Axiom Theory: Book Four of the Shadow Series by J.M. Pierce Read Free Book Online Page A

she knew exactly how much time she had before the infant died in her arms and, in less than a minute, she and Casper were miles away, getting into a car they’d stolen from a factory parking lot.
    They’d chosen th e name Destin to call the boy. She felt that it was their destiny to have him. They also found it somewhat comical that, since he was a clone of Test, they could call him “Dest” (though they rarely did) for short.
    Of course , Destin was a burden. Ashley loathed the changing of diapers, the waking up in the middle of the night, the screaming and crying. Casper was of no help. He refused to do anything more than grocery shop. She’d found herself hating Destin; the only reason for continuing was their hope for power.
    The boy grew at an incredible rate, and this presented challenges all of their own. A box of diapers would be too small by the time the second box was even used up. Though they didn’t know the exact reason for his growth, it wasn’t a stretch to assume that if the government could clone a person, there were probably a great number of things that they could do that the general public wouldn’t know about. It didn’t matter. In fact, they viewed it as a bonus. Increased growth rate could translate into a faster maturation of the boy’s powers.
     
    ****
     
    The sound of Casper shouting in the living room snapped her back to the present. As she put away the last can of beans into the cupboard, she was anxious to go to Destin and talk to him about the coming of his abilities. She didn’t know if he’d used them yet, or if he’d even noticed anything different for that matter. She assumed that he hadn’t because he would surely have bounded into the living room and proudly displayed his new found ability.
    Destin had spent his short life watching the two of them use their powers, and when he began to speak (from babble to sentences in less than two weeks) one of the first things he asked was why he couldn’t do the things that they could. She’d told him that his time would come. She would later realize that it was in that moment that she’d realized Destin’s presence was fate. Her only wish was that the sparkle in his eyes when he asked about his powers wasn’t so innocent. It made her sick to her stomach.
    Regardless, now that the moment had arrived, the time for shaping the child had begun. Destin’s future, as well as hers, was rapidly becoming the present.
    As she walked into the living room, she stared down to Casper who remained in the recliner with eyes closed and seemingly oblivious to the world.
    “What were you shouting about?” she asked.
    He didn’t answer so she kicked the footrest.
    Without so much as a flinch, he opened his right eye. “What?”
    “A second ago,” she replied. “What were you shouting about?”
    Casper closed his eye and rubbed his face. “It was nothing. The kid kept bugging me to play with him and I just told him to go play in his room.”
    Ashley folded her arms across her chest. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to occupy him now and then, especially now that he’s getting his powers,” she snapped with disgust. Without a reply from her brother, she turned away and walked across the living room towards Destin’s room. “You know,” she said, looking over her shoulder. “You’d better be careful. Before too long he might be able to kick your ass.”
    “Whatever,” Casper replied. “Please.”
    As Ashley entered the hallway, she felt a swell of energy come from the end of the hall and stopped mid-step. The waves continued to grow until the television behind her began to vibrate on the stand. With a panicked look, she turned back to Casper who’d sprung from the chair. Before she could open her mouth to speak, the horrific screaming of a child came from the room at the end of the hall.

Chapter 8
     
    The small living room of Test’s home might as well have been a cardboard box with all of the people crammed into it. The dim