Force (An Alex Warren Novel)

by Logue, Shawna

  “You can take this however you like, but I’m not letting you out of my sight.” His tone didn’t give me any room for argument, so I raised an eyebrow.

  “Please stop feeling guilty,” I said as we entered the elevator. It was bright again, and I shielded my eyes.

  “The light is really bothering you, isn’t it?” he asked.

  “It’s the force lines,” I grimaced. “They’re everywhere, and they’re so bright.”

  “I’m sure it’ll get better once you’ve used your eyes for a bit longer.” I hoped he was right.

  When the doors opened I practically ran to Paul’s office, stopping short when I saw the scene inside the door. Paul was hugging the elderly gentleman from Nic’s office tightly, and I saw a glittering tear run down his cheek. I backed out, bumping into Connor while I tried to give the two their space. I ducked into my office, unsure of what to do next. I walked to the window, but could only look out for a second before having to look away.

  Force lines were everywhere, scattered throughout my view like an intricate spider web. None were as bright as the first one I had seen at the harbour, but the combination of all of them resulted in a brilliant light display. Too brilliant and bright for me to look at.

  Looking back into the room, I was all too aware of Connor watching me. It was getting a little uncomfortable.

  “Connor, what’s the deal?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You can’t expect to watch over me all the time. Besides, I’m fine. I don’t need a babysitter.”

  He shook his head at me while I spoke. “Alex, you don’t understand, do you? You are extremely valuable. And as a result of that, you are in incredible danger.”

  “Ha! Valuable? How so?”

  He perched on the side of my desk, and rubbed his temples with exasperation. “You can see force lines, Alex. Not only that, the energy you channel from the force line into yourself is more powerful than anything I’ve ever seen.”

  “How so?”

  “I’m not entirely sure why the energy is so much more potent with you, but to give you some perspective, most people can only sense a force line. They draw upon its energy based on where they believe the line to be. It’s like searching for something in the dark. They will reach out in the direction of the force line, but rarely do they draw directly from the line itself, only from its surrounding energy.

  You, however, can see exactly where the energy comes from, and I think because of that, you channel a more raw form. If Casper is looking to stockpile energy, he’ll want to exploit your talent. Does that make sense?”

  “Connor, nothing makes sense to me anymore,” I smiled sarcastically at him. “But I understand what you’re getting at.”

  There was a slight rap on the open door, and I looked up to see Paul and the older gentleman standing at the entrance to my office.

  “Paul!” I ran to him and hugged him as hard as I could, ignoring the protests from my ribs. He laughed at my sudden outburst, but still hugged me back.

  “I’m so sorry,” I mumbled into his shoulder.

  “Ssssh,” he hushed into my hair. “Alex,” he said, pulling me away, “this is my father. Dad, Alex.”

  I shook the old man’s hand, and something clicked in my head.

  “Your father? That would make you…”

  “Yes,” the old man replied, smiling at my recognition. “It’s nice to have someone remember.”

  I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say or do. “It’s an honor to meet you,” I stammered, in awe of the man before me.

  The god blushed, making him look more human than before, and I found myself wishing he was my grandfather. I got the impression he had lost much of his power. I would have liked to ask him about it, but it seemed that the two of them needed to deal with losing Casper first.

  “We’re going back home tonight,” Paul said to Connor. “I’ll be back before too long, but Dad needs to get back before he gets too exhausted.” He looked at me. “Alex, I’m so glad you are okay. I’m so… so…”

  I held a hand up. “Please don’t apologize. I’m tired of everyone apologizing to me. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own.” I caught the imploring glance he shot at Connor, who nodded in response.

  “I’ll call you to check on you then,” Paul added.

  “She won’t be staying here,” Connor interjected. Both Paul and I looked at Connor confused. “It’s likely the first place Casper will look. It’s too dangerous,” he added, in response to our bewildered expressions. Paul seemed satisfied with this answer, nodding in approval to Connor.

  “Well, we must go. Our ride will be passing by shortly, and Apollo waits for no one, not even his dad.” Both Paul and his father laughed at this, enjoying some private joke. I hugged Paul again, and then turned to shake his father’s hand.

  He hugged me instead, whispering into my ear so only I could hear, “No one blames you, my child.”

  They took their leave, and feeling I had exhausted my brain for the day, I turned to Connor. “I think I’d like to go home now.”

  “You aren’t going home,” he said solemnly. “That’s the first place he’ll come for you, after here.”

  “What? Where am I going?”

  “To my place,” he smirked. He must have caught my skeptical expression. “My place is the safest place for you. Casper has no reason to suspect you to be there, and furthermore, he has no idea where I live. Besides, I’m not letting you out of my sight, and you are no condition to argue. Just trust me.”

  “What about Maria? How long can I stay in hiding before she’ll wonder why I’m not back from my ‘business trip’?” I used air quotes to emphasize the absurdity of the situation.

  “She expects you to be back in about a week. If this isn’t resolved by then…” he paused, searching for an answer. “Well, I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

  I felt too tired to continue the conversation. I wanted to argue, but I knew I wouldn’t win. I leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. Connor immediately came and sat at my side.

