Axiom Theory: Book Four of the Shadow Series (21 page)

“I will,” replied Prim. “Gotta go.”

“Bye.”

Lauren allowed her hair to hang over her face as she hung up the phone. She could barely see the
buttons on it through her tear-blurred vision.

“Is everything okay?” asked Test. “Did they find them?”

Without looking at either Cliff or Test, Lauren began to walk out of the room, using every ounce of her strength not to show them what she considered to be weakness. With her head hung low, she replied as she walked out of the room. “Not yet.”

Test turned to Cliff. “What’s going on with her?” he asked. “I know she’s always been moody, but she’s
way
off lately.”

The old man nodded his head slowly as he rubbed the back of his head. “Yep,” he replied. It wasn’t his place to tell Test that Lauren was pregnant, so he struggled for a moment to come up with an appropriate response. “I think Ms. Lauren is dealin’ with something we can’t understand,” he replied. “Let’s just be supportive of her, but give her some space too.”

Test looked back over his shoulder at the empty doorway, knowing what it felt like to deal with something that most others couldn’t understand. Cliff was right; sometimes a person just needs to be alone to sort things out. “Fair enough,” he replied. “If she needs us, I guess she’ll ask.”

Cliff looked to the open doorway as well.
“I hope so, son. I hope so.”

****

Destin emerged from the dead side just before he reached Jenkinson’s Boardwalk. As he materialized, he felt the tightness in his chest that seemed to accompany the use of his power on occassion. He remembered the first time he’d noticed it. This time was different. When he’d moved the pillow for Ashley in his bedroom, it hadn’t felt quite like this—not this severe. Though he’d felt energized after taking Casper’s power from him, he suddenly found himself feeling weak. He rubbed his chest and made his way to a familiar park bench and thought about the events that had just transpired. While the breeze played in his hair, he closed his eyes and tried to relive the moment.

It seemed as though time stood still. He remembered the overwhelming hatred he felt towards Casper. He remembered staring into his
pitiless eyes and wanting to close them. It wasn’t until he walked it through in his mind that he remembered the sensation of weightlessness.

As he stepped towards Casper, the closer he got, the lighter he felt. He could see the energy flowing in the distance between them
. He could feel it entering into his body. Each wave that came sent a charge to his core and propelled the next step forward. He remembered the large pulse sent to him; he knew its purpose was to harm him. Without it being a conscious act, he felt as though his body had been pulled toward Casper as though a rope were tied around his chest. With his palm resting on his chest, he applied pressure to mimic the feeling of Casper’s energy flowing into his body.

The memory of the sensation came to him with such force that
it was almost as though it were happening again. He felt powerful and in control. He remembered the helpless expression on Casper’s face. He remembered the look on Ashley’s face as Casper lay on the floor. He knew she was excited, but he saw the fear in her eyes as well.

He looked up to the sky, hoping to see stars, but they were
hidden away by the lights of the boardwalk. Instead, he closed his eyes once again and continued to reflect as he took a deep, cleansing breath. He felt the tickle of a leaf from the bush behind the bench. The wind had begun to pick up and it set the bush to dance peacefully behind him. Suddenly, a cold chill ran down his spine that caused him to shiver.

“I thought you’d come here.”

The voice shattered the moment of serenity. Allowing his head to fall, he kept his eyes closed and tucked his chin to his chest. “Leave me alone, Ashley,” he replied without even looking. “I want to be alone.”

Ignoring his request, she took a seat next to him.
The war inside her was becoming more difficult by the moment. The instant that Destin had left their home, her first feeling was one of worry. The thought of him being just a pawn to achieve their goals was secondary and realized only after Casper had made a comment. Her entire life had been spent taking life and not caring about another. The fact that she found herself caring—even if only a little—angered her as much as it confused her.

“You okay?” she asked.

Destin spun with his legs on the side of the bench; his back turned to her. “What do you care?”

Ashley struggled. She did care, and it pissed her off. It was as though there were two people within her fighting over how to feel and how to respond. Frustrated more with herself than with Destin, she replied as she tugged on the back of his shirt. “Stop being such a brat.”

As soon as the word
s left her lips, Destin stood from the bench and turned. “Don’t call me names!” he shouted as a quick burst of light flashed down his arms.

Ashley stood and looked around.
Though the boardwalk was closed, there was no telling who might be lingering around. “Hey, what are you doing?” she asked as she reached for him. “Someone’s going to see you.”

“So?” he shouted, the pulsing of his arms matching the tone of his voice. “What do we care if someone sees us? We’re better
, right?”

Remembering Destin’s new found ability, she found herself being cautious. “Come on, Dest. Settle down a bit and we’ll talk about things.”

With his eyes wide, he forced the fury at his core to prepare for phasing to the dead side once again. “I said I want to be alone!” he shouted. As he flipped the internal switch, forcing the phase, his chest clenched tightly and the air in his lungs evaporated. Unable to think, he dropped to his knees and clutched his chest and throat.

Ashley moved quickly to his side and cradled him as he fell into her chest. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?” she asked, but the boy couldn’t reply. Suddenly, she felt his body go limp.

“Destin?” she shook him. “Destin?” She laid him flat on the ground and placed her ear to his chest. There was nothing. “Holy shit, don’t do this to me!” she shouted.

Without hesitation, she closed her eyes and forced her own power to ignite. Holding a hand over Destin’s chest, she could see his heart in her mind. She could feel it in her ethereal grasp a
s she began to massage it gently. With each squeeze, she watched his face intently, feeling as if her own heart were breaking.

“Destin!” she began to shout. “Don’t you do this. Wake up!”

“Hey, lady; is everything okay?”

