The abyss vanished. “Let’s try this on for size,” Starling said. She entered another code into the control panel. The center of the room shimmered briefly and then solidified into a new scene. Now, a prestigious-looking building stood before them. The words “The Academy” were carved in stone over the arched entry. College-age students were coming and going across the campus, backpacks slung over their shoulders, their arms loaded down with books.
“Does this suit you better, Jodi?” Starling said.
“Wait a minute,” Gabriel said. “I thought this was some kind of an illusion, but those people are real. How does this thing work?”
“Good observation,” Starling said. She pressed another button on the interface and the school faded away. Suddenly the surface of the wall looked smooth and reflective, like a mirror. “Technically, the X room is a molecular transport. It uses huge electromagnetic waves to move your body through space, to another machine. You don’t feel it, but you actually go somewhere else. We have hundreds of these devices in strategic locations around the world.”
“Teleportation?” Jodi said in disbelief. “When was this discovered?”
“That’s classified,” Starling said.
“Pete’s going to be sorry he missed this,” Gabriel said. “Where else can we go?”
“That’s classified,” Jodi said snidely.
Starling chuckled. “Well, you children won’t have access to the machine’s entire menu, but I will show you what you can access, if you’d like.”
She proceeded to teach the children how to use the interface and activate the machine. They had more than a dozen locations to choose from, including the skydiving chamber. They could also go to a ski resort, a shopping center, and a number of military training courses, including a rather amazing weapons center and target range.
“How about the school?” Jodi said. “What was that?”
“Ah, The Academy,” Starling said. “That is where our trainees go to learn about spying.”
“Spying?” Jodi said. “You mean like James Bond?”
“Something like that. As you can imagine, there’s a lot more to being a spy than textbook training. We teach things like phone tapping, pursuit and evasion, and improvised weapons techniques. The Academy is the best way to learn to be a field agent. Of course, I’m sure Gabriel already knows most of this, so it probably won’t be very interesting…”
“What about me?” said Jodi.
Starling regarded her with a sly look. “Have I captured your interest, Jodi? If you’d like, we can meet with the dean and take a tour of the facility.”
“Of course!” Jodi said. Gabriel noted that her eyes had lit up just like Pete’s back at the Tech Sector. Starling summoned up the correct program, and The Academy appeared before their eyes. She stepped through the machine with Gabriel and Jodi following closely behind.
They appeared in the doorway of a small brick outbuilding covered with ivy and moss. The campus was much larger than it had initially seemed. A dozen smaller campus buildings fanned out behind the main structure, each of them large enough to accommodate several dozen classrooms. Leaving the shadows, they crossed the lawn and entered the main building. Starling led them down the hall to the office. The secretary at the front desk recognized her immediately. She was a middle-aged woman with curly blonde hair and thick glasses. The nameplate on her desk said “Shirley.”
“Good morning Commander Starling, what can I do for you?”
“We’d like a tour,” Starling said. “Is Jonathan available?”
“I’m afraid he’s not here yet, but I can have one of our student aids show you around.”
“That would be fine,” said Starling.
Shirley lifted the phone on her desk. “Hi, can you send Byron up? Thank you.”
They waited about thirty seconds before Byron appeared. He was tall and good-looking, with dark hair and an athletic build. Gabriel immediately discerned that Byron had had some combat training, but he wasn’t the field type. He looked a little too slick to Gabriel, like a salesman almost. Gabriel glanced at Jodi. Her eyes were glazed over like a deer caught in the headlights.
“This is Byron,” Starling said. “He’s one of the student aids.” Gabriel shook Byron’s hand. Jodi just stared at him until Gabriel nudged her with his elbow.
“Uh, I’m Jodi!” she said nervously. She shook his hand, and held it for a long time.
“Well,” Byron said with a subtle grin. He retrieved his hand with a little effort. “Shall I show you around?”
