Cursed Fables - Generation Three - Chapter Twenty Eight
*hiatus is over*
*waves* Hi guys ^-^ Well..I’m back sooner than I expected. This chapter is not big or spectacular but…it’s a chapter? And next chap will hopefully be better, once we get into the GENERATIONAL PLOT. WAHOOO XD
What can I say? Anime got in the way of writing. My God I get distracted by it easily. So…sorry? XD
Also, work is extremely busy…and my boss said if I get passed by December, I’m confirmed a job after my apprentaship, and lots of other good stuff, so…I should focus on that but.
Calen?
Anyway…onwards?
And no…I don’t have TS4 yet….SATURDAY. *shakes fist at UK*
Between completing schoolwork and undergoing vigorous training for the Council, by the end of the day I wanted nothing more than to simply lie down and sleep. I felt tired all of the time, and I was only fifteen.
Not that I regretted my decision to join the programme, on the contrary I’d never thrived so much in my entire life. I had a few tight friends made from it, Dana and I had never felt closer or more in synch, in some sessions we were even top of the class.
And my relationship with Liam couldn’t have been better either, he’d often say how proud he was of me and that he wanted nothing more than to tell all of his classmates how cool I was. Of course he also understood what I was doing and why he couldn’t.
Even so…it was so draining.
My grades had slipped once, and Mum was threatening to pull me out of it. Luckily it was Quinn of all people that sat her down and explained to her that I had simply been pushing myself to hard, and since I had been given some time out to dedicate for studies.
However some of my fellow students didn’t approve of it. Recently for some unknown reason to me, we’d received several new recruits. And although most of them seemed decent and respectful enough, some would say something that would unsettle or even anger those that had practically grown there or known someone who had died in the name of battle.
Those were the guys that didn’t like my ‘special’ treatment and rumours quickly spread that I was singled out for being related to Quinn. I didn’t feel related to him to be honest, I certainty didn't see myself in him or his wife.
While I was trying to remember dates in my head for an upcoming history quiz, many other students were rudely whispering about it. Wondering just what I did to get such special treatment. I wondered why they didn’t realise they too were given the opportunity to study, if they had the IQ for it that is.
I’d never once gotten into a fight in the training centre, and I wouldn’t let those jerks break that record so I chose to ignore it, focusing on the text in front of me so hard the words blurred and mixed together. Fuck.
“It’s a good thing those eyes of yours don’t emit lasers. Or that book would be toast.” I hear the chair in front of me scrape against the floor and look up to see Alex looking back at me with a grin.
“What are you doing here?” I asked curiously, setting my book aside and rolling my eyes as a wolf suggested I was actually a undercover mole.
Alex placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his clasped hands. “It’s Grandpas birthday and Mum and Dad wanted to drop off their gift personally,” He scoffed and run a hand through his hair, making me notice the slight coloured tints to it as he did, “Even if it’s not technically his birthday. More like his ‘freedom day’ Quinn finds it funny anyway. Another reason to insult him.”
I can’t help but chuckle at that. “We all know Quinn never turns down the chance to get one over Jace….I haven’t heard from Quinn for a while. Everything alright?”
I noticed how Alex fidgeted, but then shook his head. I grimace. Oh how I wanted to use my eyes and force an answer. But I’d never do that. I’d vowed it from the moment I learnt of my powers.
“There is nothing to worry about…he’s just stepped away from all of this for a while. Family crisis with the Williams side of his family tree is all.”
“The one that the original team were a part of?” Practically speaking, Dana and I were top of the class, but when it came to studies and such….I didn’t absorb the information like she did. So I was still a little lost with some of the feats that the new council had accomplished. Even so, I knew briefly of the events that lead to it’s founding.
Again he nodded. “Those guys are glaring at you.” He declared while looking over my shoulder. I roll my eyes again and try to will myself not to look.
“I know. They’ve been doing it all period. Don’t know what they have against me.” I answered truthfully. Not that I minded all that much…due to my eyes I got a lot of weird looks. So it now didn’t bother me like it once did. Still, it didn’t mean I approved of the attention.
Alex shrugged. “Maybe they fancy you?” He offered with a chuckle, turning my textbook around and bringing it closer to him. Wincing at the title. “God I don’t know how you do this.”
