Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) (44 page)

Reassured that she hadn’t been part of the dream remnants evaporating, he smiled.

A puff of breeze from the air vents sent the multi-hued gauze that was hung from the bed canopy in a lazy billow. More relaxed than he could ever remember, he admired her sleeping form and remembered the games they had played.

Her fear. Her resignation. Her pleasure.

I’m not going to tire of her any time soon. I should look into better accommodations for her.

Pet curled tighter around a pillow, her naked flank pulled taught. His mouth watered at the sight and he slid out of the sheets; his wings loosened and the velvet rasp of the membrane slithered across his back as he crawled over to her. His fingers traced her ankle bone then skated up her calf to smooth his palm along her thigh and come to rest on her buttock.

She shivered and he felt her tense. He squeezed then continued to let his hand roam. She whimpered, so he leaned forward to place his lips under her ear and his hand slid up to span her throat over the collar. He traced her ear with his tongue then pressed her head back. He rubbed his cheek against hers. The fear in her eyes amused him, but there wasn’t any time to play this morning. “Time to wake, sweet. The day is speeding.”

He brushed his thumb across her cheek. Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head and rose up on his knees to tap in the code and unlock the chain at the top of the canopy. He gathered the links in his hand, and with a quick tug, had her scrambling to keep up with him.

An impatient hand thrust the gauzy curtains aside and he strode across the spacious room. Windows filled the entire wall behind the bed, flooding the suite with the warm glow of late morning. Large plants, hung in the corners of each glass bay, mimicked drapes,  while more pots grouped throughout the room like a jungle created drifts of greenness that cascaded over the half walls leading into the living area of the suite. The effect was a stunning display of nature; except for the tropical feel, the line dividing outside from inside was blurred.

Pet struggled along behind him. Every time she tried to gain her feet, he would pull on the chain, throwing her off balance again. When they reached the wide arched doorway at the other end of the long bedroom, Gabriel pulled her through, then stopped. The bathing room seemed just as bright and airy as the rest of the suite but had even more plants adorning every surface if that were possible.

He tugged her over to the stone side of the empty pool. Her wings splayed and her breathing heavy, he reached down and unlocked the chain from her collar, coiling the length up and hanging it from a hook on the wall. Then he flipped the leavers that would start the water to fill the gigantic tub before stretching and spreading his wings out. The rushing waterfall sound of the pool filling soothed something in him. Built to his specifications out of marble, the roman bath reproduction fulfilled his needs perfectly.

He took a hairbrush off of a shelf. After a quick run through his hair, he turned and sat on the smooth rim of the pool and pointed to the floor between his feet.

Pet raised her eyes enough to look through her lashes at him before taking a tentative step. She pulled her wings in tight, then presented her back and sank to the floor between his knees.

The rhythmic motion of the brush as he pulled it through her long hair lulled her and she fell back to sleep, leaning against his knee. Resting his hand on the top of her head, he savored the soft feel of her golden hair while he trailed the fingers of his other hand in the rising water. Once the level had reached high enough, he nudged her awake then gingerly stepped into the waist deep hot water. He shut the gushing faucets off and slipped under, fanning his wings like a manta ray, then broke the surface with a splash, the water streaming down his body as he folded his wings. Wading over to the side, he reached up and pulled a cloth and bar of soap off of a shelf and gestured her into the water, holding them out. “In. Come. Wash my wings.”

The water lapped over the tips of her breasts as the ripples slapped into the marble of the sides. She took the supplies and he turned, spreading his wings out on the surface of the pool. At the soft touch of the soapy cloth as it rubbed across his wings, he closed his eyes and sighed.

She covered every square inch of his membrane, the circular massage freeing his mind to float like his wings. A soft pat and he arrowed forward to drag his wings through the warm water to rinse them. He pushed his wet hair out of his eyes and returned to her. He soaped the cloth then ran it down the length of her pinion strut, the soap curling in an oily stain on the surface of the water when he followed the strut down to her knees. He grasped the tip and forced her wing to extend, pulling the leading edge above the surface. He felt the shiver run down her back where it pressed tightly to his chest.

The discordant jangle of the alarm he had set on the door to his suite interrupted him. The instinct to growl surprised him and he dropped the cloth.

“Gabriel.”

“Stay out,” he snapped. Pet flinched.

He pushed her to the rim of the pool then climbed out and grabbed a towel. He dropped one on her, then quickly mopped at the rivulets running down his skin. He grabbed her chain off the peg, then stalked out, leaving her to follow.

Henderson stood near the desk, his eyes wide when he saw Gabriel. His gaze darted to the side, then he slapped a manila folder down on the desk.

“You wouldn't answer your phone last night or this morning. So the council sent me to deliver this in person.”

Pet pressed into his back. He wanted the male out now. He snarled, and Henderson's face grew paler than before, but he didn't immediately leave. "You need to go through that, they've set up a meeting in an hour."

“Fine.”

Henderson nodded, then left at a fast clip. When the door latched, he let his muscles relax and reached around to pull Pet from behind. He wrapped her tighter in the towel she still held, then pushed her to the floor at his feet when he took a seat at his desk.

He opened the folder. He flipped through the small stack, then returned to the first page and started to read.

The new fledgling brought into the Facility three weeks ago was Jessica Reuther.

Age twenty-five.

She worked in a bookstore at the local mall.

Daughter of Andrew and Jennifer Reuther. Deceased. Both of whom were fledged Valkyries.

One surviving brother, Robin. Location unknown, status unknown.

“Jessica Reuther. Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long while. You were probably six the last time I saw you.” He sat back in his chair and recalled the last time he saw her parents…

“Gabriel? Hey, Gabriel?”

