The Beast Within (18 page)

“You did great today,” Laren reassured him. “Get some rest. Tomorrow you have another full day of training.”

“Thank you, for everything.”

“Of course. Oh, and 1887.”

“What?”

“I was born in 1887.” She grinned as she walked away, leaving him dumbfounded at his door.

That night a stranger invaded Connor’s dream. He was standing in the main castle hall completely alone. All the servants were gone. No guards stood at attention. The only noise in the entire castle was a low, vibration.

Connor walked towards the noise. It was coming from the same area he was taken to when the Council interviewed him. The vibration grew louder as he approached. It was dark outside and the cloudy sky denied even the moon’s light over the castle. When Connor finally reached the room, the vibration stopped and his eyes were met with a ghastly scene. Lying sprawled around the room were the five Council members, covered in their own blood.

Adolpho, Thema, Ardan, Raban, and Tian were all wearing the same expression: lifeless eyes and mouths mangled in silent screams. It took Connor a few moments to gather himself before he realized he wasn’t the only one in the room.

“So, you’re Caderyn’s son?”

The male voice came from a robed figure standing near the back of the room. His face was covered by a dark hood and he was staring into the fireplace, now just a few dying embers.

“Who are you? What have you done to the Council?”

“You mean the traitors, don’t you? I killed them.”

“Traitors? What are you talking about?”

“They betrayed me a long time ago, your father more recently, and they will betray you soon enough.” The figure’s voice was strong and menacing. He was tall, and although Connor couldn’t see much, he sensed a power to this man he couldn’t describe.

“My father was punished for breaking the Law.”

“Harsh words coming from the son he’s imprisoned for saving. Your father was a hero who made a poor decision. Now he rots in prison. Let there be no mistake, Connor, they will use you, and when they are done with you, they will throw you away. Like they did to me. Like they did to your father.”

“No, I won’t believe that.”

“Connor, I know you have been forced to bear a heavy burden with the revelation of your heritage, but know beyond all of this, beyond being an Elite, a Judge, and even the chosen savior, there will be another heavier decision to make.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m planning to offer you a place by my side when I return. A place of true power.”

“When you return? Who are you?”

“You’ll know soon enough. Right now all you need to be concerned about is what will happen if you choose to stand against me. As an ally, I will make you a great leader, but stand against me, and your life and the lives of those you love, including your mother’s, will be forfeit.”

“My mother? If you touch her—”

“If I touch her? You’ll what? You’re just starting to understand your powers, much less control them. I could crush you here and now but I’m offering to give you a chance to rule both the Elite race and the lower human race with me.”

“Rule? No, you’re crazy. I’m not going to join you.”

“Then you are a fool.” The dying flames in front of the man shot to life and Connor could feel hate emitting from the shadowed figure. “It does not matter. If you stand against me, I will crush you, savior or not.” He rotated his body, looking at Connor. “You are the savior, aren’t you?”

He was still too far away for Connor to make out his features and the hood cast a warped shadow across his face, hiding his identity.

“I- I think I am.”

“You are not, or you would know. Greatness is not something you believe and it happens. You know it or you don’t. I am great, and when I return, the Five Families will tremble before me and there is nothing you or anyone else can do.”

In the blink of an eye, he stood before Connor. It was so fast, it was as if he teleported instead of ran. He grabbed Connor by the throat with one hand and lifted him into the air. “Feast your eyes on greatness, Connor Moore, and know that I am coming to have my revenge!”

The man threw back his hood and revealed a gruesome sight. He was more bone than flesh and the skin that clung to his face was charred black. Instead of fangs, an entire row of sharp teeth opened. Despite all of this, Connor was drawn to the man’s eyes, one completely red, the other black.

Chapter 16

T
he rest of the night
was spent tossing and turning. With the first ray of sunlight, Connor found himself sitting up in his bed. He scratched his head, thinking once again about his dream from the night before. What could it have meant? It couldn’t hold any real meaning, could it? It was just his subconscious playing a cruel joke. Then Connor remembered what the man, the creature in his dream, had said about his mother. Dream or not, he clenched his jaw and reminded himself how many people were counting on him to succeed. It wasn’t just the Elites, it was everyone, including his mother.

Like most mornings, the knock on the door came early. Connor didn’t even have to ask, he knew who it was. “Come in.”

Morrigan walked into the room bearing her normal gifts of food and clothing.

Deciding to skip the details of his night, Connor focused on the present and his growling stomach. “Are you going to make me smell out my food again?”

“I don’t think that is necessary. What I do think is necessary is that you get out of bed and ready for the day. We don’t have any time to spare. Lupus and Larentia said your training went well yesterday. How do you feel?”

