Awakened

by C. Steven Manley

  “And we don’t like him because…”

  “He used to work for Sentry. Now he doesn’t and I don’t like him for it. That’s what you need to know. Now give me a minute and I’ll make the call.” Stone walked away with his back to them. He pulled out a cell phone and started tapping at it.

  “What is it with these people and giving up details?” Erin said to Israel.

  He shrugged. “I guess you spend your life on one side of a secret world and it becomes second nature. We’d better get used to it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just what I said. This is our life now. I can’t exactly go on a job interview and explain away my unique medical condition. I’d sooner jump off this building than work for the DGRI. That leaves Sentry. Besides that, they seem best equipped to help me with… well, me.”

  “Maybe,” Erin said. “No offense, but I’m not in the same boat as you. I can tell Warburton to kiss my ass and go wherever I want.”

  “And do what?”

  “I don’t know. I just know that whatever it ends up being it will be totally my choice.”

  “Okay, but at least with these guys you can be relatively sure you’re fighting the good fight.”

  “Yeah, if I wanted to spend my whole life fighting. I mean, I’ll see all this shit through to the end, but after that no promises. I might just go live on a beach somewhere and sip margaritas for the rest of my life.”

  “You’d get bored,” Israel said.

  “I’m willing to risk it.”

  “All right,” Stone said, “he’s meeting us on the street in front of this place in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Cool,” Erin said, holding out her hand to him, “there’s an alley across the strip that I can see from here.”

  “Or,” Stone said, “we can take an elevator down like normal people who don’t want to spend the next half hour vomiting. Really, Erin, that thing you do makes me feel like I just rode a roller coaster on a full stomach. Like you and the helicopter, remember?”

  Erin glared at Stone. Israel made a mental note to ask about that later.

  “Fine,” she said, “we’ll meet you down there.”

  “No, we stay together,” Stone said in a tone that defied argument.

  Erin raised a finger to point it at Stone, but Israel stopped her with a gentle hand on her wrist. “He’s right,” he said, “we need to stay together. There’s no telling what might happen if we separate.”

  “Listen to him,” Stone said, “then hear me: From this point forward we are a Sentry field team. That means we have to work together and do whatever it takes to achieve our goal. This is what I do. So you need to listen to me and do as I say, whether it makes sense to you or not and whether you like it or not. Clear?”

  Israel nodded.

  Erin stared at Stone and finally said, “Yeah. Fine. Whatever.”

  “Good enough,” Stone said. “The door is over there.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  The trip through the hotel was a hurried one. The door from the roof to the hotel proper had been locked, so Israel had forced it open, effectively shattering the lock in the process. Stone was certain this had set off some kind of alarm with the hotel security team, so he’d rushed them to the nearest stairwell. They had descended two floors before exiting into a lavishly decorated hallway lined in guest room doors. They took the elevator down to the fifth floor, then went back into the stairwell to ascend two floors and then finally took the elevator to the lobby. When they finally made their way onto the street, Erin said, “What the hell was that?”

  “Wanted to confuse the staff in case they were tracking us with cameras,” Stone said. “Besides that I also wanted to see if you would do what I told you without giving me any of that attitude you carry around with you.”

  Erin stopped and pointed her finger at the shorter man. “Look, Stony,” she said, “I told Israel and now I’m telling you: I’ll see this through to the end because I want these Progeny dicks to go down for what they’re doing to all these people they’ve taken, but after that I’m gone. Until then, I’ll follow your orders so long as you don’t play bullshit games like that with me. You feel me, short stuff?”

  Stone stared hard at her. Israel watched the lines of his jaw tighten and relax in rhythmic pattern. “Fair enough,” he growled, “but stop calling me Stony.”

  “Deal,” Erin said.

  Israel turned away and looked to the Strip. Mandalay Bay was at the southern-most end of Las Vegas Boulevard. To the north, Israel could see the lights and skyline of the Las Vegas he recognized from the movies. What the movies never showed, though, was the fenced-off sidewalks, thick traffic, sparse pedestrians, and street level construction that fronted many of the hotels. The lights glittered painfully in his eyes and he looked back to his companions.

