Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) (28 page)

“Stand down, Jays.” Ian passed between him and Jack. “Jack, get that damn siren off.”

Jack passed him his pistol and slipped back down the hall.

“Nickolas, look at me.” Ian clapped his hands and the snarling Valkyrie’s head turned away from Chris and locked onto him. “Leash it, Nicky. Come on.”

His wings quivered, but the growl faded.

“Come on, Nicky, come back to us.”

The Alpha’s gaze slid around the room. Jays watched him swallow, then he spoke in a gravelly voice. “She’s terrified, Ian. Shooting her won’t help with that. Let me try.”

The two stared at each other for a moment. Then Ian swept the audience with his gaze. “All right, everyone, back up. Give them some space.”

Jays stayed put with Ian, but the rest retreated down the two halls. Nickolas watched the movement warily, then he finally lowered his wings. After a last glance at Ian, Nick crouched down by her head.

The wail of the alarms died and Jessica’s soft whimpered breaths sounded extremely loud in the sudden hush. Jays kept the trank guns ready but lowered.

“Hey, Jess.” Nick’s hand reached out and stroked her hair. “I’m here now. Let’s get out of this hall, ok?”

She raised her head out of the protection of her arms. “I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Don’t worry. I’m here; I’ll take care of you. Come to me now.”

She uncurled and scooted into a sitting position, then flung her arms tightly about Nick’s neck and buried her face into his chest. He cradled her in his arms and stood then turned to Ian.

Ian gestured Nick to precede him. The onlookers cleared an aisle so he could take her to the Hub.

Jays reached out and touched Ian’s sleeve. “I’ll stay and mop up.”

He nodded, then followed the Valkyries.

As soon as they had disappeared around the corner, he turned to Christoff. “How the hell did he get here like that?”

Chris ran his hand through his hair and looked at Donald. The other Valkyries crowded near. “I don’t know what happened, Jays. One minute he was complaining about you guys getting Kieran to drug her, then the next he’s feral and running down the halls.”

Jays shook his head and looked at the Valkyrie faces gathered round. “We’ll have to deal with it later. Right now we need a head count. The lockdown won’t release for a bit. Ian has to coordinate with Kratz to enter their codes before we’ll be free of the wing. And anyone out there right now will be at Kratz’s mercy.”

Chris and Donald started calling out names and bodies shuffled. He shoved both trank guns into the pockets of his lab coat.

“Dev,” Chris said. “Are all the lieutenants accounted for?”

“Kieran’s not here.”

“Damn. Ok, get everyone into the gym and do a full head count. Send a team to sweep the wing. Stay in the gym until released.”

“Yes, Chris.”

As the hall cleared, Jays turned to Chris. “Ian sent Kieran to get some food. He was probably still in the cafeteria.”

Donald’s face fell and Jays knew how he felt. Any Valkyrie outside of the lockdown zone probably wouldn’t fare well with Kratz. “As soon as you have numbers, come to the Hub. Ian will need to know.”

They nodded and took off after the rest of their clan, and Jays turned his feet toward the Hub.

Ian sat and watched the two on the monitor. The last four hours had been a nightmare. Not for Nick and Jessica. Nick had held a groggy Jessica, comforting and reassuring her, for most of that time.
They have no idea what repercussions I’m dealing with.
He shook his head. Jessica no longer clung to Nick but cuddled to his side. He had the volume down so he didn’t know what they discussed. He could always replay the recording later. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Kratz had been stubborn about cancelling the lockdown with him. It had taken him nearly an hour to pin down the general on the phone and coordinate their code inputs.

Damn the man anyway.
His excuse? Dangerous Valkyries were free on his side. He had to finish dealing with that first.
Bullshit. Just his normal excuse to mistreat my people.

Chris’s head count had come up five short, including Kieran. After the doors had been released, he’d had to find out what Kratz had done with them. After too much ferreting, he finally found them in a lockup on the other side of the Facility and had sent Jays to retrieve them.

