A Shadow's Light BK 2 (21 page)

Test thought for a moment. “Why would they come for
me
?”

“I was visited by one of them a couple of weeks ago, the day you saw me across the street from the hotel. This Reaper was a woman named Lauren. She told me stories. She taught me about what you are.”

“But that doesn’t make sense. If the Reapers were coming for me, why would they warn me?”

“Because she developed something that the others haven’t; a conscience. She was actually sent to find you, but, because you didn’t use your gifts often, she had a difficult time. Then she said that, and I’m assuming it was the incident at the lake, something you did led her to you.”

Test listened intently as Cliff spoke.

“She said that the first time she saw you, something happened to her. There was something about you that reminded her of her brother.”

“Why? Did she say?” asked Test.

“She did,” replied Cliff. “Her gifts didn’t show until she was in her early teens. Apparently the onset of power is different for each Shadow. According to her, you showed at an exceptionally young age and that’s partly why, she thinks, the Reapers are so interested in you. Anyway, she was able to keep her gifts hidden, much like you, until she was seventeen.

“Her father was an alcoholic and abusive to both she and her brother. Even though she had become very powerful, she still feared him. There came a day when her father picked up a shovel and attempted to beat her with it. Instinctively, she used her power to stop him. She left home that day without a soul to turn to.

“Not long after her leavin’ home, she discovered the Shadow’s ability to shift between worlds. She had to learn like most all others of your kind, the hard way; discovering the limits of her power on her own. She used them to get food and supplies, shiftin’ to secretly enter the market, grab some food, shift again, and then leave the market unseen. She came to find peace on the other side, but that feelin’ was short lived.

“In her time spent on the other side, she had encountered several spirits that kept their distance from her, but one day, during a shift, she was visited by an Asian man. His face was scarred heavily from burns suffered in the past. The man introduced himself as Anil. Lauren knew immediately that there was somethin’ not right about him. It wasn’t all of the scarrin’ on his face, it was more in the way he talked, his mannerisms. He told her that she was not alone, and that she could come with him. Of course she declined, and before Anil left, he told her that he would return and he suggested that she change her mind. The encounter left her shaken, and as if it hadn’t already been rattled enough, put her life into yet another tailspin.

Feeling lost and alone, she decided to make a secret trip back home to see her family. She needed to know that at least her mother and brother were okay.

“When she arrived, only her brother was home. His face showed the marks of beatin’s that had occurred not long before. The brother was so happy to see his sister, and without even askin’ for an explanation, he begged her to take him with her. Before she was able to answer, her father burst into the house. With a bottle of moon shine in one hand and a hammer in the other, his eyes locked on his daughter and the anger in him spilled out like the booze from his bottle.

“Before he was able to touch either of them, she took him in her grasp and held him in the air. The red pulses flashing down her arms illuminated his face and painted him the devil that he was. Her brother hugged around her waist, not showing a fear of her power, but instead a fear of the man that had burst through the door. Again the boy begged Lauren to take him away. Not knowing what would happen, she wrapped her arm around her brother and shifted to the other side.”

Test squeezed his mother’s hand tightly. “No,” he whispered.

“That’s right. She didn’t know,” replied Cliff. “She stood on the other side with her brother who lay limp on the ground beside her. In front of them her father had fallen to the floor, and she watched as he frantically backed himself to the door. Being on the other side gave her the advantage of watching his fear. She found great satisfaction in it; she felt powerful.

“She looked down at her brother and realized that he was not moving. She knelt beside him and shook him, but he showed no sign of life. Suddenly, she became aware of another presence standing beside her. It was Anil. He stood smugly staring at Lauren’s father. He told her that she should have killed the old man instead of the boy. Her heart sank. She didn’t understand. It was then that he told her that she couldn’t bring a human to the other side without killing them. She began to sob over what she thought was her brother’s dead body. Anil laid a hand on her back and told her that she should avenge her brother’s death and take the one that made them both to suffer.” Cliff took off his glasses for a moment and rubbed his eye. “You, Test, are not the only Shadow with anger issues. It actually seems to be a byproduct of the energy within your kind.”

Test mind was in a fog. It took a few seconds to understand that Cliff had stopped telling the story and was talking to him. “She killed her father, didn’t she?”

“Yes. Sadly, that act of violence and malice was what saved her life,” replied Cliff.

“How?” asked Test.

“Anil was giving Lauren a test. Had she not had the fury, the rage—the madness to take her own father’s life, he knew that she would not be a Reaper. If she would not be a Reaper, then Anil and the others would not let her be.”

“Why do they want
me
?” asked Test. “Do they do this to all of the Shadows?”

“No. Like I said, your early development has something to do with it,” replied Cliff as he slid his glasses back onto his nose. With a stern tone, he continued. “Your lack of self control is more than likely attractive to them as well.”

Looking somewhat ashamed, Test asked, “Why didn’t Lauren just come to me?”

“She knew that you would have run. She’d hoped that you would listen to me. You are lucky that it is Lauren they sent for you. You being captured would have meant a certain and quick death for you had it been Anil. Apparently she’s keepin’ her secret, otherwise...”

“Cliff! That’s enough!” yelled Maggie.

“Ain’t no time for sugar coatin’ it, Mrs. Davis,” replied Cliff in an uncharacteristically savage tone.

“Oh get off your soapbox, Cliff. You’ve both been sugar coatin’ everything this whole time.” Test pulled away from Maggie and began to walk away from both of them. Once several feet away, he spun and with finger pointed at Cliff. “Tell me again how this is a miraculous gift! Tell me again how lucky I am!” he screamed.

