fierce looking creatures related to Demons that walked on cloven hooves. I found out that you could tell if a Bloodling had fed recently by the colour of their eyes. Silver meant full, dull grey meant they were hungry. Dark grey meant it was time to leave.
I kept running through the pages, learning about creatures which a few weeks ago, I would have thought resided in the pages of pulp fiction and superstitious lore, not walking around ten odd miles from my house. My scan came to a stop at the heading ‘Skinshifter.’ I let the book fall open at the pages. An artist’s sketch of a monstrous dog stood over the passage, as if guarding the words. Its huge eyes had been shaded red. I remembered the blood-filled slits that had stared at me from the shadows of the forest. A shudder swept down my spine. I covered the picture with my palm and read on, slowing over the section on how to effectively kill one.
N.B. Only pure silver can be guaranteed to kill a Skinshifter. Even if decapitated by other means — such as a steel blade, in as little as an hour a new one will grow in its place.
The remaining half of my sandwich no longer looked appetising.
I kept reading, trying to soak in as much information as my brain could handle. By the time my alarm clock went off, I had less than a third of the book left. I knew I’d taken in a lot. I no longer felt totally clueless. I absently flicked through the rest of the book until I reached the final few pages. Some had been torn out. I ran my fingers down the rough remains of the edge of the pages. No doubt about it. Some had been removed.
I counted the stumps — four. Scanning back through the pages, I figured that given the amount of information per section, it was likely that a singular creature had been removed. I frowned, rifling through the entire book to make sure the pages hadn’t been stuffed anywhere. They hadn’t.
Gabriella? I wondered. No — why would she? Maybe it was a misentry. The meticulous nature of the writer made the removal of any incorrect information entirely plausible. But the roughness suggested they had been ripped out, not carefully removed. I shrugged. If it’s been removed, it’s not important. I lifted up the corner of my mattress and retrieved the worn picture of my father. I ran my thumb over his face and smiled down as he smiled back at me.
“Morning Dad. Sorry I’m a bit late, it’s been an interesting day.”
I opened the handbook and placed the picture in to mark the page I’d reached. It fit to the edges perfectly, as if it had been designed to go there. Still smiling, I leaned over and slipped the book into my schoolbag.
Heading for the shower, I was side-tracked by my phone ringing. I doubled back, hoping for Gabriella, but it was Mum, checking in. I spoke to her for a while, assuring her that yes, we were both alive and intact, and no, there hadn’t been any house destroying parties in their absence. I found out that just as I’d predicted, John had spent most of his time in Killarney propping up the bar at the local pub. Mum didn’t seem too bothered though, in fact she sounded quite relaxed.
It felt good to talk to someone who had no knowledge of what was going on. I could have been any normal boy talking to his Mother. She told me of her time spent visiting the markets in the town centre. How they had all walked the local hills and taken a jaunting car tour around Killarney Castle. Then I spoke to Connie and Edgar on loudspeaker, who asked about School and girlfriends. They made me promise to come and see them next year in-between arguing about where the discount vouchers for the supermarket had been left. By the time they rang off, my smile reached both ears. As soon as I reached the bathroom, the bizarre re-entered my world. Without warning images of Faru began to flicker in my brain. His voice entered into my head, as loud as if it were my own. “Alexander, may I speak with you?” I couldn’t work out if this was a hallucination or not. “Okay…”
Instantly an incredible force gripped me. My towel slipped from my waist, exposing my boxer shorts. Paralysed, I fell backwards, slamming into the cubicle as my body shook from head to toe. Flickers of light streaked across my vision and then I saw Faru standing by the sink as clear as day. My body freed up again.
“Good afternoon Alexander, I trust you are well.”
I tried to speak, but nothing came out. My mouth flapped open and closed like a fish. Finally I managed to get my voice box to respond. “Faru I was trying to have a shower!” Remembering my manners, I added “sir.”
“So I can see — my apologies. However, a mind link is the best way to communicate with you.”
“I have a mobile phone.”
The old man gave a short laugh. “I’m afraid I am somewhat of a traditionalist. Plus people lose their phones. Losing your mind is much more difficult.” He tapped two wrinkled fingers against his temple. “You see, now we have merged minds, your brain wave frequency is stored in my head. We can communicate with each other whenever we need to.” He gestured towards me whilst attempting to suppress a smile. “Although, as you can see, there is an initial effect when linking in.”
I retrieved my fallen towel and re-established my dignity.
“So I can call on you too?” I asked.
“Indeed. If ever you need to speak with me, simply concentrate your thoughts on me, and I should hear you. Now on to the matter in hand. I was incredibly impressed with your handling of the Rahuman…situation. His focus on you confirmed my suspicions that you are being targeted.”
“Wait, what… you used me as bait?” I barked.
“I can appreciate your anger Alexander and I am sincerely sorry for putting you in danger. It was necessary to ensure Rahuman did not disappear as he has done on previous incidences. His pride would have made it impossible for him to leave without your death. Orion, albeit unconventional is the Warren’s most successful team. I never expected him to get anywhere close to you. It was a mistake on Gabriella’s part.”
I shook my head. “Do not blame Gabriella, Sage Faru, or the rest of the team for that matter. We were outnumbered five to one. They did the best they could. It’s a miracle any of us survived.”
The Seelian cast his blank eyes downwards and his shoulders seemed to sag slightly. “Yes, I suppose you are correct. The odds were not in your favour. It never used to be this dangerous. A hunter team would consist of ten or more members. Unfortunately now, it is too risky to have large groups, as the shortfall means another crucial area would be left exposed. I am just relieved none of you were hurt.”
I thought of the hideous Hiveminds that had stalked their way through the trees. Each one salivating at the prospect of sinking their disgusting fangs into living flesh.
“If I’m being targeted, what’s to stop them coming here?”
“I am not going to deceive you Alexander. There is every possibility the SOS know where you live by now.”
I felt a rush of dread sweep through my body as the news sank in. I imagined legions of Hiveminds and Skinshifters pouring through the doors and windows.
“I arranged for the house to be protected.”
“So Gabriella said. But by who?”
“Echo and Trojan, two of our best teams are alternating the duty of guarding your house around the clock. If anything happens, they will be here to help instantly.”
“But for how long Faru? They can’t watch this place forever. And what if the SOS get to my family? They can’t protect themselves against something like this!”
Faru stepped forward and put his hands on my arms. It was bizarre — I could feel his cold touch as if he were actually there with me.
“Alexander, please try not worry. I would never leave you or your family defenceless. I am aware that your Mother and Stepfather are currently in Ireland. Until we understand exactly what is happening, I have taken steps to ensure that they stay there. As for your brother, special conditions relating to his safety have already been arranged.”
Special conditions? I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that, or exactly how he was going to ‘ensure’ that Mum and John remained in Ireland. But it meant that everyone would be safe. And right now that was enough.
“As for the reason I called on you,” continued Faru, “as I said, I am very pleased with the way you handled yourself under the threat of Rahuman, but as yet you still are not an active member of the Alliance. So if you are ready, I would like you to return to the Warren and complete your training.” I blew air through my lips. “Okay. I can come today if you want.” Faru placed his pale hands together. “Wonderful. I shall send a car to collect you.” “Actually, if you don’t mind Faru, I would prefer to drive. I need to collect my thoughts.” The Sage smiled. “Of course, I shall get Gabriella to send you a textual message with the address of a suitable entrance.”
I suppressed a smile and agreed to leave as soon as possible. A sensation similar to a cold breeze rushed through my head and Faru disappeared as fast as he appeared. There was no evidence of him ever having been here and it could have been put down to nothing more than a dream.
