Awakening: The Elder Chronicles, Volume 1 Read online

  What kind of things? Elena pushed.

  The Elder alone may answer the question.

  Why doesn't he talk to me, then?

  Because, Orifiel responded, he is not familiar with you or your mind. It is difficult for us to detect or contact people we have never met. But as you noticed, some may overhear a conversation not intended for them.

  Elena's faced burned with embarrassment.

  She heard Ori's voice again, but this time much weaker. Elder, she said, Alec will bring the girl to you.

  After a pause, she added, Alec, you must bring Elena to the old city.

  Alec replied. If it is the Elder's wish, Mother, then of course I will. But then we must get going soon and keep the element of surprise on our side.

  Ori replied, Yes, I agree you must keep moving. I have sensed their presence nearby. My friends have warned me three unfamiliar Daimones are inbound to my farm. They are coming for her. Somehow they have managed to find her.

  I am not sure it was a difficult task for them, Mother, Alec replied. They probably figured out yours was the safest and closest place for me to bring her. It was a matter of time. Alec paused, and then added, I am glad she had the chance to rest. Perhaps it has helped move along her awakening.

  Yes, perhaps, Ori responded. Her voice took on a lighter, teasing tone. I see your attachment to her has grown much stronger, son.

  Alec replied with silence.

  Ori continued. Let us hope her powers develop fast and strong for all our sakes. She paused a moment. Alec, she finally added, you must find the Elder and bring her to him before they get to her. If they find her, they may bring her to their Mistress. With a tone Elena would have expected of a commanding officer, Ori then ordered Alec, Go to Paris and seek out our ally there. He should be able to find the Elder. You cannot fail in this task.

  Yes, Mother, Alec replied. I understand.

  Alec turned to face Elena. His cheeks reddened a little as his eyes fell upon her. Was he blushing? Alec took her hand in his. "We need to take a trip."

  Elena smirked. "I heard."

  Alec stammered. "W—wait a minute, what do you mean you heard?" His voice had a hint of embarrassment.

  Elena nodded.

  Deciding not to embarrass him further, she changed the topic by asking, "When do we leave?"

  "As soon as possible."

  Alec's muffled mental voice once again sounded in her mind. Mother, he said, please take care. These Daimones are ruthless. It would appear their Mistress is getting desperate in her bid for power.

  Ori replied, Alec. Don't worry about her. I have nothing to fear from the Opposition or its leader. I have lived many millennia and can handle any pups they send for me. Now go. And take care of Elena. Then, as an afterthought, Elena heard the woman say, She is truly precious cargo.

  I will. Alec replied. I love you.

  I love you too, son. And you too, Elena.

  Elena answered, Thank you, Ori. I will always be grateful for your kindnesses.

  The two left the dining room to prepare for their journey. Within a short time, they had put together bags with clothes. In the kitchen, Elena packed food. Alec opened a flour canister on the counter and pulled out a thick wad of cash.

  Alec smiled at the wide-eyed expression on Elena's face. "We're going to need this," he told her.

  "How much is there?" The words had come out before she could stop them.

  Alec glanced at the wad and thumbed through it. "A lot." He stuffed the cash into his pocket. "When you have lived as long as we have, you tend to accumulate a little bit of savings," he said to her. "Don't worry about asking about it. It's a natural reaction." He paused. "We will need a new identity for you if we are going to get to Europe undetected."

  Within half an hour, they were driving back down the same country road they drove in on. They'd taken one of Ori's new trucks. Weaving through the back roads, a cloud of dust stretched behind them.

  "Where are we?" Elena asked.

  "The farm is an hour outside of Buffalo," Alec replied. He pondered for a moment before adding, "A contact of mine in Buffalo can get us some new identities. From there we are going to take a plane. We need to stay under the radar."

  They drove on for about forty more minutes. The truck turned onto Walden Avenue, then onto one of the smaller backstreets, Koons Avenue. They stopped in front of a small house.

