by Jason Wilcox
Using his strength, Tagen pushed the large doors open to Snyp’s spacious throne room and entered. He resented the idea of reporting to Snyp but knew there was no other option right now. He needed to report the news about Domblin so Triaad could deal with him. If Domblin were out of the way, Tagen would be free to capture or kill Mauldrin and get him back to Triaad so he could be respected once again.
The large transportation gate that Triaad’s messengers came through was closed, making the room very dark. “What do you have for me?” Snyp’s voice called out, but Tagen was unable to see where he was. Over the many years, Snyp’s powers had increased through knowledge and a constant indulgence of younglings. When he went into shadow form, no one could see him, not even other dark souls.
“During my search for Domblin I not only found him, but stumbled upon Mauldrin at the same time and attacked him, figuring that’s what you would want me to do.” Tagen stepped farther into the room to find Snyp. He hoped to get some recognition for his efforts.
“Tagen,” Snyp said, still unseen. “You have become priceless in a time when few can be trusted.”
“Mauldrin is still very powerful,” Tagen said, knowing he needed to start building up the reason why he didn’t have him in his hands. “But I’m positive he doesn’t know who he really is.” He took a breath waiting to see if he would be praised for his conclusion. When no comment came, he went on. “When I went after Mauldrin, he was able to evade me as if it was second nature, but his moves were awkward. His actions weren’t controlled.”
“It might be harder to catch him than we thought,” Snyp said as he came out of shadow form, appearing in front of Tagen. “We might have to get a group of younglings together to help you catch him, especially if his paths are crossing with Domblin. We need to move cautiously if he’s hanging around Domblin now that Triaad’s coming.” He peered off in the distance for a moment. “We need to separate them before Triaad gets here.”
“Agreed.” Tagen knew that if Triaad found Mauldrin, he wouldn’t get the credit for catching him. His chance to reconcile his past would be lost. “Domblin’s the reason I don’t have him in hand. He attacked me and ran me out of the building.”
Snyp waved his hand and a throne of bones erected next to him. He slunk down. “Domblin is protecting him then.”
“That’s how it appeared.”
The throne dissolved back into the ground as Snyp stood and paced. “We’re really going to have to watch ourselves. If Lord Triaad gets a whiff of our plan, we’ll be done for.” Snyp’s eyes blazed red as he spoke. “I want you to keep on Mauldrin. Figure out his weaknesses so you and some younglings can catch him. I’m going to send others to take Domblin down before Triaad gets here. So don’t worry about him any longer. I’ll just need a location of where to send more dark souls.”
Holding a hand out, a large map flew up into Snyp’s palm. The old thick paper crinkled as he opened it. Tagen was familiar with the map. It was the same one Triaad had given Snyp when he and Tagen had first come to the planet. Locations shifted ever so slightly, following the continual changes in the land and city. One of the surrounding forests next to the city was shrinking from a logging crew cutting trees down. A dirt lot was developing with concrete pouring into it.
Tagen impatiently pointed out the building. “That’s where they are.”
“Really?” Snyp said as he slid a claw down the map, and it zoomed in a little more. “I have a number of dark souls working that area. I’m surprised none of them reported anything about Domblin.”
“I couldn’t tell you why, either. I even saw some there while I was in the building. I’m just letting you know where he’s at,” Tagen responded, moving a small amount backward, because he wanted to get out of there. Snyp was acting strange and even his tones were just a little more off than normal.
“I’ll gather dark souls and send them. When they get there, I’ll have them meet up with the others. Together they will get Domblin.” Snyp was still analyzing the map as he spoke.
“I’ll get back there immediately so we don’t lose sight of Mauldrin like we did Domblin.” Tagen felt pretty good about himself and respected. Snyp rarely treated him this well, but he still wanted to get out of there.
“And Tagen, next time, take care of Domblin if he gets in the way. Don’t let that lazy bum push you around. And if you do come back, either have Mauldrin in your hands or you better have a plan about how to get him. In the meantime, I’m ordered to take an army of dark souls to the ancient forest and deal with the demons.” Snyp’s response stopped Tagen in his tracks.
Snyp never dealt with anything anymore; he always sent his servants. It was strange that Triaad would specifically order Snyp to deal with the issue. Now he understood the strange behavior Snyp showed with treating him so well. He almost grinned thinking that this time Snyp was being ordered around.
“I’ll do my best,” Tagen responded carefully while stepping backward.
He wanted to get away from him, uncomfortable with Snyp’s erratic behavior. His commander nodded and disappeared back into the darkness. Once he was gone, Tagen turned and wasted no more time getting out the door.
If Snyp was leaving and Triaad was coming, the whole situation could fall right into Tagen’s hands. He could snatch Mauldrin somehow and get him back to Triaad before Snyp got back. Excitement made him run faster. The problem was getting Mauldrin. His strength had been incredible last time, but it was uncontrolled. So, if he could just snatch him up like a regular human, it might work. A smile grew across his face and he began to plan.