At that moment, the doors to the Hub were kicked open, and Donald and Jays entered with Kieran slung between them. The Beta tried to walk with them, but it looked like he was mostly being dragged. They lowered him to a chair in the monitor island.

“The other four were fine,” Jays said. “Looks like Kieran took the brunt of it to protect the others.”

“Let’s take a look at what they did to you, kiddo.” He raised Kieran’s face with his hand. The bruise that Jessica had given him had begun to fade to a sickly yellow, but now it had more black and purple on top of it. And black rung the eye now too. “Did they damage your wings?”

He started to shake his head no but seemed to think better of it. He licked his split lip and said, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Don’t think so? We need to know so. Open up.”

He stood, not quite as steady as Ian would have liked, and slowly unfurled his wings. He noted every wince. He ran his hands over the struts and rope muscles, flexing and pulling. He elicited a few groans, but nothing major.

“Looks like you’ve got some good bruising, but nothing that will keep you out of the air for long. I don’t want you trying to fly for a few days, though. Let the bruising have a chance to heal a bit. Now get your shirt off.”

As he thought, Kieran had some extensive bruises across his ribs and midsection. Thankfully, none of his ribs seemed to be cracked. “Jays, get him something for pain. Donald, after you get him to his room, go and bring back some dinner. I doubt he has any interest in going to the cafeteria right now anyway.”

“No one does. Chris was already making arrangements to have a group go to the cafeteria and bring food for the whole clan back to the gym.”

“Good. And Donald, tell Chris I’m keeping Nick for the next few hours, but he’ll need to be escorted back to his room to sleep.”

“Yes, sir. Come on, Kier, let’s get you to bed.”

Donald helped a subdued Kieran to his feet and out the door.

“Jays, please call the kitchen and see what’s taking so long for dinner to get here. I want to prevent any more unexpected outbursts from our pair of fledges here. And if their blood sugar drops…”

He moved back to the screens and saw Nick laugh at something Jessica had said. Then he reached out and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. She smiled and leaned her shoulder against the wall and curled her feet up under her. Jays joined him.

“Did his blood tests come back yet?” he asked his protégé.

“Yes. Just before the hullaballoo. You were right. There’s not a trace of the arresting inhibitor left in his system. That shouldn’t be.”

“No, no it shouldn’t. But it does explain his accelerated responses. But all things considered, he’s holding himself together well. Each instance of his loss of control was triggered by a threat to Jessica.”

“Any clue why?”

“Not enough yet, but each piece is going on the grid. Soon I’ll get a clear picture. I wonder if it’s tied, somehow, to Jessica’s drug responses? Could it have something to do with her talents?”

“Isn’t it a little early for her to show psychic talents?”

“Playing it by ear here, Jays. Do you have a better theory? Didn’t think so. I need that PET scan and the rest of the MRI. She isn’t going to be happy about it, but those tests will happen tomorrow.”

The rumble of the food cart reached them just before it bashed into the doors to the Hub. The woman pushed it just inside the door then left. Ian sighed.

“Ok, why don’t you get Allison and Ron their dinners, and I’ll take in Jess and Nick’s.”

With a nod, Jays pushed the trolley across the space, near to the isolation room doors, and picked up a tray. Ian followed suit but crowded on enough for both of his charges. Balancing the tray on one hand he swiped his card, then tucked it into his pocket and pulled the door open. Two sets of eyes turned in his direction when he entered. He set the heavy tray down on the table.

“Here you guys go. Sorry dinner’s late tonight.”

Jessica shook her head. “I’m not touching it. Not again.”

Ian noticed Nickolas’s face and realized he didn’t trust it any more than she did. Irritation swelled and he suppressed his own growl. He took a deep breath. “Can either of you please face reality here? You will be eating, so a childish tantrum won’t get you far. Obviously I won’t let you starve yourselves, so deal with it.”