“Actually,” said Starling, “I still have something I would like to show Gabriel before lunch. Jodi, would you mind if Byron shows you around the campus while Gabriel and I continue on?”
“Sure,” Jodi said absently. She was practically hypnotized. Jodi and Byron wandered down the hall, Jodi swaggering like a star-struck groupie.
Starling put her arm over Gabriel’s shoulders. “All right, then, shall we continue on our own?”
He looked at her. He suddenly had the unshakable feeling that Starling had purposely separated him from his friends. He was pretty sure he knew why. “You’re going to try to convince me to work with you now, right?” he said. “You want me to join you. Well you can forget it. You may have genetically created me, but you don’t own me. I won’t be your slave.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Starling said. “Truth is, I understand exactly what you mean. The government had no right to do what they did to you and your parents. And we have no right to ask anything of you now.”
Gabriel stared at her, barely believing his ears. Starling certainly seemed sincere. Her body language was completely relaxed. Her pupils were normal, not the least bit dilated, and her breathing steady. She didn’t seem to be lying or trying to deceive him. If she was, she was very good at it.
“Seriously?” he said.
“Seriously. What happened to you was messed up. There’s nothing I can do about that now. I can’t take away your scars or bring your parents back, but maybe I can make up for it just a little. Take a look around you, Gabriel. We have it all. You want to go backpacking or jet-skiing? Want to see a movie? Rock climbing, skydiving, or just a day at the firing range… it’s all waiting for you. Or, if you like, you can go home and watch TV. We can do whatever makes you happy.”
“What if I want to leave?” Gabriel said flatly.
Starling pulled away from him, and got a distant look in her eyes. “How about rock-climbing?” she said.
Chapter 18
Gabriel decided to play along with Starling’s game for the time being. He was a prisoner, and although Starling hadn’t said it in so many words, they both knew it was true. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He had no idea how to escape from D.U.M.B. 79, or if it was even possible. If it was possible, how was he going to convince Jodi and Pete that it was necessary? Starling had just handed them everything they’d ever dreamed. And he had to admit, there were worse ways to be a prisoner. The old expression trapped in gilded cage came to mind. Suddenly he knew exactly what it meant.
Starling took him rock climbing for a couple of hours and Gabriel hated to admit it, but he did have a lot of fun. Afterwards, they went to the cafeteria for lunch and met up with the rest of the group. Pete was raving about the stuff he’d seen and done in the Tech Sector and Jodi was enrapt, not only with Byron (that much had been immediately obvious) but also with the Academy. She’d already learned some fascinating stuff.
Naturally, Gabriel listened as politely as he could, though he had little interest in any of the things his friends were talking about. Pete’s tech stuff was cool, but it was over Gabriel’s head. He didn’t understand the computer stuff at all. Jodi’s “spy-school” was equally cool, but a little beneath Gabriel. He didn’t need to know how to sneak past an armed guard or hide a tracking device. He could already do those things. And Jodi’s infatuation with Byron was just annoying. She wouldn’t quit talking about him.
What Gabrie
l really wanted to do was get them alone and discuss his concerns about their situation. Part of him also wanted to tell them about Aldron and his experiences in the Shadow world, even though Aldron had specifically forbidden Gabriel from mentioning it. “You must tell no one,” he had said. “Even those you trust may accidentally say something, and it will be our undoing. Trust me, everything I can teach you will be worth it.”
After lunch, Jodi and Pete went their separate ways with Byron and Hank. Gabriel wasn’t surprised, but he was disappointed. The weight of their situation was bearing down on him, and he knew things couldn’t go on like this for long. For the moment, he tried to tell himself that it was just his exhaustion talking, that he’d feel better and think more clearly, once he got some rest.
A short while later, Gabriel and Starling were whooshing around the lake on jet skis. They stopped at a small island in the middle of a lake and went swimming. Gabriel had to admit that for some strange reason, he was starting to like Starling. She behaved differently when she was away from the others. She didn’t seem like a government agent anymore. She was fun, like an older sister or a crazy aunt. After racing on jet skis and having a diving competition, Gabriel found himself thinking about her differently. It didn’t help that with her hair down, Starling was actually quite pretty.
