Chapter 21 #2
He’s at the center of a massive training field, using devices taller than me. His skin is as pale as a piece of paper, and so is his short hair. He uses a massive club to hit metal dummies, but a beast like that was never meant to train in such a place.
“Are you his new toy?”
I stand straighter, feeling small under the hard gaze of this 13-foot beast. There’s distance between us, but I’ve seen how fast they can run. “I’m no one’s toy.”
He chuckles. “You look like a toy. A little doll.”
“How the fuck are you alive? Did you escape Vegas?”
“No.” He crosses his arms, each of his biceps as big as my head. “I was not there. My mission was close to the Semi’s village. I spent many years hidden in a lake. It was peaceful. After Father’s… death, Hector found me.”
I can easily picture Hector using the situation to his advantage. With Father suddenly gone, this New-Human must have felt lost and purposeless.
I look around me to make sure we truly are alone. It doesn’t seem that I was brought here to be killed by him, so I swallow my fear and walk closer to the training ground. “Why did he bring you to Denver?”
“To fight. I’m the champion.”
“Of what? A stupid arena?”
He scowls. “It’s not stupid.”
“I’m sure he didn’t bring you here just for that.”
His lips stretch into a smile. “A champion first, a conqueror later.”
“Hello!”
I sharply turn around as Hector walks toward us, wearing his neat dark clothes. “I see you two have met.”
“Your toy has been asking questions, New Father.”
Oh, fuck me with that stupid nickname.
“Well, he is as curious as he is pretty. Caden, this is Isaac, the champion of the arena.”
Isaac gives me a once-over. “Why should this one be of interest to me?”
“Don’t you always say you need someone to train with?”
Isaac snorts. “You mean to toss him around? I can do that.”
“What are you playing at?” I ask quietly.
“Isaac, show Caden how hard you can hit that iron dummy over there.”
Isaac picks up a metal bar and goes to face a 10-foot iron dummy.
He swings the bar hard enough to break parts of the dummy like it was made of cheap plastic.
My stomach tightens at this display of illogical strength, and I can’t help but remember the Spring Spot battle, where so many good fighters died just to bring one of these creatures down.
Hector walks behind me and raises the back of my shirt.
I know where this is going, so I take a breath to brace myself.
He cuts my lower back with his tail, the pain sharp yet familiar.
Within seconds, needles dig into my flesh, from my toes to my scalp.
I gasp, only able to stand because Hector holds me firmly.
Isaac laughs at my distress, which angers me enough to push through the pain and stand straighter. I feel like myself but… more. My heart beats like a powerful engine; my bones feel as though they’re made of steel.
“Show him,” Hector whispers.
I take a step forward, then I stop. “I want to see Finn.”
“Who?”
I hold back my anger. “Once we’re done here, take me to see Finn.”
“Are you giving me an order, Caden?”
I don’t answer. Instead, I take the metal bar from Isaac, surprised by how light it feels. Despite the chunk missing from the dummy, most of it is still intact. I don’t need to concentrate or prepare myself; I swing at the dummy’s head, decapitating it clean.
Isaac grunts behind me.
I drop the metal bar on the ground, already feeling Hector’s gift fading from my system.
He’s either decided to take it away, or it’s too much of an effort for him to maintain it.
When I turn to see how pale he is, I assume it’s the latter.
It might be the first time I’ve seen him showing any signs of weakness, and it makes me wonder if his gift might be used against him at some point.
But I have more pressing matters to focus on right now. “I want to see Finn,” I say. “Please.”
Hector smiles. “Why didn’t you say so?”
We leave Isaac behind and step outside. The car that brought me here is gone, so we enter Hector’s long car instead, which I think might be called a limousine.
When we start to drive, I’m reminded of Isaac’s words about being a champion now and a conqueror later.
“You’ve made Isaac your champion, but it was never about the arena. ”
“Oh?”
“You’re setting him up to be your conqueror, to lead your army into battle.”
He nods. “That’s the gist of it, yes.”
“Then why do you need me in the picture? I can never replace someone like that, and your people will have a hard time following a Defender into battle.” I don’t bother mentioning that I will never fight against Unity and its allies.
He can break every bone in my body, and it still won’t change a thing.
“In many ways, Isaac is the perfect soldier. Father created him and his kind to conquer. But when I tried to enhance him with my gift, his body rejected it. The technology that created him is too advanced for me to handle.”
“He can do enough damage without your gift.”
“For me to trust someone as the leader of my human army, he’d better receive my gift.”
I ponder his words until I understand his meaning. If Isaac can’t receive Hector’s gift, his control over him will always be limited. One day, he might turn against his New Father. And yet… I have been accepting his gift for weeks, and I’m still my own man, capable of making my own decisions.
Unless…
I taste bile. Is my sense of freedom all but an illusion? A temporary condition that Hector can easily alter?
Not trusting him to tell me the truth, I look out the window, heavy with dread.