  “So,” he said to Erin, “this is home?”

  She shrugged. “Kind of. Nobody who isn’t stupid rich really lives on the Strip, but a whole lot of people work here. I lived a few miles west of here.” Her eyes met Israel’s and said volumes about how that was all she needed to be reminded of. He nodded his understanding and looked to Stone.

  “So where is this guy?”

  “On his way,” Stone said.

  “What’s his story? How can he help?”

  Stone sighed. “Carter was a Sentry operative about three years ago. He was on a mission that grew overly complicated and, much to everyone’s surprise, was Awakened.”

  “He’s a Paragon?” Erin asked.

  Stone shook his bearded head. “No, just a Power. A minor one, at that.”

  “A what?” Israel said.

  “I thought Allison explained all this to you,” Stone said.

  “I don’t remember anything about a ‘Power.’”

  Stone sighed again and scanned the busy street. “Right then, we’ve got a few minutes to kill so listen up: Awakened are grouped into what we call Revealed, Powers, and Paragons. Revealed are those whose bloodlines are Awakened and they manifest some kind of physical change that’s in line with their heritage like pointed ears for Fae, slit pupils or scaly skin for a Lycan- that kind of thing. Beyond that physical change they are exactly the same person they were prior to the Awakening. The next category is for people who may or may not be Revealed, but also develop an ability above and beyond that of rank and file humans. A Lycan might be able to partially shift into a hybrid of human and animal, a Mage can usually channel and manipulate small amounts of Inner Dark energy, an Infernal might develop an immunity to fire or a way to make people abnormally open to suggestion. It just depends on the bloodline and the balance in their individual DNA.”

  “How many bloodlines are there?” Israel asked.

  “Worldwide, I’m not entirely sure. In North America there are five that are predominant: Magi, Lycan, Fae, Infernal, and Seraphim.”

  They were quiet for a minute while Israel and Erin considered the information. Erin said, “All right, so if he’s a big, scary Necrophage, then what am I?”

  Stone shrugged. “Not a clue, love. Allison is the one you need to take that up with. If I had to guess, I’d say that you’re some kind of Fae we’ve never seen before. What you can do is like nothing I’ve ever heard of.”

  “What’s a Fae?” Erin asked.

  “Fae is a kind of catch all, I suppose,” Stone said. “Olivia tells me that the name comes from mythologies involving fairies and elves and the like. They tend to have a common look among the Revealed, but can manifest in a wide, wide range of ways among the Powers. I knew a Fae Power once who could give someone a violent case of the runs with a simple kiss on the mouth and another who could heal a sunburn by blowing on a person’s skin. Fae are very unpredictable but tend to be centered around the natural, biological world.”

  “What about this Carter Black? What’s his thing?” Israel asked.

  “He’s a Magi. He can perform simple workings that are usually centered around the four natural elements. Most
Magi Powers are specialized in one way or another.”

  “So why do you hate him so much?” Erin said.

  Stone’s eyes hardened. “He quit. We thought we were going to have a genuine Power in the field but he quit to chase coin instead of honor. He said a talent like his was too valuable to waste on a salary job.”

  Erin opened her mouth to speak, but Israel caught her eye and shook his head. She scowled a little but complied. “Not many people talk like that,” Israel said to Stone.

  “What’s that?” Stone said.

  “You said, ‘chase coin instead of honor.’ Not many people say things like that. Makes me wonder where you might have picked up that kind of a speech pattern.”

  Stone shot Israel a grin. “Nicely played, mate,” he said, “but you’ll have to keep wondering. Our ride’s here.”

  As he said it, a clean, white Land Rover with flawlessly polished chrome cut across a lane of traffic and came to a heavy stop in front of them. The passenger side window rolled down and a man’s voice said, “You need a boost up, Stone?”

