Darien stopped pacing and leaned with his back against a tree. He felt like he was in control of his body once again. His mind and muscles no longer felt sluggish in response to the drugs, the dream, or a combination of the two. He could still feel the mark on his chest, but it didn’t burn. It was a reminder more than a painful sensation.
“What happened between you and Richard?”
Alyssa turned away from Darien’s gaze. He pushed on. “You say you want me to trust you, so let’s start with this.”
Alyssa was silent for a long time. The woods were filled with the eerie quiet in those moments after the peak of night but before dawn broke. When Alyssa did speak, her voice was soft, fitting for the stillness of the early morning.
“Richard and I have known each other for many years. We were close once, when we both lived ordinary lives. I came into my abilities before him, and I left him behind. I severed my ties to the normals that I knew. I wanted to protect them from the Shadows. They will do anything, Darien, so you might want to think about protecting those close to you. If the Shadows can use anything to get power over you, they will.
“I left my old life behind and joined the Arm of Gaia. Richard and all the other people I knew thought that I died. Most still think that. I don’t know where any of my family or friends are these days. It was the only way I could be sure they wouldn’t be hurt. When I heard that Richard was blessed, I’d been part of the Arm for four months. I asked to help hunt him and try to convince him to join us. I was so glad to have the chance to see him again that I didn’t think about his reaction.” She let the story trail of.
“That’s why he decided to make it on his own, isn’t it?”
“I’m convinced it is.”
“If that’s the case, why do you hate him so much?”
Alyssa’s eyes flashed and her hands clenched into fists. “He tried to kill me that day and has never stopped. He refuses to see what we are doing and that it’s the only way to fight them.”
“You had the upper hand the last time I saw you. You didn’t kill him, did you?”
“No. He got away.”
“You let him.” Darien stated it as a fact. Alyssa’s shoulders slumped when he said it, confirming his suspicions. He changed the subject. “So are you going to recruit me now? Tell me that I should drop all ties with my friends and family?”
“It’s your choice. I’m just a messenger for my flock. I’d recommend that whatever you decide, leave your old life behind. The Shadows will only use it to get to you. We can help with that. By turning your back on them, you’ll be protecting them. They’ll only be a risk. And they’ll never understand what you’ve become.”
“I’m not willing to give them all up yet. I’ll take my chances for now. As you’ve told me multiple times, I don’t even know what is going on yet.”
A low growl interrupted the scene. Darien jumped to the side, looking for a direction to run. A large mastiff stared at them with his top lip curled back. Darien glanced at Alyssa and saw that she didn’t react to the animal’s presence. It had to be Vladimir. In the dark it was hard to tell if it was the same dog or not. Darien took a step away from Alyssa, moving to the other side of a tree. Vladimir walked into the space between the two humans and sat in front of Alyssa’s feet.
“Vladimir says the forest is clear for a couple of miles in every direction. If you travel east through the woods, you’ll find the road. From there, you should be able to find your way back to the house you were staying at. Vladimir checked the house as well and says it’s clear. It appears that they’ve given up the hunt.”
Darien nodded. “Thanks again, Alyssa. I’ll think about what you said. But I don’t think it’s a price I’d be willing to pay.”
“I understand and respect that. But we’ll still be around. If you need anything or you change your mind, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Chapter 12
Darien struggled through the woods, pushing branches away from his face. There was no path to follow, so he tried to move in the direction Alyssa pointed him. One branch snagged at his sleeve and the tear widened as he pushed forward and jerked his arm free.
At least the exercise helped keep him warm. The sky had only a hint of orange and the rising sun did little to fight off the cold. After what felt like hours, he saw houses and a road. By the time he reached the street, the sun had cleared the horizon. Darien looked down the street each way, but he did not recognize his surroundings.
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out Erik’s cell phone. The LCD display showed that it was six in the morning. Darien opened up a map to see where he was. He rubbed his hands together and blew on them while he waited for it to download the local map data. According to the map, he was only a few blocks from Erik’s house. It would take him a while to get back. Blocks were a lot larger, and more deserted, when dealing with million dollar estates.
Darien sat down at the base of a tree as he considered what to do next. He needed to send an email to work to explain his absence, but he could use Erik’s phone to log in remotely and handle that. After that, he needed a plan. Based on what Alyssa said, the most important thing he needed was time. That meant staying one step ahead of his pursuers. He considered going on the run, but he didn’t even know where to start. In the woods, he got lost after one evening and he didn’t have an excess of cash to drop down on motel rooms. For now, the best plan might be to jump from friend to friend calling in favors until he figured out what was going on.
His mind came back to the thought of going to Jay’s apartment. Susan’s and Erik’s were both too dangerous at the moment, and Jay was the only friend he knew would be home. Besides, it was what they had discussed last night, so Erik and Susan would know how to reach him if they needed to. Darien pulled up the list of contacts and found Susan’s number. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he hammered out a text message.
Had to step out last night. Grabbed Erik’s phone instead of mine. Sticking to the plan and will grab the truck.
