by J. E. Swift
His mother had changed Garrett’s last name to her maiden name, Stevens. She did not lie to him about who his father was, but was not forthcoming either. Very few people in the Trust know the truth about Garrett’s identity. When Mary Livingston came to Jonathan McPherson, her friend since childhood, begging him to let her son and her live on Trust land, outside of the persecution of the Cine Tofa, Jonathan, being the conscious person he is, agreed. The only concession he made is that their true identities remain a secret for their safety within the Trust. Mary readily agreed.
Still, Nathaniel found ways to contact his son. Letters would mysteriously sneak through courtesy of Lionel and they would reach Garrett’s eyes only. The letters were from his father, explaining how much he truly loved his son and how much he wanted him back. When Garrett was sixteen, he had a rough patch with his mother who found the letters. Garrett ran away and ran straight to his father as his father had always hoped.
Nathaniel was more than pleased his heir had come back. For three years, Garrett lived with his father, his father teaching him everything he knew about the Cine Tofa. Garrett had not changed yet at that point, but he was showing signs as a Potential that the awakening would be soon. Nathaniel had convinced him that our people had a responsibility to others to protect them from themselves, that people who had not evolved like us were a danger to themselves.
Garrett had believed all of it. He was the perfect son and Nathaniel realized that he would be a great leader. When his transformation was complete, he was going to mentor Garrett directly himself to make sure that he was as strong of an Actual as he was.
It wasn’t until Nathaniel started talking of more extremist ideals that Garrett started to pull away. The younger Livingston did not agree fully with the ideals that his father felt. Garrett could not understand that since they were the greater beings, normal humans needed to be disposed of or controlled for our safety and for theirs.
Garrett ultimately decided that he did not agree with the Cine Tofa and left. He again went to Jonathan McPherson, asking to be let back. This time Jonathan was more reluctant but with some advice encouraging leniency from Lionel’s end, he had ultimately agreed.
Garrett was distraught to learn that while he was away with his father, his mother had passed on. Lionel had been the one assigned to handle that particular task. Mary Livingston never knew it was coming. Lionel decided to take mercy on her and make it quick and painless. She was just a meaningless pawn in all of this, and in truth, he felt sorry for her. The Trust investigated the death, but it was determined that she died of natural causes. Luckily, not everyone in the Trust is as honest as the McPherson family famously is, and the evidence that would have implicated him mysteriously disappeared.
Nathaniel had wanted Lionel to mentor Garrett, but he had already been disposed on mentoring Jonathan McPherson’s son, whom if Lionel was honest with himself, showed as much potential as Garrett did. Garrett was assigned another mentor when his change occurred and while they were not linked to the Cine Tofa, the mentor was sufficient. Garrett could always be taught more later when he rejoined back into the Cine Tofa as planned.
Lionel was assigned to reporting back to Nathaniel how Garrett was progressing. Nathaniel was pleased with Garrett’s ability with projectile telepathy; but was frustrated that he was not pushed further. He wanted Lionel to teach him more, but it could not be done without raising suspicion. So when Lionel was given the order to bring Garrett home, he knew it was the order to for him to return permanently as well after all these years and reveal his true identity.
Nathaniel was waiting impatiently for a response. “Where is he, Lionel?”
Lionel looked straight into his hazel eyes. His sons were identical. “I couldn’t retrieve him. I tried, but there were… complications.”
Nathaniel’s face turned into a scowl. “What kind of complications?”
Most men would flinch under that stare, but Lionel was used to his mannerisms. “Garrett was not particularly willing to come back with me, so I had to persuade him, so to speak.”
“What kind of persuasion?”
“Nothing several weeks of healing won’t fix.” Lionel lied easily. It would not do for Nathaniel to know that he had sacrificed Garrett so he could escape easier. He lifted his arm to reveal the deep gash that Caitlyn had given him during their fight. “As you can see, he did not leave me unscathed either.”
“So, my question again is, where is he?”
“I was ready to take him with me, when Jonathan McPherson’s son appeared with Caitlyn Young.”
Nathaniel placed his hands behind his head. “Declan. Yes, that man is more trouble than all of the Trust combined sometimes. You shouldn’t have mentored him so well. We would have been better off either having him be mediocre and not knowing what he was or killing him in an accident.”
Lionel conceded that he was right. Lionel created a dangerous weapon for the enemy. He knew his strengths and weaknesses and could control Declan easily, but Declan was now mentoring others and Actuals like Caitlyn were very, very dangerous.
As if reading his mind, Nathaniel continued. “Who is Caitlyn Young? You have never included her in your reports.”
Lionel left her out of his most recent reports. He knew that this would be viewed as a grave error. “She is a recently turned potential. She has not even gone through the Threshold. Do you remember how I advised you that Garrett was going to be mentoring?”
“Yes.” Lionel knew he had been surprised that his son had wanted to do that. By Nathaniel’s standards, Garrett still had much to learn and felt that mentoring a Potential was beneath him.
“She is the one he mentored. But then, the Council decided it would be best if Declan took over her training.”
“Why would that be?”