Neither made a move toward the food, and Ian narrowed his eyes. “You know what will happen, Nicky. Think about it.”

Nickolas shifted uncomfortably and looked at Jessica. She still wore a mulish expression.

With a sigh, Ian reached out and took a bite of everything on the tray. “There, happy? Now eat. Nick, you’ve got a few more hours and that’s it.”

He turned and stomped out of the room. He glared at Jays who pressed his lips together in an unsuccessful attempt to hide his smile.

“They are going to be the death of me,” he muttered as he walked over to the monitor island where Jays had laid out their dinners. His Second snorted.

Very early the next morning, Nickolas shoved the doors to the Hub open and hurried through. He’d managed a few hours of restless sleep, but the need to see Jessica drove him from his bed and back to the Hub. For two days he had succeeded in staying away, but after yesterday he wasn’t strong enough to resist any longer. Overnight, alone in his room, the mental noise pollution inundated him. The respite while in her company had lowered his threshold.

She soothed him.

The doors swung shut, blocking out what little fresh air penetrated the building. The sterile, antiseptic burn clogged his nose. Jays turned to look at him and sighed. “Nick, what are you doing here? Ian told you he had to be here to supervise.”

“Supervise what? Come on, Jays. What will happen in a locked room?”

“She’s sleeping.”

“I doubt that.”

Jays flipped on her monitor as if to prove his point, then stopped. Nick looked over his shoulder. She sat on her bunk tapping her foot. He chuckled.

“It’s still no, Nick. Go back to bed.”

“You know I’ve never slept well. She’s awake, I’m awake, it’s better than going for a flight…”

“At this hour?” Jays cut in. “You should not be out flying alone, Nickolas. You know that.”

“Give me a break, Jays. You sound as bad as Chris. Come on, let me in.”

Jays swore under his breath then stomped over to the phone. “Ian? Yeah, sorry to wake you. Nick’s back in here. Yeah, I already did that. Well, what do you want me to do? No. That won’t work.”

Nickolas pulled up one of the chairs and sat to watch Jess. Already the proximity helped. Now if he could just get into her room.

“I did; the alternative wasn’t good. Ok.” Jays hung up the receiver.

Nick waited for him to join him at the consoles.

“Ian isn’t happy with you right now.”

Nick shrugged and turned back to watching Jessica. After a few minutes, the doors to the hall opened. He looked over his shoulder at an irritated Ian.

“I thought I told you to go back to your room and get some rest?”

“I did.”

Ian leaned his hip against the desk next to him. “Five hours doesn’t count as a night’s sleep.”

“Four,” he muttered.

“And that makes it better?”

He turned back to the screen. Jessica had stood up and started to pace the room.

“Look, Nicky, we need to come to an understanding. There are things we have to do. Are you going to hinder us? I won’t let you in then.”

He shrugged, and Ian slapped his hand down over the controls, cutting the video. He took a breath and suppressed the growl that tried to crawl up his throat.

Ian leaned over and pressed into his space. “You know what to expect. I still need to get the tests that were interrupted yesterday, and I’ll expect not just your compliance but your help to get them. Are you up for that? Because it won’t do her any good to have to watch you get tranked and removed if you lose control.”

They stared at one another for a moment. “What do you want from me?”

“Whatever it takes, Nicky. Can you do it?”

He pulled away from the intense green eyes and rested his head in his hands.
What choice do I have? Do what he wants, or not see Jessica anymore.
“I’ll do what I must.”

Ian stood, then squeezed his shoulder. “All right, come on.”

He rose from the chair, then stretched and flapped his wings before following Ian to her cell. The doctor looked him in the eye for a moment, then swiped his keycard and pulled the door open.

Jessica spun when he entered, then he saw her exhale in relief.

“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked.

He shook his head. The sound of the door lock engaging barely registered. “You either?”

She chuckled without much mirth and tried to run her fingers through her hair; they caught in the tangles. “I slept plenty yesterday.”