  Stone spat on the ground and said, “Cheeky bastard.” He gestured for Israel and Erin to get in the back while he pulled open the door and climbed into the passenger seat.

  Carter Black was a lean man who looked to be in his early to mid-thirties. He was roguishly unshaven and had a head of sandy blond hair that was styled to hang in loose curls over a forehead that topped eyes the color of a thunderstorm gray sky. An easy smile crossed his lips and revealed perfectly aligned teeth when he saw Erin get in and settle into her seat.

  “Well, hello,” he said. “What’s your name?”

  “Erin,” she said. “Now, eyes on the road, cowboy. I’m closed for business.”

  He blinked at that and nodded a greeting at Israel but didn’t ask his name. Stone settled into his seat and Israel watched them stare one another down. He could hear them breathing so when they spoke a few seconds later, he made out every word.

  “Stone,” Carter said.

  “Black,” Stone said.

  “I was really surprised to get your call.”

  “Not nearly as surprised as I was to make it. Did you bring the gear I asked for?”

  Carter nodded. “Black case in the back. One MP5 and one Baby Desert Eagle. I even threw in some extra ammo free of charge.”

  “Good enough. We’re on mission here, Black, so let’s get moving.”

  Carter nodded and then pulled away from the curb. He and Stone started talking in lower tones, but Israel could still hear them. After a moment, he leaned back into his seat and looked at Erin.

  “Can you hear them?” she said.

  “If I try, yeah. It’s all business talk now. I think they’re trying to keep it professional. Carter’s very curious as to why we didn’t have a Sentry jet waiting for us when we got into town, but Stone’s putting him off. I get the idea we need to keep the whole Paragon thing on the down low.”

  Erin nodded.

  “Are you okay?” Israel asked. “Being back here and all?”

  Erin shrugged. “I guess. Trying not to think about it.”

  Israel nodded and turned to stare out his own window, half listening to Carter and Stone’s negotiations.

  Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to a private hangar at the McCarran International Airport. The hangar doors were open to the night air and three men were guiding a tow vehicle as it pulled a large twin-engine turboprop onto the tarmac. A sign over the open hangar doors read Desert Magic Tours and Charter. Carter got out and waved to the workers.

  When Erin saw the plane, she looked at Stone and said, “Tell me you’re kidding.”

  “I’m afraid not. We’re in a hurry.”

  Erin groaned.

  “Okay,” Israel said. “What am I missing?”

  Stone smiled. “Oh, she didn’t tell you? Young Miss Simms here doesn’t like to fly. We had to put her on a rooftop in Atlanta because she was getting so ill.”

  “Really?”

  Erin glowered at him. “Yes, really. I’d never flown before then. I didn’t like it. A lot of people don’t.”

  Israel nodded and considered it for a minute. “Maybe that’s for the best,” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Have you ever teleported from a moving vehicle before?”

  Erin thought about it and then shook her head.

  Israel said, “Well, assuming normal physics still applies to you at all, conservation of momentum would not be your friend.”

  Erin continued looking at him, obviously confused.

  “Basically,” Israel said, “if you were to teleport out of a car going one hundred miles an hour then you could reappear still moving at one hundred miles an hour. That could really hurt, if you think about it.”

  She did. “Holy shit,” she said. “I never even considered that.”

  Israel shrugged. “It’s something you might want to test out when you get time.”

  “Indeed,” Stone said, “but getting out of that plane isn’t the time to find out, which means my plan is flawed. I wanted to fly over Leticia and then let Erin get us to the ground without the need to land. I’ll need to work this out with Black.”

  “Do that,” Erin said, “and make sure he’s stocked up on barf bags.”

  The plane was a meticulously cared for and maintained Cessna Conquest II with a black fuselage and silver trim. The Desert Magic logo was painted down either side in bright purple and silver letters. Carter walked around the aircraft, inspecting it with a practiced eye. Israel and Erin looked on while Stone busied himself lighting a cigar.

