Born Bad

by Sarah Noffke

  “Indeed it does. But what does the Head Official for the Lucidites have to do with anything?” Pops said.

  “Tell me. Do you know who taught Ren how to teleport? Chase taught him how to create illusions, but the book doesn’t say where he learned teleportation,” Adelaide said.

  “Well, I’ll be. I do believe it was Mr. Underwood, one of the gentlest souls I’ve met in all my life, save for Mary or you,” he said, affectionately thinking of his deceased wife who had been gone for over twenty years.

  A chill that shook Adelaide to the core made her arms vibrate with Lucien still in her arms. “Lucy?” she said, looking straight at the boy. “You saw Ren here. Didn’t you? Not my illusion, but the real thing?”

  The boy nodded profusely in her arms, then stuffed his hand into his mouth.

  “Pops, I think this was a message and I think your son figured out a way to give it to me,” Adelaide said, looking at her granddad with a haunted look.

  “That son of mine. He was too clever for his own good. If anyone could communicate from beyond, it would be Ren,” Pops said, staring down at the wooden block on top of the tray with a great deal of sentimentality.

  Adelaide stared off, looking at nothing in particular. “Thanks, Ren,” she said, feeling hopeful. The feeling that would make it impossible to get over the man who wasn’t quite gone.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Objects that belong to an individual may be summoned while dream traveling. They will slip through the window between realms, unnoticed by those in the physical world.”

  - Dream Traveler Codex

  The boredom wasn’t bad most days for Cole. He busied himself gathering firewood, checking his traps, and fetching and sterilizing water. He actually enjoyed the simplicity of living in the woods. What he did mind was the loneliness. It crowded his head at times, making him think he’d go insane from the solitude. He’d started to hear voices when he fell asleep at night. Just before he drifted off the words from people he didn’t know filled his head. Conversations he’d never been a part of, in places he knew well. Once asleep, he’d find himself in these places. His old hospital, his childhood home, the store where he used to shop on the weekend. Dreaming about these old haunts always made him lonesome for a different one. Then he’d fall through the silver tunnel and find himself in the exact place where he’d been missing. And Cole was aware during these dreams. Like he was awake, and yet dreaming.

  “Where did you put the knife?” Cole said, speaking to himself, as he did most days. He never answered himself the way he should have, with politeness. Sarcasm was always the better response, he felt.

  “Where didn’t you put the knife, is the better question,” he said, doing a three-sixty and scanning the camp area.

  “Good going, Cole. Lose the one thing you need for survival. Smart thinking,” he said, now searching the sleeping area, which was covered with a bright blue tarp. It was the closest thing to a tent that he could find when he rummaged through a junkyard. That’s also where he found the knife, the pot for boiling water, and the canteen.

  “Did you hide the knife, afraid you’d cut yourself again?” he said and giggled to himself. Just yesterday he’d cut his finger pretty severely cleaning a fish. Thankfully his healing powers worked on himself, which he hadn’t a chance to test out until that moment. After that he decided to heal the ugly scar on his knee that he received when he was a kid and the one on his abdomen from when he had his appendix removed. Once he’d recovered his strength, which waned substantially when used for healing, he planned to get rid of the freckles on the bridge of his nose and the white hairs that were peeking through his dark hair. He’d also recovered a broken mirror at the dump, which was now propped up against the tree where part of the tarp was tethered. He’d thrown out a similar mirror for the same reason, in his old life. How strange that things had come full circle.

  Catching his image in the floor-to-sky mirror, he smirked at himself. “You devil. So funky looking that you broke the mirror,” he said, his image split by the large crack that ran across the surface. He was just about to tell himself what he thought of that jab and where he could stick it when he noticed his pupils dilate, making the brown of his eyes almost disappear. In the mirror, the image of Cole opened his mouth and pulled his lips up just as two-inch fangs slid down where his human-sized incisors had been.

