Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) (14 page)

“Chris. Not now,” he whispered, feeling the edge teeter perilously close as his brother pushed. Much more and he wouldn’t be able to control his temper. He could not lose control. Not ever again.

“No, Nick. I’m sorry, but it has to be now.”

Nickolas spun and backed Christoff into the corner of the railing. Trapped, his brother watched him warily. Nick paced back and forth in front of him, pent up aggression vibrating through his body, and growled, “Why?”

Cocking his head, Christoff looked into his eyes. “You haven’t had your pills today any more than I had, have you? If you don’t relax, they’ll force you to take them too.”

Nickolas watched Christoff stand there and face him steadily. He took a deep breath and pulled his temper back under control. He yanked his hair back into a hair tie then rejoined Christoff at the rail.

His brother relaxed slightly and turned out toward the water. “So talk to me,” he said quietly.

Nickolas watched the waves curl under the moon. The smell of rain was growing, and he wished that he could use it to wash away the memories. He took a deep breath. “You say no one got hurt? I don’t know if that’s true. Look at what she put herself through to avoid us. Are we right in what we do? Are the drugs they make us take really necessary? What was she running from? No one got hurt? Look at her Chris. She wanted to die instead of come with us. Her fear has to be based in something.”

“Some new fledglings fight their fate more than others, Nick. You know that.”

Nickolas studied his brother out of the corner of his eye. He could see the drugs having an effect. The aura of calmness that descended on him seemed painfully obvious now. “Chris, I have never felt so whole in my life. My mind is clear today. I’ve missed the pills before, but this is different.”

*There’s more out here than you know, Nickolas.*

“Exactly. That’s what I’m starting to wonder about.”

“What? I must have missed something. What are you wondering about?” Chris sounded confused.

Nickolas glanced at him. “You just told me that there’s more out there than we know of.”

“No I didn’t.”

“What do you mean? Yes you did.” Frowning, Nickolas caught movement out of the corner of his eye; his attention shifted quickly and he looked out over the water. To his left, pacing them just out of range of the lights from the boat, flew a darker patch of night. Assaulted by a jumble of feelings he would rather
not
put a name to, he could just discern the silhouette of a Valkyrie in flight.

*Yes, it was me.*

“How?” Nickolas whispered and looked out at the Valkyrie. His own sharp desire to fly free assaulted him.

“Nickolas?” Christoff questioned.

He held up his hand and motioned him silent then pointed to the feral Valkyrie across the water.

*The drugs have worn off enough that you are receptive. Just remember there is always more than one truth out there, Nickolas.*

“The drugs are supposed to keep me from turning into an animal…like you’re supposed to be…”

*So, is that the lie they’ve spoon fed you? We’re all animals on the inside, Nickolas.*
He could feel her laughter and revelry in flight through the link.
*They are just the collar choking you.*

The feeling traveling down the link grew quiet.

*I don’t suppose that you would let us take Jessica off your hands?*

“Of course not! She’s mine,” he replied without thinking.

*Interesting. I didn’t think you would notice yet.*

“Notice what?”

*Keep her safe, Nickolas.*
And with that, the other Valkyrie veered off, flashing through the moonlight briefly.

“Wait,” he called.

“Nickolas, what’s going on?” Christoff finally asked.

“I don’t know. That other Valkyrie was speaking to me.” This was just too much for one day.
Telepathy, the visions, what else do the drugs inhibit?
Nickolas wondered.

“Speaking to you? What did he want?”

“They wanted Jessica. When I told her no, she told us to protect her.”

Ian Sinclair, head doctor in charge of the Facility Valkyries, stood in the sliding glass doorway and stared out into the night. The promised rain sheeted off the overhang that protected the drive up to the door. He sighed, feeling every bit his age. The brisk October breeze laced with the rain smelled wonderful, and he took a moment to savor the calm before the storm. The sound of footsteps approaching down the hall reached him, and he turned to greet two of his junior doctors. “Good evening, boys. Are you ready for this? They should be coming down the drive any minute.”

Michael peered out into the gloom disgustedly then tried to lean casually against the door; Ian shook his head.

“What do you think is going on with her, Ian? I was going through the files and there’s only one recorded case that has any similarities, and those aren’t precisely similar.”

Ice ran down his spine, and Ian stilled. “I know. And that case isn’t for discussion. Understood?” His voice left no room for argument.

“Yes, sir,” Michael said quickly.

“Jack?” Ian turned a slow look at the other man. The other twenty-something doctor just returned his stare for a moment in speculation.

“Are you going to let Gabriel get her?”

Surprised by the question, Ian blinked. “Not if I can help it, I won’t.”

“Good. Then I won’t talk about it either.” The young man took a stance in the doorway with his arms folded over his chest and stared out into the rain.

Ian narrowed his eyes in speculation but turned away from Jack. The lights of the medical van brightened the bushes as it appeared down the drive and continued toward them at a steady clip. While he waited for the van to reach them, he took stock of the people around him. Michael was the same old didactic stickler, annoying and overly efficient. Jack though…
Humm, now that I’ll need to keep an eye on. He may be changing.
The sandy-haired doctor stood in the doorway in what he thought of as a classic Hunter’s stance.
Stage one, early signs,
he decided, sighing.

