Shadow Born: Book 1 of the Shadow-Borne Chronicles

by Paul A. Cagle

  Both men finished dressing and exited the pool area. Something that Marcus said raised a question that Alec had been meaning to ask.

  "About mind control, the whole ability to compel someone, how does that work?"

  "Well, it's a very limited ability and some are stronger than others and can do more with it. We can compel a human to do what we want. The simpler the command the better it works. We can also use the ability to make someone forget something that happened in the last ten minutes, but you can't wipe their memory completely, or erase a whole hour or day."

  "Why?" Alec asked frowning.

  "I guess because the human mind wouldn't be able to take it. Leaving a huge blank space in someone's memory like an hour or a day is just going to cause them to ask more questions and start searching for answers, but making them forget ten minutes or so, they assume they were daydreaming or just forgot something irrelevant. You can compel someone not to reveal what they know to the rest of the world, but if it's been over ten minutes you can't make them forget it."

  Alec pondered this new piece of information.

  “That’s why Jake was compelled not to reveal anything you had done or that we had discussed. Everything that happened at the pizza place had taken place an hour or so before and he couldn’t be made to forget it. Plus, Silas thought you might need someone from your past to talk to about everything going on. As long as you’re careful that is.” Marcus winked at Alec.

  Alec and Marcus split and went different directions once they reached the main part of the mansion. Alec headed to Doctor Schubert's office and knocked on the door and was called inside.

  "How have you been feeling Alec?" Schubert asked, and motioned for Alec to have a seat.

  "I'm okay. I'm adjusting to everything. I'm not used to sleeping all day and staying up all night."

  "I understand. How is your appetite? Any strange cravings or changes in taste or eating habits?"

  Alec assumed he was being asked if he was craving human blood. "No, no changes. I eat the same, no cravings and nothing unusual going on there."

  "Good," Schubert said making notes in Alec's file.

  "Any strange thoughts recently? Mood swings, or changes in your temper?"

  Alec thought about it for a minute. "Well, I hate to bring it up, yesterday at the pizza place with Jake I couldn’t use my abilities. At first I was scared and couldn’t make them work but then I then I got furious and suddenly I was burning blood."

  Schubert turned to Alec and looked at him. "Burning blood?"

  Shit, Alec thought to himself, I wasn't supposed to mention that Marcus has been helping me.

  "It's a term Marcus taught me. Like burning calories. I've been practicing trying to use my abilities and he explained to me what my body was doing."

  Schubert frowned a little. "I'm well aware of Marcus's terms for the act. I just don't like it. It's inaccurate. Our bodies absorb the blood and convert it to pure energy which fuels our actions."

  Alec explained to Schubert that his abilities still didn't work on command and that he had to consciously trigger his abilities to make them work. He also explained how fear prevented him from being able to do it.

  Schubert turned back to his file and made more notes.

  "I feel kind of ashamed to admit it but I really wanted to hurt Cassandra the other night after all that happened. I wanted to smash the glass into her face repeatedly.” He was afraid to meet the doctor’s eye.

  "Don't feel bad, Alec. Every one of us has wanted to do the same to her at one point in time or another. And in your case, I'm sorry to say that it will probably happen again and often."

  Doctor Schubert put Alec through a series of bizarre tests, asking him to guess numbers or colors on cards that Alec couldn't see. He was also instructed to try and move with his mind alone, a small pendulum that Schubert had hanging at his desk. He explained to Alec that as a vampire grew stronger, some of the ancient ones developed certain Psi abilities and he wanted to test Alec to see if he was capable of any of them.

  Alec did show a higher than average ability at determining what the other side of a card held, but other than that not much else was determined except that they had wasted a large amount of time. Schubert finally called a halt to the testing and allowed Alec to leave with a promise to pick up where they’d left off.

  Alec was looking for Marcus, so he went directly to Silas's office. The guards let him in without question. Marcus and Silas were sitting in their usual places on the white leather couches in the back of the room. Silas motioned Alec over as soon as he entered.

