The trees were huge and swayed in the wind with an ominous creaking. Closer to the ground, only the lightest of breezes navigated around the trunks. Bridget rolled on her side and used her hands to push herself to a sitting position. She looked around, trying to absorb every detail. The old forest seemed mysteriously devoid of animals, but she heard birdsong. Bridget stood up and fell back to the ground as her left leg buckled under the sudden weight. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.
Looking down at her outstretched leg, Bridget noticed that the jeans were ripped in a couple of places, but she saw no obvious injury. With gentle fingers, she felt around her knee and winced as she found a swollen spot on the side. Rolling to her good side, she tried to bend her leg. She squinted with the effort and gasped once before laying it back down. Bridget pushed herself against the ground, half crawling, half dragging herself backwards until she leaned against a tree. She collapsed against the unyielding bark and lifted her head to the sky with closed eyes. She tried to cinch the pant leg up past her knee but stopped when it tightened around the swollen lump.
She felt a presence behind her and jerked her head around. The trunk was too thick to see anything, so Bridget placed her hands against the bark and pushed herself to a standing position. She kept all of her weight off of her left leg, leaning on the trunk of the tree with her left hand. She narrowed her eyes and balled her other hand into a tight fist as the noise grew closer.
A tall man with long, straight black hair stepped around the edge of the trunk. His eyes were black and piercing. His back was rigid and yet he seemed relaxed in that posture. The way he walked made it seem like nothing could concern him; that he was above everything that occurred in his vicinity. He saw Bridget standing against the tree and raised a single eyebrow at her appearance. She crouched, ignoring the shooting pain driving up her injured leg.
“I would recommend that you sit down before you cause yourself further injury. If I wanted to attack you, your pitiful defense would not be any worse from a prone position.”
“Who are you?”
“I could ask you the same, but I believe I know the answer. Bridget Ellison, I presume?”
Her fist shook as she tightened it further. This man set off her instincts in a way that made every cell in her being jump into fighting mode. But with her injured leg, there was little she could do.
“Who are you?”
“I will answer if you tell me how you found your way into this dream world. That should not be possible and poses some intriguing questions. My curiosity has been piqued.”
“Your name. Now.”
“For one in your current condition, you are persistent to the border of insanity. Need I remind you of your predicament? Between the two of us, if anyone should be making threats and demands, it would be me. Lucky for you, I do not believe in that barbaric concept. My name is Gregory Marks.”
As soon as she heard the name, Bridget lurched forward with a wordless shout. She pushed off with her good leg, trying to close the few feet between them. Her right hand extended forward, grasping at his clothes. Gregory stepped back and his right arm shot out, grabbing Bridget by her wrist. He jerked down and she tried to catch herself with her legs, but tumbled to the ground as her injured leg folded underneath her. Gregory let go and stepped back a few feet.
Bridget shifted as soon as she hit the ground, taking on the shape of a monstrous black bear. The creature rose up on her back legs but fell to the side and collided with a thick trunk. She uttered a low growl as her body slid to the ground, propped against the roots. The eyes narrowed to small slits that focused on the human before her.
“I would’ve thought you’d be more rational. Otherwise, our potential business arrangement will come to an unfortunate and immediate termination. I’d hoped for a different resolution.”
Bridget shifted once more, resuming the body of a woman, but with long blond hair and vibrant green eyes. She sagged into the plant as if she could sink beneath its surface and escape the world around her. A fatigue threatened to envelop her, seducing her mind with promises of blissful ignorance. She twisted her legs, pushing her injury against the ground. The jolt of pain cut through her weariness like a scalpel. She needed answers and would not give in that easily. She noticed him staring at her and leaning forward a small amount.
“I did not know you were capable of such feats. Wearing another human appearance? Fascinating.”
“Where is it? Give it to me or I’ll kill you.”
Gregory stood straight once more, the surprise and curiosity erased from his face and the normal mask of superiority back in place.
“Perhaps that is true, but I doubt that you could at the moment. Need I remind you about the ineffectiveness of threats in your predicament? I do not have the tome with me, and my sudden demise would merely result in the location being forever lost to you or anyone else. I have placed it somewhere safe and took precautions to ensure that I was the only individual with the knowledge necessary to retrieve it. Right now, unless you know another person or organization that has an identical tome, I’m the most important person to your continued sanity. How long before you lose control and are no longer able to maintain a permanent shape?
“I have seen the end result, and it is not pleasant. Eventually you will reach a state where you no longer have control over your own body. If you are one of the lucky ones, you will regress to an animal. Those who are not so fortunate become frozen in the transition from one creature to another. Such a condition is almost always incompatible with life.”
“I don’t need a lecture! I need the book!”
“If you do not control your emotions, you will revert into an animal. I am not seeking to harm you—I wish to do business with you. I assume you received my message. You could have followed the directions. But even without them, you managed to find me without knowing what to look for. It seems that your talents are underestimated.”
Bridget smiled, but it was far from comforting. She sat up straighter and cocked her head to the side.