Connor rose from the bed and stretched. “Great. I’m actually surprised I’m not sore or aching.”

“Well, at least we know your healing factor is working. Now, quickly into the shower,” she scrunched up her nose as if a skunk had just made its presence known. “You smell horrible.”

Thirty minutes later, Connor was once again seated with Morrigan by the window.

“As you know, Lu is teaching you strength and fighting techniques, Laren speed and survival techniques, and I am here to make sure you have as much knowledge as you can retain about who you are and your capabilities. Do you believe that you are not only a Judge, but
the Judge
that will deliver us in our time of need?”

Connor thought long and hard before he answered the question. “I know I’m an Elite and I do believe that I’m the Judge in your vision. What I don’t understand is how I’m supposed to be this great person when I can’t even lift a boulder, or run through the forest as fast as the people I’m supposed to protect?”

“Because you have to believe in yourself. Don’t think you are strong, don’t think you are fast, believe you are. Know you are and find whatever it is inside of you that drives you to be better. Whatever emotion you draw strength from, use it; make yourself master over your emotions and you will have all the power you need.” Her eyes darkened and she looked at him as if she were a mother talking to her son. “But be careful to harness this power, do not become a slave to your emotions.”

Connor nodded. “I think I know what I have to do.”

“I think you do, too.”

And that was it. That was the end of Morrigan’s visit. She led him outside the castle walls and once again to Lupus’ drill camp.

“Did you come ready to do work, rookie?” Lu asked with a grin, his shoulder-length brown hair falling around his face.

“Are you ready? I’m not holding back today.”

“Well, let’s see it.” Lu pointed to a boulder the size of a large suitcase. Connor gritted his teeth and set to his task. His mind was racing with things that made him mad, that made him angry. He squatted next to the boulder, his hands searching for a grip along its jagged edges.

Your father is still alive. You were left in the dark all these years and he’s alive. He didn’t leave you. People took him away from you.
Connor’s arms shook with the exertion as he strained against the rock.
Mom must be worried. She’s all alone now. All by herself while you’re out playing savior. First he left her and now you left her.
His legs and thighs screamed under the pressure, but still he pulled.

Faust was going to kill them. He was seconds away from killing Lu and Laren. He would have murdered them without a second thought.

Then, there it was. Just like before when he was playing sports, except one hundred times magnified. There it was like a shining answer, the rage, the power, that “it” factor that he’d tapped into so many times in the past. Here it was, this time it was on steroids. It was an inner source of power before, a force that he could draw strength from. Now it was a hurricane of emotion and rage.

Connor let out a roar as he felt the power coursing through his body. He felt numb, he felt invincible. Then the boulder moved, not a lot, just a few inches. Connor put his back into it now. Grunting, his vision turned red, almost blurry as he lifted the rock from its place and threw it into the water.

He sank to his knees. His mouth felt different. It wasn’t painful. It was alien, as if his teeth belonged to someone else. He looked at his reflection in the river and didn’t recognize the person looking back. Two red eyes stared at him. Fangs had sprouted from his mouth.

“It’s okay, Connor. Control it. Don’t lose yourself to it. You have control.”

Still gasping for breath, he shook his head. It was intoxicating, it was a drug. He wanted more. He didn’t want to stop, although he knew he had to. This wasn’t him. It was part of him.

Grabbing his hair with both hands, he shook his head back and forth and screamed. He had to stop it. If he was ever going to be the man he needed to be, he had to learn to control it. Then it was gone. The power faded, the surging feeling ebbed, and he was left kneeling on the river bank, Lu standing beside him.

“I knew you could do it. It’s not easy now, switching it off and on. It will be, you’ll learn.”

And Connor did learn, quickly. By the end of their session, Connor could lift more than he’d ever dreamed, punched almost as hard as Lu, and their sparring match went so well that after Connor had pinned him a few times, Lu even began teaching him different styles and techniques.

The two stopped as they saw Laren approaching, panting from their day of training. “I know you can’t see it because it’s just you and not a class, but you’re doing great. You’re light years ahead of where you should be. I almost take back all those mean things I told my sister about you.”

“It’s okay. I thought you were kind of a tool for a long time.”

“I still am kind of a tool.”

Laren smiled at her brother as she passed him. “Ready to run, Connor?”

“The question is, do you think you can keep up with me, Miss Abelardus?”

“That’s the spirit. All right, try to keep up. I’ll start off at a steady jog, then a run and push it to a sprint at the end.”

Connor nodded.

The two took off into the forest at what Laren deemed a “steady jog.” It felt more like a run to Connor. He reached for his power again and felt it pulsing slowly. He tapped into the feeling and energy coursed though his body.

