by Sarah Noffke
She’d felt that way before too. However, Connor misunderstood his purpose. Again, her father was right. He’d said in his book that loners were in the best position to do something great, not having the responsibility to lead. That’s what Ren had done. He’d left this world in order to find immortality and was able to do that because he was a loner, with no obligation to anyone, much like Connor. She hadn’t connected this before and resented slightly that the guy before her was what triggered the revelation.
“Well, do me a favor and stop pissing me off by running away from the Institute. If you keep pulling shit like this then I’m going to seriously hurt you,” Adelaide said.
“Don’t worry. I won’t. I know my promises mean nothing to you. But making you pissed does hurt me,” he said.
She pulled her eyes to the far side of the infirmary, as far from Connor as possible. “Yeah, well,” she said and then nothing else.
“So, I’d much rather read your book than any of this garbage,” Connor said, indicating the religious textbooks.
“Those are ancient texts that hold a great deal of culture and knowledge. They don’t have to be true or right for us to appreciate them,” she said, looking at him with offense.
“I thought that statement might get your attention back on me,” he said, with a sly smile.
She shook her head, trying to dismiss his playfulness. People didn’t play with Adelaide. Usually they kept interactions brief and skirted her gaze. “And unfortunately I can’t let you read my book since it’s gone,” she said and felt a strange hiccup in her words. It was the first time she’d admitted this to anyone and the admission made her throat ache.
“What? Where did it go?” he said.
Adelaide shrugged, thinking the gesture might be accompanied by tears. That would be the most awful possible thing in the world. To cry in front of Connor. “It just disappeared. I have no idea. But it was the only thing my father left to me. He said that he trusted it to no one but me and I’ve lost it, like a bloody loser,” she said.
“Fuck, that sucks,” Connor said, cupping the side of his neck with his hand, covering his tattoo. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re destroyed over this.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty much the worst thing ever,” she said, her voice dead. “Especially since I’m pretty certain the way to find him is in that book, I just haven’t worked it out yet.”
“No, really? So he’s not dead? I kept thinking that was a joke,” Connor said.
“He’s neither dead nor alive, I believe. If what I’ve read in the book is true, then he’s in the in-between,” Adelaide said, realizing that would make no sense to most.
“Hmmm,” Connor mused. “So he’s like living in the dreamscape, the place we go when we dream travel?”
She snapped her head up and stared at him. “Yeah, that’s exactly where I think he is. However, he figured out a way to stay there permanently without a body in the physical realm.”
“If anyone could do that, it would be Ren Lewis, based on what I’ve read in the Dream Traveler Codex,” Connor said and then added, “Well, or his daughter.”
Heat rose and blossomed on Adelaide’s face. She’d meant to berate him. To criticize him. To tell Connor that she wished Wolf X had killed him. Instead, she was blushing like a fucking idiot. “Yeah, well, I can’t find him without the bloody book, so whatever,” she said and turned and walked for the exit.
“You’ll find him. I’ll help you, since I’m not going anywhere,” Connor sang to her back, a lightness in his voice.
Chapter Forty-Three
“Malcom Edwards – Age: Twenty-seven. Height: Six foot, three inches. Weight: One hundred eighty-five pounds. Hair: Black. Eyes: Green. Ethnicity: African American. Employment: Gambler. Skill: Unclassified. Rank: Unknown.”
- Olento Research, Canis Lupus Project File
Kris followed Adelaide through the exit to the infirmary. Before, she didn’t know why she was hanging around the Institute. Now, she knew and it was like a puzzle needed to be pieced together, but not until all the pieces were recovered. However, the puzzle wasn’t about the Lucidites or their strange Institute. The puzzle was inside the invisible girl and now she understood what she’d been missing. She understood what her mission was. She understood why she hadn’t left and what she was going to do now.
“Hey,” she said at Adelaide’s back.
The redhead turned, a confused look on her freckled face. She scanned the corridor and then spun and observed the space at her back. Slowly the girl revolved until she was facing Kris, but didn’t know it.
“Who is there?” Adelaide said to what appeared like an empty hallway that stretched on forever. Kris loved that the Institute never seemed to end. She’d explored it for days, always finding new rooms and floors, like it had the same magic of the book in her bag. Ren’s book went on for what seemed like forever and always opened to a new page.
“I want to reveal myself to you, but if I do, I want your help… I want you to make me a Lucidite,” Kris said and the words actually all sounded natural. This was what she wanted. Morgan had convinced her to do the invisibility project. Her own rebellious nature had kept her working for Mika, and also a strange and morbid attraction to the billionaire. However, now that she’d seen the Lucidites, she realized that she really wanted to be a part of their society, which was purely good.
“Who are you?” Adelaide said, her eyes seeming to be blind as she searched the hallway, not seeing anything. “Are you a ghost?”
Kris laughed. Ren had actually detailed a chapter about ghosts in his book, which was fascinating. Adelaide had probably read that chapter. She could only imagine the affection the girl before her had for the man who wrote this book. He was brilliant and she was so much like him. And what she’d told Connor in the infirmary had been Kris’s undoing. How could she keep a book that would unlock so much for someone, bring Ren back to her world? But she could only turn it over for a price. One that would cost Adelaide nothing and mean everything to Kris.