“Do what?” I ask, somewhat glad as the group pass us and leave, but not before accidentally kicking my chair and nearly sending me to the floor. Rise above it Calen.
He flails his arms in a over the top dramatically way. “Act like a normal student one minute, and then focus on our history and espionage in the next. Did you know I still can’t read your language? None of it makes any sense to me…and yet whenever Mum translates it into her language…”
“You’re the first of your kind as far as we know…of course you’re going to find things tricky.” I said trying to sound sympathetic and yet supportive at the same time.
“Still…it would be nice to go to school like you do. Studying here can be such a drag,” He protested, moving the book back towards me. “….I take it you heard about Dana?”
I stop midway from putting my books back in my backpack, knowing it’s useless to try and study now. “Heard about what?”
Again Alex looked uncomfortable, but knowing that he had dug himself into this mess, he met my gaze and all traces of his usual playful self was gone.
“Sorry Cale, I thought she would have told you. She was given a warning by my dad a couple of days ago….about you.”
Everything around me froze. Dana had been warned….about me? Why? What had I done? Stefan had mentioned nothing to me about a warning of any kind. In fact, all I had received was nothing but praise!
But what really got to me? Was how Alex wouldn’t even look me in the eye, he turned and faced the wall opposite us. He never was a good liar, so he avoided the truth as best he could.
“I don’t know okay? All I know for sure is that Dad was going through some paperwork, stopped abruptly and then contacted her mother and asked to speak to the two of them.” He said in a grave tone.
A chill went down my spine. There was no proof in his words to link me to the meeting….so why? There must have been a reason for Alex to mention it.
“I think you should talk to her.” He said in a tone that told me this was as much as he could tell me. The rest was up to me.
I knew where she’d be. She would be where she was each and every Wednesday evening. She’d taken me there one afternoon once training was over. It was then that she revealed she used this place as a tranquil place of escape. To avoid all of the ‘unnatural’ elements of her life. Even though she insisted that all she wanted was to work alongside me and ensure the supernatural world was safe.
Yet this time as I approached her form my heart pounded. Dana and I had never kept secrets from each other, no matter what. But she had not mentioned anything about a meeting with Stefan. When she always asked for every detail of my meetings with him in regards to my eyes.
It may have crossed so many unspoken lines…but I needed to know.
“Deep in thought?” I asked her after she sighed deeply, running a hand in a lock of her hair while humming. She abruptly stopped and stood.
When she turned and looked at me with those gentle eyes of her my heart nearly stopped. I couldn’t deny how beautiful she had become as she’d aged…but we were siblings. My attraction to her nearly felt…wrong. And it’s not like she’d ever acknowledged me in that way. Even though so many people thought we were together. Both in school and training.
“When aren’t I?” She replied with a smile, brushing all hair behind her shoulders. “What with you as a Partner. You never think before jumping in.” She scolded lightly. Although for a brief moment, the colour in her eyes faded.
“No time. I’ve got lives to save.” I reply by default. She’d asked me once why I’d said yes to her offer all those years ago, and that was the answer I gave. It was right.
I guess I’d not been completely truthful with her either then. I said yes as a distraction so I didn’t need to think of my eyes.
“Calen,” She breathed slowly, hands coming up and clasping together, almost as if a shield. “We can’t save everyone. That was the first lesson we were taught. You know that.” She’d been able to grasp that lesson a lot easier than I had.
She’d lost her father to a mission after all.
“I know,” I reply gently, and lean against the bench, gesturing for her to sit. “Listen…Alex stopped by at the Council today…”
Her face brightens for a moment. “Oh, for Jace’s birthday? I bet he wore that irritated expression of his…he hates that place. It spells to ‘sterile’ so he tells me. I’d say it’s something to do with water but…eh, it’s not my area of expertise.”
Another of Dana’s habits. Rambling. She’d win an Olympic sport in it.
“Yes, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about….he said…he said that his dad had spoken to you about something,” my worst fears were confirmed. Her expression changed, ranging from shock, worry, and then guarded all in a matter of seconds. “About me.” I finished. Trying to keep my expression light and friendly.
“He shouldn’t have mentioned anything…Damn him.” She muttered, folding her arms and looking away for a moment, but I gently tugged her closer again. For a moment, her cheeks flush.