It wasn’t until Starling got a call on her cell phone about some official business, that Gabriel realized how far he’d let his guard down. He heard her talking about disciplining a lazy subordinate and remembered that Starling was not to be trusted. It seemed she could turn her wrath on and off like a faucet. No matter how nice she seemed to be, it was dangerous to trust her.
“What do you want from me?” he said as she hung up the phone. They were sitting on a large rock at the edge of the island.
“I don’t want anything from you, Gabriel,” she said, returning the phone to her waterproof backpack. “I just want you to be comfortable and happy.”
“All right… what do they want from me?”
Starling stared at him. The sunlight reflected off the choppy surface of the lake and made her eyes sparkle. “They want you and the other orphans to stop the Shadow. They want you to learn how to fight the Shadowlords, and destroy them.”
“And then what?”
“What else is there?” Starling said. “That’s what you were made for.” She twisted slightly so she could stare out at the water. “Gabriel, the Shadow has been a threat to this world for longer than we can imagine. History has shown us that no matter how strong we think we are, the Shadow always finds a way. Sometimes it’s through sheer force of arms, but other times it’s subversive. They appeal to humans through greed, through selfishness… it doesn’t matter what means they use, eventually they always win. And it takes hundreds, maybe even thousands of years for us to recover. As powerful as the Shadow is now, humanity might never recover from a war with them.”
“So you made assassins to stop them before it went that far,” Gabriel said.
“Of course. What would you do?”
Gabriel looked down at the waves lapping against the stones. He had to admit it, her story made sense. What better way to stop the Shadow than by creating humans that could beat them in their own world? The problem was that there was a price. What about the poor kids they did it to? What about Gabriel and the other orphans, who would never know a normal life?
Gabriel made up his mind about something then and there. He knew that the government would never leave him alone until the Shadow was defeated. But regardless of what they said or promised, he could never fully trust Starling and her like because of what they had done to him.
He also knew that the Shadowlords would never stop until they got what they wanted. If Gabriel tried to run with the orphans, they’d eventually get caught. Either the government would catch up with them, or the Shadow. There was no escaping his fate, and trying to escape it might only make things worse. Gabriel had no choice. He had to fight, and he had to win. If he could do that, maybe the orphans could grow up differently than he had. They might never be normal, but they might get close. They might be able to forget what it was like in the Shadowlords’ dungeon. If there was even a slight chance of making that possible, he had to try.
The afternoon flew by and before he knew it, Gabriel found himself back at the cafeteria for dinner. The orphans were there, too, and they were all very excited to tell the older children about their day. They’d taken a field trip to the lake that morning. They had studied the wildlife, which in this case happened to be a few frogs, a turtle, and some birds. They all took turns describing this in detail, which was hilarious. The children were very excited and seemed to have completely forgotten the fact that they were in a strange place, surrounded by strange people. They were enjoying themselves. For that, Gabriel was grateful.
After dinner, they walked to a nearby park so the children could play. Then, on the way home, they stopped by an ice cream parlor for sundaes and cones. By the time they got back to their suites, the children were exhausted. The three teens tucked the little ones into bed, and then once again found themselves alone, back in their living room.
Gabriel wanted to talk to Jodi and Pete about the things that had been happening, and especially about the way they had been separated, but as he sat there in front of the television, he realized that Starling might have cameras and microphones planted all over the place. It was a government base, after all, and the children were outsiders. Not only that, but Gabriel knew Starling would have good reason to keep an eye on them. She wouldn’t want the children plotting an escape, or conspiring behind her back.
It occurred to him that Starling hadn’t noticed his disappearance from the bedroom. She’d seemed genuinely surprised when he appeared in the closet that morning. That meant at least that there were no cameras in the bedrooms. What about microphones? He decided he was going to have to do a thorough search. Until then, he didn’t dare talk to his friends about his suspicions. Instead, they chatted a bit more about the things that Pete and Jodi had done all day, and both boys teased Jodi about her crush on Byron.
