The Hidden Gift

by Ian Somers

  ‘Neither do I.’ I said getting up from my seat. I followed her upstairs and found her curled up on her bed, hugging her pillows, with eyes that were swollen with tears.

  I shut the door and sat at the edge of the bed and rubbed her shoulder.

  ‘Don’t let it get you down,’ I told her.

  ‘It’s impossible not to, Ross.’

  I climbed onto the bed and wrapped my arms around her and held her tight to my chest. It was the first time I’d seen weakness in her since Romand’s death. Usually she was so strong, and I came to take her strength for granted and forget that at times she needed a shoulder of support just like everyone else.

  ‘I know this is a tough atmosphere,’ I said, pressing my lips to her forehead. ‘It won’t always be like this. You know it won’t.’

  ‘It is always like this, Ross. And it’s getting worse since we rescued Sarah. This house has become a prison and it feels like we’re on death row, waiting for the end to creep up on us.’

  ‘Hey, it’s not that bad.’

  ‘It is. There’s a murderer lurking out there and he is going to come after you, Ross. How do you think that makes me feel?’

  ‘Well, it doesn’t make me feel too good either.’

  ‘I’m worried that you’ll be killed! This isn’t a time for fooling around.’

  ‘Let him come. Whoever this tin man is, he isn’t going to get the better of me. I intend to live a long life and I also intend to share it with you.’

  ‘I worry that we’ll be torn apart by this constant struggle.’ Cathy pulled away from me and sat with her back against the wall, a sudden distant expression on her face. ‘I hate being part of the Guild. I hate that so much pain is caused by the gifts. I only want to use my gift to help people. Ross, as long as we are in the Guild we’ll never be free of the fighting and the killing. I don’t know if I want the rest of my life to be like this.’

  ‘What are you trying to say?’

  ‘Nothing.’ She buried her face in her hands. ‘I don’t know what I’m trying to say.’

  ‘You don’t want to be a Guild agent?’

  ‘No, I don’t’

  ‘They need us.’ I thought back to the conversation I’d had with Mr Williams the week before. He’d told me that the Guild saw me as a possible leader. They were dependant on young people like Cathy and me to secure their future, and to carry on the fight against the evils of the world. I liked that idea. I wanted to play a role in the future of the group. But I loved Cathy so much and staying in the Guild seemed to have her tormented. I could feel the first tugs of a titanic struggle coming on.

  ‘The Guild will disappear if we turn our backs on it,’ I said.

  ‘Ross, this is all very new to you. I’m sure it’s exciting right now, but I’ve spent my entire life around these people and I want to break free. I want to get away from all this. It’s always like this! There’s always some great threat that the Guild has to combat. If it’s not the Kematian, it’s Golding, then it’s Marianne, then the Zalechs, now it’s this tin man. And when he’s finally caught it’ll be someone else. Sooner or later the Guild will come up against someone, or some power, that they’ll be unable to fight. They’ll be wiped out and so will we, if we hang around.’

  I reached out and slipped my hands under her arms and pulled her close to me. I kissed her very softly and stared into her eyes. ‘Stop thinking like this,’ I told her. ‘You’re the most beautiful and amazing girl in the entire world and believe me, no one is ever going to kill you, and no one is ever going to stop me from protecting you, and loving you. I’m not going away like your father or Romand. I’m here to stay.’

  It was a risky thing to say, but it’s what was on my mind and in my heart. I was half expecting her to slap me in the mush for mentioning the two fathers she had and lost, but instead she loosened up and hugged me.

  I lifted her head off my shoulder and pecked the end of her nose and smiled. ‘I think you need a break,’ I said quietly. ‘We need to get away from here for a while.’

  ‘That’s unlikely to happen. I could do with a distraction, though.’

  ‘You wanna watch a movie or something?’

  ‘I want to spend time with Argento. He always takes my mind off my troubles.’

  ‘Argento?’ I backed up, a sudden jab of jealousy made my arms fall from her waist. All I could think of was some smooth Latin guy that she might have a crush on. ‘Who the hell is he?’