“Hey, I’m not mad. Just….scared. Are they splitting us up? Is it a form of test? Come on Dana, I won’t tell anyone that you told me.”
Okay, so I know it’s totally childish and cruel to pressure her like that. But I was desperate. I’d never dealt with anxiousness well.
“No! Nothing serious like that….they just….asked some personal questions.” Her face was growing redder by the minute, and that only had the same effect on me. Personal questions? But why would…
“About….us?” I query hesitantly. She throws her head into her hands.
“Can we just not?” She asked desperately.
“I need to know Dee.” I stress sympathetically
“Look, all he asked was if we were in a relationship. Because he was worried that it would interfere with our duties…and I told him no.”
That was all? Why hadn’t I been approached about this during one of my examinations? This all seemed a little…strange. But she was my Partner. I had to trust in her. Besides…I’d never look her right in the eyes and force the truth from her.
“Good. I mean…it’s not ‘good’ that we’re not together….not that I think we should be….but….I didn’t want them to separate us.” It was just one recovery after the next with me.
Thankfully she laughed and threw herself beside me, head on my shoulder.
“Like I’d ever let that happen? I’ve put far to much effort training you to be a decent boy for all these years.” She sighed dramatically. Her hand slowly crawling into mine. I tense but she doesn’t seem to notice.
How can she be like this with me, and yet whenever someone mentions the possibility of a us she damn right denies it.
Girls are weird.
“Training me?” I argue lightly, yet I all but melt into her arms. I’d never felt more relaxed than I felt when I was with her…but it was never to be.
“Mhm.” Her breathing grows more steady and gentle and for a moment it looks like she’s actually going to fall asleep on me. Until both of our phones buzz loudly.
Reluctantly I pull my phone from my front pocket and check the message. From Jace.
My office. Now. Urgent.
We didn’t even need to knock on Jace’s door for him to know we were there, before I’d even touched the thing, his voice boomed through the wall for us to enter. Whether it was vamp senses or CTV I don’t know. He’s busy using some technology that I had no faith in understand and barely spared us a glance.
I give a worried glance to Dana. If he really was going to try and split us up, I’d fight him every step of the way. After another few minutes of complete silence if not for the gentle swoosh of whatever was on the screen I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Jace,”
“One second Calen. I know this must be confusing for you but…..Christ Quinn usually deals with stuff this.” He sighed sounding completely exhausted. Something I’d yet to see of Jace.
I raise a curious eyebrow. “Then why doesn’t he? I mean…he’s only dealing with some family business. Right?”
He turns on me and hisses low, yet doesn’t bare fang. “Alex…I should have known. Look…..I need you two to go on a mission for the Council.” He came out with all of a sudden with no warning. My heart stopped.
Slowly he makes his way to his desk and slumps down into his chair, looking the most…defeated I had ever seen anyone. If he was human, I could only imagine how pale and broken down he would have appeared.
“This is a joke right?” I ask, laughing a little because I had to, I had to focus on something other than my now accelerated heartbeat. “You can’t actually be sending us into the field….we’re still in training.”
“It’s not like I have much of a choice at this point,” He replied gruffly head in his hands. “You two can’t breathe a word of this to anyone. Anyone at all but….Quinn is gone.”
I looked over at Dana, and now she too had paled consistently. Worry and fear etched into her features. Quinn was a legend here, everyone thought him as a unbreakable pillar. With him gone…
“How can he be gone?” She practically shrieked at him, physically shaking.
Jace shook his head. “He just….disappeared…and no one has heard from him, not even his wife. And I can’t even dwell on that for long because….one of our bases was breached the day after.”
Even if I wasn’t deeply involved with the running of the Council, I knew how bad that was. Members personal details could be hacked, private data regarding organizations and plans. There was a large number of reasons why someone might try to hack in. None of them good.
“Isn’t security top notch on all of the Council’s bases…how could anyone bypass that?” Dana asked hesitantly, I too looked to Jace for an answer.
“It’s hard but not impossible…one of Quinn’s relatives on the Williams side is an extremely good hacker herself. But in this instance they didn’t even hack in from a unknown location…they broke in and got what they needed. How….we don’t know. We just know everyone we had stationed there is dead.”
A horrible chill went down my spine. It was one thing to imagine being caught up in all of this…but to actually face the reality? A totally different thing to come to terms with.