Ian widened his scan to note the people approaching in the van.
Now, that must be Jessica
, he thought, feeling the whirling maelstrom restrained in the van.
This should be fun.

Another more subtle well of aggression took him by surprise. He hadn’t felt that barely controlled energy signature, unveiled, for fifteen years. Ian closed his eyes and whispered, “Ah, Nicky, what have you done?”

As soon as the van stopped, the back doors opened and Christoff and his brother Nickolas jumped out, securing the doors to the sides of the van. The foot of the stretcher appeared a moment later. Jules hurried around the side, taking the end, and with Flynn they lowered it to the ground, giving Ian his first view of the changeling that had caused such an uproar.

Ian stepped out, with Michael and Jack flanking, and approached the new fledgling. He met Jays’s eyes across the stretcher as his protégé attempted to keep her calm. He looked to be losing the battle, and Ian laughed to himself. The bright lights and sudden movement of her arrival were rousing her out of her stupor. He lifted her lids and looked at her eyes then put his fingers to her throat to check her pulse. “I don’t like this. Her heart rate is too fast. What’s her blood pressure, Jays?”

“One sixty-five over ninety-eight. It’s gone up since my first measurement.”

He paused and looked across the stretcher at Jays then puffed out a breath and placed his hand to her forehead. He brushed her sweat-soaked hair away. “So give me the details, you know how chatty the comm techs are.”

His Second looked down at Jessica before answering, a worried frown on his face. “She took fifty cc of drexirethirin mixed into hamburger, and the trank only barely incapacitated her. It allowed us to get her into custody, but that was about it. I then had to administer a second dose of venous anesthetic once we were on the ferry. She started to go into overload on the boat, but Nick was able to distract her enough so I could knock her out before she killed us all. But as you can see, she’s already burned most of that out of her system as well. After she was out, I gave her two units of fluids for dehydration; she’s lost a lot of blood.”

Ian glanced down at Jessica and caught wariness starting to replace the fog in her eyes. “She’ll need a primer dose of inhibitor.”

He waved at Jack and Michael to take the stretcher then gave Flynn and Jules a dismissive nod. “We can move her from here, you two should go get some rest.”

Ian placed his hand on Jays’s arm to stop him from following when Jessica was wheeled away. Once both the stretcher and Flynn and Jules were far enough away to not overhear his comment, Ian asked softly, “Distract her how, Jays?”

His subordinate glanced over to where Nickolas stood a few feet away, by the emergency vehicle. “He didn’t distract her; he broke her shield, Ian.”

Nodding, Jays had just confirmed his suspicions. “Don’t mention this to Jack or Michael.”

“Yes, sir,” he replied then continued on after the stretcher.

Ian waited until they had all disappeared into the building before turning to look at the two Valkyries. Nickolas leaned against the back corner of the van staring at him, his arms crossed.

He ignored the challenge in his body language for the moment and turned first to Christoff, who was shutting the van doors.

The normally carefree and energetic Hunter slouched in exhaustion. “I need to debrief, Ian. Nick, you should head to bed.”

“No.”

“Nick.” Chris sighed in exasperation.

“You go to bed, Chris.”

Ian caught Christoff’s gaze. “It’s fine, Chris. Go on to bed. We can debrief later.”

The Hunter shook his head, and after a last concerned glance at his brother, he left. Ian turned toward the building, expecting Nickolas to follow. He wasn’t disappointed.

The situation would need careful handling to maintain dominance. Challenge oozed from the Valkyrie. “So, Nicky, what happened out there?”

Undisciplined power swirled and spiked. After a moment, Nickolas answered in a flat voice. “She managed to stay one step ahead of us the whole way. I don’t know where she got the strength. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I have, once before,” Ian said quietly.

“What?” Nickolas glanced sharply at him.

Ian clucked his tongue. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. What else can you tell me?”

He ignored the stirrings of curiosity in Nickolas.
Let him wonder. That will let me stay one step ahead of him. And if he’s done what I think he must have, I’m going to need every advantage.

“Don’t underestimate her. She’s dangerous, and she very badly does
not
want to be here. She’s already having dazzle headaches. And…she’s different.”

A larger spike of power accompanied Nickolas’s puzzled look. Ian stopped dead in the hall and grabbed Nickolas’s arm, forcing the Valkyrie to turn and face him. He captured Nick’s startled gaze with his own and tried to impress on the stubborn Valkyrie the seriousness of the situation. With quiet aggression, Ian pushed dominance and stared him down. “Nick, do not mention what you did on the boat to anyone, under any circumstance. If you care for Jessica’s well-being and yours, you will do this.”

Blinking, Nickolas dropped his eyes and looked away, pulling his wings in tight. “All right, but why, what is she?”

Ian turned from him and continued on down the hall.

“What does that make me?” he heard Nickolas mutter to himself before he moved to catch up.

