Soulless

Chapter 15

There were a few seconds of quiet after Ariadne had hung up, as the four of us stared around the room at each other. Kat was withdrawn, staring into space, while Reed and Scott were watching each other out of the corners of their eyes, occasionally looking like they were going to throw down right there, glares in the quiet speaking louder than anything else.

“All right,” I said. “Who wants to take the computer back to the Directorate?”

“I can do it,” Kat said, stirring. “I’m the least useful in a battle anyway, at least from an offense perspective.”

“Yeah, but having someone who can heal fatal wounds is sort of a nice card to have in your hand,” Scott said.

“I agree with the waterboy on that,” Reed said, drawing a scathing look from Scott. “We’re going into an uncertain situation against potentially deep odds and gods know what kind of metas.”

I put my hand on my head, massaging my temples. An hour ago, I hadn’t pictured things going this way. I thought of James, still in my room, and my head spun from the ten thousand questions I had no answers to. I needed to know things, and I needed to know them now. My eyes snapped open and I focused on Reed. “Who are you working for?”

He tensed and a pained expression grew on his face. He nodded slowly, and spoke. “I guess if we’re gonna work together, I have to explain a few things, don’t I?”

“Yeah, playing the man of mystery isn’t gonna do much to endear you to us at this point,” Scott said.

Reed seemed to consider that very carefully before he spoke again. “I’ll give you some basics. The organization I’m with has one purpose: countering Omega. That’s it. We know who the Directorate is because they’re a big player in the meta game, but we’ve got no quarrel with you. The only reason I was after you,” he said with a nod toward me, “is because Omega was and we were trying to beat them to you.”

“What about a name?” Scott looked at him expectantly.

“I’m Reed, and you?” Reed shot him a smarmy smile, then rolled his eyes when he caught my glare. “Fine, but don’t laugh. We call ourselves Alpha.”

“And the prize for originality goes to…someone else,” Scott said, his lips crooked in amusement.

“I didn’t come up with it,” Reed said. “Our founders are former Omega, but they got disillusioned with what the old gods had done and decided to band together to stop them. We’ve been around for a few hundred years, and we’ve kept them in check during that time.”

“Alpha and Omega,” I said under my breath. “So, what? They’re the end and you’re the beginning?” He gave me an oblique nod. “Of what?”

Reed let out a sharp exhalation. “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve seen what Omega does, and it’s not been pleasant. This little war they’ve started with you, it’s nothing compared to some of the dirty tricks they’ve pulled. They’ve got people working for them that are worse than Wolfe. That should give you an idea of what they’re like.”

“And what could I tell about you by seeing who you work for?” I stared back at him, watched him stiffen, a resigned look on his face.

“You could see that we’ve got a common enemy,” he said, “and if you keep watching what they do, you’ll see why.”

“All right,” I said. “So what powers do you have?”

His eyes closed and he bowed his head, shaking it like a kid who was asked to give back a toy he really didn’t want to let go of. “You’re killin’ me, Nealon. Can’t I keep any secrets?”

“You can keep all the secrets you want,” I said, not taking my eyes off him. “You just can’t keep them and expect to go into the fight with us at your side.”

His eyes came up, burning, finding mine. “Let’s get this straight: right now, you need me a lot more than I need you.”

“And if we’re going into a battle,” I said, keeping my tone even, “how are we supposed to work together if I don’t know what you bring to the table?”

He squinted, as if he could shut out my damned, unreasonable request, then relaxed and opened his eyes again. “I’m an Aeolus, okay?”

“A what?” Kat asked.

“Like on a breast?” Scott looked at him in confusion. Kat buried her face in one of her hands.

“Like a windkeeper, you jackass.” Reed stuck a hand out and I felt the currents of air in the room shift, my clothing starting to flap in a growing breeze. Reed pulled his hand back and the air stopped stirring. “I can control the movement of air, attracting it to me or pushing it away.”

“That could be really useful,” Scott said, “if we’re on a sailboat and the wind dies.”

A flash of annoyance crossed Reed’s face. “And I’m sure your power is only useful if a small fire breaks out.”

“All right, boys, enough of that,” I said. “I think we have to send Kat to the Directorate.” I looked between the three of them. “We’ll need all the offensive power we can get if we’re going to assault what could be an Omega base.” I looked to her. “But you should get any additional help you can from the Directorate and rendezvous with us as quickly as possible. Depending on how our search goes, you may catch up with us before we even find the enemy.”

She nodded. “All right. I’ll need a car.”

Reed shot her a cool look. “I can help with that.”

