The Awakening (21 page)

Faru gave a long sigh and rubbed at his neck absently. “A very large problem. We are being stretched thin, trying to deal with all the Pandemonians. It’s the same all over the world. To make matters worse, since reclaiming allegiance to Hades, many traitorous Pandemonians have formed their own alliance known as the Soldiers of Sorrow. They act on the will of Hades. Over the last two decades, hundreds of Chosen were sought out and killed by the SOS before we had a chance to reach them. It appears that they attempted to do the same to you.”

I remembered the creature that had chased me from the woods. Recalled the hatred I had seen in those blood red eyes. The scent of death which had seemed to ooze from it. I shuddered when I thought of what would have happened if that shadowy figure hadn’t intervened.

“But you managed to protect me,” I said in a small voice.

Faru nodded. “The Coven experience premonitions of Awakenings from time to time. They predicted yours. We have members of the Alliance known as Infiltrators. It’s their job to work themselves into your life so that you turn to them when your Awakening comes. Normally we have much more time between detection and Awakening. In this instance it happened far sooner than we expected, so the infiltration became more to keep you alive and ultimately bring you here.

A cold wave washed over me.
He’s talking about Gabriella. She was forced to become my friend. She didn’t want to know me.

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I felt sick to my stomach. Faru’s face clouded with concern, clearly not sure what he had said to upset me.

“Alexander, is something wrong?”

I shook my head, trying not to let tears spill over. “I’m fine,” I managed to croak. I guessed Faru couldn’t read my mind right now, or he would know how betrayed I felt.

Without warning, a sharp pain hit my temples. I yelled out and tried to hold onto something. The nearby wall passed right through my outstretched fingers. I fell to my knees and sank down towards the Nexus. I felt hot and sick. I wiped a shaking hand at the rolls of sweat which were appearing all over my skin and looked up at Faru.

“What’s happening to me?” I managed to yell through the pain.

“We have held the mind connection for too long. I have to release you or it could cause us both damage.”

Faru sank through the floor with me, as we drifted down through the air. He stretched out his right hand and placed it onto the crown of my head. My back arched as once again, electricity surged through my body. The world around me grew blurry. The people above us became less defined. Their bodies melted away into shapeless blobs. The house interior broke down, pieces of wood and bricks falling into piles around the unidentifiable mass of people. As my thoughts diminished and the world dissolved around me, I heard Faru’s voice, a megaphone booming in my head.

“Alexander Eden,” he boomed. “It is time for you to become what you were always destined to be.” My head was swimming, his words darting in and out of my brain. I flailed a hand around trying to reach for something. Clutched at nothing.

“A Hero, chosen from billions. The evolution of souls.” His voice grew faint. My view grew darker. Yellow spots flashed like paint specks in my eyes.

“You have a choice to make. You can either deny your true path, or you can join us.”

The words were like whispers as the last circle of light faded from my eyes and the darkness seeped in with its midnight cloak. I could sense the sharp grip of the old Sage once more, his fingernails digging into my skull. I was too far gone to feel the pain. My knees buckled and I fell forward, tumbling faster into the abyss below.

“Alexander Eden, will you join us?”

Even through the swirling feeling of misery still gnawed at my insides, threatening to consume me from the inside out; I knew there was only one real answer. I parted my lips and breathed out a single word.

“Yes.”

Faru clicked his fingers and everything went dark.

*

My head throbbed and my tongue felt like a damp sock. Unsticking my eyes, I looked around. I was lying on a four poster bed. The room was a blend of dark wood flooring and cream walls. Thick crimson curtains had been pulled together, a solitary shard of light sneaking through a crack in the middle. A dim glow came from a bedside lamp. On the other side stood a grandfather clock; its pendulum swung lethargically from side to side, filling the room with its soft ticking.

Then I noticed the large chair on the far side of the room. Gabriella lay curled up on it, covered by a small blanket. A sense of longing tugged at my stomach. It felt like years since I’d seen her. She sighed softly in her sleep and nestled into the chair. It tugged again.

But directly underneath the desire were the feelings of hurt. Of betrayal. I’d foolishly believed that this girl actually cared about me.

All lies.

It had been her job to get me here. I was an assignment.

Forcing myself to look away, I stared up at the beamed ceiling. My mind replayed everything Faru had told me. Lying in this bed, it would be easy to pass everything off as a crazy dream. But being here at all meant the very opposite. My headache grew worse, so I let my eyes drift together.

I must have dozed off, because I awoke to the sensation of being watched. Gabriella was sitting upright in the chair, gaze focused intently on me. Seeing that I was awake she bolted out of the chair, sending the blanket sliding along the floorboards.

