The Storm Factor (#1, Chapter 1)

PART 1

Shadow

Etiam capillus unus habet umbram -Publius Syrus

Chapter 1: A True Friend

Amivus certus in re incerta cernitur

London, May 1st, 1780



Liss hurried down the street, glancing over her shoulder now and then to make sure she wasn’t being followed. There was still no one tracking her, thankfully. It was still dark and rainy and not particularly pleasant weather, and she would have preferred to be inside or to at least have an umbrella. She had little choice but to hurry along and hope she came upon the young man she was supposed to meet soon.





“Miss Greene?” At the sound of her name, she stopped and turned in the direction of the voice. A rather tall young man who couldn’t have been much older than Liss stood to her left, looking at her. He was extremely handsome, with white-blonde hair and gray eyes that were an exact match to the stormy gray clouds overhead. “Would you happen to be Miss Felicity Greene?”





“Yes. You are Mr. Silas Oliver?” He nodded.





“Follow me, Miss Greene. The street is hardly a place to discuss matters that fall under our jurisdiction and this weather is hardly pleasant. Besides, it will be much more pleasant conversing in a quieter environment over a cup of tea, don’t you agree?” Liss nodded.





“Yes, indeed, Mr. Oliver. Let us be on our way, then. I have begun to catch a chill from this rain.”

***

“So, Miss Greene,” said Mr. Oliver, “it is true that you are a stormwalker, then?” Liss nodded and took a sip of her tea.





“Indeed, Mr. Oliver, I am with the Storm. I have every reason to believe that you are, as well, a stormwalker. Is this correct?”





“Oh, yes,” he said, “most definitely. I believe that I would not be the one conversing with you now if I was not, Miss Greene.” Liss nodded.





“Of course. If you were not a stormwalker, I guess the chance of you knowing of the Storm, or, in fact, being able to see me earlier would be, in fact, very slim.” She silently scolded herself for having been so dense.





“Yes, of course,” he said, “I guess I, too, should have considered that factor.” He laughed, causing a smile to form on her lips.





“Anyway, I hate to dampen the fine atmosphere, but I believe we should focus, now, on the dilemma at hand, Mr. Oliver.”





“Oh, yes, of course, Miss Greene. Having so many dead stormwalkers appear so suddenly is definitely a matter to worry about. It means more than one thing, of course, but it means more than anything that all of us are in danger.” Liss nodded.





“Yes, of course, Mr. Oliver. Though I have the suspicion that this is actually the doing of another stormwalker. This isn't the typical doing of any other supernatural group.”





“Oh, yes, I most definitely agree with you, Miss Greene. It's just hard to believe... I mean, a fellow member of the Storm killing others of their own kind... it just isn't right.”





“I know what you mean, Mr. Oliver. It really isn't right. I don't see any other way, though. I couldn't understand why one would do such a thing. Anyhow, we must figure out this traitorous stormwalker is and stop them immediately.”





“Oh, yes, I agree, Miss Greene,” replied Mr. Oliver, brushing a hand through his silvery white-blonde hair. “We must catch this traitor and quickly.” Liss nodded.





“Indeed, Mr. Oliver. I have reason to believe you are particularly well trained, yes?”





“Yes, Miss Greene.”





“Lovely. Oh, yes, and please do call me Felicity, or, rather, Liss. I hate the formality of this all. We'll be spending a rather large amount of time together for the next little while, of course.” He smiled.





“Yes, of course. You may call me Silas, or preferably Sile.” Liss smiled back at him.





“Okay, Sile,” she said, standing up, “Shall we?”





“Yes, indeed, Liss.” He offered his arm to her and she took it. Had he been anyone other than another stormwalker, she would have hesitated. She knew, however, that he was to be trusted.





“So, Liss,” Sile said, walking to the door, “how long have you known that you were a stormwalker?”



“Fourteen years,” Liss replied, “my whole life. I was born and raised a stormwalker.” He looked at her, raising an eyebrow.





“Really? That’s rather rare. Your parents were stormwalkers, too, then, I suppose?” Liss shook her head.





“I’m not sure. No one knows who they were. I just appeared in a basket on the steps in front of the Storm building here in London one night in the winter 14 years ago. Johnathan says that I couldn’t have been more than a few hours old. I was bearing the mark, though. Right here.” She brushed a loose strand of hair away from her cheek to reveal the silvery swirling design that marked her cheekbone on the outside of her left cheek. His eyes widened.





“Your mark is on your cheek? Your power must be absolutely amazing.” Liss shrugged.





“I’m not sure that that particular ‘fact’ is to be trusted. It is commonly believed, yes, that the higher on your body you are marked, the more powerful you are, but I don’t believe it. The Storm runs through our veins in the exact same way, no matter where our marks are. I won’t say I’m not pretty good, but that’s solely because I’ve been training my entire life.”





“I wouldn’t place it like that,” Sile replied, “I got this about a year ago,” he said, touching his fingers to a silver mark identical to hers on the side of his neck, just below his jawbone, “and I’m surprised with how extensive my power has become so quickly.”





"Say what you will, Sile, I don't believe it," she said as they walked out the door. Sile looked at her.





"Out of curiosity," he said, "how many other stormwalkers know your story?" She glanced at him.





"Two," she said, "Johnathan and Emma Greene. They run the Storm building here in London. They're the closest thing I have to parents, being the ones that took me in that night. They raised me, and they are the ones who told me my own story."





"That's it? No one else?" Liss nodded.





"Yes, that's it," she said. "I don't trust many people to know my past. I'll only ever tell someone whom I know is a true friend."