Trew’s eyes narrowed in concern at the announcement. He looked at Cooper who shrugged his shoulders and quickly looked away, not quite quick enough to hide the grin forming on his face.
“How old is the kid?” Trew asked.
“He’s claiming to be thirteen,” Michelle said.
“Tell security I’ll be right there, and not to let him out of their sight for a second!”
Cooper looked back at the doorway and swore softly under his breath, then sprinted quickly to catch up with Trew, who was already halfway to the elevator
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Happy birthday, sleepyhead!”
Danni opened her eyes and raised her head. The morning light was just beginning to peek over the horizon, spilling softly over her campsite. She scanned the area to make sure everything was in order. Her campfire had died; white ash rested like a small round cat’s blanket surrounded by rough stones. Danni felt a light pressure and added warmth against her right leg. She reached down to gently pat the body of her constant companion, a large, dark brown German Shepherd that had joined her on her quest.
“Good morning, Zeus,” she said, feeling his body nuzzle into hers at the mention of his name. “Some guard dog you turn out to be, letting dangerous strangers come into camp unannounced.”
She looked across the firepit at the newcomer. The old man rummaged through a wool knapsack in search of something.
“You’ve been gone a while,” she said. “Find anything interesting?”
The old man looked up and grinned. “I found you a birthday present,” he returned to his task of searching the overflowing bag. “I hope I remembered to bring it with me. I had to make a hasty exit from the last town I passed through; people aren’t getting any nicer to strangers over time, I can tell you that for certain.”
Danni didn’t bother to ask him what town he was talking about. She’d learned that the only information he shared about his trips away from her was the information he decided to give. Danni had learned a lot on this adventure with the old man. When she’d left with him to find Shane, she had been sixty-three. It hadn’t turned out to be the short adventure she’d envisioned.
“You sure it’s my birthday?” Danni sat up in her sleeping bag, feeling the bumps and small stones that lay beneath her despite a thorough cleaning of the area before she’d put her bed down for the night.
“Absolutely,” he confirmed. “Here it is!” he pulled a small package out of the bag wrapped in what looked like an old magazine cover with a piece of bailer twine encircling it and tied in a bow. He hefted the package in his hand, gently tossing it a few inches into the air and letting it land lightly in his palm. He walked over to her and extended his hand ceremoniously, making an extravagant flourish as he bowed to her. His garbage bag outfit crinkled noisily and the red pop bottle cap gloves clinked with a special music of their own as they opened to reveal Danni’s gift.
“Thank you,” she took the small package and turned it over in her hands. “How old am I today? The number in my head must be incorrect.”
The old man blinked a couple of times, and he leaned forward to peer into her eyes intently. He smiled and nodded, stepping back and chuckling to himself. “You’re playing with me, girl. You know exactly how old you are.”
Danni nodded. “Sixty-seven.” She held the gift up and raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Is it a map telling me where to find Shane? You must know that after almost four years on the road with you, that’s the only gift I want.”
The old man shrugged, and waved his hands for her to open the little package. Only on rare occasions would he respond to complaints of being so long on the road. “There are many things in life that cannot be rushed, young lady,” was his common response, and Danni had almost stopped mentioning it. Almost. She’d learned how this game of life seemed to work best; to struggle and fight for an outcome was to deny the outcome from occurring. In every aspect of her experience, Danni knew that the best way to achieve anything was through acceptance — specifically, acceptance that the thing you wanted would either happen... or it wouldn’t. Countless were the times that Danni had finally accepted the futileness of a situation and then, suddenly as if by magic, the exact situation she had made peace with never attaining would suddenly manifest.
Danni knew that the best way — perhaps the only way — to find Shane was to accept that she might never find him. She couldn’t do it, though. With every fibre of her being, she held onto the goal of confronting Shane and forcing him to fix the power issue in the world.
The old man seemed content to watch her struggle, sometimes talking about it and coaching her, or saying nothing and smiling quietly, and yet other times leaving her to walk the road alone until he would reappear unannounced, as he’d done today.
Danni sighed and examined her present. She untied the string and gently unfolded the crude wrapping paper until she’d exposed the gift contained.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. Lifting the delicate silver chain into the air she inspected the oval-shaped, blue cut stone the size of her thumbnail. It was set in an ornate silver pendant.
“Is it sapphire?” she asked, admiring the gem as it caught and reflected the morning rays of sunlight.
“No,” the old man snorted as if Danni had said something funny. “Sapphire is too easy to find, and serves no real purpose for you at this time, girl. It’s taken me two years to find this stone for you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” he smiled. “It’s called Kyanite.”
“Kyanite,” Danni repeated. She had an interest in gemstones and believed in their ability to help a person amplify energies. “I don’t recall learning about Kyanite.”
“Gemstones are funny like that,” the old man admitted. “There are so many and their properties vary and sometimes overlap. I have a theory that some gemstones hide and make their appearance when they are most needed to assist a person in their journey.”