  ‘A friend.’

  ‘Sounds like a close friend to me …’

  ‘He is.’ She smiled fondly which did nothing to dispel my jealousy. ‘He’s magical, in a way.’

  ‘He’s a gifted person?’

  ‘Not exactly. We should go visit him.’ She climbed off the bed and took a jacket that had been draped over her open wardrobe door. ‘I think you might like him,’ she said as she punched her arms into the tight sleeves. ‘In fact, you could learn a lot from him.’

  ‘Really,’ I said dryly as I followed her to the door to the landing. ‘I can’t wait to make his acquaintance.’

  We didn’t bother to tell the others we were leaving the house and slipped out the front door without anyone hearing us. Cathy said she didn’t want to make the journey in the rain, so I used my gift to break into and start up the Portmans’ car. Cathy, who was a very good driver, got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. She drove out of the grounds and onto the winding country road leading west. It was the road I’d driven after Romand died and it was difficult to shake that memory.

  ‘It’s my least favourite road too,’ Cathy said, without tearing her gaze from the rain soaked glass in front of her.

  ‘Didn’t know you could read minds.’

  ‘I don’t need to. It’s impossible to think of anything else, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  We didn’t say much after that. We both would have said the same thing: ‘I wish Romand was still here. He’d know what to do.’

  After a while I realised we were headed to the animal sanctuary owned by Peter Williams. Was she secretly in love with one of the staff members? Who the bloody hell was this Argento character? I’d struggle to hold my temper if he was the tanned Adonis that I was picturing.

  We parked outside the main gate and the security guard waved us through from his tiny hut when we reached the entrance. A buzzer went off and Cathy opened the door and we strolled into the grounds.

  ‘I’m not sure I want to talk to this guy,’ I moaned. ‘I can feel a bad mood coming on.’

  ‘Oh, calm down, Ross,’ Cathy replied. ‘Argento feels threatened by men, especially aggressive men.’

  ‘Can’t expect me not to be aggressive if he’s striking up a caring friendship with my girl!’

  ‘It’s not what you think. Are you going to be calm? Otherwise you’ll have to wait outside.’

  We were standing at the entrance to a small concrete building. I’d missed it completely when Mr Williams had given me the tour. It sure was an odd place to hang out, or work in, or whatever Argento did in there.

  ‘Ross? Are you calm?’

  ‘I’m cool.’ I shrugged my shoulders. ‘Totally cool.’

  ‘Follow me and say nothing until I say you can.’

  She unlocked the door to the small building and walked along a tight corridor. It was quiet and there was a strong odour in the air. I followed at a distance, not knowing exactly who I was about to encounter. Whoever he was, Argento wasn’t normal!

  Cathy slowly unlocked one of only two doors on the corridor. She looked at me and raised a finger to her lips before carefully turning the handle and opening the door. She took a step into the room and I followed her cautiously. There was only a single, naked bulb on one wall and the light from it was weak. The room around me stank and there were deep shadows in the corners. Cathy whispered to me to stand in the centre of the floor and not to move or speak. She then closed the door quietly before joining me.

  A silent, and quite uncomfortable,
moment passed. I knew from the instant she closed the door that we weren’t the only ones in the room, and as the seconds passed I got that feeling of being watched.

  ‘This is dumb,’ I said.

  The words were barely out of my mouth when a heavy grunt came from the shadows to my left. Something was lurking in the corner. Something very big.

  ‘What the hell is this?’

  ‘Ross,’ Cathy hissed at me, ‘be quiet.’

  There was movement and I caught a very faint shape moving in the shadows. Not enough to define the thing, but enough to assure me it was there, and that it was bigger than I was.

  There was another grunt. This one was loud and it echoed off the walls. It wasn’t human … I understood the meaning: I don’t want you here!

  ‘Cathy, I don’t want to be here …’

  My words seemed to spur the thing into action. There was a heavy thump on the floor and it lurched forward. The aura of the dim bulb met its face, not exactly lighting it up, but giving it an amber sheen that helped to identify what it actually was. I slowly moved back as it loomed near, but Cathy blocked my way and within seconds I was face to face with it.

