Arise: Book one of the Inperium Series

by Addison West

  “You need to be calm for this next part, Aurora.” He said honestly, holding my chin with his hand. I wenched my head away. He tilted his head and gave me a threatening look. I nodded and he gently helped me out of the van.

  I looked up past the car at the huge old building in front of me. It looked like a Victorian mansion, incredibly grand and ornate. It was also intimidating. I looked around a few other random buildings dotted around forming a campus of sorts. Surrounding the campus was a dense forest. Some men in an army like uniform came marching down the stairs of the entrance to the main building they were followed by a middle-aged gentleman and a couple of people who looked to be in their early twenties. The middle-aged man intrigued me. He was long and thin and dressed in what seemed to be period garb, Victorian, to match the enormous house behind him. His face was gaunt and drawn out. I imagine he might have been regarded as a handsome man when he was younger back in the 1800s, I frowned to myself stopping my visible smirk from my funny quip, but in the bright light of day he looked like an out of touch man trying too hard. He had fashioned and shaped his thin black moustache into points that curled up at the end and his eyes were beady and hungry as he looked me over. He marched with a strange sense of entitled authority towards me. The couple that were behind him looked equally as strange, both were thin and tall. The woman had long silver blonde hair that hung perfectly straight over her left shoulder. Her make-up was a little over the top and her lipstick was too bold for her colouring, but it matched her scarlet stilettos. The young man stood proud in a navy military like uniform his face gaunt and miserable. His chest was adorned with tiny colourful medals.

  “What is this?” I questioned. Colt raised an eyebrow at me, warning me.

  “Welcome Miss Hart. I see you have grown up into a confident young woman.” The older man spoke smirking at me. I did not like it.

  “How do you know my name?”

  “We’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

  “Looking for me? Why?”

  “Yes, Miss Hart, did Colt and Tristan not explain?” The man looked towards my kidnappers.

  “Not really sir, Miss Hart hasn’t exactly been the most cooperative.” Tristan said diplomatically and I shot him a look. They were the ones who had kept giving me sedatives.

  “Disappointing.” The man walked around me, looking me up and down. “I thought she would be stronger.” He said to the couple behind him who immediately began to scribble notes on clipboards that they held. “I’m Director William Dubois. I am the current director of the Inperium Organisation and you my dear are currently at our headquarters.”

  “You could be the mayor of loonyville, and I wouldn’t give a…” I was cut off. A clipboard smacked me across the face, knocking me to the ground. Colt stepped forward and roughly pulled me back to my feet.

  “Show some respect you ungrateful half breed.” The man in the navy uniform barked at me.

  “Respect is earned.” I spat at him. He raised the clipboard to hit me again, but the director stopped him. “When can I go home?” Everyone ignored my question.

  “That is enough. Miss Hart has had a big night and is probably a little tired, we should show her some leniency.” The director spoke slowly and with authority. He still looked at me the way a crocodile looks at its next meal though.

  “What is this place?” I looked around at the odd collection of buildings.

  “You are not a great listener, are you?” The director looked at me, his eyes narrowing.

  “I heard well enough. The headquarters of some made up organisation just doesn’t mean a lot to me.”

  “They will do.”

  The slim blonde woman stepped forward frowning at me. She lifted my chin and pulled out a small torch. It had a greenish hue. She shone it on my face.

  “Interesting.” She said pulling away and turning back to the director. “She is marked as a hybrid sir.”

  “I marked her myself.” Colt spoke up.

  “You did what?” I turned to him.

  “He marked you, it proves you are a half breed.” The woman snarled at me. “You have no place questioning us either. Half breeds do as they are told.”

  “Stop calling me that.”

  “The girl is right, you should call her a mult, the proper name for someone of her breeding.” The director informed them all.

  “There are other names I prefer.” The man in the navy uniform sniggered. “Are we even sure she is a Mult?”

  “It would do us no harm to check I suppose.” The director consulted with him.

  “There is no need.” Tristan argued.

  “Take her down to the testing facility.” The director ordered, ignoring Tristan, and some of his soldiers walked forward and pushed me to walk in the middle of them. Two soldiers leading the way and two behind me with their guns concentrated on me. It made me feel very uncomfortable. I was terrified of what was going to come next.

  4

  Colt

  10am 5th September 2020

  Against my better judgement I had marched myself up to Lance’s office to and get him to convince William that Aurora did not need to be tested. I stormed in not even bothering to knock. I hated the fact that he had a cushy office when he did so little at the Inperium.

  “Hey man, look you need to chat to Director Dubois.” I said shutting the door behind myself. The office was over the top, like an old school oak panelled room that often housed the school principle. I thought back to the desk I shared with Tristan in the office block. I was glad I had so little paper work to do as I really disliked that building.

  “I don’t need to do anything.” Lance began. God, I hate this insufferable tool, I thought.

  “She shouldn’t be tested.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because the mark confirms she is a half breed else it wouldn’t even show up.” I stated. The reason we even marked the Mult was to confirm her identity before we took her.