“You have no idea what I am capable of.”
“For once, we are in complete agreement.”
Bridget turned her hands face down on the roots beside her and pushed herself to a standing position. It was obvious that this Gregory was not going to be cowed easily, and he was the only person who knew where the tome was. She knew there were others, but wouldn’t even know where to begin her search. It took her months to get a lead on this one. If violence and threats wouldn’t work, she needed to play along for now.
“You talk too much. I want it. What’s your price?”
The slightest twinkle shone in Gregory’s eyes at her question. One corner of his mouth twisted into a smile and Bridget couldn’t help but feel like she lost a battle. Her jaw clenched but she stamped down the anger.
“You need this information because your life is dependent on it. I propose a trade of information and a life in exchange. You have something else which does not belong to you if I am not mistaken. I offer you the tome in my possession in exchange for the one that you liberated from the Arm of Gaia on your treacherous exodus.”
“You do your homework.”
“As I said, information. It is far more useful than money or power, for information can lead to the rise or destruction of both.”
“I need that book, now.”
“Then I would propose you retrieve your stolen literature as soon as possible. Those are my terms.”
“What about the life?”
“I will contact you in twenty-four hours to see if you agree to my proposal. Then I will give you the name of your target.”
He turned from her and walked away, and Bridget watched him go. She would not give him the satisfaction of attempting to follow or attack him. He traveled deeper into the woods and walked around a thick trunk. She waited a few minutes, then screamed out a curse that echoed through the forest and drowned out the ever-present birdsong.
Reports indicate that Bridget
Ellison has been identified in Austin. Due to her ability to alter her appearance, we did not notice her arrival until recently. Her arrival indicates her awareness of Darien Yost. Gregory Marks has been provided with all of the information we have on file for Miss Ellison. Armed with this information, we hope his plan will still succeed. However, if it proves insufficient, we must be prepared to mobilize.
If it comes to that, I recommend we take both Miss Ellison and Mr. Yost. Mr. Yost will be the primary target. His profile indicates he is more susceptible to manipulation and less prone to aggressive violence. Because of his youth, he is also currently a pure specimen and unpolluted by the affliction. This increases his worth significantly. Due to the increased risk and lower value, I recommend termination if Miss Ellison cannot be safely recovered.
Chapter 14
The setting sun pierced through the open blinds and struck Darien’s face. The unwelcome light made him wince as he opened his eyes. He brought his hands up and used them as a shield against the discomfort. He let out a low groan into the empty room. The bed creaked as he eased himself to a sitting position and swung his legs over the edge. With a slight heave, he pushed off and stood in the center of the hotel room. It looked the same as an unknown number of hotel rooms that he‘d stayed in over the past few months; they all blurred together into an image of one generic hotel room. He walked over to the window and jerked the shade down.
Darien walked into the bathroom and turned the water on in the shower. He waited until it was steaming, and then stepped in. The warm water splashed across his shoulders and his muscles relaxed under the treatment. He blinked then saw a fierce looking panther with glowing yellow eyes narrowed in unabashed hatred. When he opened his eyes, he was amazed not to find fangs in the side of his head.
Panting, he reached out and put his palms against the shower walls for balance. He rested for a few seconds, trying to relax. No matter how many times he blinked, the vision did not repeat itself. By the time he finished and stepped out of the bathroom, Susan was sitting on one of the beds, her pistol and gun cleaning kit on the small table next to her. She smiled when she saw Darien emerge from the bathroom without a shirt on. The sight of her chased away the last vestiges of the mental image.
“How was your nice, boring day?” Susan smiled at him.
“I survived somehow. It wasn’t easy. I tried to watch TV, but it didn’t take long to remind me why I don’t miss it at all. I had to spend hours twiddling my thumbs to keep from falling asleep.”
“Somehow I find that hard to believe. You don’t have enough coordination to twiddle your thumbs for more than a few seconds.”
Her laughter brightened the room as he stood up and made a point of stomping into the bathroom to grab his shirt. When he was in the bathroom he paused and gathered his thoughts. He wanted to tell her about the memory dream, but didn’t want to throw too much at her, given all she already had to swallow. He wasn’t even sure that the dreams were actual memories—it was only a rumor at this point. His thoughts turned to what Alyssa said about not knowing what he was capable of and how he could tip the scales of power. It was almost too much for him to believe, and he was the one living through it. But, he did owe her an explanation for his sudden departure when he woke up in the middle of the night.
“I had another dream. Like the one when I woke up and bolted on you a couple of nights ago.”
Susan got up and came to the bathroom door, leaning against the frame. Her face was serious and she chewed on her bottom lip before speaking.
“These must be different somehow. I haven’t seen you this freaked out about dreams since this whole thing first started. You okay?”
“Yeah, I am. These are just different and take a little more out of me.”
“How so?”
Susan reached out and pressed the palm of her hand against his face, stroking his cheek with her thumb. He reached up and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go.
