AfterLife (14 page)

“Ah yes. Glad to meet you, Wes. We got word we had a new
member.” Daemon stood and shook Wes’s hand. He appeared to be a few years
younger than Wes, probably in his early 20s. His dark brown skin and blue eyes
gave the impression that he was of mixed heritage. He smiled at Wes with a
boyish grin. “Aimee and I are up from St. Louis.”

“Hi Wes,” Aimee said, also standing to shake Wes’s hand. She
was a few inches shorter than Daemon who was just shorter than Wes’s 6 feet.
“How has your transition been so far?”

“Not bad, I guess. I just discovered I can feel things
again.” Wes rubbed his hands together.

Daemon laughed. “I see Emily’s taken you for your first
feeding.”

“Yes, we only got back a few hours ago,” Emily said to
Daemon and then turned to Wes. “The connection with your body will always be a
little stronger right after you’ve fed. Don’t focus on it too much; touch uses
more energy than the other senses.”

Wes nodded, but continued to rub his hands together
wondering how long he would be able to feel them before he lost the sensation.

“When do you guys head out for Wes’s training?” Aimee asked,
sitting back down. The rest of the group took her lead and also sat on the
couches.

“Tomorrow, hopefully.” Emily started collecting her
crocheting into her fabric bag. “We have some exercises to do at the training
center today.”

Wes wondered what was on the syllabus for that day’s
training session.

Aimee pulled a small circular mirror out from her purse and
started checking her dark black hair that she had pulled up and back out of her
face. “Where are they sending you?”

“Charleston. I haven’t done a training there before, so I’m
looking forward to it,” Emily said.

“Isn’t that where you did your training,” Aimee asked,
turning to Daemon. She was now using the mirror to check her eye make-up. She
patted one of her eyelids smoothing the eye shadow over her dark skin. “You
haven’t been with us very long either.”

“No, I was in Olney.” The boyish grin came across Daemon’s
face again. “And what are you talking about, not being here long. I died four
years ago.”

“You’re still a baby by our standards,” said Aimee. She
closed the mirror and put it in her purse.

“How long ago did you die?” Wes asked Aimee.

“I died trying to jump onto a moving train during the
Depression. The world was a different place then, that’s for sure.”

It was tough for Wes to believe that Aimee had been dead
that long. She, like Daemon, appeared to be in her early 20s. You’d think by
now he would be getting used to the deceptive appearance of age; Emily’s death
age had been just as much of a shock to him.

“Well, are we ready?” Emily stood up and motioned to the
others. “Now that Wes is up, I’m sure the Ancestors will want to see us.”

“Sure thing,” Daemon said as he stood and turned to help
Aimee up. He grinned at Wes. “You must be special to be invited to a meeting
with the Ancestors so soon after your death.”

Wes wasn’t sure what Daemon was talking about. He certainly
didn’t feel special. He was doing what Emily told him to do, and if Emily said
to attend the meeting, he would go.

“Don’t hate, Daemon,” Aimee said, leading the way out of the
Den.

They walked down the hall and through the doors that led to
the Ancestor’s office. Anne Marie, along with three men who were strangers to
Wes, were all conversing in the circular sitting area in the middle of the
room. Conversation stopped, and the three men stood as Anne Marie introduced
Wes to them. From their semi-casual attire, Wes found it slightly humorous that
they were called the Ancestors.

Caleb was the first to shake Wes’s hand. He was at least 6 inches
taller than Wes, and the rest of his build matched his height. His blond hair
was slicked back and appeared as if each individual hair had been meticulously
arranged. His handshake was firm and his greeting was spoken with a heavy
British accent.

Wes was then introduced to William, a short but
strong-looking black man. Wes estimated his living age to be mid-40s, giving
the impression that he was the oldest of the Ancestors, but Wes was not about
to let this deceive him.

The third Ancestor was Zachariah, and Wes was encouraged to
call him Zach. His shoulder-length black hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
He spoke little, but when he did it was with a strong Spanish accent that Wes
had difficulty placing as coming from either South America or Spain.