  “And if I thought you were hideous before,” he said, his speech affected by the enlarged teeth.

  Cole abandoned his attempts to find the knife as the wolf took over. The one good thing about becoming the werewolf was he didn’t have to work so hard to hunt. It was easy for the wolf and it always yielded a large feast that kept Cole full for a day. He set off through the woods, tearing through the trees, easily managing around the vines and roots that normally tripped him up. The wolf was more agile than any beast he’d ever seen. And it was faster than any land animal, making it no match for anything in the forestsof Florida. The smell of moss reminded the wolf of what he wanted most for dinner that night. The alligator wouldn’t stand a chance against Cole. And later, the man in him would fashion the teeth of the reptile into a tool he could use around the camp. It was almost as if the wolf and Cole were working together. Maybe it was being locked away in the woods with the canine that created this partnership. Maybe Cole should turn to the wolf for companionship. He couldn’t sink any further at this point.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Serious emotional or physical trauma can lead to a Dream Traveler losing their abilities.”

  - Dream Traveler Codex

  “What if, like David, this attempt to quell the wolf kills you?” Rox said, striding beside Zephyr.

  He narrowed his eyes at her. These women knew no boundaries with their flippant remarks and questions. Maybe she and Adelaide did it in an attempt to deal with the tragedies that went along with the job. He’d learned long ago in officer training that joking was a coping mechanism that many employed when haunted by the stress of the job. This just wasn’t an effective strategy for a captain. They had to actually deal with everything so they could lead. If he didn’t then it would eat him up, like a flesh-eating virus. However, Rox and Adelaide didn’t lead as much as boss people around. There was a profound difference. Still, he respected these two women, whom he’d been reluctantly thrown to. They were stronger than most people he knew, but had a flippant style that he’d come to appreciate.

  “Sorry,” Rox said, not at all looking apologetic. “Is it too soon to joke about that were’s death? Or are you actually concerned about your well-being?”

  “Both,” Zephyr said, his gaze on the door a few paces down. He halted. “I didn’t go through wolf integration like David, but there is still a similar risk.”

  “If you die then can I have your…” Rox trailed away as her gaze flew to the ceiling. “Wait, I don’t think you have anything to leave me, do you? You’re pretty much worthless after you die.”

  “And if I had any money, you wouldn’t be in my will anyway, Helga,” Zephyr said, his expression turning serious. “But if anything happens to me then I want you taking over for me. The men will need—”

  “You want me to take over as alpha wolf?” Rox said incredulously. “I’m not even a werewolf.”

  “No, you’re not. But the men respect you and you can handle them. Connor is my natural beta, but he’s not quite ready. He will be soon though. So in the meantime, you’d have the interim role of alpha,” Zephyr said. He’d spent the long night dream traveling to exotic locations and thinking this through. Contemplating his death wasn’t new to him, but it was the first time he worried how things would really affect his team if it did happen. Before, as a captain, he knew that he’d be replaced. Things would work out. However, now his service was unique. The person who succeeded him would have to be carefully chosen and trained. Rox was the right person to train his replacement. Connor, although he didn’t know it, was the right person to step in if something happened to him. Although Co
nnor saw himself as a loner, he missed the important fact that those types made great leaders because they were independent thinkers.

  “Well, I’m surprised, but I agree, I’m a great choice,” Rox said, flashing a fake smile at him.

  “I’d know that too if the Botox allowed your true expression to show,” Zephyr said, his eyes on the door to the safe room. Rox turned, her eyes following Zephyr’s gaze.

  “You gonna go in and talk to your puppies before chaining yourself up in the other safe room?” she said.

  “No, I’m going to lock myself up with my men,” Zephyr said, trying to evoke conviction in his voice.

  “Wait, what? But you’re supposed to be isolated to test the conversion. What if you don’t change or what if you can’t turn back into a man? You can’t be around those guys when they’re in werewolf form,” Rox said.