“I take it….that is why you called us here?” I asked reluctantly.
He nods, performing a quick flick of his wrist, and the screen from before appears at his side, yet I can’t see what is on the screen.
“We’re pretty much at a loss at what to do here…except we have one possible lead. We found some footage from a camera from the surrounding area. The footage contains two individuals who might be considered suspects. They aren’t doing anything overall suspicious, but they’re not exactly behaving as you might expect people to do either. It’s all quite…strange…and extremely coincidental.”
Fair enough…but even so. “Surely there are better agents to find these people then us?”
Jace nods…and yet his eyes seem distant. “True, but we don’t need you to merely find them. We just need to find out if they’re involved, and if so, what they know. And in this situation we really don’t have all that much time to waste…so..”
Suddenly it all seems to make sense. “You want me to use my powers.”
I stand and do everything I can not to shake. I’d always sworn that I’d never willingly use my powers. Especially to force information out of people. To top that off…complete strangers.
“But….but I..”
But on the other hand, Quinn was missing. If that become public..who knew what would happen. This had to be linked…it just had to be. And if I could possibly give them the head start that they needed to prevent people from being hurt…or worse…
Was it morally okay to say no?
“I’m not sure if I can.” I admit slowly. Weakly. As much as I didn’t want to. Jace slides the screen so Dana and I can see it.
“All I’m asking is for you to eliminate these two from the suspect list. It’s probably nothing. But Quinn would never leave anything unchecked. I’m not asking you to go in guns blazing…all we need to know…is what they know.”
I look over at the screen, the pair look so normal, a girl who could be not much younger than me, and an older guy. Probably a brother. And yet…I could see why Jace was suspicious.
Why go to an alley, with no destinations near it to have what looked like a breakdown?
What if the girl is hurt?
My mind wondered….I found myself nodding.
Jace put a supportive hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “You can do this Calen. I wouldn’t ask you if you couldn’t. You’ve gained a lot of control over yourself. I’m counting on you.”
Again I nod, Dana stands and gives her support too, slipping her hand into mine without eye contact. “So when do we start?”
“In two days,” Jace replies, cold and serious again. “We’ll need to get you made over of course, to protect your identity. But that won’t take long. This isn’t a big job after all.”
That’s what he said now anyway….
“I’m not coming out.”
Duncan laughs evilly. “Yes you bloody are. Or I’ll drag you out myself. This I’ve got to see.”
I hear Dana slap at him. “Be quiet. Come on out Cale, you’ll be fine.” She says reassuringly.
Still I don’t want to face them.
But if I can’t face the two people I’ve known the longest outside of family…how could I live among people pretending to be someone I’m not?
God I’m not ready for this. “Alright, fine.” I hesitantly slouch through the door, not daring to make any eye contact with either of them.
“You are such a drama queen.” Duncan chuckled, throwing one of the pillows from the bed at me, I curse and flash him a rude gesture.
“It’s weird alright? I don’t feel like….me.” I admit sheepishly. And it’s true. It’s hardly a huge change…but enough for me to be aware of it. I’d be given a new name. A new identity.
And I’d have to live by it. The thought terrified me.
“That’s natural though. It’s your first case. You look good.” Dana encouraged with a smile.
With an annoying look of arrogance Duncan sauntered forward, seemingly looking me over he stands right in front of me, he stays there for a few moments before punching me lightly in the shoulder, I wince but other than that don’t react.
“You’ll do fine. You’ve got my sister at your back. Besides, you need to come back here. If you don’t, who else am I going to tease relentlessly? And we all know that dorky brother of yours needs you.”
“Shut up.” I snap rubbing the back of my neck, suddenly feeling very awkward. Sentimental moments with Duncan were far and few between.
But we were like brothers, we’d known each other for ages. Could read each others minds. I knew he was giving me his support, we clasp our hands together in silence, not needing to say anything to get the message across.
Dana comes from behind and gives me a squeeze, I try to turn to look at her, but she forces me to look ahead. “I won’t be able to say this with you looking at me…I have faith in you Calen. I always have. You can do this…you have to. For all of us.” Her reassurance and positive words make my heart swell.
I knew both of them couldn’t lose anyone else.
“It’ll be a piece of cake.” I said with fake confidence.
Duncan nods slowly. “Just….don’t let that big heart of yours get in the way.”