You’re not ready for that yet, Nicky,
Ian thought. They reached the end of the hall. He held the door open for Nickolas, who slid past with a tired air of uncertainty that vanished the moment he looked at Jessica. Relieved and pleased at Nickolas’s response to the new fledgling, he followed him into the Hub. Ian glanced across the observation room. Nickolas skirted around the center island of computers and video monitors on his way to the treatment alcove on the right. Ian stopped for a moment at the island to bring one of the observation rooms online. He double checked the opposite wall of closely spaced doors before he typed in the entry code to one of the cells. The monitor lit up, showing the tiny room. After a few more commands, he turned to join the party he could hear taking place in the treatment area.

“God damn it, you bastards. Let me go.”

A quick sweep took in the scene, and he chuckled. Jessica was aware and quite alert on the stretcher and kicking ineffectually with her bound legs. She growled in frustration while Jays looked on with amused resignation. Ian shook his head. About what he expected. Michael fussed at her uselessly, trying to get vitals that Jays had already supplied. Jack showed promise though; he was working quickly and quietly putting together the surgical trays.

Ian met Jays’s laughing eyes across the table then rubbed the smile from his lips as he approached. He highly doubted that Jessica found any amusement in her current situation and probably wouldn’t appreciate his reaction. Jays handed him the clipboard with her stats on it, but he only gave it a quick glance. He was too interested in observing her reactions. Jessica’s eyes jumped around the room before they came to rest briefly on Nickolas in the corner. She flushed and looked away and jerked at the straps. Then her eyes landed on Ian at the foot of the stretcher. She froze. He smiled.

“We haven’t been able to get much done, sir. She’s too restive,” Jays spoke quietly.

“That’s putting it mildly,” one of the others muttered softly, though Ian wasn’t certain who.

A growl of challenge rumbled from her, but she still gave him the high position when she jerked her gaze away from him. Ian chuckled. He flipped through the pages of her chart, noting her blood pressure and respiration, heart rate and temperature. “Have you administered the inhibitor yet?”

“No, sir. I thought we should wait for you,” Jays answered.

“Jack, get me 10 cc of type A inhibitor.” He handed the chart back to Jays and walked over to the head of the stretcher. Looking down at her, he smiled gently. “Hi, I’m Dr. Sinclair, but you can call me Ian. You’re going to be here for a while, so you need to get used to the idea. I know you’re confused. I’ll try to explain what is happening to you in more detail later, but right now I need your cooperation, all right?”

Her bright eyes looked straight into his, and she smiled back up at him. “Like hell.”

Jays snorted and Ian sighed. “Well, it was worth a try.”

“Here’s the inhibitor, Ian.”

He accepted the syringe then held it up and tapped it for air bubbles. A strangled noise was wrung out of her, and Ian flicked his gaze from his task. His feisty little fledgling suddenly looked terrified. Her eyes darted nervously from him to Nickolas, looking for an ally.

Nickolas kept his back to the corner and watched the proceedings with a blank look. This had to be bringing up unpleasant memories for him.
I hope he can hold it together.

She struggled even harder against the restraints, if that were possible. Tremors ran through her body and she pleaded with them to let her go. “No needles, please? No needles…”

“Jessica,” he kept his voice soft. “What I am about to give you is called an inhibitor. It will help keep you safe during your change.”

Her fear radiated from her, and he shot a look at Nickolas to gauge his reaction before continuing. “Jays, please hold her still. Nick, if you would care to help, you could try to keep her attention away from what we are doing?”

If I direct his awakening protective instincts, maybe I can get him through this.
Just the sight of her looking up into Nickolas’s face reminded Ian of similar situations between himself and Nick in the past. Nickolas folded his wings in tight before he knelt down by her side. She locked onto his face in desperation as Jays clamped down on her arm, immobilizing it. Deftly inserting the needle, Ian administered the injection, watching her fingers twitch as she gasped with the pain.

Power slammed into Ian, and he looked up quickly at Nickolas. The Alpha Valkyrie ground his teeth, his eyes fixed on hers, and Ian could tell the remembered pain swam at the surface. He placed a hand on Nickolas’s arm, offering support. “I’m through. Nicky. You can let go now.”

Shaking his head, Nickolas reached out, brushing his knuckles lightly against her cheek, and Ian looked over to meet Jays’s serious eyes. Nickolas’s timing could be better, he thought, resigned to the developing situation. Ian turned his attention back to admitting Jessica.

“Were you able to catalogue her injuries during transit, Jays?”

“No broken bones that I could find, or internal injuries I could detect. Some massive bruising, though. Her feet are in bad shape. But the worst trauma is the two lacerations on her right leg.”

“Ok, then, let’s get started. Get gloves on, guys.”

After Jays and the others gloved up, he turned to her shredded pant leg. He peeled back the slit-open denim and looked at the bandaging Jays had applied underneath. Blood had started to seep through in places. Jack placed scissors in his hand, and Ian cut the rest of the denim off, followed by the gauze.

He worked the blood-caked padding away from the two large tears in her flesh then probed the edges of the bigger one on her thigh. She flinched in pain. “Jays, I’ll need a saline bottle and a suture kit and some local to dull the pain. Michael, take a look at the gash on her calf.”