Awakened (Auralight Codex: Dakota Shepherd Book 1)

by Shei Darksbane

  “Great. That’d be awesome. When?” I shifted forward in my chair and leaned to peek at his screen.

  Adrien smiled at me patiently. “With any fortune, very soon. However, he is not local to this area. He is stationed in Calgary.”

  “Calgary? Like… Canada Calgary?” I frowned. “I don’t know how I would manage that right now.”

  “If transportation is the issue, I am capable of offering a means of travel without incurring any cost to yourself. Would that make it viable?”

  “Wow. Of course. Just… I mean, I don’t want to be a burden. You guys are already helping me out so much.”

  Adrien shook his head. “It is no trouble, Ms. Shepherd. And besides, it is our job to help the newly Awakened who come to us. Normally, your Alpha would be more responsible for your needs, but your situation is rather unique and it is touched by circumstances which are beyond his influence. Thus, it falls to us to give you the aid you require. If you are willing to make the journey, I will arrange it.”

  “Yes, definitely. Just, let me talk to Ralof and I’ll need to work it out with my job.”

  “Of course. I have informed Mr. Simms that you will accept his aid and I will make arrangements as soon as you have secured a convenient date for your journey. All right?” He closed the laptop carefully with both hands and turned back to me.

  “Thank you. That’d be awesome.”

  “Excellent.” He smiled, leaning back into a more comfortable position as he lifted his coffee. “Now. Is there anything else you’d like to inquire about? You must have many questions since your Awakening.”

  I nodded and started to settle back as well, but realized my cup was about empty and straightened back up. “Do you mind if I…?” I gestured toward the coffee pot and Adrien gestured welcomingly. As I stood and moved over to the alertness refill station, I considered the myriad questions I’d been wanting to ask. “Uh… I guess I’ll just go for them in order as they come to me if that’s okay.”

  “Of course.”

  “What’s the deal with your aura?” I picked up the coffee pot and glanced back at him.

  Adrien swiveled his chair around to face me, coffee in hand. I gestured with my pot toward his cup and he shook his head with an appreciative smile. “What is it that you find peculiar about it?”

  I found his use of the word “peculiar” well… peculiar. “I guess, perhaps more bluntly, and I hope not rudely…” He gestured for me to go on. “Your aura is… odd. Not like other people I’ve seen. What are you?’

  He smiled at me so I knew I hadn’t deeply offended him, but he took a breath and let out a long sigh. “Ah. You are correct in the assumption that I am not… merely mortal.” He crinkled his nose just slightly as if he held some distaste for the turn of phrase.

  “I knew it.” I poured myself a fresh cuppa and proceeded to drown it in creamy sweet additions.

  “I would advise you, that in many cases, it is considered… inappropriate to ask another about their Aura if you do not know them very well. I do not mind. I have invited you to ask what questions you will, and aside from that, it is not particularly troublesome for me to answer you. But just so that you are aware in the future, it can be a point of contention for some people. Many, even most Awakenings are somewhat traumatic. In fact, it usually takes something traumatic to shock someone Awake. And others might not wish to reveal what they truly are. So if you happen to ask the wrong person about their Aura, or their Awakening, even what they are, it may end in tears.”

  I winced. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to—”

  “No, it’s quite all right. As I said, I am unperturbed. I just felt I should give you that warning before proceeding.” He smiled reassuringly and I relaxed. I brought my cup back over to sit across from him. “To answer your question,” he continued, turning his chair back to face me again. “I am human… at base.” He glanced sidewardly, casting his eyes about thoughtfully before lifting them to meet mine again. I was once again struck by the vivid electric cyan of his eyes. “However, I am, as I said, no longer merely mortal.”

  “You’re… older than you look, aren’t you?”

  Adrien tilted his head. “What makes you say that?”

  “The way you talk. And… you’re not comfortable with technology like a guy your age should be. And… I dunno. Something about your eyes. They aren’t… young eyes.”