A sudden wave of sickness rushed through me. I leaned over for a glass of water which had been placed on the table. My shaking fingers knocked it off the edge. Before the glass could hit the ground, Gabriella shot out a hand and caught it without spilling a drop.

“Is that a joke? Ella, I thought you were my friend. But it was all an act wasn’t it? You don’t care about me at all. You just wanted to get me here!”

Her eyes went wide. “No, that’s not true!” She tried to take my hand, but I snatched it away. The look in her eyes suggested she were about to cry. The notion knotted my stomach. But I was hurt.

“Then after everything I’ve been through,” I persisted, “kidnapping, car accident, accidently almost killing someone and getting dragged halfway through London’s underground system-oh and nearly flattened by a train, I find out that monsters exist! For all I know
Dracula
is a biography! But hey, that’s okay because it’s my job to fight the
really
bad ones. Because I was chosen. I don’t get a say. Apparently my soul decided this before we’d been formally introduced. So no, for your information everything is not okay!” My anger added handfuls of spite into the last few words. Gabriella recoiled as if struck.

Drained, I flopped back onto the mattress. My head buzzed angrily.

I felt a hand take mine. I tried to move, but Gabriella held on tight. The charges were soon replaced by a warm sensation which flowed through my body. Almost instantly I felt calmer. Gabriella’s face moved into view. Her eyes were damp with tears. She cupped a free hand against my cheek. It felt soft. I wanted to be angry but it was getting harder to manage. Her voice was calm and soothing when she spoke.

“Alex, please believe me when I say I
do
care about you. Look, I can’t deny that I’m an Infiltrator or that my job was to become part of your life. But I’m not sorry, because it meant that I got to meet you and find out what a kind, caring person you are.”

I felt something release in my chest. As if a valve had been opened and I could breathe again.
She does care.

“And being a Chosen may seem like a curse sometimes,” she continued. “Trust me I know that better than anyone. But it’s also a privilege to be able to save those who can’t protect themselves.”

Her sincere words made me feel a bit guilty about my petulant outburst.

“How many others like me have you brought in?” I asked in an effort to change the subject.

“None. You were my first. I requested the assignment after the Coven made us aware you were out there. I don’t even know why.” Smiling she added, “given the way I handled it, I doubt Faru will ever let me do it again.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What did you do wrong?”

“You got away from us...from me. When we were returning you home after your Awakening. You were heavily sedated, but somehow, you managed to jump from the car and escaped. It took five hours before you turned up back home. I was frantic!”

I snapped to attention. “Wait, that’s the reason I woke up in the park! But how is that possible?”

“Your soul acting on autopilot I guess. Survival instinct. It must have felt we were a threat.”

I ran a hand along the nape of my neck. It felt sore - like the rest of my body. “I don’t understand. If the Awakening is such a big deal, why try and take me home, why not keep me here and explain, instead of being so secretive?” Gabriella drew her legs up onto the bed. “We wanted to make sure nothing went wrong. That’s why we took you the moment it started happening. It would have been impossible to keep you sedated the whole time. Then we would have two options; tell you everything, or keep you captive until we felt we
could
tell you. Both options were equally dangerous.” She leaned forward. “The time before and after an Awakening are critical. It’s your body’s adjustment period. Too much stress could have caused your soul to leave your body prematurely. Then you would be...lost. So I came up with a third option. Wipe your memory. Take you back home and keep you under constant protection - without your knowledge. Faru was against the idea at first, but I managed to convince him eventually.” She playfully slapped my leg. “That’s when you decided to perform your disappearing trick.”

I frowned. “How exactly did you wipe my memory?”

Gabriella looked slightly uncomfortable. “Neural manipulation or Charm as we call it is an ability some Chosen possess. I’m one of them.”

“Only that one time, I promise. Plus I couldn’t now even if I wanted to. Your Awakening is almost complete. I can’t manipulate another Chosen.”

Didn’t think that one through did you Alex?
my internal voice chastised.

“So what was the cryptic phone call all about?” I said, in a desperate attempt to change the subject again.

“That was the second part of my idea. To drip feed you information until we you were ready for the truth. But after our conversation in the park, I wanted to do more than just that.”

“The car and clothes,” I said.

“Exactly. You get those sorts of perks once you join anyway, but I wanted to give them to you early so you could feel special. I convinced Faru it would be a benefit to your state of mind.”

Warmth bloomed in my stomach.
She took risks to make me feel better.

Gabriella gave a chuckle. “Sadly I can’t take credit for that. Delagio, a teammate of mine did it. He loves that kind of thing. But I was there when the Skinshifter attacked you.”

I swallowed, once again reminded of the horrific creature with the evil red eyes that had hunted me down. “That thing in the woods? You saved me?”

Gabriella shifted her gaze from mine. “Yes. Plus several other times you didn’t know about. I always made sure you were safe Alex.”