“Here, let me help with that.” He glanced up at the camera, then pulled the hairbrush he had tucked into the back of his waistband out. He moved over to the cot and sat, sliding back against the wall. He patted the space between his legs.

Her gaze flicked to the brush, and he watched the longing fill her eyes, then she paced the couple of feet separating them and sank to the mattress.

He ran his fingertips along the length of silk then gathered up the mass and teased out a lock before placing the rest over her left shoulder to keep it out of the way. He set the brush bristles to the ends and started to work his way up the lock, teasing the snarls out on the way, careful not to scratch the skin covering her emerging wings. Once the lock was clear, he tucked it over her right shoulder then freed another and started again.

They sat in silence for a long time while he worked on her hair. His fingers reveled in the slick softness, delving into the thickness and letting the strands slide through. He watched as they trailed along the skin of her neck and down her exposed back, over the swollen wing buds, before he started on another lock.

The pressure in his head from the absence of the drugs hovered in the background. A constant reminder of the unknown, of the lies…

He pushed the thoughts away.

Here and now. Concentrate on that.

Once all the knots had been worked free, he continued to run the brush through the length, along her scalp to the ends, rhythmically soothing.

The scent of summer air currents rose between them, and he bent his head to rest his cheek on her crown; his arms slipped around her waist. “You smell so good.”

She relaxed into him and laughed. “Are you kidding? I stink. It’s been how many days since I’ve had a shower?”

“Doesn’t matter. Don’t try and keep track. It’ll drive you nuts. How’s your memory been?”

“It comes and goes. The first few days seemed to be the worst. The headaches have been hitting with more frequency though.”

“I’m sorry. I wish I could help you.”

He felt her breathing pause, then she said softly, “You could get me out of here. That would help.”

He closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek against her head. “We’ve talked about this. It’s not safe. Where would you go? You need care, whether you want it or not.”

“Then come with me.”

She turned her shoulders to look up at him. He hadn’t felt a desire like this to leave the Facility since his own isolation. But he shook his head. “Same question. Where would we go, Jess? And even if they left us alone, so we didn’t have to constantly look over our shoulders, how would we get food? We don’t have much money, and it’s not like we’re inconspicuous. Maybe if it were summer…”

He stared out across the room into nothing, then shook himself back to reality. “No. I protected you yesterday. I will again.”

Sadness crept into her expression. “You can’t. You don’t have any more control than I.”

She pulled her legs up and rested her head on his shoulder. He ran his hand up and down her spine.
You’re more right than you know.

His hand passed over a wing bud again and a rolling movement stilled his hand. He gently probed the swelling while he added up the days. Shocked at their size for how early it still was in her change, he could feel the full definition of a wing frame. An uneasy feeling crept over him.

He felt her yawn, and he pulled her tighter, leaning his head back against the wall.

The squeak of a wheel shocked them awake. Nick felt his emotional descent too late to suppress the growl that issued warning. Ian’s face swam into view. The doctor crouched at eye level. At some point, he realized, he had slumped to the side with Jessica on the cot.

The sudden waking had triggered his body to react before his brain caught up. Ian’s steady gaze bored into his as he sorted himself out. His arms braced over her, Jessica’s tense form lay still, waiting, caged under his protective one.

He blinked, then his eyes shifted to look at the closed door, then at Jays, the cart, and the rest of the room, before meeting Ian’s eyes again.

“Are you both fully awake now?”

He forced his muscles to relax so he wasn’t about to spring. “Time?”

“Several hours.”

Jessica’s hand had slid out to rest on his wrist in front of her. He furled his right wing, which was draped over their bodies, and let himself ease back down to the bed, pressing into her back. Ian’s green gaze never left him, and he waited for the doctor to make the first move.

“I let you two have as much time as I could, but we have a lot to get done today. First, let’s look at those stitches, Jess.”

