Awakening Book One of the Trust Series(48)

Declan blushed slightly. “Maybe. But now is not the time.”

Lionel tsked at Declan. “Come, come, Declan. Now is not the time to be modest. I know that you want to teach her everything you know. Show her.”

Declan glared his mentor slightly before sighing. He looked Caitlyn in the eye. “I swear I am not a show off.”

Caleb laughed. “Yes you are. But only to us. Now show her.”

Jonathan leaned on the table. “Caitlyn, what we are going to have him show you can only be done by four Actuals in the Trust. We don’t know how many in the Cine Tofa have this capability, if any.”

Caitlyn was beyond intrigue. “What is it?”

Even Michael looked giddy and was earnestly awaiting her reaction to what they were about to tell her. “Declan can Teleport. Show her Declan.”

Now she was positive her mouth really was gaping open. “No way! There is no way!”

Andrea nudged Declan again. “Well, are you going to pick at your dessert all night or show her?”

Declan stood. “Are you ready?”

She nodded. Within the blink of an eye, Declan was gone, only to reappear in the corner of the garden. While Caitlyn was speechless, Caleb was not. “The corner of the garden, Declan? You could have gone to Fiji or Rome or Australia! And you choose the corner of our garden. Truly disappointing.”

He teleported back to the bench. “Caleb, how would she have known I teleported to Fiji?”

“Well, I am impressed! Can you teach me?” Caitlyn would have started right then if he let her.

“I’ll try. But there are not a lot that are able to do it. It took me weeks of practicing to teleport.”

Nothing had taken Caitlyn weeks yet. She could do it.

As the evening wound to its conclusion, the others slowly excused themselves and left to go attend to other matters. Caitlyn stood in the middle of the garden with Declan, watching some fireflies flutter about the plants. She couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities that were now in front of her; she felt as if she was limitless in what her body could do.

She was in the middle of contemplating it all, when Declan asked her what she was thinking.

She looked down at the drink in her hands. “You are amazing. What I just witnessed tonight, I mean, I did not think anyone was capable of that. I am going to need to work so hard to impress you.”

“Caitlyn, you’ve already made an impression on me. Why do you think I wanted to mentor you so much?”

“But what if…”

Declan cut her off. “No. No what ifs. No ‘I cannots.’ The very first time I spoke to you, I knew you were different. I knew you would not let anything hold you back. Do not doubt yourself now. I believe in you. Believe in yourself.”





Chapter 14



Caitlyn was nervous. Caitlyn was never nervous. Well, almost never. A conversation with Garrett early that morning had not gone over well. He did not understand why she accepted a new mentor so readily when she was progressing so quickly. She explained to him as best she could; she knew she needed this; she needed to try to do more. It wasn’t really as if she had a choice in the matter, but Garrett was maintaining that she should have refused, that the Council would have eventually relented.

She took a morning run to clear her head. She knew the frustration that Garrett had with her was only temporary. Caitlyn had no reason to believe they would not be alright. But right now, the young woman needed to focus on the day ahead of her. She was not about to disappoint her new mentor because of distractions in her personal life.

After the dinner with his family, Declan had asked Caitlyn if she wanted to start training a couple of days early. She had readily agreed to meet him at one of the older buildings on the outskirts of the compound. When Caitlyn walked through the door that morning, it was quickly apparent that no one had been in this particular building for some time. Her feet echoed eerily down the hall as she made her way to the room where Declan had asked her to meet him. She shivered slightly from the chill, as this building was not heated. Garrett had always either trained with Caitlyn outside on the nicer days or inside the comfort of the new facilities. He always insisted that she be comfortable while training.

When she entered the room, it was apparent that Declan viewed things differently. The room was cold and stark, a deep contrast to the Trust’s main headquarters. It was painted a dull gray and the only light came from a window that was in desperate need of a good washing. Caitlyn noted that there were two chairs facing each other in the middle of the room but that was it for furnishings. Sighing, she took a seat and waited for her new mentor to come. Several minutes later, she heard a small popping sound and Declan walked towards her to the middle of the room. He wore a light gray sweater, with dark gray slacks. She smirked as she thought how it made him almost blend into the room.