Hidden Realms

by Dean Murray

  "You're right, but Donovan didn't have the seniority to know what was going on in my father's council when Agony visited. I need to know what made him make the decisions he made."

  Mallory exhaled slowly and it was like she shrank down inside herself. The powerful woman I'd seen just a second before disappeared and all that was left was the tired, crippled old woman who had met me at the door.

  "Alec, it would be pointless for me to tell you everything we discussed leading up to Agony's visit. It all boils down to one thing. The Coun'hij has ruled our people with an iron fist for centuries now. They don't even really play by their own rules. If they want something, you'll have no choice but to give it to them and hope they're satisfied. If this girl is really one of the Hidden as you fear, then you should stay as far away from her as possible or eventually she'll swallow your entire pack."

  It wasn't the kind of warning that you just idly shrugged off. Fact of the matter, it wasn't the kind of warning that you could even just process and move on. We sat in silence for a few moments before it became apparent that neither really had any more to say on the subject.

  My chest tightened up in anticipation for what I knew was coming up. A regular wolf was nothing less than superhuman. A hybrid was physically the next best thing to invincible. Sure, there were things that could bring one of us down, but they were the kinds of things that had become so scarce that humans for the most part didn't even have myths about them anymore.

  If my contest with Brandon had just been a purely physical match, my situation would still have been precarious, but nothing like it was now. Hybrids weren't in and of themselves the very top of the food chain. A very small percentage of hybrids manifested an ability to go along with their raw strength and speed.

  My father had been one of them, Mallory had been another. The abilities weren't all created equal, and could take an almost infinite variety of forms. My father's ability had been that of regenerating from wounds even faster than normal for our kind. Mallory on the other hand was actually able to see the abilities of other hybrids.

  Ultimately there was no guarantee that manifesting one would make you any more powerful than any other hybrid, but there was more than one account of someone's power making a decisive difference in some key battle or another.

  Father and Mallory had made a good team. He'd been able to face challenger after challenger without ever getting worn down, and she'd been able to warn him when he faced someone with an ability that might change the course of a given fight.

  Isaac, James, me, none of us had manifested any kind of ability yet, which wasn't necessarily surprising. The odds were honestly very much against us. Plenty of packs did just fine run by hybrids who'd never manifested any kind of unusual ability whatsoever. It wouldn't have necessarily bothered me that I was just a hybrid except for the fact that Brandon had manifested an ability and it was a heck of a power.

  His power had somehow bonded to the strength and speed expected of a hybrid and supercharged them to the point where no normal shape shifter had a prayer of standing up to him unaided.

  I always anticipated and dreaded the end of my visits with Mallory, and this time was no different. I took a deep breath, knelt in front of her chair, and waited as she placed her palms on either side of my face.

  After several minutes she slumped back into her chair.

  "I'm sorry, Alec. Nothing's changed. You've got the potential. More potential maybe than I've ever seen in anyone, but it's still just potential."

  Chapter 9

  I returned just in time to hand Donovan Mallory's letter and then join the others as Brandon once again attempted to use his superior numbers to wear us down. This time we were more prepared; I ordered Jasmin and Dom to lag back, pretending greater exhaustion than they actually felt.

  The ruse paid off in that Nathanial and Simon had fallen from the rest of the pack in an effort to taunt us. Jasmin and Dom had put on a burst of speed that allowed them to run the two wolves down just short of Brandon's pack.

  The rest of us had been only a couple of seconds behind and we'd arrived just ahead of Brandon's people. Dom wasn't one of our better fighters, but she'd done her job, delaying Simon just enough for James to get there and savage him. She limped away when we were forced to fall back, but we'd left a pair of motionless piles in our wake.

  It was doubtful we'd managed to kill either Simon or Nathanial, but Brandon only had so many truly aggressive wolves. If the most aggressive kept taking beatings maybe his pack would start to show some of the cracks that were in danger of tearing us apart.

  We'd been quite handily winning the skirmish until Brandon had doubled back and entered the fray. We all left bloodied, but feeling as though we'd come out on top. At the very least it cut the night's activities short and allowed us all to go home and get a full two hours of sleep.

  The next day didn't start out any better. Our rumors seemed to have taken on a life of their own. Even the groups of kids that didn't normally get involved were discussing Adri and the manufactured "tragedy" that'd befallen her.

  More surprising was just how quickly perception of her had changed. She'd gone from being perceived as a total freak to someone who, it was generally agreed, was polite to everyone. I waited, expecting it would only be a matter of time before she began capitalizing in some way on her recent fame, but I didn't overhear anything to indicate she even realized just how much she could have gotten away with.

  Physics was even more nerve-wracking. I'd taken a fairly serious blow to my right shoulder and another to my left arm when Brandon had knocked me away from Vincent. The wounds would be healed in a day or so, but right now they made me even less happy to be within striking range of Adriana.

  Once again I slid my body ever so slightly away from her and launched into a simulation of what we were likely to face for our project. She was still maintaining the charade that nothing had changed, but her mask was starting to slip more often. She sat down and double-checked my math, seemingly becoming more and more furious with my failure to react to whatever Machiavellian game she was playing.

