Hidden One

Chapter Eight

Kate

"Bell, how has Tessa been doing? She seems to skip class a lot." I said. It was the weekly meeting we'd started holding about a year ago for what the Benders liked to call the 'Mac Council', though it did include more than just the MacAlistars. All of the Seers and Alexander were present, as well as every MacAlistar. It was a bit like a council, I knew, but we were the most powerful and respected people in the Bender-Shifter world, and so it kind of made sense for us to work together.

"I've seen her show up the first two days. Every day she's shown up after that is when I've assigned a test or a quiz, and she turns in all the homework assigned in between those days." Isabelle said, leaning back in her chair. "I've no idea how she gets the homework assignments, or how she knows the dates, however."

"How does she score?" Maria asked, playing absently with a pencil.

"The best in the class." Bell said, shuffling through some papers that I assumed were previous assessments of Teresa's. "I have a hunch she may be tuning into class mentally from her room, but I don't know how she gets things like worksheets."

I reached over to glance at some of her scores, seeing so many perfect scores it was rather startling.

"Could she be searching your head for answers?" I wondered aloud, handing the papers back. Isabelle shook her head, running a hand through her hair.

"No, I don't believe it possible. I'm completely walled off during the day, especially on those days. There's no way she could get in." Isabelle said with absolute certainty. I nodded, turning to Kasper, who stood with his back to the far wall. We were in a rectangular room with a long, oval table in the center that was covered with papers, pencils, graphs, diagrams, maps, and all other sorts of paraphernalia that had to do with all things Bender, Seer, and the War. Isabelle, Keenan, Maria, Kallen and I were currently scattered in chairs around the table, while the others stood in various places about the room.

"Kasper, what have you observed?" I asked, swirling around in my chair. He shrugged, hands in his pockets.

"There are periods of time when she seems to space out, or will disappear for a bit and I'll find her in her room later on with all kinds of papers everywhere." He said. "It could be that she's listening in on classes through some of the Benders attending them."

I leaned back in my chair, thinking a moment. "Alright." I said finally. "Let's let her continue learning the way she's comfortable. She's learning, and that's all I care about. Let's move on to the next matter at hand.

"I've already searched the whole Compound. There's no sign of a Shifter anywhere." Keenan said, his voice showing his irritation. "The only thing I've been able to pick up on is Tessa's dog."

"Speaking of which," Ana jumped in, moving closer to the table and leaning against the back of Keenan's chair. "There's something off about that dog. I can't get a very good read on him, because I've not been able to get close enough to touch him. He avoids every one of us Seers like he knows what we are."

"His brainwaves are off." Maria said suddenly. "It's not the same as a normal dog, but they aren't like those of a Shifter. I find myself listening very attentively when his mind is thinking of something, or seeking his mind out when I'm not sure where he is. El es muy interesante. He is very interesting, complicated."

"We will watch him closely." I nodded my agreement with Alexander's statement.

"Yes. Maria, I want you to keep a mental tab of Washington at all times. I also want you to work with Isabelle to try and figure out what's wrong with him. Maybe the amount of time he spends with Tessa's uncontrollable power has caused a disturbance in his brainwaves, or something equally as simple. Either way, I don't like strange things in my Compound." I instructed, rubbing my temples. I could feel a headache coming on. Kai snorted.

"Then why is Tessa still here?" He muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. Kasper was up out of his seat so fast, his chair falling backward as he moved to circle his hand around his brother's neck.

"Kasper!" I shouted, flinging a hand out instinctively and creating a green, shimmering barriar between the two.

"Chill, Kas!' Kai yelled from behind his protective wall. His voice was muffled, but still clearly heard. "Stop acting like such an idiot where she's concerned! She's not Lily, Mate!"

Instant silence.

Kasper, as if in a trance, took a step back. His face was blank, expressionless, though we could all see the pain in his eyes.

"Kas...Kasper, I didn't mean it." Kai said, reaching toward his younger brother. My shield had dropped with my utter astonishment at his words.

"Kasper-" I said, reaching a hand out.

But he was gone.

Even two hours later, we'd come no closer to finding him. Tessa had been pulled into the search, but no other person had been made aware of his disappearance. He'd walled his mind and energy off so effectively that no one could even sense a blind spot in the Compound.

"I've searched the whole building." Kallen said, jogging down the hall toward me. "I've not found him."

"Nor have I." Annaliese said, rounding the opposite corner. "He's vanished."

"Has Tessa found anything?" Kal asked, hands on his hips. I shook my head.

"Not as far as I can tell, but she's walled off. It might be she found him and just doesn't want anyone to know." I answered sadly.

Tessa wandered the halls, looking for any sign of Kasper. She didn't understand why he was hiding, nor did she understand why they needed to find him. All she did know was that Kasper had to be in a lot of pain if he'd let it show any.

"Kasper, please come out!" She called. She was somewhere on the seventh floor, near the attic door. A slight sound, like a footstep, sounded above her head. Quietly, she tip-toed toward the door, trying the handle to see if it was unlocked. The knob stuck in place, and she was unable to turn it.

Going back to the lessons she'd had with Isabelle, she shifted through all the different little 'magic tricks' she'd performed using her powers. One had been using her mind to move a chair. Couldn't the same principals be applied to unlocking a door?

Placing her hand lightly near the keyhole, Tessa closed her eyes and focused on the lock mechanism inside the door. She felt a slight tug and heard the click of the lock as the door eased open, revealing a narrow, steep set of stairs leading up into dark shadow.

Figuring there was nothing to loose, she wandered up the staircase.

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Short, I know. Any questions, feel free to ask!