  Deep shadows were cast on the gorilla’s face making the creases on its leathery skin seem heavier than they were, and accentuating its irate expression. My heart almost skipped a beat as it moved its enormous face towards me. Its eyes were hidden under a heavy brow and were only given away by tiny sparkles reflecting the faint light. It seemed lifeless as it faced me, then it opened its mouth and roared at me. It was very much alive. Its fangs were as long as my fingers and could bite right through my neck if it managed to get hold of me.

  I didn’t sense danger, but didn’t want to rely on my precognitive skills to evade any possible attack. I summoned my psychokinetic power and prepared to repel the giant ape.

  Cathy stepped forward and stood in front of me. I wanted to drag her out of harm’s way, but she moved out of my reach and then, to my surprise, sat right in front of the shadowy beast. She bowed her head, as if she was worshipping it. I knew this was the way mind-switchers transported their minds.

  The broad-shouldered silverback seemed to be pacified and retreated a few steps and disappeared into the shadows. Cathy broke off the mind-switch and got to her feet.

  ‘Sorry about that,’ she said, turning to me. ‘He’s easily flustered, especially by strangers.’

  ‘Are you still controlling its mind?’

  ‘His mind, Ross. His. No, when he gets angry I have to step in and calm him down. It’s like restarting a computer when there’s a problem. He’s gone back to his default setting now.’

  ‘Why on earth did you bring me here, Cathy? This is dangerous!’

  ‘We live dangerous lives, Ross. At least here I’m attempting to bring some good to the world.’

  ‘That’s what the Guild do.’

  ‘No. What the Guild does usually ends up with death.’ She turned her back on me and faced the shadowed ape. ‘Argento, won’t you come meet your visitor? He’s a very close friend and means you no harm.’

  The gorilla slowly emerged from the blackened corner of the room, the shadow slowly being peeled from its face. Its eyes were revealed for an instant and it nodded before disappearing into the shadow once more.

  ‘Wow,’ I breathed. ‘That’s one smart monkey you have there.’

  ‘Don’t refer to him as a monkey.’

  ‘He doesn’t like that?’

  ‘I don’t like it.’ She turned back to Argento and held out her hand towards him. ‘Come, don’t stay in the darkness.’

  He took her hand and she slowly coaxed him from the shadow to the relative brightness in the centre of the floor where they sat facing one another. The big ape watched her eyes very carefully and seemed oblivious to me now … or so I thought.

  Argento’s dark eyes rolled right and focused on me. He then held out his giant leathery hand to me. I felt compelled to put my hand in his and when I did he gave me light tug and I knew he wanted me to sit with him and Cathy.

  ‘I’m sorry for calling you a monkey,’ I said. I was half expecting him to say something but he returned his gaze to Cathy’s face and all the aggression and uncertainty was now gone from his features.

  ‘Argento spent most of his life in a private zoo in Italy, before his owner moved to England last year. The authorities raided the premises three months ago and most of the animals were taken from him. Argento ended up here. He’d been mistreated for years, kept in a darkened room with little or no contact with humans or other gorillas. He was so angry, and wild, and dangerous. The staff here had planned to euthanize him, but I pleaded with Peter to give him a chance. Just a few months to see if he could be helped.’

  ‘How did you change him?’

  ‘I read about how mind-switchers could tame animals and I was curious to see if I could do it. Argento was the perfect opportunity. The more I transported my mind into his, the fear and confusion he felt waned and some of my intelligence – a higher level of thinking and reasoning - remained with him. You see, Argento is no ordinary gorilla. He is a gorilla who has experienced human thoughts. I’d never been able to fully understand how mind-switchers tamed animals until this happened. They inherit a part of the human mind, and can think clearer and deal with their surroundings in a more measured way.’

  ‘The world of the gifted never ceases to amaze me. Every day I seem to learn something new, something astounding, something that ordinary people would never believe is possible.’