The nasal voice of the lab tech brought Gabriel out of his trance, and refocusing his eyes, he turned to look at the man who was trying to gain his attention. The exasperated look on the irritating technician’s face made Gabriel want to smash it in. He had lost the trace thanks to him.

But instead of hitting the man, he replied, “We can finish up here in a bit. There’s something I need to check out.”

It felt good to walk out of the lab and leave the tech staring after him. In the hall, Gabriel slowly pivoted, searching.
I know I felt something. Now where are you?

Sensing more than feeling the buzz in his head, he started walking down the hall, pausing now and then as he caught a whiff of a mental trace.
Who are you? I know I’ve felt you before but not for a long time
. Taking a right down the hall, he started to slowly make his way toward the Facility’s computer labs.

A quick surge of power washed over him just before the Facility’s alarms blasted. Clapping his hands to his ears, he raced for the nearest exit to the compound. A unit of guards rounded the corner and they fell in behind him. He stepped out into the night and probed his surroundings, hoping to narrow down the intruding Valkyries’ presence, their clear mental signatures, unmuddied by inhibitor, compared to the control group maintained in the Facility.

The compound lights incandesced to his left. He twisted in that direction and watched two winged figures race down the tree-lined avenue. “Intercept them.”

The guards surged ahead of him, and he followed the hounds. Bright flashes of gunfire blossomed in the night, and he watched in irritation as the feral Valkyries were shot out of the sky. He waved the guards back and approached the first downed Valkyrie.

He rolled the man over with his foot and recognized Andrew Reuther. One of the last of the Facility personnel to change before Marcus rebelled and fled into the mountains with the rest of the surviving traitors ten years ago. Crouching down, he checked for a pulse, finding none.
Damn. Can’t they aim better
? Something stirred his other senses and he checked the dead Hunter’s pockets. He pulled out the computer disks, and fanning them out, he clucked his tongue. Eight of them; whatever they were after was big. The hard plastic dug into his fist as he clenched and rose to look at the second Valkyrie. Feeble movement stirred the gravel. Good, he wasn’t dead yet.

He walked over and recognized Andrew’s wife, Jennifer. That observation made his mind race. Last time he had seen the two lab technicians, she had not fledged. And more, he hadn’t realized that Andrew had been among the survivors of that night.
I need a closer look at those records. Who survived the fighting during the escape and subsequent hunts. Apparently it was more than they had thought. If they can expand their population with new fledges, they’ll become a threat.

He stared down at Jennifer and sent his mind out in a sweeping probe then blinked before he addressed her. “Hello, Jennifer. So, you turned out to be a Seer. I must say, that is a bit of a surprise. You shouldn’t have come back. But rabid dogs usually return home. Marcus should have listened.”

“We’re not the rabid ones, you are,” she rasped. “Just because we don’t want to live our lives doped up…” She coughed and blood droplets splattered his boots.

“Well, it hardly matters now.” He smiled softly at her and held up the disks. “Fortunately you didn’t accomplish what you came for.”

He studied her then bent down to wipe the blood from her lips with his thumb and whispered, “Who let you in, Jennifer? You had to have inside help. Tell me, and I’ll get you to the medics.”

“Never!” she snarled, then spit in his face.

Inside he stilled, then reached up and wiped the bloody spittle in streaks down his face. “Fine, bleed to death.”

He rose and shook his hair over his shoulder. “It’s not like I don’t know who did it anyway. I will get proof, in due course. At least you can act as bait. We both know Marcus won’t want to leave you behind.”

He turned on his heel and gestured to the guards, who melted into the trees at his signal. Following in their wake, darkness returned as someone turned off the flood lights and alarms, and he prowled in the shadows of the trees, waiting impatiently for something to happen. Stopping in a good vantage, he watched Jennifer bleed out while he scanned the trees on the far side of the fence. He didn’t have long to wait; soon Gabriel felt the telltale tingle that told him someone nearby reached out psychically.
Come on, Marcus, come out into the open. I’ve got a nice cell with your name on it just waiting.

At the sensation of the connection snapping, he recoiled.
*No.*

Then he yelled out to the guards. “They’re not taking the bait. Get the lights back on! I want searchers in the woods now! Find Marcus! I want him.”

The sound of running feet and vehicles revving did little to calm Gabriel, knowing the chances of capture dwindled fast. He lashed out with his own talents and tried to pinpoint the feral Valkyries’ location without success.
They must have a shield builder with them.

Snarling, he slammed his hand into the trunk of a tree. Mentally pushing, he tried to break through the shield, then felt the tickle of an imminent telepathic thread. Going stalk still, he heard, faint from distance, Marcus’s mind voice.
*I will have retribution, Gabriel. Someday. We will avenge Jennifer and Andrew and all who have come before and those who follow.*

*You can try, Marcus. I’ll be waiting.*

His chair squeaked and Gabriel stared at the sheaf of papers in his hand.
Well, Marcus, it looks like you lose again. I will soon have Jennifer’s daughter, and if things go right, your son too.
Well pleased with the circumstances, Gabriel picked up the phone and called the labs. “Fredrick, I need to move our meeting to this afternoon. What? Oh yes, I want to go over all the notes and tapes then. I have a good feeling that B-Five will prove out. No, probably about one o’clock. See you then.”

He replaced the receiver in the cradle then dropped his hand to Pet’s head, absently stroking while he read through the rest of the report. With a sigh, he glanced at the clock. Just enough time to get to the meeting. He would find out who was trying to yank his chain, and then they would see why that was not a good idea.

His fingers tangled in Pet’s hair and he pulled back. A gasp escaped her lips, but she met his eyes. “Looks like they took away my play time, sweet.”