Axiom Theory: Book Four of the Shadow Series

by J. M. Pierce

  After a moment’s silence, Prim spoke. “You don’t have to tell me anymore. I’m sorry that I asked.”

  Iku sighed heavily and took another sip of his tea before replying. “I woke up on my back in the tall grass. The sun was shining overhead and the wind was still. I brought myself to my knees and my head began to spin. After a moment, I forced myself to stand. I looked over the bodies of my people as they lay upon the ground.” He choked on his words and swallowed forcefully. “For two centuries, I have wished that both of my eyes had been taken so I would never have had to see what I saw that day.”

  Though Prim had many other questions, he knew that it was not the right time. Iku had shared his pain. He didn’t want him to endure any more.

  After several minutes of dead silence had passed, the waitress interrupted. “Is there anything else that I can get you gentlemen today?”

  “No, thank you. We’re fine,” replied Prim. Pushing his plate away, he laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on the bar. “I’m truly sorry, Iku. I can’t imagine what that was like for you.”

  Iku craned his neck, looking Prim in the eyes, and nodded. “Thank you for giving me a second chance,” he replied warmly.

  Before Prim could reply, he suddenly felt a small ripple of energy flow through him. It first appeared as though someone were touching his back, but slowly built to feel like a steady push.

  “Not many…” continued Iku, stopping as Prim gripped his forearm. He saw Prim’s eyebrows fork downward. “What is it?” he asked.

  Swiveling on his bar stool, Prim replied. “It’s happening. I can feel them.”

  Chapter 24

  “He’s a fucking vampire!” shouted Casper. “A God damn, energy sucking, power stealing vampire!”

  Ashley laughed out loud. “I know! Isn’t it amazing!” she shouted. “Think of the possibilities!”

  Casper had broken out into a cold sweat as he pushed himself back up into the chair, his already pale skin now three shades pastier. He rested his forehead on his palms while breathing in short bursts. “How did he do it?” he asked. “Have you ever heard of…”

  “No,” interjected Ashley. “And I don’t think he knows how he did it either.”

  Casper looked up to his sister whose face was beaming with joy. “What if he’d have killed me?” he asked. “Would you still have that smile on your face?”

  Shrugging her shoulders, Ashley replied with a smugness only her brother could top. “I don’t know, maybe?” she replied. “Don’t you see what this means?” she asked, smacking him on the head. As Casper recoiled away from her into the back of the chair, she continued. “If he can do this to you, he can do it to Test or anyone else who gets in our way.”

  “Yeah, or he can do it to us over and over and…”

  “Then I guess you’d better start being nice to him, huh?” asked Ashley as she folded her arms across her chest.

  Casper looked up with a malevolent sneer. “Fat chance, that little…”

  “I’m hungry.”

  Destin’s voice came from the hallway unexpectedly and sent Casper scrambling into a fetal position as the recliner rocked into the wall behind.

  Ashley laughed once again. “Atta boy, tough guy,” she said to Casper before turning to Destin. “Hey, kiddo. How’re you feeling?”

  Destin stared at Casper and couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction at the fear on his face. “Strong,” he replied. “Hungry, but strong.”

  Ashley walked across the living room and stood in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders. “Well, we should go out to eat and celebrate. Don’t you think?”

  Destin nodded his head. “Yeah, that sounds good,” he replied less than enthusiastically.

  Placing her index finger under his chin, Ashley asked, “What’s the matter? You don’t seem too excited.”

  Turning his head away from Ashley’s finger, Destin backed away a step. “Something else happened; after I went into my room.”

  Ashley glanced over her shoulder to Casper who had just begun to let his body straighten out in the chair. “Oh yeah—what’s that?” she asked as she turned back to Destin.

  With several glances from the floor and back to Ashley, he replied hesitantly. “I went to the dead side.”

  “What?” exclaimed Ashley, taking his shoulders into her grip once again though he quickly twisted out of her grasp.

