Guild of Truth 01 - Silent as the Grave

by Mary K. Norris

  So she had been in an accident.

  Cali pushed her pity aside. Something told her Niella wouldn’t want it anyway. “I’m sick of being in the dark, Niella. I really am. I’m going out on a limb here and trusting you guys. If you know so much about me then you know how much this blind trust is costing me. I need to know what you saw that day. I need to know that I’m not just being played by anyone and everyone around me. Please.”

  After a few seconds of silence Niella finally spoke. “I saw a cage. I felt pain, both from you and Felix. I got flashes of your powers, of you and Felix, something connecting you two together. There were others there, more pain, more blood.” She sighed as if weary. “It’s really not much help, and I still don’t know when this is supposed to happen. You may have already avoided it, but that’s all I can tell you.”

  She’d take it. “And what about what you saw a few minutes ago?”

  “That doesn’t concern you.”

  Cali temper flared. “The hell it doesn’t. Stop alienating yourself. Whatever the hell it is you saw had to be something powerful to make someone like you cry.”

  “Someone like me?” She gave a humorless laugh.

  Cali didn’t let it faze her. “Yes, someone like you. Someone strong. You’re a hard-ass, Niella. I know them when I see them. You can stop acting like the whole world is against you. Trust me, it gets old very quickly. You may not think the others care for you, but they do. I can tell. You’re little group dynamic is something I’ve craved my entire life. And you better not fucking tell anyone I said that to you.” That pulled a small smile out of the Dreamer. “If you expect me to trust you then you’re going to have to trust me too. I won’t judge you. What did you see?”

  Niella inhaled deeply and stared her dead in the face. “Myself.”

  Oh.

  That was the last thing she’d expected to hear. Had she seen herself killed? Cali didn’t even want to think about that. But what else could have been so bad as to make her cry?

  She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to speak. “What happened?”

  Niella’s hands rubbed absently along her thighs, as if they were paining her. She caught what she’d been doing and stopped. She opened her mouth and shut it. Cali didn’t push. She’d speak when she was ready.

  “I was walking.”

  Cali was momentarily stumped. “And that’s a bad thing?”

  Niella jerked the waistband of her pants down. Her whole lower half was covered with scars, some big, some small. Some puckered and thick, others white and thin. It was like a road map on her skin. “I’m never going to walk again,” she seethed. “They did everything they could to try to put me back together again.”

  “Maybe the doctors were wrong,” Cali ventured.

  Niella rubbed her forehead. “I doubt it.”

  Cali wanted to push the issue but Niella’s cell phone went off before she got a chance.

  “Yeah?” Niella answered, her voice defeated.

  Sydney’s bubbly voice was muffled on the other end.

  Cali started up the Hummer and pulled back out into traffic. There was no way Niella would broach the subject of her walking again. That window of opportunity was now closed. She didn’t blame Niella, not really. She could understand the need to forgo hope. After what Niella had been through, holding out for the dream to walk again was probably exhausting. No wonder she was so bitter all the time.

  “We’re almost there. Don’t worry. See you soon.”

  Niella hung up and tucked her phone away.

  “They think I kidnapped you?” Cali couldn’t help but ask.

  Niella shrugged. “You didn’t. I highly doubt you could.”

  They exchanged knowing smiles.

  The rest of the drive Cali felt lighter. Niella didn’t seem to be in too much of a bad mood either. She didn’t complain when Felix helped her out of his Hummer or when Joel wheeled her inside.

  Sydney was already waiting for them as they entered the sitting room. She was leaning over the counter in the kitchen. She came around the island to take a seat on one of the couches with Joel. Felix took a seat opposite them with Niella positioned as if at the head of a table.

  Cali sat next to Felix, dropping down onto the couch so she was pressed against him. She craved contact with him, wanted to sink into his skin.

  He’d donned a shirt since she left but she remembered all too clearly the look and feel of all those muscles. She pushed deeper against him. Felix gave her a questioning look but she ignored him, giving no outward appearance that she knew what she was doing.

  His hand slid lazily over to her thigh where he absently started to trace random symbols on her leg.

  She suppressed a shiver.

  “Why are we all here?” Felix asked.

  She forced her mind to concentrate on things other than Felix’s hand on her leg, his body pressed against hers.

  Just the thought of Vander Donahughe was like a bucket of cold water. She leaned into Felix again, only this time for comfort.

  “I went in for my job interview today. I was supposed to meet with Vander Donahughe of the Kratos Corporation.” She dug out the business card and handed it over. “But it turned out the interview was a fake.” It hurt to say the words. Again she felt humiliated, as if everyone else would have realized what was really going on except her. “Collette was there.” Felix’s body went stock-still. “I overheard her talking with this other guy named Jente.”

  “It was a ruse?” asked Sydney.

  Cali nodded. “Apparently one three months in the making. Vander approached me back in April during one of the festivals I attended in the Inland Empire.”

  “Shit,” said Joel. “If he’s spent that much time and effort on obtaining you, he’s not going to sit by and let it all fall apart.”

