The Immortal Coil (7 page)

“Ready to fly?” he asked.

“Considering I’m dying of an infected bite, no, not really!”

“The high ground almost always has the tactical advantage and you need all the help you can get.”

“I don’t care about tactics,” I said, peering off the edge. “Tactics aren’t going to mean anything if I don’t find a cure!”

“You’re probably going to die a lot sooner if you hit the ground from this height. Ready?” Noah didn’t allow me any more time to protest. Instead, he tossed me off of the roof to my death.

It was too dark and high up to see the ground clearly. I had to fight the urge to close my eyes, since I needed to see to use my powers. If I just tried to pull myself up by my arm or leg I’d wind up tearing them off when falling this fast.

The ground was rapidly coming into view as I hurtled downward. Only a few feet were left before I made a bloody impact, and I still couldn’t figure out how to fly.

My nose was in the grass when suddenly I stopped short an inch away from smashing my face in. I dangled there a moment, realizing that Noah had caught me by my shirt.

“What is wrong with you!” I shouted.

He dumped me on the ground at his feet. “You weren’t even trying.”

“I never said I wanted to.” I got up, hoping he was done with whatever he was trying to prove.

“You don’t want to because you’re scared, and that’s the worst excuse for failure.” He pointed to the first line of the Asian tattoo on his flank. “These proverbs are what I’ve learned to live by since I was turned. This one means ‘Fear is failure’.”

It was frustrating trying to get him to listen, but I figured he wasn’t going to give up a chance to hear himself speak. As long as he could keep catching me there wasn’t any real harm in trying until he got bored and left me alone.

“Fine, I’ll try again,” I said, already back up on the roof with him. “But what I’m more scared about, if I live through this, is my infection.”

“If you really want to learn through fear, then I’ll give you some real motivation.” I felt him push me off of the building. In a flash, he was below me holding something in his hands. As I fell closer, I could see him standing there with his swords out and ready to strike. This guy was nuts. He was really prepared to kill me over making a point.

I kept hoping he would put his weapons away, but he stood his ground. I concentrated everything I had on envisioning lifting myself up. The wind slowed against my face as I began to glide and steady myself out. I closed my eyes as I neared the ground and put my hands out, preparing for a rough landing.

My left forearm grazed the tip of Noah’s sword as I passed, making me flinch and lose control. I wiped out and tumbled across the grass, ending up facedown.

“You got my sword dirty,” Noah said, rolling me onto my back with his boot.

I glared up at him as he wiped his blade on my shirt. I was hoping he was reading my mind so my opinion of him at the moment would come through loud and clear.

“What are you so upset about?” he asked. “You almost flew, didn’t you?” I wouldn’t have called it flying, but it was progress, I guess.

“Life is never going to go back to the way it was.” Noah’s words cut deep. That was exactly what I didn’t want to hear. “This is who you really are. It’s time you stop hiding and man up, because no matter how much you pretend you can’t do something, it doesn’t mean that other people out there don’t know. You either learn to use your powers or you’ll die, sometimes twice.”

All of a sudden we were on the roof again. I was still angry and hurting as I plummeted to the earth for a third time. Noah was standing guard beneath me with his swords unsheathed and there was no doubt in my mind he was ready to use them. My first thought was to knock him over, but I could see that going horribly wrong. I balanced myself out the same as before, but this time made it over him without getting nicked. The earth shook under me as I landed forcefully on my feet behind him.

I stood up triumphantly. This was the most progress I had made trying to fly, but my joy came to a quick end. I felt a sharp pain along the back of my arm, followed by the warm sensation of my blood again.

“What the heck was wrong this time?” I turned to look at him. Noah cleaned his blade again.

“You didn’t fly.”

“Did you see what I just did? I landed on my feet. That’s close enough.” I was proud of myself and that was what mattered most. “I can move things because I can see them. I can’t see myself, so I can’t fly. Just let it go already.”

He put both
katana
back in their sheaths. “Close your eyes.”

“No way. I don’t even trust you with them open.” Now both of my arms were stinging in pain as blood dripped down them.

Noah crossed his arms impatiently.

“Fine.” I gave in and closed them.

