Angel Dust - Terry Kuder III (best classic books txt) 📗

The doctor's name was Zachary Avist. He trained under the infamous Dr. Troncien. He learned everything from orthopedics to gynecology. The rumor was that he was a healer, one who could use magic to do his bidding. Yet, that wasn't the truth. Dan informed me that anyone who came from Shimatai was the best there was. Although they did have healers, Dr. Avist wasn't one of them. He was a natural healer, made to use medicinal practices to heal. He had a secretary, also from Shimatai, who was just as capable in case of absence which happened more often than not for the ones that lived outside of Zephyrus. Her name was Mira Nvidian. With long brown hair to her hips and a body to fit, most of the single men in town were aimed at courting her. She turned every one of them down, stating that she was only here for "practical purposes of the physical and mental sort."
After a month of Dan and Azalia taking care of me, I decided to live with them. I mean, why not? As far as I knew, I didn't have a past worth remembering and they were the only ones willing to take any sort of interest in me. I had decided that no matter what my past was, my future was going to be living comfortably with them. It didn't take long before I was included in their routine. Azalia and I would take turns washing dishes, but I would also do them right after dinner so that she would have extra time for her school work.
Azalia's birthday was coming up within the next month. She would be turning eight. Dan was meeting up with the town to throw a huge party for her. They would make a festival of it. I stood at the sink, drying off some dishes and Azalia sat at the table doing her homework. It had been three months since they found me and ever since hearing the story, I wanted to know what had happened. Did I really want to know this? What if it made her too upset? Should I risk it just to find out? There wasn't a better opportunity to ask than now. Dan wouldn't be home for another hour or so. I peeked over my shoulder to see her back facing me.
"Hey....um....Azalia?" I hesitated.
"Yes, Mr. Man?" She turned around in her seat, her curls bouncing violently. Since meeting her she had learned my name, but somehow "Mr. Man" had stuck with her. I couldn't help but smile at her innocence.
"I was just wondering if....um....you knew what happened to your mother?"
She thought about it for a moment before answering. "I...think I do, yes." She said brightly, shaking her head up and down.
"Could you tell me?" How horrible must I have been to ask a little girl about her deceased mother. I hated myself for it, but the curious part of me won over my shame. I hadn't the slightest clue what had happened.
"I could, yes." She smiled.
I smiled back "Ok, 'will' you tell me what happened to her?"
"Sure! It's not a long story though. My mommy had me and when I was five something bad happened."
"What was that?"
"Well, I was told that someone took her to Doluc City in Ekaz."
"Doluc City?" I had never heard of it.
"Yeah, Doluc City. It's made up of just clouds. Everything is clouds from the chairs to the walls." She said excitedly.
"How is that a bad thing though?" I deepened my investigation on the unknowing suspect.
"Well, she said that she wasn't ready, but he took her anyways." I didn't understand. Who was this "he"? Why would someone do such a thing to such a sweet and innocent little girl? It must have been hard on her. Instead of interrogating her some more, I decided to change the subject. Before I could begin asking about how one could sit on cloud chairs, she continued with: "But, I hear it's an amazing place and that that's why my mommy hasn't come back yet. I can't really blame her because I'm told that once you go to the Doluc City you can't really come back because its just too nice there. I just wished that she had brought me." She frowned at this last statement. "But, hey," she perked up. "I guess if she's happy then I can be happy for her. I'm just glad that daddy was around to take care of me. I couldn't do it by myself."
"Daddy?" I asked quizzically. I thought she didn't know her dad. He had left before she was born.
She pointed behind me. I turned and there stood Dan, tears coming down his cheeks. "Yeah, daddy." she smiled and went back to her homework. Dan wiped his face before walking into the kitchen.
"Well now," he sniffled. "Did you get all of your homework done?"
"Not yet, but I'm working on it." She looked up.
"Good." He smiled, leaned down, and kiss her forehead. "Hurry up now, we're going to watch a movie tonight."
"Ooooh! Which one!?"
"I can't tell you that until you finish your homework."
"Aaaaww, maaaan." She slouched over in disappointment.