  He smiled at me warmly, and his irises pulsed once with a faint glow. “Indeed. You are correct of course. I must admit I am somewhat disappointed that it is so obvious. I do my best to avoid standing out as such.”

  I smiled. “I don’t think it’s that obvious. I’m not quite as stupid as I look. And I’m more observant than most people seem to expect.”

  Adrien laughed lightly. “I did not assume you were stupid, Ms. Shepherd. Though…” he considered me briefly. “I suppose I did not expect you to be so observant. Though I should have considered it. You are, after all, a security guard by trade, are you not?”

  “Yup. Though I don’t really attribute that to my skills of observation.”

  “Yet it would follow that you might be skilled in such a way if you have chosen such a course for your career, would it not?”

  I smirked. “Perhaps it would.” I chuckled. “I’m sorry. Your vocal patterns are fascinating. So what’s the story? Why do you talk that way?”

  Adrien set his coffee cup down and folded his hands on the desk. “Would you believe me if I told you I was born in Victorian America ?”

  I blinked. “Wow. Really?” Adrien nodded. “Cool. I mean, yeah. Why not? You certainly sound like it.” He sighed again, seeming disappointed with himself, so I added. “A little. I mean, I can see it. So how are you still alive?”

  Adrien showed me a sad smile. It was a smile in that his lips turned up at the corners, and he was trying to press it into his eyes, but it was one of the saddest expressions I’d ever seen. “I am what the Chinese call Xian.” It sounded like he was saying “Shawn”, but fancier. “Immortal in our tongue.”

  “Immortal?” I intoned quietly. I thought about that for a second then blinked. “Wait, like Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom?”

  A little humor touched Adrien’s eyes, but quickly fled the scene as he continued. “We are but a few. Some would say fortunate, others would say cursed. A few who are born with a purer spark of life than most people are burdened to carry. We can be harmed, but we will be renewed. We can be severed, but we will come back together. We can be struck down, but we cannot die.”

  The weight of his words piling one by one onto the heavy-hearted expression he bore was enough to deflate my humor. I felt my face sinking into a compassionately sorrowful expression. I tried to say something, but found myself at a loss for words.

  Adrien pushed a little light-heartedness into his eyes with a visible effort. “It is not so bad. It comes with its perks, after all. But there are many tragedies to such a life. Not the least of which is… Well. Ours is a life laden with unavoidable conflict.” He gained the upper hand with his expression, finally managing to bring the smile to his eyes. “I’m told that the aura is rather spectacular, however.”

  “It is.” I tried to let his smile infect me. I didn’t do sad very well. “I mean, it’s super awesome. It’s like there’s some kind of neon lightning cyber-fluid moving around in it!”

  Adrien laughed, brightening to his prior state. “Well, I’ve never heard it put quite so before.”

  I grinned. “Your eyes are awesome too.”

  He smiled and tilted his head in an appreciative nod. “Thank you, kindly.”

  “No problem. So uh… other questions?”

  “Certainly.”

  “How do I learn more about auras? Like, what the colors mean, and stuff?” I thought about what Amorie had said about individual interpretations, but I wanted to know more.

  “I can provide you with reading material to explain that in more detail.” He stood and moved to a filing cabinet as he spoke. “There
are some other topics I should pull for you as well. Werewolves, other supernatural creatures…” He started thumbing through files.

  I frowned and chewed at my lip. “Um. Actually, maybe you could just tell me about it?”

  Adrien paused and looked up, tilting his head a little. He looked as though he were picking his next words carefully. “Is there some particular reason why reading about these topics is troublesome, Ms. Shepherd?”

  I sighed. “Kinda. I’m dyslexic.”