Now that he had a direction, it was time to get moving. Darien stood up and started the walk to Erik’s house. He kept his head down and both hands shoved in his pockets as he walked along, trying to be aware of his surroundings. By the time he walked past the second house, his phone vibrated.
Thanks for the update. Do you want company?
No, you should go to work. You know where I’ll be. I’ll call later.
You better.
He was lucky to know her and thankful that she trusted him enough to let him handle the situation. She’d give him a hard time about it and would be insistent for information when they finally did talk, but for right now she was willing to go along. How much should he tell her?
As much as he hated to admit it, he conceded Alyssa had a valid point. The more information that he shared with his friends, the more they’d be involved. The Shadows seemed quite willing to use someone as leverage, Inky—it really was as good of a name as any—had already threatened Susan’s life. But could he be sure the Arm of Gaia wouldn’t be willing to do the same?
Perhaps Alyssa had the way of it and he should sever all ties and walk away from his old life to protect those people. He wasn’t willing to do that yet, but it was something he needed to consider.
Darien picked up his pace to a jog and focused on the road ahead of him. It rose slowly and crested after about half a block. By the time he reached the peak of the hill, Darien was breathing heavily. The sun came out and made him break into a sweat. Only one car passed him on his way up the hill. The other side of the hill was a steep drop. From his current vantage point, Darien saw Erik’s house in the distance. It was a fair distance to cover and took Darien the better part of an hour until he was bent over in front of the gate panting for air.
The only vehicle left in the driveway was Richard’s truck; no one was there. Darien got the spare key for the house from its hiding place and went inside. He swapped Erik’s phone for his own, and then grabbed Richard�
�s keys. Before heading out, he called Jay.
“Hey, do you mind if I come over and chill for a bit? I called in sick today.”
“Sure, not a problem. What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain when I get there.”
On the way to Jay’s, Darien reached up and traced the rune on his chest with his fingertip. Even that light touch sent a sensation of freezing cold down his spine. He tried not to think about it, which was like trying not to think about breathing once you started.
Jay lived in a brick apartment building several stories tall in Green Lake, on the north edge of Seattle. The front entrance had an awning covering the walkway in front of the door. It had a buzzer entry, but Darien knew the four digit code. He came over enough that it was more convenient than having to ring Jay’s apartment every time.
Jay’s apartment door looked like the rest of the ones in the hall—plain, white, and unadorned. Darien knocked and was forced to wait for about a minute until the door swung open. His friend was dressed in sweat pants and a large baggy shirt. His hair was cropped short, more for the sake of easy maintenance than any semblance of fashion. He smiled and clasped Darien’s arm. The two men embraced briefly, smacking each other on the back.
“How’s it going?”
Darien walked into the room and kicked the door behind him. It closed with a soft thud. “Well, it could be better, but at least I’m still alive.”
“Want me to change that?”
Darien shook his head. The room held a large couch, a couple of beanbag chairs, and a sixty inch TV with a complete entertainment system. Four-foot tall speakers stood next to the television and on either side of the couch. A DVD player, stereo system, and two separate video game consoles were all interconnected. In a corner across from the entertainment center were several computers. Three monitors spread out across two tables, forming Jay’s desk. All of the monitors flickered in the dim room and the computers provided an ambient hum that Darien could almost feel as much as he could hear.
“Hard at work?” Darien asked as he pointed to the corner.
“Well, if you were still part of the dark side, then you’d remember that a true computer genius never sleeps.”
“Explains why you sleep so much.”
“You wound me, sir!” He fell to the ground and started twitching.
Darien couldn’t help but smile. Jay was good at that. It was one of the things that Darien most appreciated about his friend and part of why they’d been friends so long. It felt good, but the downside was trying to get Jay to focus.
Darien kicked his friend, not unkindly. “Get up you bum. I know it’s hard for you, but I need you to be serious.”
Jay rolled over so he could sit up on the floor. He pushed himself back until he touched a large beanbag chair and then crawled into it. “Alright. Why’ve you decided to grace me with your presence when you’d normally be all straight-laced and go to work and crap? I’m guessing this isn’t just an excuse to come over and play games. You’re way too serious for that.”
Darien collapsed into the other beanbag chair, enjoying how it cushioned his fall and hugged his body. The beads rustled against each other as he shifted to get comfortable. He used the time to consider how much to share. Jay was trustworthy, but Alyssa’s warning was fresh in his mind.
“Well, you know how I was having trouble sleeping, and then I told you about the little black out episode I had?”
“Yep. On the upside it let me go to a fancy party and eat and drink for free with people I doubt I’ll ever see again.”
“Nice. Anyways, I’ve been having more blackouts. Not sure why yet. I did go to the hospital, but they have no idea. It turns out that there’s this government guy, Lieutenant Olson, and he’s interested in me. He’s tracked me down a couple of times and tried to arrest me once. Even sent some goons after me. He has a file on me and has been taking pictures outside my apartment. The guy’s hunting me down. He says he works for the state department, but who the hell knows? I just know he’s got the cops working for him and I’m trying to stay a step ahead.”
