Shadow Rising (Shadow Born Trilogy Book 2) Page 10

  “Good, very good!” Aldron said excitedly. “Feel that anger, and use it! Make the magic work for you!”

  Gabriel followed Aldron’s instructions. He took the anger from his memories and channeled it. He caught it and wrestled with it like a hunter wrestling a wild animal. He grabbed it and held on, bending and forcing the energy to do what he wanted.

  “Good,” Aldron said again. “Now, make your attack.”

  “I can’t,” Gabriel said breathlessly. “It hurts.”

  “Of course it does,” said Aldron. “I warned you this would be difficult. Don’t think of the pain. Think of your friends. Think of those poor defenseless orphans. Do you know what the Shadow will do to them, if you can’t protect them?”

  Waves of pain washed over Gabriel, intermingling with an intense nausea that he could barely control. His body shook, his arms trembling as the energy moved out into his palms. He felt like his internal organs were on fire; as if the movement of the energy was tearing them apart.

  “Yes, that’s it,” Aldron said. “Good. Now attack.”

  “I can’t,” Gabriel moaned. “It hurts so bad…”

  “Do it!” Aldron shouted. “Do it for the sake of everyone you love. Do it for all those who are depending on you!”

  Gabriel winced as he pushed at the energy bolt and sent it hurtling towards the wall. Instantly there was an explosion. It wasn’t nearly as large as Aldron’s, and his aim was wildly inaccurate, but it had worked. The pain vanished and a wave of numbness washed over Gabriel. “I did it,” he said, his voice little more than a whisper.

  “Yes,” Aldron said. “Very, very good.”

  Gabriel bent over and vomited. Aldron put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “This is harder for you because of your age,” he said. “Your training should have begun years ago, and it wouldn’t have been nearly so painful. That is why you must bring the orphans to me. The sooner we begin their training, the better.”

  “I don’t think I can,” Gabriel said. “Even if I wanted to, it would be impossible to get them out of Black Mountain.”

  “Not impossible,” Aldron said. “I will teach you. I will show you how to bring them across. You can bring them here, and no one will be able to stop you.”

  “I can do that?” Gabriel said. “I can bring other people across?”

  “It would be easy. You see, the orphans are like you. They possess the ability to come here. It is natural for them. It would be much more difficult with normal humans, but you will be able to bring the orphans across quite readily.”

  “I still don’t think I should,” Gabriel said. “It’s not safe for them here.”

  “It’s not safe for them anywhere. The Shadow has friends everywhere, Gabriel. The children will not be safe for long even in your government’s secret bunker. After all, how did I find you? If I could do this, do you not think the Shadow could?”

  “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

  “Then you see now? You understand?”

  “Yes, but you’ll have to teach me how,” he said.

  “Tonight. There is not enough time now. I will teach you tonight, and then we will make arrangements.”

  “Okay.” Gabriel felt conflicted as he agreed to Aldron’s plan. He wanted to protect the children of course, and teach them how to defend themselves, but how could he be sure it would be safe in the Shadow world? The logic seemed crazy. He would be taking the orphans right into the path of danger. But maybe there was a certain brilliance to the plan. After all, the last place the shadowfriends would look for the orphans was in the Shadow world. No one would expect them to be there.

  What it came down to, was just how much did he trust Aldron? That was a tricky question. After all, it was Aldron who’d been teaching him. And it wasn’t like he could trust Starling, either. She was fun sometimes, and she was pretty, but that didn’t mean he could trust her. Gabriel already knew Starling thought of him as government property. How could he trust anything she said or did? She was using him, trying to manipulate him, and she’d probably do the same thing with the others.

  No, if there was anyone he should trust, it should be Aldron. Gabriel had made up his mind.

  Chapter 19

  Gabriel managed to get back to his bed for a couple hours of sleep, but it seemed he’d just barely closed his eyes when Jodi shook him awake. He blinked and sat upright. “Is it time already?” he said.