“Touch your nose,” he ordered.

“What was the point of that?” I said, having followed his directions. This was suspiciously easy coming from him, but I shouldn’t complain.

“You don’t need to see your nose to touch it, so you don’t need to see your whole body to lift it. You know you’re there and you have the power. Now put the two together.”

“How do you know it’ll even work?” I asked him.

“You can’t do this if you keep doubting yourself. Fear is your worst enemy, not any mutant or infection. ‘A sword is useless in the hands of a coward.’ ” He pointed to the second line of his tattoo. “It means real strength comes from courage and faith in your abilities.

“My training gave me the discipline and confidence to conquer anything; without that, you’ll never overcome weakness. You need to learn to do things like tune out distractions, hone your senses, trust your instincts, and always stay aware of your environment. The more you know, the less you’ll be afraid, and then nothing can stop you.”

Once Noah dropped the narcissist act, he came off as pretty wise. Maybe there was more to him than swords and swagger. Maybe.

“Don’t stab me, but you don’t seem too disciplined. You don’t act like the other Archios. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear a shirt.”

“I like to stay in touch with the modern world. I mean, what’s the point of looking this good if you talk like Shakespeare?” Noah smirked and reclined on the grass. “I’d rather walk out into the sunlight than become one of those stuffy aristocrats.”

“What about the discipline, though?”

“For over a century I trained with the best warriors in Japan until I mastered several martial arts, including different styles of
jujitsu
and
ninjutsu
. I traveled all over, challenging the most skilled warriors without using my powers. It wasn’t until I was sure I was the best that I mixed in my other abilities and added parkour to create my own style.

“My kind inherit their powers from the one who turns them. They can adapt over time with practice, kinda like how living things evolve. Vivi and I both inherited Aurelia’s hypnotic ability, but they like to use it a lot more than I do. My specialty is speed and stealth, since they obviously compliment my hardcore martial arts training.”

“That’s really cool. No offense, but when I first saw you running around half-naked with swords, I thought you were some serial killer on drugs.”

“They’re
wakizashi
, shorter
katana
made for indoor, close-range combat and easier concealment. There is nothing sexier than twenty inches of tempered steel, except when it’s in my hands. As for the shorts and boots, they’re my own modified version of
haidate
and
suneate
, armor that samurais wore. Not that I really need the armor, but it looks good.”

“That explains a lot.” I took a seat on the grass and began ripping the bottom of my shirt to use as a bandage for my arm. The two cuts from his sword had already healed due to Noah’s blood in my system, but the bite mark was as bad as ever. “I don’t think I could ever manage half of what you went through.”

“Yeah, no kidding. If you had a thousand years you couldn’t do it,” he laughed. I realized our serious talk was over and his arrogant side was back.

“Want to know why?” he continued. “You have no passion, no motivation, and no conviction. You’d rather fall to your death hoping someone will catch you than do what you need to save yourself. Whether you want to believe it or not, you’re just a coward who can’t accept what you are.”

His words struck a nerve. It made me think of how my mom was always going on about finding myself and my passion in life.

“Stand up and close your eyes.” Noah just wouldn’t give up. I was hoping he would have forgotten after getting to talk about himself. I got to my feet and closed my eyes, expecting the worst.

“Don’t fall,” he said. There was a moment of silence as I waited for his next direction and then I felt my legs kicked out from under me.

“What was that for?” I looked up at him while flat on my back.

He rolled his eyes with his arms crossed. “Stop complaining and get up. You proved you can at least float, so do it.”

I tried again, but this time he made me wait what felt like ten minutes before he made his move. By the third and fourth time, I was flinching at every blade of grass on my leg and every breeze. I caught myself right as I fell backward the fifth time. I stayed suspended in the air parallel to the ground. It felt like I was floating in a pool. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath, looking up at the moon. The sky was so clear and it would have been a beautiful night if I wasn’t getting the crap kicked out of me.

Something was wrong. Noah wasn’t talking about himself, giving me cryptic lessons, or hurting me. I sat up, still floating a few inches off the ground. He was gone. I straightened myself out so I was levitating in a standing position. I felt like a toddler learning how to walk as I wobbled unsteadily in the air, balancing myself with my arms out to the side.

