Summon Lyght (23 page)

Chapter Twenty-
Five

"What is this?" the
farechtera
asked.

Dorn peered into the vault-like container that had been created for holding the creatures.
"It's…well, sort of like an incubator." He didn't feel right calling it the prison hospital he'd thought of it as. They'd never had to transport unstable and dangerous beings before, at least not in a manner that ensured a safe arrival for the prisoner, so it had taken some time to construct what seemed to be a satisfactory containment method. At least, according to Peggy, who had designed and built it, along with Sam, who looked over her shoulder the entire time. It was disconcerting that both were the beasts' mothers. Peggy their adoptive, and Sam their biological. But Peggy knew their capabilities better than anyone else.

The
farechtera,
or 'doc', as Kassern referred to him, angled his head, clearly incredulous at Dorn's unclear description. He stared through one of the vertical transparent slats designed to view the creatures easily. "Incubator, you say."

Dorn realized the doc likely wasn
't familiar with the term since he dealt with supernatural species almost exclusively. He mentally fished for something to liken it to, something the doc could fathom. "A protected and controlled environment normally used to allow infant creatures to continue to develop safely outside the natural apparatus for the purpose. At any rate, the comparison doesn't really work in this instance. We needed a way to move the creatures and ensure both their safety and security simultaneously. This is what Peggy came up with." He regarded the doc's expected perplexity. 

"
Ah yes. Peggy. The sort of adoptive mother. I will need to speak with her eventually."

Honestly, the idea of those creatures in that container reminded Dorn of one of his urban
dictionary words of the day. Puppy Bukakke. To bury someone's face in a pile of canine love and affection. He shook his head at all the maligned analogies he'd recently formed, alarmed at the appalling rate of decline his angelic nature was taking. Decomposing before his flawless eyes.

"
They were in The Darkness for a short time, following the attack. We relocated them here hoping to aid in whatever healing they needed."

"
And…what…are they, exactly?"

"
Scocerith's conspiratorial posterity." The doc's puzzlement prompted further explanation. "They are Un-Allied, but with a twist. They were developed by Socerith's workers, designed to further the Enemy's cause. These, however, were abducted prior to birth and reared by the Archangel Toren's
Gefrengea
."

"
Peggy."

"
Yes. And they've demonstrated no aggressive tendencies or evil proclivities until they attempted to kill a human boy."

The doc paused only briefly before continuing his slow walk along the circumference of the housing, staring at the creatures that sat about like lethargic children.

"Whatever hostility took them is nowhere in the vicinity. Do you mind if I have a closer look?"

"
Please." Dorn was beyond eager to have the
farechtera
learn what afflicted the creatures, beyond the obvious probability of hereditary evil seeping into their subconscious. 

Without further commotion, the doctor Duplicated, forming a second identical body and stepped through the wall of the incarceration chamber. Dorn watched with unmitigated apprehension as the creatures took bored notice of the visitor standing quiet and motionless in their center.

"Their minds are linked." The copy of the doctor that remained outside the structure sounded fascinated. Dorn waited for something he didn't already know.

"
Their lethargic state is due to…grief."

Grief?

"They are horrified with themselves. Confused. Concerned. Afraid." The final observation was whispered in a near awed sadness. Dorn knew he was well into his exam by this display of emotion from the usually monochromatic doc.  "Something…something in the boy triggered it. Their reaction was highly unusual."

"
What does that mean?"

The doc stretched his hand out and touched the forehead of one of the creatures with a bony pale digit. Dorn wished he
'd told him about their power infiltration abilities now. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't worry but in this operation, nothing was certain. Allowing the creatures unfettered access to someone with the powers of the
farechtera
could be a fatal error.

"
I am aware of their ability." The doc moved his hand to the next creature. The one he'd already touched stretched out on the floor and closed its eyes.

"
They're resting. They've not rested since the ordeal. It seems…that their combined remorse has decimated the limbic system which has led them to this near comatose state. Remarkable." He methodically touched each one and each submitted as the first had done. "It's almost as if their very soul is infused with their bodies, inasmuch as their minds and concentrated beliefs alter it. That should mean that when they are all angry, they become mutually strong, and when they are all grieved, they are mutually weak."

The doc exited the chamber and rejoined the first version of his body, then turned his clear gaze to Dorn.
"I have to wonder what would happen when they are all full of joy. Or…pride. Or love."

Dorn angled his head and stared at the group of sleeping creatures, curious, now.
"I have no clue. We haven't had a lot of time with them."