When Laren was ready to push the pace, Connor met her stride for stride.

Fifteen minutes later, Laren looked at her running partner. “Ready? Here comes the sprint.”

“Let’s get after it.” Connor gritted his teeth and grabbed on to his internal beast. His legs moved faster than he thought possible as the two flew down the forest path.

Trees and bushes became blurs of green and brown. Connor didn’t even turn to see Laren’s pace. Instead, he focused on the path and let the rest of the world fall away. There was only one thought in his head,
run
.

Connor lost all track of time, and although his lungs burned, he would have continued down the path had Laren not called a stop.

“Okay, Flash, that’s enough for one day. I think it’s your turn to find dinner.”

Connor stopped and smiled at her panting. “What’s on the menu tonight? Roast squirrel with a berry sauce, fried rabbit and figs, frog legs and lettuce?”

“Whatever you can scavenge. You’re the chef tonight. Although frog legs do sound tempting.” Laren laughed.

Connor turned and walked into the woods, surveying the forest floor. He searched just like Laren taught him. Slowly and deliberately, his eyes scanned the forest floor until he found a tiny paw print.

Following the trail, he soon found himself beside a tree. Looking into the branches, a large grey squirrel returned his gaze. The branch the squirrel sat on was ten feet off the ground.

Laren appeared beside him. “Think you can get him?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Connor backed up a few feet, and before his mind ran through the reasons that his plan couldn’t physically work, he started running. He jumped as high as he could and pushed off the tree trunk, propelling himself higher. The squirrel’s mouth dropped open, and if it was possible for squirrels to look surprised, this one did.

Still flying in the air, Connor grabbed the animal off the tree branch, and for a split second, thought he was going to die. Gravity overcame his upward momentum and sent him falling to the hard forest floor ten feet below.

You’re going to die. Morrigan is going to be so pissed.
He hit the ground on both his feet and tumbled awkwardly to the side.

Laren rushed over. “Are you okay, Connor?”

Connor rolled onto his back, covered in leaves and dirt, holding onto the limp form of the squirrel. “I did it.”

“Yes, you did. Starting to believe in yourself a little bit more?”

Laren helped him up and he gave her a boyish grin. “Yeah, I guess so. Now let’s eat.”

It was as he was preparing the fire that Laren showed her pride on his advancement.

“You’ve accomplished in two lessons what would have taken a normal Elite months to master. That’s great, Connor. How do you feel?”

“Alive. Everything’s starting to click. I can tap into that power inside me now, I just have to make sure I can turn it off just as easily.”

“I agree, you want it in short spurts. Our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness if we let it consume us and lose control.”

The next day went by much too fast. That morning, Morrigan informed Connor that Katie was granted access to the castle with strict orders not to leave the grounds. She also told him of the events that were going to be held that night in his honor. Since there hadn’t been a Judge challenged in such a long time, everyone was somewhat hazy on the exact etiquette of how the ceremony should proceed. History demanded a celebration, in today’s world, that meant Connor would be interviewed by a group of reporters and then taken to a celebratory dinner.

Sessions with Lu and Laren were shortened to give Connor time to prepare for the night’s events. Lu was happy with his student’s progress, only wishing they had more time to go over weapons training. He consoled himself by telling Connor, “Oh well, if you need a weapon, grab the biggest thing next to you and throw it at your enemy.”

Likewise, Laren was thrilled with his advancement in only three lessons, but regretted not having more time.

The evening found Connor in the shower with Morrigan shouting directions to him from the other side of the door. It was beginning to become a routine.

“Some of the reporters may try and stump you or ask you off-the-wall questions. Remember, take your time, and you always have the option of replying with no comment.”

Connor was nervous and couldn’t help thinking that with such a big night ahead, he should be terrified. A room full of cameras and journalists all looking at him, not only for answers, but possibly for their lives if they believed in the prophecy. He would have been more nervous except something had happened in the last few days. Connor knew he was different. He knew he belonged here, and he was beginning to believe he was the Judge that was foretold. He was as strong as Lu, as fast as Laren, and this was only after three days.

“I hung your tuxedo on the hook behind the door.”

“Tuxedo?” Connor shut off the water and started drying himself.

“Yes, tuxedo. What did you think you would be wearing? Converse and a V-neck?”

Connor unzipped the garment bag, he had never seen a tuxedo before. At all his high school dances and proms, Connor had been content to wear his one suit or just a pair of slacks and a shirt and tie. He knew how hard his mother worked at the shop and couldn’t justify spending money on things that weren’t really that important to him. Any extra money from the job he worked aside from the shop either went to his mother or a savings account.