I didn’t get long to enjoy my feeling of weightlessness. Everything became a blur as the world raced past me at Mach speed. Noah threw me over his shoulder and was running up the side of the chateau again. This time when he reached the roof he didn’t stop. He took a flying leap off the side and threw me into the air as he disappeared into the darkness below.

As I fell, I realized Noah wasn’t waiting under me like the other times. By now, I knew he had to be planning something even more devious. I closed my eyes and let the floating sensation take over me. I slowed my fall until I was completely stopped a foot above the ground, and then carefully righted myself.

Noah appeared in front of me, sheathing his swords. I was still finding it a little tricky to balance without concentrating. At this height I didn’t have to look up to meet him eye to eye. He motioned with a finger to follow him and vanished from sight. Less than a second later, he reappeared across the lawn. I glided over the grass after him, picking up speed along the way as I gained confidence. Noah played his disappearing act several more times, making me chase him around the property. Soon I was cruising at sprinting speed.

“You can fly now,” he said and stopped in front of a gatehouse where a limo waited. “Don’t make this a waste of my time by getting yourself killed.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” I didn’t want to add to his over-inflated ego, but I was extremely grateful for his unorthodox lessons. “But what do I do if the infection gets worse?”

“This limo will take you right to the private hangar at the airport. Oh, and here’s your phone.”

He tossed it into the air and disappeared without answering me. There were several messages from Lyle, who was camped out at a motel in Boston. This detour was going to take some serious explaining.

I was so mentally and physically exhausted that sleeping through the flight wasn’t a problem. By the time we landed at Logan International, it was night again. I felt like I hadn’t seen the sun in weeks.

“Hey, thanks for coming,” I greeted Lyle, who was waiting for me as soon as I got off the plane.

It was good to see someone who didn’t want to kidnap or kill me. I still wasn’t sure how to explain things to my parents. At least Lyle would be easier to start with, since he had witnessed some of the weirdness so far.

“Yeah, no problem. Are you okay? Your message was kind of vague.”

Lyle was looking at me like I had three heads. My clothes were torn and filthy and I hadn’t showered in a couple of days, so I probably smelled wonderful.

“Fine, now that I’m back. Would you believe they just let me go?”

“I would believe just about anything lately.”

“Boy, am I glad you said that.”

“Let’s talk outside before you wander onto another plane,” he joked as we exited to the main area of the airport. I was relieved to be with living people again, even if they were all staring at me for looking and smelling like a homeless person.

“Ya know, I thought you bailed on me when I didn’t hear from you, but the airport told me you never even got on the plane.”

“I was kidnapped,” I said as we left. “You were right about the sergeant and the men at the docks, but it’s over now. The sword guy I told you about, his name is Noah. He was actually sent from France to help me.”

I looked around to make sure no one was listening while we stood out on the sidewalk.

“My … uh, specialty, if you want to call it that — well, someone in New York found out about it and wanted me abducted,” I explained. “Whoever it was used to be business partners with the people in France that rescued me.”

“If there’s one thing I learned as a cop, it’s that there are always witnesses. So, the French just let you go even after knowing your secret?” Lyle asked.

“I don’t know. I guess they didn’t want to be responsible for keeping me around.” I was scared to admit that I had become a liability now that I had been bitten. It was also a little embarrassing that even with special powers I wasn’t able to take care of myself. Lyle had been understanding about everything, but I couldn’t take the chance of him going into cop-mode if I told him. He might want to quarantine me, or worse, put me down to stop me from turning.

“We need to find evidence that the French knew about you being kidnapped.”

“What? Why?”

“You said this guy Noah killed their former business partners on our docks. He also killed the sergeant of those dirty cops. That’s not justice, it’s murder. We’re dealing with dangerous people and from what it sounds like, the only business they’re in is crime.

“There weren’t any bodies left, but I'm sure the crime scene unit found at least a fingerprint from the car door that was ripped off. Maybe even a hair or drop of blood if we’re real lucky. That will help to prove others were involved so we don't sound crazy.

“Did you find out anything having to do with Noah being supernatural while you were there? Did they say anything at all when they let you go?”