  Adrien’s face washed with relief and understanding. I realized he had probably come to the conclusion that I was illiterate when I’d rejected the document on the demon earlier. “Ah, I see.” He brought the papers he had already pulled out over to me, coming around to the front side of the desk to lean against it. “I am truly sorry, Ms. Shepherd—”

  “Dakota is fine, if you don’t mind. I actually am the age I look.” I grinned, hoping that the lightheartedness would soften any discomfort he might have with dealing with my situation.

  “Ah. So you are…” he considered me. “Around twenty years of age?”

  I sighed, exaggeratedly slumping. “Okay, or maybe not.” Adrien looked apologetic and I grinned at him with an overstated shrug. “I’m twenty eight.”

  He smiled. “I apologize. Ms.— Mm. Dakota. I am not terribly good with guessing others’ ages. Perhaps I am somewhat inept at matching appearance to age at all.”

  A grin flooded my face. “Did you just make a joke?”

  Adrien laughed softly. “Perhaps not the best one if you had to ask.”

  “Nah, it was good.” I laughed.

  “So. As I meant to say, I am not deeply familiar with that condition. I would be more than happy to accommodate you in any way I can, but I am afraid I would require some education on the topic in order to adequately provide you with said accommodations.”

  “I understand. Honestly, I’m kinda surprised you haven’t had to deal with this before.”

  “I am sure someone in the company has, but it is the first time for me. If you could advise me as to how I could best convey the information to you, I would do my best to comply.”

  I smiled appreciatively. “I truly appreciate that. It’s not so difficult really. If you have all that in digital format, you could send it to me. It’s a lot easier for me to read on my e-reader than on paper. I can adjust the size of the text, and use a font designed to make reading easier for dyslexic people.”

  Adrien’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “I was unaware such things existed.”

  I shrugged. “Most people don’t know about that. It’s not something most people have to deal with so they don’t find out.”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I would be happy to help you with that, but I will need to consult with Mr. Simms.”

  I tilted my head, blinking once to draw up the memory of where I’d heard that name earlier. “The… Mentalist in Calgary?”

  Adrien nodded, stepping back around his desk to settle into his chair again. “The very same. He has been leading an initiative to convert all of our documentation and paperwork into the digital age. Mr. Simms is significantly younger than myself, and is much more acclimated with the information technologies as such. He will know how to get the information to you in a form that you can utilize as you have suggested.”

  I smiled approvingly. “Awesome. Do you need my email or something?”

  He glanced up as if that thought hadn’t occurred to him and then nodded. “That would be helpful.”

  I snatched a pen and a sticky note from his desk and scribbled my email address down carefully. I read it twice then handed it back to him.

  Adrien accepted it with a nod and stuck it to the desk in front of him. “I will send this over when we are finished. In the mean time, what else did you want to ask?”

  “I have two more questions for now. I figure you can give me the rundowns pretty easily in text after this.” He nodded so I continued. “First, I wanted to know more about SII. What it is, what you guys do. How people uh, get involved in it.”

  Adrien’s face lit up with a warm smile. “Ah. Of course. Normally, we have an opportunity to explain this earlier on, but you had some more pressing concerns to attend to.” He settled himself into a comfortable posture. “SII, Supernatural Investigation Institute,” he began in a tone of recitation, “was founded in the early 1900’s by Mr. Ayadeen, a Cambion who saw the need for such an organization in the Americas as the Templar had overtaken the majority of the European continent and had finally begun casting a considering eye upon the new world.”

  “Cambion?”

  “One who is half human, born of one of the Circles.” He explained patiently.

  “A half-demon?”

  “Precisely. Or half-devil. There is a distinction. As I was saying, Mr. Ayadeen founded our organization and we have since spread across the entire continent, and more recently, into Canada as well.” I nodded as I listened with interest. “It is the solemn duty of our agents to protect the balance between various factions that exist in our world. Not merely to protect humanity against the supernatural, but also to protect the supernatural against the encroachment of humanity, and even to protect various factions in the supernatural world from being too destructive of one another as well.”

