Transformation: The Clandestine Saga Book 1 (13 page)

              “Well, don’t put me on that team,” she said sternly. “Because I will be quitting!”

              “Okay. Dually noted.” He was leaning on the armrest nearest her chair, and despite the fact that she was curled up and leaning against the opposite arm rest, he was tempted to reach out and touch her.  He made a conscious effort to keep his hands to himself.  “How did it go this morning?” he asked somberly.

              “Other than Jack’s inquisition, it was okay. I mean, there’s never anything easy about that, but like you said earlier, we’ve all been there. We just have to keep moving forward, you know?”

              He nodded in agreement. “I do know. I know very well,” he said. He looked away from her for a moment, and briefly, it was as if he were no longer there, like he was lost in a memory.  Cadence had the urge to dig deeper into whatever loss had brought that sort of reaction, but she realized now was not the time or place.

              “It was nice to see my friends, but everyone seemed so different now, so . . .” she was searching for the correct word and the one that initially cam to mind seemed so wrong, but it truly was the best word to describe the situation.  “So naïve.  Does that make any sense at all?”

              “It does to me,” he concurred.  “They are naïve from your perspective. You have a lot more valuable information than they do and they will never know the things that you know. It will always be more difficult for you to speak to them, to interact with them, to relate to them, now that they’re on the other side of the Ternion from you.”

              “I understand,” she said. It actually made perfect sense.  She had almost wanted to treat her friends like children at points during the day because they seemed to understand so little. Though she had attributed some of it to whatever spell it was Elliott had put them under, perhaps it was also her new perspective.

              The thought of Elliott prompted her next question. “By the way,” she asked, “could Elliott come up with no better story than a rock slit her throat? ‘Cause, if not, perhaps you need a new hypnotist.”

              Aaron laughed and the sound of his laughter became infectious.  Cadence couldn’t help but join in.  Even though it truly wasn’t that funny, she was happy for the opportunity to laugh again, everything lately had been so somber and serious.

              Upon catching his breath, Aaron stated, “It really wasn’t his fault.  On the way to the hospital, your friends had been discussing what they were willing to let the police know and what they didn’t want to disclose. Basically, everything about the festival needed a cover up. Jack told the rest of your friends that you killed Drew’s murderer, so they wanted to hide that as well.  They determined the only way to do that is to say that a person didn’t kill Drew, but that she fell.  Well, with a gaping neck wound, that made Elliott’s job a little more difficult than usual. It worked though; everyone directly related to the incident believes it. There are plenty of other people asking the obvious questions, such as ‘where does one go rock climbing in Shenandoah,’ that sort of thing. But none of those people have anything to do with the investigation so it doesn’t really matter.”

              “And will they continue to believe this forever?”

              “Most people do,” Aaron confirmed.  “There are occasional situations like the one with Jack where something else triggers a memory and they start to lose their belief in the façade Elliott has created, but for the most part they believe long enough that it just becomes part of their memory system. You know how older memories start to become fuzzier as time passes? Sort of like that.”

              “How does he do it?” she asked, wondering what else she didn’t know about yet.

              “Well,” he began, “if we had told you everything about the different Passels right up front, it would have been even more overwhelming so you should expect to find some things out as time goes on. But, as for this, well, here’s the situation.  Many Guardians, and a few Hunters, have specific gifts. These are usually enhancements based upon something they either really enjoyed or were especially good at in life. So, once they Transform, they become even better at that skill and it sometimes becomes almost like a super power.”

              “So a super power amongst the other
basic
super powers they already have?” Cadence clarified.

              “Sure, you could put it that way,” he agreed.  “Well, in his human life, Elliott was a used car salesman,” he grinned at her and she couldn’t help but giggle. “So, he’s very, very good at telling ridiculous stories and getting others to believe them. He really does know how to hypnotize the person he is talking to so that they will believe just about anything he says.”

              “Wow!” she said, still laughing.  “That’s crazy! I never would have pictured him as a used car salesman! And so, I was able to reactivate Jack somehow?”

              “Yes,” Aaron nodded. “The spell was so powerful that you were able to get Jack back on track just by the power of suggestion and a few trigger words.”

              “Amazing,” Cadence said, shaking her head in disbelief.  “So, who else has a super power?”

              “Well, I don’t know how much you remember from your Transformation, but Jamie was an outstanding doctor before his Transformation. He was one of the youngest doctors to ever graduate from John’s Hopkins. He is what we refer to as a Healer. I’ve only seen a few in my time, but he is definitely the most powerful one I’ve ever known about. His gift is pretty incredible.”

              “That’s right!” Cadence proclaimed, the memory just coming back to her now. “He did some sort of healing thing for me when I was in such excruciating pain!”

              “Yes, he was able to get you calmed down long enough for the medication to be administered. Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t have been able to get it in and then, well, I don’t know what might have happened. But it was crucial that we get that second shot in to your system and his healing allowed that to happen.”

              “I can’t believe I didn’t remember that!” she exclaimed.  She made a mental note to make sure and thank Jamie the next time she saw him.

              “That’s pretty typical,” Aaron explained. “Now that we use this accelerated method, most individuals tend to suppress the entire Transformation process so the fact that you remembered any of it on your own is pretty amazing, actually.”

              She nodded her understanding.  “And you gave me the shot of medication,” she remembered.

              “That’s right, I did.  First shot I’ve ever given anyone, and I’m extremely thankful I hit a vein or else, who knows where you might be right now.”