Danni nodded. She didn’t need to clarify what he meant by ‘journey.’ She knew that he was referring to the journey that every person took — the journey of a lifetime. “What does it do?”
“It does many things, but I thought three of its properties would suit you.” The old man held up three fingers and began to tick them off as he talked.
“One, it will align all of your Chakras and help you refocus and gain your spiritual energy.”
Danni nodded quietly.
“Two, it will help to strengthen your abilities. You haven’t flown in years; I can’t remember the last time you healed or recharged yourself with Reiki energy. You’ve stopped working out from a psychic point of view.” His mouth turned upwards into a faint grin. “Psychically, you’re getting flabby!”
Danni made a wry face, but nodded in agreement.
“Three,” he continued, “Kyanite helps to quiet the mind, dissolving emotional, mental, or spiritual confusion, and letting go of anxiety.” He stopped talking and looked at her with a pleasant expression, allowing Danni to receive his subtle message.
Danni knew that she needed to let go of her anxiety and accept that she would find Shane if and when the time was right.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “It’s the nicest thing anyone has given me... this year. Come to think of it, no one else has even bothered to even wish me a happy birthday!”
The old man chuckled and sat down by the cold firepit, pulling his bag close. He reached into it and produced two energy bars, handing one to Danni and opening the other. They sat eating their bars, Danni broke off a small piece and fed it to Zeus, who lifted his head from the old man’s feet to accept the treat.
“That dog loves you,” Danni said.
“All dogs love me!” he exclaimed. “Kids seem fond of me as well. I’m sure the two are related. Filthy little beasts... all of them.”
Danni laughed at his mock gruffness. All it took for the old man to become a kid himself was the eager presence of an animal or child. Within mi
nutes he would be the silliest of the bunch, entertaining either barking dogs or laughing children at every opportunity.
They sat in content silence for some time, both lost in their own thoughts as the morning sun rose on a new day.
Finally the old man spoke up, startling Danni from her thoughts.
“We’re close,” he looked at his bar with interest and attacked it, ripping another small piece off and chewing slowly.
Danni looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “You said that two years ago.”
He looked at her and winked slyly. “We’re closer than that,” he said with a grin.
“Dare I ask how close?”
“Not a good question, girl,” he reached down to scratch Zeus behind his ears. “Won’t be much longer, though. So begin to prepare yourself.”
“For what?”
He looked back up at her and his gaze was serious. “For everything, girl. I already told you that boy is not stable. Be ready for everything.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The Devil had a recurring dream...
I’m walking. Most often through cities, but sometimes it can be a country town or even a lone, empty road.
I look towards the top of a tall building... there’s always a tall building within sight, and there’s always someone standing on top of it, looking sad and depressed, as if they want to jump.
I try to stop them but I’m too far away. I yell as loudly as I can to get their attention; they never hear me.
Then I remember I have powers that can save them.
Before I can reach out to hold them up, they step off the ledge and fall to earth. I watch in horror as they hit the ground, and when I look back up again, there are dozens more, standing on multiple buildings.
They all begin to jump, as I watch in horror.
In this dream, there’s only one girl, dressed in a frilly purple dress that flares at the bottom. She’s pretty and her skin is covered in black snakelike tattoos. She goes through the same sort of pre-jump ritual as the others do in this type of dream. I watch as she falls towards the ground, waiting for her to thud wetly to the pavement like they always do.
Instead of smashing into the pavement, she stops suddenly just as she reaches the ground, landing softly on her feet and bending her knees slightly to absorb the tiny impact. I’m so surprised that I can’t move; I can’t speak.
She looks at me, and her gaze is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. She stares at me calmly while my panic and fear slowly rises like steam in a boiling kettle. She stares pointedly, even hatefully at me for what feels like an eternity.
Eventually my mouth opens and I begin to scream. The sound is blood curdling and disturbing. I wonder at first where it’s coming from, until I realize it’s me. Which makes me scream even louder.
And then I wake up.
===
“You shouldn’t be sleeping by yourself out in the open,” Carl’s voice rumbled from beyond the light of the fire.
Stephanie quickly scanned the energy field that surrounded her at all times, testing to make certain no one had tried to breach it.
“I’ve learned how to protect myself, Carl,” she sat up in her sleeping bag. Sap in one of the logs touched the flames, causing it to snap and crackle loudly.
Carl emerged from the blackness of night and sat down beside her, leaning against a log and reaching for a plate of half-finished food.
“You’ve learned a lot these past few years, girl,” he said.
“How am I doing so far?” she asked sincerely.
Carl stopped eating and looked at her with an amused expression.
“If I still had your colour eyes, I would kneel before you and call you mistress,” he said, “and I would likely only think about killing you fifty percent of the time, which is a compliment from me, darlin’.”
Stephanie nodded curtly, although she wanted to smile at the kind words.
“It’s a horrible life,” she said.