He watched Ian stand and put the trank gun he had held concealed into his pocket. Then Ian crossed his arms, waiting. Nick buried his face in Jessica’s hair and inhaled deeply before loosening his hold around her middle. She started to growl but let go of his arm. He didn’t like it either. He pushed himself up into a sitting position; she remained on her side and stretched her leg across his lap. His fingers slid under the cuff of the shorts and worked it over the stitches. 

Ian examined the two wounds closely. “Good. Jays, note down that the infection seems to have dissipated. And the lacerations are healing nicely.”

Nick pulled the cloth back down and watched Ian steel himself. That didn’t bode well.

“Ok, Jess,” Ian addressed her, but Nick noticed that he stared into his eyes. “I need to check your wing growth.”

The uneasy feeling he’d had earlier returned full force. His gaze shot to Jays’s blank face then back to Ian. Why would they be so concerned…
They wouldn’t…

He turned his head and looked at the waterfall of hair that concealed her enlarged wing buds. One hand resting on her hip, he reached out with the other and brushed the strands to the side. Movement rolled beneath the surface again. His hand glided over the skin. Hot. And he felt the strut flex against the confinement.

Sliding his hand down farther, he pressed the small of her back, urging her to roll onto her stomach. He pulled her farther across his lap.

Ian stepped forward and after a swift glance at him, quickly palpated her emerging wings. A sigh escaped his lips. “Tape, Jays.”

He stretched the cloth tape across her swollen skin and recited the various numbers from the measurements he made.

“So they
are
ready?” Jays said.

“Looks like.”

“But it’s too soon,” Nick said.

“Tell that to her,” Ian snapped, then took a calming breath. “Look, Nick, now’s the time I warned you about; you have to decide.”

“Decide what? You’re just going to free her wings.” He looked back and forth between the two doctors.

“I need you to hold her, Nicky,” Ian said softly.

“Why would…. No. You wouldn’t do that.” He shook his head and stared at the truth in Ian’s eyes.

“Nick?” Jessica whispered.

He rubbed the stiffened muscles in her back. “This isn’t right.”

“She has shown repeatedly that she doesn’t react properly to drugs. Look at what happened yesterday. I can’t have strange interactions from different meds popping up. And she has a heavy load today.”

“Damn it, Ian, we’re talking about a bit of local anesthetic. What’s that going to interfere with?”

“She’s felt it each time we’ve set stitches. Haven’t you, Jess?”

Nick felt her starting to tremble, but she nodded her head to Ian’s question. He ground his teeth and looked back at Ian.

“You’ve done worse to yourself in practice, Nicky.”

“Something is better than nothing.”

Losing his temper, Ian snapped, “We don’t have a choice, Nickolas. If they aren’t freed, they will be permanently misshapen and never bear weight. So which would you rather her have, Nick? Unavoidable pain now? Or the pain she’d have for the rest of her life because she would never fly? I know which I would choose.”

Wanting to howl, he closed his eyes instead and took a deep breath. Her fear swirled around him, but she didn’t try to struggle off his lap. She twisted her head and he looked down into her eyes. Tears glistened in them but had yet to fall. He gathered up her hair and tossed it over the other side to fall down toward the floor, then ran his thumb across her cheek.

“I’m sorry, Jess,” he whispered.

She nodded her head.

He slid one leg out from underneath her and stretched it across the back of her knees then placed a hand in the small of her back to hold her steady. They locked eyes.

“I’ll be as quick as I can, Jess,” Ian said.

Only a portion of his awareness stayed on what Ian and Jays did. Instead, he sank into the hazel of her eyes. The rustle of an absorbent drape pushed between him and Jessica and the bed. Ian’s shoulder brushed his arm as the doctor felt around the first swelling before he carefully incised a slit the length of the wing bud; fluid and blood gushed out, and Jays sopped it up with gauze.

Jessica shuddered and the tears glazing her eyes started to escape, but she didn’t utter more than a gasp. His mind pushed out, wanting to help her somehow.