The Awakening (22 page)

Her smile brightened the dim room. “Don’t even mention it. What you’re going through is quite intense. I should know.” Gabriella released my hand. It still tingled from her touch.

“I have a gift for you,” she said. I pulled myself into a sitting position as she opened a drawer in the bedside table. She carefully removed a book and handed it to me. It looked old and worn and about the size of a pocket journal, but much thicker. The jacket was made from mottled brown leather. It reminded me a little of the books I’d seen in the underground waiting room. A worn string held the book closed. I pulled at it and was greeted with the aroma of old paper. The wafer thin pages fell open to show an artist sketch of a grim looking creature called a Redcap. Lots of notes had been handwritten underneath it.

“What is this?” I asked, flicking through.

“The HASEA Handbook. It contains all sorts of information about the Alliance and Pandemonians. It explains how to defend yourself against an attack, that kind of thing. Also what various creature’s strengths and weaknesses are. Basically everything you need to know to stay alive. All new Guardians get one.”

I turned the weighty book in my hands and ran my thumb over the bumpy leather.

“I’m surprised it’s handwritten. You’d think they would just mass print them or something,” I said.

“They do. This is my personal copy. It’s was handed down to me from another Chosen. It’s yours now. Think of it as an early Christmas present.”

I flicked through a few more pages, stopping to read a passage about how to defeat a Redcap with household items. Apparently lemon juice was like acid to these little Goblin things.

“Are you understanding it okay?” she asked.

“Yes. I mean it’s a bit weird and I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that these sorts of things exist, but I get what it’s saying.”

Gabriella leaned forward, eyes bright. “My accent will be inherent in any language I speak that isn’t my mother tongue. A Chosen understands every language current or dead from both sides of the Veil. Remember earlier, you wanted to know why you could read the motto written on the Temple door? It’s because your mind translated it. Now that your Awakening has progressed, that translation is automatic. Unless you think about it, it always will be. You have been speaking it with me for the last few minutes without even realising.”

I thought of when Faru had been explaining the Latin terms for his species and how I had known what they meant before he’d explained.
How else could I know that?

We both burst out laughing. It felt good, like when we had just hung out together at school, back when everything had been simple. It seemed crazy to think it had only been a week ago. It felt like I had known this girl for years.

When we had both stopped laughing, Gabriella held out a hand. “I’ll hold onto the guide for you until later.”

“So what happens now?” I asked, passing her the book.

She pointed to a barely noticeable door in the far wall. “The en suite’s through there. Freshen up. I left some clean clothes that will fit you.” Standing up, she headed for another door by the chair. “I’ll wait for you outside. Take as long as you need.”

14

A
fter a soothing shower, I changed into the comfortable pair of jeans, woollen jumper and white trainers that Gabriella had laid out for me. Stepping out of the bedroom, I emerged into a luxurious living area. To the left a dining table and chairs stood underneath impressive bay windows. The far wall was home to a large stone fireplace. Flames danced on wooden logs, their smoky scent filling my nose. To the right an archway led off to what must have been the hallway. In the middle of the room the carpet became stairs leading down into a sunken seating area. The space was home to a large red corner sofa and glass coffee table. At the end of the space sat a television, playing an old episode of Family Guy.

By far the most interesting part of the room were the people who occupied it. Gabriella perched on the end of the sofa. Sprawled over the rest of it was a lithe looking man who looked in his mid-twenties. Wavy black hair ran all the way to his neck. Another tuft sprouted from his chin, expertly tapered into a point. He wore a grey waistcoat and a pair of long brown boots, which he rested on the coffee table. A brown Stetson hat rested on his chest. He was playing idly with a marble, rolling it between his fingers, whilst laughing at the show on TV.

A behemoth of a man stood next to the window. He must have been close to seven foot tall and was as stacked as Arnie in his prime. A tribal tattoo ran from the top of his bald head all the way down one side of his face to the jaw. It covered some kind of scar. His eyes were as dark as shadows, topped by scythe eyebrows. The only contradiction to his intimidating appearance came in the form of a delicate silver locket, threaded through a leather string and hanging from his tree-trunk neck.

Sitting between Gabriella’s legs on a thick shag-pile rug was a sweet looking girl of around nine or ten. She hummed to herself, tapping at a portable Nintendo whilst Gabriella braided a section of her long blonde hair.

“This is the rest of our team, or Orion as we’re more officially known.” She pointed a slender finger at the Spanish looking man. “This is Delagio.”

Gabriella glanced at her watch. “There is actually one more member of Orion, but they’re running a little late. It’s someone you already know.”

