Edge of Time (4 page)

A
lec watched Darius rummage in the cupboard for a moment. He tossed a small glass ball from one hand to the other as he walked to Alec's side. He pitched the crystal and Alec caught it without thinking.

“You're going to need an orb,” Darius said.

Alec rolled it around in the palm of his hand. The bluish glass was warm and it seemed to fit his palm as if made for it. Strangely, holding the orb made him feel better, calmer, as if the uncertainty of the last hour was melting away. Alec frowned.

“You're feeling the connection, aren't you?” Darius leaned in. This close, his eyes sparkled. “I felt it, too, the first time an Operative dropped one into my hand. Of course, I was younger than you.”

“You were found by these guys, like me?” Alec asked. He didn't want to be interested in these people and he certainly wasn't going to help them out, but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“Sure. Recruited, trained and ready for action. The way you will be.” Darius' grin was infectious. “You have no idea how interesting your life is going to get.”

Anna arrived at Darius' elbow. Immediately the twinkle diminished and his face became more serious.

“I'm working with the other Potentials,” said Anna. “While you're waiting for regen, Darius, start Alec on basic concentration and focus techniques.”

“Sure,” Darius replied.

“No chatter. Alec will learn about the training program all in good time.”

“Agreed.”

“Leave Riley to me. I'll start her with an orb as soon as she settles down. Hands off.” Anna headed back to the other teens that were crowded together on the sofas and seemed to be in deep concentration.

Alec watched her walk away. Anna was very good looking in a cold, distant way, but there was something about her that made him slightly uncomfortable.

“There's a reason she affects you that way,” Darius murmured, with a nod in Anna's direction. “Someday I'll tell you about it.”

Alec said nothing. He dropped his eyes to the orb. It was freaky how Darius seemed to know what he was thinking. He'd have to control his facial expressions better. He glanced over at Riley. She was sitting on the farthest lower bunk and huddled against the wall, her knapsack held in front of her like a shield. What Alec knew about women could easily fit on the head of a pin, but even an idiot could read her mutinous expression a soccer pitch away.

Darius was staring at Riley, too. “I think Anna has her work cut out for her,” he said. He turned back to Alec and winked. “Should be interesting to watch.”

“Yeah, so?”

Darius gave a short laugh. “There isn't much Anna can't handle. That's why she was assigned here. She's one of the most capable officers I know.”

“You guys are some kind of army?”

“Senior Field Officer, Tyon Collective. Outranks me big time.” Darius shrugged. He gave Anna a covert look and dropped his voice lower. “But I'm stronger.”

Alec smirked. “Well, duh. Men generally are. We studied it in Bio last fall. It's our testosterone and stuff.”

Darius tapped his temple with a finger. “Stronger this way,” he said in a conspiratorial tone. “Power. Strongest Potential in the last three centuries.”

“What's a Potential?”

“You are. Someone with the gift. You're not far behind me. That's how we picked you up so quickly. You shine like a beacon.”

Alec found himself clasping the orb tightly and a tingling feeling shimmered up his arm and into his shoulder. It was always Peter getting the attention, the great grades, the accolades. Except on a soccer pitch. No one could touch him there. Was Darius trying to get him on his side with flattery? Did he really have special power? “Does my brother have it?”

“Peter's power is different from yours.” Darius nodded at the other teens. “More like them. Trainable. Still a threat to Rhozan. Which is the main problem, of course.”

“Because Rhozan will be looking for him, right?” Alec didn't want to believe this stuff but it was giving him goosebumps nonetheless. “This Rhozan dude is bad news?”

“Hold the orb lightly in your hands and close your eyes. Anna's watching.” Darius dropped his voice even lower.

Alec found himself complying with Darius' request before he could even think about it. He tried to take a deep breath and unclench his fingers around the orb. Why was he obeying this guy?

“We don't know much about Rhozan,” Darius continued. “We think he's a Field Marshall. You know, scopes out new worlds for the invading fleet, determines if conditions are right.”

“Conditions?”

“Rips,” Darius said, “in the time/space continuum. That's how the Others get into our dimension. We don't know how they find them, we only know what happens when they do.”

“What happens?” Despite the fact this
could not be true
, Alec's heart had started pounding somewhere in the vicinity of his Adam's apple.

“Trouble. Seriously awful trouble.” Darius stood up. “Try and let your mind go blank. Let the orb do its thing. Don't force it. Just relax.”

What exactly would the orb do? Alec wondered. And why on earth would he want to do it, whatever it was?

“You'll see.” Darius answered his unspoken question before walking over to Anna's side.

Alec sat back and let the orb roll around in his hand. He watched Darius and Anna out of the corner of his eye while his brain leap-frogged from one subject to another. These guys were aliens. Darius had saved his life. Someone was really trying to kill him. Riley was pretty cute. He was kidnapped. He had some kind of power that other people wanted. Part of him was excited beyond belief, but another part of him wanted to tell Darius and Anna where they could stick their orbs and storm out because the whole thing was totally implausible.

Was it possible the subway train had killed him and this was some weird after-life experience? Was he having the kind of delusion you read about in grocery store tabloids?

Regardless, he had to go home. If he was late again, his father would kill him.

He looked around for the exit. He'd been so distracted when he entered, he hadn't kept track of the door's location. Now he couldn't see it.

Darius sat down at the end of the table and waved his orb in a complicated pattern. Directly in front of him, a type of screen winked into existence. Alec could see directly through it. A series of glowing symbols scrolled quickly across the perimeters of the screen. Whatever the language was, Darius was reading it and not liking what he saw. “There's more activity. Increased by thirty percent. I'll have to go now.”

Anna leaned over his shoulder.

“I know what I'm doing,” Darius said.

