Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) (37 page)

“Right, Scott, we’re on our way.”

His brother’s silhouette sat across from him, phone pressed to his ear. Nickolas felt the weight of his gaze. He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs.

Chris tucked the phone into his pocket and sat up. “He’s winding down. Time to move.”

“Good. I want to get home and check on Jessica.” He barely recognized his own voice. He cleared the gravel from his throat and slid past Chris when he held the door open.

They emerged into the shadows of the street. A deep breath filled his lungs and he stretched his wings out gratefully while Christoff locked up the van. “What time is it?”

“It’s after eight.”

What? I just slept for seven hours?

Stunned, he stared absently at their destination across the street, an old turn-of-the-century brick mansion. The building had been converted into small rooms for let, one of many on the street renovated for such purposes. He folded his wings.

The entrance to the building bustled with activity. Students wandered in and out, and packs congregated on the lawn and porch, talking or horsing around.

He followed his brother across the street.
I can’t believe I just slept for seven hours. And almost four before that.
He wiped a hand across his damp forehead.

The sudden quiet caught his attention and he looked up. Dozens of startled eyes stared back at them. They ascended the steps; the intense scrutiny dug holes in his back. Chris held the door open for him and searched his face. He dodged the look and passed through the entry, then stopped cold, a shiver running down his spine.

The place was packed. The entry foyer they stood in boasted a tiny amount of open space; otherwise the maze of hall and doorways ahead contained a seething mass of humanity, shoulder to shoulder. Chris’s hand at the base of his neck kept him steady. He drew in a shallow breath.

Their arrival caused a stir, and the dull roar of conversation dimmed as those nearest them stopped to stare before rushing to spread the word.

Gently, Chris urged him forward. Once moving under his own power, Nick felt the hand fall away, and they edged through the crowd toward the stairs at the end of the hall. His ears rang from the noise and fingers trailed all over his wings. Some just brushed, others pinched or tugged slightly. The press of bodies flowed around him. He kept his eyes fixed on the stairs. Halfway to his destination, an arch on either side of the hall led to adjoining rooms. The natural tide of movement forced him sideways into a large gathering.

He stumbled backward. Excited faces surged around him, the babble intensifying. The suffocation hit him and he fought the urge to drop into a fetal position as the room shrank. Smooth wall pressed into his back, and the sound of his name reached dimly through the roaring in his ears.

Anger surged and gave him the strength to push his weakness aside. He spread his wings, forcing a little space around his body, a low growl rumbling in his chest. His breath ragged, he struggled with his internal demons.

I’m stronger than this. What the hell’s wrong with me? I’ve been off the drugs long enough that there’s no way I’m still dealing with residual effects. I’m going to hurt these kids if I don’t get it under control.

“Nickolas!”

His eyes snapped open. His brother shoved through the last of the college students to reach him. He latched onto Chris’s green gaze like a lifeline.

“Leash it, Nicky. You can do it,” he whispered.

Inch by inch, he dragged his wings down and furled them on his back. By force of will, he unclenched his fists and relaxed his stance. Chris nodded then turned to the crowd surrounding them.

“Space, boys. Never crowd a Valkyrie. Haven’t you been taught anything?”

The excited group quieted and turned to look at the three males who were picking themselves up from the floor.

The three stared in awe at them as they regained their feet, the papers, dice, and books scattered at their feet forgotten.

“I’ve never met a real Valkyrie before,” a tall, lanky blond said reverently. “We’re having a gaming marathon this weekend. It just started, and we’re running the new module, which includes Valkyries, so which do you think would win in a full-scale battle, an Elder Arrowhawk or Valkyrie Hunter? I think the Hunter would win.”

The young man on the blonde’s left whacked him on the shoulder and exclaimed, “Of course you think the Hunter would win, he’s your character.”

“You’re just upset because he beat your anti-flight spell, Nat. Besides, why were you casting spells against your own team, huh? I don’t see how someone with wings wouldn’t win against an Arrowhawk.”

“Shut up, you guys, and let him answer. I’m the game master and I want to hear what he thinks,” the third kid spoke up.

At a loss, Nick looked at Chris for a moment, who just shrugged; neither of them had lived a normal childhood where they had friends and could play games, so neither one of them had a clue what the boys were talking about. Nick turned back to their avid audience and cleared his throat. “Well, in my opinion…I think the Valkyrie would win, of course. Um, you’ll need to excuse us, we’re here on business.”

Chris grabbed his arm and towed him through the crowd to the stairs. Once at the top, it was much quieter, and Nickolas heaved a sigh.

“You ok, Nicky?”

“I don’t know, Chris. I think so.”

“I hope so. We still need to get you past the others. Let’s get this fledge and get home.”

They rounded the next flight and climbed a story. The rest of their recovery team and the watchers waited halfway down the hall. Nick gave his wings a shake and lengthened his stride. Christoff fell into his role as Second and flanked him.

“Anything happening?” he asked.

“Not anymore, Nickolas.” Scott looked up at him from where he leaned against the wall. “He’s been full of energy and argumentative all afternoon. The few times he tried to leave, we were able to get some of his friends to direct him back and get him settled. They were even able to get him to eat a whole pizza we had delivered. Everyone’s stayed pretty calm. I don’t think word’s spread too far, yet. His friends were being pretty closemouthed to the others.”

“Well that explains our reception.”

“He finally fell asleep about half an hour ago. He should be prime for removal now.”

“Good. Chris and I will handle the actual retrieval, the rest of you I need on crowd control. Unfortunately it’s a mad house around here tonight, and we’re going to need to take him straight through the middle of it.”

