Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) (13 page)

Stalemate.

He shifted his grip and wrapped a hand in her hair to maintain control then slid the other down her side until he reached her injured thigh. He squeezed. Pain flared in her eyes as he clutched the fresh blood, soaking through the fabric. He used the blood as a way through to her. Pouring more energy into the unfamiliar exercise, he felt a chink appear, so he narrowed his attack. An inexperienced surgeon with a new scalpel.
I hope this works.

Boring through her shield, Nickolas struggled silently. He could feel her determination, but his was just as strong and hadn’t been tested as hers had been in the last twenty-four hours. It felt like forever before he broke through the barrier, but the glow suddenly flared, and Nickolas ordered, “No. Let it go. Now.”

Her eyes opened wide in surprise as he succeeded in mentally overpowering her. Once inside, he could feel everything, her uncertainty, her anger, but most of all, her fear
of him
as he drained the power away from her somehow and the glow faded. He could understand her fear, he felt it himself.
What have I done?

He took his bloody hand away from her leg and let go of her hair. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on it, and he looked up. Very little time had passed; Jays had only just finished drawing his syringe and was tapping it to raise any air bubbles.

“Flynn, shut that door. Get back here and hold her arm,” the medic snapped. He quickly found a vein and injected the contents of his syringe. Nick sat back on his heels and overheard him say to Flynn, “It’s not like you could have gotten far enough away to make a difference.”

Jays stared at her for a moment then shook his head and turned to dump the syringe and needle into the sharps box on the wall.

Nickolas’s mind raced. He slid his palm down his leg, trying to rid it of the blood. When the doctor looked at him, their eyes met.

He can’t know. I don’t even know. What the hell is going on?

Jays held his gaze for a moment and, for the first time in a long time, Nick backed down. He looked away. The feeling that Jays judged him somehow swamped him.

“It was an anesthetic,” the doctor said softly.

Nickolas shrugged and brushed his hand down Jessica’s cheek then over her hair in a soothing motion. She had stopped fighting the straps, and clouds gathered in her eyes as the second anesthetic pushed through her system. He leaned over, his lips brushing her ear. “Sleep.”

The wetness of a tear slid between their faces. He caressed his cheek along hers, drying the trail. A soft sob escaped, and she shuddered, but finally with the help of the second drug, she passed out.

Nick continued to pet her hair, watching her relax in sleep. His emotions rode a rollercoaster, and every dip and turn, a new feeling vied for supremacy. Anger finally topped out all of the others. His face hardened, and he pinned Flynn to his seat with a look. “I’m going out on deck.”

Damn it. Nick, don’t…
Christoff held his hand out, but Nick pulled away. With a last glance at Jessica, his brother opened the rear doors and jumped out.

Damage control. I need to get him home and checked out.
Christoff watched him stalk away. When he was out of sight, he turned his attention back to the others.

“What just happened?” Jules asked as he joined them from the front. The communications tech looked around in bewilderment.

Flynn got up and pulled the doors shut. “Nick got pissy and started asking too many questions. Or do you mean her?”

Christoff narrowed his eyes at Flynn’s attitude. The jerk had pushed Nick’s buttons on purpose.
And now he’s blaming Nick?
Jules slipped past to take a seat at the foot of the stretcher. Chris turned to Jules. “Jessica had some sort of reaction, but Nick calmed her down. He’s on edge from the recovery, and Flynn pissed him off. He stormed out. I haven’t seen him show his feelings this strongly in a long time.”

“Nickolas?” Jules asked, surprised. “That man has been working to perfect the art of
control
for fifteen years now.”

Jules shot a look at their other team member. Flynn shrugged and slouched down onto the bench near the doors.

Christoff suppressed a growl and turned away from them. His temper danced dangerously close to the surface. Jays stood, contemplating Jessica as she slept, an odd expression on his unguarded face.

“She’s a Caster,” the medic murmured. “Damn, Jess, why did you have to do this to me? We don’t have enough research on that subset here,” he said under his breath. He obviously didn’t realize that he was thinking out loud.

Christoff froze, staring at Jays. “Subset?” he finally managed to ask. “What the hell is a Caster?”

The unfocused quality in Jays’s eyes caught his attention. It reminded him of someone in a trance. “Jays? What the hell are you talking about?”

The doctor blinked and his eyes cleared. “Um…” He cast a helpless look at the other two grounded.

Christoff swiveled in his seat. Jules looked uncomfortable, but Flynn wore a mulish expression.

God damn it. What is going on?
“Nick’s right. What are you hiding?” He stood up and shook out his wings. “What did she do to have you so upset?”

He zeroed in on Jays. The doctor stepped back nervously.

“And, I repeat, what is a Caster?”

Jays flicked his eyes to Jessica’s still form before locking back on him. He took a step, and Jays swallowed. “You are a Hunter. She is a Caster.”

“And that means what?”

“Jays. Shut up,” Flynn barked.