  Lance just looked at me before he went and sat behind his desk. He pulled out some files from his drawers and placed them on his desk. He was slow and deliberate, it made me mad.

  “Maybe the test isn’t to make sure she is a filthy mongrel. We know she is one.”

  “Then, what is the test for?” I asked. Lance leaned back in his leather chair, smug. It creaked at holding his ego.

  “That’s need to know.”

  “You had better start telling me then, because I just kidnapped the mutt, so I think that puts me on the need to know list, don’t you?” I was forceful. Lance was small and weak, I knew how to use my size to look intimidating.

  “Director Dubois wouldn’t like you knowing.” He said explaining but it felt like an excuse I was getting sick of not being told everything but being expected to follow ridiculous orders.

  “Do I look like I care about what he would like right now?”

  “No.” He opened the manila folder and skim read down the page to the important part.

  “So, what is going on?” I was impatient.

  “She is being tested to not only check she is a half breed but also to see how viable she is for joining the newest pass out recruits.” He informed me. I couldn’t even comprehend what he had said for a minute. The pass out recruits had been training with us for months and they were only just about ready for their trials. The trials were scheduled for Wednesday and there was no way she would be ready by then.

  “Are you messing with me?”

  “No, Colt this was a board decision apparently.” He read from the file. Of course, it was, I thought.

  “Have you seen her? She has never thrown a punch in her life. She is nowhere near strong enough.”

  “It doesn’t matter, it is what the board wants.”

  “Those idiot oxygen thieves don’t have a clue. We are the ones that have to train her and have to deal with her being a weak inferior cur.” I was getting angry. I was not about to take somebody into the field that could not protect themselves. I was not a babysitt
er!

  “I’m sure we can find some uses for her.” Lance sneered and I shot him a look.

  “You are a vile creature.” I spat, disgusted at his comments. I knew exactly what he was implying.

  “You are right, I wouldn’t want to mess with her and her tainted blood.” He smiled.

  “Just talk to the Director okay?” I asked.

  “No can-do Colt.”

  “Well I’m not training her! She would be a massive waste of time. I bet she dies in her trial.” The comment was a little harsh, but I had seen half breeds that had been trained and excelled in training, fail and die in their trial.

  “If she does so be it.” He was cold.

  “Lance, I need the files you have on the Hart girl now.” William barked as he opened the door and strode in. “Oh, hello Colt. I did not expect you to be here.” He was genuinely surprised to see me.

  “Director Dubois.” I nodded.

  “He’s asking about the tests.” Lance snitched immediately, being the pathetic little weasel, he was.

  “This isn’t right, the girl shouldn’t be joining the others.” I began to plead my case.

  “Let him test her.” Lance said.

  “There is nothing you can say that will change my mind, Colt.” William threatened and I knew this was about more than just Aurora.

  5

  Colt

  11am 5th September 2020

  She sat in that room, looking terrified. Mults never looked scared, I thought, maybe they were right to test her after all.

  The room she was placed it was a little bit like a police interrogation room with a two-way mirror. The walls were lined with a grey pitted tile. There was not a metal table bolted to the floor like all the procedural police TV shows had, it was empty. There were however a few iron loops bolted in to the floor to hold any captives down with chains. I guessed she knew she was being watched through as she refused to look at the mirror. Maybe I was misjudging her. I was still surprised she did not know who she really was.

  The director walked in with Tristan and Lance behind him. Tristan looked guilty and Lance looked menacing.

  “I just want to go home.” She said defeated, tucking her hair behind her left ear. There was a slight weariness in her voice. She had a rough night, I supposed.

  “And I would love to get rid of you, but here we are.” William looked agitated. She looked puzzled at his statement and I was a little puzzled too. Clearly the board’s wishes did not reflect what William wanted. I suppose I could not blame him, we all knew about the old family ties and feud behind the Dubois family and the Lane family. Lane was Aurora’s real and proper surname before the adoption.

  “What are you going to do to me?” She asked.

  “Just some routine tests. We need to check you are who we think you are.” William smirked at her. He was enjoying playing with her.

  “You kidnapped me, and you aren’t sure I am even the right person? That is insane!” She snapped and she was right. We knew who she was. William just liked to torture hybrids, it was as simple as that. This was the only way he could torture Aurora and get away with it when he had to explain himself to the board.

  “Director Dubois with all due respect this is unnecessary, she has the mark.” I spoke through the intercom and she perked up at my voice. If she was not aware about the mirror she certainly was now. I knew I had to say it. Not for her but just so he knew what he was doing was wrong. The Director just ignored me. He was good at that. Aurora looked to the mirror for the first time and straight at me as if she could see me. The kiss we had shared hours before flooded my head and I forced myself to forget it. It was nothing special, I told myself, except that it was.

  William walked forward holding a small purple crystal.

  “This is the Partenth stone, Miss Hart.” He explained. “We use this to test you. It is a very ancient and special tradition for us here at in the Inperium.” He held the stone above his head whispered a few words in what sounded like a different language.

