“Are you sure you’re ready for this? It’s going to be chaos down there,” Navid said. “We should watch for a while before you attempt anything.”
“We’re ready,” Allie took her sister’s hand. “Show us what to do.”
“Don’t worry, Dad,” Livia said, taking his hand. “They won’t even notice we’re here until it’s too late. Let them play their war games while we’re busy pulling the rug out from under them.”
Was that the first time she called him dad? Judging by the proud look on Navid’s face, it was. Allie rarely called him that herself, and she’d known Navid her whole life. But I had a real father. Carson was her dad in every sense of the word, but Navid was so much more than just her biological father. It still felt like a betrayal to Carson to think of Navid as her dad, too.
With a flash and a wave of nausea, they traveled to the outskirts of the battlefield.
“We’ll work from the back this time. At least until you get the hang of it,” Navid said, drawing a weapon from thin air. “Choose a soldier and when they aren’t looking, grab an arm and shove them toward the river. Some will fight you but most will wander back to the safety of their own dreamscape, eager to be away. Just keep working at it, one by one.”
“And if we get them out of here will they be free of Brecken forever?” Allie asked.
“For most it will break the influence he has over them but only for a time,” Navid said. He will eventually pull them back. The longer they’ve been with him, the more difficult it will be to break the ties that bind the dreamers to Brecken.”
“Then we need to overthrow this bastard soon,” Livia said. Allie found it baffling that someone who once used and abuse children herself could hold such righteous anger on these kid’s behalf.
“We need to find a way to get through as many soldiers as possible,” Allie said. “One at a time won’t do much good when we have a thousand suffering.”
“Let’s do what we can today but we have to find a permanent solution to this problem,” Livia said.
“Defeat Brecken,” Navid said. “That’s our end game.”
Chapter Fifteen
Aidan
Rhineland, Germany, December
“I hate teaching.” Aidan paced across stone pavilion, waiting for his newest student. This was his third training session in his new position with the Milan Initiative and he was just as nervous as the first time.
“Would you sit down already?” Pilar said from her perch on the lounge beside the fire pit. “You’re making me crazy.” She had been the biggest surprise of all. After Cleo and Genevieve left to return to Milan with Naomi, Aidan hadn’t seen either of them, nor had he laid eyes on his Syntrophos in all that time. Pilar was Aidan’s babysitter. She escorted him from his home in Cologne to the training facility and back, posing as a Senate official to appease Fitzy. Yet Aidan suspected she was similarly trapped within the Milan Initiative. A strange predicament for a two thousand year old Immortal. Aidan just wasn’t sure if he could trust her yet.
He started to ask Pilar about his newest student, but her stony glare shut him up.
“Don’t ask again,” she said. “Ezra will be down soon.”
“Right,” he muttered, taking a seat opposite Pilar. Aidan had always thought he hated teaching his friends. Turned out he just hated teaching, period. Sure, he had a lot he could share, but he was a disaster at preparing lessons. It never seemed to go the way he intended, and he often ended up bumbling his way through it. Aidan’s foot bounced against his knee as he cast another glance across the pavilion.
“Sit still,” Pilar snapped. “Why are you so nervous? He’s just a kid.”
“Sorry.” Aidan stood. “I just really suck at this.” Aidan moved to pace the perimeter of the training room, taking laps around the lounge area surrounding the fire pit. It wasn’t really a room. Cleo had rented a freaking castle along the Rhine River, just south of the city. Each week, a new student came to stay here over a long weekend to train with Aidan. The grounds were enormous with sweeping, snow-covered lawns and tall trees guarding the property. They had all the privacy they needed. Aidan favored the covered pavilion that must have once served as an outdoor ballroom. Today, it was a training ground for Aidan and his youngest student yet, Ezra, a seventeen-year-old boy from London. His Syntrophos, Wes, was a twenty-year-old college student from New Orleans.
“I happen to think you’d be pretty damn good at this if you’d get out of your head and just go with the flow. You try to plan it like you can teach them a series of lessons like XYZ, but you’re not teaching algebra, Aidan. These kids don’t need structured lessons. They need someone who recognizes what they need, when they need it, and to sometimes let them set the tone of their lessons.”