Christoff spun, his wings flaring slightly in the small space. “Excuse me, Flynn?”

“Need to know, Hunter. And you don’t need to know.”

“Really? Sounds like it’s about us. That sure makes me think I need to know.” He clamped his wings down and turned his back on Flynn. Another step brought him up to Jays. The grounded pressed his back into the cabinets of the wall. Christoff wrapped his hand gently around the base of the doctor’s throat. “What was that glow, Jays?”

“Death.”

“How?” Jays’s pulse thundered under his palm, the only sign of the fear his friend had of him at the moment.

“You see, hear, smell, and move differently, yes? Well that isn’t all that got unlocked in some of you.”

Chris glanced down at the fledgling’s sleeping face and thought about how she had eluded them. Then there was Nick’s odd behavior.
I really need to talk to Ian.

The metallic crunch of a trank pistol chambering a dart echoed in the confines of the med unit.

“When’s the last time you took your pills, boyo?” Flynn asked.

A growl rumbled in Chris’s chest, and he turned his head to look over his shoulder at Flynn. His teammate stood at the foot of the stretcher, a gun pointed at him. “Does it matter?”

“You have Jays by the throat. I think it matters. I’m sure he does too.” Flynn’s hand didn’t so much as waver. “You know your aggression will become uncontrollable if you don’t take them, Chris.”

He turned back to Jays. The eyes that met his contained pity and compassion. And something else the doctor quickly hid. His fingers twitched. “I want answers, Jays.”

“Take the pills, or I’ll shoot your ass, and you can ride back with her, Chris.”

Jays’s gaze flicked to Flynn then back. “He’s going to shoot you, Chris. Do you want to leave Nick alone right now?”

Snarling, Chris pried his hand away from Jays’s neck. The doctor slid to the side, keeping an eye on him, and fished around in one of the cupboards.

“How was she going to kill herself, Jays?”

He pulled out a bottle and shook two pills into the palm of his hand. “Not just her, all of us. I suppose if we were lucky, she wouldn’t have sunk the boat.”

Chris froze.

Jays snagged a bottle of water and held it and the pills out to him. He shook his head and backed up a step. “I’m fine.”

“Chris, you need to take them now.” Jays held his stare. “We’ve never needed to worry about a Caster manifesting during recovery before. It’s something that Ian and I watch for, usually a week into the change.”

“Why haven’t we ever been told about this?” He reluctantly held out his hand. Jays dropped the pills into his palm. He swallowed them then downed half the bottle of water.

“I can’t answer that, Chris.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?”

“Does it matter?”

Chris growled. He drained the rest of the bottle and looked over at Flynn and Jules. Flynn put the gun away and sat back down. Jules stared at his feet, his hand pressed to his earpiece, listening to the comm chatter.

“How does this affect the rest of us?”

“You are the same Hunter you were before, Chris.”

He turned back and something in Jays’s eyes caught his attention. He looked back down at Jessica. “So she’s different? A Caster, whatever that means. What about Nick? Is he a Caster too?”

“Not exactly…,” he said softly.

Jays shook his head. Chris looked over his shoulder at Flynn, who now talked quietly with Jules.

“As long as she stays asleep she’ll be fine, Chris.”

The drugs already wormed their way through his system. The crystal sharp clarity dulled slightly, just enough for him to notice. He slid around the stretcher and made his way to the door. “I need to go check on Nick.”

“What are you going to tell him?”

His hand on the latch, he looked back over his shoulder at Jays. “Does it matter?”

Nickolas stood out on deck at the front of the boat and leaned on the railing, looking out over the water. The brisk wind raised by the passage of the ship blew through his hair and made his wings flutter and ripple like a dark cloak billowing out behind him, reflecting his mood.

What pieces of the puzzle am I missing here? What are they hiding? And why do I feel as though I know her? All I have are questions without answers. And feelings, I can’t forget the feelings. Especially not when they slam into me like a runaway freight train. Speaking of feeling…

Nickolas sensed Christoff watching from the window behind him.
It’s interesting that I can sense him so strongly now. It’s like a fog has been wiped off and the window is clear. The last twenty-four hours have really opened my eyes. What if the wild Valkyries aren’t as out of control as we’ve been led to believe?

Nickolas felt when his brother finally got up the nerve to approach him. The door opened and he came out to take a deceptively relaxed pose against the rail, watching him intently. Nickolas clenched his fist and continued to stare out over the water. He hoped that if he ignored Chris’s scrutiny, his brother would take the hint and leave him alone. But a rustle of wings warned him that that hope was in vain; Chris wasn’t going to leave him be.

“So, Nicky, what’s going on?”

I’m ignoring you, Chris, that’s what. Take the hint.

Christoff cleared his throat. “Come on, you’re taking this assignment pretty personally. She’s caught, and no one got seriously hurt in the process, at least.”

“Chris, just leave it.”

“Leave what, Nick? What you’re doing? I don’t think so. How’d we catch her, Nicky?”