  I heaved a profound sigh of relief when I was finally able to leave the class and allow my abused nerves a chance to calm down slightly.

  Later that evening Rachel bounced into my studio in high spirits.

  "The rumors totally worked. Dom and Jasmin both said they heard people talking about them all day."

  Rachel ducked backwards as I absently reached out and made as if to paint the end of her nose.

  "Yes, you're a genius. Your plan worked as intended."

  "You're waiting for the other shoe to drop aren't you?"

  "I have to, Rach. I don't think I'm wrong, but even if I do, we're better off treating her like a threat and being wrong than letting her position herself to hurt us."

  For a second it looked like she was going to argue with me, but instead she shrugged and turned to leave. Just before she disappeared she turned back.

  "Alec, Les Misérables is coming to Vegas. Can I go?"

  At my somewhat hesitant nod Rachel broke out in a big grin. "Aren't you at least impressed that Adri hasn't let all of this go to her head?"

  I pushed the question out of my head once Rachel was gone and tried to concentrate on my painting. There was no telling how long our reprieve would last. Apparently Brandon's people had taken too severe of a beating last night to push us again tonight, but it was only a matter of time before he bullied them back into another series of provocations.

  I fully intended on using the time to finish off as much of my current piece as possible, but I was already running into problems. I'd never had a hard time painting before. Normally I just let my hand begin a piece and it took shape almost of its own accord.

  This time that worked only up to a point. The borders were all progressing nicely with a series of dark, almost black colors, but the center remained steadfastly blank. I'd heard about artists, painters and writers who lived in near-constant fear that they woul
dn't be able to continue to create, but I'd never thought it would ever be an issue.

  I wasn't there yet, but I was beginning to glimpse some of what they must experience. I wouldn't be able to move on until this piece was done and it was beginning to appear as though it would never fully take shape.

  Chapter 10

  I still hadn't made any progress on the mystery painting and the effort was starting to get in the way of other things. Even so, I spent nearly the whole day thinking about the project. Only physics, and the danger represented by Adri, if she was really what I was afraid of, sufficed to tear my mind away from the painting.

  Adri smiled at me as I slipped into class and took my seat. It seemed impossible that she was happily plotting the destruction of everything I held dear.

  Mrs. Alexander brought the lab equipment over and I began setting up for the lab. I tested the breaking point of our string and then began running through calculations on just how many pulleys we'd need to pull the weight up our ramp and over the other obstacles.

  I made sure I was using the coefficient of starting friction and then acting more on a hunch than any solid calculations, I loaded the system with an extra sixteen grams and then caught Mrs. Alexander's eye and waited for her to come grade us.

  Once she'd arrived I smoothly ran the weights through the obstacle course she'd stipulated.

  "Sixteen grams. Most impressive, you two. An entire gram more than I would have ventured to risk myself, and done before anyone else. I thought the pair of you would make a great team."

  I expected Adriana to keep her mouth shut. That's what people usually do when they are given credit for something they really had little if any part in, but amazingly enough she didn't remain quiet.

  "Mrs. Alexander, I didn't actually do any of it. I kept making mistakes."

  Mrs. Alexander laughed so hard that the pencil that was habitually behind her ear wobbled and nearly fell off.

  "I rather suspect you're understating your accomplishments, my dear. Didn't contribute indeed. As if Nora's favorite student would just sit around while there were equations to solve."

  I couldn't help but stare at Adri. She hadn't taken credit for my work, and then turned out to be Mrs. Campbell's favorite student. Nora Campbell wasn't anyone's dummy. There were a few teachers who hadn't clued into the tension between the two packs, but she wasn't one of them. In fact, she'd occasionally let information drop that hinted at a rather better grasp of the situation than I would have liked. Rachel was relatively easy to fool, but it seemed much less likely that Adri had managed to fool Mrs. Campbell as well.

  I fielded the call from Mayor Wilkenson between Physics and Pre-cal.

  "Graves, I've got a note for you."

  "I don't think we've really got that kind of relationship, Mr. Mayor."

  "It's from the girl. I went over and told her they had the job as you instructed and she started asking questions about why things turned around so quickly. She tried to blackmail me into telling her who her benefactor was but I set her straight. Only she wanted me to pass along a message."

  A sudden chill ran through me. Somehow it hadn't ever crossed my mind she might have the resources to realize what was happening; that it was me who'd just helped her.

  "I don't think it will be necessary for you to physically give me the note, Mr. Mayor. Please read it to me now."

  "It says, 'Whoever you are, thank you so much for what you've done. Not just for the job, but for smoothing things over with the bank as well. I wish there was some way I could repay you for everything.' And then she signed it Adriana."

  "Is there perhaps any type of symbol on the note? A picture, anything other than the words?"

  "Looking for a secret message, Graves? Nope, that's all there is to it."

  "Thank you, Mr. Mayor, you've been most helpful."

  Rachel came to my room when she got back from tutoring.

  "Alec, thank you so much for helping Adri. I know you're taking grief from Jasmin over it, but I really appreciate you doing what you could for my friend."

