When All is Null and Void

Chapter Three

Congratulations, Caleb Carlisle! You have been selected to undergo private testing by Rhea James. The results of this test may qualify you for the opportunity to study privately with the head of the entire Museum. Below you will find your test date, and location. We ask that you be as prompt as possible.

Sincerely,

Peggy Landers.

Below Peggy's simple signature, the date and location were stated in solid, block letters: April 3rd, 8pm. James Estate. These two details got Caleb's heart racing. The thought of going to the James Estate was so alluring Caleb momentarily forgot of his convictions against the testing. TheJames Estate? Only Museum executives and patrons from around the world saw the James' in person--usually at the Galas for new artifacts that would be on display. Their Estate was said to be larger than the Biltemore in North Carolina. He'd never been able to understand how anyone could possibly need a residence so large, but then again he'd grown up in two bedroom apartments with leaky faucets and buckled carpets. The honor of visiting the Estate was reserved for those who had an invitation. Damn it, Caleb thought sullenly, why do I have to be so stubborn?

With another heaving sigh that caught the attention of those around him, Caleb shoved the letter back into his backpack. He'd made his choice, and besides, he'd be working until after 8pm. It wasn't so difficult to put it out of his mind, even if the allure of the James Estate did nibble at the back of his brain.

The J train took less than six minutes to reach the station near the Museum. For Visitors, there was a specific train that rolled almost to the front doors. A station had been built for the luxury some twenty years ago. It had been designed to harken the golden age of train travel, with large domes and platforms, even if the trains themselves were wildly unfamiliar to those days, operating on electricity and magnets as opposed to steam and levers. Caleb never took the K train to the front doors of the Museum, because it didn't stop near the school, so he was forced to always walk the extra six blocks.

As he exited the station, the droves of people dissipated quickly. Most people had the money to take a MagLevat, a Magnetic Elevator that would take them to their destinations above the tunnels. Caleb was alone soon enough, until he came to the thoroughfare of the night before. Those same golden spires gave off the same vibrant energy as always. The crowds outside the Museum were thick today, despite it being a Monday. Dread washed through him at the thought of how busy the coffee shop would be as the night wore on.

+++

Watching someone sleep was creepy. Even though he'd been observing Natalee sleep for years, Titus never truly felt absolved of the awkwardness of watching someone in such a vulnerable state. Especially since he wasn't even supposed to be in the lab by himself—it "wasn't safe." His mom would have a fit if she knew Titus had ever learned how to bypass the security protocols. It had been easy, honestly, which was slightly terrifying. He'd simply had to prove to the biometric DNA scanning system that he shared chromosomes with Rhea James, and the doors had sprung wide for him. It had only taken a prick of his finger, a tiny bead of blood.

Titus was certain no one else had the access he held, not because he was particularly smart, but only by his blood's connection to Rhea's. The real trick was the secrecy of this lab, the very fact that it didn't exist per se. Not a single one of the scientists who'd helped his mother research over the years had breathed a word. Whether from honest loyalty or large sums of money, Titus didn't know. Granted, he didn't really know what his mom was trying to discover by experimenting on Natalee anyways. It had something to do with the Void, but outside of the Void bleeding into this world, Titus was blind and deaf.

Natalee's ribcage lifted and fell in three second bursts, calm and at peace. Her silver-white hair, leeched of color and brittle by the Void's hold on her, splayed out over the pillows. A smile lifted the corners of her lips gently on either side. Titus wondered if she dreamed. Humans had to experience things to dream, right? Isn't that what he'd been taught? As far back as Titus could remember, Natalee had only ever been in this tiny cell. She'd only ever known the tension of sleeping for years and waking for moments when the Void couldn't be tamed.

She was dangerous, and Titus was drawn to her, like a planet drawn to the sun. Orbiting her but never coming close enough to touch, never coming close enough to be burned or perish beneath the power of that beast hiding within her. To Titus, she was a puzzle to be solved, but he lacked all the major pieces to even come close to start to piecing her together.

Titus sat on one of the metal tables facing the dimly lit room. Natalee would have slept soundly amidst the loudest of construction zones, while sirens blared and floodlights cast blinding rays. But decency told everyone that this girl, dangerous though she may be, deserved the soft silence and warm light of sleep.

When midnight neared, and Titus pulled open the oboe next to him. He would play it for her for a while. As he had last night when she'd awoken. He hoped the more he played for her, the less she would awaken. It can't have been comfortable, your body dissolving into a murdering dark force, but she'd never once spoken. She'd never once been able to tell anyone whether she was dying inside or if she was at peace.

Titus was always reminded of snake charming when he played the oboe. Last night he'd had to act in that way to calm her, but even tonight, when she wasn't a threat, he felt as if the music soothed a piece of her soul and enchanted the roiling darkness within. He could see it in the way her breathing changed, though it was minute. In some way, Titus had found himself entranced by her. So perhaps he wasn't the snake charmer, but she was.

Eventually, Titus replaced the oboe into the case and tidied up. When everything was as it had been before he came, Titus looked to Natalee and whispered, "Goodnight, Nina."