My stomach knotted up.
Someone I know? Oh god, please don’t be Tim. I don’t think I could handle that.

A door in the hallway opened. Gabriella peered behind me. “Speak of the devil.”

I turned to see Miss Steele pass under the archway. She surveyed the scene with squinted eyes, then leaned against the wall and crossed her legs. The toe of her thick black heels made a muffled clomping sound on the carpet. “Pixie actually,” she corrected sarcastically. Then she turned her attention to me. “Hello Alexander.”

My throat had dried up. I didn’t think I could manage any more surprises. “H-hi Miss Steele,” I croaked.

“I think Rachel will be okay from now on. But don’t think this means you are getting out of your homework.” She gave a shrill laugh, which bounced off the walls and hurt my ears. I forced out a chuckle.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Well you didn’t think we were going to send you straight out into the big bad world without making sure you were ready did you? We have a lot of work to do before your test.”

“Uh, test?”

Gabriella shot my teacher a frown before turning to me. “Before you can be considered fit to become a Guardian, you have to undergo an initiation of sorts. A trial to ensure that you’re mentally and physically prepared. It varies from person to person.” Seeing my expression she added, “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine when the time comes.”

I didn’t share her confidence.

“Okay guys let’s get things moving.” Gabriella snapped her head around to Delagio. “Del, I need you on speed.” To the giant, “Midnight you are on strength...obviously. And Rachel can I have you on combat?”

The Pixie nodded her head. “Not a problem.”

“I’ll take abilities. Let’s do this. Right
mia bambina
,” she said ruffling Sophia’s hair, “you can go with Midnight if you want.”

“Yay!” shouted the girl and snapped the machine closed. She ran up the stairs to Midnight, who smiled and knelt down. Sophia clambered up his back and wrapped her legs around his neck. He stood up and locked a securing arm around her shins. As the team stirred under Gabriella’s orders, a simple fact became clear.
She’s the leader
. The notion that I’d expected anything less surprised me more than her impressive position.

I followed the team out of the apartment. Midnight had to duck so Sophia could pass under the doorway successfully. We emerged into an extravagant hallway. The marble floor had been polished to a shine. TV’s flush with the smooth white walls displayed rotating 3D maps of tunnels and rooms, which I figured were schematics of the base.

I was surprised to hear a Southern American twang in his accent. It sounded nothing like the voice that had left the message on my phone. He tipped the edge of his hat and turned to follow the others. In the distance, Sophia and Midnight were playing about. She would cover his eyes, and he’d bump into the walls on purpose. Or he’d spin on the spot until she fell into fits of giggles. The sounds of their laughing echoed back up the hallway towards me. Midnight seemed utterly natural with the girl and she didn’t seem at all nervous of him. I wondered if he had children of his own.

Gabriella touched my arm. “Let’s go.”

We passed dozens of doors on our way down the hallway. Each one had a metallic plate with a name embossed on it. I read names like Ivy Affron, Sam Clarke and Jessica Black.

“Each apartment belongs to a resident Chosen,” Gabriella explained. “Alliance Pandemonians have apartments too, but they’re all underground.”

I chuckled as I imagined Vampires unwinding on sofas - sipping blood from challises. Or domesticated Skinshifters sitting around a table playing poker against fairies who buzzed about on silvery wings. It was stupid, but who knew what they did in their spare time?

My companion’s gaze dropped to the floor. “I transferred from Castello a few years ago. I couldn’t even tell you why to be honest. It just felt like something I needed to do.”

So she didn’t transfer a few weeks ago with her family then.

We emerged onto the right-hand balcony high above the grand entrance I’d seen in the vision. As we moved along the carpeted walkway, Gabriella pointed to the large portrait hanging above the stairs.

“Sage Faru’s quarters are through there. So is the section of the Veil the Warren is built around. Fae magic seals it. It’s impossible to get in or out without his permission.”

I looked up at the towering picture. Faru’s unique eyes seemed to stare down, keeping watch on all the people who bustled about below.

We reached the ground level. In contrast to the vision, several of the doors were blocked by more of the hulking guards I’d seen in the Temple. They were like statues, heads bowed against staffs as if in prayer. That was until someone moved towards their door. Then the head lifted up and the individual was scanned with their pinprick eyes. Like mechanised robots, they stepped aside to allow access, before moving back and falling silent once more.

It was creepy.

“What’s behind all these doors?” I asked as we reached the ground level.

“Offices mainly. Normal humans we call agents work here. They do most of our clerical work for us. You’d be surprised how much paperwork has to be filled out when we deport or kill a Rogue.”

I couldn’t help but smile.
Even the supernatural has red tape.