As Darien had been talking, Jay leaned forward with each sentence. When he finished, Jay jumped out of the beanbag chair and pumped his fist. “Coolness! You’ve got your own little government conspiracy going! That’s so sweet!”
Darien’s shoulders slumped as he sank deeper in the embrace of the bean bag chair. “It’s only been a couple of days and let me tell you, it gets very tiring very quickly.”
“Yeah, I can see that. I didn’t think about it. Sorry. It just sounds so exciting. Some type of conspiracy theory.”
“Why am I not surprised that you’re getting a kick out of this? No offense, but I don’t want to end up a government lab rat or in jail. But at least now you know why I’m not at work or at my place.”
“Totally makes sense. Going on the lam, sorta. I bet this Olson guy is secret service or something.”
“Dude, those are the guys who guard the president.”
“That’s not all they do, trust me.”
“Right. Anyways, do you mind if I crash here for a bit?”
“Nah. Make yourself at home. But you could make it up to me by making a food run. I’m running kind of low and probably should at least pretend to get some work done ‘til you get back.”
“You mean you haven’t figured out how to make your computers do your work for you yet?”
“Soon, my friend, soon. And then, the world will be mine!” Jay sat in his chair at his desk and spun around, letting loose an over-the-top laugh as he spun around.
Chapter 13
Darien took his time driving around the city and taking care of errands far from his usual stores. He didn’t lose the tingling sensation at the base of his neck that always had him looking over his shoulder. But, despite his vigilance, he didn’t see anyone following or staring.
After wasting several hours, he made his way back to Jay’s apartment with a couple of grocery bags riding in the cab next to him. The rain started to fall, just enough to make Darien turn the wipers on. They squealed as they streaked across the glass. The storm picked up in ferocity so that by the time he reached Jay’s house, the water was pounding down at a steep angle, driven by a gale that made the stoplights sway. Darien slid his arms out of the sleeves of his jacket and draped it over his head. He grabbed the groceries, jumped out of the truck, and ran to the apartment entrance. One of the paper bags shredded in the rain, spilling cans across the sidewalk.
Darien dropped his other groceries under the awning and scrambled to collect the scattered food. As he repacked the groceries so he could carry them, a small black cat meowed at him. The animal’s fur was slicked down and it shivered in response to the chill. It looked up at him and stared. Darien felt bad for the animal and scooped it up to carry it in his jacket. She was large and heavy, obviously well fed. Her two bright yellow eyes stared into his face. She let out a soft mewl and then curled up inside his jacket. Balancing the bags and the bundle of fur was an acrobatic feat in and of itself, but Darien managed.
Darien walked into Jay’s apartment and called out. “Honey, I’m home!”
Jay sat in his leather chair and hammered on the keyboard with a rhythmic clicking of keys. He didn’t even turn around. “Dinner’s on the stove, dear. What’d you get me from the store?”
Darien put the bags in the kitchen and walked over to stand just behind Jay’s left shoulder. Jay leaned forward, eyes focused on the screen inches ahead of him. Darien took his furry passenger and tossed it into the lap of his friend. The cat meowed in protest and narrowed its eyes at Darien
“A great bundle of joy to call our very own!”
Jay nudged the cat out of his lap and forced it to the ground. “Darien! What the hell? I know that you get all soft when it comes to animals, but I can’t have one here. You know that.”
“Jay, relax. It’s just until the storm lets up, then I’ll take her to the Humane Society. She doesn’t have any tags, so it’s t
he best I can do.”
Jay went back to his monitors and his fingers flew across the keyboard once again. “Just make sure the cat doesn’t destroy my stuff, okay?”
Darien rolled his eyes and left Jay to his work. He walked over to where the cat was sitting and reached down to pet her. She continued to stare at him. She rolled her head so that he could reach behind her ears, but she refused to look away or close her eyes. It was unnerving. He bent forward, putting his face near hers to ask her what her name was. In response, she swatted his face with her paw. The claws were extended, and he got a few scratches down his cheek. He jerked back, reaching up to feel where she tagged him. He was bleeding. The cat licked her paw clean.
“Damn. She scratched me.”
“Great. She’s probably feral and you brought her into my home. If she’s scratching you, I’d hate to see what she’d do to me. Animals love you.”
The cat paid no attention to the two men. When she finished cleaning herself, she curled up into a black fur ball in the corner and rested her head on her rump so that she could keep watching Darien. He grabbed some tissues from the kitchen and pressed them against his cheek. He went to the bathroom to look in the mirror, mumbling under his breath. He had three small cuts on his cheek just under his left eye. The outer two were shallow, but the middle one was deep and continued to bleed.
Darien walked back into the living room. “She got me pretty good. I might have a scar. I wouldn’t even try to keep this one. As soon as the rain lets up, it’s off to the Humane Society.”
Jay ignored Darien and continued to type away in his virtual world. Darien collapsed in one of the beanbag chairs with a rustle and shifted so that he could see the cat out of the corner of his eye. She sat in the same spot and kept her vigil over him. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge and a knot of tension form between his shoulders.
The Shadow Chaser (The Sheynan Trilogy Book 1) Page 10