  Alec stepped out of the truck, came around its front, and opened Elena's door. "Now let me do the talking," he told her. "This man does business with all sorts of shady characters all the time. We cannot afford to let slip where it is we will be going because I am sure our counterparts have dealings with him as well." Almost at a whisper, he added, "You see, he has a specialized skill."

  Elena hadn't expected Alec to be acquainted with the seedier side of things. Given his youthful appearance, she still considered him a college student rather than a three-thousand-year-old man. To hear him speak so comfortably about buying fake ID's seemed out of character, even surreal. In response to his direction, she nodded. Together they walked up the property's brick walkway. The neighborhood had some time ago given up quaint for urban blight. Lots where houses once stood were barren holes between rundown homes. The neighborhood seemed, for the most part, as if it had been abandoned in some silent apocalypse. She clung to Alec's arm without thinking, and could feel his muscles tense beneath his shirt. Again, her skin tingled with electricity where it touched his.

  She studied the house as they approached. It had two stories, and a porch spread across the front façade. The little paint still clinging to the home appeared scratched and peeling. One of the upper floor windows seemed as if it had been cracked by a stray bullet, and the visible parts of the roof were either covered in moss or missing large sections of shingles.

  The yard held piles of empty beer cans, and it seemed the local stray animal population left a litter box where a lawn had once been. The bare soil supported not so much as a single weed.

  As they approached the front door, Elena whispered to Alec with a slight chuckle, "So, I guess business is good?"

  "Don't be fooled," Alec replied. "This man is actually a top-notch attorney with a very large bank account. This place is for show and to attract his seedier clientele."

  Alec rapped on the front door. As he did, it rattled like it would fall right off the hinges. Not because of his strength but because of the rot falling from the doorframe.

  She heard shuffling behind the door, followed by a series of clicks and scrapes suggesting a large number of locks opening on the other side. After the last click, pregnant silence hung in the air before the door wracked inward on its swollen frame. The rusty hinges creaked as if cued for a horror theme park.

  The interior appeared as shabby as the exterior. The doorway contained a short, pudgy man wearing a grease-stained T-shirt and torn jeans. His potbelly poured over the waistband, and she could see he hadn't had a haircut or a shave in several years. Nor had he taken a shower in at least a week, given his matted greasy black hair. Averting her eyes, kind of embarrassed for him, she could see his bare feet were hairy, dirty, and marked by patches of black and purple. It was an understatement to call him slovenly. She could not believe what Alec had told her earlier about him being wealthy or sharp. She would use neither of those words to describe the miscreant standing before her. He didn't have the refinement of an attorney, let alone a wealthy one.

  "Jameson. It has been a long time." Alec shook the man's hand. "How are the wife and kids doing?"

  Jameson chuckled. "Mr. Henderson. It's good to see you again. My, uh—wife and kids are fine. Of course, they are living with another man on my former Caribbean island. But I can't complain. I still have my business."

  Alec paused. "Wait. Adrienne has your island?"

  Jameson nodded. "Yes. She took the kids, and my former associate moved in with them." His laugh sounded like the chitter of a chipmunk. "I guess it's what I get for going into business with a criminal."r />
  "I'm sorry to hear it. But you are here at your office. Are you accepting clients?"

  "I am sort of, um, semiretired. But for the sake of an old friend..." Jameson stood aside and welcomed them in through the doorway.

  The furnishings within the dusky room were sparse, but Elena could definitely make out some basic decorations. There were paintings scattered about the walls, hanging at skewed angles, and a large brass mirror hung on the wall immediately opposite the door. A couple of stiff-back chairs were positioned around a scratched coffee table missing one leg.

  "So," Jameson said, "what is it I can get for you this time? Papers, I presume? Are you and your—companion—going somewhere exotic?" Jameson winked at Elena.

  "My companion and I will be traveling extensively throughout the U.S. But we may wish to head south to some warmer climates when the temperatures start to fall. We could both use a vacation in the sun." The words dripped silver from his tongue.

  "Okay," the man responded. "Travel documents should not be too hard. It will take me about an hour or so. I'll need to take your photos and then if you would like to come back..."