  "How was your visit with Doctor Schubert," Silas asked Alec as he sat.

  "He ran a whole series of tests to see if I had psychic abilities."

  "And?"

  Alec just laughed. "He said I have higher than average results in determining what is on the face of a card… and he advised I should take a trip out to Vegas.”

  All three of the men laughed at that.

  "Alec, I know you feel cooped in your rooms, so I am giving you free run of the main part of the mansion, just don't stray any further, or try to leave please." At this he gave Alec a look. Alec grinned sheepishly but nodded.

  "We have a media room with televisions, game consoles, computers, and pretty much anything electronic you wish to play with. If there is a game or system that you would like, just tell the day staff and they will get it for you."

  "Seriously?" Alec asked surprised.

  "Yes. If there is anything you need at all please let the day staff know."

  "Thanks, Silas," Alec said earnestly.

  Silas smiled at him. "It’s been a very long night and the sun is almost up so I will have Xavier show you where the media room is located. Marcus and I have a little more business to finish up so have a good day, Alec and sleep well."

  Alec told Silas and Marcus to have a good rest and followed Xavier to the media room. It was huge. There were several large flat panel televisions on the walls, a surround sound system, gaming consoles and the works. It was awesome. Alec thanked Xavier and scanned through the games that were on the shelves. He found several he'd always wanted to play and popped one in.

  Alec lost track of time. He played through several of the games, searching for something that held his interest. He was currently mowing his way through a horde of zombies. The door behind Alec opened, but he didn't turn to see who it was, afraid that the zombies would eat him if he did. He figured the game was too loud and someone was there to make him turn it down.

  He was finishing up with the last wave of zombies and decided maybe it was time for bed since he couldn't quit yawning. He wasn't sure what time it was but he knew he needed to get to sleep soon.

  From behind him, Alec heard a gun cock and a shiver of warning went down his spine. Without thinking, he jumped out of the way, just as his unknown assailant opened fire, raining bullets into the area where Alec had been sitting.

  Great, now what? he thought to himself. This wasn't getting any better.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Questions

  Alec dropped the game controller and jumped just as the first bullets tore apart the area he had been sitting in. He landed across the room and turned in time to see one of the maids, he couldn't remember her name, but she was older with her white hair in a bun, point the semi-automatic weapon she was holding in Alec's direction. Alarms blared instantly alerting that there was gunfire inside the mansion.

  Time had slowed for Alec so he had a chance to see the woman's face. She had the same slack look he had seen before when a vampire was compelling someone. Had this woman been compelled to kill him?

  The maid squeezed the trigger again and an explosion of bullets burst from the end of the gun. Alec could see the individual projectiles as they hurtled towards him. He jumped towards the nearest wall to his right, planted one foot about halfway up, and kicked off against it to throw himself towards the couch. He landed and flipped the couch ove
r as protection. There were only so many times he could outrun bullets in such a confined space. Eventually, she would get a good shot in and then Alec wasn't sure what would happen.

  From the other side of the room, outside the doors, Alec could hear guards shouting and yelling. From his vantage point he could raise his head and see that they had guns drawn and were aiming for the maid. He had to stop this before someone got hurt.

  The woman riddled the couch with bullets then turned on the guards and opened fire. Alec didn't see anyone get hit but suddenly he smelled blood and realized at least one of the bullets had found its mark.

  "Get back," Alec yelled from behind the couch. "Don't shoot her, she's been compelled. We need her alive!” Alec wasn’t sure if security would listen to him or not. He wasn’t used to giving orders, but he sounded authoritative to his own ears.

  He peeked up and saw the men withdrawing from the door. With one target out of the way, the maid turned back to Alec. Before she fully turned, Alec made a decision. He gathered his strength and jumped again before he could change his mind. His body hurtled towards his attacker in an arc that would take him over her head. He watched in slow motion as the woman raised the semi-automatic weapon trying to track his movement. The bullets chewed apart the ceiling right where Alec had been and followed his progress, missing him by mere millimeters.