“Of course it is,” Carl snorted. “That’s how you know you’re doing it correctly. I don’t hear the regret in your voice that was there when you first changed four years ago.”
“I’ve become... accustomed to the lifestyle,” she said.
“I bet you have. It’s stupid not to have protection close by, though. You’re too still young to travel alone.”
“I’m not alone,” she smiled sweetly.
Carl paused and looked around, tilting his head like an animal to listen to the sounds around him.
“The girls?” he nodded. “They are very good. I hope you’re using them to their full potential.”
“Absolutely. Once it became known they were loyal to me, the rest of the organization quickly came to heel. I only had to kill three Infernals to deliver a proper lesson.”
“Kill two more, and do it soon,” Carl shook his head. “I can’t believe the girls haven’t guided you better in some areas of the Lore. Five is your lucky number, and it will send a proper message to Infernals everywhere.”
Stephanie smiled cruelly. “The girls are doing fine, Carl. We will hit five on the anniversary of my fifth year in power. No one knows who it will be, which has the entire group on pins and needles. I learned well from Raph over the years. I am strong in my position, yet not so arrogant as to believe there aren’t multiple threats to me at all times.”
Carl nodded and finished his meal, then grabbed the canteen and drank deeply from it.
“How is everyone?” Stephanie asked.
Carl shrugged as he leaned back to stare into the fire. “Everyone’s fine, Steph. The Colony has doubled in size and continues to be a royal pain in the ass. The rest send their love.”
“Tell them I send it back.”
The two sat quietly and watched the fire.
“I’m not sure what to do about your Colony,” Steph said finally.
“Don’t do anything,” Carl advised. “You have the whole world full of scattered and fearful people, Stephanie. Look in another direction and do your thing.”
“How many of the Thirteen do you have?”
“Six,” Carl looked at her. “How many do you have?”
“Five.”
“When can we collect them from you?”
Stephanie frowned at him and shook her head slightly. “I’m not sure you can,” she said.
Carl continued to gaze into the fire. “That wasn’t the deal, Steph.”
“There are some who don’t want to turn them over to you.”
“So?” he asked.
“So, I’m not strong enough to go against their objections yet.”
“Thenget strong enough,” Carl snapped. “We need them together, and we need it sooner rather than later.”
“Don’t take that tone with me,” Stephanie warned.
“My tone doesn’t matter, darlin’,” Carl whispered. “My actions do. If you need me to go hunting for Infernals to help you get support, then just say the word at this lonely campfire in the middle of nowhere and I’ll get to it.”
“You would do that?” she asked.
“We need the Thirteen in our camp,” Carl said. “That’s been my order since you became the Devil. The way I figure it, that allows me to do your dirty work in good conscience.”
Stephanie held her hands to the fire for warmth. “I have four names,” she said.
“Speak them,” Carl told her.
Stephanie gave him the names, as well as their locations in the world.
“They die and we get the five numbered people,” Carl said.
Stephanie considered the deal for a moment, then nodded slowly.
Carl stood up and began to walk towards the shadows. “I’ll let you know when it’s done.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“You look pretty comfortable sitting in that chair,” Trew called out as he entered the penthouse apartment. Across the room Trew and Cooper could see the boy sitting in the plush leather chair. He looked up from the computer monitor and smiled, spi
nning the chair around and flashing them a genuine smile of delight.
“It seems a lot bigger than I remember,” he hopped down and walked towards the living area, plopping comfortably onto a black leather couch. His smiling eyes flitted to Cooper and he nodded. “Enjoying a full time gig in the Game, Cooper?” he asked.
“I’ve only been here a few days, boy,” Cooper sat down with an amused look. “Trew’s kept me busy so far.”
“Excellent,” the boy said. “Let’s chat for a bit, shall we, gentlemen?”
Trew sat down and looked closely at the boy. He looked to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, with short brown hair and bright blue eyes. He wore comfortable fitting clothes that matched the current teen style on Tygon, along with black running shoes. He looked like any normal boy his age on Tygon, except for his eyes.
Children who played the Game began to display a ‘look’ shortly after they began to play incarnations as humans. The more lives they lived, the more of a presence they displayed. Between the ages of sixteen to eighteen it was impossible not to recognize a Gamer entirely by their bearing and presence. Younger children didn’t show it so acutely; to see the presence so strong in a boy this age was, to say the least, remarkable.
“Brandon?” Trew asked, just to make it official.
“What?” the boy asked seriously, then winked and beamed a huge smile.
“Just confirming what we all knew,” Trew said. “Didn’t take you long to get back in here.”
“You shouldn’t be back in here,” Cooper frowned.
“Says who?” Brandon asked.
“It’s too soon, Brandon,” Cooper began. “There are rules and procedures for re-entry...”
The boy held his hand up and made a clicking sound with his tongue. “The rules have been changed,” he announced. “I was needed here now, so I came.”
“You know what could happen because of your choice,” Cooper said.
“Better than anyone,” Brandon nodded. “Yet here I am.”
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