  Jodi fixed him with a serious stare. “We have to talk,” she said. She shot a glance towards the doorway, and Gabriel realized Pete was there too, standing next to the door.

  “What’s going on?” he said.

  “We’re planning our escape,” said Jodi.

  Gabriel looked back and forth between them. “Be careful,” he said warningly. He glanced around the room, indicating that there could be microphones or other listening devices.

  “It’s okay,” said Jodi. “Pete rigged something up so they can’t listen to us.” She pointed at the power outlet on the wall. Pete had plugged some sort of odd-looking device into it. The thing was covered with bare wires and several blinking lights. It looked dangerous.

  “What is that?” Gabriel said.

  “It’s a sort of signal-scrambler,” Pete said. “It’s sends out high frequency noise. Remember Julia’s old blender that would always mess up the TV signal? It’s kind of like that, but on steroids.”

  “Okay,” Gabriel said. “What’s your plan?”

  “Our plan?” said Jodi. “We thought you’d have one! They had me and Pete going all day long. You’re the one who spent the day at the lake with Miss Classified.”

  Gabriel grimaced and shook his head. “I didn’t get a second to myself, either,” he said.

  “Well, that’s great,” Jodi said angrily. “What are we going to do?”

  Gabriel stared at them for a moment. He was tempted to tell them everything he had learned from Aldron, but something held him back. He wasn’t sure if they’d believe him, for one thing. The story was a little crazy. And then there was the plan. Gabriel knew there was no way he’d get Jodi and Pete to go along with his plan to bring the orphans across. He didn’t feel that great about the plan himself.

  He considered everything and decided it wouldn’t hurt to find a means of escape, just in case. It was always good to have a backup plan. And if nothing else, it would mean Pete and Jodi could get to safety if Gabriel and the orphans were gone with Aldron. In fact, it sounded like a very good idea if only for that reason.

  “Well, first we have to figure out if there is a way out,” Gabriel said at last. “The way we came in was pretty secure. Can you get us past all those cameras and checkpoints, Pete?”

  “I doubt it,” Pete said skeptically. “It’s more than just a few cameras and guards. They’ve got infrared sensors, motion detectors, probably even stuff I don’t know to look for.”

  “All right then,” said Jodi. “The way we came in isn’t the way out… we’re going to have to find a different way out. Any ideas?”

  “Actually, I have an idea,” said Pete. “The waterfall that feeds the lake must come in through some sort of passageway. If we could find a way up there…”

  Gabriel rubbed his tired eyes. “Your plan is to swim upriver?” he said. “What if there’s no place to get air? What if we get stuck?”

  “I just said we should take a look,” Pete said defensively. “If it doesn’t work…”

  “It won’t work,” Gabriel said flatly. He realized that his voice sounded a bit angrier than he meant. He didn’t mean it that way, it was just that he was so exhausted, and he felt so helpless. He regretted it as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Unfortunately, it was already too late.

  “All right, jerk!” said Jodi. “Why don’t you tell us how to get out of here, then? Do you have a better idea?”

  “No,” Gabriel said sullenly.

  “I didn’t think so. Well, I’ll tell you what: instead of gallivanting around with Miss Classified all day, why don
’t you poke around and figure something out?”

  “Fine,” Gabriel said. Jodi snorted and stomped out of the room. Pete quietly followed, gathering up his electronic device as he left. Gabriel laid his head back down on his pillow and instantly went back to sleep. When he woke, it was almost four p.m.

  Gabriel groaned as he sat up in bed. Despite all the sleep he’d gotten, he still felt terrible. His muscles were tired and aching, and there was a dull throb at the back of his head. He stumbled down to the kitchen to get an aspirin and make a sandwich, and he found a note from Starling on the counter:

  Gabriel, I stopped by but I couldn’t wake you. I’m sorry if you’re not feeling well, I know you’ve been through a lot. If you’d like to do something later give me a call. Otherwise, I’ll check in with you tomorrow.