  Alec flipped in the air and landed behind the woman. He grabbed the gun and ripped it out of her hands as she turned. There was a large looking machete-type knife in her belt and her hand reached for it. The worst thing about all of it was that the woman's face never changed. She still had the slack look and dull eyes of someone that has been controlled.

  Alec threw the gun through the door and grabbed the woman's wrist to keep her from drawing the large knife. He hated to do it, but he punched the woman in the face and watched as she crumpled to the ground.

  "It's clear," Alec yelled to the guards outside the room. They burst in, guns pointed everywhere in the room, including the unconscious woman on the floor. One of the men took the knife from the woman's belt and searched her for weapons before putting her in cuffs. She was then picked up and bodily carried out of the room.

  "Are you okay, sir?" one of the guards asked Alec. He nodded once.

  Alec surveyed the room and the damage that had been done to it. The comfortable couch that Alec had been sitting on was turned over and had been shredded. There were pieces of it all over the room. The television that Alec had been watching was now a smoking ruin, split in half and barely hanging on the wall by wires. The floor and carpet were torn up as well. It was a disaster area. There were pieces of the couch and furniture scattered everywhere. At least there weren’t pieces of Alec scattered everywhere. He’d been lucky.

  Alec looked up at the ceiling and the destruction that had followed his jump. Plaster had exploded out and covered the floor. In certain places Alec could see through to the boards above. Huge chunks of the ceiling had exploded or fallen to the floor.

  Alec was amazed at the destruction that one weapon could do. It was scary. It took him a moment to realize that the guard was speaking to him. He quickly turned his attention to the man.

  "Were you hit?"

  "No," Alec said and shook his head. "I heard the gun and moved before she started shooting. I'm fine."

  "The daytime doctor is available if you need him, sir."

  "Thank you," Alec said, "I'm fine." They had a daytime doctor? Of course they did. There was a huge staff here and many guards. Silas wouldn't want them to have to leave and go to a regular doctor if they got shot or something. How would they explain that? That reminded Alec, he had smelled blood earlier.

  "Who was shot and how bad is it?" Alec asked the young guard who had been checking on him. Alec almost sounded like someone who was in control.

  The man didn't say anything but motioned for Alec to follow him out of the doors. There lying in a puddle of blood was the body of a guard. His face was unrecognizable from where the bullets had torn through him. Alec stopped dead and his breath caught. The man's red hair was splattered with blood and gore. It was Max, the guard that had sought out Alec and Marcus in the pool. Tears stung Alec's eyes and he felt like the room was moving out from under him. The guard that had led him out took him by the arm and moved Alec to a place where he could sit.

  Max was dead because of him. Alec felt like he couldn't breathe. The young guard was saying something to him but he couldn't hear it and didn't care what it was. This young man had died trying to protect Alec. If it weren’t for him and this ridiculous situation he was in Max would still be alive. Alec felt like he was going to vomit. He scrubbed his hands across his face a couple of times trying to regain his composure. He couldn't fall apart now. It wouldn't do anyone any good. He could mourn the man later.

  Alec, his fatigue forgotten, instructed security to let him know the moment his attacker was awake. He had some questions for her. He couldn't wait in the destroyed media room so he went to Silas's sitting room. The guards there told Alec that Silas had left instructions that if he needed the sitting room it was available to him. He told the guards to let the others know where he was when the maid woke up.

  Alec passed into the large room looking at the various shelves and books that were there. It was eerie how much it looked like the place where Clarissa had turned him. She had obviously been trying to recreate the look and feel. She probably thought there was something mystical about the set up. No one Alec had spoken to understood why Clarissa had done the things she'd done.

