Chosen (The Chosen Few Trilogy #1) (17 page)

Thus, Eleanor had passed on the terrible news th
at filled us all with
dread.

Matt Black, from L.A., one of the Eight, had been murdered by Loki. Before any of us could dwell on what this meant
,
Myleene had asked Eleanor to begin our training
in the garden
. We were all that remained, she said. The world would crumble or stand through our competence.

I had tried to hide the flinch that would betray my uncertainty.

Now I paused as Eleanor held up a hand.
“
Relax
.
”
her face was expressionless.
“Meditate."

I stood with my arms by my sides. Something prodded at my mind, invading my thoughts. Eleanor was trying to coax something inside me to reveal itself, gently probing and searching.

“
Lose yourself in paradise,
”
she said to us all.
“
Think of something you cherish or a place you love.
”

On my wall back home, the one opposite our Victory Wall, I had hung a four-thousand dollar painting by the marine artist, Christian Reese Lassen. Called
Escape
it depicted a scene in paradise, with the vibrant skies, the perfect surf and the cliff-hugging waterfalls that signified the
artist’s
trademark work. I thought of that painting now, trying to put myself in the shack that nestled at one of the cliff faces, staring out the window at the perfect sea and the pounding waves.

Again the invasive prod jolted my mind. A voice whispered
don
’
t fight it, try to accept it.
I closed my eyes,
wondering how Lysette was handling someone reading
her
mind. Lysette had already promised never to try and read anyone inside the sanctuary of the house.

My thoughts were being cast aside as if someone was searching for a particular tome in a li
brary. Images struck me briefly
as
Eleanor as
sifted
through them. The cherished memory of my wife. The life-altering anguish I felt at her disappearance. The ulcer-inducing stress I
’
d endured every night as I trawled
through
the Internet looking at pictures of missing persons. Looking for something I knew I
’
d never find. 

One day I would
know the truth
.

I found Felicia down there, the feelings clouded and unsure. Deeper still I found Belinda and suddenly my eyes flew open.

Was this my terror? That I might find someone new only to lose them again, whether by force or by choice?

It was the same vision Ashka had hurled at me. Of Belinda captured by Demons, the last hope of mankind crawling through human debris whilst being taunted by a being of utter evil. Tears sprang from my eyes. Eleanor locked her gaze with mine, deliberately flinging the vision aside and crushing it as I watched, trying to imbue me with her determination and will.

“
Enough,
”
Eleanor
’
s voice filled my mind, spoken both within and without. The bond between us snapped, and I felt the power slip away with a gulp of regret.

“
It must come slowly,
”
Eleanor said to us all.
“
For you Devon, and Lysette, we are seeking to expand what you are already capable of. Don
’
t fight it. Don
’
t think you
’
re already at your limits.
”

Drained, I listened as the elf gave her advice. Then, not really believing I was capable of gaining any real kind of power I tuned her out, and watched as the wind
started to
ripple
through the
trees.

A few minutes later we filed through the patio door and into the kit
chen. Lucy was already there
with Ceriden, Belinda and Myleene. My heart lifted to see Lucy smiling and chatting with confidence.

“
Hey Luce,
”
I said
.
“
How long now
‘
til you
’
re sixteen?
”

I was rewarded with a hand-wave that declared me insignificant. I noticed that the telltale bandage bulge beneath her long-sleeved sweatshirt was gone. Draining a glass of coke I wiped sweat off my brow just as the kitchen door opened and a well-built man with wild blonde hair and a big smile walked in. Being the sudden centre of attention didn
’
t faze him at
all;
in fact his smile appeared to grow wider.

“
Hey, dudes and dudettes,
”
he said loudly.
“
I
’
m Ken Hamilton. Can someone
please
direct me to the beer?
”

I pretended not to be fazed when Belinda, Devon, Lysette and Felicia-who all appeared from nowhere- descended on Ken, but soon made my exit and trotted upstairs for a shower. On my way out I also noticed Giles look up from his
laptop
long enough to frown at the new boy, and then at Lyset
te. I saw Lysette glance
over her shoulder at Giles and then smile even wider at Ken. Grinning, I climbed the stairs, hoping those two could forge something good. Lysette seemed okay, if a little distant, and Giles was a good guy.