Before Tagen even knew it, he was back at the building. Time had gone by fast. Night had rolled in, which made better opportunities to attack Mauldrin. He began the path down the hallways, moving through walls to get to where he had seen Mauldrin last, but he wasn’t there. He noticed the scent and began jumping through walls. After going through a thick wall that led to the hallway just outside of a number of rooms, he saw Mauldrin heading into one of them.
Smiling because Domblin was nowhere in sight, Tagen moved fast. His shadow form prevented anyone from seeing him. As soon as Mauldrin entered the room and closed the door, Tagen dove through it. He tore into him with his shadowy claws. Mauldrin collapsed to the floor.
“Mauldrin!” Tagen shouted.
Fighting with all of his might, Tagen picked Mauldrin up and slammed him back down in hopes of weakening him. Something strange happened as he reached into Mauldrin and gripped his soul to end the battle: a flash of light ripped through Tagen.
He screamed and everything went white.
CHAPTER 17
Even with painkillers, pain still crept down Caden’s neck from the implant. Allen had told him everything went perfectly, and he could get up and move around right after the procedure. Caden completely disagreed; his neck was throbbing. How in the world was Allen able to know everything would be okay? They hadn’t put the equipment in humans before. Arriving at his room, Caden pushed the door open and saw his welcoming bed. He felt the bandage that wrapped around his neck.
As soon as he closed the door, Caden saw something dark move to the right of him. Before he could act, an unseen force knocked him down. His room went pitch black. The air was thick and hard to breathe. Caden felt his body stiffen and become unresponsive.
“Mauldrin,” a voice hissed.
Blood pulsed stronger through Caden’s veins. There was something in the name that he resonated with, but he didn’t understand what. It was just a feeling. It sounds more familiar than Caden. Could it be my name before I was adopted? But that couldn’t be true, unless he had been called that before he was adopted as an infant.
The name gave him a surge of power that Caden had never felt. A rush of energy fired through his chest where the necklace had landed. Slowly he was able to move some of his fingers and his neck.
A dark shape materialized on top of him, and the creature thrust itself at Caden’s chest. Caden felt his heart clench and his breathing
became difficult. His body was lifted into the air and then plummeted back down against the floor. While struggling to get air, Caden was crushed even harder.
The same peace he felt earlier came to him again. There was a sense of freedom from the physical heaviness of his body. This time Caden understood what was happening—he could feel his soul exiting his body as death overtook him.
The walls seemed full of life. He pulled up his hand. There was clearness to him, as if he was partially translucent. A loud scream broke him of his wonderment, and the creature that had been attacking his body clawed frantically. For the first time, Caden saw his attacker clearly. The creature had multiple sharp, black teeth that gnashed wildly in the air. Large claws gripped Caden’s chest.
A smoky whiteness started to rise from where the creature was clawing into him. Caden wasn’t sure what was going on, but he did understand that he needed to act. Moving with a great deal of difficulty, Caden tried to move his hand towards the creature. He saw his ghost-like hand move out of his physical hand and move toward the black being.
There was a strange sense of calm with seeing his soul, to see what he really was beyond the physical body. With a smooth motion, Caden clasped one of the creature’s claws. The second he touched the dark shadowy beast, an explosion knocked the creature across the room and into a wall. Caden smashed back into his body and the heaviness returned. Breathing was difficult. His body became a heavy weight. Aches and pains that he had become accustomed to now seemed daunting and frustrating. His eyes drooped, and it was a struggle to move, but he lifted his head to see if the dark shape was still against the wall. The room was empty, and there was no sign of any type of struggle. Caden’s chest hurt from where he was clawed, but there were no marks.
The room went quiet. Was I really attacked or is it all a bad nightmare? He raised his hand to his brow and rubbed above his eyes. The back of his neck and head throbbed from the implant. He closed his eyes to lessen the pain.
I’m losing my mind. What do I do? I don’t want to be locked up like Steven. If I they put me away, what about my Dead Time project? What about Bridget?
Caden knew he needed to do something. He was tired of strange nightmares and hallucinations. He could only imagine what his team and Robert would think if he told them about the crazy things he was seeing, like seeing his spirit outside of his body. Boy he would be the laughing stock if he brought that up.
The doorknob clicked as someone entered the room.
“Hey, what ya doing sitting on the floor?” James asked. “Get up. Let’s get going.”
Caden opened one eye and lowered his hand so he could see him. The throbbing only got worse. He looked around and then at his watch. When did I fall asleep? I slept here all night? No wonder I’m so stiff.
“In case you haven’t heard…” James picked a pair of pants off the ground and threw them to Caden. “We get the day off. We don’t have to be back until early tomorrow morning.”
“Why? They just put the implants in.” Caden pushed himself up.
The situation seemed contrived, like it was a setup. But his throbbing headache made it hard to think too much about his worries and paranoia.
“Does it matter?” James said while throwing Caden’s suitcase on the bed to hurry him up. “We can get out of here, so let’s do it before they change their mind.”
Caden just stared at James. If it was a setup, it could be dangerous to leave. Not only that, he was sick and tired of them working on the Dead Time project without him. Lowering his gaze, he focused on James’s wedding ring.
Bridget.
