The Hidden Gift

by Ian Somers

  An exceptionally talented teenager from Australia, who goes only by the name Barega, was convinced to join Golding Scientific. We do not blame the young man as he was probably lied to by Golding and his staff. It is a great shame that the only living warper has sided with our main competitor. Barega could become a thorn in our side when he reaches adulthood. I fear that he will cause much suffering and that the Guild might have to assassinate him.

  The most promising lead we’ve had in decades has come to my attention. There is a young man who is said to have incredible powers and has to date avoided all known organisations who seek out gifted people. His name is James Barkley and I have recently been told that he is searching for others like himself. One of our people in the United States has made contact with him and asked if he would become a Guild member, but Barkley has refused our offer. He remains determined to live a life free of rules and constraints. This is admirable and the more I know of him, the more respect I have for his pursuits. He wishes to do good and is trying to understand the origins of the true gifts and where they will ultimately lead mankind. His is a quest for knowledge and he could go on to forge his own Guild, perhaps one that is more relevant than our own. He is gathering like-minded people to him and by all accounts they are a truly wonderful group of youngsters who wish only to make this world a better and more enlightened place to live. My only concern is that he will become a target for Paul Golding. I know the way Golding works: if a gifted person refuses to join him, he usually has them killed. Barkley deserves a better fate than that. I only wish that everyone was like him, and not like Golding or Nijinska.

  I was left stunned by the news I received three days ago. It is a dreadful blow, not for the Guild, but for the future of gifted people, and for people of all walks of life.

  It appears that Barkley and his troupe were travelling south-east Asia and had found their way to Bali. No doubt they were enjoying the tropical climate and each other’s company. Young and free. Their lives full of adventure and exploration. A future of immense possibilities.

  That future has been erased. A tsunami struck a small island off the coast of Bali and almost everyone was killed. It is believed that Barkley’s group has been decimated, along with many people who were native to the island. At first it seemed like an unavoidable tragedy, but yesterday I learned that no earthquake took place in that region, and that the destructive wave seemed completely unnatural. As soon as I heard this I had an awful feeling that a mageleton might have been involved. Nijinska is the only living person, that we know of, with that gift.

  One of our members, Fiona Taylor, flew out to the island yesterday and delivered her report by phone a couple of hours ago. It was one of the most bizarre conversations I have ever had.

  There was indeed a group of westerners on the island before the wave struck and there were sightings of their bodies in the immediate aftermath, but their remains have now disappeared. Only one Caucasian body was discovered, and Taylor has confirmed it is that of Nijinska.

  The entire incident is baffling and neither I, nor Taylor, could make any sense of it. We are quite sure that Barkley and his friends are dead, but we do not know what led to the demise of Nijinska.

  I have just received a fax from Fiona Taylor, who has been continuing her investigation into the incident off the coast of Bali. The message was only a single line but it was enough to force me into planning a trip to south-east Asia. My flight leaves in six hours. I do not know what awaits me out there. A deep fear in me swells every time I read her message.

  “You must come here ASAP – there are rumours of undead stalking the islands.”

  I recognised this as the story of how the Kematian came to exist. Romand and June Atkinson had told me about it when I was living with them. It was the darkest tale from the history of the Guild, and one that was rarely discussed. It was the most terrifying story I’d ever heard and the mere mention of it sent a shiver over my skin.

  I was surprised to read that James Barkley had started out as a good and honest person, one who was committed to helping others like himself. It was hard to believe that he became the monster that Romand had described. It was yet another example of how decent people could be twisted by the interference of those like Paul Golding.

  Nijinska, Barkley, Dolloway, Barega and probably many others had all been corrupted by him. I considered myself very lucky that Romand had saved me before Golding and Shaw poisoned my mind. To think they could have destroyed my life, and forced me into destroying the lives of others. It was sickening to imagine that I could have become like Nijinska.

  The story of the Kematian and the disaster that struck in 1989 could wait until tomorrow. I was battered and bruised and my eyes were growing heavy. I slipped the journal under the mattress and used my gift to turn out the light. One good thing had come from my fight with Hunter: it had sapped my energy and I would get a good night’s sleep for the first time in months.

  The slamming of a car door snapped me from my dreams. The moon was strong that night and there was enough light in the room to see the clock reading 4.20am on the opposite side of my bedroom. What on earth was Hunter doing up so late? And what was he doing outside?

  I sat up and looked out the small window to see a dark coloured saloon parked outside the cottage. I didn’t recognise the car and was reminded of Marianne arriving at the Atkinson’s place. My nerves went wild and I was about to jump out of bed and alert Hunter when I heard voices coming from the front porch.

  ‘What in God’s name are you doing here?’ It was Hunter and he sounded aggravated rather than fearful. ‘This place is strictly off limits. I thought everyone in the Guild was aware of that?’

  ‘I’ve been on the road for five hours, Hunter,’ a man with a continental accent replied. ‘The least you could do is invite me inside.’