  “What is he doing?” Erin said, impatience sparking her words.

  “Pre-flight inspection,” Israel said. “I’d rather wait on him than fall out of the sky.”

  “Oh, it’s a tad more than that,” Stone said through a small cloud of cigar smoke. “Just keep watching.”

  Carter continued circling the plane with his left hand lightly trailing along its surface. As he rounded the aircraft and came into a position where Israel could see his face, he realized Carter’s eyes were closed and he was slowly muttering to himself. There was no way he could be inspecting the plane like that.

  “What the hell?” Israel said.

  “Just watch,” Stone replied.

  As Carter rounded to the front of the plane and faced the nose cone, he placed both of his hands palm down on the fuselage and bowed his head. He stood like that for nearly a minute before anything happened. Israel watched in fascination as angled and intersecting lines started to gently glow all along the plane’s hull like luminescent pearls. They rose in brilliance like lights being slowly brightened with a dimmer switch. The intensity grew just to the point of being too bright and then suddenly darkened, fading back into the plane as though they’d never been there.

  Carter took a deep breath and looked over at Stone. Stone nodded and said, “All right, kids, all aboard.”

  “What was that?” Israel said as they walked toward the Cessna.

  “That? That was a little working that cost us an extra five thousand dollars,” Stone said, cutting his eyes at Carter. “But he says it will cut a good half hour off the trip.”

  “How?” Israel said as he ducked his head and boarded the plane.

  Carter answered him as he climbed in behind Erin and pulled the boarding ladder into place, sealing the door. “In a nutshell, I just cut down the drag on the aircraft. The spell charges a special metallic paint pattern that’s underneath the regular paint. The longer I charge it, the longer it lasts. It will cut our three-hour flight down to two and a half or less. It’s a little thing I worked up when I decided to get into the charter business.”

  “Charter business,” Stone said. “That’s funny.”

  Carter gave Stone a cold look and climbed forward to the pilot’s seat with a warning for everyone to buckle up. They all sat in silence while he started the engines and talked over the headset to the McCarran tower. Ten minutes later, t
hey were in the air and flying south.

  Israel watched the lights of the Las Vegas suburbs fade into the black of the desert night as they flew. There were clouds gathering, but it didn’t do anything to hamper his vision. The unlit cabin had already faded into the silver gray variations that marked his ability to see in the dark, and with it he could tell that Stone had actually dozed off. Erin was sitting still and silent, staring out the window and into whatever the darkness was showing her. Israel unbuckled his seat belt and asked Carter if he could join him in the copilot seat. Carter waved him up with smile.

  Israel settled into the narrow seat, careful not to touch anything in the process. “I’m Israel Trent,” he said. “We didn’t get to meet in the car.”

  “Carter Black,” the other man replied. “Sorry about that. Your girl threw me off a little.”

  “Oh, she’s not my girl,” Israel said, “but she has a way of throwing people off, no question about that.”

  “Oh, I figured you were the reason she was ‘closed for business.’”

  “Nope. That’s all her.”

  Carter cast a quick look back at Erin and said, “Really? So-”

  “Bad idea,” Israel said. “Seriously, not a good idea.”

  “Yeah?”

  Israel nodded.

  Carter shrugged and said, “Okay. So, how did you guys end up running with Mr. Shortstack back there?”

  Israel smiled. “You’re pretty casual with the short jokes. Aren’t you just a little bit worried he’ll get angry and hurt you? He seems capable of that.”

  Carter looked over at him. “So, you haven’t seen him in action?”

  Israel shook his head.

  Carter laughed, “Then, yes, I assure you he is way more than capable. Is this your first mission?”

  Israel shrugged. “Yeah, I guess it is. Everything’s been a little crazy lately.”

  “Well, that’s life with The Sentry Group: long stretches of boredom punctuated with sudden and terrifying bursts of W.T.F.”

  “Is that why you quit?”

  Carter looked at Israel and laughed. “Man, you don’t screw around, do you? Straight to the big questions.”