by Sarah Noffke
It had never been difficult for Rio to make friends. This was probably why starting over, after the lab, hadn’t been too problematic. Most people instantly liked the guy who smiled easily, flashing the deep dimple on his right cheek as he did. And Rio liked people, which was why he went into law enforcement. He wanted to protect them, make the world better; at least he used to. Now the cynicism had taken over, along with the mood swings. But he tried not to be too hard on himself. He had been through a major ordeal, which was surrounded by mystery. Sometimes he wanted to track down one of the detectives he used to work with to see if they could help him figure out who had done this strange thing to him. Made him into a werewolf with incredible strength. Who would want to do such a thing to another man?
“Want another round?” the guy whom Rio called Bruno said. It wasn’t his name, but the fat-faced man resembled a bulldog, and that seemed like the right name for such a character.
“More like two,” Rio said, sliding a twenty-dollar bill across the bar. He knew throwing his money away on liquor was a bad idea when he was already short on rent. But also, he didn’t really care at the moment since the gin was clouding his head, as he intended.
“You got it,” his buddy said, picking up his tumbler and clinking it against the one in Rio’s hand. They both threw their heads back in unison, emptying their glasses.
Rio should have been taking invitations for arm wrestling matches that night, but something in him told him that it was a bad idea. There was a quiet festering happening in him and he’d noticed it upon waking. It was like the wolf was growing restless, but he didn’t know why. Rio never knew what the wolf wanted. It was hungry for meat and speed, but then there was something else. A raw desire for something intangible. The more he tried to reconcile with the beast the more he felt like he was losing his mind. How did he think he could understand the thing inside him, when criminals never made sense to him? How did he expect he’d understand a canine? Maybe if he had been a dog person, but he never was. He liked reptiles. Snakes were quiet and graceful and strangely beautiful. Dogs were loud and a pain in the ass most of the time. Why people with dogs could never control their mutts and thought that letting them roam off leashes was a good idea eluded Rio. If that was a snake, then people would be freaking out.
“Dude, you mind taking our picture?” a guy said beside Rio, pulling him from his rambling thoughts. Rio turned to find a sun-bleached surfer standing with his arm draped around a girl’s shoulder. She was wearing a halter top and a look that implied she’d had a bit too much rum. Girls could hardly ever handle their liquor, Rio had always thought.
“Sure,” Rio said, extending a hand to the guy, who deposited one of those sleek smartphones into it. Rio had given up technology after the whole abduction. He didn’t miss it, probably because he was overwhelmed with missing being alone in his head. The wolf was always there, never giving him any privacy. Although it didn’t know what went on in his life, like it was trapped in a closet in his mind, it seemed to hear his thoughts and bark its own. Holding up the phone, he waited for it to focus on the couple in the dark bar.
“Smile, Jenny,” the guy said, hooking his arm around the girl’s neck more and pulling her into him.
“Brittany,” she said, with a repulsed smirk, obviously uncomfortable from the way the guy nearly had her in a headlock.
“I’ll call you what I want and you’ll answer to it with a smile,” the asshole said and then he reached over with his other hand and grabbed the girl’s boob. “Take a picture of this,” the guy said to Rio.
“Ugh, stop that,” said the girl, whose dark hair and eyes reminded Rio of his younger sister. His blood coursed through his head with a new heat. And then the pressure between his eyes erupted and a growl spilled out of his mouth. In his hand, the phone cracked from his grip and he closed his fist, turning the electronic to bits.
“Whoa, what the hell?” the guy said, racing forward and pulling what remained of the phone from Rio. He eyed it, his gaze full of heat, and then looked up at Rio. “Are you out of your mind?” the drunk said.
“I am,” Rio said, standing from the bar stool, making his full size highly noticeable.
Fear registered on the dumb surfer’s face, but there was nothing he could say to persuade Rio to reconsider his next actions. The wolf had its own agenda and it couldn’t be appeased.
“Come on, Timmy. Let’s go,” the girl said at his back.
“Yeah,” the guy said in a rush, but Rio was already reaching for him. His large hands wrapped around the punk-ass kid’s polo shirt before he shot them into the air, towing the guy off his feet.
“Dude, put me down,” the guy said, his voice now full of fear.
“You want me to put you down, dude?” Rio said.
The guy only shook his head erratically. Rio was slightly aware that the girl was yelling. Other people around him were yelling, pleading with him to stop. At his back he heard Bruno telling him to snap out of it. However, Rio didn’t care what those others wanted. The wolf didn’t care. He pulled the guy in close to his face, feeling like he was holding a paper doll and not a full-grown man. When he growled against the guy’s cheek, the gin bounced back hitting his nostrils. It made his stomach tighten with unease, which only made the wolf more diabolical. He turned in a full circle, hauling the guy with him as he did, the crowd parting for the flying body. When he’d completed a full circle Rio launched the guy in the air and he flew fifteen feet before sliding to the ground and rolling into the legs of the pool table.