  Zephyr scratched his beard, feeling the telltale signs that the change was about to happen. “Yes, but I want to be with my men. It’s a pack thing, and I don’t expect you to understand,” he said. This was another decision he made. He had to know if he was true alpha, because if he was then he had power even when they were werewolves and he wasn’t. Or maybe the drug that Aiden’s lab gave to Zephyr would kill him or the wolf. There was only one way to find out, he decided, brushing past Rox and straight for the safe room.

  “Hey, boss,” Rio said, when Zephyr shut the door behind him. He heard the locking mechanism operate on the other side. Rox had initiated it and soon would be seated on the other side of the two-way mirror. Suddenly Zephyr had a flash of a cracked mirror. A guy he didn’t know stood before it just as he changed into a werewolf. He shook off the strange image, feeling connected to this man in his head. Who was that guy? A member of the pack, for sure. He’d have to explore these bizarre visions he was getting more and more before the change.

  Zephyr held up his arm, noticing the black and silver fibers of fur slip through the pores of his skin. In his peripheral, he caught the changes happening in Rio, Connor, and Kaleb. However, he kept his eyes locked on his own arm and then made a firm intention. No, I’m not the wolf, he told himself. I’ll remain as a man. I’m in charge.

  In his head he heard the wolf growl. Not just growl, but bite down on a part of his mind, as if rejecting the idea of being controlled. We are one, but you’re not coming out right now. Stay locked away, he told the wolf, only to be greeted by another round of growling in his head. No, he commanded to the wolf, which silenced it at once.

  “Whoa, it’s working,” Rio said, gaining Zephyr’s attention.

  “What’s working?” Zephyr said, his voice a hoarse whisper.

  “Look,” Connor said, pointing his clawed hand at the two-way mirror. The men had changed fully, their hair and fangs fully in place.

  Zephyr brought his eyes to the mirror to find his own image staring back at him. It was the image he’d awoken to that morning. It was the one he was accustomed to seeing. He was a man. He was in control of the wolf. Now he’d have to determine if he could bring out the werewolf randomly, but that would have to wait until another occasion. Zephyr turned to the three men, who all looked so strange to him in their werewolf form since he was thinking as a man and not as the wolf, like how he was usually when he changed.

  “Let’s practice sparring,” he said, motioning to Kaleb. “You and Connor team up on Rio.” The younger werewolf had been training since his mistake on the case with Rox and Kris. He’d actually proven to be quite agile and graceful as a fighter. And he wouldn’t have known that if he hadn’t failed. It just proved that failure was necessary for those who sought success. It’s how we comb through our insecurities and come out a better person, or beast, as it were. Kaleb nodded at once, striking a fighting stance beside Connor. Rio did the same before launching an attack at the other men.

  Chapter Twenty

  “While in the dreamscape, individuals are more capable of performing feats that are seemingly impossible in the physical world. This is because the laws of this realm are more flexible.”

  - Dream Traveler Codex

  Swallowing down something that felt like a stale biscuit, Adelaide approached the Head Official’s office door. She knew from experience that Trey Underwood’s office was unintimidating due to its size, which felt too small for the conversations that happened inside of it. This was a man more powerful than any world leader and yet he worked in something the size of a cubicle. Maybe that’s why the oversized, intricately carved wood desk seemed so strange in the space. The walls behind where Trey sat were decorated with ancient artifacts, but she never studied them much when on the rare occasion she found herself in his office. She didn’t know why either, since she was the curious type and loved strange objects.

  Her knuckles felt the cold of the stainless steel when she knocked on the frame to the door, which was open. Trey’s door was always open.

  It was followed by the sound of Trey clearing his throat. “Come in,” he said.

  Adelaide poked her head around the corner, forcing a smile on her face. “Hi there,” she said, not at all sounding like herself. She sounded chipper. Perky even. Those were two words that didn’t describe the redhead well. Solemn. Jerkish. Those were words she labeled herself, whether they were always accurate or not.