“So, when’s the wedding?” Pete said.
Jodi glared at him for a moment. Then she broke into a smile. “Any time he wants,” she said. Pete rolled his eyes and Gabriel laughed. She was only joking, of course. Jodi was only fourteen.
*
“You’ve done very well, learning to grasp the energies around you,” Aldron said later that night. He had once again woken Gabriel in the small hours so that they could sneak into the Shadow world and train. “Tonight I want to take you to the next logical step. I will teach you to fight.”
Gabriel was tired but his eyebrows shot up at that statement. “Using magic?” he said. “Is that possible?”
“It is possible in ways you’ve never even imagined,” Aldron said. “Let us begin with a technique called convergence. I will illustrate it for you, and then you will learn.”
Aldron motioned for Gabriel to stand back and then he turned to face a nearby cavern wall. It was about thirty feet away. “The first step of convergence you already know,” he said. “You must locate the energy and feel it. The next step is to draw the energy into yourself, so that it becomes part of you. Then you can manipulate it.”
Gabriel watched as Aldron closed his eyes and stood with his legs slightly apart. He could feel the energy swirling around them. Aldron closed his eyes and a smile came over his face. “Ah, yes,” he said. “And now I can do anything with the energy I want.”
Aldron opened his eyes and threw his arms out, wrists pressed together, palms facing the wall. A pale blue mist crawled up his arms and condensed in front of his palms into a spear-like shape. There was a whooshing sound as Aldron released the bolt of energy, and it shot across the cavern like a rocket. The missile slammed into the wall and there was an explosion of bright blue light. Gabriel shielded his face as bits of rock grenaded outwards, and pieces of stone went skittering across the beach to kerplunk into the lake. Af
ter the dust settled, Gabriel walked closer to inspect the damage. There was a hole in the stone the size of a man’s fist. It was several inches deep.
“That is convergence,” Aldron said behind him. “That is how we defend ourselves.”
Gabriel stared at the hole, hardly believing what he had seen. It seemed impossible that the subtle flowing energies around him could be focused with such destructive power. He touched the stone and it was hot, as if it had been burned by a laser. “You use this against people?” Gabriel said.
“Shadowlords,” Aldron said. “There is no better way to defend against them. After all, if we do not kill them, then they will kill us.”
“I know,” Gabriel said. “I understand.”
“Good. Now you try it…”
Gabriel took a deep breath. “I’m not sure I can,” he said.
“Of course you can. Remember my instructions. First, find the energy and bring it into yourself.”
Gabriel turned to face the wall and did as instructed. He felt a surge of energy that sent his heart pounding as he brought it into himself. The pain returned, like jolts of lightning racing up and down his limbs. He steadied himself against it. “I feel it,” he said breathlessly. “It’s in me.”
“Good,” said Aldron. “Now, connect it to your body. Feel it becoming part of you. As it does, focus the energy and move it through your arms, out into your hands.”
Gabriel did. The sensation was excruciating, like having a tooth pulled with no anesthetic. It felt like the energy inside of him caught onto his flesh and dragged it along, pulling him apart piece by piece. A cry escaped his lips, and his breath came in shallow gasps.
“Yes,” said Aldron. “You are doing it. Now channel the energy into a weapon.”
Gabriel began to move the energy into his arms and tried not to scream. It felt like his body was coming apart from the inside out. His bones and muscles seemed to stretch and crack as he brought the energy out along his limbs, and he had to fight back tears as the pain became nearly unbearable. This wasn’t the first time he’d experienced pain like this. It reminded him of things the Shadowlords had done to him when he was their captive. Now that he understood what they had done, it made him angry. His face twisted into a snarl.
Shadow Rising (Shadow Born Trilogy Book 2) Page 9