After introductions were made, Anne Marie grabbed Wes’s
hand, guiding him to sit near her. The rest of the group quickly found seats
also. “Wes,” Anne Marie said after the group had settled in, “I have decided
that you should join us even though you’re new to AfterLife and have not
completed your training. Emily tells me you have character, and if anyone can
read new recruits accurately it would be Emily. So tell me honestly, Wes, what
would you give to be alive again?”

Wes thought of his conversation with Emily during their
first soul-sync and the Truly Dead’s attempts to possess living bodies. He’d
thought about it once or twice since, but hadn’t come to any conclusion. Living
again might be a great thing, but was the cost a price he was willing to pay? Wes
didn’t want a second chance at life if it meant someone else would have to lose
his first chance.

“To be honest,” Wes said, “I wouldn’t want to live if it
meant I had to use someone else’s body.”

“Even if it meant you could taste again and have no restrictions
on your senses?” She leaned forward slightly to emphasize her next words. “Even
if it meant that after taking just one life you would never have to feed off
another antemort?”

The last statement was something Wes had not considered.
Would it be better to take the life of one person to spare hundreds of others
from losing days at the end of their lives? Wes wasn’t sure. Life was life,
death was death, and he was dead, at least by the world’s definition of life.
No matter how he got it, the energy he needed to exist came from others. But to
take an entire life – to rob another of the chance to live at all…? “I still
don’t think I could do it.”

Anne Marie studied him for a moment, then smiled and looked
at the other Ancestors. “I told you Emily knew her stuff.”

“You are right as always, Anne Marie,” William said. He
smiled at Wes.

There was a short silence as Anne Marie glanced around at
the seated party. She appeared to be thinking about how her next words would be
received. “The Ancestors have reason to believe the Atumra, or Truly Dead as
some of us call them, have succeeded in their attempts to place a Mortui soul
in the body of a living antemort. We also have reason to believe they intend to
use this as an incentive to encourage Mortuis from our ranks as well as the
ranks of other Mortui groups to join them.”

Anne Marie paused and Caleb continued. “We also believe they
are targeting antemorts with Mortui markers and turning them into Mortui
recruits for their organization as well. We’ve been conferring on this all
morning, and it’s our belief that their leaders have concealed motives. We
recognize the recruiting strategies as an attempt to quickly draw strength to
their organization, but we do not believe this is their ultimate goal.
Unfortunately, at this time we have no clear understanding of what that goal
might be, or what other plans they might be forming. One thing is certain – it
does not bode well for either Mortui or antemort societies.”

 Wes looked at Emily, who appeared pained at the news. Her forehead
was wrinkled in the center and her lips formed a thin straight line. Wes could
tell she was saddened to hear they had finally succeeded with their attempts at
possession.

Caleb continued, “Although we don’t approve of Atumra
practices or their views concerning antemorts as simply a food source, we have
never really considered ourselves at opposition with them. The reverse cannot
be said. They see our focus of living harmoniously with the antemorts as a
weakness. However, with this new information we have decided it would be best
to take an increased interest in their activities. Simply attempting to coexist
harmoniously with them may no longer be enough if their movements develop into
hostilities toward living society.

“Daemon and Aimee, you are going to be given a new
assignment in St. Louis. Your aliases won’t change, but you will have a new
focus. Get with Oscar in Ops before you leave.”

“Whoa, so we’re going to war?” Daemon leaned forward,
supporting his elbows on his knees.

“Not exactly,” Anne Marie answered. “We’re simply assessing
the situation so we’re prepared to step in if we need to be the opposition.”

“How do we expect to compete with them?” Aimee asked. There
was no quick response to her question. “Atumra is an ancient organization
that’s been around almost as long as people have been dying. Am I right to be
worried about this?”

Caleb nodded. “Absolutely you are. We should all be a little
worried.”

“We aren’t doing anything at this point except collecting
information,” Anne Marie added.

Aimee nodded even though it was evident she wasn’t
comfortable with the new focus.

“That’s all for now,” Caleb said, looking at Daemon and
Aimee. Aimee nodded and she and Daemon got up and left the room. Caleb turned
to face Wes. “Wesley, it is regrettable that your admittance to our
organization should align with this turn of events, but it is no accident that
you ended up with AfterLife.”