“No, I’m not a ghost. I’m the one who broke into the Pentagon and helped to abduct the men for Project Canis Lupus,” Kris said and then pressed the mental switch, her body flickering and then becoming visible for Adelaide. The girl didn’t register her surprise. Instead, she narrowed her green eyes at Kris, her gaze sharp.
“You work for Mika Lenna,” she said.
“I worked for Mika. I’m hoping to work for the Lucidites,” Kris said.
“Why would we take a traitor? This is obviously the dumbest set up trap in the world,” Adelaide said.
“It’s true. But I’ve got nothing to lose. I was sent to infiltrate the Institute,” Kris said.
“To figure out how to get the werewolves back?” Adelaide said.
Kris shook her head. “Mika doesn’t want my help with Project Canis Lupus. He wanted me to steal secrets from the Lucidites. Specifically he wanted information on how teleporting works,” she said.
“And why are you revealing yourself to me?” Adelaide said.
“Two reasons. The first is that after working for Mika and now seeing the Institute, I know I’ve been in the wrong place all along. I don’t want to work on cases that promote evil or take advantage of innocent people. I want to use my invisibility for good, like the Lucidites do with Kaleb and the other werewolves,” Kris said.
“But you wanted to work on those evil projects before,” Adelaide said, conviction in her voice.
“It’s true, but when you know better, you do better,” Kris said.
“Did Mika make you invisible?”
“Yes,” Kris said. “I’m not a Dream Traveler, but I can help you. I know all sorts of things about Olento Research. I’ve been sneaking around that place when he didn’t know it. I can take you there. I can tell you about his experiments. I can even act as a double agent. My brother can help too. I bet he will,” Kris said, her voice growing with excitement.
“Your brother? The one who shot a tranquilizer at Kaleb?
The one who tried to kill Zephyr?” Adelaide said.
“He was only trying to capture them. It was on Mika’s orders,” Kris said.
“You want me to bring you on board when you’ve snuck into the Institute and your past is full of lies and deceit working with our enemies?” Adelaide said, just as Rio exited a room down the hallway. Adelaide snapped in his direction. “Here, boy, I have a job for you.”
Desperation leapt in Kris’s chest. She couldn’t fail at this. Plunging her hand into the bag across her chest, she withdrew the leather-bound book. “Look, I was sent to steal something on teleportation and I took this from you. But since I’m returning it hopefully you see that you can trust me.”
Adelaide shot forward, ripping the book out of the girl’s hands. “You fucking bitch,” she said, pulling the book to her chest, looking simultaneously relieved and furious.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. But when I heard what you told Connor—”
“You eavesdropping little witch. You’re out of your mind if you think we’d allow an invisible traitor to stick around here,” Adelaide said, just as Rio sidled up next to her.
“But I can help you. I can tell you where Olento Research is,” Kris said, her voice pleading.
“I think you can lead us straight to a trap and I don’t fucking think so,” Adelaide said, turning to Rio. “Meet an invisible git. You’re taking her to the submarine and escorting her to Los Angeles.”
“But I—”
“If she gives you a problem or turns invisible then you have my permission to break her in two,” Adelaide said to Rio, her eyes on Kris.
“You got it, Boss Lady,” Rio said, clamping a hand around Kris’s wrist and tugging her forward.
“And inform the sub crew about this so they take measures to prevent the invisible git from getting back into the Institute,” Adelaide yelled down the hallway as Rio led Kris away.
Chapter Forty-Four
“Hunter Smith – Age: Twenty-Three. Height: Five foot, ten inches. Weight: One hundred eighty-five pounds. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Brown. Ethnicity: White. Employment: None/Recently discharged from prison. Skill: Unclassified. Rank: Unknown.”
- Lucidite Institute, Werewolf Project File
LA Times
Another attack has left authorities clueless about the Rabid Wolf. That’s the name used for the attacker in a series of brutal murders. Eyewitnesses describe the man as having brown fur on his hands, arms and around his face. One witness reported that the man had long canines and claws. That case involved a ruthless beating of a woman in her own home. The woman was transported to the hospital where she later died of internal bleeding.
In the most recent attack, the assailant broke into an assisted living facility and attacked one of the residents. The staff was alerted to the incident but arrived too late. The resident was found with such severe injuries that there was nothing doctors could do. “It appeared that the woman was eaten alive,” the coroner reported. The only piece of evidence that tied this case to the others was long sharp brown hairs that were found at the scene of the other murders. Testing proves that they match, but strangely it also shows the owner has canine DNA.
Presently authorities are asking for anyone who knows anything about this case or its victims to come forward. And until this person is caught, Los Angeles residents, especially women, should be cautious and lock their doors.
Chapter Forty-Five
“David Sanders – Age: Thirty. Height: Six foot, one inch. Weight: One hundred ninety pounds. Hair: Dark brown. Eyes: Green. Ethnicity: White. Employment: Discharged Army. Skill: Unclassified. Rank: Unknown.”