  “You are kidding right? A stone?” She was astounded and she had a point it must have seemed a little silly. “Surely a simple blood test or a genetic test from my saliva or something would be more accurate.”

  “Sadly, not Miss Hart, what we are testing really cannot be perceived that way, not easily.” He informed her, walking forward until he loomed over her.

  The stone was then placed on the bare skin at the top of her chest. She looked at him her eyes wide as I knew she was going through a gradual build-up of burning and stinging pain throughout her entire body. It quickly got to an unbearable level of pain and she screamed in agony. She was writhing on the floor. William’s face was one of determination as he kept pressing the stone against her. She was cursing and shouting out all sorts of profanities as the pain surged even worse. She struggled to try and get away from the stone as the longer it pressed against the skin the more the pain escalated. Time had stopped. I was holding my breath for her. She was at the tipping point of consciousness as I knew the pain had grew to a point where she would not even be able to breathe. Her eyes lit up and begun to glow a brilliant green, she was certainly a mult.

  “Stop this! Can’t you see you are killing her? The stone has changed colour!” Tristan exclaimed. He ran in and pulled William back. The once purple crystal now glowed deep red in his hand. Aurora slumped over on the ground.

  I watched as her glowing eyes closed and she passed out.

  6

  Colt

  6pm 5th September 2020

  It was my job to inform Aurora of what was going to happen next. William had shut himself in his office sulking about how the tests had not gone his way. The board had called an emergency meeting after they had heard about Aurora’s arrival, I imagined he was practising his grand speech to them about why he felt the need to test her.

  I opened the door to the test room and she just sat staring at me. I felt a little bad for her; it must have been a shock for her to suddenly find herself in some weird place being tortured. Nobody deserved that. A soldier ran in and placed a chair down for me. She was still chained to the floor. I didn’t care about removing the chains. Half breeds could be dangerous. The chains made it a little safer for me.

  “What the hell do you want?” She snapped.

  “Don’t you dare speak to me like that!” I demanded. I sat down in the chair looking down at her.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m your commanding officer.”

  “Do you kiss all your recruits?” I hated the fact she had mentioned it, because it was something I was struggling to stop thinking about.

  “Only the ones I have to mark. Otherwise I would never come near you.”

  Silence fell between us. I had not meant to be so callous. I mean she was a beautiful looking girl and I had just basically told her otherwise. That must have hurt a little bit. I was overzealous, and over compensating.

  “Are… are they going to hurt me again?” She asked, her eyes glassy. She was frightened.

  “Not today.” I confirmed. She tucked her hair behind her ear, a small act that I watched intently.

  She wiped the tears from her cheeks. She was beginning to realise she was never going home. She was lost in thought for a few moments, staring at the ground. She raised her face to look at me.

  “I can’t do this.” She said softly.

  “Well you have to.”

  “Just let me go!” She pleaded.

  “You begin training tomorrow. Tristan and I will be doing some special catch up training with you, so you are ready to join the others.” I ignored her.

  “Others?” She asked.

  “Yeah, it has been decided that you will join our up and coming pass out recruits who are going to trial on Wednesday.”

  “What? Why will no-one give me any straight answers? You all just keep moving on like I should know all this stuff and I don’t know anything. I can’t deal with this…”

  “You should know all of this stuff,
the fact you don’t is not my problem. I am here to do my job and nothing more.” I cut her off and shut her up. It was the truth, no one could fathom how she did not know. All hybrids were born with what we called the ‘instinct’ it was like an ancient ability that meant they knew what they were and about how to open the gates. They often always also knew that in order to unlock that power they had to take a trial. The fact we trained the Mults before they took their trials was more out of common courtesy and because we wanted them to have our backs when we had missions to do. It was strange she did not know the most basic of things. It meant one of two things. Either she did and she was a liar as well as a half breed, or she had repressed that part of herself after what happened when she was a baby. Either way it was bizarre.

  “Why do you all keep calling me a half breed?” She asked calmly.

  “Because that is what you are, you are only half human.” I replied matter of fact. “Well maybe even less as all the creatures are technically humanoid and you could be any combination.”

  “You people are insane. Of course, I’m human. What kind of weird cult is this?”

  “We aren’t a cult and I suggest you start thinking about remembering who you really are. I am beginning to suspect your ignorance is all an act.”

  “I just want to go home.” She was almost whining.

  “I don’t care.”

  “Of course, you don’t. You are an asshole.” She snarled.

  “I suggest you learn some respect before tomorrow.”

  “I suggest you get over yourself.” She retorted as I slammed the door.

  7

  Aurora

  6am 6th September 2020

  Tristan had come to fetch me from the room I was chained in. It had been hours. He never really said anything about it, but I could tell from his expression he was apologetic. I felt exhausted. I had spent most of the time in that room laying on the cold concrete floor wide awake, wondering how I was going to get out of there and away from the crazy organisation that had kidnapped me.