  Alec interrupted, "No! We will stay and wait. If it's okay with you. I have always been fascinated watching you at work. It's not every day you get to observe one of the world's greatest forgers."

  Jameson's smile reminded her of a gecko's face. She almost expected him to start licking his eyelid.

  "Very well, then, my friend."

  Something in his voice sounded strange. She didn't trust this man as far as she could throw him. But she did trust Alec. And if his experience with this "Jameson" proved he could be trusted, then she would go along with it. "Let me see what I have in the house to give you two for drinks," Jameson said as he disappeared through a doorway. Alec and Elena sat in relative silence in what proved to be the most uncomfortable chairs she'd ever been in, barely even noticing each other. Elena kept staring around the room, trying to make sense of this place while Alec seemed to be lost in space.

  She is here. She had heard the mental voice before but could not place it. She wracked her brain and then gasped as she realized its source. It belonged to one of the men who had been chasing them from the college, the one who tried to make her leave her car. Our contact will keep them detained until we can arrive, the voice continued. He suspects they will be leaving for South America from Buffalo-Niagara International. We should have her in our grasp within a few minutes.

  "Alec," she blurted with obvious panic. "We have to leave." Elena's words pierced the silence in the room. She hadn't realized she'd spoken so loud. "They found us."

  "Are you sure?" he asked, "How do you—"

  "I heard them," she interrupted. Her hands and voice were shaking as she stood from her seat and grabbed at him. "Jameson must have talked to someone." She tried to whisper, but couldn't quite control the volume of her voice.

  Alec held his hand up to stop her from speaking and motioned her to sit. His eyes said she should trust him. Jameson stepped into the room as her body settled onto the chair.

  "So, then," he said, "you would like to watch the work of a master?" Jameson gave them an awkward grin. Elena could see a bead of sweat making its way down his forehead.

  Alec stood and squared himself up with the man. "Jameson," he asked with a wry smile, "what have you done?"

  The man's hand trembled. Additional beads of sweat formed on his head. "My friend, I assure you—"

  Alec's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms in front of him. "Are you really my friend, Jameson?"

  Jameson hung his head and dropped his hands to his sides. Quick as a flash, they came back up with a 45 automatic pistol, which he pointed at Elena.

  "You understand the power these people have," he said. "They can give me my life back. My wealth. My family. I am sorry, Mr. Henderson, but I am, alas, human."

  Alec moved with startling speed. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed the room to Jameson, ripped the pistol from his hands, and had him on the floor unconscious. "Let's go," Alec said to Elena, holding out his hand.

  Elena's heart tried to pound its way out of her chest. Stunned, she couldn't move as her mind absorbed the fact she had been mere moments from dying.

  Alec stepped over and squared up to her. "Elena, we have to get going. They will be here any second. We need to get far away from here."

  The numbness cleared from her brain as he released her. She knew he was right. After all, hadn't she been the one to tip him off? She stumbled forward. The far-off buzz of a mental conversation infiltrated her mind and she pumped her legs faster. In the truck a few moments later, they were speeding off down the road. Alec pushed the truck to its limit. The engine protested, but he held the accelerator to the floor. He swerved from back street to main street and then to back street again until he managed to get onto the highway. Within fifteen minutes, he had found his way to the nearby town of Lewiston and a marina nestled along the Niagara River.

  They left the truck on the street outside the marina and walked along the docks until Alec spotted his target. "This one," he said as he jumped into a thirty-two-foot cigarette boat. He stopped to help Elena on board and then set to work hot-wiring the ignition. The fans took a few seconds to vent the gas fumes from the engine compartment, and then he tweaked the ignition and started the engines. The roar of the exhaust, though muffled by the water, still roared like a terrible beast. The vibration of the powerful engines working their mounts to the stops made Elena's feet numb.

  Alec turned to Elena, "Can you get the lines?"

  "The what?" she asked, searching.

  He pointed to the ropes stretched between the boat and the docks. "There are several ropes holding us to the slip. Could you please cast them off?"

