The Awakening (24 page)

“Just in time,” said Midnight. “Alexander just smashed strength training...literally.”

The American raised his eyebrows at the pile of rubble on the floor. “Not bad. Let’s see if you can bring that energy to part two.” His Southern drawl combined with waist jacket and hat reminded me of a bad guy from a cheesy western. I couldn’t resist a smile.

He gestured for me to follow. We were almost out of the room, when a loud siren started blaring from a speaker near the ceiling. It sounded like something from a World War II film.

“Well I’ll be damned,” cursed Delagio. “Looks like trainin’ is gonna have to wait.”

All three charged out of the room. I followed. We ran through the gym, which was emptying of people. They were squeezing into various elevators.

“Let’s take the stairs,” called Delagio.

We headed through a set of double doors and into stair well. We were at level B18. Thundering up the stairs, we twisted up and up, until we were at level B2. We exited into a long white corridor and rocketed along. Doors whipped past us. If anyone were to come out now, they would be mown down, no question.

At the end of the corridor, Delagio burst through the doors and we piled into the room.

It looked like a control centre. Rows of desks were covered in rows of computers. They were occupied by a myriad of people who were tapping frantically at keyboards. At the very front on the wall was a huge screen. It showed a map of the UK on a grid system; currently one section of it was flashing red.

I noticed Faru at the front below the screen looking up at it, his cane dug firmly into the ground. Two bodyguards stood just behind him, hands clutched around their electric crosiers as usual. No other Chosen appeared to be here yet. I wondered where they had all gone.

She was wearing some kind of black leather uniform. A miniature silver version of the emblem on the Feasting Hall doors was indented on the breast of her jacket. It reminded me of a police badge. Her raven hair was tied back into a long ponytail. Guns, knives and other strange weapons I couldn’t identify hung from a thick metallic belt wrapped around her waist. A samurai sword ran diagonally down her back, secured by its scabbard. She looked like she meant business - she looked like a soldier.

Gabriella paced over to one of the computer screens. The assistant - a squirmy looking man with round glasses - scrambled out of the way so she could use it. Her gloved hands muffled the sounds of the keystrokes.

“Quite a large pack,” she informed the room. “At least fifteen. They tripped the perimeter sensors at the five mile marker.”

Faru’s voice boomed across the room. “Do you think it could be Rahuman?”

Gabriella tapped a few more keys and the large screen changed to show a blue line originating from a point roughly in the middle of the country. It wasn’t entirely straight, sometimes shooting off in random directions, but mainly heading down towards London.

Faru nodded. “I am aware of that, which is why he will be observing only. Take Twelve and Thirteen with you.” He gestured towards the silent guards.

My friend’s face looked conflicted. Sighing, she conceded.

As you wish Sage Faru.”

“All remaining teams are in defence positions around the base. I’ll place Echo on standby for support. Be safe.” He crossed his arms in salute like the Guardians had in the gym. Everyone returned the gesture.

Midnight smacked his hand into his fist. “Alright let’s go finish this arsehole once and for all.”

I stood there looking and feeling like a lost child.

“Five minutes everyone. Get ready and meet me in the garage.” Gabriella pushed away from the computer and took my arm. “You come with me.”

“What’s happening?”

“It’s Showtime.”

15

G
abriella led me to an underground parking lot somewhere in the cavernous depths of the base. Shining black tiles covered the walls and a purple glow from arching wall lights filled the area. Around us were dozens of parking spaces. Most of them were filled with enough beautiful cars and bikes to make even Bruce Wayne jealous. I followed her over to a sleek black Ferrari. She rested against the bonnet and stared at me with her captivating blue eyes.

“Alexander, I need you to listen to me.”

“Okay.” When she looked at me like that, there wasn’t anything else I could do
but
listen.

“This could be a very dangerous hunt. If it’s the Vampire pack we think it is, they’re extremely powerful. We’ve lost several Guardians to Rahuman, including Chosen. So I want you to stay behind me and the bodyguards the whole time. I don’t want you to get involved
at all
. No matter what happens. If anything goes wrong, I want you to drive away as fast and as far as you can. Do you understand me?” Her voice carried a no mess authority tone.

