Shadow Walkers (9 page)

“The Inverts are the ones who came up with it the first place.” Damon says matter-of-factly. “I’ve been to Eros, and I’ve discussed this same topic with the Inverts. The only thing holding this plan back is our current lack of a way into the Void, and the missing cooperation of the Walkers.”

“That’s incredible!” Hector shouts. “We need to tell the Council about this- they’d be stupid not to work with the Inverts if it meant wiping out the Void.”

“Not yet.” Damon insists. “I need to go back and figure out the full details of my mother’s plans before I speak to the Council. Only then do I think I’d be able to convince them to spare my life. It took a lot of negotiating with the Inverts for them to let me live.”

Hector shakes his head in disbelief. He couldn’t believe that he was sitting in his living room, eating ice cream and having a conversation with a Void. All of his life he was told to be afraid of the Void, but Damon obviously wasn’t evil. In his experience, Hector was a pretty good judge of character. Damon didn’t seem like he was lying about any of the things he said, and Hector genuinely felt like he was just another normal person who he met on the street. He knew that he should have felt some type of fear at the boy’s presence, or even at the fact that he was the child of the Void’s Queen, but he was more excited than anything.

All excitement aside, Hector let’s out an uncontrollable yawn. He hadn’t realized how tired he was until this very moment. “Well, this entire house belongs to me. I’ve got about five different bedrooms to choose from, a kitchen full of food, and three bathrooms- all with showers. You can stay here if you want.”

Damon smiles and stands up. “Great, a shower sounds good. I stink.”

After a short exchange of laughter, Hector leads Damon first to the room he can sleep in, and then to one of the bathrooms. Damon puts his hand on the bathroom door and looks at Hector.

“See you in the morning. And you promise not to tell anyone about what I’ve told you today?”

“Promise.” Hector says. The two keep their gaze locked until the closing door prevents them from seeing each other any longer. Hector can’t wipe the smile off of his face as he walks back to his room. He was getting into the biggest mess of his life, but he didn’t care. Regardless of how chaotic things were about to become in his life, he knew that meeting Damon was the best thing he’d ever done. He didn’t regret a single thing he’s done so far in life, but with Damon in his life now, Hector could only imagine what was in store for him. A Void and a Walker becoming friends was the most forbidden rule you could break in the Pit.

And Hector Avern was the only person who would do it without hesitation.

Chapter Nine

Hector

Nick, Allison, and Hector wait in the training room, the three of them sitting down on the same bench, ready for the training session to begin. Hector’s mind was all over the place. With a good night’s sleep his mind was refreshed and he was finally starting to realize how crazy he was for taking Damon in. If he was caught with the Void boy- or if he was ratted out- Hector was in serious trouble. He didn’t have any regret helping Damon out, but the pressure was starting to get to him.

Eventually Isaac approaches the trio with a handful of metallic bracelets. He hands each of the young Walkers a bracelet and locks it in place for them on their wrists.

“What are these?” Nick asks.

Isaac steps away from the bench and motions for them to stand. “These are bracelets made by mage Walkers like you, Nick. They’re made to help bring out energy in Walkers, and by using them the training process gets its completion time cut down severely. Remember how it takes years for Walkers outside of the Guard to awaken their powers?”

Nick nods. “So these things and the Pathfinder are what makes training only take a month? That’s incredible.”

“A month is the maximum.” Isaac says. “That’s the longest this training method has ever taken to awaken the first Chain, which is required for Walkers to be able to go on missions. Marcus Marxon managed to awaken his first Chain in only a week.”

Hector and Nick look at Allison with sheer amazement. She just shrugs. Hector wondered if the girl realized how amazing- and annoying- her father was.

Nick looks back to Isaac with a confused expression on his face. “What are Chains?”

Isaac sighs “Every Walker, regardless of their class, has at least three ‘Chains’ on their soul. When you break one you basically unlock a special power up corresponding to your class. Chains are gateways to the soul, and thus the powers you get from breaking one will reflect your fears, desires, regrets- stuff like that. Your main class will have three Chains, and any subclasses you have will only awaken one Chain. And before you even ask- you break a Chain by training really hard and tapping into your soul.”

Allison joins in to help explain it to Nick. “The training we’re starting today is all to break the first Chain. Once that happens, we’re legitimate members of the Guard who can go on missions and fight the Void.”

Nick nods. “Seems pretty simple. So to break the first Chain I need to go on some journey of self discovery or something?”

Isaac laughs. “Not quite. You see, before you can even break the first Chain, you need to learn how to manifest your shadow energy. The bracelets you three are wearing are tailored to your main class, and will help bring out the powers of that class. How fast that happens just depends on how hard you three can focus your energy.”