  Elena crawled up to the bow. It took a few stressed moments to understand how the ropes were tied to the moorings, but she undid them and dropped the lines into the water. She quickly moved to the stern and removed those lines as well. As soon as the last line hit the water, Alec goosed the throttle and backed the boat into the river.

  "So much for a no wake zone," he commented. He nudged the throttle forward and came about driving the boat north.

  "Where are we going?" Elena asked.

  "Canada," Alec replied.

  "Canada?" Elena exclaimed. "Why are we going to Canada? Won't we need to go through customs to cross the border?"

  "We are going to cross the border on the water, and ditch the boat somewhere near Toronto. We're not going through the border checkpoints." He threw the throttle forward, and the craft's bow leapt up out of the water. "One way or the other," he said, "we are going to see the Elder!" Alec yelled over the roar of the boat's screaming twin motors.

  "Do you think they followed us?" Elena yelled to him to compensate for the engine noise.

  "It's hard to tell," he replied with a shrug. Then he added, "Why don't you try and listen to their minds?"

  Elena focused on the voice she had last heard. The "sound" came in faint at first, but after a few minutes of steady concentration, she could hear it better.

  She has escaped, Mistress, the voice said. She and her protector have fled from the criminal's house. The criminal mentioned they were heading for either Mexico or South America.

  Elena could not hear the second voice in the conversation respond to the first but surmised this may have been the leader of what Alec had referred to as the Opposition.

  Yes, Mistress, the voice said again. I will make sure we keep an eye on the airport and on the Canadian border. Our police contacts will make themselves useful. Elena could hear a wicked tone to the voice. It is, after all, what they are paid for.

  The voice became much less clear. The distance between her and its originator was growing too great too fast. Alec had driven the boat into Lake Ontario and opened the throttle up to its stops. The sleek, slim hull surged, forcing the bow even higher into the air and skimmed across the water. The world flew past on fast forward while the engines roare
d with fury. The noise was deafening, and cupping her hands over her ears to muffle the sound served to accentuate the deep bass of the exhaust. The vibration of the motors made her teeth chatter.

  "They are watching for us at the Canadian border and the airport!" Elena screamed to Alec over the sound of the motors, not wanting her mental voice to be overheard. "The voice I heard also mentioned they have corrupt police feeding them information about us. I couldn't hear who he spoke with, but he kept referring to her as Mistress." She paused, "Make any sense?"

  She couldn't see Alec's face but heard his voice float back toward her. "Are you sure he called her Mistress?"

  "Positive," she asserted. "Why? Is it important?"

  "Very," Alec replied. "He was speaking directly with Her. The leader of the Opposition. She is very powerful, well connected, and extremely cunning. I was afraid she was involved at some level, but for her to be almost directly involved..." Alec paused for a moment. "This is not good."

  Elena didn't entirely understand what he meant. "Why?" she asked.

  "Because," he explained, "it suggests she feels threatened. And if she feels threatened, she may go to extreme measures to counter the threat."

  "Oh," Elena said, crossing her arms. She gazed out on the great expanse of Lake Ontario. "Great," she muttered under her breath.

  After a few minutes of silence, Alec asked, "You said he mentioned she has the police involved?"

  "Yes," Elena replied. "And they would be watching the Canadian border for us. I think they may have our identities somehow."

  "I am sure of it," Alec responded. "The police will likely have your face on file from your driver's license photo." After a moment he added, "If they are actively hunting us, then various police agencies may be screening crowds."

  After about twenty minutes screaming across the water, Elena could see the Canadian shoreline fast approaching. She could also hear the voice begin speaking in her head again. Mistress. So far, there has been no contact with either the girl or the youngling at the airport. However, our law enforcement contacts have informed me there has been a boat stolen from a marina in Lewiston. They figured it was suspicious and wanted us to be aware. They also mentioned a pickup truck fitting the description of the one the criminal told us about was found nearby the marina. I think they may be making their way up Lake Ontario by boat.