman and make sure she does not do this to any one else," replied Yemaya, coldly. The lack of emotion in the Illusionist's voice frightened Dakota. She was just beginning to comprehend how deadly Yemaya could be if provoked. Hopefully, her anger could be kept in check.

"Shouldn’t we let the police know about this?"

Yemaya's response was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone.

"What?" she demanded, irritably.

"Is that anyway to talk answer your phone?"

"Sorry Raidon. What do you want?"

"Well, first I think it's rather rude of you to call here and not even speak to me. Maria just told me about Sasha. Will she be okay?"

"In time and I apologize. I was thinking only of Andrei's feelings."

"So easily forgotten." Raidon sighed dramatically.

"This is not the time for drama," snapped Yemaya, unimpressed by her brother’s histrionics.

"You're losing your sense of humor, sister. Anyway, do you have any idea who did this?"

"Yes, but not a name. We suspect it might have to do with the sex-slave trade."

"I’m not even going to ask how you came to that conclusion... but you must know something to have reached it."

"I do... but not enough to know who is behind this. I will let you know once I have a name."

"Good. If I can help from here, let me know... and sister, be careful. If they are traders, they are extremely dangerous."

"Not as dangerous as I can be... but I will. Later." Closing the lid to her phone she took Dakota by the arm and guided her toward the exit. "We need to check out the waterfront area. Maybe we can discover something there."

"Alright, but if we find anything, we call the police."

"We will see," was all Yemaya said, walking out of the hospital.