  “I saw someone,” said Destin as he looked at her with an angry glare. “He said he lived here.” He watched as Ashley’s eyes grew wide.

  “Now we’ve talked about this,” she replied. “Sometimes we have to do things that are best for our kind.”

  “It doesn’t seem right,” answered Destin, his teeth grinding as he spoke.

  “Look,” began Ashley, but then stopped as she choked on her words. She looked over her shoulder, hoping for Casper to pitch in.

  “Oh no,” he said with hands raised. “You figure it out little Ms. Smiley.”

  As she turned back to Destin, a flash of light blinded her. She threw her arms over her face, knowing that when she lowered them he would already be gone.

  ****

  When the phone rang, all conversation in the house stopped abruptly. After discussing what Lauren and Cliff had discovered in Kansas City, they sat while waiting impatiently for Prim and Iku to call. For Shadows, a cell phone was a convenient thing as long as they were walking on the side of the living. When they entered the Shadow realm, however, the object was rendered useless. Though they could take the phone with them, the surge of energy required to phase destroyed it. This was true with any electronic device.

  Lauren sat tapping her foot anxiously with the phone in her lap. She needed to hear from Prim; not necessarily to know what they’d found, but more that she needed to know that he was okay. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the phone rang. Before the first ring could even complete itself, Lauren picked up the phone.

  “Prim?” she asked anxiously.

  “It’s me,” replied Prim. “I don’t have a lot of time.”

  Lauren could hear a woman’s voice in the background. “That’s not long distance is it?”

  Frustrated that he’d been distracted, Lauren rolled her eyes as she heard Prim reply ‘no ma’am’. She could hear his breath as he removed his hand from the phone.

  “Something just happened,” said Prim. “I felt it north of us. I don’t know where, but…”

  “They’re in New Jersey,” interrupted Lauren. Prim was silent on the other end of the phone and Lauren pictured the twisted look on his face in her mind. “Hello?” she asked.

  “How do you know that?” he asked.

  “Dawson’s dead. We saw it on the news.”

  After another short pause while Prim processed the information, he replied. “Do you know what town?”

  “Dawson was killed in Trenton,” answered Lauren. “But that doesn’t mean that’s where the twins are.”

  Crisply, Prim replied, “Understood, but that should get us close enough so I can pinpoint their next location.”

  Lauren heard him cup his hand over the phone and say something to whom she assumed was Ikuhabe. Before she could feel too put out, he returned. “Thanks for the info. We’d better get going so I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

  She knew that the situation dictated the need for quickness, but the only thing that she wanted to hear from him before he hung up was that he loved her. Hesitating with her response, she spoke with a suddenly cracked voice. “Okay. Be careful.”

  “I will,” he replied. “Talk to you soon, okay?”

  With disappointment dripping from her words, she felt her spirit sinking. “Yep. Bye.” As she took the phone away from her ear and reached out with her index finger to end the call, she heard Prim’s voice call her name. She placed the phone back to her ear. “Yeah?” she asked.

  “I love you.”

  Though the words came quick and with a cold formality that the situation dictated,
it didn’t matter how he’d said it. He’d said what she desperately needed to hear. Suddenly finding herself straining to avoid tears, she replied. “I love you too. Please come home safely.”

  “I will,” replied Prim. “Gotta go.”

  “Bye.”

  Lauren allowed her hair to hang over her face as she hung up the phone. She could barely see the buttons on it through her tear-blurred vision.

  “Is everything okay?” asked Test. “Did they find them?”

  Without looking at either Cliff or Test, Lauren began to walk out of the room, using every ounce of her strength not to show them what she considered to be weakness. With her head hung low, she replied as she walked out of the room. “Not yet.”

  Test turned to Cliff. “What’s going on with her?” he asked. “I know she’s always been moody, but she’s way off lately.”