“No, not really,” I lied. “They were hosting some big party and didn’t seem to want me around once they were satisfied their ex-partner wasn’t a problem anymore. I guess they just wanted to make sure he was done drawing attention to them.” Getting into the Archios would only complicate things more. I wanted to tell him everything, but I also wanted to put this all behind me.

“Then why would they let you live if you’re the last witness to all of this?”

“I, uh —”

“Are you working for them now? Is that it?”

“No!”

“Then why are you lying to me, man? I put my ass on the line for you.”

“I’m not. I don’t know how to explain it any better right now. All I want to do is see my parents. We can talk after. I promise I'm not going anywhere.”

“Come on, I’ll take you home so you can get washed up and see your family,” Lyle offered.

We got into one of the cabs lined up along the curb and finally headed home. The ride was quiet until my wound started to hurt under the makeshift bandage.

“What’s wrong?” he asked when he noticed me grab my arm in pain.

“Nothing. I got cut, but I’m fine. It’s a long story.”

We made it to my neighborhood in good time. The houses around here were all spaced far apart and secluded within the woods, with long driveways for privacy. If we actually had neighbors to speak of, my parents would be the type to worry that they might see me looking like I had gone through a war.

“You can let us off here,” I instructed the driver as he pulled up to the end of the driveway. I was hoping the short walk up to my house would buy me more time to think of what I would tell my parents and get rid of the knot in my stomach.

“Wow, nice place,” Lyle said as we got out. “But I don’t think I could ever live somewhere so quiet. Coming to Manhattan must have been a big change for you.”

“It took some getting used to, but I’m definitely homesick after the past couple of days.” If he thought my place was nice, I could only imagine what he would have thought of the chateau.

“Does your family know you’re coming?”

“No, I couldn’t think of what to tell them, so I’m just going to wing it,” I admitted.

“Do you want me to wait out here until everything’s cool with them?”

This wasn’t going to go well either way. Lyle might not know me well enough, but my parents could always tell when I was lying, and the truth sounded worse than any lie I could come up with.

“They’re supernatural,” I blurted out on my front steps. “Your parents?”

“No! I mean the people from France. There is a group of them. They call themselves the Archios and live in a huge chateau outside of Paris. The person from New York who was trying to get to me used to be one of them. I didn’t want to say anything before because this just keeps getting more unbelievable.”

Lyle was staring at me, stunned. “I believe you. It’s a lot to take in, but I figured you couldn’t be the only one. And I thought I had seen everything growing up in New York City.”

“It’s pretty late, so my parents are probably asleep,” I said while unlocking the front door with a spare key we kept hidden. “Wait down here, I’m going to go wake them.”

The comforting smell of home made me so happy to be back. I knew the house so well I could navigate it even with the lights off. I should have cleaned myself up first so I wouldn’t freak out my mom and dad, but it was too late now.

“Mom, Dad, are you guys awake?” I whispered and knocked on the open bedroom door. The TV was still on and they were snoring so they must have just fallen asleep.

“Dad,” I whispered louder and walked up beside the bed. “Mom!”

They were both uncovered and sprawled out on the bed in uncomfortable positions. It wasn’t snoring I had heard. I could see dark veins running up my mom’s arm to her face. I kept calling them more and more loudly to try and wake them. They were getting worse by the second as their skin started to whiten and flake off.

“Wake up, please!” I begged, choking back tears. “Not here, not them too!”

Lyle came running up to the doorway. “Dorian, what happened?”

“They’re fine, they’re just sick,” I sniffled with my head down, holding my mom’s hand. “They can fight it.”

Lyle turned the lights on and walked inside. “Oh my god, Dorian, get away from them.”

“She was trying to call me,” I said, looking at my mom’s cell phone on the bed. She had most of my number dialed, but never completed the call. “I could have done something …”

“It’s not your fault,” Lyle said after checking for a pulse. “We need to get out of here.”

“And go where? I have nowhere to run anymore, there’s no point. They’re all I have.”

“We can go back to New York.”

“Manhattan is about to be overrun by those things,” I interrupted. “They already took over a hospital and police station last night. It’s being covered up by the Archios while they take care of it.”