  They continued talking for a moment, but they’d lowered their voices and I couldn’t hear what was being said. I crept out of bed and went to the door and listened to them enter the cottage and go to the sitting room. I wasn’t letting the opportunity to eavesdrop on a secret Guild meeting pass me by. They were probably talking about some of their missions! After all, they’d only send someone all the way out here if it was something really important. Hunter never told me much, and despite the truce, he would probably keep the subject of the conversation to himself. I had to get closer to hear what they were saying.

  I gently pulled the door open, then stopped before I entered the hallway. The floorboards were well worn and made loud creaks whenever anyone stood on them. I couldn’t risk putting my weight on them because the others would hear me then send me back to my room. I had to get creative if I was to go unnoticed.

  I used a technique I had practised when I first went to the cottage. It was a rolling cushion of energy that I could balance on top of as it moved over ground. It would allow me to levitate a couple of inches over the floor boards and the others would be unaware that I was spying on them. I created the cushion and rose off the floor then moved slowly, and a little unsteadily, down the hallway without making the slightest sound. I gently dispersed the energy under my feet and eased down to the floor.

  Hunter was stoking the fire and throwing a couple of logs into the hearth. He made quite a bit of noise which allowed me to quietly push the sitting room door open slightly, just enough so I could see who was with him.

  The late night visitor was Dominic Ballentine – I recognised him from Romand’s funeral. He hadn’t said much when I’d met him but he gave off an air of authority, as if he were one of the highest-ranking members of the Guild. He was average height, had wide shoulders and was wearing dark clothes that had seen better days. He had that same hardness to his face that many of the senior members of the Guild had. He looked like he’d seen a lot of fights throughout his life and his brooding eyes were surrounded by a tangle of sharp wrinkles.

  He sat on the chair next to the fire and Hunter leaned against the mantel on the opposite side. The lights were
off and their faces were lit with the orange hue of the flames and I could tell immediately from the intensity of their expressions, and the hushed voices, that something very serious was going on.

  ‘You look like you’ve been in a fight, Hunter. That black eye could do with some ice.’

  ‘I’ll live.’

  ‘I do hope so. So, how has your vacation been?’

  ‘Listen, Dominic,’ Hunter said sharply. ‘We’ve been colleagues for a long time but let’s be honest, we’ve never been friends. I know you haven’t come all the way out here just to be sociable so why don’t you save us both some time and get to the real reason for your visit.’

  ‘As forward as always, eh.’ Ballentine took a cigarette from a silver case and lit it with a glowing iron poker that had been resting in the flames. He puffed a cloud of smoke over his head and turned to his host. ‘Fair enough. I need you to track someone down for me.’

  ‘You need me to track someone or the Guild needs me to track someone?’

  ‘This request has come direct from the top. The Guild needs you to locate a child who has shown signs of a true gift.’

  ‘I already have a job on my hands: babysitting the superstar. I’m gifted, but I know of no gift that allows me to be in two places at the same time.’

  ‘I’m aware that you are busy, Hunter.’

  ‘Why don’t you find this person yourself or get one of the junior agents of the Guild to do it?’

  ‘This one is important and there can be no mistakes. We need someone with experience to pick up the trail.’

  ‘There are plenty of experienced people in the Guild.’

  ‘They will be busy for the foreseeable future.’

  ‘Busy with what?’

  Ballentine sighed and flicked some loose ash into the flames. He had a very troubled look about him now and he took a heavy pull on the cigarette before finally answering his colleague.

  ‘There’s been an incident. It requires a full investigation and many of the senior members of the Guild will be involved.’

  ‘What sort of incident?’

  ‘The home of one of our mentors has been attacked.’

  ‘Which one?’

  ‘It was old Rudolph Cramer’s place in Switzerland.’

  ‘I know Cramer. He’s a good man, but he’s hardly on the frontline. Who the hell would attack him?’

  ‘Unknown.’

  ‘Anyone get hurt?’

  ‘Cramer and his wife have had five kids living with them, all with true gifts. The Cramers have been taking care of them and teaching them to develop their powers for the last two years. There was also an agent of the Guild stationed there just for security purposes; it’s been protocol for quite some time …’ He took a deep smoke and I noticed his hands were trembling. He wouldn’t make eye contact with Hunter for a moment, and I even thought he might break down in tears before he eventually finished what he was saying. ‘All eight of them are dead.’

  ‘What?’ Hunter asked incredulously. He stepped off the fireplace and began pacing the room. He furiously rubbed the palms of his hands together; something I hadn’t seen him do before. ‘How did it happen?’

  ‘The house was burned to the ground. It’s in a pretty isolated spot so there were no witnesses; therefore we have no clue as to who the perpetrator is.’

  ‘Perhaps it was just a normal house fire?’

  ‘Come off it, Hunter. We both know that’s unreasonable. And besides, one of our moles in the Swiss police has informed us that two of the deaths were not caused by smoke inhalation or burns.’

  ‘How did they die?’

  ‘Inconclusive.’

  ‘Who in God’s name would do such a thing? To murder five children!’

  ‘We first suspected Golding’s people, we don’t think he has anyone like that on his payroll though; it would have had to be someone very powerful … and extremely ruthless.’

  ‘Who was stationed there as security?’