Chris added, “Scott, Flynn, watch the kids downstairs closely. They don’t understand Valkyrie etiquette. We don’t need the massed hordes freaking the target.”

“Right-O, boys.”

Nick closed his eyes and took a breath, centering himself. He realized from the look Chris cast him that his brother was more concerned over
his
reactions than the fledgling’s. “You ready, Chris?”

Grinning in answer, Christoff moved to the door and carefully turned the knob then pushed the door open. He stepped back to allow him to enter first.

The contents of the room had witnessed a hurricane from the looks of it. A brief scan revealed no movement, and he released a little of his tension. Their target lay on the bed in the far right corner. It took some work for the two of them to make their way over to him through the mess strewn all over the room. But they carefully cleared a path they could traverse.

“Sheesh, he was busy today, wasn’t he?”

Silently agreeing with Christoff, Nick reached the bed and looked down at their sleeping target’s slack face. “Well, he seems to be out cold.”

He looked up to make sure Chris had made it into position at the foot of the bed before reaching out to rock the sleeping man’s shoulder.

No response.

He sank down on the edge of the bed and tried again. This time the man surged up, but Nickolas was ready. He shackled the wrist that came swinging at him and pulled the man over onto his stomach. Chris grabbed his ankles.

The fledgling struggled against them; the savage noises he made didn’t sound human. Nick pressed the arm he held into the bed and used his free hand to grab the back of the fledgling’s neck to hold him down. “Hush, David. Settle. Quiet…we need to talk. Do you understand me?”

It took a few moments of coaxing, but he finally reached through and felt David nod his head. “Good. Now, we’re going to let you go, and I want you to slowly turn over, ok?”

Again a pause, then the younger man nodded his head. He met Chris’s eyes and signaled for him to let go first before slowly releasing his hold on David’s wrist, then his neck. Standing up, Nickolas waited for the next move in the dance.

David rotated his wrist for a moment then shook it out before he rose up and turned over, bracing himself on his elbows. He looked down at Christoff then quickly up to Nickolas and groaned, falling back onto the pillow.

“Great, just great. I don’t suppose you’ve made some kind of mistake?”

Nickolas cocked his head and turned to look at the wreckage David had made of his room, then turned back to look at the new changeling.

Rising back up on his elbows, David looked at his room as if seeing the destruction for the first time, and sighing, he fell back again. “I guess not. What now?”

“It’s time for you to come with us. How are you feeling?”

“I’m really tired. What about my stuff? Can’t I pack it up?”

“We’ll have people come in and remove everything. You aren’t in any shape to do it. Can you stand?” David flashed him a “what kind of stupid question is that” look, and turning, he swung his legs off the bed and stood up.

Or at least tried to.

Nick pressed his lips together so he wouldn’t laugh at the shock on David’s face when he found himself collapsing back onto the mattress. Nick shared an amused look with Chris as they waited for the fledge to find some balance.

“I don’t understand,” David said.

Nickolas caught David’s dazed eyes and reached out to help steady him. “Your body is entering the second stage of the change. Up until this point the changes were subtle, all chemical and internal. Now the physical changes are joining them, and they will play havoc with you. We need to get you somewhere safe, with people who are experienced in dealing with the effects the change is about to cause in you.”

“Oh…ok, I think. I don’t know.” He put his hand to his forehead and leaned on his knees. “It’s hard to see suddenly.”

Chris moved into position on David’s other side. “Don’t worry; we’ll take care of you. You’re one of us now. You’re going to try standing again, but this time we’ll be supporting you, all right?”

David grunted and wobbled to his feet. Both he and Chris grabbed his arms, quickly getting their shoulders under him before he collapsed again. They started making their way across the floor.

The rest of the recovery personnel scattered from the opening as they came through. Only Jules held back to keep them protected from the rear. Flynn and Scott ran ahead to hold the crowd at bay.

Nickolas ignored them, keeping his senses open to David’s reactions. The residents of the building, alerted to the happenings by the two Valkyries’ arrival, all waited along the halls, their excitement mounting. He listened to the snippets of conversations as he walked through the gauntlet.

“It’s David.”

“Who?”

“Which one?”

“The one in room fourteen.”

“Whoa, wait till I tell Ellen. She’s gonna freak.”

The crowd on the first staircase hadn’t been too bad, but at the landing of the second, he felt David tense and start to shake. His head shot up and he could understand the fledge’s reaction. He had to clamp down on his own response to the huge crowd gathered at the bottom of the stairs staring at them.

The precarious hold on his calm slipped. The unfamiliar tide of energy building inside him swelled, prodding his emotions into turmoil. In an effort to siphon some of it off, he pushed a thread of power out, trying to use it to sooth David and hoping it would help himself as well.

Chris squeezed his arm and Nick looked across David’s shoulders, taking strength from his brother’s smile. “We’ll be out soon, Nick, hold on.”

“David? Ah crap, there goes one of our best gamers.”

“Good luck, David.”

Even with Flynn and Scott holding the crowd at bay, Nickolas found maintaining the calming influence difficult. A sigh escaped when they made it out the door. Careful on the steps, they slowly walked across the dark street to the van with their charge. Jules raced ahead and got the door open. Once they reached the van, Christoff ducked out from under David’s arm and left him supporting the fledgling’s weight alone.

“How’re you doing so far, David?” Nick asked softly.

“How’m I suppose to answer that question?” The young man’s heaviness seemed to increase to dead weight proportions. “I don’ feel right.”

His slurring had grown. They weren’t going to keep him moving under his own power long. “David? I want you to lean forward; you’re going to crawl inside with Chris’s help. He’ll get you settled, ok?”