Samhain Publishing Ltd, Ebooks and Books in Print

Daniel heard a strange sound, a soft whistling just at the edge of hearing. At first, he thought the wind blew through a small crack of window space. He did his best to ignore it, find sleep again. Yet, he could not ignore the persistent sound.

His eyes fluttered open. It was late. His father must have left. Cala slept next to him. Daniel rose from their bed and made his way to the bathroom.

“Cool water, forty degrees Fahrenheit.”

“Warning, Daniel Barrows,” an automated voice replied. “Such extreme temperature may cause bodily discomfort. Shall I continue?”

“Yes, please.”

“Very well. Water, forty degrees Fahrenheit, to commence in three, two, one…”

Water flowed from a spout in the hand sink. He gathered the icy substance in his palms and lifted it to his face, wincing as the frigid liquid numbed his skin. He repeated the process, trying to will away the lethargic side effects of Entaxia. Daniel bent to scoop up one more handful and caught sight of the inside of his wrist.

“Stop water,” he whispered.

The faucet ceased its downpour.

Daniel grabbed the towel by the sink and wiped off his face. He dried his hands and sat on the wide rim of the bathtub, still staring down at his wrist.

He did everything he could to hide the marking there. It had been his greatest shame for years, a mark he could never rid himself of. Most of the time he wore a thick band around his wrist. He had removed the band to gain access to the gathering last night. If he needed to prove to anyone what he was, the mark would be all that was required.

A tribal mark, a brand, one given to him as a child. Each tribe had their own markings, a way to identify themselves in the encampments. As far as he knew, his tribe was wiped out. The only two left after the raid were himself and Hido’ni. It was what he’d known to be true. Until today.

Slowly, he rubbed his thumb across the brand. A part of him still disbelieved. It could not be possible, but somehow it was. The girl’s brand had been identical to his.

Searching his fragmented memories, he recalled his time in the camps. Daniel tried to recollect a child version of the mysterious girl, yet came up empty-handed. There had been many children in his tribe. All were killed, before his very eyes. Their faces were a blur to him. The only person he remembered with perfect clarity was Emi’le. The tribal girl he’d tried to capture must have been around, but he could not recall meeting her. Judging by the look on her face when she discovered his brand, she had been just as shocked as he was.

The whole thing made his head spin. Why was this happening now? Why, when everything was falling into place?

The noise that had woken him began again—a quiet, odd sound, carried with the wind and much louder this time. Daniel got to his feet, trying to assess where it was coming from. He walked into the main room and stood in the center, waiting. Again, he heard it. This time it was loud, ringing in his ears like a bell.

He trembled when he heard the sound again.

It was accompanied by a female voice.

“Da’yel.”

Daniel gasped, searching the room frantically, looking for the source of the haunting sound.

“Da’yel,” the voice came again, just out of reach and impossible to pinpoint.

“Lights!”

The room illuminated brightly, dispelling any hiding places Daniel had missed.

“Da’yel,” he heard again.

Beginning to panic, Daniel ran over to his desk and fumbled with his receiver. He had to alert the Centre. Somehow, by some way, she was here. Triumphantly, he held up his portable communicator.

“Da’yel,” he heard again. This time, her voice sounded hurt, insecure.

Daniel lowered his hand and closed his eyes. She pulled him toward her, her voice pounding in his head. He dropped his receiver, listening to it hit the floor. The sound of the receiver against the floor twanged in his eardrums and tingled in the hollow spaces of his ear canals. Her voice came from somewhere else, somewhere deep inside of his head.

She was calling to him, using her mind to connect directly with his.

Following his long-buried instincts, Daniel allowed her to guide him He was floating. Belatedly, he wondered if it was his mysterious girl or the lingering effects of Entaxia. Before he could come to a decision, he stood on his back terrace. He searched the night.

His heart stopped.

He saw her crouched on the steel roof of his transportation storage unit. She watched him with curious eyes.

Daniel took a step into the darkness. He raised his hand, beckoning her down. The girl gave a shy smile and hopped off the roof. She landed silently, almost gracefully, and walked toward him.

Daniel felt the sides of his mouth tug upward. She had waited for him, followed him here. She was drawn to him, as intrigued as he was about their chance meeting. Not since his mother passed and he lost Emi’le had he felt so complete.

“Hello,” he said, at a sudden loss for words.

The girl smiled again and took another step forward. Suddenly, the night sky lit up like day had dawned. Loud sirens filled the air.

“Cease your hostility! You are surrounded!” an amplified voice boomed from above them.

The girl gasped, turned and tried to take a flying leap up to the roof. Daniel watched helplessly as long metal ropes tumbled out of the craft hovering above his building. One looped around the girl’s waist, another around a wrist. Soon, both of her hands were ensnared and she stood trapped.

Daniel felt paralyzed as the cables snaked around the girl’s ankles and pulled her to the ground with a sickening thud. She groaned, crying out in terror as four Centre officers came and stood over her, weapons drawn. One of them turned to Daniel.

“Good job, Officer Elite. We have been following her since her escape. We thought we had lost her until one of our units saw her on your roof. We were going to alert you, but saw you were already attempting to capture the hostile. We were glad to assist in her apprehension.”

The four men held the girl up, keeping a rifle to her temple. She squirmed, as if considering the odds of fighting back.

“Don’t,” Daniel called out, knowing the troops would end her existence if given half a reason.

The girl looked at him, her eyebrows knitted in pain and confusion. He could feel her emotions, her anguish. He realized then what had really happened. He had caused her capture, because he called to her and she naively had answered. Whatever happened to her now was of his doing.