I probably could have thrown him farther if I wasn’t inebriated, Rio thought, reaching for the tumbler full of gin Bruno had set there a minute before. He spilled the drink down his chin and onto his shirt as he slung it back, taking it in one gulp. Only half aware that people were going mad all around him, Rio grabbed the other drink and ambled for the exit. People scrambled, no one daring to stop him after that display of power. The shouts dissipated, replaced by sirens when he made it to the exit. He tossed the drink back and then threw the glass at the brick wall of the crummy bar as he charged down the sidewalk, his head shrouded in clouds.
Chapter Ten
“The records of hundreds of civilians and military personnel were stolen from the Pentagon last year. The thief was not determined through surveillance or dream traveling back in time because they were thought to be invisible.”
- Lucidite Institute, Werewolf Project File
Opening her leather-bound book, her most prized possession, Adelaide flipped to the page she had marked detailing the process for hypnosis. Her father had made it sound so easy, but the most she’d been able to do was make Kaleb queasy and she didn’t even know if that was a result of witnessing her hypnosis. Kaleb could just be sick of sitting around and watching Adelaide spin the silver ballpoint pen in her fingers.
He’d been a good sport about it though, letting her practice her hypnosis on him for hours. Not that she’d admit it but Kaleb was like the brother she’d never had. His mischievous disposition was entertaining most of the time, although sometimes annoying, so exactly like a little brother.
Ren Lewis could have had a person passed out in less than a minute using hypnosis. Or if he so desired he could have just subdued a person, so they weren’t a threat. Ren had mastered the art of hypnosis with both voice and visual cues. A single movement from him could cause a trance and then if he wanted he was able to implant suggestions or steal cognitive information.
Adelaide turned the thick page of the book. Lately it had supplied fewer answers and more riddles. More things that made her doubt her every decision. She’d sent the agents to spy on Parantaa Research using dream travel and then opened the book to read:
A silent spy is usually a liability in one way or another. Real agents infiltrate an organization/society.
Now she worried that this meant she should step outside the comfort of the Institute and go undercover, getting into Parantaa Research. The agents she’d assigned were using safe dream
travel methods to silently spy on the activity at the research organization. This was something that they never had to worry about happening at the Lucidite Institute, since security measures made it so that unauthorized personnel couldn’t dream travel into the five-story complex. Most also didn’t know where the Institute was which was a crucial part for dream traveling. That’s why Adelaide couldn’t just dream travel to Olento Research.
Unsurprisingly, the agents she’d sent to Parantaa Research hadn’t turned up a damn thing. They watched from their invisible form, observing, but the organization conducted drug trials and donated life-saving medicine to third-world countries. It’s not like Mika left the address for the evil Olento Research and their next set of projects lying around. So far there was no trace of Mika Lenna inside Parantaa Research.
Adelaide knew what her father would do in her situation. It was one of the few times the answer was clear, and yet she kept rejecting it. Ren, as an agent, went out into the field. Only when acting as the head strategist did he sit behind a desk and order other agents on cases, as she was doing with the werewolf case. Ren was legendary for sneaking into private societies to create real change from within the government. He even married an authoritative CEO at one point so that he could stop what she was doing with her criminal organization. The one thing Ren didn’t do was send silent spies to simply observe. But more and more, Adelaide didn’t want to leave the stainless walls of the Institute. It’s where she felt safe and closest to her father. It’s where her son was. And although she didn’t spend much time with Lucien, she still liked stepping into his room at night and watching him sleep. And then there was Pops. He accepted her more than anyone else and she relied on that. Looked to him every day to give her reassuring smiles that told her she was good enough, although she may not feel it.
Her green eyes fell on the next section in the book. Creating Illusions. Adelaide blew out a laugh. She’d failed with hypnosis, so why not try her luck at something impossible, like creating illusions in the physical realm? In the dreamscape they were easier, making it the logical place to start, but the best way to keep up her status quo of defeat was to go for an unobtainable goal. Adelaide’s eyes scanned the notes on illusions:
One can’t create illusions from nothing just by focusing on it. Creating illusions is similar to the process for mind control. One goes scavenging a mind first and then uses the tools already present in it to make things happen. One uses the mind of a person to manipulate itself. The same theory applies to creating illusions. Try searching your space in the same way and then use the elemental energy there to create the projection. Draw from that which is already present. Use existing energy.
Why did her father have to make complex, impossible things sound so simple? She closed her eyes and focused on the energy of the space. This was something she’d practiced with Ren, since sensing energy was a big part of any Dream Traveler’s gift. Instantly she registered the different elements of the space. The temperature and air density. The furniture. The space. The people nearby. It was by pulling from the energy making up her environment that she was supposed to create something that didn’t yet exist.
This is fucking ridiculous, she thought and then sensed a person’s energy shift, growing closer to her. Adelaide opened her eyes and turned her attention for the open doorway, where a moment later a man of about ninety stood.
“Hey, Addy,” Pops said. He didn’t look much like Ren, since her father took after his mother with her red hair and green eyes. At least that’s what Adelaide had learned looking at photos. Grandmum, a Middling, had died long before Adelaide mistakenly entered this world.
“What’s up, Pops?” she said, shutting the book and noticing a message ping her phone at the same time. She grabbed the device she reluctantly carried only for agent purposes.