  “So you really are like the supernatural police?” I grinned helplessly, thinking back on what I’d said to Amorie at the diner before.

  “Eh… no. But we do serve some similar functions at points. Settling disputes, investigating crimes, and sometimes, indeed, incarcerating individuals who are in violation of various treaties and codes of conduct that we uphold in the States. I suppose I should say, in the Americas. Our expansion into Canada is rather recent, and I’m still getting used to it.”

  “Wow. That’s pretty cool. So you’re more like the supernatural FBI?” I grinned excitedly.

  “That is… somewhat accurate as well. Though, truly, I would say that there is not an adequate comparison to mundane organizations. Often, our work involves more deduction and negotiation than anything. Otherwise, it involves a great deal of counseling and relief efforts.”

  I leaned on my end of his desk. “So you fight bad guys and protect the good people? Regardless of what they are?”

  “Yes.” He said hesitantly. “I believe that description is accurate enough.”

  “Sweet. So… how do you get involved in it?”

  “You are interested in signing up?”

  I straightened up and tried to look casual. “Hmm. That might be an idea. What would that entail?”

  Adrien was not remotely fooled by my act, but he did at least seem amused by it. “Well, you would need to fill out an application, and then you would need approval from my father as he is the head of the local branch.” He frowned thoughtfully. “Though, I am afraid that you would not be accepted until Mr. Simms could ascertain the suitability of your mental state. If someone has interfered with your mind by magical means, then it would not be safe for you to act as an agent until you were cured of such interference.”

  I deflated. “Oh. So… Because of the blackouts…” I felt my heart sinking in my chest.

  “I’m afraid it is a troubling concern. However, if Mr. Simms can do something to alleviate this obstacle, then I would imagine that it would no longer be a hindrance to your application.” He looked apologetic.

  “So if he can fix me… I can join?” I glanced up at him hopefully.

  “Certainly. I can see no reason why you could not.”

  I tried my best to cheer up. It wasn’t easy. This felt entirely too much like a re-run of my many failed career paths and it was completely disheartening to run into that again, even now that there were vampires and werewolves and freaking magic. “So what all is involved in the job?”

  “Well, first you would go through a training period that lasts a minimum of two years, though the training is all paid. Then you would be matched with a team and you would start going out on missions, acting as an
agent in various cases.”

  “That sounds pretty awesome. Do I get a sword?”

  Adrien blinked. “Each agent is responsible for choosing their own methods of combat and defense. So that is really up to you. Though I would imagine you would focus more upon your shifting than upon learning to wield a melee weapon. A werewolf who is capable of fully controlling herself is a weapon enough without need for additional armaments.”

  I smiled. “Cool. So what are the employment benefits like?”

  Adrien settled back in his seat again. “The entry-level salary provides a decent middle-class wage, assessed yearly to adjust for inflation.” He slid a piece of paper across the desk to show me an explanation of benefits. The numbers were eye-catching, though not extravagant. “We have a government-level insurance policy, and you get considerable benefits, including paid vacation and sick leave, and of course maternity leave if you should have need of it. The pay increases considerably upon completion of the training period.”

  I blinked and settled back in my seat. “Wow. That’s a nice gig.”

  Adrien titled his head slightly. “Gig?”

  I smirked. “Sounds like a good deal. It’s gotta be better than what I’m making now, that’s for sure.” I considered it all for a moment. “I imagine I’d learn a lot about the supernatural stuff from the training, right?”

  “Certainly. It would be an excellent way to educate yourself regarding the world around you.”

  “And then I’d get to help people and… make a difference.” I felt an old, tear-stained and neglected dream battling its way to the surface in my heart. I did my best to keep it from reaching my face. “Can I put in an application now?”

  Adrien opened a drawer and pulled out a form. “Of course. Though, as I said, it will not be considered until we have word from Mr. Simms regarding your condition, most likely. But you can return it to me whenever you are ready, and I will hold onto it until then if you like.”