“Well…” he paused. “Caitlyn has quite amazing capabilities.”
“This should have been in a report. We need to be very aware of any Actual that you view as having strong capabilities.”
Nathaniel was staying very calm. That was not a good sign. “I realize my error now. Let me assure you a gross error such as that will not happen again.”
“Make sure of that Lionel, or else your services will no longer be of use to me. I am sure Kayla would suffice in your place. What are her abilities?”
Lionel cleared his throat. He had avoided the guillotine so far. “She learns at an incredible pace. She has only been with the Trust eight months and I’ve not heard of or seen a single talent that she is merely okay at. Declan is training her harder than I ever trained him, which is saying a lot, and she takes it all in stride.”
“Sounds as if she is a good weapon for them.”
“More than a good weapon. Nathaniel, she fought me blow for blow. She adapts very quickly and can think on her feet. Declan, while he could anticipate what I was going to do, could not do what she did.”
“I want a full report on her abilities, Lionel. I want a full report on Declan’s abilities as well. It better be very thorough.”
“Understood. It will be on your desk in the morning.”
Nathaniel studied his nails for a minute in silence before continuing. “So I don’t quite understand how they got away with Garrett. You are not dead so either you ran away like a coward or something else occurred.”
Lionel bristled at him calling him a coward. Nathaniel knew Lionel never left a fight. With gritted teeth, he muttered, “She can also teleport like Declan.”
“A very rare talent, but we have multiple teleporters on our side as well and we outnumber them, so I don’t see a problem.”
He swallowed deeply. “Yes, but more so with her.”
Nathaniel raised his eyebrows. “Explain.”
“She can teleport others with her. I’ve never seen anyone have that ability.”
“Neither have I.”
“When I was preparing to leave with your son, she and Declan arrived mere moments later. Declan saw the shape that Garrett was in, and told Ca
itlyn to take Garrett while he tried to handled me. I was shocked to see her just touch him with her hand and then they were both gone. She took Garrett somewhere to safety.”
“Now why would she do that?”
Lionel looked down at the floor. “She is… involved with him. Garrett is in love with her. You will never get him to leave the Trust as long as she is with him.”
“It seems that you have left out a lot of information, Lionel. I am not pleased that not only you have left out information regarding a very strong new Actual, but also have neglected somehow to tell me that my son is involved with said person which would make it much more difficult for retrieval! Tell me, Lionel, am I missing anything else? Are there any other surprises you wish to tell me?”
Lionel swallowed deeply. He was going to need to tread very carefully with his next few words. “Not anything of that significance, I assure you.”
Nathaniel stood up and began pacing. Lionel did not like it when he paced. “We should retrieve both. If she is as strong as you say, they would make a very powerful couple. I am sure we could convince her that it is best.”
Lionel shook his head. “It will not work. Declan and Councilman McPherson have their claws too deeply in her. She has shown that she is fiercely loyal to the Trust and will not leave it.”
“What is plan B, Lionel?”
“We can still retrieve Garrett and have him be loyal, Nathaniel.”
“I’m listening.”
“If he feels a great betrayal by the Trust, it will be the catalyst that is needed to bring him back on his own.”
“And how will this happen?”
“Through Caitlyn. The beautiful part of this plan is that there is nothing we need to do really. This will happen on its own if we let it. It may take a while, but trust me.”
“I am not following.”
Lionel smirked. He knew that Nathaniel hated not knowing information, but he got a perverse pleasure from it nonetheless. “Caitlyn is going to betray Garrett.”
Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed. “And you know this because?”
“Because I know enough about Declan.”
“Lionel, if you do not stop talking in cryptic sentences, I will change my mind on my leniency for your failures.”
“Declan won’t even admit this to himself, but he is deeply in love with Caitlyn Young. I’ve seen the two of them together throughout her months of training. There is a deep attraction buried deep below the surface from both of them. Any observer from the outside can see it, but they are oblivious. They are a time bomb waiting to happen.”
“Interesting. Continue.”
“I saw this from the second day they were in the mentor/student relationship. Your son was already involved with her. Knowing how you wanted him back, I had been trying to encourage Declan to pursue this in order for this to be the trigger rather than my cover being blown and the last time I spoke to him, although he wouldn’t admit it, I knew he was wavering. Unfortunately, since you had set certain timeframes I had to meet, I needed to get more directly involved.”
“How do you know she will choose him?”
He shrugged. “After she left with Garrett yesterday, instead of staying with your son as any woman in love would have done, she came back to the fight. I saw the look of concern she wore for Declan as she fought me. It was not the look of possibly losing a friend, or of the student losing her teacher. It was the fear of losing a lover. They were not together, but I would not be surprised if this fight was the vehicle that triggers it. And if your son is anything like you, he will not be so quick to forgive.”
Nathaniel’s sinister grin made Lionel realize he was in the clear. For now.
Chapter 28
Declan pinched his nose as he stared at his father. He would be lying if he did not acknowledge that the past two weeks had taken its toll on him. The amount of information that had been compromised spanned wider and deeper than the Trust had even feared.