“You sound like my dad.” Aidan smiled. “He always says I overthink this.”
“Teaching?”
“Yeah, it was part of my training. Dad always said people would look to me as the enemy or the leader, so I’d better get used to taking charge now. I’ve spent the last couple of years training some of my younger friends. Even my girlfriend. Though I’m pretty sure I’ve learned more from her than she has from me.”
“See, you’re a natural with experience and everything. Perfect guy for the job.”
“Right, lucky me.” Aidan returned to his seat by the fire. “What’s taking this kid so long?”
“We had an intense workout this morning, so I let him shower and primp a little longer than usual.”
“I do not primp,” Ezra said, thrusting a hand through his carefully styled hair.
Aidan turned to see the skinny boy crossing the pavilion.
“I just like long showers, and I prefer to let my hair dry naturally in front of the fire like a civilized human being.” His dark hair fell in a perfect wave over one eye. “Hi, I’m Ezra.” He offered his hand to Aidan. His wary green eyes blazed like dark emeralds.
“Nice to meet you.” Aidan shook his hand.
“They neglected to tell me my new teacher is a hottie. I might have come willingly if someone bothered to show me pics.”
“Okay, then.” Aidan laughed, certain his face flushed pink.
“Did I forget to mention Ezra’s a flirt?” Pilar said, her lips thinning into an unamused smile.
“I love all people, so don’t mind me, I’m harmless,” Ezra said.
“Right, that’s a line of BS if I ever heard one. I’ll let you two get aquatinted.” Pilar stood to go. “I’ll check back around lunchtime.” She headed back toward the house but paused half way across the pavilion. “Ezra, that doesn’t mean you get to ask a billion stupid questions to evade anything personal. You tell Aidan about yourself, so he can get a feel for where you’ve come from and what you’ve been through. Don’t waste his time.”
“Yes, Mom.” He rolled his eyes. “She thinks she knows all my tricks but she doesn’t.”
“You are going to be my most interesting student, aren’t you?” Aidan chuckled.
“You’ll thank me later.”
“Come have a seat by the fire,” Aidan offered. “We’ll have a chat this morning and spend the afternoon sparring, so I can access your previous training.”
“I’m all yours.” Ezra winked, taking the seat opposite Aidan. “You have a girlfriend, don’t you? Guys like you always have hot girlfriends. Tell me about her.” Ezra crossed his ankle over his knee, smoothing the wrinkles in his dark skinny jeans.
“I do have a girlfriend and she’s pretty fantastic.”
“Blond, big boobs? Kind of a ditz?”
Aidan nearly choked on his laughter. “Definitely not. And she’d tear your face off if you said that around her. She’s a smart redhead with a hell of a temper, and she’s as kind as she is beautiful.”
“So that’s a yes on the big boobs.” Ezra smirked.
“The ass is not so bad either.” Aidan couldn’t stifle his smile. Allie would adopt this kid as her new bestie in a heartbeat.
“So, heartbreaker, what brings you to
Germany?”
“School.”
“Music, right? You play violin?”
“Yep. And that’s enough about me. Tell me about your family.” Aidan forced himself to stop tapping his foot against the slate floor.‘
“Dead,” Ezra said, bouncing his knee with a nervous twitch.
“Coalition?”
“Supposedly.”
“Why supposedly?” Aidan wasn’t fooled by Ezra’s nonchalance. He was choosing his words carefully. Already Aidan knew Ezra wasn’t here by choice and he didn’t trust the Milan Initiative, which meant he could be a potential ally.
“Well, two years ago, I lived in London with my parents, and life was pretty normal. I had a normal Awakening and a few months later, I met Wes. We hit it off right away. One night we were out late and a couple of assholes jumped me. Too many for us to handle alone. They roughed me up pretty bad—I’m a lover not a fighter. Anyway, Wes was freaking out, fussing over me and then it just happened. We bonded just like that. The Milan Initiative came knocking on our door a few weeks later, eager for me and Wes to come train with others like us. My parents weren’t down with that and neither was Wes. They wanted me home for another year or two before they felt it was necessary to dive into that kind of training.”