Anna pointed a finger at the screen. “Two more overnight. He's strengthening quickly. Better go now.”

“That's what I said.” Darius got up. “There's a second in the Beaches but I'll get Peter first.”

Alec tried to suppress his astonishment. These guys had technology right out of one of his favourite video games. As far as he knew, no one had yet to develop that kind of stuff on earth, which meant …

He
had
to get out of there. Darius and Anna might really be aliens. His hand tightened on the orb unconsciously. The minute the door opened …

“
H
ere, you're going to need an orb.”

Riley jumped at Anna's voice. She had been so lost in her angry thoughts she'd missed the woman crossing the floor to stand at the end of the bunk. The small glass ball rolled along the blanket to rest at her knee.

“Doubt it.” Riley examined her nail polish.

“An orb is your only weapon against Rhozan's Emissaries. You might want to learn how to use one.” Anna headed back towards the teens on the sofas.

Riley snorted. As if. She didn't believe in aliens or flying saucers or invasions from outer space. She believed in science. And so far, no one had any proof of little green men from Alpha Centauri, bug-eyed monsters from Mars or UFOs in the skies overhead. But there wasn't any other answer she could come up with as to how she'd been transported across town in the blink of an eye, or the technology in this bunker, which was clearly advanced, and she was forced to accept that what Darius and Anna were saying could
possibly
be true. Maybe. But she did
not
like it.

Aliens or not, Riley wanted out. Now.

She pulled out her wallet and cellphone and stuck them into her jeans pockets. The bag would slow her down. The police would retrieve it for her later, because she was going to have Darius arrested and tossed into jail so fast he'd cut himself on his own cheekbones.

Where was the door they'd entered through? The two visible doors only opened into a cupboard and what looked like a bathroom. She picked up the ball that Anna called an orb and absently rolled it around in the palm of her hand while watching Darius root around in the cupboard. Any minute now he'd be leaving. She'd watch carefully and see what he did to find the exit.

Darius ruffled the hair of the smallest boy as he donned a jacket. “How's it coming, Jake?” he asked.

The skinny, red-headed kid, not much taller than Riley, shrugged. “Slow.”

“Keep at it, kiddo. I'll give you a hand when I get back.” Darius shoved something into his pocket. “Anything you want while I'm gone?” he asked Anna.

“Just do your job, Finn. No fooling around.” Anna didn't raise her head to look at him.

“The manual says–”

“I don't care if assimilation into the surrounding society is required or not. The situation warrants quick and decisive action. Remove the older Anderson boy and the new Potential without preamble. Try not to be noticed.”

Darius gave a mock salute but Anna wasn't looking. He glanced over at Riley and winked. “Guess we'll never finish that questionnaire now, huh?”

Riley pretended not to hear.

Darius stopped at the end of her bunk. “Join the others and figure out how to use the orb. It's your destiny and the faster you become proficient with it, the faster you can take care of yourself.”

“I have no intention of learning to do anything with this marble.” Riley dropped it on the blanket. “And I will remind you that I do not believe a single word you've told me since we met.”

“You're in danger, Riley. Those attacks were not random. You were the target. You
are
the target. And until you are dead, you
will
be the target. Smarten up and get over it.”

He turned and walked over to the farthest wall. He pulled out his orb and muttered something Riley couldn't quite hear. A door materialized and opened for him. The instant he was through, the door slid closed and blended into the wall.

“What the …” Riley gasped. She jumped off the bed and ran over to the exact spot where Darius had exited. There was absolutely no sign of a door. The metal was cool and revoltingly slippery.

“You need an orb to get out, Riley,” Anna said. “The faster you learn to use one, the better.”

Refusing to answer, Riley stalked back to the bed and plunked herself down with a snort. These idiots had another thing coming if they thought she was going to jump on their bandwagon that easily. If she could stand firm through two years of her soon-to-be-stepmother's constant criticism, she could resist anything.

Several long minutes passed. Riley picked up her orb and jammed it into the tight pocket of her jeans. She'd need it for police evidence. The room was almost eerily silent as none of the teenagers spoke while doing their exercises. Alec was staring at his orb, too, as if intent on learning its secrets. It was kind of a shame how quickly he joined up with these weirdos, but it didn't matter. Once she was gone she'd never see him again. Suddenly, goosebumps rose all over Riley's arms. Before she could wonder why, a blast of electricity ran through her, as if she'd stuck her finger in a socket.

Anna grabbed the edge of the table to prevent herself from falling. The other kids gasped collectively. In less than a second, Anna was across the room and at Alec's side. He was face-down on the table.

Anna flung him over her shoulder, carried him to the closest bunk and laid him down. Everyone crowded around.

“What's the matter with him?” the blonde girl asked as she peered over Anna's shoulder.

“Did you feel that wave of power, Mary Beth?” Anna asked as she arranged a pillow under Alec's head. He was awfully pale and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead and his upper lip. His body gave a quick shake and then was very still. She pulled the orb from his clenched fingers. “That was Alec.”

“What'd he do?” Gino leaned over to get a better look.

Anna didn't answer. Instead, she placed one hand on Alec's forehead and held her orb with the other. She closed her eyes.

Riley watched but said nothing. The very air was sharp with the scent of something odd, expectant. Alec shook again, gave a strangled gasp and then was deathly still. Mary Beth began to bite her nails.

Riley pushed herself closer, elbowing Gino out of the way. It was clear that Alec had suffered some sort of seizure and he needed his airway protected, if not medical attention. Anna didn't seem to know that.

“Move him onto his side, for Pete's sake.” Riley grasped Alec's shoulder. She intended to pull him over partway, just enough to keep his airway clear, but the second she touched him, the electricity jolted right through her. Worse still, she fell into his mind.