10

The truth is that I was pretty stupid back then. I'd gotten my revenge, but I was completely ignorant about what I'd called upon. However, my perceptions of everything would begin to change after a very eye-opening visit to the mental hospital where Lacy was being held.

I can't say exactly what had made me want to visit Lacy. Perhaps it was merely curiosity. I'd never seen someone who had completely lost their mind, and, I guess in a way, I wanted to see what I may be like after death if I didn't win Jade's bet. I wasn't a fool to the eternity that may be awaiting me, but I'd already sown the seeds, so to speak, so there was no going back now, and I had the distinct feeling that Jade's contract was airtight.

Lacy was being housed in a mental hospital that had become quite well known. Since her father was well known in the business world, he'd had them commit her there. As it turned out, there had been quite a few stars of the past who had stayed in this hospital, although most were fighting addictions and depression.

However, Lacy was not staying in a ward that they would've ever come near. Her ward was in the high security section of Cedar Grove. Those housed in there were considered very dangerous to others, and to themselves.

I took in the sound of my heels on the cold linoleum floor as I walked towards the entrance to the ward. I could vaguely hear the sounds of screaming and crying that were coming from the end of the hallway, where there was a large set of double doors. They looked like they were made of nice oak from a distance, but I had the feeling that there was steel embedded in it.

There was a small sliding glass window beside these doors with a bell on the outside. I thought about what I was doing as I stood before that bell. Did I really want to see this? I knew that Jade was probably as vicious as I'd always assumed. I had no doubt that I may not make any sense of Lacy at all now.

"Are you hesitating after taking such an effort to come here?" a voice from behind me asked.

I jumped, spinning around to see Saffron standing there. I really shouldn't have been that surprised that he'd done that. Although I'd become rather good at sensing him and Jade most of the time, I'd found that if I allowed my mind wander too much, I would never feel them coming.

"Do not do that Saffron! You and Jade both know how I hate it!" I snapped.

Saffron just smiled his usual friendly smile. Or maybe I should've leaned more towards mocking. Both he and Jade still seemed to have an air of superiority to them when it came to me, even though I was the one holding the contract with them.

"My apologies, but I didn't think that you should come alone to a place like this. These inmates can be quite dangerous." he responded.

"You speak like they are more criminals than insane." I noted.

"Some of them here most certainly are. There's one locked in there who's a serial arsonist. He killed a family of five in one of his fires. Burned them alive as a matter of fact. Then there's another who had a terrible habit of stealing women's undergarments and breaking into homes to spy on them. He has been committed here on an insanity plea, though he is also suspected in the disappearance of several young girls whose bodies have never been located. Not to mention that there are a few psychopaths that enjoy the taste of blood. On that note...." Saffron went on.

"Okay, I get it." I interrupted. I really didn't want to know some of the histories of these people in here, "I just want to see Lacy for five minutes. Then we will leave and never return."

"As you wish." Saffron agreed, hitting the bell for me.

A woman appeared at the window after a few seconds.

"Yes?" she said. She looked to be one of the ward nurses, and seemed very no nonsense.

"I'm Saffron Mulliken. I'm here with Faith Evans to see Lacy Manson." Saffron told her.

"Just a moment."

The woman nodded and disappeared into the back.

"It seems they were expecting us." I noted as we waited for the doors to be opened.

"Of course. I called yesterday to make sure you'd be able to get in without any issues. However, Jade didn't want you doing this alone either. But he figured that there could be more problems if Lacy saw him, so he sent me." Saffron explained.

That did sound like Jade. Even though he probably would've enjoyed seeing the woman squirm some more, he would allow me to have my talk, so sending Saffron would be a more strategic move.

We waited as the doors were opened for us. The ward we stepped into was filled with many frightening sounds. Muffled crying, a bit of screaming here and there, and some things that I couldn't even identify.

I stayed close to Saffron as we walked in. After his bit of talking about some of the patients, I certainly didn't feel safe in there.

We headed to the nurse's station, which was closed up with steel mesh over the areas where the windows should've been. One of the nurses sitting in there stood up at the sight of us.

"You must be Ms. Evans and Mr. Mulliken." she greeted us.

"Yes. We're not staying too long, but Faith really wanted to see Miss Manson for a few minutes. They're family friends." Saffron lied.

"I see. Give me just a moment and I will take you to her." the nurse responded.