“Weeks?” Aidan’s brow shot up in surprise. That’s awfully convenient. “They just showed up out of the blue right after you bonded?” Aidan asked. “How did they even know about you and Wes?”
“Convenient, yeah?”
“A little too convenient,” Aidan said without thinking. He shouldn’t show his true feelings about the Initiative. He needed to be more careful.
“I’ve heard stuff about you, you know,” Ezra said, lowering his voice.
“Like what?”
“Like you and Naomi don’t want to be here any more than the rest of us. Like maybe things happened a certain way to bring you both here too.”
Aidan studied Ezra with his gift, feeling for his emotions and current mood. His pulse raced and he was scared despite his outward bravado.
“You can trust me,” Ezra said softly. “I can tell you things about the Initiative.” Ezra met his gaze, begging for Aidan’s trust. “I’m the snoop, so I know things the others don’t.”
Aidan glanced over his shoulder for Pilar or one of the many guards she traveled with when escorting a student.
“It’s okay, Pilar’s a friend. They’ll leave us alone for a little while.” Ezra leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “We don’t get the luxury of privacy very often so I have to take advantage of it when it comes around.”
“And how do you know you can trust me?” Aidan said cautiously.
“Naomi told me I could. I’ve been training with her for a few weeks. I’m her favorite.” Ezra shrugged. “She told me to tell you to ‘listen to the boy, dinkus.’”
Aidan laughed, his tension melting away. Only Naomi could have sent that message. “She used to call me that when I was five. So tell me what you know.” Aidan said, not sure what to make of Ezra.
“Work with me here because it’s kinda crazy, and you’re probably not going to believe me.” Ezra shot a last look over his shoulder, lowering his voice. “They have ways of tracking kids with this bond.”
“How?” Aidan lowered his voice, too, eager for anything Ezra could tell him.
“I’m going to sound like a total nutter here, but they use the dreamworld. It’s this place … or realm or something, I don’t know how to describe it—”
“I’m up to speed on the dreamworld,” Aidan said. For centuries the dreamworld was an obscure place with a dwindling population of dream walkers, most Immortals didn’t know of its existence anymore. “They’re using a dream walker?”
“Yes.” Ezra scooted to the edge of his seat. “See, I knew you’d be my go to guy for this stuff I don’t know what to do with. I overheard our evil-lady leaders talking about this dreamworld stuff months ago and it took me a while to make sense of it. They have this guy, Brecken. He’s a powerful dream walker, and he knows how to find us in our dreams. In the real world, searching for younger kids with the bond would be an impossible task, but Brecken is like a freaking dog with our scent. But I think it’s only young Immortals. It’s like it’s easier for him to trace the bond when we’re Unproven.”
“That’s why everyone is so young.” Aidan drummed his fingers against his knees. “They’ve streamlined their recruiting process.” An anxious tremor raced down Aidan’s spine. He did not like this. Not at all. This whole thing reeked of manipulation.
“I heard they had their own dream walker all set to join the team last year, and I guess it fell through. Now, Brecken is off on some other mission, and they’re looking for new access to the dreamworld. That’s why we haven’t had anyone new in a while.”
“A new dream walker, huh?” Aidan sat back in his seat. “About a year ago?” Of course, it fell through. Right around the time Quinn escaped Soma. Right after Allie saw his picture on the auction block at Amrita. Someone with the Milan Initiative had tried to buy Quinn. But how could they have known he was a dream walker then? Quinn was just figuring that out for himself.
“You look freaked,” Ezra said. “I freaked you out.”
“Ezra, I need to know how you have all of this information,” Aidan said. “And I need total honesty from you if we’re going to be friends.”
“It’s a talent I have.” Ezra’s shoulder lifted in a half-shrug. “Think about it, earlier when I showed up did you sense me coming from the McMansion behind us?” He shot a thumb over his shoulder.