              “That’s nice to know,” she muttered.  “Speaking of where I might end up, I’ve been wanting to ask you, should my knowledge of the Clandestine Ternion change my religious beliefs at all?”

              “I get that question a lot and all I can truly say is, if anything, in my experience, it should make them stronger.  You just went from a God you believed had somehow managed to create one amazing species of free-willed beings when now, as you know, it’s really four—at least four that we’re aware of.  So, I would say that, if you were a religious person before, this shouldn’t change that.”

              That was a relief for Cadence.  She had been brought up attending church and while she knew she was a sinner like everyone else, she felt better knowing that there was an omnipotent being out there watching over her. 

              They were both quiet for a moment as she pondered his response.  He was looking away from her, and she was content to study his profile, admiring his flawlessly structured jawline, the way his nose was perfectly proportioned to the rest of his features.  She knew he could feel her staring, and she chose not to care. He glanced in her direction and then looked away again, that shade of light pink that always took over when he was embarrassed just starting to make itself known.  Her mother had always told her it was rude to stare, but she thought she could make an exception under these circumstances. She leaned forward just a bit as she quietly asked, “So, what’s your super power? I know you must have one.”

              He looked back in her general direction and gave her a small, shy smile.  “You’d never believe me if I told you,” he said.

              “Why do you say that?” she asked a little offended.

              “Because, you don’t seem to think I have even the slightest amount of talent in this particular area so there’s no way you’d ever believe that I’m actually better at it than practically every other individual ever born.”

              She had to know what he was talking about. “Try me,” she said leaning even farther towards him.

              Talking about his gifts made him uncomfortable, and he knew he was changing colors again. Though he used to struggle with his inhibition many years ago, before he became the Guardian Leader, Cadence had a way of bringing those feelings to the surface. “Well, I can actually read other people’s thoughts and emotions. I’m what is referred to as a Sensitive.”

              Her eyebrows flew up. “Really?” she asked a little surprised.

              “Yes, it comes in very handy.  All. The. Time."

              “So if you can read people’s minds why do you need the IAC?”

              “It’s not quite the same thing,” he explained. “I can’t read minds, I can build understanding based on the perceptions of others.  So, I can’t climb into your head and know Cadence is thinking 'Elliott is the most attractive man I’ve ever laid eyes on,’ for example." The snickering and eye rolling was noted and he believed things did not bode well for the teddy bear. “It’s more like, I know you’re thinking about love—or lust—based on the emotions I can read coming from you, and then, build a scenario for what you are actually thinking about.  Chances are if you’re looking at a puppy and I get emotions of joy and sentiment, you’re not thinking about what you had for lunch. Does that make sense?”

              “It does,” she confirmed. “Especially the part about me lusting after Elliott.”

              “Oh, well, then I’ll let him know,” he said grinning as she rolled her eyes.

              “So, when I first met you and I thought you were an unbelievable prick, you knew that?”

              “Actually, no, I didn’t. See, that’s the funny thing Cadence, I have a hard time reading you and I can’t quite figure out what it is. Sometimes I know exactly what you’re thinking—almost to the mental picture in your head—and then other times you surprise me.  Like when you said I was ‘creepy.’ I did not see that coming.”

              “Ha!” she laughed. She wanted to say that was a long time ago but in reality it just seemed like a long time. It was really just a few days ago.  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t think you’re creepy anymore.  And, honestly, I thought everything was creepy that night. Because it was.”

              He wasn’t sure he completely believed her. He was fairly certain that she did think he was creepy when they first met.

              “So, do you think I still consider you creepy?” she asked, sticking her toes into the proverbial water.

              He knew why she was asking and what she wanted to know.  “No, I don’t think you think I’m creepy.” She nodded and he hesitated not sure if he should say anymore.  “I do know when you’re mad at me though, that’s for damn sure.”

              “Well, stop sneaking up on me! Seriously, you do that after you train me and I might hurt you!”

              “Oh, really?” he asked, “You think you could do that?” she could tell he was teasing her and she played along, nodding her head in agreement.  “Actually, you probably could. I’m anxious to see what we discover once we get you out on the training field. I have a feeling, which is my super power, that you’re going to be able to do things like we’ve never seen before.”

              “Well, I hope I don’t disappoint you,” she said quietly.

              “You won’t,” he said shaking his head. “I’m certain of that.”

              It was getting late and they both knew it.  Aaron didn’t have to sleep like Cadence did and her need to sleep would lessen over time as her body figured out what to do with all of the new energy she was able to produce. For now, however, he started to think about leaving so that she could get some rest.

              Perhaps she was the mind reader just then as she stifled a yawn and said, “I think it’s just about time for me to go to bed.”             

              “Okay,” he nodded. “What are your plans for tomorrow? Do you want to stay with your family a bit longer or are you ready to go to LIGHTS?”

              She pondered that question. She wouldn’t have minded staying with her family a while longer, but she knew some time away form her friends would be for the better. “Well, Eliza wanted to take me shopping before we went, but whatever you think is best is fine with me. I’m ready to get started.”

              He absorbed that information momentarily.  “Why don’t you go shopping with Eliza in the morning and then come to LIGHTS tomorrow afternoon? Do you know where she was going to take you?”

              “No,” Cadence stated, “but she did say to ‘trust her.’”

              “Oh, Lord,” he said, “You’re going to need a plane. Alright, I’ll set that up. I’ll also get her your phone number so she can let you know when she’s here. Sound like a plan?”