  Cali’s stomach clenched. Felix’s hand tightened around her knee protectively. “That wasn’t everything.” She locked eyes with Niella and continued. “Collette and Jente kept talking about matches and a cage.” Niella’s eyes grew wide. She’d had her own sneaking suspicions after Niella told her about her Dream but now she was certain. The cage Niella had seen was tied in with the Kratos Corporation. “I know Vander Donahughe was the one responsible for trying to kidnap me, but I also think he’s holding some kind of underground fighting arena using people with powers.” Which meant that even though Cali had avoided him, there was still a huge possibility she’d find herself back in his possession. Niella’s Dream could still come true.

  Sydney was horrified. “Is that why he’s after you? So he can pit you against someone in a fight?”

  If only. “I don’t think so. If that was all he wanted, he would have had Collette take me out and bring me to him. But for some reason he doesn’t want me harmed. He must think there’s something special about me.”

  “Could there be something we haven’t been made aware of?” Felix asked Niella.

  She shook her head. “I think I would have seen it or at least have felt it. Cali’s the same as any of us. I don’t know why he wants her.”

  “I could try to find out,” Cali volunteered.

  Joel, Sydney, and Niella gave her looks of disbelief. Felix said quite firmly, “No.”

  “Felix is right,” said Sydney. “You can’t go barging in there, Cali. You manipulate sound, you can’t go invisible.”

  “But aren’t you the least bit — ” Something clicked in her head. “Are you using your powers?”

  Sydney drew back. “No, why?”

  Cali waved her hand frantically. “Put them on. Now.” A few seconds passed. “Well?”

  “I’m using them, now are you going to tell me why?”

  She turned to Felix. “That man, the one I thought I saw in Sydney’s clinic, the one you thought you saw outside your house? I bet you anything it was him. That’s Jente’s power, he can turn invisible.”

  “Hold on a second,” Joel interrupted. “There’s someone who can turn invisible? Someone who
was inside Syd’s clinic and you didn’t tell anyone?”

  Note to self: if you ever endanger Sydney, Joel will kill you.

  “She wasn’t there and I thought I was hallucinating.”

  “I don’t know about you guys but I’m a little more concerned about some huge conglomerate using our own kind for his entertainment,” said Niella.

  “I’m with Ell,” said Felix. “We can’t sit here and do nothing.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Sydney. “Since when did we become a vigilante group?”

  Felix looked at her as if she’d suffered from some sudden onslaught of amnesia. “Since we’ve operated out of your clinic to help anyone Ell’s ever seen? Come on, Syd, we’re not new to this.”

  “Yes, we are,” she countered. “You’re talking about going after a huge conglomerate based on — no offense, Cali — nothing but her word.”

  Joel leaned over. “Sydney’s very by-the-book.”

  Sydney slugged Joel in the arm. “I’m serious. You guys think this is nothing but some video game you can try and beat.”

  “No, we don’t, Syd,” said Felix. “We know how serious this situation is, and we also know that right now we’re probably the only ones who know about it and can do anything.”

  “And what are we going to do, huh? Storm the castle? Are you even thinking this through?”

  “What’s there to think through?” Felix shot right back. “People like us are being collected like rare sports cards and we have a chance to stop it. I say we go for it.”

  Sydney turned to Niella. “Will you please voice some reason for me?”

  Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they waited for Niella’s verdict. Cali didn’t know what to expect from the Dreamer. She could understand Sydney’s perspective, but sometimes action needed to be taken against those who believed they were untouchable.

  “I felt the pain, Sydney,” Niella started. “I can’t begin to describe it to you, but I know it’s unfair. These people, whoever they are, are helpless.” She stared down at her legs. “I know what it’s like to be helpless,” she said softly. “It’s really all up to you guys. I’m not much help in my wheelchair but if I could help them, I would. No one should have to feel what I’ve felt. Not if it can be helped.”

  Sydney fell silent. There was no arguing with that. Cali wondered if Niella realized the weight she carried in their little group. The others, without even meaning to, seemed to look to her in times of disagreement. But she guessed when one was gifted with visions of the future, others were sure to follow her words of wisdom.

  “Don’t worry, Syd,” Felix consoled. “We’re not going to run in there blind. We’ll think of something. This way we can help keep Cali safe as well as help those who might be unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire.”

  The logic appealed to Sydney and seemed to calm her.

  They lapsed into contemplative silence that was interrupted when Joel glanced over the business card Cali had handed over. “Join the Guild of Kratos and help empower the world. The Guild of Kratos? Really?”

  Cali took the card back and stared at it. “What does Kratos mean?”

  “In essence it means ‘power.’ So their catch phrase is a little redundant if you ask me.”

  “No one’s asking you, Joel,” said Niella.

  He ignored her. “We should come up with our own name if we’re going to be combating them. Our own guild.”

  Felix perked up at the idea like a little boy. “What should our guild represent?”

  Joel tapped his finger against the sofa in thought. “They already took power … ”

  “Truth,” Cali spoke up.

  Joel nodded to himself. “That’s not bad.”

  Cali quirked a brow at him, “Not bad? It fits perfectly. How do you think Collette and Vander got everything they were after? They used Collette’s Illusions or Vander’s lies. They deceive people like they deceived me. We should represent truth.”