As for Ken Hamilton, I thought. Let them have him. At least the guy who’d brought him here, Ryan- an Oxford graduate if ever I saw one- had taken the thunder out of Ken’s appearance by confirming the previously-unimagined existence of Dementia, some crazy demon-woman from a distant hell dimension.
Well, I thought
, she’s sure come at the right time.

After a ten minute shower and a change of clothes I was heading back down to the big conference room in response to Myleene
’
s message that a
nother
video-call had been scheduled Myleene wanted everyone present.

I entered the big, ai
ry room to find everyone
seated. I ignored Belinda
’
s questioning look and seated myself between the vampire, Mai, on one side and Lucy on the other.

“
Daughter,
”
I said by way of greeting.

“
Father,
”
she said in the same deep tone.
“
Ceriden has been made king vamp,
”
she whispered
.
“
They
’
re gonna announce it soon.
”

My instant reaction was to ask her how she knew. But then I remembered Mai was seated to my right. Lucy seemed to be getting awful close to Ceriden and the fang-gang these days.

“
Lucy, I
’
ve been meaning to ask you-
”

“
My arms are fine.
”

“
No. I didn
’
t mean that.
”

“
What then?
”

I flicked at the chair arm.
“
Don
’
t get too close
to Ceriden
, darling. He may be a laugh, but he
’
s still a vampire.
”

“
How observant of you
.
”

“
Don
’
t get mad, Luce,
”
I dared not look at her because I thought she
might see it as a challenge.

“
Please, Luce. Be careful.
”

“
I
am!
He
’
s okay. We just talk. They
’
re all okay. They know really cool stuff.
”

“
I just want you to remember who you are. And what they are. And that one day soon this will be over, and then we
’
ll go back to things like school, and work, and, well, our lives.
”

Lucy fixed her gaze ahead, locking onto the video screens and refusing to look at me.

I put my hand over her arm.
“
You
’
ve been through enough. It
’
s time for something normal.
”

In classic contradiction Myleene then got to her feet. She flicked a remote at the video screens and we were once again looking at Cheyne the Witch Queen, and Eldritch, king of the elves.

Giles rose from a
chair in front of me,
dressed down in jeans and a t-shirt.
“
First of all,
”
he said, without preamble.
“
I know I speak for us all when I express my sympathies to the vampire race. Tristran was both a friend and a fine strategist. His expertise will be sorely missed,
”
Giles paused for a second before continuing.
“
I am sure everyone wishes Ceriden the best as he takes Tristran
’
s place, as King.
”

Ceriden nodded
, but didn
’
t rise.

The vampire beside me, the girl Mai, seemed so tense and sat so straight it seemed to me that she was almost bursting with excitement. Without seeing her move I suddenly noticed that her arm was resting atop my own.

“A position he has long deserved,” Mai whisp
ered
.

I gave her a tight-lipped smile.

Giles was saying,
“
Unfortunately Tristran
’
s death illustrates the probability of a high-level traitor among us.
”

Now Giles paused a while longer, I’m guessing to let his candid statement sink in.

And judging by the absolute silence that filled the room it certainly did.

“
Find this person,
”
Giles said, staring at me, at everyone in the room, at the monitors.
“
Before they betray our greatest secrets.
”

I found myself re-evaluating everyon
e
. The traitor could be any one of us, or someone at the Library.

Cheyne now said,
“
I
’
m afraid that I too have bad news. We are struggling here. All the Library
’
s resources have
n’t
turn
ed
up
a
single clue
as to Gorgoroth
’
s origins.
”

“
It
’
s the most terrible evil in the world,
”
I said
.
“
And no-one
’
s ever even heard of it?
”

Cheyne looked humiliated. “What can I say? If we don’t come up with something soon I fear even my familiar will disown me.”

Lysette, seated two rows i
n front,
said,
“
How can we destroy something if we don
’
t know anything about it?
”

Cheyne shook her head.
“
We can
’
t.
”

“
We are asking all of you,
”
Giles filled the silence with a barrage of words.
“
For help
.
To t
ry anything. Think outside the box, use
any contact
, ask your Great Grandma, whatever. We have nothing here.
”

I wondered what Jack Bauer would do.
“
You should try capturing one of them,
”
I spoke up with a nervous catch in my voice.
“
One of the Destroyers, I mean. Then torture him, or something.
”

“
The Destroyers are practically
ghosts,
”
Myleene answered
from her position at the round table.
“
They pop up, they commit carnage, and
disappear. Only Mena Gaines in Miami and Ashka here in York can be identified.
”