  “Hello, Adelaide,” Trey said, a wide smile lighting up his eyes. That was it! Those turquoise eyes. That’s what always caught her attention when she looked at Trey Underwood. They were piercing and held her focus. Kept her from looking elsewhere or studying the objects on the shelf behind him.

  “Hi!” she said too loudly. Too fake. “Can I have a minute?”

  “Always,” he said, spreading his hands on his desk. She thought for a minute that no one would know that Trey Underwood was paralyzed behind his desk. He just appeared like a regular man. Not one who fought an ugly terror and almost lost. It had been her father who rescued Trey. It was Trey who had rescued Ren a long time before that, if the rumors were to be believed.

  She took the cozy chair across from him, trying not to get comfortable.

  “Your father’s book?” Trey said, pointing at the leather-bound book in her hands.

  She glanced down, like she’d forgotten it was pressed between her hands. She’d never forget something like that. “Yes, it’s why I’m here,” Adelaide said. “Ren writes about teleporting in the book, but I feel like I’m missing something. Will you help me?”

  Trey seemed to evaluate Adelaide for a long moment. His green eyes ran over the features of her face, dissecting her. Measuring her.

  “Teleporting is dangerous. Are you su—”

  “Ren sent me to you for answers,” Adelaide said, the words slipping out of her mouth in a rush.

  Trey’s mouth slammed shut and he took another appraising gaze at her. “He did. How did he do that?”

  “I guess from the dreamscape or a parallel universe. I dunno,” Adelaide said with a shrug. “But I was practicing and failing at teleporting and he, or whoever, put the wooden cutting board under the tea tray.”

  A laugh so rich and pure popped out of Trey’s mouth. “That sounds like Ren,” he said, doubling forward, his eyes shining bright. When he brought them up to Adelaide, he was sliding wetness from the corners of his eyes. “Sounds like he approves. So tell me, what do you want to know?”

  “Well, I understand how to teleport, but I don’t actually understand how to do it,” she said, trying and failing to explain her predicament.

  “Let me ask you, do you think you can teleport?” Trey said, pinning his palms together and holding his hands up in prayer in front of his face.

  “Well, my father could teleport. I’d seen him do it many times, so…”

  “That’s not the same thing. Do you think you can do it?” Trey said, angling his fingertips in her direction.

  “I’ll admit that it’s a hard idea to digest. I mean, this is science fiction kind of stuff,” Adelaide said.

  “Ren probably didn’t include this in his bo
ok because he was supremely confident. Probably one of the most confident people I’ve had the fortune to meet, but not without good reason,” Trey said. “But the major factor with teleporting is confidence. It’s the belief that you can that will actually make it happen.”

  “So as long as I doubt the possibility of me doing it, the more unlikely it is to happen?” Adelaide said. She should have guessed it was something dumb like that. It was always something ridiculously easy.

  “Yes,” Trey said, releasing a small smile. “You should have seen the look on Ren’s face the first time I teleported in front of him. He didn’t believe what had happened. Later that became his greatest obstacle to teleporting. Once he realized it was doable, not just by me, but by him, then he was good.”

  Adelaide nodded, although she didn’t truly understand yet. Telling someone to be confident about something as strange as teleporting was like asking them to believe they could fly or launch rockets with their mind. It still took a great deal of work for it to be real.

  “Okay, thanks,” she said, robotically rising from the chair.

  “There’s something else,” Trey said, his voice not a question.

  “What?” Adelaide said.

  “Not about teleporting. You have something else you want to ask me,” he said.

  “Oh, well, no, not really,” she said, wondering how Trey always seemed to do that. Know things that he shouldn’t. He wasn’t telepathic. Ren had said that Trey was a dumb know-it-all. When she pressed her father about Trey’s Dream Traveler’s gift he said, “I’m serious. He’s a fucking know-it-all.” Apparently the gift of knowing was a thing.