I took a deep breath and looked to Kat. “Hurry.” I shifted my glance to Reed and then Scott. “Bring the car around and meet me outside the lobby in ten minutes.” I turned and walked to the door, Kat and Reed a couple steps behind me.

I parted ways with them in the hallway, sliding the card key into my room door. I paused and took a breath before I pulled the handle, wondering if I’d find James still inside.

I did. He was lying on the bed, the covers pulled up to his waist, his shirt still off. He greeted me with a warm smile which I didn’t quite match. “I waited,” he said in an enticing voice, something that called out to me, urged me on. I wanted to throw off my jacket and blouse and crawl under the sheets with him and stay there for the rest of the night. To hell with the Directorate, Omega, Alpha and all else; forget metas and humans. I wanted them all to go away and just leave me alone with James. Maybe not forever, but at least until morning.

I breathed in deep, and let it out slow. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

He sat up, an awkward discomfort on his face. “What?”

“My office called, and I have to leave on an assignment right now.” I tried to convey regret, but I couldn’t tell if it was getting across, because his face had gotten red.

“Wow, that’s dedication,” he said, voice tight. “But you know, there are alternatives.” He pulled back the sheet and I looked away. He wasn’t wearing anything beneath it, and I was suddenly very uncomfortable. I became even moreso when he walked around the bed, rested his hands on my cheeks and gently pulled me in for a kiss.

I returned it, but without the heat, the passion that had consumed us earlier. This one was slow, methodical – enjoyable, sure, but without the possibility of going anywhere. He increased the pressure of the kiss, and I felt the heat from his side, the desire, and broke away, turning from him, groaning as I did so. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I have a job to do. I have responsibilities, commitments.” I was breathing much harder than I would have thought I would be after one kiss. “I have to go.” I looked back at him, and he seemed so solitary, standing naked in the middle of my room. “When I get done with this, I’ll call you, I promise. I’m…” I searched for the words. “…I…want this. I wish I could stay right now, but I just can’t.”

He was silent for a moment, then turned and stooped to pick up his pants. I watched. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“I…can’t really get into it. Secrecy and all that.”

“I could help, maybe.” He stared at me as he put his pants on, then zipped them up. I felt a tremor of regret. Trying to be a responsible adult and do my job really sucked right now.

I sighed. “I don’t think so.”

“I’m pretty strong,” he said with a teasing smile. “You probably know something about that.”

“I do know something about that.” I tossed the clothes I’d left out into my bag, then pulled my syringe and a vial with my daily dose of psycho-suppressant out.

James’s eyes caught the syringe as I injected the vial into my arm. “What’s that?”

“That,” I said, tossing the empty vial in the trash, “is how I curb the voices in my head.” I felt the familiar rush of sleepiness that followed an injection, and shook it off. It barely affected me anymore. “How do you do it?”

“Not like that,” he said with some disapproval. “You do it with your mind, not with drugs. If you’ve got a strong will, you barely feel it with most people, and it gets easier as you learn to control it.”

“Ah,” I said, slightly sarcastic. “That’s where I went wrong. See, when I first absorbed someone, it was a crazed psycho beast who was bent on killing me. I shoulda picked a weaker target I guess, worked my way up to the monstrous, but I didn’t really have an option at the time.”

“You absorbed Wolfe?” He shook his head and let out a small gasp of amazement. “Wow. I did not know that. I heard you beat him but I assumed you did it some other way.” He cringed. “That’s a rough way to start out.” His face slackened and was overcome with genuine curiosity. “How old were you when that happened?”

“Seventeen,” I said. I thought I caught a flash of surprise from him, and I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m eighteen now. Don’t sweat it, okay?”

“Eighteen and headed into trouble,” he said. “You sure I can’t help?”

“I think my bosses at the Directorate are going to be upset enough with the people I’ve already dragged into this,” I said with a short laugh as I closed my bag and hefted it onto my shoulder. While I did that, I felt his arms wrap around me at my waist, slipping under my untucked blouse and touching my skin, giving me a thrill that ran up my spine.

He kissed my neck again, then whispered, “Surely one more won’t matter to them; but I might make all the difference for you if you get in a tight spot.”

I pulled away. “Pretty sure it would matter to them.” I smoothed the wrinkles in my pants and pulled down my shirt to cover my midriff. I hesitated, staring at him, his muscled chest catching my attention. “I could certainly use some more help, but I can’t…” I sighed again. “You seem pretty resourceful, so I’ll tell you this much. I’m going east. If you show up, I won’t be upset to see you there.”

He smiled, a growing, widening one that made me feel a warm flutter. “You might just see me there, then.”

I walked toward the door and opened it, casting one last look back. “I kinda hope so.”