  ‘I don’t even know what’s possible,’ Cathy breathed. ‘I’ve only been working with Argento for two months and look at how advanced he is. I can’t imagine how intelligent he may become if I spent a few years with him.’

  ‘I’m glad I came here now. This is very different to what we’ve had to deal with lately.’

  ‘This is what I want to do with my gift, Ross. I don’t want to be out there fighting with other gifted people. I want to be here, working with animals, helping them. To think, I dragged the animal I had the closest bond with into our petty battle.’

  ‘Nightshade?’

  ‘Yes. Such a noble creature. I forced him into a fight with Edward Zalech, and he was broken into pieces because of it.’

  ‘It does seem a little unfair.’

  ‘A little? It was a great betrayal. I befriended him, taught him, and then killed him.’

  ‘You didn’t kill him.’

  ‘I put him into that situation. I killed him.’

  ‘You were following orders.’

  ‘I’m not a soldier. I don’t want to be following orders! My gift has to be used for good. Little Sarah and I are both gifted, and we have been thrown together, but we are very, very different. We offer two very different things. She brings fear. I bring understanding. They are not compatible and I feel drained when I’m around people like her.’

  ‘You don’t when you’re around me.’

  ‘I know. That’s why I want you to leave the Guild with me.’

  ‘So, you really are thinking about it.’

  ‘I don’t want to have the life my mother has had to endure. Would you want me to end up like she has?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘It breaks my heart when I think of what’s become of her,’ Cathy said. Tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘I’m not following in her footsteps, Ross. Soon you’re going to have to make a choice: me or the Guild.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  A Lethal Pet

  It was late in the night and all was silent until a gurgling sound echoed from the shadows beneath the grate of the storm-drain. It got louder and louder until there were bubbles between the bars. Then a dark, putrid liquid overflowed onto the side of the road. The black water from the backed-up drain rolled along the curb then steadily flowed up into the air until every drop of it was elevated. It hovered for a moment, like a black cloak billowing in the breeze, then condensed into a slick sphere in front of my face. I could see a distorted reflection of myself in
its rippling surface and I stepped forward and inspected my gleaming metal teeth. There were no remnants of the snack I had picked at on Golding’s private jet.

  I had finally been freed of the clinic and was driven to a nearby airfield, owned by Golding Scientific, where I boarded the Falcon 900. It had been a forty-five minute flight across the Irish Sea to south county Dublin. An employee of Golding Scientific had driven me from the private strip to the lonely suburb of May-brook. I kept a careful watch when I strolled from the open road towards the sprawling housing estate but to my surprise there were no Guild operatives stationed; I had expected they would have posted someone in the vicinity to keep watch over Bentley’s father. The only opposition I came up against was a gang of youths hanging out on a corner by the edge of estate, who filed off the wall they were sitting on when they saw me approach. They blocked the pavement and had probably intended to mug me, or simply harass me, but when I drew nearer and they got a close look at me, they simply turned away and allowed me to pass unmolested. Not one had the courage to look me in the eye. The streets were now empty. I was free to do as I pleased.

  I outstretched my right arm and the black orb moved ahead of me then gently fell to the pavement and rolled along before stretching out in a long line and slithering forward like a python. It would be my pet for the next hour. A lethal pet.

  A storm of emotion was whipped up inside me, almost threatening to overwhelm me as I approached Maybrook Avenue. The Hyper-furens in my bloodstream constantly enhanced my emotions, particularly the negative ones, but I had a strong mind and was learning to prevent them from entirely dictating my thoughts and actions. That was when things were calm. In heated situations it would be very different and my emotions would run wild, and boost my powers immeasurably. I was beginning to feel excitement as I followed the slithering black shape towards the Bentley family home. A nervous tension and anticipation was climbing, and my mageletonia was tremendously strong. The low-hanging clouds over Maybrook were being drawn down towards me, the moisture within them attracted to me like a magnet. It swirled over the modest terraced houses like a dense fog and it formed a deep cloud above the Bentley home, sweeping over the rooftop and dancing around the upstairs windows.