Maggie and Cliff remained silent. Test turned and began to walk towards the drive, and after only a couple of steps, his mother appeared in front of him.

“There is nothing given that doesn’t come with a price, Test.” Maggie’s words were soft and purposeful. “I wasn’t lying. I truly think you have been given an amazing gift. You just have to be strong and find your way through this.”

“Keep that shine, son. That’s what makes you special. That’s what’ll save you.” Cliff approached from behind and put his arm around Test. “We can do this. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Chapter 22

The familiar hum of the lights had become audible through the haze from which Test was awaking. He was careful not to move, breathe loudly, or even open his eyes. He could hear the Professor in the room talking aloud, and assumed that he was dictating notes into a recorder.

“…to explain the luminescence that the subject emits would require, it appears, to let him energize his powers. It has been determined that to let that happen would be of imminent danger to myself, this facility, and the security of the world. We must assume that, as in humans, a biochemical reaction is responsible, but it stands to reason that it happens on a much higher level within the subject. This is the only acceptable theory to a condition that can’t be tested.”

Can’t be tested,
he thought to himself. The phrase brought him a strange comfort. They feared him. He’d always known that he was powerful, but he’d never related it to being superior. He’d always feared those that were hunting him. It was true that lives had ended because of his power, but each time it had been in his own defense. Now, something had to change. No longer would he be the hunted. No longer would he fear those that held him. He was a Shadow.

He could feel his strength building within him, and the furnace inside smoldered, awaiting permission to rage. He knew that the change was upon him and could feel every cell within him begin to tremble.

Test played out the escape in his mind. He so wanted to enact a measure of revenge on Dawson, but remembered Cliff’s warnings about the shift draining his power. To be left on this side powerless could mean the end. He played several different scenarios out in his mind, but ultimately he had no idea how things would play out. He was counting on Cliff to be waiting for him, and was hoping that the old man was in the room now, watching and waiting for the moment to come.

After living in an induced fog for so long, the clarity in Test’s mind was intoxicating, and he felt as though he could pulse off of the table at the time of his choosing. Suddenly, a nasally voice came over a speaker somewhere in the room.

With his adrenaline surging, Test focused to keep the power within buried. He heard the Professor walk across the room, and then the sound of keys on a keyboard being tapped interrupted the hum of the lights. Next was the sound of clinking metal, footsteps, and then the sound of someone breathing over him.

The Professor’s touch sent a fire through him; a wave of intense emotion that pushed to be set free. In an instant he felt the furnace release.

“Steadman! Call security!” screamed the Professor.

Test opened his eyes and the explosion of red and blue light from within him illuminated the Professor’s white lab coat. The room began to vibrate, and the waves of energy streaming from Test forced the Professor to back away and out of his line of sight.

It was then that the familiar sound of gunfire filled Test’s ears. He braced for the impact, but as had happened in the past, the bullets fell short around him.

“Davis, you son of a bitch!” yelled Dawson.

Dawson’s anger and frustration pleased Test, and only served to fuel his resolve. He could sense a difference within him; he knew the transformation had become a reality and in that moment he’d heard Cliff’s voice.

“Let’s go, boy! What’re you waitin’ on?”

Test smiled and closed his eyes. The room suddenly became muffled, as if he’d been lying on his back in a pool of water, and then he began to sink. The room filled with a sizzling sound that blanketed the gunfire and voices. Suddenly he could feel the belts loose their grip, and the table felt as though he had melted into it. And then there was silence.

He opened his eyes and the room was still filled with chaos, but in the corner stood a little old man with a cigar in his mouth and a crooked smile on his face.

“Nice work,” said Cliff as he chewed on his cigar.

Test struggled to focus as he the commotion in the room distracted him. “Why can’t I hear them?”

“You can, if you want to,” replied Cliff as he walked toward Test. “Right now, I’d suggest we get movin’. I don’t know how much time you’ve got. You’ve been down for so long I can’t imagine you got much in reserve.”

Test nodded his head and looked to the door. “You lead the way?” he asked.

Cliff chuckled as plucked the cigar from his mouth. “No problem, but remember, we don’t need no door. Try to keep up.”

Test nodded once more and before he could blink, Cliff suddenly burst across the room. His movements were so fast that the only thing Test could see was a blurry trail.

Though he could no longer see him, he heard Cliff’s voice. “Come on, boy!”

Test took a step and began to run, but as he approached the wall, he came to a stop. Cliff’s arm reached through and grabbed Test’s ear.

“Come on!” screamed the old man.

He fell through the wall and felt nothing more than a slight tug on his entire body. Once to the other side, he stood in front of Cliff.

“You gotta forget what you’d do on that side,” said the old man as he gestured his head to the wall. “Let yourself move at the speed of mind. Your mind and spirit, they can do more for you here than your body can.”

Test took a deep breath.

“You ain’t even gotta do
that
here,” said Cliff with a wink. He slapped Test on his bare arm and said, “Now, you go first this time. I’ll push you if I have to!”

“Thanks, my friend,” replied Test with sincerity.

Test walked around Cliff, and then imagined himself running as fast as he’d seen Cliff. He took off at a jog and when confronted with a wall, he closed his eyes and leaned through it.

“Atta boy!” yelled Cliff. “Now, get the lead out!”

With each step, he felt himself letting go, and each new room flew by a little faster until the only distinction between them was just a variation in light. He was so amazed with the speed at which he was moving, he didn’t notice Cliff pass him until he came upon him. The instant he thought of stopping, the blur of the world around him came into focus and he stopped on a dime.