“So how do we manifest our energy then?” Hector asks. “I want to get this over with as soon as possible so I can beat Allison's dad’s record.” He shoots a playful smile to his teammate, but she just rolls her eyes. Hector groans internally. Of course he had to get stuck on a team with a stuck up prodigy.

Isaac holds out his hand. “The same way you channeled energy into the Pathfinder. The bracelet will absorb the shadow energy you give off and store it for you. Just think of something you’re proud of, or something you want to protect or whatever else matters to you- and this bracelet will harness the energy and eventually create a physical manifestation of your energy. Just like this.”

Black smoke suddenly forms in Isaacs palm, and with a black flash, his crimson sword appears in his hand. He stabs the sword into the ground and leans on its black guard. He smiles smugly. “Once you first physically manifest your energy, it’ll be easier for you to do it without the bracelets. Once you can do that, it shouldn’t take long before the first Chain is broken. So get to it- there isn’t much else for me to explain.”

Isaac smiles as he walks away from the three young Walkers, his sword disappearing in a puff of black smoke. Hector looks down at his bracelet as he gets some distance from his teammates. Ever since he’s seen his captain’s sword, he’s been wondering if his tracker powers would be as cool as a dueler’s. That crimson red blade of his left Hector breathless every time he saw it. Something about it seemed so beautiful, but also dark and powerful. Hector looks up at his captain.

“Captain, what does your sword do?” Hector asks. Nick and Allison snap out of their thoughts to see their captain’s response.

Isaac turns around and looks at his hand. “My sword?”

Hector nods. “Yeah. Like, do you have all three Chains unlocked already?”

Isaac stares at his palm absently. “Yeah. I broke my third Chain at seventeen. But as for what my sword does… well, you might not want to know that much about me.”

“My father talks about you captain.” Allison says. “He says that your sword is troublesome to face in a fight. I don’t even know what my father’s Chains do, but I know he’s a powerful man. For him to be wary of your powers must mean that you’re a lot stronger than you let on. After all, you are a member of the Midnight Order.”

Isaac hesitates, which worries Hector. The captain speaks with a hint of spite in his voice. “Marcus called my sword troublesome? That’s ironic.” He looks at Allison, then to Nick and Hector. “There is a lot that we don’t know about each other yet. Once training ends, I promise I’ll tell you more about myself. For now, just get to training.”

Hector looks away in disappointment, but quickly turns his attention back to his bracelet. Hopefully this time his Invert powers wouldn’t break anything. He sits back down on the bench and stares at the bracelet as his mind races in five different directions. The thing he’s most proud of, the thing he wants to protect more than anything- they used to be Hector’s individuality. And he was still proud of himself more than anything else, but he was finding himself thinking about that Void boy sitting alone in his house. Hector didn’t know him very well, but he felt like it was his mission to keep Damon safe.

He closes his eyes and places all of his thoughts on Damon as he tries to channel forth his energy. After a few minutes of nothing interesting happening, he decides to take a break. He had to have been doing something wrong. Even when he was touching the Pathfinder, he didn’t feel any type of ‘energy’ coming out of him. He wasn’t sure how he even got the thing to work, and was starting to believe that, thanks to his Invert blood, the bracelet wasn’t going to detect his energy at all. But then Allison speaks.

“Wait guys.” She says. Hector looks up at his teammate. She has a mix of worry and confusion on her face. “Where the heck is Hector?”

Hector almost laughs at the absurd statement. “What are you talking about?”

Allison jumps and looks around in all directions, her eyes completely glossing over Hector each time she faced him.

Isaac shakes his head and walks towards Hector. “There is no way in hell…”

Hector starts to feel worried by the sudden way his teammates were acting. Isaac places a hand on his shoulder and smiles.

“Can you can see him?” Nick asks with wide eyes.

Isaac turns to the boy. “Of course, I have tracker abilities as well. I just can’t believe that Hector already has his.”

Hector could barely speak. “What’s going on? I don’t get why you guys are freaking out, I’m standing right here.”

Isaac shakes his head in disbelief. “Well, to put it simply- you’re invisible. I can tell where you are because of my tracking abilities, but none of us can actually see your body.”

Hector smiles. “So I already manifested my energy?”

Isaac grins. “Yeah, but you kind of took it to the next level Hector. To be honest I’m surprised that it wasn’t Allison who broke his record.”

Hector stops smiling. He studies the amazed look on the captain’s face. “What do you mean?”

Isaac pulls his hand off of Hector’s shoulder and smiles even wider. “Hector, man… you’ve already broken your first Chain.”