“We still can’t stay here in case they … you know.”

“Just go. I was already bitten so it doesn’t matter.” I showed him the bite mark on my arm.

“What the hell — how?”

“The mutants are in France, too. I couldn’t defend myself when they attacked the Archios. Noah fed me his blood, but I don’t know how long it will last.”

“He fed you his blood? What do you mean, he fed you his blood?” Lyle was rightfully shocked, but really, after what he had seen lately, that was nothing.

“Noah said their blood can heal people. Right now, it’s the only thing preventing me from turning.” I tried to sound casual, like I was reading the directions off a bottle of painkillers.

“Then there’s still hope. Change your clothes and take whatever you need,” Lyle said and dragged me away from the bed in to the hallway. “Does your father have a gun we could use? I still have mine, but no ammo.”

I nodded and pointed back to a dresser in the bedroom before leaving for my room down the hall.

I stood there for a moment, thinking about if this was all a bad dream. After washing up in my bathroom as fast as possible, I grabbed clean clothes and changed into them.
This can’t be happening
, I kept telling myself.
I’m going to wake up soon. I just have to play along until it’s over.
I went to my closet for an old backpack from high school and began throwing in clothes.

The sound of growling and gunshots from my parents’ room interrupted my packing. I got up and ran out of my room. In the hallway, I could see Lyle exiting their room and closing the door behind him.

“What happened?” I tried to push past him, but he blocked the door.

“You don’t want to go in there,” he said quietly. “I had to make sure they wouldn’t be coming back. I’m sorry.”

He was splattered all over with black blood now and the gun in his hand was shaking. “We need to go,” Lyle prompted, still guarding the door.

I returned to my room to finish, but my sense of overwhelming sorrow was making it difficult to concentrate. Looking around the room I grew up in was only making things worse. A baseball bat with a significant layer of dust stood propped up in the corner. It was there more as homage to my childhood than anything else. For years, my dad took me to the batting cages on the weekends. He wasn’t particularly athletic, but I always had the feeling he thought it would be some sort of an ideal all-American father-and-son bonding moment. He was the type of dad that would still dress up as Santa long after I found out Santa wasn’t real, just because he thought it was the thing all good dads should do.

Something new on the wall above my bed caught my eye. It was the license plates from my first car, and they were in a frame. I had sold the car to someone in town when I moved to New York. Everybody in the city uses public transportation and I needed the extra cash, but it had killed me to give up the car after working through high school to save up for it. I didn’t even realize until now that I had left the plates with the guy I sold it to. My parents went out of their way to get them back and frame them for me. This must have been the surprise my mom said they had waiting for me when I came home for the Fourth of July.

I couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe it was the thought of what my parents’ happy faces must have looked like while they were hanging the plates, or maybe it was the fact that they would never get to see their thoughtful surprise come to fruition. I couldn’t fight off the feeling of emptiness creeping up inside me. I had no home, no family, and nowhere to go now. I dropped my bag on the floor and sat on the bed with my head in my hands, fighting the urge to cry. I could hear footsteps approaching my room, but didn’t look up.

The footsteps paused at the doorway before continuing inside.

“I’m sorry.” It was Lyle apologizing again. He took a seat next to me.

Hearing Lyle tell me he was sorry made me wonder if there was anything really left for me to lose after this. “I’m going to stay here.” I kept my head down, not wanting him to see me with tears in my eyes again.

“You can’t, it’s not an option,” he said, and picked my bag up off the floor.

“I thought it was over when Noah killed those people in New York and let me go. The Archios would take care of the mutants, my parents would have all the answers for my infection, and life would go back to normal. But he was right. I’ll never escape this life now,” I mumbled, pulling away from him as he tried to drag me by the arm.

“I know it must feel like the end. But it’s not.”

I had already messed up Lyle’s life back in New York by getting him involved, and now there was a good chance he would be killed because of his association with me, just like my family. The best thing I could do for him now was part ways, but the little I knew of Lyle so far told me he would be too much of a good guy to just walk away.

I stood up, looked at my bag in Lyle’s hand, and summoned it to my side.

“Come on, man. We can talk on the way if you’re up to it.” He gave me an encouraging smile.