Thoughts of what Domblin, his hallucination, had said, ran through his mind. ‘Oh, and Caden, find a way to marry her. You may never get another chance.’
This might be his only shot for a long time to marry Bridget. If the whole thing were a setup to find dirt on Caden, Robert would be sadly disappointed if he took off to marry Bridget. Unable to contain himself, Caden let out a chuckle.
“What’s funny?” James asked.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Caden said, trying to focus his pounding head. The hallucinations started when he had arrived at the main office, so maybe getting out of there would make them go away. Besides, getting away gave him a chance to investigate some of Robert’s accusations and clear his name. “Is everyone getting the day off?”
“Just the Burton Team and us,” James said as he sat at the end of the bed. “Well, except Matt, he doesn’t get to leave his cell.”
Caden shuffled some things around and saw his picture of Bridget. It was an old picture, taken back when they first got together. She was standing on their favorite spot at her mother’s house along the beach. His mind took him back there, to their first kiss eight years ago, at the beach house, where Bridget’s mother lived.
After dinner, Caden stood and motioned Bridget to follow him. She walked beside him, their hands intertwined as they passed through brush and trees going up a hill that led to a small cliff. Bridget tried to ask where they were going, but Caden only shushed her. He suddenly stopped in front of a large bush that rustled in the ocean breeze.
With a smile, Bridget looked at Caden. “You wanted to take me somewhere to hide?”
“No, close your eyes,” Caden said as he took hold of her hand. He gently pulled her towards the cliff’s edge and passed the bush. The breeze blew their clothing, making it flap against their skin. An oceanic fragrance filled the air as the day cooled. The moment was perfect. “Okay, open your eyes.”
Red and orange filled the sky, saturating the clouds that hovered over the ocean. The brilliant glowing sun sank into the ocean. Caden clasped Bridget’s other hand, turning her toward him. The colors brightened her face and fired up her blue eyes. He peered into her eyes, pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her.
There were no words; instead, she moved in closer to him. He gently pressed his lips against hers as she ran her fingers through the back of his hair. Nothing seemed important any longer except Bridget. Caden didn’t ever want to let go. He had kissed many girls before, but there was something about Bridget that made Caden feel alive.
The waves crashed on the sandy beach as Caden looked out over it, not wanting to take her back to the house. He held her while listening to the rhythmic beating that surrounded them. Bridget surprised him by pulling his face to hers and letting him taste her sweet honey lips again.
“Caden. Hey, Caden!”
Caden jerked. He blinked at James, not wanting to leave the memories. Remembering the moment was a nice contrast to the pressure and stress he had been feeling the last couple of days from the project and hallucinations. It furthered his desire to want to be with her permanently, to marry her.
“Stop dragging your feet and let’s get out of here.”
James is right. No more dragging my feet, I have an engagement to plan!
The ride to the airport took forever. James was on the phone the whole time talking to his wife, leaving Caden to deal with the pain in his head and neck. They arrived a little early for their flight. James finally got off the phone after they sat down in the terminal to wait.
“So, I hear through the grapevine that things aren’t going well with Bridget.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Caden closed his eyes and slouched in his seat. Grapevine! Obviously, Bridget was talking to her friends, one of them being James’s wife.
“Caden!” James elbowed him.
“What?”
“I’m your friend. My wife told me the basics of what happened. So, how are you going to fix this?” James said eagerly.
Feeling his jaw muscles tighten, Caden looked at James. Your wife knows!?! He took a deep breath and let it out. James was a talker. It’s what made him easier to open up to, but still Caden was reluctant. But! Caden squinted. He might know how to get her back.
“Well, I’m going to ask her to marry me,” Caden responded. The words felt funny. He could feel his cheeks get warm with embarrassment and h
is chest tighten.
“Great,” James remarked with a little sarcasm in his voice. “So, you’re going to propose, but when would you have the wedding? I think you might just piss her off more with an engagement that doesn’t have a date.”
“Well, what would you suggest?”
“Marry her.”
“I thought that’s what I just said.”
“No,” James said with a smile. “You were going to propose. Marry her. I have a friend who’s a minister. He can get the legal stuff situated. You call Bridget’s mom to get Bridget out of the house, and we’ll get some friends to help set something up on the beach. As soon as Bridget gets back, you not only propose, but if she says yes, you marry her right then and there. That will show her how serious you are. Trust me, it’s fool proof.”
Caden could feel his heart rate increase. His initial feeling was to say no way, but James was right. It’s something I should have done a long time ago. Yes, let’s do it. But the words weren’t coming out. He was struggling to vocalize them. His usual anxieties flooded him, pushing his heart to beat faster. I’m not going to be run by fear any longer. “Let’s do it.” His shoulders relaxed, and he was surprised by the serenity that filled him.
“Okay, you call Sally and whoever else you want to be a guest, and I’ll call the minister.” After Sally was mentioned, Caden remembered he needed to call her anyway about who was accessing Robert’s files.
“I’m going to go get a drink while I call the minister. You want anything?”
“No, thanks.” Caden pulled his cell phone out and called Sally.
“Hey, Caden,” Sally said as she answered the phone. “What can I do for you?”