The voice came from behind her and, continuing the massaging of Destin’s heart, she glanced over her shoulder to see a homeless man with a long gray beard walking towards them. “Stay back!” she shouted. He failed to listen and continued towards her. With her free hand, she thr
ew a pulse that sent him careening backwards twenty feet through the air, landing solidly against the base of a tree.

As she turned back to Destin, she heard him gasp. His back arched off of the ground as he struggled
to get the air into his lungs. His eyes rolled in and out of the back of his head as Ashley ran her fingers through his hair. “Hey, kid. Come back, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” She lifted him into her arms as she stood and rested her cheek on top of his head. “Let’s get you home.”

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye as she and Destin phased into the dead side and knew that it was the homeless man stirring. She’d already revealed her power to him, so it mattered little to her
as she blazed a trail through the shadow world. What did matter was Destin’s condition. Though their plan didn’t necessarily hinge on Destin’s presence, she found herself contemplating a delay to make sure he would be okay.

Ashley and Casper stood over Destin’s bed and watched as his breaths came in short, shallow spurts. Her voice revealing her pain, Ashley whispered to Casper.

“He’s dying.”

Cold and sinister, Casper replied. “Let him. There’s more where he came from, right?”

A jet of light flashed down her arms as she measured her response. She didn’t want to Casper know of the feelings she was having. “We don’t know that for sure yet.”

“They have to,” he replied. “I bet they’ve improved their formula since making tombstone here.” He motioned to Destin.

Without saying a word the room was set ablaze with Ashley’s power as she turned and placed both palms directly on her brother’s chest. “Shut up!” she shouted. “Just shut your damn mouth!”

Surprised by his sister’s display, Casper looked away from her and down to the bed.

“Hey look…” he began.

His words triggered a small pulse from Ashley’s core and sent him
crashing into the wall directly behind him. “I told you to shut up!” she shouted.

With chunks of sheet rock falling on him, Casper looked up to her. “Look!” he shouted back, pointing to Destin. “Jesus!”

Her eyes wide and wild, Ashley turned and saw what Casper was talking about. If the room hadn’t been dark, she’d never had seen it. The faintest flashes of energy were pulsing backwards up Destin’s arms. And then she felt it. There was a subtle, but steady tug on her body. It took her a moment to realize what was happening.

“He’s stealing your energy, isn’t he?” asked Casper, now standing and brushing himself off.

Without acknowledging her brother, Ashley knelt beside the bed and took Destin’s hand into hers. She forced her power to grow and watched as the pulsing light under Destin’s flesh increased in intensity and frequency. At first, she had to push for her energy to move into him quickly, but after a minute had passed, she could feel him pulling faster than she felt comfortable.

As his eyes began to flutter, she released his hand and shook him gently. “Destin? You there, buddy?” With another shake
, Destin’s eyes settled on her.

“What happened?” he asked
in a whisper.

“I’m not sure,” replied Ashley.

Destin lifted his head and looked at his arms, noticing the reversed energy slowing as it moved towards his shoulder. He could feel the energy pulling from Ashley.

“I’m sorry!” he exclaimed as he jumped in the bed. “I don’t know how…”

“It’s fine,” assured Ashley as she rested a hand on his knee. “Apparently it’s what you needed.”

Destin wrinkled his nose. “What do you mean?”

Ashley looked at him with a smirk. “Well, buddy. I think you’ve got a glitch in your system.”

“I don’t understand.”

With a deep sigh, Ashley explained. “I think that when you use your powers, your body doesn’t regenerate the energy fast enough. When you do big things, like phase to the dead side—that takes a lot of energy.”

“It hurts,” he replied innocently while touching his chest.

Placing a hand on his cheek, Ashley tried to comfort him. “I’m sorry for that, but the good news is that I think your special gift will compensate for it.” Allowing her power to grow, she pointed to Destin’s arms as his light grew with it. “See,” she said. “Your body is using my energy to recharge.”

Destin watched with a youthful fascination as the lights raced faster and faster up his arm
. He could feel his strength building with each pulse. He felt a new connection with Ashley and liked how the moment made him feel.

Reaching out to brush the hair from his forehead, Ashley smiled. “Pretty cool, huh?”

Destin smiled back and nodded.

“Are you serious?” asked Casper from the foot of the bed. “He could take it all if he wanted to!”

With her eyes focused on Destin, Ashley threw her right arm towards Casper and released a pulse that sent him flying through the wall and into the hallway. She watched as Destin’s face showed a glimmer of pleasure.

“That’s my boy,” she said lovingly
without even realizing it. She glanced over her shoulder and looked through the hole in the wall, watching as Casper writhed on the ground in pain. “He’s lucky you took some of my juice, huh?” she asked, turning back to the boy with a smirk. “Now all we have to do is to get you to learn how to use your gift whenever you want to.”

Destin’s grin brightened the room.

****

Having stopped several times along the way, the most recent burst of energy helped Prim to pinpoint the twins’ location. They stood in a dark alley that was lined by overgrown bushes, each of them intertwined into a chain-link fence or
topping over a wooden privacy fence. At the very end of the alley stood a yellowed street lamp, and he watched as a small dark figure, presumably a cat, sauntered through its illuminated radius.

“We are close?” asked Iku quietly.

Closing his eyes for focus, Prim felt the steady push from down the alley and to the right. “Yes,” he replied. “They are on this block a little ways down.”

“Should we call Lauren and Test?”

With a stern and concentrated grimace, Prim replied. “Not yet. I’d like to get a closer look first.”

Without a word, Iku nodded his head. Though he doubted the wisdom of Prim’s decision, he considered Prim the leader and he would follow. He waited for Prim to take the first step and then took his place to Prim’s right and just behind. With each house they passed, Iku began to feel the familiar push of the Reapers.