  “Or justice,” Felix added.

  Joel shared a boyish grin with him. “Or the American way?”

  “We’re not goddamn Superman,” Niella muttered.

  Their grins grew and Cali punched Felix in the arm. “I’m serious about truth.”

  He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m just as serious as you are about justice.”

  Joel opened his mouth but Sydney gave him a dark look. “If you say the American way one more time you’re going to be sleeping on the couch for a month.”

  His mouth shut.

  “I’m with Cali,” said Niella. “Truth. We wouldn’t bullshit people who came to us for help.”

  “Agreed,” Sydney added her input.

  Joel pulled out his smart phone. “If we’re going to use truth then we might as well have a cooler translation of it.”

  Sydney stifled a yawn. “Why don’t you finish that at home?”

  Cali hadn’t realized how late it had gotten. She was exhausted from the day and starving. She could have gone into the kitchen and made herself something to eat but she didn’t want to leave the comfort of Felix’s body. His hand was no longer on her thigh, but that didn’t stop her from leaning into his warmth.

  Joel got to his feet and stretched. “I can do this at home. I can also look up some names for that Jente guy.”

  “What do you mean look up names for Jente?” Cali asked.

  Joel scrolled through something on his phone. “I mean he needs a title. We can’t call him an Invisible, doesn’t sound right.”

  Cali didn’t get it. Felix came to her rescue. “He means a title like you have the title of Silencer, I’m an Eraser and Sydney’s a Shielder … get it?”

  “You mean to tell me those aren’t … universal terms?”

  “Nope,” Niella supplied helpfully. “They just made them up.”

  “We all helped make them up,” Sydney defended.

  Cali looked between all of them. Unbelievable. “So who made up mine?” Not that she was going to argue. She was becoming accustomed to her title. She liked how it made her sound deadlier than she really was.

  There were a few puzzled looks shared between them.

  “None of us, actually,” said Felix. “Niella had her Dream, and when she told me to go after you she said you were a Silencer, a manipulator of sound.”

  “Niella made it up?” Joel looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. “No way.”

  Cali could almost swear that Niella was embarrassed. “I didn’t really make it up. I Dreamed about it. I’m sure one of you made it up and I simply plucked the word from my Dream. So in reality, you made it up but because I already supplied you the name you didn’t have to think it up in the first place.”

  Everyone gave her blank stares.

  “Never mind.”

  “Well, there you have it,” said Felix, “the origin of your name came from the future.” He wiggled his fingers to add effect. Cali knocked his hands down, trying and failing to suppress a smile.

  Sydney got to her feet. “We’ll see you tomorrow?”

  • • •

  Felix saw everyone out. As soon as he got up from the couch, Cali had made a break for the kitchen. There was something off about her. Ever since she came back from her “job interview” she’d been acting differently. When they’d been on the couch she’d slid into him like she belonged at his side. Not that he was complaining, but it drew his attention when not even twelve hours ago she was jumping away from his touch after having sex. He’d tried to catch her eye but she’d acted as if nothing were amiss. As if her body pressed into his wasn’t a huge deal to him that was distracting as hell.

  Was she acting different because of what had almost happened at the Kratos building? He ran a hand through his hair, unable to believe he’d almost lost her. Twice in the same day he’d fucked up. He should have been there for her. At her interview and when Collette attacked. He should have pushed when she’d left her apartment, just like Joel had suggested.

  Joel’s
truck disappeared down the street. He shut the front door to return to the kitchen where Cali was already polishing off the last of her sandwich.

  Felix was too antsy to go to sleep. He leaned against the island. “Want to watch a movie?”

  They’d done it countless times before over the past week.

  Cali put her plate in the sink and said, “I’d like that.”

  He rearranged the couches so that they wouldn’t have to ruin their necks to see the TV and put on an action/adventure film he knew Cali enjoyed.

  She was making her way over to the couch when Felix decided to conduct a little experiment.

  He waited until she’d taken her seat and purposely sat next to her, making sure to keep a few inches between them. Enough room so they weren’t touching. A few previews passed with Cali doing nothing. When the menu popped up, Felix selected the play button and Cali made her move.

  She was subtle, he’d give her that. She leaned into him to give herself room to tuck her legs underneath her, slowly inching herself closer to him until their arms were pressed together, her knee touching his thigh.

  Blood rushed straight to his groin. He clenched his jaw to keep from reaching out for her. Being away from her had been torture. Doubly so when he realized what kind of danger she’d been in. She was his Mirror Mate — it was his job to protect her. And for the first time, Felix believed she was finally feeling the bond too. Why else would she seek out his touch?

  He purposefully scooted out of touching distance again.

  Unfortunately he was not nearly as subtle as Cali. Her eyes locked on his. He waited for her to say something but nothing came. He craved her but he wanted her to crave him more. She shifted closer. He shifted back.

  She gave a frustrated sigh. “Stop moving.”

  “Why?” Come on, Cali, he willed with his mind. Say it. “What do you want from me?”

  He wasn’t going to play this game unless he knew without a doubt that he’d get her in the end. He didn’t want another fling. He wanted her. All of her.

  Tell me you want me just as badly.