“I understand. I won’t do anything,” I promised shaking my head.
What can I do anyway?

Gabriella’s face broke into the reassuring half smile that I loved. Looking behind me she rolled her eyes. “Here comes your protection.”

I spun around to see Faru’s guards walking towards me. Instead of robes, they now wore long white trench coats, with matching boots. As well as the menacing electric crosiers, they carried an array of impressive looking pistols and knives on their belts. Up close I discovered that the numbers on their foreheads weren’t tattooed after all, they were
carved
.

They reached us and stopped. Gabriella pointed toward a silver Range Rover opposite the Ferrari. “You travel with the rest of the team.” She tapped the metal of the bonnet. “We’re in here.”

The guards shook their heads like twins. One moved forward to grab me, but Gabriella jumped up and swept me behind her.

“Listen to me you retarded clay doll. I’m the leader of this team and what I say goes. When we get there, you protect Alex with your lives - if that’s what you call them. Until then, he is not leaving my sight. Clear?”

I felt a rush of warmth at how protective she was being over me.

The guards paused before nodding in eerie unison. They both turned and walked over to the jeep.

I frowned, watching the odd figures fall silent as if their batteries had run out. “Why did you call them Clay dolls? Is that like an in joke or something?” I asked.

“Not at all. Have you ever heard of a Golem?”

“Never.”

“They’re made from clay. Faru creates them and brings them to life using Fae magic. They help serve us and protect us, but they can’t speak and have no compassion whatsoever. They just do what they are told like mindless dogs. I hate the things.”

I sank into the bucket seat just as the rest of Orion ran in. They were all dressed in the same black leather uniforms. Delagio was still wearing his cowboy hat.

They paced over to the Range Rover and jumped in. Sophia climbed into the boot space so there was enough room for the Golems to crank themselves in.

A second later the window buzzed down. Delagio leaned out and yelled, “You got a lock on em right?”

“Yeah, follow me,” Gabriella called back.

“Sure thing boss.” He tipped his hat and the window glided back up. Gabriella turned the key and the engine roared to life. I hardly had time to put my seatbelt on before we lurched forward, tyres squealing. We raced towards the exit ramp. Behind, the jeep rumbled into existence and followed. We spiralled up and up like a helter skelter stuck in reverse.

The slope straightened. Ahead, a large garage style door cranked open. We shot out into the daylight - car soaring off the ground. It slammed back down and Gabriella spun the wheel sharply to the right, power sliding around a decorative circular fountain. Gravel sprayed up from underneath the tyres. I craned my neck back and saw that we on the front drive of the grand mansion. From the outside, the exit we burst through was designed to look like the rest of the stone. As the jeep roared through, it closed automatically and all trace of it vanished.

The Ferrari raced down a long winding driveway. The G-force pinned me to the seat. The speedometer slipped past the 100 mark. I squinted my eyes and gripped the sides of the seat as Gabriella jammed her foot to the floor. A looming brick wall appeared, stretching as far as the eye could see in both directions. An iron gate stood in the centre. Four Golems stood guarding it - two on either side. One pressed a button on the wall and the gate swung open just in time for the car to blitz through. On the other side, we roared down a long deserted road. A few expensive looking houses flashed past in between the hedges and trees.

“Who lives here?” I asked over the thundering engine.

“Humans in key positions to aid the Alliance,” Gabriella answered. “Like police chiefs, judges and MP’s. We look after them and their families. In return they help us maintain the cover of normalcy. As far as anyone knows, Faru is Mr Farris, a retired oil billionaire.”

The speedometer now hovered over the 150 mark. The scenery whipped past in a blur of colours.
Still, it’s better than being underground in one of those elevators.
Wait...

“Why aren’t we using the Nexus?” I asked.

“Hold on a second.”