  The old man nodded his head slowly as he rubbed the back of his head. “Yep,” he replied. It wasn’t his place to tell Test that Lauren was pregnant, so he struggled for a moment to come up with an appropriate response. “I think Ms. Lauren is dealin’ with something we can’t understand,” he replied. “Let’s just be supportive of her, but give her some space too.”

  Test looked back over his shoulder at the empty doorway, knowing what it felt like to deal with something that most others couldn’t understand. Cliff was right; sometimes a person just needs to be alone to sort things out. “Fair enough,” he replied. “If she needs us, I guess she’ll ask.”

  Cliff looked to the open doorway as well. “I hope so, son. I hope so.”

  ****

  Destin emerged from the dead side just before he reached Jenkinson’s Boardwalk. As he materialized, he felt the tightness in his chest that seemed to accompany the use of his power on occassion. He remembered the first time he’d noticed it. This time was different. When he’d moved the pillow for Ashley in his bedroom, it hadn’t felt quite like this—not this severe. Though he’d felt energized after taking Casper’s power from him, he suddenly found himself feeling weak. He rubbed his chest and made his way to a familiar park bench and thought about the events that had just transpired. While the breeze played in his hair, he closed his eyes and tried to relive the moment.

  It seemed as though time stood still. He remembered the overwhelming hatred he felt towards Casper. He remembered staring into his pitiless eyes and wanting to close them. It wasn’t until he walked it through in his mind that he remembered the sensation of weightlessness.

  As he stepped towards Casper, the closer he got, the lighter he felt. He could see the energy flowing in the distance between them. He could feel it entering into his body. Each wave that came sent a charge to his core and propelled the next step forward. He remembered the large pulse sent to him; he knew its purpose was to harm him. Without it being a conscious act, he felt as though his body had been pulled toward Casper as though a rope were tied around his chest. With his palm resting on his chest, he applied pressure to mimic the feeling of Casper’s energy flowing into his body.

  The memory of the sensation came to him with such force that it was almost as though it were happening again. He felt powerful and in control. He remembered the helpless expression on Casper’s face. He remembered the look on Ashley’s face as Casper lay on the floor. He knew she was excited, but he saw the fear in her eyes as well.

  He looked up to the sky, hoping to see stars, but they were hidden away by the lights of the boardwalk. Instead, he closed his eyes once again and continued to reflect as he took a deep, cleansing breath. He felt the tickle of a leaf from the bush behind the bench. The wind had begun to pick up and it set the bush to dance peacefully behind him. Suddenly, a cold chill ran down his spine that caused him to shiver.

  “I thought you’d come here.”

  The voice shattered the moment of serenity. Allowing his head to fall, he kept his eyes closed and tucked his chin to his chest. “Leave me alone, Ashley,” he replied without even looking. “I want to be alone.”

  Ignoring his request, she took a seat next to him. The war inside her was becoming more difficult by the moment. The instant that Destin had left their home, her first feeling was one of worry. The thought of him being just a pawn to achieve their goals was secondary and realized only after Casper had made a comment. Her entire life had been spent taking life and not caring about another. The fact that she found herself caring—even if only a little—angered her as much as it confused her.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  Destin spun with his legs on the side of the bench; his back turned to her. “What do you care?”

  Ashley struggled. She did care, and it pissed her off. It was as though there were two people within her fighting over how to feel and how to respond. Frustrated more with herself than with Destin, she replied as she tugged on the back of his shirt. “Stop being such a brat.”

  As soon as the words left her lips, Destin stood from the bench and turned. “Don’t call me names!” he shouted as a quick burst of light flashed down his arms.

  Ashley stood and looked around. Though the boardwalk was closed, there was no telling who might be lingering around. “Hey, what are you doing?” she asked as she reached for him. “Someone’s going to see you.”

  “So?” he shouted, the pulsing of his arms matching the tone of his voice. “What do we care if someone sees us? We’re better, right?”

  Remembering Destin’s new found ability, she found herself being cautious. “Come on, Dest. Settle down a bit and we’ll talk about things.”