"
I would like to spend time with them, if that's okay. See what sort of developments I can encourage." He turned back to the creatures. "I'd also like to meet the human they attacked to attempt to isolate the cause and learn if it can be replicated."

Relief flooded Dorn.
"Yes. Indeed. That would be immensely appreciated in our reckless world-saving franchise."

The doctor nodded once, slowly.
"I presume Earth has come with tidy vestibules of insufferable mayhem."

A burst of laughter came before Dorn could stop it. To hear such a vocabulary was equivalent to a war lust ménage with his Brothers. His cranium felt as if it expanded and stretched toward the stimulation in a manner similar to the opening of the petals of a heliotropic flower at sunrise.  Dorn patted the doc on the back in gratitude. The immovable frame of dense muscle reminded him how the good doc
's physical strength was at complete odds with his almost frail appearance. He was a force to be reckoned with, being a
farechtera
and having a wide variety of supernatural powers unrelated to his medical practice.

"
You would be absolutely correct." Dorn hoped his humorless smile said as much as his words about the unending catastrophe. "Although the vestibules are far from tidy, and the mayhem spews rapidly."

"
Perhaps I can cultivate some surprise advantages that will serve you well in this witless war of bone and plasma."

Alarm filled Dorn at the mention of
surprise
. Sally had used that word the other day with enthusiastic joy. He didn't like the concept at all. It was the correspondent of uncertainty and confusion, two of his newest and seemingly constant enemies. He needed to have a deep bro-talk with Kassern and Toren and find out what on this demon-infested green Earth she was going on about. She'd mentioned anniversary as well. He couldn't fathom of what, since they'd only been consummated for approximately…eight weeks. Did
anniversary
not imply yearly? 

"
Shall I have quarters set up for you at our compound? Or would you prefer to work with them at Aesculapius' Grotto?" Dorn secretly hoped he'd take them out of their hair and off of the planet.

"
My efforts will be far more effective in their native environment. I won't need to allow time for them to acclimate and it will give me an opportunity to adapt my own powers to a new habitat."   

"
Are you sure?"

The
farechtera
stared at Dorn, puzzled, and Dorn realized belatedly the doc had not been in human company long enough to comprehend such a concept as ambiguity. Dorn resisted a snort, or maybe even a derisive snicker. One week. That's about how long it would take for the doc to become intimate with rampant uncertainty. Quite intimate.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tyler didn
't wait well. No particular reason, he just didn't. Nothing good ever seemed to come from waiting. And really, he kind of resented the big guy in blue ordering him to cool his heels and wait for some kind of witch doctor dude. But he had to admit, the monkey mens' reaction to him made him kind of curious. Why did they want to rip his throat out and no one else's? If the witch doctor dude could figure that out, waiting might be worth it.

"
Indeed, waiting could be worthwhile." The smooth, educated male voice came from somewhere up near the ceiling.

Tyler spun to see who had spoken, and finally the man sort of faded into view, little by little. A tall, frail-looking man finally stood solid. He must be the witch-doctor. Tyler had to admit, his entrance was impressive.

"Witch doctor? I am unfamiliar with that term. What does it mean?" The man tilted his head a little and studied Tyler with interest.

Tyler couldn
't keep his cheeks from flushing a little at the guy overhearing his thoughts. "It's um, a guy that uses magic and stuff to make people better or put curses on them."

"
Oh? That is nothing like what I do. There is no magic, or curses, involved. I am a
farechtera.
I use the influence of the subconscious mind over the corporeal and noncorporeal portions of a life form to any sort of defect or disease. Did Dorn not explain?"

Cheeks still on fire, Tyler chose his words carefully.
"Sort of. He said you use psychic healing." He shrugged. "Same difference."

The guy stared at him with an odd expression, then nodded.
"I understand. I was warned most humans are incapable of accepting anything beyond the perception of their five physical senses." He nodded again. "Shall we go?"

Relieved to escape a lecture or a sermon, Tyler agreed and tried not to flinch away when the guy latched onto his shoulder with long bony fingers. In the next heartbeat, they were sucked into a vacuum tube that looked like one big kaleidoscope. Swirling colors and shapes spun by in a sickening display, faster and faster. It sort of resembled when Lyght brought them to the compound, but was more nauseating than awe-inspiring.

Seemed like hours before they landed in a stark white room. He was sure the contents of his stomach would never go back where they belonged. Reminded him of that one ride. The Dead Man's Drop rollercoaster at the amusement park his grandparents had taken him to for his last birthday. With one last hard swallow for good measure, he took a look around.