“I was wondering if you could watch Lucien while I—”
Adelaide’s eyes widened as she read the message on the screen. “Sorry, Pops. Maybe later. I’ve got to go,” she said, grabbing her book and stepping around him at the door.
“Actually, I might be going on a mission. But I’ll relieve you of caregiving when I can,” she said, hurrying to the exit. From her peripheral she noticed her son sitting on the floor in the living room, pulling a blanket over his head. She paused as he dragged the blanket down and grinned wide, his smile full of amusement. Then he drew the blanket back over his face, entertaining himself. He must not have seen Adelaide there or he wouldn’t be smiling. She shook her head and made for the door, pulling her attention away from the two-year-old.
Adelaide eyed the message as she hurried to the strategic department. It was good news, she told herself. However, she still felt disappointed and wasn’t sure why. Maybe if she was honest with herself, which she went to great lengths not to do, it wasn’t the news that she wanted. At least she’d hoped another news report would come through first on the werewolf case. Still, this one was progress and with such a lead they’d no doubt be successful, unless Mika had beaten them to the location. She didn’t think Olento Research had access to clairvoyant reports, though, but that was probably just a gigantic hope. She laughed to herself knowing exactly what Ren would say about hope. People love to bank on hope. God-fucking-forbid we actually use reason to determine circumstances.
As Adelaide expected, the fuck faces she was looking for were hanging out in a side conference room of the strategic department. It had been why she’d retreated to her room to work. Adelaide had been in an adjacent conference room and was repulsed every time Rox’s shrill laughter permeated through the glass partition. Yes, the hooker FBI agent had saved Adelaide’s life, but that didn’t mean they were besties now. And although Zephyr and Kaleb were mostly tolerable, she found she was more on edge with everyone lately.
“Hey, Freckles,” Rox said when Adelaide stopped in the entrance. She had her wedge heels resting on the conference room table, an open file sitting in her lap, thankfully covering her crotch since she wore a miniskirt. Real classy. Why not just sit in a straddle position on the top of the table?
“Hey, Slut,” Adelaide said to Rox before focusing her attention on Zephyr. “We’ve located Rio.”
“Really? That’s great! Where is he?” Zephyr said, putting the file he’d been reviewing to the side, his excitement pouring out of this gaze.
“San Diego,” Adelaide said.
“He’s the one who broke us out of the lab, right? The one with barbaric strength?” Kaleb said, thumbing through his own file. Maybe the three stooges had actually been reviewing the files for missed leads like Adelaide had assigned them to do.
“Yes,” Zephyr said and then looked at Adelaide. “We knew a werewolf was in San Diego, but that’s a fairly large city for us to search. Although it’s good to know who we are looking for there—”
“Hold up, Private,” Adelaide said, knowing this always got under the captain’s fur. “I don’t just know exactly where he is, but I know when he’s going to be there. Roya just reported that he gets into a bar fight in a dive bar in San Diego tonight.”
“Whoa, far out,” Kaleb said. “You all can see the future? That’s pretty gnarly.”
“Shut it, Runt,” Adelaide said, making Kaleb pop his mouth shut. She almost felt a little bad. More than anyone, she knew that Kaleb was immersing himself in the Lucidite world to cover up the pain of watching his father murdered and then losing his family for good. She knew that because unfortunately during the hypnosis sessions, their fingers grazed when he handed her the ballpoint pen she dropped. Now she felt sorry for the guy, but that was a worthless emotion, especially in her position. Looking at Zephyr, she said, “You and Rox need to get there right away, and be in position to approach him. He’s going to be fairly drunk, but I think that if you’re located in the right place at the right time then you can bring him in without confrontation.”
“Why don’t we get to him before he gets in the fight?” Rox asked.
“Because my superior strategic mind has d
educed that he’ll be more likely to receive your help after an altercation.” She turned and looked at Zephyr straight on. “Tell him that you know how hard it is to control the wolf. That the guy he threw across the bar deserved it, and if he wants to put his talents to real use then come help us round up the werewolves. From his file, I know he’s a team player. If we use that when he’s at his lowest then you shouldn’t have much trouble convincing him.”
Zephyr nodded, his gray eyes to the side. He was already processing the strategy, trying to get his head around the right words, Adelaide suspected.
“What about me?” Kaleb said.
“What about you?” Adelaide said.
“Well, why don’t I get to work the mission? I know how to use a GAD-C. I’ve read the Dream Traveler Codex,” Kaleb said.
“And I’ve had a dog bone delivered to your room. Good boy,” Adelaide said. “However, I am loath to admit this, but Rox is more valuable than you. She can take a werewolf if there is an altercation, and it’s important to send Zephyr with someone in case something happens. You, on the other hand, have zero gifts and are extremely useless at this point. I’m thinking of assigning you to dish duty in the main hall. Someone has to clean up after our daily meals.”
“Oh, is that the way it is?” Kaleb said, flicking his eyes to the ceiling.
“Well, keep praying to the Dream Traveler gods and maybe they will grant you a gift that’s slightly useful,” Adelaide said.
“Like this?” Kaleb said.