  I leaned back in my chair to consider her for a moment and then turned on the white noise generator that would allow us actual privacy.

  "Rachel, how can you be so sure Adri's a normal human being?"

  "I just am. I can't really explain it, but she doesn't feel like a shape shifter. Why are you asking all of a sudden?"

  "I got a note from her. She realized something had to be up with the sudden reversal of the city's decision to make the brochure. In hindsight I probably didn't help the situation by using the mayor as an errand boy, but it's too late to do anything about it now. She blackmailed him into passing along a message to her mysterious benefactor."

  "What did it say?"

  "That's not important, sis. What is important is that I'm finally fully realizing just how good of an individual she is if she isn't a shape shifter. I'm no longer content with just letting events play themselves out. If she's a human, then she deserves our help for everything she's done."

  Rachel's eyes were bright with excitement. "That's great, Alec."

  "No, I'm afraid it's not great, but it's the only path left open. Can you think of anything that she wouldn't miss for the world?"

  Rachel's answer came immediately. "She'd never in the entire world miss a showing of Les Misérables."

  Chapter 11

  The arrangements were surprisingly easy to make. Each member of the pack had at least one fake ID, and a credit card to match. I pulled the black American Express out of my wallet and headed to Donovan's office and the computer he'd had set up to spoof a fake IP address. It probably wouldn't stand up to a full-blown federal investigation, but it would shelter the transaction from anything short of that.

  I ordered five tickets on the third to last row of the main level, one on the very back row, just to the side of the first five, and then thirty in an uninterrupted block up on the mezzanine.

  The date didn't look important at first glance, but I'd very carefully picked the night of the next full moon. If Adri really was one of us it wouldn't matter how strong her control was. If she came to the performance I'd know for sure what she was. Either she'd give off a noticeable tingle of shape shifter energy, or she'd remain the same, normal human that she generally appeared to be.

  My mind shied away from what I'd do if she did turn out to be one of us. First things first.

  I left for school before any of the others, arriving more than half an hour before classes were scheduled to start. Mrs. Pendely looked up in surprise as I walked into the office.

  "Oh, hello, Alec. What brings you into school so early?"

  "Hi, Mrs. Pendely. Could you please see if Principal Gossil has a few minutes available to speak with me?"

  "Oh, dear. I'm afraid you'll need to come back a little later. Maybe around lunch?"

  "It really is important. Maybe you could just ask him?"

  I let a hint of steel touch my voice. Mrs. Pendely was a nice lady, but she was used to taking orders. After just the slightest bit of hesitation she nodded and walked over to knock on the Principal's door. I quietly followed her, thereby negating the first line of defense.

  Principal Gossil was busy telling her why he couldn't meet with me when I slipped around her and stepped into the office.

  "I'm really sorry, but this will only take a second."

  I had him. He didn't want to talk to me, but he wouldn't appear the ogre to the people he worked with.

  "Very well, Alec, what can I do for you?"

  I waited until Mrs. Pendely had retreated back out into the main office area and then pulled out thirty-one of the tickets I'd printed off earlier that morning.

  "I'd like to make a donation to the school's art program."

  "Fine, leave a check with the secretaries and they'll see it gets to the right people at the district level."

  "It's not that kind of donation, sir. I've come across a number of tickets to the Vegas showing of Les Misérables. I propose that
you offer them to the student body at a discounted rate and then after you've deducted the transportation costs of getting everyone there the remaining funds can go to the art program."

  It was a reasonable offer, but any hope of things going smoothly evaporated as he leaned back and shook his head.

  "I know your type, Graves. You're just like the Worthingfields. What are the strings?"

  "Nothing to worry about, sir. I would like to remain anonymous of course. Also, I think you should conduct a free drawing for the top five tickets."

  "Let me guess, you already have the five individuals who'll be winning the tickets picked out don't you?"

  "I would like you to make sure that Adriana Paige is one of the winners."

  He leaned forward with a satisfied grin. "Absolutely not. You want to make a donation, make a donation. You want to play puppetmaster, go somewhere else. You don't own me, and I'm not going to let you start dictating how I'll run my school."

  I'd been hoping it wouldn't come to this. I didn't really enjoy playing the heavy, but some things were more important than the hypocritical self-righteousness of one small-town principal.

  "That's an interesting stand. I think it's especially enlightening when coming from someone who's recently racked up more than ninety thousand dollars in gambling debts. How do you think the school board would react to finding out you've been betting against our football team? I'll bet you've been giving the football coach all kinds of ulcers. Unless maybe he's in on it too?"

  He was gasping like he'd just been punched in the stomach, but now wasn't the time to let him collect himself. I dropped the tickets on his desk and stood up.

  "Make the trip happen, keep my name quiet and make sure the Paige girl is one of the winners when you do the drawing tomorrow during fifth hour."

  I pulled his door shut again behind me and smiled at Mrs. Pendely as I left.

  The next piece of unpleasant business was something I put off dealing with until lunch. I waited until the entire pack was assembled and then calmly began.