The room wasn
't as white as he'd first thought. It just seemed that way because the lights were so bright and the room was pale colored. But in the center, a big sort of crate sat, draped in white.

"
This is why we're here." The witch doctor dude flipped the cloth back to reveal a reinforced metal container with a couple of vertical glass slats on each side. It wasn't anything like the black cube that one dark angel had first put around them. The mean-looking giant in black biker leathers had made quite an impression on Tyler as in he'd had to make sure his pants were still dry when the guy left. The angel had also said Tyler was the reason he'd come. Nobody mentioned it anything about that since. Must not be highly important. Yeah, right.

He leaned to look through one of the glass spaces, struggling to keep his breathing under control. The things just sat there. They reminded Tyler of the drug addicts he
'd seen when his grandfather was teaching him self-defense and what he'd need to survive on the street. He moved closer for a better look and one of them raised its head and lifted a lip for a half-hearted snarl. Tyler froze as a chill went down his spine. Even zonked out of their heads, the things hated him. Why? He looked at the doc, wondering if he had a clue.

"
Interesting." The doc kept his eyes fixed on the monkeys and urged Tyler closer with a hand on his shoulder. "They have an aggressive response even in this state." He watched closely as one of the others raised its head as well, but didn't seem to have the energy to snarl.

"
Why are they like that? Are they drugged or something?"

"
No sedation. This is self-induced because of their grief and shame over attacking you."

Tyler
's eyes widened with disbelief. Surely those animals—

"
Not animals, young man." The doc turned a stern stare to Tyler. "These beings are far from mere animals. They are an amalgamation of both natural and supernatural life forms, brought into existence by evil, for evil, but without inherent evil. These individuals were born and raised amongst the first three Warriors and their…teams. They've shown no prior violent or evil tendencies." He turned back to the creatures. "We're here to discover what links you to them. To find a logical reason for the attack upon you."

Tyler barely defeated the urge to roll his eyes. No way was he connected with those things. Not possible.

"I assure you, it is possible."

His scowl got ahead of his control.
''That's really annoying, you know. Reading minds is kind of rude." Saying so was, too, but he had to. Every time the guy picked a thought out of his head, his temper cranked a notch tighter. The past few months, Tyler found it harder and harder to bite his tongue.

The doc tilted his head a little and drew his eyebrows down slightly, not enough to be a frown. He stared at Tyler for a long moment, and Tyler started to worry he
'd seriously overstepped some line he didn't even know about by reminding the doc of his manners.

The doc nodded, looking distracted.
"Just so. I apologize. I so seldom deal with mortal humans, I admit to being out of practice." He turned back to the container. "For now, we need to begin. We will start with memory regression to find any commonalities." He snapped his fingers almost like an afterthought, and another area opened up off the main room.

Tyler looked around with interest at first, but didn
't see anything really remarkable—just about a dozen retro-looking dentist chairs arranged in a semicircle. The open side of the arrangement was filled with a broad dark gray screen with a series of seemingly unrelated images flickering across it. Curious, he sat in the chair the doc indicated.

The doc opened the monkey men
's cage and Tyler's gut tightened in alarm.

They kept right on with that junkie-stare he
'd noticed earlier, seemingly unaware of their surroundings. The doc pointed at the nearest beast and a faint thread of glowing blue light left his fingertip and connected to the creature's chest. A small gesture from the doc lifted the heavy looking body into the air where it hung limp for a moment, then sailed across to settle gently into one of the chairs.

The thread disconnected and faded back into the doc
's fingertip. A new thread, at least a different color, replaced the first and repeated the action with another creature, depositing him in one of the chairs. 

Tyler had to bite his lip to keep from asking questions as he watched the same thing over and over, once for each creature, with a new color of thread every time. He shouldn
't be all that surprised, considering the doc had the same ability as Lyght to transport through space in an instant. But the whole thing was awesome.

As soon as the last monkey man was in a dentist chair, before Tyler could ask anything,
the doc thrust his hand, kinda like a flick, and filled every chest with a net of those colorful strings.

Tyler glanced down at the faint tugging on his own chest. Alarm set his pulse to thumping in his skull at finding one of those silver fibers burrowed into
him
! Within a second or two, he could literally feel the fear draining out of him through that little string and a peaceful calm and warmth replacing it.

He swallowed and watched, amazed at the happy juice being pumped through the thin thread. It just refused to allow him to be afraid. All he could do was observe and not really feel much of anything about it.