  -Starling

  So there it was. He could have had the entire day to himself, but he’d wasted it sleeping. Now the day was almost over. Pete and Jodi would be back any time, along with the orphans. Once they were all home, there would be just enough time to have dinner, tuck in the children, and then go to bed. Pete and Jodi would be angry with him again.

  Gabriel rushed upstairs, showered, and changed into some fresh clothes. He left the apartments and walked along the balcony towards the end of the lake, keeping an eye on the top of the waterfall. When he couldn’t see anything that way, he got into an elevator and went to the highest level it would allow. That was level 99. As the elevator doors parted, Gabriel stepped out into a thick fog. The stores and office on this level were all dark and empty.

  Starling had said that the waterfall created a vapor to create the illusion of the sky. Gabriel hadn’t realized how thick that vapor was until he was standing in it. From below, it had been nearly invisible. From here, it was all fog. He walked over to the balcony railing and looked around, but all he saw was swirling gray mist. There was no sign of the big puffy clouds or the bright blue sky.

  He circled the area for a while, and at one point even climbed up onto the balcony’s handrail to see if he could reach the next level. As he stood balanced precariously in the air, arms extended overhead, it suddenly occurred to him that the railing under his feet was slick with moisture, and that if he fell the wrong way, he’d splat all over the lake like a bug on a windshield. He quickly climbed back down.

  Gabriel walked around the area for a few more minutes before finally deciding that there was no chance of getting up to that waterfall opening without some specialized gear. Even then it was going to be tricky and very dangerous. He wasn’t sure it was a good idea to let Pete or Jodi try to get up there. At the very least, he decided he’d have to come back with some rock-climbing gear and scout the area some more. He had no idea how he’d pull that off.

  On a hunch, he also inspected a couple of the empty offices. He was hoping that they might connect into another tunnel system, something less secure than the entrance tunnels down below. He didn’t find anything of the sort. The offices had other offices behind them, but there were no windows, doors, or other exits. He even pulled back the carpeted wall covering in one of the offices just to be sure. Behind it, he found smooth, polished stone. So far, their chances of escape were not looking very good.

  Gabriel checked his watch and realized it was now five-thirty. He rushed back to the elevator and pressed the button. As he waited, he considered other possible ways out of the building. He’d seen movies where convicts snuck out of prisons in the dirty laundry. Maybe something like that would be possible. Or, perhaps one of the supply trucks that came and went across the lake…

  The elevator slid open, and Gabriel found himself staring into Commander Starling’s face. “Hello, Gabriel,” she said. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

  “I, uh… um, I was just…” Gabriel stammered as his mind scrambled for an excuse.

  Starling cut him off with a laugh. “It’s okay, Gabriel. I’m just teasing you. I told you yesterday it was fine to look around if you wanted to. I just came looking for you because it’s dinnertime. I thought you’d want to have dinner with your friends.”

  Gabriel nodded dumbly. “Uh, yeah… sure.”

  “Good. Shall we?” She motioned for him to join her, and Gabriel stepped inside the elevator. Starling pressed the “0” button for the main level of the Civilian Sector. As the elevator began its descent, she turned to him and said, “So, did you find anything interesting?”

  There was a dangerous glint in her eyes, and Gabriel couldn’t tell if it was just his paranoia or if she was testing him. “Not really,” he said. “The offices are all empty and you can’t see the sky. The fog is kind of cool, though.”

  “I agree. I like to go up there when I need some quiet time. It’s a great place to read a book, or just sit and think. There aren’t many places to be alone in a place like this.”

  Gabriel nodded, wondering just how she’d found him. Had she been monitoring him through the security system? Did the elevator alert her? Or did she just happen to find him? That last one seemed unlikely. Gabriel doubted that Starling had just accidentally bumped into him. She’d known exactly where he was. That meant that she was watching him –she was probably watching all of them. They couldn’t go anywhere in the base without Starling knowing about it. In the back of his head, he wondered if Pete’s signal scrambling device had even worked. Was it possible that Starling knew everything? He tried not to think about that.