“I was distracted, talking to Pilar.” Aidan glanced at the distance between the pavilion and the house. A wide, sweeping lawn separated the two structures, but it wasn’t so far that Aidan couldn’t have sensed the young Immortal coming across the lawn.
“Do you often get so distracted you don’t notice other Immortals creeping up behind you?” Ezra gave him a poignant look.
The kid had a point. “No, that never happens, but you were still across the room when you called out your arrival.”
“I was there the whole time you were talking to Pilar about being nervous and how you hate teaching, but your dad made it part of your training. I can sneak up on just about anyone and they never notice me. I’m not suppressing my Immortal presence, I’m just sending out a very non-threatening vibe that kinda allows me to hide in plain sight. So, I hear things. I make it a point to hear things. Information is a hot commodity when you’re sucked into a game of lies and deceit with no way out.”
“And why are you telling me what you know?” Aidan wanted to trust the kid, but he needed to tread carefully here.
“I want to go home. I never wanted to be here, and I don’t think half the kids in the Initiative do either.”
“Why pin your hopes on me?” Aidan asked.
“Timing,” Ezra said with a careless shrug. “I’m taking a leap of faith, hoping you won’t disappoint me.”
Aidan sat back against his seat, studying Ezra’s earnest face. The Initiative was looking for new access to the dreamworld. It was only a matter of time before Cleo or Genevieve figured out Aidan had that kind of access through Allie. Only a matter of time before they pulled her into this mess right along with him.
They’re orchestrating these bonds. Aidan wished he could talk to his father about this. Gregg would know if that was even possible. But there had to be a way the Initiative was forcing these bonds to happen to such young kids. It was too convenient for it to happen naturally and for so many when the bond was so rare. Maybe this Brecken guy can find people with the potential for the Syntrophos bond? Then they bring the two together and force an emotional situation to see what happens.
“You have a scary look on your face,” Ezra said nervously.
“Sorry.” Aidan tried to smile his reassurance, but he was freaked out and angry and, like Ezra, he just wanted to go home. “You’ve shed some light on some very interesting details. You’ll let me know
if you discover anything more I might want to hear?”
“That’s it?” Ezra frowned. “I tell you all the juicy bits and I get nothing in return?”
“We’re still building trust, Ezra.” Aidan smiled. “If you prove to be trustworthy, I’ve got your back. If you cross me or Naomi, there will be repercussions.” Aidan let the authority of his power color his voice with a threatening tone. He would never hurt the kid, but he needed Ezra to respect him and maybe fear him a little too.
“Whoa.” Ezra let out a nervous breath. “You’re scary powerful.”
“But a good friend to have in your corner,” Aidan said.
Ezra nodded. “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for anything you might find of interest. But …”
“But what?” Aidan asked.
“Can we—Wes and I, um …”
“Spit it out,” Aidan said with a kinder tone.
“Can we count on your protection?”
Aidan’s heart wilted at the sincere note of desperation in Ezra’s voice. “What are you afraid of?” Aidan asked.
“Everything.” Ezra sighed. “You’ll see.”
“You can count on our friendship,” Aidan said. “If you need anything, get to Naomi and she’ll get a message to me.” Aidan didn’t know what he could do for Ezra, but he felt a little less alone, knowing his student didn’t trust the Milan Initiative any more than he did. The kid was a good ally.
“So, where does the Coalition come into your sad story?” Aidan asked, not wanting to push their boundaries any further today.
“After we turned them down in the beginning, Cleo and Genevieve left, and we thought that was the end of it. Wes and I were out late one night, like we do … or did. We came home and found my parents slaughtered in their beds. We’ve been in Italy ever since. We didn’t really have anywhere else to go. The whole thing has always sounded like a means to an end to me. We’re here, aren’t we? Just like they wanted.”
“You think Cleo and Genevieve sent the Coalition to your home? Or was it Pilar?”
“Pilar I’d trust with my life. She’s a pawn just like us. But this thing doesn’t start and end with Cleo and Genevieve. There are others pulling strings behind the scenes. They talk of their benefactors, but I don’t know who that could be.”
Emerge- The Betrayal Page 15