Gabriella gunned the sports car out of the private road, onto a slip road and then onto a duel carriageway without breaking speed. The screeching of the wheels matched the sound of my fearful yell as we slewed sideways, narrowly missing a ford estate. The driver blasted the horn. Gabriella eased up on the accelerator before stamping her foot down again once we were straight.

“Ella!” I shouted.

“Calm down you big baby! I won’t crash, trust me. And in answer to your question, the Nexus is for travelling around London quickly.” Her lips thinned. “Problem being that the pack is already in Chapter Hill.”

I shuddered when I thought of the danger being so close to my school...to Mikey. All of those people oblivious to the horrific creatures hiding in the shadows.
Until it’s too late.

“Faru said something earlier about
most
Vampires being from Pandemonia. What did he mean by that?” I asked.

Gabriella slipped the car down a gear and overtook a Porsche. The young businessman inside scowled with defeat.

“He’s talking about Bloodlings. Human Vampires.” She tapped a gloved finger against her tooth. “Bloodseeker teeth are coated in a poison which paralyses their victims. But it has a far worse effect on humans. If one gets bitten and doesn’t die from their injuries, they’ll be reborn as a Bloodling.”

In my mind I imagined being the victim of a Vampire attack. The despair of helplessness, mixed with the dawning horror that there were creatures that went bump in the night. The thought made my stomach twist with dread.

“So what happens if a Bloodling bites another human?” I asked.

“Same thing. Only difference is that Bloodlings have a bizarre affection for their maker if they were a Bloodseeker. If they were a Bloodling, well...” she shrugged. “Let’s just say we’ve had to clean up some big messes before.”

I gave a silent nod.

Gabriella gave me a sideways glance. “It’s not all bad. I mean apart from the whole living forever and needing to feed or you decompose aspects.” She gave a rue smile.

“Like?”

“Well, the sun doesn’t affect them for one. Plus they are far stronger than any human. Also most of them tend to join the HASEA, which as mercenary as it sounds, we need.”

Something Gabriella said stuck in my brain.
Sun doesn’t affect them.

“Hold on a second, it’s daytime. Faru said that Pandemonian Vampires were allergic to sunlight.”

My companion pointed through the windshield at the thick grey clouds. “Direct sunlight yeah. Unfortunately it’s overcast. They’ll be weaker, but far from a pushover.”

We fell silent. Gabriella wove in and out of the traffic with expert precision. In fairness, there wasn’t a moment where she looked as if she would lose control.

“Open up the glove compartment,” she instructed suddenly.

I did as she asked and saw a silver gun lying in the narrow recess. I curled my hand around the base and slid it out. The metal was cool to the touch.

“This what you wanted?”

She glanced over and nodded. “That’s for you. Just in case. It’s all you need to take out any Vampire. Keep it hidden though; you aren’t supposed to carry weapons yet.”

I smiled. “Most girls keep CD’s and eyeliner in their glove compartments. Trust you to have a gun.”

“I have eyeliner in there too. A real girl’s ready for any situation.” She winked.

Then her expression sobered. She pointed a delicate finger towards a switch on the side of the gun. “To load it, push that all the way down. Then pull the trigger. Simple as that. It only holds six rounds though, so be careful.”

I looked up. “If I’m not allowed to carry a gun, why are you giving me this?”

For a split second, I could have sworn she went red. But on second glance it could have been a trick of the light. “Because I don’t want you to get hurt Alex,” she answered plainly.

We drove on in silence for a while. I rolled the weapon over in my hand, testing the weight. It felt solid and powerful. It was easy to see why people became obsessed with carrying them. The gun itself looked different to those I’d seen in films. The barrel was long and wide. The grip looked as if it was coated in wet black paint, but felt rubberised to touch. I’d never felt anything like it and had a sneaking suspicion that some of the materials weren’t from my side of the Veil. I tucked the gun in the waistband of my jeans and pulled my top over it. I sat back and glanced in the wing mirror to check that the Range Rover was still following. It was right behind us.