Hector sits in stunned silence, unsure if anything around him was really happening. That lasted for about five seconds, and then the panic began.

“How do I become visible again?” Hector asks.

Isaac laughs at the confused Walker. “Just imagine becoming visible again while focusing on the same things that you did before.”

In a worried panic, Hector tries to follow his captain’s orders. But his mind was scattered all over the place. He couldn’t properly focus on a single thought. The fear of forever staying invisible was completely terrifying him. But after about ten minutes he finally starts calming down, and shortly after, he becomes visible to his teammates. Allison was staring in wonder at the boy who had broken her father’s record.

Hector had awoken his first Chain in only seven minutes.

* * *

After Hector broke his first Chain Isaac took him to the Council to.display his newfound abilities. As he was walking back to his house, Hector could only wonder what the Council truly thought of his display. He was half Invert, and he managed to outshine Marcus Marxon. There was no way that he wasn’t number one on their
Walkers to watch
list. And underneath his cool exterior, Hector was worried about all of the crap he would have to endure because of the Council. If they were going to have all eyes on him, it would make it even harder to hide Damon.

Hector smiles at the thought of the boy. He had been anticipating hanging out with his newfound friend all day long during his training. As soon as he steps into his house he calls out for the Void boy to let him know that he was home. When no yells come back to him, Hector just assumes that Damon must have been sleeping. But then a lone voice responds to Hector from the kitchen.

“Damon? Sorry, he’s a little preoccupied at the moment.” A familiar male voice says. The ominous voice sends chills up Hector’s spine. He knew the voice, but it didn’t belong to anyone that Hector was friends with. He thinks fast, trying to figure out how to escape. He thinks back to his training and starts trying to summon his shadow energy. Hector was no longer wearing his bracelet, but Isaac had told him he seemed to have a natural ability to effortlessly summon his energy. He walks past a mirror to check if his first Chain was still working, and sure enough, there was no reflection.

Without hesitation he runs to the kitchen. Even though he was invisible, he stops dead in his tracks once he sees the man standing in his home. He tries to slow down his breaths as a sudden wave of uncontrollable, mind altering fear overcomes his body. His entire being felt as if a simple nudge would shatter his mere existence. If he felt any type of confidence by breaking Marcus Marxon’s record, it was now replaced by an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.

Valus of the Void stood calmly in Hector’s kitchen. The man fake yawns as he taps his fingers on the table, like he was just waiting for something to entertain him. Damon sits unconscious on the floor, slumped up against the sink. Hector fights back the urge to cry out. He needed to run- to get away from Valus. There was nothing in Hector’s power that could stop the Void man standing so casually in front of him. But could he really just leave Damon?

Valus snickers. “So you’re a tracker then. Invisibility is a pretty cool power, but it could end up being quite troublesome down the road. I should kill you before you become a thorn in our sides. You’re whole team is just full of troublemakers.” He turns his entire body to face Hector, and that was when the young Walker broke. Fear wasn’t a strong enough word to describe what he was experiencing. His heartbeat was as if he had just ran a marathon, and he could hardly even breathe. He felt as if there were parasites crawling beneath his skin, robbing him of his lifeforce.

A sudden cawing distracts Hector for a brief moment. He spots the bird- a crow to be exact- as it flaps it’s way over and lands on Valus’ shoulder. The bird was purple, just like everything else from the Void. And once Hector stared into it’s emotionless eyes, he felt another wave of panic overcome his body. He wanted nothing more than for his captain to show up and rescue him. He would even accept help from Allison’s father.

Valus slowly walks forward, closing the gap between them. Hector can feel his body weaken as the Void grows closer, and he see’s his body reappear in a reflection on the wall. “Your little Walker tricks won’t hide you from me, boy.” Valus says plays. He smiles playfully as he reaches his hand out. With a purple flash, the Void suddenly holds a katana in his hand. Hector didn’t think that he could become more frightened, but in this moment he no longer had a desire to live. Death seemed more inviting than standing next to this man.

Valus turns around. Hector doesn’t feel ashamed at the little relief that washes over him. He thought for sure that Valus was going to kill him. But when the Void grabs Damon by his shirt and lifts him off of the floor, Hector manages to overcome the immense fear. “What are you doing with him?”

Valus turns to face Hector, and the young Walker regrets saying anything at all. The elite Void just laughs and looks away. “You managed to say an entire sentence while I was inducing you with fear? That’s quite impressive, you really will be a pain to deal with.” A sudden purple light appears in thin air, and it spreads wider and wider, smoke swirling within it. Valus throws Damon into the light, and his body disappears from sight. And then the purple vortex disappears.