“What do you mean?” Wes remembered what Anne Marie said
about Jez making him a Mortui because she knew he wouldn’t be happy with the
Atumra.

 “Anne Marie filled us in on the events of the night you
died. We have reason to believe the person that made you a Mortui cares for
you.”

“Jez? How could she have feelings for me? She watched me die
and left. She could have called 911 and saved my life! I don’t really see that
as an act of caring. Anyway, our relationship was a sham. Everything I knew
about her was…” Wes shook his head but didn’t finish the sentence.

Anne Marie took Wes’s hand and held it. “I still think she
left you because she cared about you. You can’t see it now, but she must have
known you better than you think she did.”

“If the need came to see her again, Wes, do you think you’d
be able to do it?” Caleb’s voice was soft. “She could provide us with
information, and if Anne Marie is right about her feelings for you, she might
be able to tell us what’s going on.”

Whatever he might feel for her, Jez’s betrayal still stung.
“She was using me; I don’t see anything wrong with using her.” Yet hearing the
words out loud made them sound wrong. If he was asked to do it, would he be
able to follow through?

“We don’t need an immediate decision.” Anne Marie had
watched the play of emotions across Wes’s face, and her calm expression
comforted him. “Right now, I want you to worry about getting adjusted to life
after death. How are you getting along with Emily?”

Wes looked over at Emily who had been quiet since they’d
entered the room. “She’s like a sister,” Wes said.

“Good.” Anne Marie smiled. “I knew you two would work well
together. Now Emily said there was something else we needed to discuss.”

Wes looked at Emily for a clue as to what Anne Marie was
talking about. He wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling it had something to do with
what had happened the night before. Emily didn’t look at him as she turned
toward the Ancestors.

“Yes,” she said. “Last night we discovered that Wes seems to
be able to sync with people without having to connect with them through their
eyes.”

Wes watched as the Ancestors glanced at one another. None of
them looked as surprised or confused as Emily had when he’d stumbled upon her
on her beach. Instead, they seemed to be more shocked by the information.

“I was just wondering,” Emily continued, “if you have ever
heard of this sort of thing happening before?”

After a moment Caleb took the lead. “Yes. It isn’t at all
common, but there have been instances where it’s happened before. Tell me, how
did you come to discover this?”

“Last night Wes synced with me.” Emily’s eyes finally met
Wes’s. “I was in my room and he was in his. I don’t think he realized or
understood what he was doing though, did you Wes?”

“No. I just thought I’d visit the beach where she took me
while I was going through the rebirth process, and I ended up in her mind. I
did deliberately sync with Vanessa, though.”

“Who is Vanessa?” Anne Marie looked puzzled.

“She was one of the girls I fed off last night when Emily
was teaching me how to feed. I thought I’d…”

“Wes isn’t really sure he synced with her at all,” Emily
interjected.

Wes could tell by the tone in Emily’s voice that she hadn’t
planned on telling the Ancestors about Vanessa, but when he discovered he’d
actually synced with Emily he knew his sync with Vanessa had also been real.
Apparently, Emily didn’t want to share this information yet. Maybe she wanted
to verify it first.

The Ancestors were watching their interaction. “Like I
said,” Caleb started again, “it has happened before. I’ve known Mortuis who
claim it happened to them once or twice, but it was never anything they were
able to repeat or control in any way. Have any of you known any Mortuis that
have been able to do this?” He directed his last statement toward the other
Ancestors.

“Yes,” William said. “I knew one man a number of years ago
who did it once but was unable to do it again after that.”

“Usually a fluke thing,” Caleb said.

Zach nodded his head. After the first quick look of shock,
his face had remained expressionless during the conversation.

“Well, I wouldn’t try to do it again, Wes. At least not
until you’re better equipped to handle the experience.” Anne Marie lowered her
head while still maintaining eye contact. The look caused her eyebrow to lift,
reminding him of his third grade teacher when she’d confronted him about doing
something bad in the classroom.