  “I’m sorry it has to be this way, Alex.”

  “I’m sorry I’m such a freak,” I replied, leaning my head heavily into his shoulder, before quickly adding, “Don’t argue that with me. I’m too exhausted.”

  We sat there on the floor of my office for a long time. We didn’t speak, but the silence was not awkward. He only moved once, to adjust his arm so it was around me rather than under me. I leaned wearily into his chest, aware how badly I wanted to cry, but feeling too worn out to bother.

  Eventually a low buzzing broke the silence, and I felt Connor lift me gently to reach into his pocket. He answered his phone in such a low voice that I had a hard time hearing despite being so close to him. The conversation was brief, and as he snapped his phone shut he rubbed his hand in a few small circles across my back before speaking.

  “We have to go now,” he said. I didn’t argue. He helped me to my feet, and we made our way back to the elevator and down into the parkade. The familiar black Audi blinked it’s headlights at me as it was unlocked. Connor beat me to the car, opening the door and helping me in. I scowled.

  “Look,” I said, “I know that you mean well, but if I’m going to be a prisoner in this mixed up mess, I don’t want to be babied after all the time. I can take care of myself.”

  He seemed to find this amusing. “Alex, first of all, I’m still waiting for you to go into shock. You’ve absorbed a lot of knowledge in a short period of time, and I’m surprised you haven’t freaked out yet. And second of all, if you can take care of yourself so well, then you won’t mind putting on your seatbelt?” The last part was clearly a challenge, and as soon as I reached my arms up for the shoulder strap, my ribs pinched at me, and I knew what he was getting at. I tried not to show my pain as I pulled the belt across my body and clicked it stubbornly into place. I thought about holding the strap away from my body to help ease my discomfort but I didn’t want to give him any sen
se that he had won.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Pulling out from the parkade I once again had to shield my eyes as I adjusted to the brightness. It had snowed while I had been recovering, and the sun reflected off of every surface. On top of that, force lines intersected everywhere, and as we drove, we occasionally passed through them. After the second one tingled when it passed through me, I started to long for the feeling of them again. While at a stop light, I tentatively reached out. I knew that the light would change shortly, so I didn’t have much time to experiment before we started moving again. It didn’t matter; the small taste I felt was enough to make all of my worries disappear.

  I took a little bit more from another line we passed, grateful that Connor seemed unaware of my actions. The power rippled through me, filling me with a new burst of energy I hadn’t felt in days. I closed my eyes, savoring the taste and mentally responding to the charge in my muscles. Before I could find another source, we were pulling up a long, winding drive. I hadn’t paid attention to where we were going or how long we had been driving, but we were surrounded by trees so I knew we were outside the city limits.

  After a minute or so, the trees opened up enough that I could see our destination. In front of us was a large log cabin, bigger than most houses I was used to seeing. The logs were a rich, reddish-brown hue, contrasting against the small layer of snow. From the driveway, a stone path led to two wide steps up to a wraparound porch; the whole property had a warm, inviting feel.

  Getting out of the car, I could hear something familiar, but I couldn’t place it. The rhythmic sound was soothing, and I cocked my ear to get a better listen.

  “It’s the ocean,” Connor said, noting my curiosity. “We’re near French Beach.”

  This excited me. I hadn’t been to the beach since I was a little kid, despite living on an island. I inhaled deeply, ignoring the pangs from my side, and savored the salty, pine-infused air. This was nature at its best.

  As we walked through the rustic wooden door into the house, Connor turned. “I’m sorry. Dermot was supposed to have cleaned this up before you came, but we thought we had another day before you came here.”

  I wanted to offer that I could leave and go back to my house, but I knew Connor wouldn’t find that funny, so I just asked, “Dermot? Does he live here too?”

  “In a matter of speaking. He lives on the property, so he’s here a lot. We have…” He paused before finishing, “…an arrangement.”

  His tone didn’t make me feel comfortable enough to ask what that arrangement might be, so I let it drop. Looking around, I saw that it wasn’t even that messy, and certainly much tidier than my apartment. The only real mess was on the coffee table. There were papers strewn everywhere, spilling over onto the oversized white sectional and on to the floor. Even with the mess, the room still looked inviting. Everything in the room was oversized, but it was by no means crowded. The huge white couch faced an impressive fireplace. The hearth was constructed of multi-hued river rocks, and off to the side was an unobtrusive wood chest. It was easy to see that the fireplace was used frequently. Above the mantle was a large plasma screen, currently displaying a sepia photo of a leaf. The hardwood floor in the living space was covered with a tan microfiber rug, adding even more to the sense of comfort. Off to one side of the room I could see the kitchen, and along the other side of the room was a large staircase.

  Thinking about all the times Maria made me watch decorating shows with her I remembered that this was called a “floating” staircase. There was no railing, and each step seemed to jut out directly from the wall. The steps themselves were unusual as well: each one was made from a log, split vertically so that the centre was flat enough for a stair. The stairs were so distinctive that they acted as art on the otherwise bare wall. The modern style of the stairs, combined with the ruggedness of the logs worked well in the space; come to think of it, most of the decorating in this room was modern, but it all complemented the traditional log-cabin style of the home. In one sense it felt elegant, and I found myself thinking that I could get used to this.