“These are more like a memory than a dream. It’s weird and I don’t really know how to explain it. Sorry I didn’t share earlier, but I was trying to figure out what I thought about it first. Plus, sometimes I worry about telling you too much because I want you to be safe.”
“Just remember, keeping me in the dark isn’t going to keep me safe. I’m not going anywhere. So the more I know, the better I’ll be able to help you and therefore, us. After all, someone has to make sure you don’t do anything stupid. It sure as hell isn’t going to be Richard. He’s as crazy as you are, just in a different way.”
“Well, then how come you didn’t slap me up the side of the head for pushing you away? You know, try to knock some sense into me?”
“If you remember, I tried. You walked out; twice.”
Darien pulled back and took a step away to stare at her, his brows furrowed together. “Twice? What are you talking about?”
“Let’s not talk about it. You’re sorry, and it’s all okay. Why don’t you tell me about this dream?”
Darien nodded and the two of them walked over to one of the beds and sat down. Susan pulled up her legs and sat cross-legged looking at Darien. He leaned back on his hands and stared at the wall just above her head.
“I’ve been having these dreams lately that don’t feel like my normal dreams. I couldn’t do anything to control them. It’s more like I was walking around in the real world, but it was somewhere I‘ve never been before. The trees were huge; like giant redwoods, but they weren’t redwoods. It’s hard to explain. I saw people there, but I don’t think they’re real people now. I think what I was dreaming was from the past. Not my past, but the past of other people like me.”
“Darien, I know I don’t fully understand what you’re going through, but that sounds kind of farfetched.”
“I know, but let’s face it, Suz, what about my entire situation isn’t farfetched? Four months ago, would you have thought that any of this would be possible? Who’s to say that it’s not possible to see a memory that I never had? Besides, I met this other shifter who says he knows a lot about these memory dreams and he hunts them down. His name’s Gregory. I met him in my memory dream. He’s like a historian, I guess.”
“So, he’s with the Arm? Can you trust him?”
“With as much as he’s told me, yeah I think so. Granted, he’s not someone I’d let stand behind my back. But I don’t see what he’d have to gain by lying to me. He’s not with anyone. He’s like Richard and me. He’s been explaining a lot of what I’ve seen. I’m not quite sure what I’m seeing yet, it’s just been flashes, but I think it might be starting to come together. I’m beginning to wonder about the Shadows and the Arm and all of that. Maybe they aren’t what they seem to be.”
Susan’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. She shook her head as if to regain control before she spoke.
“Are you serious? We’re talking about the Shadows, right? The same people who chained you to a table and tried to enslave you? The ones who killed Richard’s parents to try and get at him? We are talking about the same group, right?”
With a flop, Darien dropped to the bed and raised his hands to his head. This was why he wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about it yet. It was barely making sense to him and saying it out loud just made it all seem crazy.
“I know, Suz. I know! You said you wanted to know. It’s so weird. But you know that every group has their own whackos. Hell, even Alyssa has admitted that there are some members of the Arm who are super militant and can be a little too passionate. How do we really know what is going on?”
Susan took a deep breath and crawled forward so that she was next to Darien. She took one of his hands from his head and held it in front of her mouth. She gave the back of it a gentle kiss.
“I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just couldn’t believe what you said. You can’t seriously be believing that, can you? That the Shadows we ran into just happened to be the bad apples of the bunch?”
He was about to respond when they bo
th heard a key slide into the lock. Susan rolled off the side of the bed and grabbed her pistol from the table in one smooth motion. Darien rolled over so that he was on all fours. They both relaxed when they saw Richard enter the room. He had a large roll of papers underneath his arm. He tossed them on the closer bed. Darien raised his hand in a quick greeting.
“Welcome back.”
“Thanks, kid. Did you find anything out?” He directed the question at Susan.
“Nothing. I searched through all the local papers on file, and now I know way more about city politics than I ever cared about, but no leads.”
“Sorry it was a waste, but not too surprising based on what I heard.”
“What’d you find out?”
Darien couldn’t help himself. He jumped over the bed and rushed over, curious about the documents that Richard brought with him. Finally, after all this time searching, they might have something to go on. No matter how flimsy it was, any lead was a huge plus in his book.
“It seems that something’s going on, but the Shadows have a strong enough influence here to make sure that it doesn’t become public knowledge. They just about own the media and a significant portion of the police force in Austin. They’ve had a couple of their own wind up dead when they ventured into the sewers. My source couldn’t tell me what it is that they’re looking for, but at least two Shadows died trying to find it.”
“That fits right in with the clues from the note. It makes perfect sense.”
“Then let’s go.”
Susan turned on the safety for her gun and tucked it into the shoulder holster on the table. She reached for her shoes and sat on the edge of the bed. Across from her, Richard unrolled the papers, and a map of the tunnels underneath the city unfolded before them. The tunnels crisscrossed so often that staring at the entire map at one time produced a dizzying effect. While Richard poured over the maps, his fingers traced a few routes between two spots that were circled in red ink. Darien stepped over to stand beside Susan.
The Bringer of War (The Sheynan Trilogy Book 2) Page 10