She walked to the door and let herself out. I noticed that she carried a large set of keys with her. It was probably her only way in and out around this ward.

I couldn't resist peeking into some of the rooms as we continued down the hall. The doors had a large window in the middle of them, allowing one to see in quite easily. They were barren little rooms from what I could tell. Just a mattress for a bed, a tiny window way up near the ceiling, and a toilet was in each of them.

The people inside appeared mostly devoid of life as well. Some were curled up on their beds, while others stood in a corner of the room naked. A few sat on the floors and stared intently at us as we walked by.

"Out of curiosity, are there really killers here?" I couldn't resist asking the nurse.

"We get them occasionally, but the majority are just very mentally ill. Schizophrenics, sociopaths, all the like. We just need more caution with how unpredictable they can be." the nurse answered.

I noticed Saffron look into one of the rooms that we passed. In that room was a man. He looked like he'd been badly burned from head to toe, his skin shining in patches of red and white flesh.

He was very calm as he sat on the floor, quietly drawing circles with his stubby fingers. I had to look away as he looked up at us. Something about him sent a chill through my very soul. But Saffron smiled at him. I wouldn't have called it a friendly smile either; more like a knowing one. And before I looked away, I saw the man nod at him as if he was an old friend passing by.

After what felt like an eternity, which was only a few minutes at most, we made it to the room where Lacy was being kept. The nurse knocked on the door to speak to her through the round holes in it.

"Miss Manson, you have visitors."

She didn't even look up as the woman spoke. I took a moment to study her while I stood there. She was sitting with her head on her knees in the far corner of the room, and dressed in a simple white gown, with her long dark hair tangled around her.

"Lacy." I called after a moment of hesitation.

She looked up at the sound of my voice. Her eyes looked haunted, but they widened as she saw me, and she bolted up to the door.

"You finally came." she said in an almost frantic voice.

"Were you... expecting me?" I managed to ask.

A smile crossed Lacy's face, "He said that you'd come, and you did. You are still compassionate, even with monsters by your side now."

The nurse sighed, looking at her watch, "I'll return for you in five minutes. I have to run my checks. You should be fine here until then." she told us.

Saffron watched her go. Once she was out of sight, he nodded at me. I took the hint. He wanted me to talk to her openly.

"Who said that I would come? Does someone know about them?" I asked.

"He knows a lot about them and you." Lacy answered.

"Who is he?" I repeated.

I felt very uneasy now. She was far too lucid to be imagining things. In fact, she seemed absolutely certain about me being there, not to mention that she was incredibly calm.

Lacy continued smiling, touching the glass with a hand that looked badly mangled, like she'd been scratching at a wall so much that her fingertips were worn away. In fact, looking at it closer, I realized that two of her fingers were actually missing.

"That angel" she answered simply.

I froze as I heard that, the memory of my dreams returning. That man I would always see in them, the man that I was certain was supposed to be my guardian angel before.

"How did you..." I started.

"I know because he talked to me. He loves you so much. He wants you back, and he will take you away from those evil ones." Lacy went on.

Saffron suddenly stepped up by beside me, "I think we have heard enough from you. This is simply the rantings of a mad woman now. You have nothing left in you to have such a contact aside from your distorted mind." he informed her.

Lacy kept that knowing smile, "You're a demon, and you're going back to Hell soon. That is what he promised. He will free her, and you'll be back in Hell where you belong." she warned him.

I saw the distinct look of disgust cross Saffron's face, and all at once, I got a very bad feeling. The air felt much heavier, much darker.

"You'd best hold your tongue woman, lest I hold it for you." he growled.

"I'm not scared of you anymore. Even if I die, I'm not afraid now. I will be released and forgiven." Lacy stated.

Saffron reached over and took my hand, "It's time for us to take our leave." he told me.

"Saffron?"

Something was definitely going on here. He was far too afraid of something in Lacy's words. It was written in his eyes. I'd seen him react this way with Jade as well. For Saffron, anger often came out of fear.

We ended up leaving the hospital completely before I could get him to stop.

"What the hell was all of that about?" I demanded, yanking my hand away from his.

Saffron simply turned and looked up the building.

"Nothing." was all that he'd say.

We ended up not speaking of it again for the remainder of the day. However, I would not escape this for long.

The reminder of it all came crashing back a few days later, when I heard that Lacy Manson had died.