  With his eyes wide, he forced the fury at his core to prepare for phasing to the dead side once again. “I said I want to be alone!” he shouted. As he flipped the internal switch, forcing the phase, his chest clenched tightly and the air in his lungs evaporated. Unable to think, he dropped to his knees and clutched his chest and throat.

  Ashley moved quickly to his side and cradled him as he fell into her chest. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?” she asked, but the boy couldn’t reply. Suddenly, she felt his body go limp.

  “Destin?” she shook him. “Destin?” She laid him flat on the ground and placed her ear to his chest. There was nothing. “Holy shit, don’t do this to me!” she shouted.

  Without hesitation, she closed her eyes and forced her own power to ignite. Holding a hand over Destin’s chest, she could see his heart in her mind. She could feel it in her ethereal grasp as she began to massage it gently. With each squeeze, she watched his face intently, feeling as if her own heart were breaking.

  “Destin!” she began to shout. “Don’t you do this. Wake up!”

  “Hey, lady; is everything okay?”

  The voice came from behind her and, continuing the massaging of Destin’s heart, she glanced over her shoulder to see a homeless man with a long gray beard walking towards them. “Stay back!” she shouted. He failed to listen and continued towards her. With her free hand, she threw a pulse that sent him careening backwards twenty feet through the air, landing solidly against the base of a tree.

  As she turned back to Destin, she heard him gasp. His back arched off of the ground as he struggled to get the air into his lungs. His eyes rolled in and out of the back of his head as Ashley ran her fingers through his hair. “Hey, kid. Come back, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” She lifted him into her arms as she stood and rested her cheek on top of his head. “Let’s get you home.”

  She saw movement out of the corner of her eye as she and Destin phased into the dead side and knew that it was the homeless man stirring. She’d already revealed her power to him, so it mattered little to her as she blazed a trail through the shadow world. What did matter was Destin’s condition. Though their plan didn’t necessarily hinge on Destin’s presence, she found herself contemplating a delay to make sure he would be okay.

  Chapter 25

  Ashley and Casper stood over Destin’s bed and watched as his breaths came in short, shallow spurts. Her voice revealing her pain, Ashley whispered to Casper.

 
“He’s dying.”

  Cold and sinister, Casper replied. “Let him. There’s more where he came from, right?”

  A jet of light flashed down her arms as she measured her response. She didn’t want to Casper know of the feelings she was having. “We don’t know that for sure yet.”

  “They have to,” he replied. “I bet they’ve improved their formula since making tombstone here.” He motioned to Destin.

  Without saying a word the room was set ablaze with Ashley’s power as she turned and placed both palms directly on her brother’s chest. “Shut up!” she shouted. “Just shut your damn mouth!”

  Surprised by his sister’s display, Casper looked away from her and down to the bed.

  “Hey look…” he began.

  His words triggered a small pulse from Ashley’s core and sent him crashing into the wall directly behind him. “I told you to shut up!” she shouted.

  With chunks of sheet rock falling on him, Casper looked up to her. “Look!” he shouted back, pointing to Destin. “Jesus!”

  Her eyes wide and wild, Ashley turned and saw what Casper was talking about. If the room hadn’t been dark, she’d never had seen it. The faintest flashes of energy were pulsing backwards up Destin’s arms. And then she felt it. There was a subtle, but steady tug on her body. It took her a moment to realize what was happening.

  “He’s stealing your energy, isn’t he?” asked Casper, now standing and brushing himself off.

  Without acknowledging her brother, Ashley knelt beside the bed and took Destin’s hand into hers. She forced her power to grow and watched as the pulsing light under Destin’s flesh increased in intensity and frequency. At first, she had to push for her energy to move into him quickly, but after a minute had passed, she could feel him pulling faster than she felt comfortable.

  As his eyes began to flutter, she released his hand and shook him gently. “Destin? You there, buddy?” With another shake, Destin’s eyes settled on her.

  “What happened?” he asked in a whisper.