  “I’ll show you to your room,” Connor said nervously, clearing noting my expression as I examined his house.

  “Everything’s so beautiful,” I said, hoping that my approval would ease his nerves. They did, and I saw him relax as we walked up the unique looking log staircase.

  Upstairs, the initial landing struck me as quite bare in comparison to downstairs. There was another TV, just as large as the first, but no couch. There were two reclining chairs set to one side of the TV, and I noticed what looked like a white remote on the seat of one of them. On the other side of the recliners were two guitar stands, both holding plastic, wireless guitars. Under the TV was a low shelf, stocked with too many games to count. I chuckled to myself. “Connor! I didn’t take you for the video games kind of guy!”

  He turned, already embarrassed at being caught. Fearing I had hurt his feelings I quickly added, “You’ll have to teach me how to play.” He smiled faintly at this, and I guessed he sensed that I really had no idea how to play video games.

  He gestured to one side of the room. “That’s my room. Yours is this way.” He opened the door across from his. I gasped when I saw the room inside. This one room felt bigger than my entire apartment. A king sized bed took up most of the room, flanked by two nightstands, each with a small lamp. A small armchair and ottoman sat near the large picture window. The window itself was framed by long, rich red curtains, which puddled softly on the floor. The window looked out onto the backyard, which was bordered by forest on each side, tapering into the beach some distance away. I could see myself staring out at the peaceful surroundings for hours, but I forced myself to keep examining the room. There was a set of double doors off the room, and I walked towards them with curiosity.

  “Um, yeah. That’s the closet,” Connor said sheepishly.

  I looked at him inquisitively, wondering if I was about to be toppled with the standard mess that most people have crammed in their spare closets. Undeterred I opened the two doors simultaneously.

  There was no mess to bury me; on the contrary, the closet was completely bare. To call it a closet though was an understatement. This closet was to women as what a double garage is to men. It was not merely a walk in closet; it was a run-in closet, for there was enough space to do so. I stuck out both arms as far as my ribs would allow, and spun around, fantasizing about all the things I could put in here, if I hadn’t been planning on only staying for a few days. Connor’s chuckle brought me back to earth, and I looked to see him leaning non-chalantly against the doorframe, amused.

  “What? I’m a girl! We like closets! What I wouldn’t give for a closet a tenth of this size in my place!” I defended. Then I added, “Why do you have a room so huge as a guest room? This feels like a master bedroom.”

  He blushed slightly, but replied, “Technically, it is the master bedroom. But I’ve never really taken to it. I live on my own; well, that is when Dermot isn’t around at least, and I have more than enough space to roam.” He shrugged. I could understand his point. As much as the room was beautiful, it was very large, almost too large.

  “Hey, I hope I’m not going to be in the way or anything,” I added after thinking about what he said.

  “If you’re trying to get out of this again, it’s not going to work,” Connor chuckled.

  “Oh.” For once, I hadn’t even thought of that. I was more concerned with disrupting his routine, but I didn’t correct him.

  “So, let me show you the rest of the house,” he added, changing the subject. We left the bedroom, and he showed me where the bathroom was. He seemed to blush again when he mentioned that we would have to share, which I found endearing. I could tell he wasn’t used to having to share. At least there was a lot of space to move around this house. I had been living in my cookie-cutter sized apartment with Maria for so long that had I forgot what space felt like.

  The tour didn’t take too long. Despite the hou
se’s size, there were only few rooms, utilizing a mostly open space concept. We ended up in the luxurious kitchen, complete with rough granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked, looking around in his cupboards.

  I thought about it, but my earlier tastes of the force lines had made me feel full. “Not really,” I shrugged. “But thanks.”

  He looked at me for a moment, and I got the impression he was trying to decide if I was just being polite or if I really wasn’t hungry. He seemed to accept my response, but added, “As long as you are here, please help yourself to whatever you can find. Make yourself at home.”

  “Thanks,” I nodded. “What now?” We still had hours before night fell.

  “You know, I hadn’t really thought that far,” he mused.

  “How about that guitar game?” I said, half-joking.

  He didn’t catch the sarcasm, and his eyes seemed excited by the prospect. We headed back upstairs, Connor taking them two at a time, only to have his amusement crushed when we both realized that the hand I needed to push the keys was still too bandaged to play. Not wanting to burst his bubble, I told him to play and that I would watch. He agreed, trying to appear reluctant, but I could see he was eager. I curled up in one of the recliners,

  About half an hour later, I heard his front door open. Connor continued to dance his fingers across the neck of the guitar’s buttons, so I brought it up.

  “Um, I think someone’s here,” I said shakily.

  “It’s just Dermot,” he replied, not looking up. “Why so nervous?”

  “Well, I just thought that if you are trying to keep me safe don’t you think you should lock the doors or something?”

  He stopped playing and turned to look at me with amusement. “Alex, I don’t mean to frighten you, but if someone was to come here looking for you, a lock wouldn’t stop them. Besides, no one knows you are here except Dermot, Nic, Peri and I. You have nothing to worry about.”