  Alec didn’t quite feel like himself. He’d been shot at and someone had died trying to protect him. He’d given Silas’s security guards orders that had been followed. He’d sounded confident and in control, even though he didn’t feel like either. He guessed that was the secret. If you sounded and acted like you knew what you were doing then people would do what you told them to do.

  A little over an hour later, the double doors to the sitting room opened and Dorn, the head of security walked in. He looked troubled and pissed all at the same time. His uniform was crisp and clean looking and he wore the usual tactical vest supplied to all the security here. But he looked tired. Alec had only seen him at night with Silas and assumed they had woken him to tell him what had happened.

  "Are you okay?" he asked, looking Alec over.

  "I'm fine, Dorn."

  "What in the hell happened, Alec?"

  So Alec explained to him the events as they unfolded. Dorn just listened carefully and nodded when Alec was finished.

  "More or less what I figured from looking at the room. Why do you think the woman, her name is Nancy Farris by the way," Dorn said quickly realizing he had forgotten to give Alec that detail. "Why do you think Ms. Farris was compelled?"

  "I saw her face as she was shooting at me. She had the same slack faced, dull eyed look I've seen others wearing while they are being compelled."

  Dorn nodded, thinking.

  "So you think that Ms. Farris was compelled to waltz straight through the doors with a semi-automatic weapon and open fire on you? Who would be so damn stupid…I'm sorry Alec, please excuse my language, but who would be so stupid as to attack a guest in Silas's own house? That's ballsy for you. Sorry."

  Alec nodded wholeheartedly. "I honestly don't know."

  "How many vampires have you pissed off?" Dorn asked the question rhetorically but looked at Alec speculatively.

  Alec shrugged and shook his head.

  "Who knows? There are bound to be those out there that find my existence offensive. By the way, what was the big ugly looking knife for?"

  "It was for cutting your head off, Alec. If she could shoot you and slow you down, she would have used it to remove your head from your shoulders. It's one of the only surefire ways to kill a vampire."

  Alec swallowed uneasily at the thought. Good thing he'd heard the gun cock and jumped out of the way when he did. She could have just walked in and started wit
h that. He might not have even known what hit him. That was an uncomfortable thought.

  "Ms. Farris is awake finally. She's in a cell but she seems to be unresponsive. I was told you wanted to know."

  Alec nodded. "I want to talk to her and see if she can tell us who did this."

  Dorn led Alec through a door in the back of the room and down a plain hallway. At the end was a door that Dorn opened with a key. There were a few more twists and turns, doors and halls before they reached a steel door inset with silver. The guards there nodded to Dorn as he punched in a series of numbers on the keypad. Alec could hear several locks click open and they walked inside a large room with monitors and men stationed at them.

  Dorn walked towards one and motioned that Alec was to follow. When they arrived Alec saw that the monitor showed a cell with a bed bolted to the wall and a sink and toilet in the corner. On the bed sat Nancy Farris, back straight and perfectly still. She didn't even look like she was breathing.

  "Has she moved or been responsive at all?" Dorn asked the security guard stationed there.

  "Negative, sir," the man answered in his deep rough voice. Alec bit his lip thinking.

  "Has she said or done anything at all," Alec asked squinting at the monitor trying to see if she still had the look of someone compelled. He couldn't really tell due to the distance and resolution.

  "No sir. She just woke up, sat on the edge of the bed and hasn't moved since."

  "I want to speak with her," Alec said looking at Dorn.

  The man hesitated a moment, thinking.

  "I don't think Silas will have a problem with this. I would do the exact same thing if he were standing here," Alec told the man. Alec was tired of playing the victim.

  "Okay." Dorn pulled out a set of keys and stopped when he reached the security door that led to the cellblock the woman was in. It too was lined with silver. Security measures against vampires, Alec thought. What was he doing? He’d never confronted anyone in his life and here he was getting ready to confront someone who’d tried to kill him. Something in Alec had snapped when he’d been shot at. He knew this was something he needed to do. No more hiding behind Silas. This was real.