All the threads pulsed like living hairs, swaying as though submerged in water. Just like something from a horror movie. The doc stood at the center in a sort of trance, his eyes on nothing, aimed straight ahead. Another thread, the size of a thick vine slowly emerged from the top of his skull and connected with the TV thing. Writhing images lit the screen in a frantic confusion, fading into one another and overlapping. It reminded Tyler of that drug abuse prevention class he'd taken in school that had showed something similar to represent hallucinogenic drugs. He liked it even less this time around.

After what seemed a really long time, the screen went blank again and the heavy cord connecting the doc
's head to it faded into nothingness and he came out of his trance. "No commonalities." He paused with a thoughtful scowl. "Our next step is an ancestral regression. With you it should be quite straightforward. Human lineage is simple mathematics, with each person leading back to two more, who each also lead back to two more, and so on." He gestured to include the monkey men. "These creatures, on the other hand, are an amalgamation of numerous species, both natural and supernatural. It will take time to decipher their ancestry."

Tyler started to reply, but for some reason, found it impossible. The words were in his throat but refused to leave his lips. He shook his head and tried again. Nothing.

The doc looked up. "Oh, I am sorry. I should have informed you. You will remain unable to speak for the duration of this exercise. The risk of unintentional duress is too high."

Great. So he was stuck just sitting and watching? Why had Dorn insisted he come along then?

"Because without you, I have nothing to analyze them against. Now if you don't mind?" The doc snapped his fingers and Tyler's head dropped abruptly as if a plug had been pulled.

He looked around to see if the monkey men had changed position or anything, which they hadn
't. An odd sensation immediately caught and held his attention. When he'd turned his head to look, the left side of his face felt as if he pressed it against a balloon or something similar, while the right side felt like it was pulling away from that same material.

The slightly cold and icky feeling compelled him to look for the cause, but there was nothing he could see. He raised a hand to his face only to freeze when he encountered the same slightly stretchy, almost sticky substance with the hand. Oh God. He was…coming undone. There was no other word for it. Shock jolted him to his feet despite feeling like dried glue was being peeled off his entire body at one time.

Standing there, he stared open-mouthed at his chair—where his body
still sat
unmoving and silent! He turned to the doc for an explanation but the guy was sort of hovering in the air, eyes rolled back in his head. A trance?

Tyler
's body sat there as if he were dead, except for the shallow rise and fall of his chest. At least he was alive. As near he could figure, his mind had somehow left his body and was wondering about on its own.

Wait, why was he suddenly looking down—not a little down, but down from the ceiling—at his body? Did that mean he could move around? He stepped to the right a little with no ill effects. Three steps left caused no problems either. After a deep breath, he tried moving further from his body. That didn
't seem to change anything either. Huh. Who'd have thought you could just…take your body off like a glove and walk around in your mind?

Would he be able to do it any time he wanted? Was he really walking around or was he dreaming it? Whatever it was, it was frickin amazing. Talk about a super cool power! Almost as good as invisibility.

Caught up considering the possibilities, he paced the room in a random pattern, not paying much attention to his surroundings. One of the monkey men snored a little and Tyler went over for a closer look, interested despite his distaste for them.

Standing there in the quiet, if he
'd still been in his skin he'd have jumped out of it when several voices spoke at once. He listened closely to the snippets of gibberish with an understandable word here and there, all running together.  "…human boy…can't…why…hurt him…Mother will be angry…we're guilty…" Without the connecting bits, none of it made sense. Tyler began to pace again, answering the strange energy setting up inside him. Or was it around him? It was hard to know.

A new voice froze Tyler in his footsteps.
"...human subject shows remarkable ability for astral projection. Are the Archangels aware? They could certainly exploit the talent for espionage, especially since adolescent human males seem almost invisible to other humans. Definitely worth mentioning."

Tyler looked around for the speaker but no one else had come into the room. The monkey men still looked like they were sleeping, and the doc still floated there in his trance. Who the
heck was that? It couldn't have been his imagination, right? He took a closer look around and didn't find so much as an air duct that could have carried the voice from another room. Whatever. He went back to pacing.

When nothing more interesting came up, he started thinking about Francis and his plan. From what he knew of gangs and street kids, it wouldn
't be easy to win a kid away from the gang. Most of the time, there was no one else the kid could depend on outside his gang family. He knew how he'd feel in the same situation. In fact, after he was on his own, a gang would probably have been the safest place for him. Too bad he didn't find one in time to keep him out of those creeps' clutches.