  ‘Edward Zalech.’ They exchanged a long stare. ‘I know you weren’t very fond of him, but believe me, he would have fought tooth and nail to save those people.’

  ‘Why are you so sure?’

  ‘His younger sister was among the victims. They were practically inseparable. It’s the only reason he took on that job, so that he could be close to her.’

  ‘He never struck me as a particularly affectionate person.’

  ‘He was loyal to his sister and was loyal to the Guild.’

  ‘I didn’t doubt his loyalty. I was thinking about how powerful he was. Zalech wouldn’t have been easy to take in a fight. He was one of the strongest people I’ve ever come across. If they could get the better of him, and Cramer at the same time …’

  ‘Not to mention Cramer’s wife, Lorena, who was a talented siren and the five children. They were only young, but they were all gifted and could have put up quite a fight on their own terms.’

  ‘Who could it have been?’ Hunter hissed in frustration. ‘Dolloway?’

  ‘Haven’t you heard?’

  ‘Heard what?’

  ‘Our moles based here in Britain have finally tracked her down.’

  ‘Where is she?’

  ‘Six feet under.’

  ‘Are you positive about that?’

  ‘We’re confident that it’s her. That means we have a new killer on the loose.’

  ‘Someone that twisted and powerful could endanger the Guild. You’ll need me on this case. I must be involved in the investigation!’

  ‘No,’ Ballentine insisted. ‘You have a duty to watch over Bentley and find this gifted child I spoke of earlier.’

  ‘Who’s heading up the investigation?’

  ‘Sakamoto.’

  ‘Sakamoto is an assassin, not an investigator.’

  ‘He’s the best man for the job and I’ve assembled a solid crew to assist him. Listen, Hunter, if we need your help we’ll let you know. For the moment, you would be doing us a great favour by finding this kid.’ He took a newspaper clipping from his pocket and handed it to Hunter. ‘I’m sure you can track her down easily enough.’

  Hunter read from the clipping then sighed and stared at the ceiling. ‘Are you for real? I’ve lost count of the times I’ve searched for prophets, and every single time they turn out to be frauds. This,’ he waved the clipping at Ballentine, ‘will be nothing more than a wild goose chase.’

  ‘That is a definite possibility. There is always a chance, though, that this lead is genuine and you know full well we cannot ignore it. Our enemies will try to find her too. And you know what they’ll do to her if she is just a troubled kid, don’t you?’

  ‘I do,’ Hunter said glumly.

  ‘Either way, she’s in for a very nasty surprise if Golding or some other scumbag gets hold of her. I think it would be better if we reached her before they do. Don’t you agree?’

  ‘You any clues to where she is?’

  ‘She’s somewhere down near Newcastle. The paper didn’t give her name, address or anything like that, and her face is blurred in the photo in the article. I have this,’ he handed Hunter another scrap of paper. ‘It’s the names of the journalist, the photographer and sub-editor who were involved with the article. The office address is there too. It’s just a provincial rag and we should be grateful for that; if it had been a leading tabloid you’d have to get on this right away.’

  ‘I’ll leave tomorrow. With a bit of luck I’ll locate her within forty-eight hours.’

  ‘Good. That settles it.’

  ‘Not quite,’ Hunter said, raising his hand at Ballentine. ‘You’re forgetting one thing.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘Bentley. Should we trust him to be left on his own? I could be gone for a few days and he could get himself into a lot of trouble if he decides to go wandering the local towns.’

  ‘Is he that stupid?’

  ‘Quite possibly, yes.’

  ‘What’s he like? I mean, what’s he really like?’

  ‘He�
��s an arrogant little shit, he doesn’t do what he’s told, his powers are out of control, he hates authority, he has a bad temper – I like him.’

  It was a pleasant surprise to hear this from Hunter. In spite of everything, it meant a lot to me that someone like him liked and believed in me.

  ‘Is he up to going out on a mission? This could turn out to be dangerous, and you never know, you might even come up against some of Golding’s people. Is he capable of holding his own if it comes to that?’

  ‘He is. I thought the Guild didn’t want him near civilisation for a while?’

  ‘Believe me, the Guild has far more serious things to worry about now.’

  ‘I’ll bring him with me. I’ll be on the road early in the morning,’

  ‘Contact me directly if you run into any outside trouble. Here,’ he passed a mobile phone to Hunter, ‘I know you don’t carry a mobile when you’re off duty. My number is saved into the contacts. Oh, one other thing: Linda Farrier is based in Manchester at the moment and I’ll send her to assist you if needed.’

  ‘Farrier!’ Hunter moaned. ‘No, thanks. We don’t work well together.’

  ‘Hunter, you have to put personal feelings aside and be professional in circumstances like this.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘We all know that you and Linda were … whatever it was that you were.’

  ‘We were working together and that’s as far as it went. We have conflicting styles when it comes to investigations and I’d rather not be partnered with her again.’

  ‘Tough. She’s the only one available.’

  ‘Bentley and I can handle this on our own. Farrier can stay in Manchester forever as far as I’m concerned.’

  ‘She could be very useful on a case like this.’

  ‘No,’ Hunter demanded. ‘Linda Farrier is an assassin. I don’t particularly like working with assassins.’