Fallen by James Somers Page A

“However, Southresh has not
shown himself to be interested in our work in London. Of course, he
never has been one that could be counted upon; a rebel among
rebels.”
    Sinister grinned. “An admirable
quality?”
    “A chaotic nuisance,” Black retorted.
“Simply because the Fallen left the forced servitude of the Most
High does not mean that order isn’t necessary. Without it nothing
of any value can ever be accomplished. Even the chaos we create, as
part of our plans, has its place within the order of those
plans.
    “Yes, my lord,” Sinister replied. “And if
Southresh is responsible for the boy?”
    Black paused behind his own high-back
leather chair. “The boy is a curiosity, but bears little threat to
us. He doesn’t even know who he is, or the nature of his abilities.
He is not even a novice. And unless Southresh becomes directly
involved we will make no move against him. A war on two fronts
would be detrimental to my goals in London.”
    “Then what of the boy?” Sinister asked.
    “He has come into your care,” Black
remarked. “It should be a small thing to turn him, make him a
valuable resource.”
    Sinister considered the matter a moment.
    Black’s eyes narrowed upon his servant. “You
doubt that the boy would serve us?”
    “My lord, Tom has become fond of the boy,
taken him under his wing somewhat,” Sinister said. “He informs me
that the boy has stated his allegiance to our great enemy,
following the faith of his pastor father.”
    Black scowled at his servant. “That
information should have been shared earlier, Sinister,” he said, a
flame burning within his eyes.
    “My apologies, my lord, but I did not think
such faith possible among the Descendants of the Fallen,” Sinister
said, casting his eyes to the hardwood floor.
    Black straightened, suddenly resolute. “The
boy’s claim to faith is of little consequence. He must be destroyed
immediately.”
    “Perhaps, I should remove Tom from the
premises, my lord. He may attempt to interfere and he has been my
most gifted pupil. I would hate to sacrifice him over this small
matter.”
    Black laughed indignantly. “The day you
value your servants is the day they begin to control you, Sinister.
I would have thought you were made of sturdier material. Now, let’s
be done with this quickly.”
    Mr. Black crossed the room to the door
adjoining the anteroom to his private office. The room had been
spell-sealed in order to maintain privacy. “I’ll handle the matter
with the boy. If you want to preserve the other one then keep him
out of my way.”
    Sinister followed him through the doorway,
pausing as his master did on the other side. The anteroom was
empty. Sinister closed his eyes, resigned to the inevitable
consequences of his pupil’s actions. Tom had been a valuable
associate, but he had just chosen his own fate.
    Black fumed silently for only a moment
before turning to Sinister. “Find them.”
     
     
     

Metamorphosis
     
    Once Tom had located our way of escape
within Mr. Black’s spell-sealed anteroom, the matter turned to how
to get me through it. I had so little experience with utilizing
this power that I had no idea even where to start. Tom, while
vastly knowledgeable in comparison, lacked the patience a novice
like me required.
    “You want me to do what?” I cried.
    “Brody, we’ve precious little time to argue
about this,” Tom said. “Think about doing this the same way that
you did when Black was testing you. You probably have the ability
within you already. It’s just a matter of tapping into the power
and directing it.”
    “I only managed to turn the fire away out of
fear for my life!”
    “Well, in case you haven’t figured it out
yet, this is worse!” Tom scolded. “Black wasn’t trying to kill you
then, but he will certainly do it when he walks through that
door.”
    I closed my eyes, trying to figure out how
in the world I was going to accomplish the task at hand. My hands
were shaking. Trying to focus