Unrighteous Dominion: Chapter 11

Tian woke to rain splattering against his floor to ceiling windows. He had only been asleep for a couple of hours; an Able’s mind doesn’t need the same amount of sleep as a normal person. He hadn’t made it to bed until well after sunrise. He had set his alarm so he had enough time to prepare for his lunch date with Adam. Tian was already up and was slipping on his slippers when the alarm started buzzing. He showered and continued getting ready for the meeting with his old roommate. He made sure to tell John and Jim where he was going and to make sure no one could come into the house. Then he left at a sprint.

Tian appeared at the entrance to the Cafe seemed instantly. It surprised the Hostess but he just ignored her and walked into the dining area. It took no effort to find Adam he always was a loud mouth and this was no different.

“Hey, Can I get another beer my friend will be here any moment.” He yelled at a server just as Tian walked up to the table. “Oh see here he is please hurry with it.

“Good to see you Adam.” Tian said. He didn't know what it was about Adam he didn't like but he figured he would at least enter the scene with an open mind.

“I can't say the same about you. It seems that you have been deceiving me.”

“It was a mistake on my part I would have liked to have introduced myself to you straight up. Man to man, style. I just didn’t know how I would have been received.”

Adam slid his chair further back from the table. “Oh it wasn't a mistake hiding from me. If I had known, you were still around never mind a changer I would have killed you as soon as I could have. It seems now that we have a conflict of interest.”

“And what is that?”

“I have my secretary and you want her… or is it I have your spy and you want her back?”

“I guess you could say that Cathrine was a spy but not in a malicious way.”

“How is spying not malicious. You were invading my privacy.”

“She was there so that I could protect you.”

“From what I am? A god among men.”

“That isn't quite… exactly what I was going to say I would protect you from.”

“Destiny?”

“No. Unrighteousness.”

“Give me a break. There is no god and you know it.”

“Not unrighteous against god but against yourself.”

“You dare to judge me? I should kill you right here and right now.”

“I doubt you could.” with that, time sped for Tian. He had seen Adam grabbing at the pistol, the one with the E engraved on the slide. Tian’s hand planted on the table and kicked the gun from Adams grasp as he brought it up. The pistol flew from his hand and into the fish tank against the far wall. Then Adams speed caught up to his. The room was dropping in temperature. The gun ended up frozen halfway sunk in the fish tank along with the rest of the liquids in the room. “You are faster than I am I'll admit it,” whispered Tian.

“You can only imagine,” said Adam, “but that is my strength and not yours.

“Agreed let us quit this duel before someone gets hurt.”

“Oh but that is when it gets fun,” sneered Adam.

“Tell me where Cathrine is.” Getting ready to absorb more energy as Adam would hurl it at him.

“I’ll give her back when I feel like it, and you can bet it won't be soon.” He finished the sentence as he sent a beach ball sized fireball at Tian.

The fireball shrank into Tian’s hand as it approached him. “I’m afraid you are going to have to do better than that. I am very good at many things,” he sucked at the life energy inside Adam, “Including this.”

Adam’s face frosted over in a matter of what felt like seconds and then his body fell to the ground, as unconsciousness overwhelmed him. Tian let reality speed up to normal speed slowly letting the heat out into the room, the temperature rose into the normal range. Everyone in the cafe was staring at him, “Check please,” He yelled at his server. Luckily, though the event was very volatile it was brief and no one in the restaurant had really been in the way of anything except getting really cold and then a tingling burning sensation when the temperature rose a second later. Later people would notice the dead fish in the tank. He kept sucking energy from Adam to keep him unconscious. Then left when the check was paid and a cab was called for his friend who had drank bit too much in the afternoon sun.

About five minutes after Tian had left the building the stair door to the loft was knocked off its hinges. A second or two after the door had been knocked off its hinges a swarm of soldiers swarmed in into every room. “Sheryl the place is empty.” said the biggest of the men.

Sheryl walked into the room as soon as it was quiet. Looked around and noticed something wasn't right.

“This room isn't empty.” Sheryl finished the statement as blood started to drip from a gaping hole in the soldier’s chest. It bubbled as he fell to the floor.

More soldiers were falling to the floor but not a sound was escaping their lips. No death screams, no gasps, nothing.

Sheryl tried to scream to run and retreat but the sound of her voice never appeared as her mouth formed the words. Her soldiers kept dieing and soon enough she was the only one standing. The invisible assailants appeared right in front of her with knives against her throat.

“I don't suggest you attack anymore buildings without knowing what the people who live there can do.” Snickered Jim “Now you are going to stay here with us.”

Sheryl was tied up in a spare bathroom in the shower, invisible from the neck down, and the water cold. It seems that Tian had some surprises of his own, and he would pay for this. She couldn't feel her hands or anything else. Her hands would probably have been blue but she couldn't see them, and since she couldn't feel or see the knots in the rope there was absolutely no way for her to get loose. She settled with entering the trance. After several attempts she realized that she couldn't she had been shielded from getting at that part of her mind. The best way to explain was like running into a Rubik's cube in her thought process. She didn’t understand what it was nor could she grasp the pattern or shape of the cube to solve the puzzle. 

“You didn’t think that we would let you change energy in our house would you. Tian has this whole house ‘branded’ or so he says. We don’t know how he did it so don't ask.” The voice came from somewhere by the sink. The door opened and closed and she assumed that she was alone.