The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,59

wall. On top of it rested the brown bag.

Connor returned to the room, his mouth full of breakfast sandwich. He beamed at Morrigan. “I love training.”

“I’m going to remind you later that you said that. Well done, Connor. Why do you think you were able to smell the food from so far away?”

“Because I’m an Elite now. My extra-strength senses did it for me.”

“No, Connor. You were able to sniff it out because you focused and controlled your ability. Never think this gift you’ve been given has a mind of its own or does things for you. You control it, with focus and practice, and you decide the outcome.”

Connor swallowed the last bite of sandwich and nodded. “I understand.”

“Good. Now let’s see how your vision is faring.” Standing up, she made her way to the large window and threw back the curtains. Summer sunlight washed the room in its brilliance, blinding Connor. Morrigan unlocked and opened the window, taking a seat on the ledge.

“Come and tell me what you see.”

Connor reluctantly placed the remaining food back in the bag and stood next to her at the window. The sun was rising. Servants were running to and from their destinations, some eager, some reluctant to be about their morning tasks. Familiar fields and hills opened before him, and birds chirped their morning songs, happy to be alive.

Connor knew Morrigan didn’t want him to describe any of the things his human eyes could see. She wanted him to tell her about the scene his Elite eyes could access. Focusing again, Connor furrowed his brow and strained his eyes to see more than ever before.

Slowly he was able to zero in on specific details. It was as if he was looking at the same scene, but this time through binoculars. Birds went from simple flapping objects in the sky to chubby brown sparrows and sinister-looking crows. He was able to see people’s distinct features a mile away, whereas before he would have struggled to tell their gender. One of the gardeners walked with a slight limp and had a scar across his chin. A young male servant running across the lawn with an armful of wood was destined to fall due to an untied shoelace.

Connor smiled as colors became more vibrant and details were laid out in front of him in a way they had never been before.

“There’s a car pulling onto the property with a nail in the tire. Back left, see? Oh, look. Right there. Just past the tree line you can see two squirrels playing. Hey, that little kid is fixing his wedgy, way over there in the corner.”

“All right, all right, Connor, that will do. Remember to blink. Why were you able to see all of this?”

Connor hesitated for a moment, thinking about his answer, “Because I focused. I controlled my abilities and used them to bring about a desired goal.”

“Well put.”

“When do we get to the fun stuff? Speed and strength?”

Morrigan glanced down at her watch. “Unfortunately there’s no time for that today. Don’t worry, we’ll be getting to that soon enough. I want to spend our remaining time going over more of our people’s history and preparing you for the trial today.”

Connor took a seat beside her on the windowsill and gave her his full attention.

“We’re all hoping the Council will see what I see, and recognize you as a Judge. That would be the best-case scenario. However, if they do not and the trial continues, you should know that I have a witness I’m planning to call. Katie Huber, as you well know, was bitten the same day you were, and she has also become an Elite. The gene was passed down to her from her mother’s side.”

Connor felt somewhat dishonest as he feigned surprise. He couldn’t tell Morrigan that he’d snuck around the castle and basically scaled a wall to see Katie.

Connor felt so uncomfortable that he was about to tell Morrigan about his visit with Katie. He changed the subject. “Morrigan?”

“Yes?”

“If I ask you a question, will you be completely honest with me?”

“Of course.”

“In the dream I had when you talked to me, those statues were my ancestors, weren’t they? Previous Judges?”

“Yes, they were all great warriors from your bloodline that rose up when they were called upon.”

“Every warrior carried a weapon, a sword or a spear or something. Even the last Judges. None of them held guns. Is there a reason for that? Come to think of it, when Faust and Randolph were