Every password, every system had to be reset and reconfigured. It was a daunting task and Caleb, Michael, and the other specialists were sleeping two hours a night, trying to make everything secure. Declan was sure that Lionel was off somewhere far, grinning knowing that they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. He took a deep breath, trying to sooth the recent wounds of betrayal.
His father stood up silently and poured himself a glass of water. He looked from behind his shoulder at his son. “Would you like some?” He asked, lifting a glass.
Declan just shook his head no. Jonathan then moved back to the table, sitting down. “You look exhausted, Declan.”
“Dad, none of us have slept much in the past two weeks.”
“Yes, but you look particularly worn.”
He rolled his eyes lightly at his father. “You did not have me come here for a chat about me did you? What’s up, Dad?”
“Always to the point lately, aren’t you? Two things. The first is regarding Garrett Stevens-”
“Garrett Livingston.” Declan interjected.
His father was perturbed by his interruption. “As I said, Garrett Stevens is going to be released tomorrow. I thought you may want to let Caitlyn know.”
Declan did not welcome the news although he knew it was coming. As it was, he had not even seen Caitlyn in the past two weeks, instead sending Andrea to train with her for healing. She reported that while Caitlyn was exceptional and could potentially be a decent healer, she was distracted. Declan knew that he was at least partially responsible for that. In truth, he wanted to reach out to her and talk with her, but he had not had a free moment to spare. At least, that is what he told himself. Perhaps he had put off their conversation a bit too long. Garrett returning would complicate things. Declan would need to see her tonight. They had to sort some things out before he came walking back into her life.
His father smirked at his son as Declan realized he had caught him lost in his thoughts. “And what is the second thing?”
“The Tribunal has made a decision.”
His head shot straight up, looking his father square in the eye. Declan did not need him to clarify what decision. The Trust had been debating on what actions to take, if any, regarding this treason.
“And what is the decision?”
Jonathan took a sip from his water. “The decision will be declared tonight in a closed joint session with the Councils and the Tribunal.”
There was a pronounced sadness that hung in the air from the last syllables his father spoke. There had only been two other times when there was a joint closed session. This was not a good sign. “Declan, we would like you there. We are inviting several others to the session as well.”
Declan’s eyes shot up. Allowing non-council Actuals in the session was unheard of. “Excuse me?”
“You are going to be given specific directions this evening, which you will follow to the exact letter over the next several weeks under a complete shroud of secrecy. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“The meeting will take place in two hours’ time, just enough time for the delegates of the foreign Council and the Tribunal members to get here. I expect that during that time you will pack. Pack lightly, but smartly. You will be leaving as soon as the orders are completed.”
“What about Caitlyn?”
“What about her?” His father’s voice held surprise.
Declan sighed. That was a question he really had not meant to have voiced out loud. He pushed down his thoughts and replied, “Well, what about her training? It’s almost complete. I’ve barely spoken to her at all.”
“We are making other arrangements.”
“Such as?”
Declan knew the answer before his father said it. He had just hoped he was wrong. “Since Garrett is returning tomorrow… well, you and Councilman Riley wanted him to try and teach her projectile telepathy. Now is as good a time as any. Unless you have objections?”
Jonathan eyed him as he emptied his glass. Declan had
a lot of different objections. He still felt that Garrett should not be trusted, no matter how much faith the Tribunal gave him. He felt that after seeing Caitlyn and how hurt she was by the betrayal, she should not be subjected to him. But most of all, he simply did not want the rival for her affections anywhere near her, even if Garrett may have had her first. But those were not valid reasons in his father’s eyes. “No objections.”
He nodded. “Good. It will be of the most benefit to Caitlyn while you are away. I will make arrangements and will make sure that Garrett is debriefed. I suggest that you begin to get ready.”
Declan’s mouth dried up. He stood to leave, knowing his father was done. He needed to speak with Caitlyn at some point this evening, even if it was just for a few moments.
Four hours later, Declan emerged from the Tribunal meeting with a heavy heart and a sense of foreboding. In a span of two hours, the world can change dramatically, the perspective of what needs to be a priority can alter significantly. Declan’s first order of business per the Tribunal was to go to North Dakota. Instead, he found himself transporting outside Caitlyn’s door.
Declan stared at the shut door, alone, trying to sort out the feelings he had been holding at bay for the past two weeks for Caitlyn. And now, when any rational man would be fighting for her attentions, he was practically sending her into the arms of his rival. He could do this. He needed to do this. Declan reached out to Caitlyn in his head. “Are you available? I need to talk.”
Caitlyn’s response came quickly. “Yes. I am at my apartment.”
Declan closed his eyes for a brief moment and transported inside. Caitlyn was sitting on her couch, legs criss-crossed, with a magazine in hand, skimming through the pages. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, looking comfortable in sweats and a tee-shirt. Declan thought that she was breath taking. She stood when she saw him.
Declan strode over and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. He was glad when she returned his embrace. He allowed himself just to stand there for a minute, enjoying the moment before it faded. He whispered into her hair, “I’ve missed you.”
