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Then Wilkens was still in the cave when I jumped.
Which meant that he couldn’t have time traveled before me. He had faked his jump with the streak of fresh blood on the symbols to fool me into jumping myself to follow him.
God, how could I have been so stupid!
Tom flipped to a certain page, saying, “Of course, you could have just exploded out of existence for all he knew, Callista. It was only when he found the second electric flashlight at your wolf shifter’s cabin that confirmed his suspicions of you personally.”
“Yes, to the question I see on your face,” he said. “Wilkens tried to mimic what you did, but he never could successfully travel himself. Others have, we know they have. Our scientists believe that it’s something in the blood, something genetic, something you yourself have inherited. It’s all very fascinating.”
Others.
Of course there were others. My mother being another one. She tried to tell me, warn me...
...For your protection, I won’t tell you what we are, you and I...
“That never stopped Wilkens from trying though,” Tom continued, closing the book. “Frustrated the hell out of him until his death thirty years later. Still, he was generous to pass this information and his journal onto his son and grandsons to continue to his research and Arcan legacy.”
My eyes shot to his again at this new declaration. Tom Black twitched a sheepish smile and nodded, then pulled another thick file off a nearby table, taking out one sheet in particular—a long family tree. One that had his name at the bottom.
“Yes, Ruby West was my great-great-grandmother as you can see. She was Snoqualmie though, not to mention the town whore, so understandably Wilkens could never marry her which would ruin his political ambitions. He became a state senator, in fact, and had several laws passed that aided our organization in major ways.
“Tragically Ruby West died in childbirth, so Albert Raymond Wilkens generously claimed his new son and raised him to carry on the honorable tradition of the Arcans, which was eventually passed down to me. We’re all about family, after all.”
Tom tossed the journal and file of other family lineage recordings on the back shelf and stood to face me.
“I have one more thing to initially tell you, Callista McEwan,” he said. “Your bloodwork came back with some interesting results. It contains a variant never seen before, very unique, almost alien in nature. This might be the thing that allows you to travel through time itself. Which you will use to our benefit.”
Tom leaned forward adding, “Because there was one more interesting item that we found which will force your compliance to our every demand from this day forward.”
* * *
I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing myself to calm and the rising sour bile back down my throat at what I learned. I couldn’t vomit, not with the electrical tape on my mouth. I would choke, suffocate, and now it was very important that I lived to escape these monsters.
Tom exited the room, fully satisfied that I would be at his twisted Arcan beck and call now. But he wasn’t stupid either and didn’t release my bonds before he left, promising that as soon as proper accommodations could be made, I would be as free as a chained bird in a gilded cage.
Once the lock clicked, I went into action, lowering and stretching my face to my fingers until I successfully peeled off the tape. Then I lifted my forearm so that the scissors slid out of my sleeve, then used my teeth to maneuver the blade to saw through my wrist bond.
One hand freed, I cut the rest, then dashed to the window.
I was right. It wasn’t locked, and I stretched to reach the pane and slid it open. It would be a tight fit, but I could do it.
Moving the smaller bookcase underneath it, I climbed up and worked and squeezed out of the window, then dropped to the ground and ran into the dense woods.
* * *
I had no idea where I was going, or how far I would have to go before reaching civilization and help. But Bryant had taught me enough about tracking, so I remembered the road leading to this Arcan nest of vipers and I arced back towards it. Any road would eventually lead somewhere.
Living in the old west helped me develop strong muscles and endurance, and I was able to hike and run for a long time before I was completely winded. Taking a brief ten seconds to catch my breath and gauge my surroundings, I froze when hearing voices echo through the trees.
Time was up. They had discovered me missing and was now combing the woods for me. I may have a small lead on them, but not much of one. If I headed south...
“Stop right there, Callista,” Tom called. “Don’t make me use this.”
I heard the metallic click and slowly turned to face Tom training a nine-millimeter semi-auto on me.
Cautiously, I raised my palms.
“Really, Callista. How far did you think you’d get?” he said, stepping away from the trees. “We’re out here in the middle of nowhere. Even if you miraculously made it to the next town, we have our people in place there. I know you don’t wish to help us in our quest to terminate the shifting abominations of nature right now, but in time you’ll come to appreciate—”