  After dinner, the three teens gathered in Gabriel’s room to discuss what they’d learned. Gabriel started by describing his little adventure, and the way Starling had somehow found him. “That’s creepy,” said Jodi.

  “Just keep it in mind,” he said. “Everywhere you go.”

  Jodi and Pete exchanged a glance. “I knew security was tight,” Pete said, “but it’s even worse than I’d guessed… how about you, Jodi? Did you learn anything helpful today?”

  “Doubtful,” she said. “Unless we need to improvise a bomb out of a soda bottle. That I can do.”

  Gabriel raised his eyebrows. “They’re teaching you to make bombs?” he said incredulously.

  “Just little ones,” Jodi said with a sly smile.

  “Well, I found something interesting,” Pete said. “I’m not really sure what it is, though. It’s probably nothing. Nevermind.”

  “What?” Jodi said. “You cannot say something like that and then leave us hanging.”

  “Okay, okay. The problem is, I’m not sure how to describe it. I was walking around the Tech Sector during break this morning, and I stumbled upon some sort of machine. I’m not sure what it does, though.”

  “You don’t know what it does?” Jodi said. “Then what’s so interesting about it?”

  “It was really weird. It was off in a room all by itself, and it looked kind of like a giant grandfather clock. There were springs and gears and pipes all over it.”

  “Interesting,” Jodi said sarcastically. “You found a weird looking machine. Good for you. Guess what, I saw something weird today, too! It was this whole place!”

  Gabriel cringed as Jodi verbally assaulted Pete, but the older boy wasn’t even phased. He just rolled his eyes at her. “The important part wasn’t so much the machine as the thing I saw in it,” he said. Suddenly Pete had Jodi’s undivided attention. “There were little boxes in it, like shelves. Some of them were empty, but the rest held a collection of matching statues.”

  “Statues?” Gabriel said.

  Pete nodded emphatically. “Yeah, just like the one you tried to swap for my parents. Only these ones weren’t crystal. One was jade, I think. Another looked like ruby.”

  “But they were just like the other statue?” Gabriel said.

  “Well, they were all different,” Pete said. “They were different creatures, and they were all made from different gemstones, but they definitely looked like a matching set. They were all the same size, and type of design.”

  “How many?”

  “Four in the machine. I think there are
shelves for three more. Assuming they are a set, we know the shadowfriends have at least one of them already.”

  “The one they took from me,” Gabriel said angrily.

  Jodi leaned forward, massaging her temples. “This isn’t good,” she said. “Pete, what do you think they’re doing? What do you think the machine is for?”

  “I have no idea. I can’t even guess at this point.”

  They fell silent for a while, digesting this new piece of information. It was Jodi who finally broke the silence. “We’ve got to get out of here,” she said. “The shadow is after those statues, and now we know the government is, too. Julia and Reeves have no idea how much danger they’re in.”

  “You’re right,” said Pete. “It’s even more important for us to escape now.”

  Gabriel bit his tongue. Once again, he wanted to tell them everything about Aldron, but the time didn’t seem right. “Do you really think Reeves and Julia are in danger?” he said. “I mean, I know what the Shadow would do to them, but would the government really hurt them too?”

  “It’s hard to say,” Pete said. “I think the government would do whatever it had to do. It’s pretty much their motto.”

  “And if Reeves got to one of those statues first, he sure wouldn’t give it up,” Jodi added. “Government or not, I’m betting he wouldn’t go down without a fight.”

  “Great,” said Gabriel. “We don’t even know where they are. We’d have to find a way out of here –which at this point looks pretty much impossible- and then find them, or figure out how to warn them.”

  “That’s not all,” said Jodi. “If we do figure out a way to escape, what do we do about the kids? We still can’t leave the orphans here, can we?”