*****

Later that evening, I tucked Azalia into bed. I kissed her lightly on the head and told her goodnight.
She turned over as I was about to leave. "Mr. Man?" She said sleepily.
"Yes, Azalia?" I turned around to look at her.
"I might not have a mommy with me, but I at least know that I have a mommy. Do you know if you do?" Her question had caught me off guard. I mean, of course I had a mother. I wouldn't have been born without one, but the question was more of did I know her; who she was, what she liked, and if anything, did she love me?
"I don't know if I do." I said lowly.
"I tell you what..." She waved me to come closer. I leaned in to hear her whisper: "When I get older, I'll be your mommy."
A chill ran across my skin and my eyes began to swell up. "That's very kind of you." I smiled.
She lightly smiled, closed her eyes, and turned back over. "Mmmhmm. I know." She whispered to herself.
I walked out to see Dan leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked at me and smiled. "She's a gem, isn't she?" He asked, getting off the wall.
"Yeah. She sure is." I waited outside the door for Dan to come out. I had to talk to him about what happened earlier.
He told her goodnight and walked out the door, slowly closing it.
"She's asleep." He said. "Such a precious little thing." His tone began to change. "She hasn't done anything wrong to anyone and so much has happened to her already." My guilt ate away at me. I knew what he was referring to. I had gone behind his back to ask Azalia about her mother without even wondering if he would tell me. There was a certain air about Dan that I wasn't too comfortable with. For the most part, he was a typical carefree guy. Never easy to anger and always friendly with everyone, but there was something that didn't fit right with him, that made me seemingly scared of him.
"Listen, Dan....about earlier..." I started.
"I guess we need to have a talk now, don't we?" He didn't wait for me to answer. "Follow me."

6

Revival

I followed Dan into the thicket of the woods outside of town. He wore a tunic around his shoulders that hung down to the middle of his calves. A leather pouch tied around his waist jingled. It sounded like money; a hefty amount of it too. The darkness took some time to adjust to during which I found myself tripping over roots, running into cobwebs, and getting smacked by branches. Why was he taking me out here? Was he going to kill me so that I didn't complicate their comfortable lives anymore? "Don't be so paranoid." I told myself. There's a reasonable explanation for why we're out here, in the middle of the woods, at a quarter till midnight. We came to a clearing, a meadow with the moon shining brightly above it, blotching out any signs of stars. The grass was a bright green making the entire scene quite a sight. Dan stopped for a second, looking out beyond it. I could hear the wind blowing through the blades.
"We're close." He said when the wind died down. "Now before we get there, are you sure you want to know the answers to the questions that you seek?"
I thought about it for a moment. What were the questions that I wanted answered? What happened to Azalia's mother? Sure. Why he made up the city Doluc to try to hide her from the truth? Definitely. Would he ever tell her the truth, whatever it may be, or would she continue through life thinking that her mother went to a fabricated city? Most of all, I wanted to know why it was such a well kept secret. Even when I inquired around town for this answer, no one seemed to know what happened. They just acted as if no such person existed. As if Dan had always been with Azalia. It was certainly strange and therefore, at this point in time, there was nothing left to think about. "Yes." I replied.
He began to walk again and I followed obediently. We trekked across the meadow into another patch of woods. Another five minutes and we came to an encircled gap that opened up. There was a pile of rocks in the middle that I could only assume was a grave. Five logs were lined around in a circular manner. I heard a twig snap a little beyond it. The hairs on my arms raised and I suddenly became tense. From the shadows of the leaves, someone emerge. I looked closely and couldn't believe my eyes as the moon revealed their face.
It was Dr. Avist's secretary, Mira Nvidian. She wasn't in her usual outfit of a medium length skirt with a button up blouse. Instead, she was clad in a woodland type outfit. Her torso was covered in a t-shirt with no sleeves or shoulder straps at that. The cloth just clung around her midsection. It was torn at the bottom revealing a curvaceous stomach and at the top with plenty of cleavage. For the bottom, she wore a lengthy skirt that looked as it was also ripped towards the end. Her hair was tied back into a braided ponytail, that was loose enough for her bangs to hang over her forehead. It also revealed what her usually pulled down hair was hiding: ears that