- Olento Research, Canis Lupus Project File
Ren hated technology. However, it was technology created in Aiden’s lab that had assisted Adelaide’s father with his death mission. He had the head scientist create the process for converting Middlings to Dream Travelers. Then he had Aiden construct a device to open portals into other realms. None of that really mattered to Adelaide, because it was useless to her. The part that was important was that even Ren Lewis had turned to technology at one point. This made Adelaide feel better about this next phase in the werewolf project.
“There’s my favorite British girl,” Aiden said when Adelaide entered his lab.
“I’m the only British girl in the Institute and you never leave this place,” she said dryly.
“You’re as bad as your father was at taking compliments,” Aiden said with a chuckle.
“Can you stop robbing me of the will to live with your dumb jokes and give me good news,” Adelaide said.
“Well, I do have good news, but as it usually happens, it’s nestled in a bit of bad news,” Aiden said, leaning on the workstation and crossing his feet in front of him. He always wore the same red Converse shoes because he was apparently color blind.
“Good news first. I’ve had a bloody awful day,” Adelaide said, tucking the book under her arm and thinking about the invisible girl who had the gall to ask to be inducted into the Lucidite Institute. Security measures definitely needed to be increased at the Institute. Just when they thought trespassers had been stamped out, a new one presented itself. Invisible fucking people.
She still stood by her decision to chunk the woman out of the Institute. Trent had said she’d been reactive, something Ren never would have been. However, she thought the invisible woman was a liability and there was no way she was offering up real information on Olento Research. But she had her followed after leaving the docks, although that had brought no leads since she turned invisible at once.
“Well, I’ve finalized the process for reversing the werewolf conversion,” Aiden said, his voice overflowing with enthusiasm.
“Great, that is your bloody job. Do you want a pat on the back for doing that which you’re paid for?” Adelaide said.
An abrupt laugh spilled out of his mouth. “No, but a little recognition goes a long way.”
“Go elsewhere,” Adelaide said. “Bad news. Give it to me.”
“Well, the bad news is that as with any experiments, it’s untested at present. This means that the first time I perform the conversion, it might have assorted effects. I’ve done as much testing as I can at this point and only trials will give me definitive answers,” Aiden said.
“What does that mean?” Adelaide said.
“It means that it could cause brain or physical damage to the subject, or even death,” Aiden said, his voice suddenly serious. “This is uncharted territory, so there’s no way for me to know.”
“But the conversion reverse will remove the wolf from the man so he doesn’t change, correct?” Adelaide said.
“It might. That’s why we have to test.”
“What about their Dream Traveler skills?” she said.
“That stays intact, although reversing the werewolf might dim their skills a bit. I’m not sure,” Aiden said.
“I don’t really see where the bad news is here. We test this on a werewolf and hopefully it works and removes the wolf from them. Otherwise it kills them or makes them a vegetable, but they are one less problem for me,” Adelaide said.
Aiden released a small sadistic smile at Adelaide. “That sounds like something Ren would—”
“Shut up,” Adelaide said, cutting him off. “Let’s move forward on this. As soon as he’s better, you have my permission to perform this experiment on Connor. He’s the test subject I’m offering up and the only one of the werewolves I can afford to lose if things go awry.”
Adelaide lowered her chin, studying the floor under her feet. They’d lost two werewolves, Orion and Hugo. However, they’d also taken down Wolf X. There was a victory in there somewhere. The biggest success was that Connor and Rio had been saved and returned to the Institute. Maybe she hadn’t worked this case the way other agents would have, especially her father. However, she was making progress. And soon she’d find Mika Lenna and destroy him and Olento Research. But that wasn’t her main goal. Not really. More than anything,
Adelaide wanted to give the werewolves their lives back. She wanted to fix them if she could. And if she couldn’t then she wanted to give them a life they could value.
Epilogue
Adelaide picked up the crayon that Lucien had apparently left in the middle of the hallway.
“Pops, do you know where my gray sweater is?” she yelled down the hallway, slipping the crayon in her pocket. A younger Adelaide had spent all day drawing and was quite talented at it. She hoped her son inherited this from her, since she knew he’d battle for all his life with the monster he also inherited from her. Art could be relaxing. Distracting.
“It’s in your bottom drawer,” Pops said, ducking out of the kitchen area, flour on his face. She wasn’t sure why he was baking since the Institute provided all their meals, but her granddad said it made him feel close to his dead wife when he baked. He often spoke of the bread she made daily and how it filled the house with warmth and wholesome smells.
“Thank you, Pops,” Adelaide said, eyeing the little boy sitting on the kitchen counter, his fist in a bundle of dough and flour on his cheeks. She wished she was the type of girl who could share in this family experience, baking beside her son and granddad. However, that kind of thing made Adelaide feel lonelier lately. She just needed a bit more time with her pain, her loss. Soon she’d be over Ren and she could repair things with her son… hopefully. That’s what she wanted most.
